THE BOOK OF PSALMS. PSALM FIRST. THE Psalmist begins by extolling the blessedness of the right-eous, who is first described negatively, as turning away from the counsels of the wicked, ver. 1, and then positively, as having his thoughts engrossed with the Divine law, ver. 2. He proceeds next to delineate under a pleasant image the prosperity which attends him in all his ways, and places in contrast to this, the destruction which is the inseparable concomitant of the wicked, vers. 3, 4. He grounds upon these eternal principles the confi-dence, that God will take out of the way whatever, in the course of events, appears to be at variance with them; that by His judg-ment He will overthrow the wicked, through whose malice the righteous suffer, and free His Church, which must consist only of the righteous, from their corrupting leaven; and, as it was declared, in vers. 3 and 4, that the Lord interests Himself in the righteous, and hence could not leave them helpless, while de-struction is the fate of the wicked, the former must in conse-quence be exalted above the latter, vers. 5, 6. According to this order, which alone secures to the "there-fore" at the beginning of ver. 5, and the "for" in ver. 6, their proper meaning, the Psalm falls into three strophes, each con-sisting of two verses. The Psalm is primarily of an admonitory character. What it says of the prosperity which attends the righteous, and the perdition which befalls the wicked, cannot but incite to imitate the one, and shun the other. In reference to this Luther re-marks: "It is the practice of all men to inquire after blessed-ness; and there is no man on earth who does not wish that it 12 THE BOOK OF PSALMS. might go well with him, and would not feel sorrow if it went ill with him. But he, who speaks in this Psalm with a voice from heaven, beats down and condemns everything which the thoughts of men might excogitate and devise, and brings forth the only true description of blessedness, of which the whole world knows nothing, declaring that he only is blessed and prosperous whose love and desire are directed to the law of the Lord. This is a short description, one too that goes against all sense and reason, especially against the reason of the worldly-wise and the high-minded. As if he had said: Why are ye so busy seeking counsel? why are ye ever in vain devising unprofitable things? There is only one precious pearl; and he has found it, whose love and desire is toward the law of the Lord, and who separates him-self from the ungodly-all succeeds well with him. But who-soever does not find this pearl, though he should seek with ever so much pains and labour the way to blessedness, he shall never find it." The Psalm has, besides, a consolatory character, which comes clearly out in the last strophe; for it must tend to enliven the hope of the righteous in the grace of God, and fill them with confidence, that everything which now appears contrary to their hope, shall come to an end; that the judgment of God shall remove the stumbling-blocks cast in their way by the temporal prosperity of the wicked, and the troubles thence accruing to them. The truth contained in this Psalm is as applicable to the Church of the New Testament as to that of the Old. It remains perpetually true, that sin is the destruction of any people, and that salvation is the inseparable attendant of righteousness. Whatever, in the course of things, seems to run counter to this, will be obviated by the remark, that a righteous man, as the author delineates him,-one whose desire is undividedly fixed upon the law of God, and to whom it is "his thought by day and his dream by night,"-is not to be found among the children of men. Just because salvation is inseparably connected with righteousness, an absolute fulfilment of the promise of the Psalm cannot be expected. For even when the innermost bent of the mind is stedfastly set upon righteousness, there still exist so many weaknesses and sins, that sufferings of various kinds are necessary, not less as deserved punishments, than as the means of improvement, which, so far from subverting the PSALM I. 3 principles here laid down, serve to confirm them. The senti-ment, that "everything he does, prospers," which is literally true of the righteous, in so far as he is such, passes, in conse-quence of the imperfect nature of our righteousness, which alone can be charged with our loss of the reward that is promised to the perfect, into the still richly consolatory truth, that "all things work together for good to them who love God." Those who are blinded by Pelagianism, who know not the limited na-ture of human righteousness, and consequently want the only key to the mystery of the cross, do apprehend the truth of the main idea of the Psalm, but at the same time escape from it only by surrendering themselves to a crude Dualism. It is unques-tionable, say they, that the internal blessedness of life has no other ground than genuine piety; but as for outward things, "which depend upon natural influences, the relations and acci-dents of life, and the violent movements of the populace," one can make no lofty pretensions to them. Who can but feel that natural influences and such like things are here placed in com-plete independence of God, are virtually raised to the condition of a second God, and that we are at once translated from a Christian into a heathen sphere, in which latter, accident, fate, Typhon, Achriman, play a distinguished part, and all on the same ground, to wit, the want of that knowledge of sin, which peculiarly belongs to revelation? Such masters must not take it upon them to instruct the Psalmist, but must learn of him. Whoever really believes in one true God, the Creator, Preserver, and Governor of the world, cannot but accord with the doctrine of the Psalmist. It is impossible to disparage in the least the doctrine of recompense, without trenching closely upon the truth of one God. Internal good, as the perfect, is contrasted with external, as the imperfect. But where, in reality, is the man, who enjoys complete inward blessedness-who, even though labouring under the greatest delusion regarding his state, can spend so much as one day in perfect satisfaction with himself? Besides, is it not natural, that the external should go hand in hand with the internal? And have we any reason, on account of the troubles which befall us, to doubt the omnipotence and righteousness of God, and the truth of that doctrine of Scrip-ture, which pervades both economies, and appears in every book from Genesis to Revelation, that God will recompense to every one according to his works? Instead of running into such 4 THE BOOK OF PSALMS. mournful aberrations, it behoves every one, when he reads what the Psalmist says of the righteous-"And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season, his leaf also shall not wither, and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper"-and finds that his own condition pre-sents a melancholy contrast to what is here described, to turn back his eye upon the first and second verses, and inquire whether that which is there affirmed of the righteous will apply to him; and if he finds it to be otherwise, then should he smite upon his breast, and cry, "God be merciful to me a sinner," and thereafter strive with all earnestness to realize the pattern there delineated, by employing the means which God has ap-pointed for the purpose. The subject of the Psalm is, as might be judged from the previous remarks, quite general, and it is an error in several expositors to refer it to particular times and persons. There is great probability in the opinion of those, who suppose with Calvin, that this Psalm, originally occupying another position, was placed by the collector of the Psalms, as an introduction to the whole. Basilius calls it a "short preface" to the Psalms; and that this view is of great antiquity, may be gathered from Acts 13:33, where Paul, according to the reading agreed upon by the most approved critics (Erasmus, Mill, Bengel, Griesbach, etc.), quotes as the first Psalm that which, in our collection, occupies the second place. If the first was considered only as a sort of introductory preface, the numbering would begin with the one following, as, indeed, is the case in some manuscripts. The matter of the Psalm is admirably suited to this application of it. "The collector of these songs," says Amyrald, "seems to have carefully placed before the eye of his readers, at the very threshold, the aim at which the actions of men should, as so many arrows, be directed." The position of the Psalm at the beginning appears peculiarly suitable, if, along with its admoni-tory tendency, the consolatory is also brought prominently out. In the latter respect, it may be regarded as in fact a short corn-pend of the main subject of the Psalms. That God has ap-pointed salvation to the righteous, perdition to the wicked-this is the great truth, with which the sacred bards grapple amid whatever painful experiences of life apparently indicate the re-verse. The supposition is also favoured, or rather seems to be demanded, by the circumstance, that the Psalm has no super- PSALM I. 5 scription. As from Psalm third a long series of Psalms follows, with titles ascribing them to David, it cannot be doubted that the collectors intended to open the collection therewith. So that there must have been a particular reason for making our Psalm an exception from the general rule, and it is scarcely possible to imagine any other than the one already mentioned. It is justly remarked, however, by Koester, that the suppo-sition in question by no means requires us to hold that the Psalm is a late production, and probably composed by the col-lector himself. The simplicity and freshness which characterize it are against this. That it must have been composed, at any rate, before Jeremiah, is evident from his imitation of it. A more determinate conclusion regarding the time of its composi-tion, can only, since the Psalm itself furnishes no data, be de-rived from ascertaining its relation to Psalm second. It has often been maintained, that the two Psalms form but one whole,1 and this opinion has exercised considerable influence upon various manuscripts (De Rossi mentions seven, and even Origen in his Hexapla by Montfaucon, p. 475, speaks of having seen one in his day). But this view is obviously untenable. Each of the Psalms forms a separate and complete whole by itself. Still, several appearances present themselves, which cer-tainly point to a close relation between the two. First of all, there is the remarkable circumstance, that Psalm second stands in this place, at the head of a collection, to which, properly, only such Psalms belonged as bore the name of David in their super-scription. We can hardly explain this by any other reason than its inseparable connection with the first Psalm, which being placed, for the reason above given, at the commencement, re-quired the second to follow immediately after. There is, further, a certain outward resemblance between them: the number of verses in Psalm second is precisely the double of those in the first; and in both Psalms there is a marked and singularly regular construction of strophes, the first Psalm falling into three strophes of two verses, and the second into four strophes of three. In regard to the subject, the first is admirably fitted to be an introduction to the second, for which it lays a general foundation. What is said in the first Psalm generally, of the different taste and destiny of the righteous and the wicked, the 1 See the opinions of the Jews and the Fathers in Wetstein, on Acts 13:33. 6 THE BOOK OF PSALMS. second repeats with a special application to the Messiah and His adversaries. The first Psalm closed with the announcement of judgment against the wicked, and at that point the second begins. On the other hand, the latter Psalm concludes with a benediction, as the former had commenced with it-compare "blessed is the man," with "blessed are all they that put their trust in Him." The expression in Psalms 2:12, "Ye shall perish in your way," remarkably coincides with that in Psalms 1:6, "The way of the ungodly shall perish." Finally, the words, "The nations meditate vain things" in Psalm second, acquire additional force, if viewed as a contrast to the meditation of the righteous on the law of the Lord, mentioned in the first Psalm. These circumstances are by no means satisfactorily ex-plained and accounted for, on the supposition that the collector had joined the second Psalm to the first, from certain points of connection happening to exist between them; and nothing remains for us but the conclusion, that both Psalms were com-posed by the same author, and were meant by him as different parts of one whole. This conclusion may be the more readily embraced, as we have elsewhere undoubted specimens of such pairs of Psalms (as Psalms 9:9; Psalms 9:10; Psalms 14:14; Psalms 14:15, 42. and 43.), and as similar things are not awanting in Christian poets, for example, Richter's two poems, "It is not difficult to be a Chris-tian," and "It is hard to be a Christian." Now, as there are important grounds for ascribing the second Psalm to David, we should be entitled to regard him as the author also of the first; nor can any solid objection be urged against this conclusion. In its noble simplicity, its quiet but still extremely spirited character, it presents a close resem-blance to other Psalms, of which David was unquestionably the penman, and in particular to the 15. 23:8. Psalms. Ver. I. Blessed is the man that walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, and stands not in the way of sinners, and sits not in the seat of the scornful. That the righteous should first be de- scribed negatively, has its ground in the proneness of human nature to what is evil. From the same ground arises the pre-dominantly negative form of the decalogue. As there the thought of something, to which our corrupt heart is inclined, is everywhere forced on our notice, so also is it here. עצה never signifies what Stier and Hitzig here understand by it, disposi-tion, spirit, but always counsel, as in Job 21:16; Job 22:18."The counsel of a man" signifies, in some passages, the counsel given by him; for the most part, however, it is the counsel which he adopts himself-his plans and resolutions. This lat-ter is invariably the meaning of the expression, "to walk in any one's counsel," which uniformly means, "to adopt his plans, to share the same designs,"-comp. 2 Chronicles 22:5, where "walked after their counsel," corresponds to, "he walked in the ways of the house of Ahab," ver. 3, and "he did evil in the sight of the Lord like the house of Ahab," ver. 4; only with this distinction, indicated by the "also" in ver. 5, and the clause following, "and went with Jehoram the son of Ahab to war," that while there a general agreement in thought and action is spoken of, here it is referred to particular plans and undertak-. ings. In Micah 6:16, to "walk in one's counsels," is taken as parallel with "observing one's statutes and doing one's works." In Psalms 81:12, "they walked in their own coun-sels," means, they walked in the counsels they themselves took, in the plans they themselves devised. Consequently, the expo-sition of Gesenius and others, who render the first clause of our Psalm: "who lives not according to the counsels of the un-godly," must be abandoned, and this the rather, that in what follows, the discourse is not of a dependence upon the influence of the wicked, but of one's personally belonging to them. To walk in the counsel of the wicked, is to occupy oneself with their purposes, their worthless projects. Olshausen, in his emendations on the Old Testament, would read עדת for עצת, "in the company or band of the ungodly." He appeals to the strong parallelism, which the author of this Psalm employs, and, indeed, pre-eminently in this first verse. The parallels here fall into three members: who walks not, stands not, sits not. In each member there is a preterite, as predicate, with the preposition ב following it, a noun as its com-plement, and a completely appropriate dependent genitive. Two of the nouns which serve to limit the preposition, to wit, way and seat, may be local designations, as then they would most fitly accord with the sense of the particular verbs. In the first noun alone, no such local designation is to be found. Rightly viewed, the word עצת has of course this meaning. The proposed change is certainly needed to make out this significa-tion. For the counsel undoubtedly refers to the spiritual by-way, into which he wanders, who follows it. But the secondterm, the way of sinners, must also be spiritually understood. To speak of standing in their way can only refer to their man-ner of acting,-to follow with them the same moral paths, or to act like them. מושב, "the seat," is the only term that im-plies an external locality. The difference is, however, of little moment, since here also the outward companionship comes into view, only as the result of an internal agreement. If we ex-amine the matter more closely, it will be found that the altera-tion proposed is not only quite unnecessary, but also unsuitable. For עדת, is excluded on the very ground which Olshausen presses against עצת. According to the analogy of בדרך and במושב, the preposition ב must admit of being rendered by on; it must designate the sphere in which the conduct is exhibited. Now, the expression: "on the counsel," is quite suitable; but the expression: "on the company," is senseless. According to the common acceptation, מושב must mean here, not "seat," but "session." Of the few passages, however, which are brought forward in support of this meaning, Psalms 107:32, so far from requiring, does not even admit of it. If the transla-tion be adopted: "in the session (assembly) of the elders they shall praise Him," we must decide on adopting the perfectly groundless supposition, that the elders had instituted separate meetings for the praise of God, apart from the rest of the people. None but general religious assemblies are known in history. If it be rendered: "upon the seat, or the bench of the elders," then everything will be in order; "they shall extol Him in the congregation of the people, and praise Him on the bench of the elders," namely, first the whole, and then the most distinguished part thereof. The only meaning which is certain, is here also quite suitable. To sit in the seat of the scorners, is, in other words, to sit as scorners, just as, in the preceding clauses, the discourse was of such as stood, not beside sinners, but among them, who not merely follow, but also cherish for themselves the counsels of ungodly men. Luther has given the meaning correctly: "nor sits where the scorners sit." It is, perhaps, not an accidental thing, that the attitude of sitting is distinctively ascribed to the scorners. A mocking disposition unfolds itself chiefly in the company of those who are like-minded, who are inflamed with wine and intoxicating drink, which we elsewhere find mentioned in connection with mockers, -as in Isaiah 5. and Proverbs 20:1, where wine itself is called amocker. So, in reference to social meetings, the act of sitting is frequently alluded to; for example, in Jeremiah 15:17, "I sat not in the assembly of the mockers, nor rejoiced;" in Psalms 1:20, "Thou sittest and speakest against thy brother, thou slan-derest thine own mother's son;" Psalms 69:12, "They that sit in the gate speak against me, and I am the song of the drunk-ards." It is proper to add, however, that in Psalms 26:4; Psalms 26:5, sitting is attributed to men of deceit, and evil-doers.לץe (scorner), marks one "who scoffs at God, His law and ordinances, His judgment and His people. In Proverbs 9:7; Proverbs 9:8, the scorner is placed in opposition to the wise, whose heart is filled with holy reverence toward God and Divine things. In opposition to De Wette, who would here exclude the strictly religious scoffers, we can point to such passages as Isaiah 5:19, "They say, Let him make speed, and hasten his work, that we may see it; and let the counsel of the Holy One of Israel draw nigh and come, that we may know it;" Jeremiah 17:15, "Behold, they say unto me, Where is the word of the Lord? Let it come now,"-where the words of such scoffers are expressly given. Religious mockery is as old as the Fall. The admonition in 2 Peter 3:3, regarding scoffers, as appears to me, has some re-spect to the passage before us. Men have often sought to discover a climax in the verse. But there is no foundation for this, either in the nouns or in the verbs. In reference to the former, it was already remarked by Venema, that "they distinguish men as exhibiting different appearances, rather than different grades of sin." The רשע, from רשע, denotes in Arabic, magna cupiditate et concupiscentia fuit, and in Syriac, perturbatus es animo; hence it properly signifies "the passionate, the restless man" (Isaiah 57:20, "The wicked are like the troubled sea, which cannot rest"); it is de-scriptive of the wicked, in respect to their internal state, their violent commotions within, the disquietude, springing from sin-ful desires, which constantly impels them to fresh misdeeds. The word הטאים, "sinners," designates the same persons in re-spect to the lengthened series of sinful acts which proceed from them. Finally, the word לצים, "scornful," brings into view a peculiarly venomous operation and fruit of evil. But in the verbs we can the less conceive of a climactic gradation being intended, as Stier's assumption, that the middle verb עמד signi-fies not, to stand, but to continue, to persevere, destroys theevidently intentioned combination of the three bodily states of waking men. The verse simply declares in the most expressive manner possible, the absence of all fellowship with sin. Ver. 2. The fellowship with unrighteousness, which the godly man zealously shuns, is here placed in opposition to God and His law, which he zealously seeks. But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in His law he meditates day and night. תורה never has the general signification often ascribed to it here by expositors-doctrine; but always the more special sense of law. That this is the import here, is perfectly obvious from a comparison of the parallel passages, which show also, that the law meant here, is that, written, according to Psalms 40:8, in the volume of the book or roll, called the law of Moses, which is always to be understood wherever the law is spoken of in the Psalms. The writer does not mean the natural law spoken of in Isaiah 24:5, and throughout the entire book of Job, and which, being darkened and disfigured by sin, could be but little regarded and seldom mentioned by those who walk in the clear light of revelation. These parallel passages are, Deuteronomy 6:6; Deuteronomy 6:7, where Moses says to the people: "And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart. And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them," etc. (11:18 ff.); and Joshua 1:8, where the angel says to him: "This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein clay and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous." This last manifestly stands in a very near relation to ours, not merely from the meditation spoken of, but also from the prosperity connected with it. Just as what the angel speaks to Joshua rests on the ground of those passages of the Pentateuch, and points to it (comp. also Deuteronomy 17:19, which contains a like word of ex-hortation to the future king of Israel); so the author of our Psalm points to the exhortation addressed to Joshua, who stood forth there as a worthy type of the fulfilment of what is here required, and in whose experience, the reward here promised found a sure guarantee for its realization. How De Wette could think that the love and study of the law being enjoined, is a proof of the later production of the Psalm, can scarcely be imagined, since a profound investigation into the nature of the law, the converting of it into juice and blood, might be provedby many passages to have been even held by believers of the Old Testament, to be the highest end of their life. How much David fulfilled this condition, how intimate a knowledge he had of the law, even in its smallest particulars, and how constantly it formed the centre of his thoughts and feelings, the delight of his heart, will be placed beyond all doubt, by this exposition. Indeed, the fifteenth Psalm, which the dullest critic must ascribe to David, may serve, notwithstanding its limited compass, for ample proof; for it contains close and continued verbal re-ferences to the Pentateuch. Comp. also Psalms 19. Besides, what is here meant, is not that habit of speculating and laborious trifling upon the law which was quite foreign to the practical turn of the Old Testament saints, but a meditation referring directly to the walk and conduct. This follows, as is well re-marked by Claus, from the whole context, which is throughout practical. The subject in ver. 1 is, " fellowship with sin:" in vers. 3-6, "the different portions of the righteous and the wicked." How, in such a connection, could ver. 2 refer to the theoretical study of the law, and not rather to the occupation of the heart with the subject and matter of the Divine Word? To this re-sult we are led also by a comparison of the parallel passages, in which the reading and meditating are expressly mentioned as means to the keeping and doing. Luther remarks on the words, "His delight is the law of the Lord:" "The prophet does not speak here of such an inclination, or liking as philo-sophers and modern theologians talk of, but of a simple and pure pleasure of heart, and a particular desire toward the law of God, which possesses him whom this Psalm pronounces blessed, and who neither seeks what the law promises, nor fears what it threatens, but feels that the law itself is a holy, righteous, and good thing. Therefore, it is not merely a love for the law, but such a sweet pleasure and delight in it, as the world and its princes can neither prevent nor take away by prosperous or adverse circumstances, nay, which shines triumphantly forth through poverty, reproach, the cross, death, and hell; for such desire shows itself the most in necessities and distresses, in ad-versity and persecution. Now from all this it seems manifest, that this Psalm (unless it should be understood of Christ alone) is nothing else than a mirror and goal, toward which a truly pious and blessed man must strive and labour; for in this life there is no one, who is not conscious of lacking to some extentthis delight in the law of the Lord, by reason of the lust and the law in his members, which decidedly and wholly oppose this law of God; as St Paul complains, in Romans 7:22; Romans 7:23, saying:I delight in the law of God after the inward man; but I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin, which is in my members." It is a great thing, therefore, to have one's delight in thelaw of the Lord. The natural man, even when the conscious-ness of the holiness of the law is awakened in him, and heanxiously strives to satisfy it, never gets beyond the region offear. Even the regenerate, although delight in the law pre-dominates in them, yet have constantly to struggle with theirsinful propensities. Perfect delight in the law presupposes aperfect union of the human with the Divine will, perfect ex-tirpation of sin-for the measure of sin is the measure of dis- like to the law-perfect holiness. And since this is not to be found in the present life, what man can complain if he does not experience a perfect fulfilment of the saying, "Everything he doeth prospers?" Christ alone, who was the only righteous one on earth, could have laid claim to such a fulfilment: He, however, freely renounced it and bore the cross, when He might. well have sought to rejoice. Those who are compelled to suffer, receive a testimony that they are sinful; and the fact, that none experience uniform prosperity, is a declaration on the part of God, that there is sin still dwelling even in His saints. On the "day and night," J. H. Michaelis remarks: "Inde-fesso studio, ut cessante etiam actu, nunquam tamen cesset pins affectus." Instead of meditating, Luther has speaking; but he remarks at the same time that "the speaking here meant, is not the mere utterance of the lips, which even hypocrites are capable of, but such speaking as labours to express in words the feelings of the heart." The construction with ב, however (yet, compare דבר with ב in Deut. 6:7), and especially the mentionof night, recommends the first signification. Such meditation day and night, he only practises who, as Luther puts it, "has, through desire, become one cake with the word of God; as, indeed, love is used to reduce him who loves, and that which is loved, to one substance."-The construction of the הגה withב, implies, that the person who meditates, loses himself in his object. Ver. 3. And he is like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that brings fort -his fruit in his season, and whose leaf does not wither, and whatsoever he does he prosperously executes. The ו, and, is not to be translated for. For the verse does not contain the reason, but the carrying out of the אשרי. The meaning was perceived quite correctly by Luther: "After the prophet has described, in vers. 1 and 2, the man who is blessed before God, and painted him in proper colours, he goes on here to de-scribe him still further, by means of a very beautiful image."על, by, properly upon. A thing is said to be upon one, if it projects over, or generally rises higher. Hence this preposi-tion, which in common use is rendered by, beside, when the discourse is of a lower object, in juxtaposition with a higher, is very frequently employed in reference to streams, springs, and seas.-The comparison of a prosperous man to a tree planted beside a river, which is peculiarly appropriate in the arid regions of the East, occurs also in Jeremiah 17:8. There, however, it is only the imitation and further extension of our passage.1 Nothing but the greatest prejudice could have in-verted the relation of these two passages to each other. The sentence in Jeremiah has all the appearance of a commentary or paraphrase. In Psalms 92:12, "The righteous shall flourish like the palm tree," the particular is put instead of the general. With the expression "in his season," compare that in Mark 11:13, "for it was not the time of figs." Most of the older ex-positors refer the words, "bringeth forth his fruit," of good works; but the connection shows, that fruitfulness here is con-sidered merely as a sign of joyful prosperity. The figure was embodied in an appropriate symbolical transaction by Christ, when He cursed the fig tree. Because the Jewish people did not answer the conditions laid down in vers. 1 and 2, they could no longer be as a tree yielding its fruit in its season: to the tree, therefore, by which the nation was represented, the evil word was spoken, "Let no fruit grow on thee henceforward for ever," Matthew 21:19. In the words: "Whatsoever he doeth he successfully accomplisheth," the author returns from the image to the object, explaining the former. The word הצליה is to be taken here, not as many expositors do, in an intransitive sense, for then we should have expected לו, but transitively, to 1 See K�per Jerem. libr. sacr. interp. p. 162. accomplish successfully; so generally; see, for example, 2 Chronicles 7:11. The intransitive signification, when more closely con-sidered, does not occur even in the single passage which Winer has referred to as an example of it, Judges 18:5. The hiphil everywhere retains its own meaning. There appears to be an allusion to Genesis 39:3; Genesis 39:4, where the same expressions are used of Joseph, whose prosperous condition was a pledge of like prosperity to those who resemble him in disposition. Ver. 4. The ungodly are not so, but are like the chaff, which the wind drives away. Luther: "When Scripture speaks of the ungodly, take heed not to fancy, as the ungodly are prone to do, that it refers to Jews and heathens, or to any other persons whatever, but do thou thyself shudder before this word, as re-specting and concerning also thee. For an upright and godly man fears and trembles before every word of God." For the understanding of the figure, to which John the Baptist makes reference in Matthew 3:12, as also to that of the tree in ver. 10 (which occurs moreover in Job 21:18), we may remark, that, in the East, the threshing-floors are placed upon heights. They throw aloft the corn that has been threshed, until the wind has driven the chaff away. Ver. 5. Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment. The כן על, therefore, occasions great difficulty to those who fail in perceiving aright the relation between vers. 5, 6, and 3, 4. Some, as Claus, have been led thereby to adopt instead, the meaning, because, which the phrase in the original is alleged frequently to have. That the ungodly stand not in the judgment, they consider to be the reason why, according to ver. 4, they fly away as the chaff. But it has already been proved by Winer, what is indeed self-evident, that כן על never bears this meaning, which is precisely the reverse of its usual one; that it always indicates the consequence, never the cause. Those who adopt the common signification, cannot properly explain how that should be here described as a consequence flowing from the statement in the preceding verse, which appears to be simply co-ordinate with it. Amyrald alone, of all expositors, seems to have got upon the right track, and thus paraphrases: "But although the providence of God, whose ways are sometimes unsearchable, does not alwaysmake so remarkable a distinction between those two kinds of men, still the future life (he erroneously understands by the judg-ment, only the final judgment) shall so distinguish them, that PSALM I. VER. 5. 15 no one shall any longer be able to doubt who they are that fol-lowed the path of true prosperity." In vers. 3 and 4, the idea expressed was one which holds for all times in respect to the lots of the righteous and the wicked. And from this truth, which can never be a powerless and quiescent one, is here derived its im-pending realization: so certain as salvation is to the righteous, and perdition to the wicked, the judgment must overthrow and set aside the latter, and exalt the former to the enjoyment of the felicity destined for them. That the therefore refers, not simply to ver. 4, but also to ver. 3, is clear from ver. 6, where the subject of both verses is resumed, and is advanced as the ground of what is said in ver. 5. When the narrow view of the therefore is adopted, it is impossible to tell what to do with the first clause of ver. 6, "for the Lord knoweth the way of the righteous," and we are driven to the interpolation of some such word as only or indeed. The universality of the conclusion, and its reference to both the classes of men with which the Psalm is occupied, are quite lost. Ver. 5 forms quite a suitable deduc-tion from vers. 3 and 4, if we only consider that judgment against the wicked involves also the deliverance of the righteous who had suffered under their oppressions and annoyances. Indeed, ver. 6 requires us to view it in that as it can only then form a suitable continuation. The whole context shows, that by the judgment we are to understand God's; in particular, it appears from the following verse, where the fact that the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, is founded on the truth that the Lord knoweth the way of the righteous. The reference to a human judgment, which has again been lately maintained by Hitzig, is alto-gether objectionable. De Wette narrows the expression too much, when he would understand it only of general searching, theocratic judgments. Ewald justly refers the words to the process of the Divine righteousness, which is perpetually ad-vancing, though not every moment visible. All manifestations of punitive righteousness are comprehended in it. "For God will bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil." Ecclesiastes 12:14. And sinners (shall not stand) in the congregation of the right-eous; i. e. those who, by turning away their hearts from God, have internally separated themselves from the kingdom of God, shall also be outwardly expelled by a righteous act of judgment. 16 THE BOOK OF PSALMS. The external church or community can only for a time be dif-ferent from the company or congregation of the righteous. For God will take care that it shall be purified from the leaven of the ungodly, which, however, will not be fully accomplished before the close of this present world. That the congregation of God, in its true idea, is the congregation of the righteous, embodies a prophecy of the excision and overthrow of sinners: An allu-sion is kept up through the whole verse to the expression used in the Pentateuch, regarding the transgressors of the Divine law, "That soul shall be cut off from his people," that is, it would be ipso facto separated from the community of God; and the declaration is commonly followed by an announcement of the particular manner in which the judgment, already pronounced, should be outwardly executed, or would be executed by God. We understand, therefore, the community or congregation of the righteous to be a designation of the whole covenant-people, according to its idea, in reference to which the Israelites are elsewhere (for example, Numbers 23:10, Psalms 111:1) called ישרים, upright, or even holy (comp. "Ye shall be holy, for I am holy," Leviticus 19:2; Numbers 16:3). That this idea shall one day be fully realized, is intimated by Isaiah in ch. 9:9, liv. 13. עדה, congregation, is a standing designation of the whole community of Israel (see Gesen. Thes. on the word). The whole people are referred to in the parallel passage, Ezekiel 13:9, "And My hand shall be upon the prophets that see vanity, and that divine lies; they shall not be in the assembly of My people, neither shall they be written in the writing (book) of the house of Israel, neither shall they enter into the land of Israel." Accordingly, "sinners in the congregation of the righteous" may be regarded as equivalent to "sinners in the congregation of Israel," it being the congregation of the righteous. An ex-ample of this reaction of the idea against a state of things at variance therewith, is to be found in the overthrow of the com-pany of Korah, of whom it is said, Numbers 16:33, "They perished from among the congregation." Then, also, in the fate of Saul and his party. The more careless men are in wielding the discipline of the Church, the more vigorously does God work. De Wette and others understand by the righteous, the elite, the fortunate citizens of the theocratic kingdom who stand the test. But this is inadmissible, for the one reason, that the words, "they shall not stand," that is, "they shall not remain, PSALM I. VER. 6. 17 among the righteous," presuppose that they had belonged to the community of the righteous up to the judgment, which was to throw them off, like morbid matter from the body in the crisis of a disease. Ver. 6. For the Lord knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the ungodly shall perish. According to various exposi-tors, the two members of the verse do not correspond exactly, and something must be supplied in each. God knows the way of the righteous, and therefore they cannot fail to be prosperous; He knows the way of the wicked, and therefore they cannot fail to perish. But this exposition is not to be approved. The figure of "the way" is used in the Psalms in two senses, first of the conduct, and then of the portion, the lot or destiny. The latter signification is by far the most common; comp. Psalms 37:5; Psalms 37:18; Psalms 37:23; Isaiah 40:27. Now, according to the above exposition, the first signification must be taken; but the second clause shows that the other ought to be preferred. The perishing applies only to the circumstances of the wicked. They who would refer it to the moral walk, must torture the word with arbitrary meanings (אבד always means "to perish"), or cloak the difficulty by periphrases which introduce new thoughts. And where the parallelism is so marked, the way must be taken in the same sense in the first clause. For understanding it of the affairs, the corresponding passage in Psalms 2:12 may be regarded as a confirmation. Indeed, it would never have been viewed otherwise, if only the relation between this verse and verses 3 and 4 had been rightly perceived, in which the things befalling the righteous and the wicked are alone discoursed of: the righteous are prosperous, the wicked are unprosperous; therefore the wicked shall not stand, etc. As here it is said of the way of the wicked, that it perishes, so of his hope, in Job viii. 13; Proverbs 10:28. The knowing here involves blessing, as its necessary consequence. If the way of the righteous, their lot, is known by God as the omniscient, it cannot but be blessed by Him as the righteous. Hence there is no necessity, in order to preserve the parallelism, which exists otherwise, to explain ידע by "curae cordique habere," a meaning which it properly never has. It is enough if only God is not shut up in the heavens with His knowledge; the rest flows spontaneously from His nature, and needs not to be specially mentioned. How little the ידע in such connections loses, or even modifies its commonsignification, appears from the parallel passage, Psalms 31. "Thou considerest my trouble, Thou knowest my soul in adver- sities," where the knowing is parallel with considering or seeing. It is justly remarked by Ewald, that the issue in vers. 5 and 6 is truly prophetical, perpetually in force, and consequently descrip-tive of what is to be for ever expected and hoped for in the course of the world. To limit it to peculiarly theocratic affairs, is as certainly false as God's righteousness which is inherent in His nature, and consequently the moral order of the world, is unalterable. Luther: "At the close of this Psalm, I would admonish, as did also many holy fathers like Athanasius and Augustine, that we do not simply read or sing the Psalms, as if they did not concern us; but let us read and sing them for the purpose of being improved by them, of having our faith strengthened, and our hearts comforted amid all sort of neces-sities. For the Psalter is nothing else than a school and exercise for our heart and mind, to the end, that we may have our thoughts and inclinations turned into the same channel. So that he reads the Psalter without spirit, who reads it without understanding and faith." PSALM II. The Psalmist sees with wonder, vers. 1-3, many nations and their kings rise against Jehovah and His Anointed, their right-ful King. He then describes the manner in which Jehovah carries Himself toward this undertaking,-how He first laughs at, then terrifies them with an indignant speech, and declares their attempt to be in vain, because they revolt against Him, whom He Himself has set up as His King. In vers. 7-9, the Anointed proclaims,-detailing at length, what the Lord had briefly thrown out against the insurgents,-that the Lord had given Him, as His Son, all the nations and kingdoms of the earth for a possession, and along with these, power and authority to punish those who rebelled against Him. The Psalmist finally turns, vers. 10-12, to the kings, and admonishes them to yield a lowly sub-mission to the anointed King and Son of God, who is as rich in mercy towards those that trust in Him, as in destruction to-ward those that rise up against Him. In few Psalms is the strophe-arrangement so marked as in this. One perceives at aglance, that the whole falls into four strophes of three members each. The verses, again, generally consist of two members; the last verse only has four, for the purpose of securing a full-toned conclusion. There are the clearest grounds for asserting, that by the King, the Anointed, or Son of God, no other can be understood than the Messias. It is generally admitted, that this exposition was the prevailing one among the older Jews, and that in later times they were led to abandon it only for polemical reasons against the Christians. In support of this position may be urged, not only the express declaration of Jarchi and a considerable number of passages in the writings of the older Jews, in which the Messianic sense still exists, and which may be found in those adduced by Venema in his Introduction to this Psalm, but also the fact, that two names of the Messias which were current in the time of Christ,-the name of Messias itself, the Anointed, and the name, Son of God, used by Nathanael in his conversa-tion with Christ, John 1:49, and also by the high-priest in Matthew 26:63,-owed their origin to this Psalm in its Messianic meaning. The former is applied to the coming Saviour only in another passage, Daniel 9:25, the latter in this Psalm alone. But though this is certainly a remarkable fact, we could not re-gard it as, by itself, constituting a ground for the interpretation in question. Neither would we rest upon the circumstance, that the New Testament, in a series of passages, refers this Psalm to Christ (it is so by the assembled Apostles in Acts 4:25; Acts 4:26; by Paul. in Acts 13:33, as also in Hebrews 1:5; Hebrews 5:5; while the same Messianic sense lies at the basis of the plain allusions to the Psalm which occur in Revelation 2:27; Revelation 12:5; Revelation 19:15). Inas-much as typical Messianic Psalms are not unfrequently in the New Testament referred to Christ, and the Psalm really con-tains an indirect prophecy respecting Him, even though it be primarily referred to some individual living under the Old Cove-nant, the two contending interpretations are not so far asunder from each other as at first view they might seem; and, conse-quently, we cannot build with perfect confidence upon those declarations, though undoubtedly the fact, that the authors of the New Testament followed the direct Messianic view, renders it very probable that it was the prevailing one among their con-temporaries. But the proper proof we base on internal grounds alone, in regard to which we remark at the outset, that we canhave no interest in deceiving ourselves about their meaning, since, in our opinion, the Messianic kernel of the Psalm, and its application to the present, would remain quite unaffected, even though the internal grounds should speak for its referring primarily, for example, to David. What assured him of the fruit-lessness of the revolt of the peoples whom the Lord had subjected to him, to wit, his Divine installation, and the nearness of his relation to God, must be applicable with far higher force to Christ's relation to His rebellious subjects. But the internal grounds speak so loudly and so decidedly for the Messianicsense, that we can only ascribe the disinclination manifested towards it to causes, the investigation of which is foreign to our present purpose. Many traits present themselves in our Psalm which are ap-plicable to no other person than Messiah. Superhuman dignity is attributed to the subject of the Psalm in ver. 12, where the revolters are admonished to submit themselves, in fear and hu-mility, to their King, since His opponents shall be destroyed by His severe indignation, while those who put their trust in Him shall be made blessed. The remark of Venema: "Ira regis eo modo metuenda proponitur, 5:12, qui creaturm minus convenit et fiducia in eo ponenda commendatur ibidem, quae a creatura abhorret," is too well grounded to be capable of being rebutted, as the fruitlessness of all attempts to refer to the Lord, what is there said of His Anointed, abundantly shows. Against every other person but Messiah speaks also ver. 12, where the King is distinctly called the Son of God, and vers. 6, 7, where the names "His King," and "His Anointed," are given Him in a sense which implies His dominion over the whole earth. Vers. 1-3, and vers. 8-10, are decisive against all earthly monarchs; for they declare that the people and kings of the whole earth are given to be the possession of this King, and that they strive in vain to shake off His yoke. The extent of His kingdom is here described to be what the Messiah's kingdom is always described in those passages which are generally admitted to refer to Him;-comp., for ex-ample, Zechariah 9:10; Isaiah 2:2; Micah 4:1. De Wette en-deavours to support himself here, appealing to the pretendedliking of the Hebrew poets for hyperbole, and the disposition of the enthusiastic members of the theocracy to conceive magni-ficent hopes." But in all circumstances, hyperbole has its limits, and exaggeration could scarcely, in this case, have referred topictures of the present, but only to the promises of the future. Hofman, in his work on Prophecy and its Fulfilment, p. 160, thinks that the words, "Ask of Me, and I will give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for a possession," mean no more than that "whatever people, whatever distant lands he desires to have for a posses-sion, these Jehovah would subject to him." But David was modest; he only besought for himself some small territories in the neighbourhood of Canaan. Besides, it is overlooked, that this Divine appointment and plenipotence are held out against the kings of the earth, who have revolted against the King, their rightful Lord; and that, on the same ground, the judges of the earth, in ver. 10, are admonished to return to their allegiance to their proper King. And then, where shall we find in the history, even the smallest intimation that the Lord made such an offer to David, as if it had been in his option to decide whether he would be ruler over the whole world? Not even the sovereignty of a single people was offered in that manner to David. He never waged a war of conquest; he merely defended himself against hostile attacks. It is further to be regarded as conclusive against an earthly king, that the revolt here mentioned against the Son, and the Anointed of Jehovah, is so completely represented as a revolt against Jehovah Himself, that the nations are exhorted to yield themselves to Him with humility and reverence. It would be quite a different thing if enemies who aimed at the overthrow of the kingdom of God were spoken of; the enemies, who stand forth here, have no other end in view than to free themselves from the yoke of the king. Although we would not absolutely maintain the impossibility of such a view, there are still no parallel passages to show that any such design would have been regarded as a revolt against Jehovah. The validity of this ground, which was already advanced in the first part of my Christology, is admitted by Hitzig. He denies still more de-cidedly than we would be disposed to do, that heathen nations, which had been subdued by the people of God, might simply on that account be regarded as Jehovah's subjects, and that every attempt to regain their freedom would be a revolt against Jehovah. To serve a deity, says he, is either to profess a re-ligion, or at least includes this, and presupposes it,-the Moab-ites served David, 2 Samuel 8:2, not God. On this account, though he will still not declare himself for the Messianic inter-pretation, which reconciles all difficulties, he has felt himself obliged to ascribe the composition of the Psalm to the time of the Maccabees, when the attempt was first made to incorporate vanquished heathens with the people of God, by subjecting them to the rite of circumcision,-a supposition in which he will certainly have no followers. Finally, the Messianic sense is supported by the same grounds which prove that of Psa 45:72:110., which so remarkably harmonize with the Psalm now under consideration, that, as far as the Messiah is concerned, they must stand or fall together. These grounds are so con-vincing, that we find here among the defenders of the Messianic interpretation many even of those whose theological sentiments must have disposed them rather to adopt a different view,-in particular, Eichhorn, Bertholdt, Rosenmüller, Koester. Sack, also, in his Apolog., and Umbreit in his Erbauung a. d. Psalter, p. 141, have advocated the same opinion. Though the Psalm has no superscription, yet that David was its author, as indeed he is expressly named in Acts 4:25, may be gathered from the undoubted fact, that the relations of David's time evidently form the groundwork of the representa-tion which is given,-comp. the closing remarks, as also the resemblance to Psalms 110. The general character of Psalm first, suitable for an introduction, would scarcely have warranted the compilers in placing it, and this second one so closely related to it, at the head of a long series of Davidic Psalms, unless they had felt convinced of David's being their author. Besides other characteristics of the first, this Psalm shares its ease and sim-plicity of style; and that the discourse is of a more spirited character, arises from the different nature of the subject. Ver. 1. Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing? The why is an expression of astonishment and horror at the equally foolish and impious attempt of the revolt- ers. The הגה is here taken by some in the sense of being in commotion, blustering; but in that sense the word does not else-where occur in the Hebrew; and as little does it occur in that of Koester, to murmur. The common meaning is here quite suitable. ריק, not an adverb, in vain, to no purpose, but a noun, vanity, nothing. The vanity or nothing is that which, being opposed to the Divine will, and, therefore, nothing, also leads to nothing, reaches not its aim, to wit, the revolt against the King, which, at the same time, is revolt against the AlmightyGod. The why at the beginning, and the vain thing at the end of this verse, are what alone indicate, in the otherwise purely historical representation of vers. 1-3, the point of view from which the transaction is to be considered. But these two little words contain in germ the whole substance from ver. 4 to ver. 12, in which is unfolded the reason why the project of the insurgents is a groundless and vain one. Ver. 2. The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers sit with one another against the Lord and His Anointed. It is unnecessary, and destructive to the sense, to repeat, with De Wette, Koester, and others, the wherefore at the beginning of this verse. The word התיצב means simply, "to set oneself, to come forward, to appear;" and the hostility is not expressed in the word, but is indicated by the context, and by the addition of the words, "against the Lord." The word על expresses "the oppressive, the inimical." The kings of the earth,-the huge mass of tumultuous revolters draws upon itself so much the eye of the prophet, that he overlooks the small company of subjects who still remained faithful. The יסד means to found, in Niph. to be founded, Isaiah 28, Exodus 9:18; then poetically to sit down. This is the only legitimate exposition of the נוסדו. The idea of combination and common counsel is not contained in the verb itself, but only in the adverb יהד, together, with which the verb is connected also in Psalms 31:13. Against the Lord and His Anointed. Calvin remarks, that this does not neces-sarily imply that the revolt was publicly avowed to be against God; indeed, they could not revolt against Him otherwise than indirectly, that is, by seeking to withdraw themselves from the supremacy of His Son; and in that respect, to use Luther's expression, the ungodly often do terrible deeds for God's honour against God's honour. The anointing in the Old Testament, whether it occur as an actually performed symbolical action, or as a mere figure, constantly signifies the communication of the gifts of the Holy Spirit,-see Christol. P. II. p. 445. This is evidently the meaning in the account given of Saul's anointing, 1 Samuel 10:1, and David's, 16:13, 14. The kings of Israel were said pre-eminently to be anointed, because they received a peculiarly rich measure of Divine grace for their important office. From them was the expression transferred to Him whois absolutely THE KING, the one in whom the idea of royaltywas to be perfectly realized. That he should be endowed, with- 24 THE BOOK OF PSALMS. out measure, with that Spirit which was given only in limited measure to His types, is mentioned by Isaiah, chap. 11., as an essential feature. Luther remarks, making a suitable applica-tion to the members, of that which is here said concerning the Head: "Therefore God decrees that the ungodly shall boil and rage against the righteous, and employ against them all their devices. But all such attempts are like the swelling waves of the sea, blown up by the wind, which make as if they would tear down the shore, but before they even reach it, again sub-side, and melt away in themselves, or spend themselves with harmless noise upon the beach. For the righteous is so firmly grounded in his faith upon Christ, that he confidently scorns, like a beach, such vain impotent threatenings of the wicked, and such proud swellings, which are destined so soon again to disappear." Ver. 3. The enemies are introduced speaking: We will break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us. The plural suffix has reference to Jehovah and His Anointed. Their bands,-that is, the bands which they have laid upon us. The prophet speaks as from the soul of the insurgents, to whom the mild yoke of the Lord and His Anointed appears as agalling chain. Calvin: "So even now we see that all the enemies of Christ find it as irksome a thing to be compelled to submit themselves to His supremacy, as if the greatest disgrace had befallen them." Ver. 4. The prophet looks away from the wild turmoil of enemies, from the dangers which here below seem to threaten the kingdom of the Anointed, to the world above, and sets over against them the almightiness of God. Calvin: "How-ever high they may lift themselves, they can never reach to the heavens; nay, while they seek to confound heaven and earth, they do but dance like grasshoppers. The Lord meanwhile looks calmly forth from His high abode, upon their senseless movements." He who is throned in the heavens laughs; the Lord mocks them. God is here emphatically described as being enthroned in heaven, to mark His exalted sovereignty over the whole machinery of earth, and, in particular, over the kings of the earth. "Laughter" and "derision" are expressive of secu-rity and contempt. Calvin: "We must therefore hold, that when God does not immediately punish the wicked, it is His time to laugh; and though we must sometimes even weep, yet PSALM II. VER. 4. 25 this thought should allay the sharpness of our grief, nay, wipe away our tears, that God does not dissemble, as if He were tardy or weak, but seeks through silent contempt, for a time, to break the petulance of His enemies." Expositors generally suppose that the למו is to be supplied to ישהק. This is not necessary, though it is certainly supported by Psalms 37:13; Psalms 59:8. Luther gives a course of admirable remarks upon this passage; some of these, we feel it our duty to quote, not for the sake of answering practical purposes independent of exe-gesis, but in the interest of exegesis itself. "All this is written for our learning, that we, through patience and comfort of the Scriptures, may have hope. For what is here written of Christ, is an example for all Christians. For every one who is a sound Christian, especially if he teaches the word of Christ, must suffer his Herod, his Pilate, his Jews and heathens, who rage against him, to speak much in vain, to lift themselves up and take counsel against him. If this is not done now by men, by the devil, or, finally, by his own conscience, it will at least be done on his death-bed. There, at last, it will be in the highest degree necessary to have such words of consolation in remem-brance as-"He who sits in heaven laughs: the Lord holds them in derision." To such a hope we must cling fast, and on no account suffer ourselves to be driven from it. As if He would say-So certain is it, that they speak in vain, and pro-ject foolish things, let it appear before men as strong and mighty as it may, that God does not count them worthy of being opposed, as He would needs do in a matter of great and serious moment; that He only laughs and mocks at them, as if it were a small and despicable thing which was not worth minding. O how great a strength of faith is claimed in these words! For who believed, when Christ suffered, and the Jews triumphed over and oppressed Him, that God all the time was laughing? So, when we suffer and are oppressed by men, when we believe that God is laughing at and mocking at our adversaries; especially, if to all appearance we are mocked and oppressed both by God and men." Upon the expression, "He that is enthroned in the heavens," Luther specially re-marks-"As if it were said, He who cares for us dwells quite secure, apart from all fear; and although we are involved in trouble and contention, He remains unassailed, whose regard is fixed on us; we move and fluctuate here and there, but He 26 THE BOOK OF PSALMS. stands fast, and will order it so, that the righteous shall not continue for ever in trouble, Psalms 55:22. But all this pro-ceeds so secretly that thou canst not well perceive it, unless thou wert in heaven thyself. Thou must suffer by land and sea, and among all creatures; thou mayest hope for no consolation in thy sufferings and troubles, till thou canst rise through faith and hope above all, and lay hold on Him who dwells in the heavens-then thou also dwellest in the heavens, but only in faith and hope. Therefore must we fix and stay our hearts, in all our straits, assaults, tribulations, and difficulties, upon Him who sitteth in the heavens; for then it will come to pass that the adversity, vexation, and trials of this world, can not only be taken lightly, but can even be smiled at." Ver. 5. The words of contempt are followed by others of indignation and threatening. Then He speaks to them in His wrath, and afrights them in His sore displeasure. אז, then, namely, when He has first laughed at and mocked them ; others improperly, at the time of this revolt, or when they be-lieve that they have broken the chains. The laughter directing itself upon the impotence of the revolters, is the first subject; the wrath excited by their criminal disposition to revolt, is the second. Many expositors, as Calvin, think that here is a re-ference to God's speaking by deeds, to the judgments which He decrees against the insolent revolters, after having previously manifested His contempt of them; but without foundation. Ver. 6, where the speech of God follows, shows that the second. member here is to be expounded by the first; and in His rage He affrights them with the succeeding words, not the reverse. The actual punishment of the revolters, who even to this day have got no further than the speech, "Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us," lies beyond the compass of this Psalm. In it, the Lord, the Anointed, and the Psalmist, come forth one after another against the rebels, and endeavour to turn them from their foolish purpose. It is not till they have shut their ear against all these admonitions and threatenings that the work of punishment properly begins. With a thundering voice of indignation, before which impotent sinners quail to their inmost heart, the Psalmist represents the Lord as speaking to them what follows in ver. 6. Ver. 6. And I have formed My King upon Zion, My holy hill. Few of the expositors take notice of the ו at the beginning, PSALM II. VER. 6. 27 which yet well deserves to be noticed. It is never used without meaning, nor ever elsewhere than where we can also put our word and (Ewald, p. 540). The discourse, as is appropriate to a very excited state of mind, here begins in the middle. The commencement, "Ye rise in rebellion," is naturally suggested by the existing circumstances. The I here, the Lord of heaven and of earth, stands with peculiar emphasis in opposition to you. Luther: "They have withdrawn themselves from Him; but I have subjected to Him the holy hill of Zion, and all the ends of the earth. So that it will become manifest how they have been objects of laughter and scorn, and have troubled themselves, and taken counsel in vain." The נסבתי is commonly rendered, I have anointed; and of the more recent expositors, Stier alone has raised doubts against this rendering, without, how-ever, decidedly substantiating them. But it has been strik-ingly rebutted by Gousset. The supposition that ך`נס, besides its ordinary meaning to pour, had also the sense to anoint, is sup-ported only by Proverbs 8:23, and by the derivation ך`נסי, a prince, though to signify "an anointed one." But in the passage from Proverbs, all the old translations express the idea of creation orpreparation (to pour out to form); and this idea is decidedly favoured by the context: "From everlasting was I formed," is followed by, "from the beginning, or ever the earth was, was I born." But ך`נסי cannot possibly have the meaning an anointed one, since it is pre-eminently and specially used of princes, who hold their dignity in fief of a superior, and in whose case anointing was out of the question. See the decisive passage, Joshua 13:21; and Micah 5:4. The word נסיכים rather means strictly, those who are poured out, then those who are formed, invested, appointed, and refers, as Gousset justly remarks, to " productio principis per communicationem influxumque po-tentiae," with an allusion either to generation, or to the relation between an artist and his statue or picture. In the case before us, the signification to form is confirmed by the corresponding words, "I have begotten Thee," in ver. 7. The expression, "My King," is also deserving of special remark. If its peculiar emphasis is not considered, if it is merely expounded as if it were "I have appointed Him to be King," the speech of God will then be unsuited to the end which it is meant to serve, that, namely, of representing the vanity of the revolt of the kings of the earth. For one might possibly have been set by God as king 28 THE BOOK OF PSALMS. on Zion, without having any proper claim to the lordship of the heathen world. Then, in opposition to every exposition which weakens the force of the words, we have the corresponding words in ver. 7, "Thou art My Son;" through which, as the conclusion drawn from them in ver. 8 shows, a much more intimate rela-tion to God is indicated than if He had been an ordinary king. The words, therefore, "I have formed My King," can only mean, "I have appointed a King (as Luther renders נסבתי much more correctly than our recent expositors) who is most closely related to Me." In the setting up or appointing of such a King, for whom nothing less than the whole earth could be a suffi-cient empire, there was given a proof of the nothingness of all attempts at insurrection which were now made against the King, and in the King against the Lord. על is most naturally regarded as indicating the place where the Lord's King was constituted and set up by Him, implying of course that this place is at the same time the seat of His supremacy. The ex-pression ציון על. "upon Zion," occurs in Isaiah 31:4. Hoffmann's explanation -"I have appointed My King (that He be King) upon Zion," is too remote; and entirely to be rejected is the other, "I have appointed My King (that He be King) over Zion, My holy mountain," as in 1 Samuel 15:17, Saul was anointed king over Israel. Zion can here be only the seat, the residence of the King, not the sphere of His rule-which is rather the whole earth. Zion, the holy mount of the Lord, is an appro-priate seat for His King; for as it had been the centre of Israel from the time of David, who fixed his own abode and trans-ferred there the ark of the covenant, so was it destined one day to be the centre of the world; for "out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord out of Jerusalem," Isaiah 2:3. The Lord is to govern the whole earth from there. The thought is there expressed in Old Testament language, that the king- dom of God should one day break through its narrow bounds, and bring the whole world under its sway. Upon קדשי הר, not the mountain of My holiness, but My holiness-mountain, My holy mountain, see Ewald, p. 580. Zion was raised to this honour by its having, had the ark of the covenant transferred to it by David. From that period it became the centre of the kingdom of God. Ver. 7. The speech of the Lord, in proper adaptation to His majesty and indignation, is but short. Next appears the King PSALM. II. VER. 7. 29 appointed by God, reiterating, to the astonished rebels, what has been said by God, and further developing it: I will declare the statute: the Lord hath said unto Me, Thou art My Son, this day have I begotten Thee. Rosenm�ller explains, "narrabo secun- dum, juxta decretum;" but there is no ground for this, as the word רPeסi is elsewhere coupled with the preposition indi-cating the object of the narrative, Psalms 69:26; as also the similar verbs יודיעi, "to make known," אמר, דבר, and שמע; see, for example, Isaiah 38:19; Jeremiah 27:19; Job 42:7. We may not, however, on the ground of such constructions, ex-plain אל by of. They are explained by the circumstance of the relater's or speaker's mind being directed to the matter-the narrative or speech goes out upon it. Ewald, p. 602. Asit is clear that אל may mark the thing to be announced, the exposition of Claus: "I will declare for a statute," i.e. some-thing which shall become an irrevocable law, is to be rejected as less simple, and hence less suited to the character of the Psalmist, who dislikes whatever is hard or artificial. But Claus is right in giving to the word הק its common signification of statute, law, for which most of the modern expositors substitute the arbitrary sense of decree, sentence, and then, in opposition to the accents, conceive that they must bring over to this mem-ber the word יהוה. "I will declare a law," contains more than "I will declare a decree or sentence." It intimates, that the sentence of the Lord just to be announced, has the force of law, and that it was perfectly in vain to undertake anything which wars against it. Since the Lord has spoken this, "Thou art My Son," He has at the same time laid upon the heathen the law of serving His Son. Obedience is due to the laws of the Almighty, and punishment inevitably overtakes him who trans-gresses them. The question now arises, what determination or sentence of Jehovah, having the force of an unchangeable law, is here meant? Rosenm�ller, Ewald, and others, conceive, that the reference is to the Divine promise in 2 Samuel 7. But this sup-position must be rejected. For then the words, "Thou art My Son," would be spoken, not in the sense in which they occur here, as implying an investiture with dominion over the heathen. And, besides, this exposition would destroy the obvious connec-tion between ver. 6 and ver. 7. What the Son here throws out against the revolters, call only be the further development of 30 THE BOOK OF PSALMS. that which the Lord had advanced against them; the to-day becomes quite indeterminate, if it do not refer to the precise day on which the Lord had set His King on Zion; and the ex-pression, "Thou art My Son," can only point to the subject contained in the words, "My King." So that the discourse here can only be of a determination of the Lord, which was issued to the Anointed at the time of His appointment: "I will declare the law," which the Lord then gave; when He made Me His King on Zion, He said to Me, Thou art My Son, etc. The Psalmist has only in a general way before him, the terminus of the setting up as King. When Paul represents, in Acts 13:33, the words of our text as spoken to Christ, in consequence of His resurrection from the dead, he does but define them more closely from the fulfilment. The resurrection of Christ was the key-stone of His redemption-work, the starting point of His setting forth as the Son of God, and of His establishment in the kingdom. The Lord addresses the King on the day of His installation as His Son. Where God, in the Old Testament, is represented as Father, where the subject of discourse is sonship to God, there is always (apart from a few passages not in point here, which speak of Him as the author of external existence, the giver of all good, Deuteronomy 32:18, Jeremiah 2:27, and perhaps Isaiah 64:7) an allusion, involving a comparison, to His tender love, as being similar to that of a father toward his son,-see, for ex-ample, Psalms 103:13, where the comparison is fully stated. In this sense, Israel is in a whole series of passages named God's son. As in Exodus 4:22 : "Israel is My son, My first-born" -where the expression, "My first-born," points to the abridged com-parison, as if it had been said, "Israel is as dear to Me as a first-born son;" Deuteronomy 14:1; Deuteronomy 14:2, where the words, "Ye are tho children of the Lord your God," are more fully explained by the following, "For thou art an Holy people unto the Lord thy God, and the Lord hath chosen thee to be a peculiar people unto Himself above all nations;" Deuteronomy 32:6, where the question, "Is He not thy Father?" is followed by declarations testifying, in various particulars, to His fatherly love and care-fulness; Isaiah 16, "Doubtless Thou art our Father, though Abraham be ignorant of us, and Israel acknowledge us not: Thou, O Lord, art our Father, our Redeemer; Thy name is from everlasting;" where the name of Father is used to de- PSALM II. VER. 7. 31 note what is related at large in vers. 7-15, the things He didin His great goodness towards the house of Israel; Hosea 11:1, “ When Israel was a child, then I loved him, and called Myson out of Egypt;” Malachi 1:16, "If I be a Father, where is Myhonour?" the theme from vers. 2-5 being this, "I have lovedyou"-in considering which, some have started with the falseidea that the words, "Have we not all one Father," were insynonymous parallelism with, “One God hath created us," Jeremiah 31:9; Jeremiah 31:20. With a just perception of what is implied in theabbreviated comparison, the Apostle, in Romans 10:4, gathers upwhat is said of Israel's sonship in the Words, "whose is theadoption into the position of children," ץἱןטוףיב. In the samesense the relation of David's family to God is, in two passages,described as one of sonship. In 2 Samuel 7:14; 2 Samuel 7:15, the de-claration, "I will be his Father, and he shall be My son," isfollowed by the promise of His ever-abiding love as a sort ofinterpretation; and in Psalms 89:26, etc., which is based on thepassage in Samuel, the words, "My Father," stand in parallelismwith "My God, and the rock of my salvation," and is explainedby, "My mercy I will keep for him for evermore," in ver. 29.Nowhere in the Old Testament is the idea of God's sonshiphandled with reference to a generation through the Spirit, whichHoffmann would have to be the case in all the passages. No-where, also, does this expression proceed upon an identifying ofcreation with generation; and it is an entire mistake for Hitzigto maintain concerning Exodus 4:22, that all men or peoples arethere considered as God's sons, because made by Him. No-where does the expression, "Jehovah's son," as used of kings,point to the Divine origin of the kingly authority, or to the ad-ministration of the office according to the mind of Jehovah.Finally, nowhere in the Old Testament is the sonship spoken ofas a production out of the nature of the Father, as the greaterof the older expositors think they discover here. Now, aswe cannot isolate the passage before us from all others, wemay here also understand the words, " Thou art My Son," asthe inwardness of relation which subsists between theLord and His Anointed. How inward this relation is, howemphatically sonship is here predicated of the Lord,-which isnever on any other occasion, done of any individual king init (for, in the two passages before noticed, it is spoken ofthe whole line of David), and far less still of heathen kings,-is32 THE BOOK OF PSALMS. shown by ver. 7, where the sovereignty of the whole earth is announced as a simple consequence of the sonship. In that sense no earlier king of Israel, not even David, the man after God's own heart, was the son and darling of Jehovah. Such an inward relationship cannot properly exist between God and a mere man. When the sense of the words, "Thou art My Son," is fairly settled, no great difficulty can be found with the parallel clause, "This day I have begotten Thee." If the King is named the Son of God, not in a proper but in a figurative sense, then the reference here cannot be to a proper begetting, against which the word to-day also testifies (which word at the same time confirms the non-literal interpretation of the expression, "Thou art My Son"), but only to a begetting in a figurative sense-not a be-getting which calls the person into existence, but one merely in which originates the intimate relationship between the Anointed and God. "I have begotten Thee to-day," spiritually under-stood, exactly corresponds to "Thou art from henceforth, spi-ritually understood, My Son;" both alike imply that He was brought into the relation of sonship, or received into the inner-most fellowship of life. This non-literal, temporal begetting, has certainly the essential and eternal one for its foundation, which is found here by the older expositors and theologians. Figuratively, of the appointment to the dignity of Son of God, the expression is taken by Paul in Acts 13:3; so also in Hebrews 5:5. Ver. 8. Ask of Me, and I shall give Thee the heathen for Thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for Thy posses- sion. For the King, and the Son of the Lord, nothing less than the whole earth is a proper dominion. Vers. 1-3 show, that He had accepted all, which the love of His Father here freely offered. Ver. 9. If the nations will not obey Thee, My Son, as their rightful Lord and King, I give Thee the right and the power to chastise them for their disobedience. Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron, Thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel. The LXX. render the first clause, "Thou wilt feed them with an iron sceptre,"-deriving the form תרעם from העAרA, to feed. So also the Syriac, Vulgate, and many later expositors. Then, either the present punctuation is held to be incorrect, and they read םעeר;תi, or the form is considered as Poel. But the paral-PSALM II. VER. 9. 33 lelism requires that the form should be derived from רעע, "to break or shiver to pieces," as is done by the Chaldaic. At the same time, we may perhaps suppose with Stier, that the word carries a sort of ironical allusion to רעה, which is so frequently used; comp. 2 Samuel 7:7, Psalms 81:16, Micah 7:14. שבט,“sceptre,” was anciently the sign of the dignity of ruler. Theobjections which Rosenm�ller and others have brought against the application of this meaning here, are of little weight. It is true, indeed, we do not hear of iron sceptres having been ac-tually used, but such only as were of wood, silver, gold, or ivory. But iron is here selected, as being the hardest metal, to indicate the strength and crushing force with which the Anointed would chastise the revolters; and it is perfectly allowable to use it in this figurative sense, although there actually existed no such thing as an iron sceptre. The comparison with the vessels of the potter, which occurs also in Jeremiah 19:11, expresses at once the ideas of without trouble, and of entireness. It is, besides, to be remarked, what is omitted by De Wette, who argues from this expression, against the application of the Psalm to Christ, and by Umbreit, who labours to make that denote grace, which is manifestly said of punitive righteousness, that as the Messiah has here to do with impudent revolters, only one aspect of the power committed to Him by God is displayed. That He is as rich in grace to His people, as He is in overwhelming power against His enemies, is evident from vers. 11 and 12. That, in like circumstances, the same aspect of power which is spoken of here, is also brought to notice by Christ in the New Testa-ment, needs no proof. Those on His left hand, the compas-sionate, but still righteous Saviour, banishes into everlasting fire; he who treads under foot the Son of God, must endure infinitely sorer punishment than he who broke the law of Moses; and the destruction of Jerusalem is constantly represented by the Lord as His work. What alone suffices, is the circumstance, that, in the place referred to in Revelation, the punishment which Christ is going to execute upon His enemies is described in the very words of this Psalm. The question, whether what is here said of Christ be worthy of Him, resolves itself into this, whether God's righteousness be an actual reality, and, conse-quently, to be continued under the New Testament. For what is true of God, is true also of His Anointed, to whom He has given up the whole administration of His kingdom. But, that34 THE BOOK OF PSALMS. this question is to be answered in the affirmative, will be shown in our excursus upon the doctrine of the Psalms. Ver. 10. An admonition to the revolters to consider what had been said, and submit themselves to the King set up by the Lord. Here it comes clearly out, that the object aimed at in the reference to the punitive omnipotence of the Anointed, was to induce the revolters to flee from coming wrath by embracing His offers of grace and compassion. And now act wisely, O ye kings; be warned, ye judges of the earth. And now, since the case is as I have said, since the supremacy of the Anointed over you rests upon so immoveable a foundation, a severe punish-ment is ready to alight on the revolters. השכיל properly sig-nifies, to make wise, namely, the actions, the behaviour, then to act wisely, finally, to be wise, to understand, discern. יסר, "to instruct, direct aright, warn," in Niph. "to be warned," and then "to let one's self be warned, to lay the warning to heart," and act according to it. The judges of the earth, corresponding to kings in the first clause, the men of authority and rule, be-cause the office of judgment is considered as one of their chief functions. Judging is used in a wider sense. All governing is, in a certain sense, a judging. Various interests, claims, and rights, come before the ruler for decision. Ver. 11. Serve the Lord with fear, and rejoice with trembling.The serving stands opposed to the resolution in ver. 3 to revolt. The admonition to serve the Lord involves a call on them to subject themselves to His Son and Anointed. Following the LXX. and Vulgate (gaudeatis cum tremore), some explain גילו ברעדה to mean: "Rejoice that you have found so glorious and good a King; but along with this joy, think always of the terrible punishment which must overtake you, if ye withdraw yourselves from His benignant sway." It is well remarked, however, by Stier, that this construction neither agrees with the parallelism nor with the prevailing tone of the whole context. The kings had scarcely got so far yet, that they could be called on to rejoice, even with the addition of trembling. But still more objectionable is the exposition approved of by De Wette, Stier, Gesenius, and others, "shake with trembling." גיל never sig-nifies anything but to rejoice, occurring very often in this sense in the Psalms never, however, to tremble or shake, not even in Hosea 10:5, where, before the expression יגילו עליו, the relative is to be supplied, and the rendering should be: "who rejoicethereat." Besides, the shaking does not correspond to the serving and doing homage, which require that גילו also, should express some mark of subordination. Now, this is the case if we refer the "rejoice" to the acclamations by which subjects testify their fealty to their sovereigns, to the "shout of a king," spoken of in Numbers 23:21. In that case it is only the outward subjection which is primarily demanded for averting the threatened punish-ment. What rich blessings internal subjection and allegiance brings along with it, is first gently indicated at the close. Ver. 12. Kiss the Son, lest He be angry. The kiss was, from the earliest times, the mark of subjection and respect in the East. Such a kiss was given for the most part not upon the mouth, but upon the kisser's own garment, or upon the hand of the person kissed.1 That this custom prevailed also among the Hebrews, appears from 1 Samuel 10:1, where Samuel, after he had anointed the king, as a mark of respect, gave him a kiss. The throwing of the kiss was also a religious usage, as appears from 1 Kings 19:18, Hosea 13:2, Job 31:27. Hence Symmachus translates here, explaining the figure: "adorate." בר is found also in Proverbs 31:2, for בן. It prevails in the Aramaic, and seems to have belonged to the loftier poetic dia-lect in Hebrew, which has much in common with the Chaldaic; and this explains why the higher style delights in old words which no longer occur in common life. These words were handed down from the primeval times, when the Hebrews stood in closer connection with the people who spoke the Ara-maic tongue. The reason why it is used here instead of בן, many suppose to be a wish to avoid the cacophony which would arise from the juxtaposition of בן and ןP. Others con-ceive that בר is chosen as being the more dignified and signifi-cant expression. Various other explanations which have been tried have partly usage against them, and partly the circum-stance that the mention of the Son of God here is quite natural after ver. 7. This rendering is, in consequence, approved by most modern interpreters, not excepting those who find the sense thus given not quite convenient, as Rosenm�ller, De Wette, Gesenius, Winer, and Hitzig. Ewald's explanation, "Take counsel," is quite arbitrary, since נשק has in Pi. invari-ably the sense of kissing, and, though בר may signify "pure," 1 Rosenm�ller, A. u. N. Morgenland, Th. 3, Nr. 496, Th. 4, Nr. 786. 36 THE BOOK OF PSALMS. it could not possibly mean "good counsel," without some fur-ther reason. The second arbitrariness is shunned by Koester, who renders, "embrace purity," but the first still remains. Besides, in all these expositions the close connection is over-looked between our verses and vers. 1-3. To "the raging and imagining a vain thing," corresponds the exhortation, "Be wise and warned." It is in reference to the revolt against the Lord, that the injunction, to "serve the Lord," is uttered. But there is still wanting a special hortative reference to the Anointed, which is the main point of the whole; and this must be lost unless בר is rendered son. That this cannot possibly be awanting, becomes more evident still when we compare the entire exposition in vers. 6-9, which prepared the way for it. Koester's objection, that בר must then have the article, is of no force, as בר, here signifying absolutely "the Son," is in a state of transition to becoming a nomen proprium. Comp. Ewald, 659. The King, who is the subject of this Psalm, appears here as Son of God in a sense as exclusive as that in which God Himself is God. One God and one Son of God. Even though the title, "Son of God," according to what was re-marked above, be much the same as the beloved of God, and we are not to regard it as conveying directly the idea of unity of nature with God, yet the distinct and peculiar dignity here ascribed to the Anointed, points indirectly to distinctness and peculiarity of nature. The words ך`רד ותאבדו, though perfectly plain in themselves, have occasioned much trouble to expositors, and have had many false renderings. Every intransitive or passive idea may, in Hebrew, find an immediate limitation, if it is relative; that is, if it admits of being extended to many particular cases. For example, he was sick, his feet; he was great to the throne. This concise mariner of speech is easily explained, if we only expand it a little more: he was sick, and this sickness affected his feet, etc. So also here, "perish the way," must mean, "perish as to the way." The way is used here, precisely as in Psalms 1:6, as an image of "state, condition." For soon willhis wrath be kindled. Blessed are all they who put their trust Him. כמעט shortly, soon. The כ, when denoting limits of time, retains in some measure its common signification of aparticle of comparison. The time up to the beginning of this punishment, when repentance is too late, is like a short path PSALM II. VER. 12. 37 הוסי stat. constr. for absol. This can only take place when thepreposition serves merely as a description of the stat. constr.relation; so that, instead of the verb being followed by thepreposition and pronoun, it might simply have been הוסיו. הסה with ב signifies, from the first, "to confide in some one;" never"to fly to any one"-which has been taken as its import, onlyin consequence of a false interpretation of the phrase, "trustingin the shadow, i.e., in the support of any one." Scripture con-stantly admonishes us to place our confidence in the Lord alone;on which account the verb before us is in a manner consecrated and set apart; and also warns men against confiding in earthly kings; comp. Psalms 118:9 "It is better to trust in the Lord, than to put confidence in princes;" Psalms 146:3 : "Trust not in princes, nor in the son of man, in whom there is no help." In the words, therefore, "Blessed are all they who put their trust in Him," an allusion is made to the superhuman nature and dignity of the Anointed. Many expositors, opposed to the Messianic interpretation, are driven to such straits by this, that they would refer the suffix in בו, with great violence, not to the Son, of whom mention had been made immediately before, and of whom it is said in this verse itself, "Kiss the Son, lest He be angry," but to the Lord-which is an unwill-ing testimony to the Messianic character of this Psalm, as well as to the superhuman nature of the Messiah in the Old Testa-ment. Others, as Abenezra, De Wette, Maurer, would refer even the words, "lest He be angry," to Jehovah; overlooking, however, while they do so, the relation in which these words stand to ver. 9, according to which, not Jehovah, but the Son, is to break the revolters with an iron sceptre, and dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel-a manifestation of wrath which they are here exhorted to flee from. In conclusion, we have a few general remarks to make uponthis Psalm. The Messianic predictions in the Psalms cannotso far coincide in character with those in the Prophets, that thedistinction between Psalmist and Prophet here at once ceasesto exist. We rather expect this distinction to manifest itselfhere. The essential nature of the distinction is, that the Pro-phets for the most part communicate the objective word ofGod, as that had been imparted to their internal contemplation,while the predominating character of the Psalms is subjective,38 THE BOOK OF PSALMS. the subject-matter taken from some earlier revelation being set forth in a vivid and perceptible form by means of the events and circumstances of the Psalmist's own life, or of those of his time, yet all in such a way that the earlier revelation is often, through the special working of the Spirit of God, carried for-ward and advanced to a higher degree of clearness. The Messianic interpretation of a Psalm, then, can only be fully justified when we are both able to point to a revelation, through which the writer was incited to give a subjective representation of its contents, and can find a substratum for the writer's mode of representation, either in his own circumstances, or in those of his time. But both conditions meet in the case before us. In regard to the first, David was incited to this and other Messianic Psalms, by the promise given to him by God of a perpetual kingdom in his family, 2 Samuel 7:7, which he could not but feel, after careful reflection, referred, in its highest sense, to Christ. In regard to the second, David found in the circumstances of his own life ample occasion to express, in the way and manner he has here done, the hope of the triumph of the promised King his successor, which the Spirit of God had stirred up within him. He had too frequently experienced, on the one hand, the contumacy and rebellious disposition of his domestic and foreign subjects; and on the other hand, the help of God in subduing them, to find it at all strange for him to transfer these relations in a more enlarged form to his antitype, which he probably did at a time when his experience in this re-spect was fresh and lively, about the period of his second great victory over the Syrians, 2 Samuel 8:6 : "And the Syrians became servants to David, and brought gifts; and the Lord preserved David whithersoever he went;" chapter 10:6, where the Syrians are said to have joined with the Ammonites against David, and verse 19, where we are told, that after David's victory over them, "all the kings that were servants to Hadar-ezer, when they saw that they were smitten before Israel, made peace with Israel, and served them." In regard, finally, to the progress made in this Psalm as regards the proclamations con-cerning the Messiah, it consists mainly in this, that there here dawns upon the Psalmist the superhuman nature and dignity of the Messiah, which is brought out still more distinctly in Psalms 110:110; Psalms 110:45. It deserves to be noted, that the expositors who oppose the Messianic sense, are driven hither and thither,and can nowhere find solid ground for their feet to stand upon.Ewald has disputed the reference to David advocated by mostwriters, and yet has decided upon applying it to Solomon. Butagainst his view we have to set, besides the positive groundsalready adduced for the Messianic interpretation, the force of which he unwittingly acknowledges by violent explanations, such as that of verse 12, not merely the silence of the historicalbooks, of which he would make very light, but their most ex-press and unequivocal declarations. The posture of affairsalluded to here, is one of general revolt. Now, if we place thatat the commencement of Solomon's reign, we shall be driven topronounce the descriptions contained in the historical books entirely mythical. Hitzig has endeavoured to bring down the application to Alexander Jannaeus, a supposition which Koester,in his mild way, pronounces a make-shift. Maurer, again, would carry it up to the time of Hezekiah. He conceives, that by the people and kings of the earth, might very well be understood the Philistines. In Hoffmann, the non-Messianic interpretation has again arrived at David, only, however, after a very short time, once more to begin its wanderings. PSALM III. The Psalmist complains of the multitude of his enemies, who mocked at his confidence in the Lord, vers. 2, 3. He comforts himself by calling to remembrance the support which the Lord had hitherto afforded him, the dignity to which He had raised him, and the manifold deliverances and answers to prayer which he had experienced, vers. 4, 5. He closes with an expression of his elevated joy of faith, vers. 6, 7; and with a supplication to the Lord to help him, as He had been wont to do in times past, and to bless His people, vers. 8, 9. The Psalm consequently falls quite naturally into four strophes, each con-sisting of two verses, the first of which describes the distress, the second the ground of hope, the third expresses the hope itself, and the fourth contains the prayer prompted by the hope. With this division of strophes corresponds also the position of the Selah, which in each case is placed at the end of a strophe. The superscription of the Psalm-"An excellent song of David, when he fled before Absalom his son"-declares it to40 THE BOOK OF PSALMS. have been composed when David fled from his son Absalom, 2 Samuel 15:16. It is alleged by De Wette against the correct-ness of this supposition, that the Psalm itself contains nothing in support of it. Would not the tender heart of David, says he, have manifested in the presence of Jehovah, to whom he made his complaint, the deep wound it received from the con-duct of his son? In a similar way, De Wette very commonly argues against the Davidic authorship of the Psalms, and the correctness of the superscriptions, from the absence of any definite historical allusions. Now, it is here first of all to be remarked, that a prolix and detailed description of personal cir-cumstances is a thing impossible for a living faith, which, con-vinced that our heavenly Father knows what we need before we ask Him, is satisfied with mere allusions and general out-lines. It is otherwise where the prayer is only in form a meditation of the heart before God, but is in reality a conver-sation of the supplicant with himself. Then we are very prone to dive into the particulars of suffering, and run on in senti-mental descriptions of our circumstances. But still more is it to be considered that the sacred authors of the Psalms, and most of all David, had not themselves primarily in view in their Psalms, and only afterwards devoted that to general use, which in its origin was throughout individual as is commonly thought; but rather from the first their design in exhibiting their own feelings, was to build up the Church at large. The Psalms which arose out of personal transactions, are distinguished from the didactic Psalms, properly so called, by a fluctuating boundary. The former also possess, in a general way, the character of di-dactic Psalms. If we could imagine the sacred authors of them cast upon a desert island, with no prospect of again coming into contact with men, they would certainly, in that case, have lost both the desire and the impulse to utter their complaints and their hopes in the form of Psalms. For lyric poetry is not in such a sense subjective, that all reference to those placed in like situations, and agitated by like feelings, can be considered as shut out. David, in particular, was so closely connected with the Church, and recognised so thoroughly his Divine mission, to give it a treasure of sacred poetry for instruction, edification, and comfort, that he distinctly regarded all the events of his own course, from the first, as a type of similar ones in that of his brethren the righteous;-he considered himself to be theirPSALM III. 41 mouth and representative, and the consolation primarily ad-ministered to him, to be equally destined for them. Herewith was necessarily connected a tendency to subordinate the parti-cular to the general, and to give only slight hints of the one upon the ground of the other. But such hints as confirm the truth of the superscription, are found in this Psalm. That there is a general resemblance between the position of the Psalmist and David's, there can be no doubt. As, according to 2 Samuel 15:13, the report was brought to David that the hearts of all Israel were after Absalom, and as, according to chap. 16:18, Hushai said to Absalom, "Whom the Lord, and this people, and all the men of Israel choose, his will I be, and with him willabide;" so the Psalmist complains, "Lord, how are they in-creased that trouble me! Many are they that rise up against me; many that say of my soul, There is no help for him in God." In both cases alike the distress is connected with a state of war. And as in 2 Samuel 17:1; 2 Samuel 17:2, Ahithophel said to Absalom, "I will arise and pursue after David this night, and I will come upon him while he is weary and weak-handed, and will make him afraid; and all the people that are with him shall flee, and I will smite the king only;" so David says here, "I will not be afraid of ten thousands of people that have set themselves against me round about." That a high dignity belonged to the Psalmist, appears from ver. 3, where he calls the Lord "his glory," and speaks of Him as having a lifted up his head." He is not afraid of myriads of people; the Lord has often already vanquished all his enemies, -both which indicate greatness of character in the oppressed. The mention of the people also, in his prayer, ver. 9, agrees well with his being a king, as their destiny might be represented as intimately connected with his own. But if the writer is a king, of whom can we think, but David, since, excepting him and Solomon, who is here out of the question, his government having been quite peaceful, history makes mention of no other crowned bard; while the dignified simplicity and freshness of the compo-sition bespeak his hand, and its place, also, among the Psalms of David, confirms the supposition? Then, if David is the author of it, we have only to choose between the troubles occasioned by Saul, and those occasioned by Absalom. Hitzig decides in favour of the former. For the refutation of this view, we have no need even to call to our aid the superscription. During the42 THE BOOK OF PSALMS. persecutions he sustained from the hand of Saul, David was not yet king. And a still stronger proof is afforded by ver. 4, where David says that the Lord had often before heard him from His holy mountain. This implies, that the seat of the sanctuary had some time previously been fixed in Jerusalem. But it was not removed there till David had ascended the throne, after Saul's death. Hitzig's attempt to escape from this ground by under-standing the mountain to be Horeb, scarcely deserves a serious consideration. The whole phraseology of the Psalms repels this supposition, for these know no other holy mountain but Mount Zion. There is not a single passage in all the Old Testament where an Israelite is found looking for help from Mount Horeb, which was only hallowed by ancient reminiscences, and not en-nobled by the presence of the Lord in later times. In fine, the past deliverances, on which the Psalmist, in vers. 3, 4, 7, and 8, based his hopes of escape from present trouble, are, manifestly, chiefly those which occurred in the reign of Saul. Indeed, David had experienced no such continued series of deliverances in this latter. So that we are led by internal grounds to the very same result, which the superscription had from the first an-nounced. And from this we deduce, at the same time, a favour-able conclusion for the superscriptions generally. The internal grounds lie here, as the aberrations of recent expositors show, so concealed, that the superscription could not possibly have been derived from a subtle combination of them,-a thing foreign to antiquity. Ewald maintains very decidedly, both that David was the author of the Psalm, and specially that it was composed at the time of Absalom. In regard to the former, he says, David's elevation, colouring, and style, are unmistakeable; in regard to the latter, he says, the author had already stood long upon the pinnacle of human power, had long experienced the highest favour from God, and often already poured forth the feelings of his heart in song. In ver. 8, we plainly recognise the noble spirit of David in that flight, by which he sought to allay the threatening storm, and avert from the people the burden of a new civil war. But we can still more nearly determine the situation of the bard, though only, it may be, with the highest degree of probability. The Psalm was, according to vers. 5 and 6, an evening hymn. He there expresses his confidence, that, though surrounded by the greatest dangers, he could quietly sleep, and be certain of beholding the light of the following day. PSALM III. 43 Now, this circumstance accords only with the first night of David's flight, which he spent in the desert, after he had gone weeping, barefooted, and with his head covered, over the Mount of Olives, 2 Samuel 16:14. Comp. ver. 20. This first night was the most dangerous one for David; nay, it was the only night during the whole period of the insurrection, in which the danger was so very urgent, as ver. 6 states it to have been. David's life hung then by a single hair: had God not heard his prayer, "Lord, turn the counsel of Ahithophel into foolishness," he had actually perished. Consequently, when the counsel of Ahitho-phel, to fall upon the king that very night, was rejected by Absalom, the strength of the rebellion was completely broken, and the danger in a manner past, as is manifest from this one. circumstance, that Ahithophel, in consequence of that rejection, went and hanged himself. Two objections have been raised against this conclusion. First, David was then still quite uncertain whether the Lord would again grant him the victory, and restore to him the king-dom; whereas he speaks here at the close with the greatest con-fidence. The passages referred to in support of this are 2 Samuel 15:25; 2 Samuel 15:26 : "The king said unto Zadok, Carry back the ark of God into the city: if I shall find favour in the eyes of the Lord, He will bring me again, and show me both it and His habitation. But if He thus say, I have no delight in thee; behold, here am I, let Him do what seemeth good to Him." And chap. 16:12 : "It may be that the Lord will look on mine affliction, and that the Lord will requite me good for his cursing this day." But these passages by no means indicate a complete uncertainty, and are mainly to be regarded as a simple expression of the hu-mility which scarcely ventures to declare, with perfect confidence, the still never extinguished hope of deliverance, because feeling itself to be utterly unworthy of it; indeed, to give utterance to this latter feeling is their more special object. That David, in the midst of his deepest grief, did not abandon his trust in the Lord, appears from his confiding prayer, "Lord, turn the counsel of Ahithophel into foolishness," and from his conferring on Ziba the goods of Mephibosheth, 2 Samuel 16:4. And then it is not to be forgotten, that those expressions and our Psalm, according to the situation we are defending, were still separated from each other by a certain interval, great enough to admit of the relatively not great change of mood, which often takes place44 THE BOOK OF PSALMS. in a moment. It is expressly said, that David refreshed himself that first night in the wilderness; which is certainly to be under-stood, not in a mere bodily sense, but also spiritually, since, in troubles of that nature, a mere bodily refreshment is inconceiv-able. But it is again objected, that, in such a state and con-dition, men do not write poetry. We might, however, appeal to the poems of the Arabians, which have been composed amid the very turmoil of action; to the fact, that the poet Lebid was writing verses in the very article of death, etc.; but we would rather admit, that there is a certain degree of truth in the ob-jection. The artificial construction of this Psalm, and others composed in similar situations (it is far from correct to regard the Psalms in general as the simple poetry of nature); the circum-stance that a number of Psalms not unfrequently refer to one and the same situation, as this, for example, and the fourth,-these and other things render it very probable, that in such cases, the conception and the birth of the Psalm were separated from each other; that David did not immediately express in manifold forms what he had felt in moments of pressing danger; that he only afterwards, and by degrees, coined for the Church the gold of consolation bestowed upon himself in such moments. This opinion was long ago held by Luther in regard to the present Psalm; but he, on insufficient grounds-"for it is against all experience, that, in the midst of the cross, no decided joy should be able to be felt" -adjudges the matter of the Psalm also to a later period: "It is not probable that he should have composed it at the time of his flight and distress. For the Holy Spirit will have a calm, happy, cheerful, select instrument, to preach and sing of Him. In the conflict, moreover, man has no understand-ing, but becomes capable of this only after the conflict is over -reflects then aright upon what has occurred to him under it. Therefore, it is more credible that David composed this Psalm long after, when he came to quiet reflection, and understood the secrets of his life and history, which had variously happened to him." As in the first and second Psalms, so here again, in this and the fourth, we have a pair of Psalms inseparably united by the inspired writer himself. The situation in each is exactly the same; comp. 3:5 with 4:8. The thoughts which agitated his heart in that remarkable night, the Psalmist has represented to us in a whole with two parts. In Psalm iii. his earlier experi-ences of Divine aid form the chief point, while in Psalms 4. helooks to his Divine appointment as to the rock upon which the waves of revolt must dash themselves to pieces. It is certainly not to be regarded as an accident, that Psalms third and fourth immediately follow the first and second. They are occupied, as well as Psalm second, with a revolt against the Lord's Anointed; and Psalm fourth especially shows a remark-able agreement with it, first in thought, and then also in expres-sion-comp. "imagine a vain thing" in 2:1 with "love vanity" in 4:2. In this third Psalm the personal experiences and feel-ing of David are most prominent, and they formed the basis on which he reared the expectation of the events which were to befall his successor, the Anointed One absolutely. Ver. 1. O Lord, how are mine enemies so many! Many are they that rise up against me. The קום with על used of enemies generally in Deut. 28:7, and does not specially indicate revolt as such. Ver. 2. Many say to my soul, There is no help for hint in God. The greater part of expositors consider לנפשי as a mere peri-phrasis for the pronoun. The words "my soul," indeed, occur in that sense among the Arabians, with whom many words have been clipt and pared so as to lose their original impress; but not so among the Hebrews, with whom the words still always express the thoughts and feelings. There is always a reason why the נפשי rather than the pronoun is used. Here the dis-course of the enemies is described as one which wounds the heart and soul-comp. Psalms 69:20, "Reproach hath broken my heart;" also Isaiah 51:23. If we explain, "of my soul," or "to my soul," the word "soul" is used because David's very life was in question, because his enemies thought they had it already in their power. No support for that rendering is to be drawn from the following words: "no help to him in God." What the ene-mies say of David is so painful to him, that he considers it as spoken personally to himself. It is his soul that is affected by the discourse. It is further to be objected to that rendering, that אמר with ל for the most part signifies, "to speak to some one,"-comp. also the opposite declaration in Psalms 35:3, "Say to my soul, I am thy salvation." In the form ישועתה the ה is added, as the poets not unfrequently did with nouns, which already had the feminine termination, to give the word a fuller and better sound; Ewald, p. 323. Before this ה the preceding ה fem. becomes hardened into ת; Ewald, p. 37.אין is always negation of being, always signifies, "it is not." By the expression, "in God," God is described as the ground and source of salvation. The enemies denied that God would help him, either because, in utter ungodliness, they excluded God altogether from earthly affairs, or at all events thought that matters had gone too far with David, even for God's powerto help him, Psalms 10:11; or because they considered David as one cast off by Him, unworthy of His protection, Psalms 42:3; Psalms 42:10; Psalms 71:11; Psalms 71:7; Psalms 71:8; Matthew 27:43; and this pained him most deeply. The last mentioned view of David's case was that taken by Shimei, 2 Samuel 16:8. He sought to rob David of his last, his dearest treasure: "The Lord hath returned upon thee all the blood of the house of Saul, in whose stead thou hast reigned; and the Lord hath delivered the kingdom into the hand of Absalom thy son: and, behold, thou art taken in thy mischief, because thou art a bloody man." This kind of attack was the most painfully affecting. The denial, that God is our God, finds an ally in the believer's own consciousness of guilt, however strongly he may be convinced of his innocence in regard to particular charges, and it requires no small measure of faith to gain here the victory. Luther: "As if he would say, They not only say that I am abandoned and trodden upon by all crea-tures, but also that God will not help me, who assists all things, sustains all, cares for all; that for me alone of all things He has no care, and will minister to me no support. Though every possible assault, the assaults of a whole world, and of all hell to boot, were combined, it were still nothing to the assault of God, when He thrusts at a man. It made Jeremiah tremblingly beg and pray, 17:17, ‘ Be not a terror unto me, O Thou my Hope in the day of evil.’ " But while the words, as is evident from the analogous ones used by Shimei, and also from 2 Samuel 16:18, principally refer to the will of God to help the Psalmist, a reference to His power also is not entirely to be excluded. This is clear from the closing words, "Salvation belongeth to the Lord," which plainly refer to the taunt, "no help for him in God," and which vindicate to the Lord, not the will, but the power to help. The general name of God, Elohim, is used on account of the contrast that is silently implied to human means of help: everything is against him on earth, and in heaven too there is no longer any resource for him. The speakers are not, as De Wette supposes, thePsalmist's despairing friends, but his enemies. Only then could it justly be said, that there were so many of them. De Wette's allegation, that the speech is not godless and spiteful enough for enemies, rests on a misapprehension of its real meaning. For to the man, who with his whole being throws himself upon God, it is even as "death in his bones" to hear his enemies say-ing, "Where is thy God?" This is the most envenomed arrow which they could shoot into his heart. The selah occurs here for the first time. It is found seventy-one times in the Psalms, and thrice in Habakkuk. It is best derived from שלה, to rest, of frequent use in Hebrew, as well as Syriac. The change of the harder ש to the softer ס is very common; see Ewald, p. 29. It can either be taken as a noun, rest, pause, or, with Gesenius in his Thes., as the imperative with He parag. and in the pause. Primarily, indeed, it is a music-mark. But as the pause in music always occurs where the feelings require a resting-place, it is of no little importance as regards the sense, and the translators who leave it out, cer- tainly do wrong. This view acquires great probability, by a particular consideration of the places where the selah occurs. It generally stands where a pause is quite suitable. Others suppose that the word is an abbreviation of several words. But there is no proof that the practice of such abbreviations prevailed among the Israelites. Koester is inclined to regard the selah as mark-ing the division of strophes. But that it should in many places coincide with such a division, is easily explained by the circum-stance that the resting-place for the music must generally coin-cide with a break in the sense. And that selah is not strictly the mark of the strophe-divisions, is evident from its frequently not coinciding with the end of a strophe; for example, Psalms 55:19; Psalms 57:3; Habakkuk 3:3; Habakkuk 3:9, in which places it is found in the middle of a verse. Besides, if the selah had indicated a poetical, rather than a musical division, the prophets, in whose writings there are traces of the beginnings of a division into strophes, would have employed it. Habakkuk forms only an apparent excep-tion. For the third chapter of this prophet, in which alone the selah occurs, embodies the feelings which were stirred in the Church by the announcements of God, those, namely, of judg-ment in ch. i., and of deliverance in ch., so that it is really of the nature of Psalmodic poetry, and is adapted for singing and playing as a Psalm; as, indeed, both its superscription andconclusion are borrowed from the Psalms. Our view of the matter is confirmed also by Psalms 9:16, where the סלה stands along with הגיון, "reflection" (see our remarks there). This juxtaposition decides against Ewald's notion, that selah was a summons to particularly loud playing, deriving the word from a substantive סל and that from סלל, professedly signifying to mount; properly, "to the heights," "up," which in matters of sound, must be synonymous with loud, clear. In a philological point of view, also, this opinion is open to many objections. For remarks against this and other divergent explanations, see Ge-nesius' Thes. The right view was substantially given by Luther. The selah, says he, tells us "to pause and carefully reflect on the words of the Psalm, for they require a peaceful and medi-tative soul, which can apprehend and receive what the Holy Spirit there cogitates and propounds. Which we see, indeed, in this verse, where the Psalmist is deeply and earnestly moved to feel and understand this heavy trial of the spirit, wherein also God seems to take part, as well as the creature." Ver. 2. Many say to my soul, There is no help for hint in God. The greater part of expositors consider μπτωι as a mere periphrasis for the pronoun. The words “my soul,” indeed, occur in that sense among the Arabians, with whom many words have been clipt and pared so as to lose their original impress; but not so among the Hebrews, with whom the words still always express the thoughts and feelings. There is always a reason why the πτωι rather than the pronoun is used. Here the discourse of the enemies is described as one which wounds the heart and soul—comp. Psalms 69:20, “Reproach hath broken my heart;” also Isaiah 51:23. If we explain, “of my soul,” or “to my soul,” the word “soul” is used because David’s very life was in question, because his enemies thought they had it already in their power. No support for that rendering is to be drawn from the following words: “no help to him in God.” What the enemies say of David is so painful to him, that he considers it as spoken personally to himself. It is his soul that is affected by the discourse. It is further to be objected to that rendering, that ΰξψ with μ for the most part signifies, “to speak to some one,”—comp. also the opposite declaration in Psalms 35:3, “Say to my soul, I am thy salvation.” In the form ιωεςϊδ the δ is added, as the poets not unfrequently did with nouns, which already had the feminine termination, to give the word a fuller and better sound; Ewald, p. 323. Before this δ the preceding δ fem. becomes hardened into ϊ; Ewald, p. 37. ΰιο is always negation of being, always signifies, “it is not.” By the expression, “in God,” God is described as the ground and source of salvation. The enemies denied that God would help him, either because, in utter ungodliness, they excluded God altogether from earthly affairs, or at all events thought that matters had gone too far with David, even for God’s power to help him, Psalms 10:11; or because they considered David as one cast off by Him, unworthy of His protection, Psalms 42:3, Psalms 42:10, Psalms 71:11, Psalms 22:7-8; Matthew 27:43; and this pained him most deeply. The last mentioned view of David’s case was that taken by Shimei, 2 Samuel 16:8. He sought to rob David of his last, his dearest treasure: “The Lord hath returned upon thee all the blood of the house of Saul, in whose stead thou hast reigned; and the Lord hath delivered the kingdom into the hand of Absalom thy son: and, behold, thou art taken in thy mischief, because thou art a bloody man.” This kind of attack was the most painfully affecting. The denial, that God is our God, finds an ally in the believer’s own consciousness of guilt, however strongly he may be convinced of his innocence in regard to particular charges, and it requires no small measure of faith to gain here the victory. Luther: “As if he would say, They not only say that I am abandoned and trodden upon by all creatures, but also that God will not help me, who assists all things, sustains all, cares for all; that for me alone of all things He has no care, and will minister to me no support. Though every possible assault, the assaults of a whole world, and of all hell to boot, were combined, it were still nothing to the assault of God, when He thrusts at a man. It made Jeremiah tremblingly beg and pray, 2 Samuel 17:17, ‘Be not a terror unto me, O Thou my Hope in the day of evil.’” But while the words, as is evident from the analogous ones used by Shimei, and also from 2 Samuel 16:18, principally refer to the will of God to help the Psalmist, a reference to His power also is not entirely to be excluded. This is clear from the closing words, “Salvation belongeth to the Lord,” which plainly refer to the taunt, “no help for him in God,” and which vindicate to the Lord, not the will, but the power to help. The general name of God, Elohim, is used on account of the contrast that is silently implied to human means of help: everything is against him on earth, and in heaven too there is no longer any resource for him. The speakers are not, as De Wette supposes, the Psalmist’s despairing friends, but his enemies. Only then could it justly be said, that there were so many of them. De Wette’s allegation, that the speech is not godless and spiteful enough for enemies, rests on a misapprehension of its real meaning. For to the man, who with his whole being throws himself upon God, it is even as “death in his bones” to hear his enemies saying, “Where is thy God?” This is the most envenomed arrow which they could shoot into his heart. The selah occurs here for the first time. It is found seventyone times in the Psalms, and thrice in Habakkuk. It is best derived from ωׁ ?μδ, to rest, of frequent use in Hebrew, as well as Syriac. The change of the harder w to the softer s is very common; see Ewald, p. 29. It can either be taken as a noun, rest, pause, or, with Gesenius in his Thes., as the imperative with He parag. and in the pause. Primarily, indeed, it is a music-mark. But as the pause in music always occurs where the feelings require a resting-place, it is of no little importance as regards the sense, and the translators who leave it out, certainly do wrong. This view acquires great probability, by a particular consideration of the places where the selah occurs. It generally stands where a pause is quite suitable. Others suppose that the word is an abbreviation of several words. But there is no proof that the practice of such abbreviations prevailed among the Israelites. Koester is inclined to regard the selah as marking the division of strophes. But that it should in many places coincide with such a division, is easily explained by the circumstance that the resting-place for the music must generally coincide with a break in the sense. And that selah is not strictly the mark of the strophe-divisions, is evident from its frequently not coinciding with the end of a strophe; for example, Psalms 55:19, Psalms 57:3; Habakkuk 3:3, Habakkuk 3:9, in which places it is found in the middle of a verse. Besides, if the selah had indicated a poetical, rather than a musical division, the prophets, in whose writings there are traces of the beginnings of a division into strophes, would have employed it. Habakkuk forms only an apparent exception. For the third chapter of this prophet, in which alone the selah occurs, embodies the feelings which were stirred in the Church by the announcements of God, those, namely, of judgment in (Habakkuk 1) ch. 1, and of deliverance in (Habakkuk 2) ch. 2, so that it is really of the nature of Psalmodic poetry, and is adapted for singing and playing as a Psalm; as, indeed, both its superscription and conclusion are borrowed from the Psalms. Our view of the matter is confirmed also by Psalms 9:16, where the ρμδ stands along with δβιεο, “reflection” (see our remarks there). This juxtaposition decides against Ewald’s notion, that selah was a summons to particularly loud playing, deriving the word from a substantive ρμ, and that from ρμμ, professedly signifying to mount; properly, “to the heights,” “up,” which in matters of sound, must be synonymous with loud, clear. In a philological point of view, also, this opinion is open to many objections. For remarks against this and other divergent explanations, see Genesius’ Thes. The right view was substantially given by Luther. The selah, says he, tells us “to pause and carefully reflect on the words of the Psalm, for they require a peaceful and meditative soul, which can apprehend and receive what the Holy Spirit there cogitates and propounds. Which we see, indeed, in this verse, where the Psalmist is deeply and earnestly moved to feel and understand this heavy trial of the spirit, wherein also God seems to take part, as well as the creature.” Ver. 3. While, according to vers. 1 and 2, the earth pre-sented to the Psalmist nothing but trouble and danger, an helper in the heavens appears to his eye of faith. He comforts him-self in God, to whom he looks as his Saviour in all troubles and dangers, to whom he owed his high elevation, and who always hears his prayers. Man may deny him His help, but yet he sees in what God had already done for him a sure pledge of what he might still expect. Luther: "Here he sets, in oppo-sition to the foregoing points, three others. Against the many enemies of whom he had spoken, he places this, that God is his shield. Then, as they had set themselves against him, thinking to put him to shame before the world, he opposes the fact, that God had given him honour. Finally, he complains of the slan-derers and scoffers, and against these he boasts, that it is the Lord who lifts up his head.--To the people, and to his own mind, he may seem forsaken and alone; but before God, and in his spirit, he is encompassed with a great host, neither forsaken, nor alone, as Christ said to His disciples, John 16:32, ‘ Lo the hour cometh, yea is now come, that ye shall be scattered every man to his own, and shall leave Me alone; and yet I am not alone, because the Father is with Me.’ -However impotent and oppressed he might seem in the eyes of men, before God, and in the spirit, he is the strongest and the mightiest; inso-much that he boasts of God's power with the utmost confidence and security, like St Paul, who could say, ‘ When I am weak, then I am strong.’ -Whoever understands, or has experienced such assaults, will, at the same time, understand how foolishly and wickedly they speak, who say that man by nature can love God above all things. Thou shalt find no one who will bear such dis-pleasure from God; and yet, if the love of God does not over-come that, He is not loved above all things. Therefore the words of this verse are not words of nature, but words of grace,-not of man's free will, but of the Spirit of God,-of a very strong faith, which can see God through the darkness of death and hell, and can still recognise Him as a shield, though He seems to have forsaken,-can see God as a persecutor, and yet recognise Him as an helper,-can see God apparently condemning, and at the same time recognise Him as blessing. For he who has such faith judges not by what he sees and feels, like the horse and mule, which have no understanding, Psalms 32:9, but clings fast to the word, which speaks of things that man sees not."And Thou, O Lord, art a shield about me; my glory, and He who lifts up my head. God is Abraham's shield, according to Genesis 15:1, and Israel's shield, according to the closing words of the law, Deuteronomy 33:29. David has an especial predilec-tion for this designation: Psalms 7:10; Psalms 18:2; Psalms 28:7. The בעד, corresponds entirely to the German um (Anglice, about), and to the Gr. ב’לצי< Ew. p. 613, around me, giving me protection.-My glory. Because David's glory, viz. the high dignity which he possessed, was derived from the Lord; he names Him his glory-comp. Psalms 62:7, "In God is my salvation and my glory." Many expositors falsely render: the vindicator of my glory, by metonomy of the effect for the cause. The parallel passages to which reference is made, such as Psalms 27:1, "The Lord is my light and my salvation," are brought in support only by a wrong exposition. The vindication of glory is a consequence of the Psalmist's having his glory from God and in God. What has its ground in God, that he will not suffer to be taken away. The lifting up of the head marks the deliverance of a man from a position of humiliation, from great dangers, from the state in which he goes mournful and dis-pirited with drooping head. The discourse here, however, is not of the deliverance to be hoped for in this danger nor ofany particular transaction whatever, but of all the events in the life of David, in which he had found that the Lord was his deliverer. Upon the circumstance that the Lord had generally been the lifter up of his head, he grounds the hope that in this distress also He would be the same; and from God's having been the source of his glory, he derived the hope that God would not suffer the impious attempts of those now to go un-punished, who sought to rob him of it. Ver. 4. I cry unto the Lord with my voice, and He hears me out of His holy hill. The verbs in this verse mark a habit, not a single action, just as in Psalms 18:3, "When I call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised, and am saved from mine enemies." Because the Lord is, in respect to David, the one who hears prayer, the surest mark of a gracious condition, He cannot leave him now, without also hearing him. Luther"He speaks here chiefly of the voice of the heart; still I con-ceive that the corporeal voice is not excluded, and hence, that the voice of the heart and feeling, when it is vehement, cannot be restrained, but must break forth into the literal voice. For Christ Himself upon the cross cried with an audible voice, teaching us to cry in straits and necessities, and that with all our power, inward and outward, we should call upon the Lord.' The answer follows in a sermo realis. The Fut. with vau conv. simply denotes the consequence from the preceding; hence, if we render אקרא I call, it is to be translated, not He answered, but He answers. The holy hill is Mount Zion; from thence the servant of the Lord derives his help. This faith is very often expressed in the Psalms. It had its ground in the pro-mise, that the Lord would dwell among His people, and would sit on a throne in the sanctuary above the ark of the covenant. This promise was given to help the weakness of the Israelites, which made them desire a praesens numen, an incorporation of the idea that God is, in a peculiar sense, their God. When the faithful seek help from the sanctuary, they declare that they expect it, not from Elohim, but from Jehovah-that they hope for that power of the covenant with Israel, upon which alone they could rest with proper confidence. For the Chris-tian, Christ has come into the place of Jehovah, and the holy bill. In regard to the Selah here, Luther remarks: "The word means, that we should here pause, and not lightly pass over these words, but reflect further upon them. For it is anexceedingly great thing to be heard, and to expect help from the holy hill of God." Ver. 5. I lay me down and sleep; I awake, for the Lord sus-taineth me; i.e. the assistance of the Lord, which is assured to me, by what He has formerly done, makes me soon fall to sleep, and brings me a pleasant awakening. In this part also, many expositors think the Psalmist speaks of what is still going for-ward: Often already have I laid myself quietly down in the midst of danger, and found sleep. I have not, like those who live in the world without God, tossed about with uneasy cares upon my bed, and the issue has always corresponded with my hopes. I have constantly awoke without any evil having be-fallen me, for the Lord is my stay and help. By this construc-tion, however, according to which this verse would be closely united to vers. 3, 4, the strophe-division is entirely destroyed, and the Selah at the end of the preceding verse appears then unsuitable. The expression of confidence in regard to present distress, limited in such a case to ver. 6, is too short, and the setting forth of the Psalmist's hope ceases to bear a due propor-tion to the setting forth of the ground of his hope. But if, with Venema and others, we refer ver. 6 also to the past, we put out the eye of the Psalm. It is therefore better to refer the words to his present danger, and regard them as the expres-sion of a joyful confidence, which enabled him, even in such circumstances, to lay himself down and sleep, and to expect also to awake in security and peace. The הקיצותי is consequently to be taken as the praet. proph. Faith sees what is not as if it were, the awaking just as surely as the lying down. The verse shows that the Psalm was an evening hymn, as was also the following one, the eighth verse of which remarkably agrees with that now under consideration; and the praet. שכבתי im-plies that the Psalmist had already betaken himself to rest. It happened to David according to his faith. Ahithophel made no way with his counsel to attack by night, and David with-drew before break of day beyond Jordan. "Quod non Omni-bus aeque feliciter accidit," remarks J. H. Michaelis, adducing 1 Samuel 26:7-15, where David surprised and could have slain Saul while sleeping in his tent. It is only to the righteous that the promise is given in Proverbs 3"When thou liest down, thou shalt not be afraid; yea, thou shalt lie down, andthy sleep shall be Sweet." The אני is emphatical, in oppositionto the vain expectation of the enemy: I, the very person, whom ye imagine to be beyond the reach of deliverance. Ver. 6. I am not afraid of ten thousands of people, which they set against me round about. The רבבות has reference to רבו and רבים in vers. 2 and 3. There is as little reason here, as in Isaiah 22:7 (where it may with propriety be rendered, "The Horse-men, place they, towards the gate"), for taking שות intransi-tively, set themselves, in which sense it never occurs. Ver. 7. The Psalmist prays the Lord to justify the confi-dence which he had expressed in the preceding strophe, and to fulfil the promise substantially given in the earlier deliverances -he had experienced, and on which he grounded his expectation of present aid. Arise, O Lord, save me, O my God. For Thou didst smite all mine enemies upon the cheek-bone; thou didst break the teeth of the ungodly. That is, I cannot but expect this from Thee, as Thou hast hitherto so uniformly stood by me. The words "save (or deliver) me," have reference to those in ver. 2, " There is no help for him in God." להי is in the accusative. By the smiting on the cheek, as a piece of insult-ing treatment, the power and energy is broken; comp. 1 Kings 22:24; Micah 4:14; Lamentations 3:30. We must not, because of the following clause, limit the design of the smiting on the cheek-merely to the knocking out of the teeth, with which the wicked, like so many wild beasts, were ready to eat the flesh of David, Psalms 27:2. That clause only specifies a particular result of the smiting in question. The ungodly are parallel to the enemies in the preceding clause. This is explained by the fact, that David's adversaries were, at the same time, the un-godly, and that their hatred was directed against him as the representative of the principle of good. This is confirmed also by history. In particular, and there is no question, that, in the wearisome persecutions he endured at the hands of Saul, to which he specially refers, individual was not opposed to indi-vidual, but principle to principle. The ungodly principle, thrown down in Saul, sought afterwards to regain the ascend-ant in Absalom, who is only to be considered as an instrument and centre of the unrighteous party. The more, therefore, did the earlier deliverance experienced by the Psalmist, form a ground for his present supplication. That הכית and שברת are not to be regarded as praeterita pro-phetica, as some think-that David rather grounds, accordingto custom, his prayer to the Lord for deliverance upon his earlier deliverances, which arose from his general relation to the Lord, as his present deliverance was to be a result thereof, is manifest from the causative particle כי, which the expositors referred to seek in vain to render by yea; also from the parallel passage, Psalms 4:1; and most of all, from a comparison of vers. 2-4, the substance of which is only concisely repeated here. As in vers. 5, 6, he rested his hope upon the general re-lation, so here also his prayer. That relation also of David to the Lord which warranted him to seek help from Him, is alluded to in the expression, "my God." But it is not absolutely neces-sary to translate, "Thou smotest," "Thou didst break:" we may also correctly translate with Luther, "Thou smitest," "Thou breakest in pieces;" and this rendering is confirmed by vers. 3, 4, where, not so much what the Lord had already done is represented as a ground of hope, as what He is con-stantly doing. The preterite not unfrequently denotes a past, reaching forward into the present: see Ewald's Small Gr. § 262. In perfect accordance with the spirit of the Psalms, which always treat a particular danger, threatening the right-eous, as representative of the entire class, Luther remarks: "This Psalm is profitable also to us for comforting weak and straitened consciences, if we understand in a spiritual sense bythe enemies, and by the teeth of the ungodly, the temptationsof sin, and the conscience of an ill-spent life. For there indeedis the heart of the sinner vexed, there alone is it weak and for-saken; and when men are not accustomed to lift their eyesabove themselves, and to cry to God against the raging of sin,and against an evil conscience, there is great danger; and it is to be feared lest the evil spirits, who, in such a case, are ready to seize upon poor souls, may at last swallow them up, and lead them through distress into despair." Ver. 8. Salvation is the Lord's. He is the possessor and sole dispenser thereof-He can give it to whom He pleases, even to the most helpless, whom the whole world considers to be in adesperate case. "Though all misfortune, all tribulation and evil,should come at once, still there is a God who can deliver, in Hishand is help and blessing." This thought must have been pe-culiarly comforting to David when deserted by human helpers and means of deliverance. Since salvation belonged wholly to the Lord, he might rest secure, for the Lord was his God. Thy54 THE BOOK OF PSALMS. blessing upon Thy people! The royal Psalmist shows by these words that his own person lay less upon his heart, than the people committed to him by the Lord-that he claims deliver-ance for himself only in so far as it could do good. to his people. The declaration in the first clause forms the necessary founda-tion for the prayer uttered in the second. To be able truly to pray from the heart, we must firmly believe that God is really in possession of the treasure, from which He is to communicate to us. In the preceding verse the order is reversed. Psalms 4. Encompassed by enemies, the Psalmist calls upon the Lord for help, ver. 1. He turns then to his enemies, and admonishes them to cease from their attempts to rob him of his dignity, and from their vain purposes; exhorts them to reflect that the dignity which they sought to take from him was conferred on him by God, and that this fact gave the Psalmist sure ground for expecting the fulfilment of the prayer which he utters at the commencement; for what the Lord has given He must also pre-serve, vers. 2, 3. He warns them not to sin further by giving way to passionate emotions; urges them to meditate upon this admonition in their silent chamber, upon their bed; to cease from their noise and bluster; and instead of hypocritical offerings, with which they thought to make the Lord favourable to them, to present righteous sacrifices; to put their trust in the Lord, instead of boasting of their own power, and of the superiority of their means to those of the Psalmist; for only these two things, righteous sacrifices and confidence in God, can afford a well-grounded hope of a prosperous issue, and those to whom these conditions fail, flatter themselves with vain hopes, vers. 4, 5. In vers. 6 and 7 the Psalmist declares how much the confidence in the Lord, which his enemies wanted, was possessed by him-self. He despairs not in his distress, as many do, but is firmly persuaded that the Lord can and will help him; and this per-suasion, wrought in him by the Lord Himself, makes him more blessed than his enemies are in the very fulness of their pro-sperity. In conclusion, he again expresses the firmest trust in the Lord, in which he gives himself to sleep, ver. 8. The strophe-division has been correctly made by Koesterthus: 1. 2. 2. 2. 1. He remarks, that the first verse obviouslystands by itself; then follows the address to the enemies in twostrophes, a third expresses David's delight, and the last verseagain stands alone, as a "good night." Koester's remark, how-ever, that the selah is twice placed a verse too early, is not cor-rect. On the contrary, it forms a most appropriate break in thesense, in the middle of the two strophes, which are directed to-ward the enemies. The first verse of both strophes contains the dissuasion, the second the exhortation; in both instances there is a pause in the middle, as if to give them space for reflection, to make them thoughtful. We need only conceive a dash to occupy the place of the selah. The Psalm begins with a prayer, and concludes with an ex-pression of confidence in its fulfilment. In the middle, thePsalmist seeks to make himself acquainted with the groundswhich assured him of this. It is only when we take vers. 2-7so, viewing it as an address to the enemies merely in form, thatthe Psalm appears in its real internal connection. The pillarsof the bridge, which in vers. 2-7 is laid between the distressand the deliverance, between the prayer and the confidence, are,1. The Psalmist's election, and the circumstance, that his ene-mies were striving against this Divine decree, and seeking to robhim of what God had given him. 2. The Psalmist's sincereand fervent piety (the הסיד, in ver. 3), the enemies' hypocriticaland outward religiousness, implied in their needing to be calledon to "offer sacrifices of righteousness," in ver. 5. 3. ThePsalmist's lively trust in God, vers. 6, 7, while his enemies wereplacing their confidence not upon the Lord, but only uponhuman means of help-comp. ver. 5, "put your trust in theLord." Expositors for the most part refer this Psalm also to Absa-low's conspiracy; and that they are right in doing so, appearsfrom the following considerations:--1. The Psalmist chargeshis enemies, vers. 2, 3, with seeking to rob him of the dignityconferred on him by God. On this ground alone, we cannotrefer the Psalm, with some, and in particular Calvin, to thepersecutions of Saul. It presupposes a domestic revolt againstthe Psalmist, after he had actually ascended the throne. 2. ThePsalm so remarkably agrees with the preceding one, which isconnected with Absalom's conspiracy, that it must of necessitybe referred to the same period-comp. כבודי, �gmy glory,�h in ver. 2, with 3:3, and ver. 8 with 3:5. The objection of De Wette, that the Psalmist does not address a faithless son, but only men generally, apart from what was remarked on Ps. iii., is obviated by the consideration that Absalom was the mere tool of an un-righteous party dissatisfied with David, which made his vanity subservient to its own purposes; hence David, who so willingly regarded his son as the seduced, rather than as the seducer, directs his speech mainly to these. The other objections pro-ceed upon a false view of vers. 5, 7. So also Hitzig's opinion, that the Psalm must have been composed after the danger spoken of in the preceding one had passed away, is founded upon a false exposition. Claus endeavours to show, that all the ap-parently individual allusions in the Psalm might possibly also be viewed as general; but he has proved nothing that is not un-derstood at a glance, namely, that the individual always has at the same time a general aspect, and is only sketchily indicated on the ground of the general. We have already seen how this structure of the Psalms arises from the nature of the case-out of the living faith of their authors, which did not allow them to narrate at length their own circumstances, and also from their keeping always in view the wants of the whole community. How much this peculiarity of the Psalms fits them for the general use of the Church, is easily perceived. Only glance for a moment at this Psalm. How much less edifying would it have been, had David, in place of glory, which can be taken in the most ex-tended sense, so that the very least can possess and lose it, put his kingly honour and supremacy; or in place of vanity and lies, by which each one can understand, according to his situation, every kind of calumny and deception to which he may possibly be exposed, had substituted the foolish counsels of Absalom, and his companions in particular! Ewald, following many of the older expositors, properly concludes from ver. 8, that the Psalm was composed as an evening hymn and prayer. Night is the season when painful feelings are most apt to stir up and inflame the hearts of those who are far from God. That this night was the first of David's flight, is probable from ver. 7, in addition to the reasons already adduced in our introduction to the preceding Psalm.To the chief musician.-The word למנצה (comp. Delitzsch Symb. p. 25), which stands at the head of fifty-three Psalms, is considered by many as an Aramaic form of the infinitive. They render it, either "for singing," or as Claus more definitely, "forsinging through," with reference to that kind of music, of whichthe same melody is continued through different strophes, in con-trast to a composition embracing the whole Psalm. Both ren-derings, however, are quite arbitrary, and not less arbitrary isthe explanation given of the form. The Aramaic form of theinfinitive is never found in Hebrew; and even if it were, it wouldnot be as it is here. Against this explanation may lastly beurged, that with that word is always joined the article. Theform can only be the partic. in Piel with the article prefixed.Now הaצe.נi occurs frequently in the books of Chronicles and Ezra,in the sense of "preside," and, as has been remarked by Ewald,is used only of the ordering and directing which were committedto the chiefs of the Levites-uncertain whether incidentally, orwhether the word is a Levitical technical term-and in 1 Chronicles 15:2, it is specially used of the directing of the musical per-formance. What could be more natural then, in the superscrip-tions to the Psalms, than to remember the leader of the music?מנצה signifies merely a "president," and we gather only from thecontext, that a director of music is specially meant. From thearticle, which may with perfect propriety be understood generi-cally, we are not to conclude with Ewald, that the directorshipof music was a standing office in the temple. The title, "to thechief musician," is of importance in so far, as it affords a proofthat the Psalms which contain this in the superscription were intended for public use in the temple. It is only with a refer-ence to this that the word could hold the place it does in the superscriptions. This place must have been assigned it by the authors themselves of the Psalms, thereby begetting a very fa-vourable prepossession in behalf of the originality of the other information contained in the superscriptions. Ewald, in orderto neutralize this testimony for the superscriptions, would faintranslate למנצה: of the chief musician. In his view, the wordindicates that the Psalm had actually been set to music, and per-formed by the chief musician. But for the other rendering tothe chief musician, meaning that it was to be delivered up to him to be prepared for performance (in which case the word must have been prefixed by the author himself, before the musical per-actually took place), a decisive proof is afforded by Hab. iii. 19, the more important in its bearing on our exposition here, as the prophet manifestly imitates the superscription of the Psalms.The words בנגינותי למנצה, with which the song of the Church isthere closed, can be no otherwise explained than as meaning, "to the chief musician upon my (Israel's, for it is the Church that speaks through the whole chapter) stringed instrument;" which is as much as, assigned to the chief musician, that he might have it publicly sung in the temple with the accompaniment of sacred music: this might be considered to be the national music. Negionoth is the general name for all stringed instruments. The whole superscription, then, of the Psalm, is to be paraphrased thus: A Psalm of David to be delivered to the music director, that he may arrange for its performance with the accompaniment of stringed instruments. Ver. 1. When I call, answer me, Thou my righteous God, who givest me help in distress; have mercy upon me, and hear my prayer. The "my God" is here rendered more definite, by an additional word. The Psalmist indicates that he expected help, not on account of any partial predilection entertained for him by God, but from his God being the Righteous One, who could not but afford aid to His righteous cause. In this he supplies a rule for every prayer in like extremities. To beg help, with-out being able thus to designate God, is equivalent to blasphemy. For, instead of wishing God to act according to His nature, one then wishes Him to deny His nature. The suffix refers, as it very frequently does, to the compound idea; Ewald, p. 580. It is used precisely in the same way, for example, in Psalms 24:5, "The God of his salvation," = his salvation-God. The explanation adopted by several, which takes "Thou God of my righteousness," as equal to "Thou who takest the part of my righteousness," can find no parallel to justify it.-לי הרהבת בצר, properly, in straits Thou makest me large, wide. Narrowness is a figurative term for misfortune, as broadness for prosperity. The meaning is, "Full of confidence, I call on Thee for help, who hast already given me so many proofs of Thy goodness, hast so often already delivered me from trouble, whose proper business it is to do this." The verb may be rendered either, "Thou hast enlarged," -in which case David would ground his prayer for help merely upon past deliverances,-or, "Thou dost enlarge," David being then understood to comfort himself with the thought, that God stood ordinarily to him in the relation of a helper in the time of need. This latter view, which is Luther's also, "Thou who comfortest me in distress," is to be preferred on this account, that the words, according to it, briefly compre-hend what had been set forth in detail in vers. 3 and 4 of thepreceding Psalm, which stands so closely related to this. The Psalmist shortly resumes in these words what in Psalms 3 had been the foundation of his hope of deliverance, and raises him-self up in the following verses, by means of a new ground ofhope, even his Divine election. The words have suffered a falseexposition in two ways. First, by De Wette, who explains thepret. imperatively. Grammatically, this is inadmissible, for insuch cases the vau relat. never fails; Ewald p. 554; Small Gr.§ 621. The parallel passages, Psalms 7:7; Psalms 71:3, adduced byDe Wette are to be explained differently. And, granting thata single passage might be found, in which an exception occursto the general rule, yet we should not be justified in adoptinghere an usage which is certainly very rare, and only to be ad-mitted in a case of necessity; since the exposition we prefer givesan easy and natural sense, and is confirmed by the parallel pas-sages in the preceding Psalm. Comp. Psalms 27:9, where"Thou who art my helper" corresponds to "Thou God of mysalvation."-Then by Hitzig, who finds here a deliverance from acertain particular distress, the same that was spoken of in Psalmthird. But that this still continued, is evident from the extra-agreement between the whole substance of this Psalmand that of the preceding one. And still more decidedly is thissupposition rebutted by a comparison of our Psalm with 3:2-4,and especially ver. 7. Ver. 2. O ye sons of men, how long shall my glory be forshame? or be a matter of reproach; i.e. when will ye at lengthcease wantonly to attack my dignity? According to De Wette,the expression, sons of men, must be viewed as standing simplyfor men. But in that case it would certainly have been, notאיש בני, but the more common expression, אדם בני. The correctview was perceived by Calvin, who says: "It is an ironicalconcession, by means of which he mocks their insolence. Theyconceived themselves to be noble and wise whilst it was onlya blind rage that impelled them to their shameful undertakings."The word איש, when used emphatically, conveys the idea ofstrength, as man does in every language. That the expression is"of the man," and not "of the men," obviates the objection, thatit is difficult to see why it should be "sons of the man," and not simply "men." The revolters considered themselves as sonsof the man in and for himself, as normal-men. In reference to60 THE BOOK OF PSALMS. this foolish self-confidence, the Psalmist admonishes them, in ver. 5, to put their trust in God. To the same haughtiness, indicated in the first address, the subject-matter of the remain-der of this verse, and of the next one, points; for it was pride which made the glory of him whom God had chosen in-tolerable to them. Agreeably to the character of the whole Psalm, the description of pride is as mild and gentle as possible. The expression, by itself, properly marks no more than power and might. It is all the milder that the secret blame has for its basis an open recognition, a free acknowledgment of their power and strength. Besides, the expression, "sons of man," is in many places used unquestionably in an emphatical sense. So, for example, in Psalms 49:2, where "the sons of man," and "the sons of men," stand in opposition to each other, as denoting rich and poor; Psalms 62:9; Proverbs 8:4. If this emphatical sense is rejected here, instead of a very significant address, which carries us into the inmost heart of the subject, opens up to our view the ultimate ground of the behaviour charged in what follows upon those here addressed, there re-mains only a meaningless form of speech. The question, "how long," might appear, in opposition, to what we conceive to have been the situation of the Psalmist, to import that the improper conduct of the enemies had already continued a long period. But in so wicked a project as that of Absalom's revolt, such a question is not out of place, at the very commencement. That the words, "my glory," are not a mere circumlocution for his person, is obvious from the contrast in which it stands with "shame."How long will ye love vanity, and seek after lies! By the vanity and lies, Kimchi understands the sovereignty of Absalom, which is so called because it was to have no continuance, and would disappoint the hopes of the rebels. To the same effect, also, Calvin. He remarks, that the revolt was very truly named a lie, on this account, that the persons concerned in it deluded themselves and others regarding the real nature of their attempt, which they decked out in the most splendid colours. But a comparison with such passages as Psalms 34:14, "seek peace," Zephaniah 2:3, "seek righteousness," "seek meekness," shows that the seeking, in parallelism with loving, is best taken to mean pains with, to go about a thing,-and a comparison with such passages as Psalms 62. "They only consult to cast him downfrom his excellency; they delight in lies; they bless with their mouths, but they curse inwardly;" Isaiah 28:15 : "We have made lies our refuge, and under falsehood have we hid our-selves." Psalms 5:6, renders it probable, that by lies is to be understood the mass of falsehoods through which the rebels sought to help forward their bad cause; and if this be the case, then by vanity, as in Psalms 2:1, is primarily to be under-stood, vanity in a moral sense, worthlessness. How important a part lies played in the revolt of Absalom, may be seen from 2 Samuel 15:7; 2 Samuel 15:8, by a signal example. Without the lie of Absa-lom, which is there recorded, the whole rebellion would have been strangled at the first. Ver. 3. But know that the Lord hath set apart him, His pious one for Himself. The meaning is, "Think not that I have been appointed king by men: God Himself has chosen me, whom He knew to be a pious worshipper, to that honour, from among the people; and ye who presume to fight against me really fight against Him, who also will take the management of my cause." The close connection between this verse and the preceding one is marked by the t at the commencement. This is to be explained by considering the "how long," etc., as virtually saying, "Cease now at length to defame my glory." If this be the reference to the preceding verse, we cannot think of explaining הפלה by "to distinguish," and of discovering an allusion in it to the manifold proofs he had received of Divine favour. It can only denote his separation to that which the revolters strove to take from him, viz. to glory, to royal dignity. פלה, besides, constantly has in Hiph. the sense of singling out or separating; comp. Exodus 8:18, and especially 33:16, where Moses says to the Lord, "And we are separated, I and Thy people, from all the people that are upon the face of the earth." As the Lord there separated Israel from all nations, so here His godly one out of Israel; and that this is the meaning also here, and not the one received by many commentators of dis-tinguishing, is specially manifest from the following לו�God has set apart for Himself. It is an arbitrary assumption, thatלו הסיד stands for ודיסה. Luther translates: But know that the Lord wonderfully guides His holy ones. He has combined לוwith הסיד, and taken הפלה mean the same as הפלא=הפליא, theHiphil of פלא, �gto be wonderful,�h which is also found in anumber of MSS. Hitzig, too, gives a similar exposition: thatGod does wonders for His holy one. The reading הפלא, how-ever, is not sufficiently confirmed; and פלא and פלה are never interchanged; nor does the latter lose its ordinary signification of separating in Psalms 17:7 : Separate Thy grace from the number of common acts of grace, show me singular grace. Parallel to this mode of expression, according to the only correct explication, is the passage Psalms 78:70; Psalms 78:71 : "He chose David also His servant, and took him from the sheepfolds; from following the ewes great with young, He brought him to feed Jacob His people, and Israel His inheritance." When the Psalmist designates himself הסיד, the "pious one," he de-clares the ground on account of which God had selected him, or had called him out of the mass of the people to be His highest servant in His kingdom. Venema: "Ut quem cognosceret, cum erga se, tum erga homines optime affectum." Comp. 1 Samuel 15:28, where Samuel says to Saul, "The Lord hath rent the kingdom of Israel from thee this day, and hath given it to a neighbotir of thine, who is better than thou;" also 1 Samuel 16:7. הסד signifies love, and is used not merely of the love of God, but also of human love, of man's love to God in Hosea 6:4 : "Your goodness (love) is as the morning cloud," and Jeremiah 2:2; of love toward men in Hosea 6:6, "I have desired mercy (love) and not sacrifice;" and in Isaiah 40:6, where the love of the flesh is the love which men show to their fellow-men. הסיד is one who has love toward God, and toward his brethren. The form with Chirek has not only, arising out of the passive form כתבו, a purely passive signification, but it also frequently forms, arising out of the form with Zere, adjectives of intransitive significa-tion (Ew. p. 234), so that there is scarcely need for saying with Winer that a passive form is here taken actively. That one of the standing titles of the righteous should specify love as one of his characteristic marks, is important from the bearing it has on the religious moral standpoint of the Old Testament, as, showing how little a service of dead words accorded with its spirit. The Psalms, in this respect, may be said to rest upon the law; for there already appeared the two commands of love to God and to our neighbour, as those in which all particular ones are included, and the fulfilment of which carries along with it obedience to all others, while without that, this is not possible. The command, "Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself," is delivered in Leviticus 19:18; love to God is expressly announcedin the Decalogue as the fulfilment of the law, Exodus 20:6; and the precept of love to God constantly returns in Deut., agree-ably to its design of forming a bridge between the law and the heart, and is expressly described as the ἕם ךבὶ נᾶם, the one thing needful, the fulfilling of the whole law, Deuteronomy 6:8; Deuteronomy 10:12; Deuteronomy 11:13. Hupfeld (in De Wette) has revived an older view, according to which הסיד signifies, not one who has love to God and his brother, but one who participates in the love of God. But for the refutation of the assertion on which this view is grounded, that הסד is never used of love to God, the passages already cited are sufficient; and that such a view has of late years been rightly abandoned, is clear from the fact that הסיד is used of God Himself, Jeremiah 3:12; Psalms 145:17; and from הסידה, "the loving one," avis pia, as a name of the stork. It is a good conclusion which David here draws: The Lord hath chosen me, therefore will He hear my prayer against those who seek to rob me of the honour conferred by Him. This conclusion may be appropriated by all those who are assailed in the particular station and calling which God has bestowed on them; they may confidently expect the Divine help to stamp all the projects directed against them as vanity, and the reasons by which these may be justified as lies. But everything de-pends on the major premiss being right; and therefore were our fathers so extremely careful and conscientious in the in-quiry, whether their call were truly a Divine one. In David's case, it was a matter of great comfort that he could be perfectly certain of his election-that he had not arrogated to himself his calling, but had quietly waited till it was conveyed to him by God. All his cheerfulness during Absalom's insurrection was founded on that. What could he well have said to the rebels, if he had himself, at an earlier period, rebelled against Saul, and driven him from the throne? Besides, the unques-tionable relation which the words, "The Lord will hear when I call to Him," bear to those in ver. 1, "Hear me when I call," renders it manifest that the address to the enemies is a mere form, by which the Psalmist endeavours to make clear to him-self the grounds he had for thinking their project vain, and expecting deliverance;-it is as if he had said, "Lord, hear my prayer; yea, Thou wilt do it, for Thou Thyself gavest me the glory of which my enemies try to rob me." Ver. 4. Be angry and sin not; say it in your heart upon yourbed and be silent. After the example of the LXX. ὀסדίזוףטוךבὶ לὴάלבספάםופו, רגן is to be taken in the sense of being angry. The exhortation "to be angry" passes into its opposite, in con-sequence of the condition thereto annexed, as in such a case as theirs anger was inseparable from sin. It is substantially as if he had said, Sin not through anger. The choiceness of the expressions employed, accords with the mild character of the whole Psalm, and conveys this meaning: I would indeed per-mit your anger, if the only effect were the injury which might thereby alight upon me; but since you cannot be angry with-out sinning, I must warn you to abstain from it. The turn given to it by Augustine, Luther, and others, is inadmissible: "Be angry if you please, but see that ye do not proceed so far as to think, say, or do what is hurtful to your souls, and so sin against God, yourselves, and your neighbours." In the sup-posed case, to be angry and to sin were one and the same thing. "Be angry and sin not," is taken as an unconditional command in Ephesians 4:26, which is a quotation from this verse, as is mani-fest not only from the literal correspondence between the words of the Apostle and the LXX. here, but also from the allusion made in the succeeding words, "let not the sun go down upon your wrath," to the clause, "commune with your own heart upon your bed." The separation between being angry and sinning, is there also only an apparent one, meant to bring out more distinctly the internal connection. The exposition of Harless: Be angry in the right manner, so as not to be guilty of sin, has against it, not only the words, "let not the sun go down upon your wrath," which he does not find it easy to dis-pose of, but also the whole context, which, both before and after, contains nothing but express and positive prohibitions, and then particularly the command in ver. 31, to put away all bitterness and anger. The exposition adopted by several, tremble, gives a very tame sense, as compared with the one re-ceived by us. The trembling is also too bald, and to the being angry, the proper contrast is being silent or still. The whole verse refers to the blustering passion of the enemies. Besides, the trembling does not accord with the tone of this Psalm, which is throughout full of soft expressions; neither would it suit the character of these revolters, to say, "We will tremble and not sin," while it would, to say, "We will not commit sin by being angry;" nor, finally, does the trembling agree with the dis-PSALM IV. VER. 4. 65 suasive character which is peculiar to this verse and ver. 2,while it would destroy the boundary line between it and ver. 5,which, along with ver. 3, contains the exhortation.Say it in your heart upon your bed. In the retired chamber,upon their couch, in the lone silence of night, are the revoltersto meditate the affair, which hitherto they had discussed only intheir uproarious meetings, at which the better voice of the heartwas suppressed by the tumultuous outbreak of the passions.משכב never signifies the sofa or divan, on which Orientals sitat their conferences. By imagining this, Michaelis and Dereserhave both given a false meaning to the passage. To a con-trast of actual silence points also דמו, not "rest," "desist fromyour sinful projects," as De Wette and others would have it,but according to the usual and radical signification, "be silent "(which is here required by the obvious reference it carries tothe אמר), "leave off the debates and wild cry of rebellion."It is to be remarked, however, that אמר (rendering in Eng. Ver.commune) differs always from דבר as our say from speak. אמר can never stand alone: it must always be followed by thatwhich is spoken; see Gesen. Thes. In many cases, where thething spoken is easily gathered from the context, it is left to besupplied by the reader. So, for example, in Exodus 19:25, "AndMoses went down to the people, and said to them." The sacredwriter does not expressly say what, because it had just beenmentioned in ver. 24. as God's commission to Moses. In likemanner, Genesis 4:8, "And Cain said to Abel, his brother, andit came to pass when they were in the field." What Cain said,"Let us go into the field," is not expressed, as any one can easilygather it from the following words, "when they were in thefield;" comp. also 2 Chron. id. 9; 32:24. Now, here thedeficiency is to be supplied from what immediately precedes:“Let us not sin through anger.” Upon such saying therenecessarily follows silence. For when one is fairly driven into himself, external noises and tumults cease of themselves. Be- sides, a peculiar light is thrown on the admonition to the re-volters by the circumstance that the Psalm, as was remarked in the introduction, is an evening hymn. David exhorted his enemiesto do that which he had just been doing himself, and fromwhich he was deriving a rich blessing. In the stillness of thenight he employs himself, when lying on his bed, with his God;and hence is it that everything is so clear to him, so full oflight. Had his enemies but an experience of the same blessing! What they would thus gain is shown by our Psalm, which is the result of David's lonely night's meditation. The tone is so calm, so mild, expressing no bitterness against the proud rebels, but a tender pity and compassion for them, that they should rush so heedlessly on destruction. The selah leaves them time, as it were, to take to themselves the admonition to be angry and sin not, and then the dehortation is followed by an exhortation. Ver. 5. Offer the sacrifices of righteousness, and put your trust in the Lord. Expositors generally are at a loss regarding the matter of this verse. Thus Ringeltaube remarks: "It is diffi-cult to account for such a transition, and to understand why wicked blasphemers should so suddenly be called to confidence in God." Venema thinks, that an admonition to repentance and conversion might rather have been expected. The key to a right understanding of it is the remark, that what here is spoken in the form of an exhortation, like ver. 4, really contains, as to its matter, a dissuasive from evil. The stress is to be laid upon "righteousness," and "the Lord:" Bring not your hypocritical, present a righteous offering; confide not upon your human resources, but confide in the Lord. It is as if he had said, The victory cannot belong to my enemies, since they want the necessary conditions of Divine aid, righteousness and confidence in God. Many understand by sacrifices of righteousness, such sacrifices as men were by the law bound to present. Others take the expression figuratively, as importing sacrifices consist-ing in righteousness, or in righteous actions. The unsuitableness of the former view is apparent from the parallel member, "trust in the Lord," which leads us to expect here also not an external, but an internal requirement; it appears, further, from the entire religious character of the Psalms, in which, as well as in the Prophets, the inward disposition is constantly brought out in bold relief, in contrast to everything outward; and, finally, from the character of David's enemies, who wanted not an hypocriti-cal, but a true piety. The relation of this verse to the preceding one comes also in confirmation of the same. For if there the dissuasion relates to moral guilt, the exhortation here cannot relate to something merely external. However, we must reject the second exposition, not less than the first. Such passages as Psalms 51:18; Psalms 51:19, do not justify us in considering the sacrifices here mentioned as spiritual ones. For the opposition expressed therePSALM IV. VER. 6. 67 between spiritual and fleshly sacrifices, does not exist here. To us, sacrifices of righteousness are neither legal offerings, nor offerings consisting of righteousness, but righteous offerings, such as were presented by a righteous man, or on a principle of right-eousness-see Ewald, p. 572. So, unquestionably, is the expres-sion used in Deut. 33:19, "They shall call the people to the mountains, there shall they offer sacrifices of righteousness;" where to take a figurative spiritual, view of the sacrifices, is out of the question. The quality here demanded was not found in the sacrifices of the enemies of David, as may be clearly per-ceived by looking to the sacrifices of Absalom, 2 Samuel 15:7, etc., which were most truly offered in the service of unrighteous-ness. The passage is correctly expounded in the Berleburg Bible: "Offer the sacrifices of righteousness; therefore must ye desist from your sin and anger, and fulfil your obligations. For otherwise your faith will be vain, and your whole service un-profitable, even though ye sacrifice ever so much. It is not enough to bring sacrifices, but they must also have a righteous ground. Whosoever hates his brother, he can bring no acceptable gift to the altar; his very prayer is sin. The Lord hates the re-ligious services which are connected with unrighteousness, enmity, injury to neighbours, and neglect of the obedience owing. A penitent and contrite heart is required to a right sacrifice, Psalms 51:17; and a humble and thankful faith, Psalms 1:14; Psalms 1:23, that one may present himself to God as a living sacrifice, and his members as instruments of righteousness, Romans 6:13; Romans 12:1." The righteousness sought here as a basis for the sacrifices, must take the place of that sinful anger, which was directed against the Lord's chosen one, and from which the Psalmist had dis-suaded the rebels in the preceding verse. The exhortation "to trust in the Lord," rests also on an implied contrast. The rebels, intent in their fleshly state of mind on what was visible,believed their cause to be sure, because while they possessed all human means of support, David, on the contrary, was bereft of all. David discloses to them the deceitfulness of their hope, and the danger which belonged to their condition, by calling on them to "put their trust in the Lord." The same contrast, which is here silently implied, is expressly marked in Psalms 12:5; Psalms 49:7; that it is really made here, is manifest from a compari-son of vers. 3 and 8. Ver. 6. Many say, Who will show us good? Lord, lift Thou68 THE BOOK OF PSALMS. up the light of Thy countenance upon us. According to thecommon interpretation, there is no connection between this verse and the preceding one. So, for example, De Wette remarks: "Without further connection the Psalmist passes on to the thought, etc." But merely to state this, is to produce an evi-dence against the soundness of the interpretation. The Psalmist had said in the preceding context, that his enemies lacked the indispensable prerequisite of salvation, confidence in the Lord; and here he declares, that he had this prerequisite himself. While in times of distress many said, Who will show us what is good? he replies, in firm confidence on God, Lord, lift on us the light of Thy countenance. The words, "Who will show us good?" (i.e. "give us to possess it,") several expositors regard as a kind of wish, as equivalent to "Would that some one would cause us to see good." But the words are rather the expression of hapless, wretched despair, which gives up all hope, because it can find no ground for this in the visible aspect of things. Whence can we expect help? Neither in heaven, nor on earth, is there any one who is willing and able to impart it to us. In opposition to this despair of unbelief, David in the second clause places the hope of faith: I despair not, as many do, when earthly things afford no ground of hope; I know that a single gracious look from Thee, O Lord, can turn away our distress. To the“many say,” he silently opposes: "but but I say." He does notask, who? He knows the man, who can help. Perhaps David, while he speaks of many, has especially in his eye his companions in misfortune, who had remained true to him, and who, because they stood not upon the same high ground of faith, might partly have given way to despair. This supposition, however, is not absolutely necessary. The words, upon us, are intelligible if we merely suppose that David contrasts himself with the many who do generally respond in adversity. Only grant, O Lord, that on me, and on all who may, like myself, find themselves in troubles above the reach of human counsel, the light of Thy grace may shine, that so help may be afforded us. הסAנ; is to be taken, with most Hebrew expositors, for a different form of writ-ing אשAנ;, imperat. from נשא, "to lift up." The expression נשא פנים is used in the same sense in the principal passage, Num. vi. 26, of the Levitical blessing, to which David here unmistake-ably alludes. This evident reference to the original passage renders it impossible for us to adopt any other explanation ofPSALM IV. VER 7. 69 the form נסה. David knows, that it was not in vain the Lord had commanded to bless His people with these words, and grasps, with firm faith, the promise which is contained in them. Similar allusions to the blessings of the priests are not rare in the Psalms; for example, Psalms 31:16; Psalms 44:3; Psalms 80:7. "The light of Thy countenance," several explain: "Thy bright serene countenance;" though better, "Thy countenance-light," that is, "Thy counte-nance which is a light," which, lifted upon us, or directed to-wards us, dispels like a clear light the thickest darkness of ad-versity, before which the night of sorrow flies away, as the literal night before the sun. "To lift the countenance on any one," when used of God, who sits enthroned high above us in the heavens, is equivalent to looking upon him. But on whomso-ever the Lord looks, him He favours; whosoever is an object of displeasure to Him, before him He hides His countenance, from him He turns it indignantly away, and abandons him to wretchedness and despair. Ver. 7. Thou givest joy in my heart more than in the time that their corn and their wine increased. The Psalmist declares, how blessed he feels in this confidence upon the Lord. The hope, which the Lord Himself had awakened in him, in regard to the return of His grace, makes him more joyful in the midst of his distress, than his enemies were while they reposed in the lap of fortune and abundance. The verse, like the preceding one, with which it forms a pair, is occupied with the setting forth of the Psalmist's confidence in God. How deeply-grounded must that have been, when it could give such peace! The con-trast is not between God (apart from His gifts), the only and highest good (which David possessed, and his enemies lacked), and the perishable goods which were in the hands of his enemies; but rather a contrast between the hope of a coming salvation, which rested upon God, and the possession of such an one as is not only without God in the world, but has God for an enemy. Comp. Habakkuk 3:18, where, after a description of heavy calami- ties, it is said, "Yet I will rejoice in the Lord; I will joy in the God of my salvation."-More than in the time, elliptically for, more than their joy in the time. The suffix in the two last nouns is to be referred to the enemies. The abundance of corn and wine, is an individualizing description of plenty and success. At first sight such a description scarcely seems to accord with the circumstances of the period of Absalom's revolt, and De Wette70 THE BOOK OF PSALMS. has actually argued from this against the reference of the Psalm to that period. But if we only compare 2 Samuel 16:1; 2 Samuel 16:2, we shall be satisfied that this trait is entirely suitable to the period in question. David was entertained in his flight by the bene-ficence of one of his subjects-Zibah brought forth bread and wine, that he and his servants might eat and drink in the wilderness. Ver. 8. The faith of the Psalmist draws from all that pre-cedes, the general result. It is this, that he will rest secure amid all surrounding dangers, under the protection of the Lord. In peace, secure, and without needing to fear anything, I will both lay me down to sleep, and shall go to sleep. ישן is not to be taken in the sense of sleeping, but in the original-as the com-parison with the Arabic shows-and the predominating one of going to sleep; Genesis 2:21; Genesis 2:5; 1 Kings 19:5, etc. Only then is the expression both, at the same time, in its proper place; he alone, who feels himself in perfect security, can at once go to sleep when he lies down. The second clause is rendered by many expositors, For Thou, Jehovah, alone wilt make me dwell in safety; Thou wilt afford me what the assistance of the whole world cannot do; Thou wilt protect me from mine enemies, and grant me rest and security. David here places his present position in contrast with his earlier one. Calvin: “ He reflects with satisfaction on the guardianship of God as so sufficient for him, that he can sleep not less securely under it, than if he had many guards stationed all around him, or was defended on every side by many companions.” Others, again, refer the word alone not to God, but to the Psalmist: "Thou, O Lord, makest me to dwell alone, (and) secure;" conceiving that the wordscarry an allusion to Numbers 9, Deuteronomy 33:28, "Israel then shall dwell in safety alone; the fountain of Jacob shall be in a land of corn and wine." De Wette takes Sachs to be the author of this latter exposition. But it is to be met with in many of the older commentators; for example, in Venema. Luther, too, brings out very prominently the reference to Deut. 33:28, although he translates, "For Thou, Lord, alone makest me dwell in safety."-"A saying," says he, "not un-common among the prophets; as if he would say, Indeed, Lord, in that I dwell safely, Thou art fulfilling what Thou didst pro-mise through Moses, Israel shall dwell in safety alone." Now, that the alone is really to be referred to the separation of thePsalmist from his enemies, and his security against their attacks, the passage in Deuteronomy shows the more decisively, as the corn and wine mentioned in the last verse were an allusion to the same passage, and as the prayer, "Lift upon us the light of Thy countenance," also carries us back to a similar one in the Pentateuch. But if we take this exposition by itself, and to the exclusion of the other, there is something hard in it, since the "alone," and the "in safety," are placed so loosely and un-connectedly together. This difficulty vanishes if, uniting both expositions together, we suppose that the Psalmist had in view a sort of double sense "Thou, O Lord, makest me alone dwell in safety;" for, "Thou only, O Lord (comp. Deuteronomy 33:12), makest me dwell alone and in safety." The expression, "Thou makest me dwell," by its peculiarity, begets the suspicion of there being some original passage previously existing, from which it is taken, and in Leviticus 25:18; Leviticus 25:19, we find the words, "Ye shall do My statutes and keep My judgments, and ye shall dwell in the land in safety; and the land shall yield her fruit, and ye shall eat your fill, and dwell therein in safety." With right does the Psalmist appropriate to himself the promises which origi-nally referred to Israel. What is true of the whole is true also of the individual, in whom the idea of the whole is livingly realized; so that we may again ascend from the individual to the whole. PSALM V. We make our commencement here with an explanation of הנהילות אל in the superscription. This has received a threefold exposition. 1. According to the Chaldee and the greater num-ber of modern expositors, these words denote the instruments, with the accompaniment of which the Psalm was to be publicly performed; נהילה is held to be of like signification with הליל, "flute," to which it is supposed to be related. But to this it may be objected, that not a trace of connection is anywhere else to be found between the two roots; further, that the in-struments are never in the superscriptions introduced with אל; finally, that the flute, although it is named among the instru-ments of the disciples of the prophets in 1 Samuel 10:5, yet is never mentioned as a component part of the sacred temple music;and, in particular, never as one of the instruments with which the singing of the Psalms was accompanied. For the most part, it is only stringed instruments that are spoken of in this latter respect, comp., besides the superscriptions, Psalms 92:3; Psalms 49:4; Psalms 49:150.; the trumpets, which were used only in the solemn songs of praise, are mentioned in Psalms 5, 81:3, 98:6, 150.; but the flute is never named, not even among the instruments of Psa 150:2. Others suppose, that the words point to another Psalm, after the air of which this Psalm was to be sung; so Abenezra, Hitzig"After the inheritance." But a careful examination of the superscriptions establishes the result, that they do not afford one certain example of this sort; and it would require an extreme necessity to shut us up here to a supposition, which is so devoid of all certain analogy. 3. Others suppose, that the words de-scribe the subject of the Psalm. So all the Greek translators,who render the words: ὑנוס פחע ךכחסןםןלןץףחע, "upon theheiress;" the Vulgate: Super ea, quae haereditatem consequitur; and Luther: "for the inheritance," which he thus explains,-"According to the title, this is the common purport of the Psalm, that it asks for the inheritance of God, desiring that the people of God may be kept and preserved for their Lord." It is a general confirmation of this view, that, in by far the most dark and difficult superscriptions, the words are found, on close in-vestigation, to give a kind of enigmatical description of the con-tents and object of the Psalms, of which David in particular was fond. It is a special reason for this signification, that in the only other place where אל occurs in a superscription; in Psalms 80., it, in like manner, introduces the subject. This ex-position is therefore to be preferred, provided the word נהילות admits of a sense which can serve as a suitable designation ofthe subject of the Psalm. נהלל signifies, to acquire, possess; the feminine of the adjective with a passive signification can, there-fore, only mean the acquired, the possessed; in plural, the pos-sessions, the lots,-comp. Job 7:3. Now, the whole Psalm is taken up with a double destiny, that of the righteous, and that of the wicked-the blessing which is appointed by God to the former, and the misery to the latter; and in case of a single word being employed to describe the contents, none more suit-able could be found than that here used, "on the lots." After an introduction in vers. 1 and 2, in which the Psalmist entreats the Lord that He would hear and answer his prayer,the prayer itself follows in two strophes of equal length, each consisting of five verses, vers. 3-7, and vers. 8-12, which run parallel in point of matter, both treating of the same subject, and their individual parts corresponding to each other. In the first strophe, the Psalmist prays the Lord, that as he made haste to pray to Him-being his first business in the morning -so the Lord might hasten to help him against his enemies, ver. 3; vers. 4-6 grounds this prayer upon the circumstance, that God, as holy and righteous hates sin and sinners, and dooms them to destruction; and in ver. 7, the hope and confi-dence is expressed, that he, the righteous, delivered through God's grace, will give thanks to Him in His temple. The second strophe, which is as it were the second table of the prayer, which, as in the Decalogue, is comprised in the number ten, begins anew in ver. 8, with a supplication for the Psalmist's deliverance in his conflict with the adversaries; then follows in vers. 9, 10, the ground of it, pointing to the sinfulness of the adversaries, which called for God's judgments on them, and for their de-struction; and the conclusion here again, vers. 11, 12, contains an expression of joyful hope for the righteous, whom God can-not fail to bless.-The only inequality in point of form is, that in the first strophe, the grounding of the prayer, and the delinea-tion given of the lot of the wicked, take up three verses, in the second only two: whereas the hope and the description of the lot of the righteous occupy but one verse in the first strophe, and in the second, two verses. As it is the peculiar aim of the Psalm to elevate the hope of the righteous, it is quite natural that the writer should close with a fuller expression thereof. Venema justly describes the Psalm as "a distinguished tes-timony of Divine righteousness and mercy, in defending and blessing the righteous, and in excluding the wicked from His fellowship, driving them away, and destroying them." But he errs in thinking that these truths are delivered by him, quite in a general way, without any subjective starting point, without any actual oppression of the righteous, by the wicked giving occasion to the unfolding of these truths,-a supposition in which he was already preceded by Luther, who says: "It is certain that this Psalm does not treat of external suffering and opposition, for not a word in the whole Psalm makes mention of that; but all the complaint is directed against the wicked, the ungodly, and workers of iniquity. Hence it appears to me,that the leading object and characteristic of this Psalm is, that in it the Psalmist prays against hypocrites, against self-righteous seducers and false prophets, who mislead the people of God, and the heritage of Christ, with their human statutes." That the Psalm originated in the oppression of actual enemies, appears from the mention of these in ver. 8, from the "for" in ver. 4, and the same in ver. 9. When the Psalmist grounds his prayer for acceptance and blessing on the abandonedness of the wicked, it is presupposed that the wicked were his enemies. He does not say, as he should have done, according to that hypothesis, Bless the righteous, destroy the wicked; but he says, Discomfit the wicked because of their wickedness, and thereby deliver the righteous. What has misled men into that hypothesis, and given it probability, is the Psalmist's here specially bringing out, as a ground of hope for the righteous, that his enemies in general are wicked, while elsewhere, that which they actually do as enemies is particularly declared-there it is: "Deliver me from mine enemies, for they wrong me;" here: "Deliver me from them, for they are evil, but I am righteous; and Thou canst not but, according to Thy nature, destroy the wicked, and bless the righteous." The authors of the Psalms divide the treasure of consolation, which God has given them as householders, into particular gifts, and sometimes they exhibit one, sometimes an-other. Here, for example, the particular point brought into notice is, that the enemies of the Psalmist are, at the same time, rebels against God, to whom He cannot accord the victory, with-out denying Himself; while the Psalmist, on the other hand, was a righteous man,-that it was impossible God could interchange or confuse the unalterably fixed, and perpetually separated lots of the righteous and the wicked; while in Psalms 6. the ground of hope is derived from the extremely sad position in which the Psalmist had been placed by his enemies. In brief, the Psalmist raises up the suffering righteous, by pointing to the unchangeable Divine righteousness, which will see to it that the righteous and the wicked shall each receive their respective lots. He points out how his deliverance from the hand of the wicked is as undoubtedly certain, as that God cannot deny and forget Himself. The superscription ascribes the Psalm to David; and that no exception can be taken against this from ver. 7, where the house and temple of the Lord are spoken of, we shall show in ourremarks on that verse. What Hitzig has advanced against its Davidic authorship, viz., the slow motion and diffuseness of expression, is only, in so far as it is well grounded, of force against those who suppose a particular occasion. The racy style and liveliness of feeling generally to be perceived in those Psalms of David, which originated in particular occasions, we certainly do not find here. Various defenders of the Davidic authorship have tried to discover some such particular occasion here; usually, it has been attributed to the revolt of Absalom,-but the endeavour has been found to be quite fruitless. Ver. 7, which might be connected with 2 Samuel 15:25, is altogether general in its sub-ject, and contains only such matter as every righteous man might utter. Not a single trace is to be found in the whole Psalm, of any particular reference. And what is the main point, viz., that the Psalmist speaks, not in his own person, but in that of the righteous, puts the words into his mouth, which he is to use in times of oppression, is clear from the close in vers. 11 and 12, where, instead of saying "I," he brings for-ward those who "trust in the Lord," "who love His name," "the righteous." The Psalm is, therefore, in the most proper sense, a didactic one. This Psalm probably owes its place here to the circumstance of its being designed for a morning prayer, ver. 3. On this account it appeared very appropriate to connect it with Psalm iii. and iv., which are evening prayers. The significant part which the numerals play in our Psalm, is worthy of remark. The three which the Israelites accounted peculiarly important and sacred, are found in it. The whole Psalm contains twelve verses; its proper building without the ante-chamber, ten; the delineation of the malice of the wicked twice over, makes up the number seven. Ver. 1. Give ear to my words, O Lord; understand my medi-tation. הגיג, which, excepting this passage, occurs only in Psalms 39:3, is to be derived from the verb הגג, which is of the same import as הגה. There is no reason for renouncing here, the common signification, "to meditate," which is also quite suit-able in Psalms 39. ; indeed, the context favours this. David puts first the general expression, "my words." This he now divides into two parts, the low and the loud; the silent com-plaint of the heat, the unutterable sighs, which are understoodby Him who searches the heart, of which Paul also speaks in Romans 8:26; Romans 8:27; and the loud cry of the distressed soul for help, in the following verse. בין, is not to be taken with Luther, and most modern expositors, in the sense of to observe, to consider, which the verb never has, when construed with the accusative, but in the sense of understanding or perceiving, which, as Muis has remarked, is favoured also by its connection with meditation. Ver. 2. Hearken unto the voice of my cry, my King and my God! This address proclaims the ground of the Psalmist's, or the righteous man's right to demand help, and of his hope in regard to it. God is named King here, not on account of His resistless sovereignty over the whole earth, but on account of His special relation to Israel. As King, God cannot permit evil to triumph in His kingdom, and He cannot but defend him, who, as righteous, can address Him as his King. This address, therefore, reminds God candidly, as only a believer can, of His obligation to help: it is, at the same time, an exhortation of the Psalmist to himself, to trust in Divine help. Another reminder lies in the words, for unto Thee do I pray-where the for refers to the preceding imperative. David, as Calvin re-marks, “ sets out with the general principle, that those who call on God in their necessities, are never cast off by Him. He places himself in opposition to the unbelieving, who in misfor-tune, neglecting God, either consume their grief within them-selves, or make complaints of it to men, and are unworthy, therefore, that God should take cognizance of them.” Ver. 3. My voice mayest Thou hear in the morning, O Lord; in the morning I set in order my prayer to Thee, and look out. Previously, the Psalmist had entreated the Lord generally to render help; now, he desires Him to make haste to perform the same. It is, says he, so soon as I awake, my first work in the day to flee to Thee: do Thou, therefore, hasten also to help me. Comp. in Psalms 8, "Cause me to hear Thy favour in the morning," with that in ver. 7, "Hear me speedily." That תשמע is to be taken optat., and is not, with Hitzig, to be translated, hearest Thou, is clear from the analogy of the corresponding verse just referred to, where the imperative is found, as also from the words, I look out, which, as to matter, equally con-tains a prayer. ך`רע, to set in order, is used of arranging the wood upon the altar in Genesis 22:9, Leviticus 1:7, 1 Kings 18.33; the bread upon the sacred table, Leviticus 24:8, comp. Exodus 40:23, Leviticus 24:6. The matter which is here set in order, are the words of his prayer. Still the expression, "I will set in order," has not merely the force of "I will direct to Thee;" but the prayer, probably with a special allusion to the shew-bread, is described as a spiritual oblation, which the Psalmist prepares for the Lord with the break of day. And then I look out. צפה, speculari, namely, whether the answer, the help, ap-proaches. The Psalmist, having done his own part, waits in faith that God also will do His. The image is taken from those who, during hostile attacks, look out from a high watch-tower, to see whether help is at hand. Comp. Habakkuk 2:1, where the same image is more fully expressed. Micah 7. "Therefore I will look unto the Lord (rather, I will look out in the Lord), I will wait for the God of my salvation; my God will hear me." The Berleb. Bible: "One must keep on the watch, if one would receive anything from God, and wait with longing for the de-sired answer; also be constantly looking after the help, and giving heed to whatsoever the Lord may speak." This verse shows that the Psalm is a morning prayer, just as the two pre-ceding Psalms contained prayers for the evening. That the pious in Israel prayed at the same three periods, which the Christian Church has also consecrated to prayer, appears from Psalms 55:17, "Evening, morning, and at noon will I pray, and cry aloud; and He shall hear my voice." Of the morning prayer alone is mention made in Psalms 88:13, "But unto Thee do I cry, 0 Lord; and in the morning shall my prayer surprise Thee." Ver. 4. For Thou art not a God whom wickedness pleases; the wicked dwelleth not with Thee. The for, which connects vers. 4-6 with ver. 3, is only satisfactorily explained, when his deliverance from his enemies is considered as the object, though not expressly named, of the Psalmist's prayer, and of his earnest expectation: Hear my prayer for deliverance from mine enemies, for Thou art not a God that has pleasure in wickedness, etc. But mine enemies are wicked; therefore Thou must subdue them, and deliver me. Upon the number seven in the descrip-tion of wickedness, Luther has remarked: "With seven words does the prophet accuse the ungodly preachers and their dis-ciples, those who seek holiness by works." It is the less likely to have been an accident, as the number seven occurs again invers. 9 and 10. ך~ר;גiי; is not to be regarded, with many exposi- tors, as standing for ך~מע יגור; nor may we, with Ewald, account for the accus. by saying, that to dwell with is here put for to be confidential, to know any one as a friend; for in other passages, such as Psalms 120:5, where the verb is in like manner joined with the accus., this modification of meaning is inadmissible. There it is used of such as dwell with any one by constraint, and un-willingly. The construction is rather to be accounted for by considering the person as comprehending its property in itself: "to inhabit the Lord," for, "to inhabit the house of the Lord." This supposition is strongly confirmed by the fact that באהל גור.יהוה, “ to dwell in the tabernacle of the Lord," usually is יהוה גור; that is, "to inhabit the Lord" (as we explain the words), de-noting the near relation to the Lord, and His protection; comp. for example, Psalms 15:1; Psalms 61:4. The figure is taken from him who receives a pilgrim, גרe, hospitably into his dwelling. Who-soever is received to such honour by God, he must take care not to pollute His pure dwelling with unrighteousness. He must be holy, even as God is holy. Ver. 5. The proud come not before Thine eyes, Thou hatest all workers of iniquity. They must not appear in His sight; a mark of the deepest abhorrence, taken from earthly kings, near whom none are allowed to come, excepting those who enjoy their favour. De Wette falsely: "They cannot bear Thy presence on account, of their evil conscience," instead of: "Thou wilt not bear their presence on account of Thy holi-ness." Habakkuk 1:13 is parallel, "Thou art of purer eyes than to behold evil, and canst not look on iniquity; wherefore lookest Thou upon them that deal treacherously, etc." הוללים, proud, from הלל, to shine, then "to be proud," in Hithp. to boast. From the parallelism here and in other passages with "evil-doers" and "ungodly," some would judge the word to have a more general signification. But this is to be admitted only, in so far as pride, together with covetousness and lust, is con-sidered in Scripture as one of the main roots of all sinful cor-ruption, so that every proud and lofty one is, at the same time, an ungodly person, and a worker of iniquity. In regard to the object aimed at by this representation of the hatred of God toward the workers of iniquity, Calvin remarks: "It is an ex-cellent conclusion: God hates unrighteousness, therefore He will take righteous vengeance on all unrighteous persons." Ver. 6. Thou destroyest them that speak lies; the Lord ab-hors the bloody and deceitful man. Berleb. Bible: "In us are selfish and vain thoughts, which, as liars, only seek after vanity, and would fill our souls therewith; but these, Lord, Thou wilt bring down by the sword and word of Thy mouth, and root out all falsehood in us." Ver. 7. And I, through Thy great favour, will come into Thy house, to worship in Thy fear toward Thy holy temple. In the words and I, a contrast is presented to the enemies who are doomed to destruction. So also do the words, in the greatness of Thy favour, stand in opposition to the Lord's ab-horrence of sinners expressed in the preceding verse. Coupled therewith is a reference to the greatness of the distress, which, irremediable by human means, called for a singular manifesta-tion of Divine help. While mine enemies, whom the Lord abhors, perish, I, whom He loves as His pious worshipper, shall come, not through mine own power, but through the greatness of His favour, etc. This contrast to the Lord's abhorrence of the ungodly, is by itself a proof how falsely some expound: "In the greatness of My love towards thee." This exposition has not the slightest support even from the usus loquendi. הסד יהוה, is never love to God, but always the grace or favour of God towards His people. It is also opposed by Psalms 69:13; Psalms 69:16, where "the multitude of God's tender mercies" is celebrated as the cause of deliverance. The coming into the house of God, and worshipping toward His holy temple, is mentioned here only in respect to its occa-sion, only so far as its aim was to give thanks to God for his deliverance, and presupposes this. Comp. Psalms 66:13, "I will go into Thy house with burnt-offerings, I will pay Thee my vows." In Thy fear, corresponds to in the greatness of Thy favour. The fear of God, a reverent regard to Him, is the fruit of the manifestation of His fulness of love, of the display of His glory in the Psalmist's deliverance. As the product of God's manifestations, fear is not unfrequently named; for ex-ample, Genesis 28:17, where, after one of God's richest mani-festations of grace had been noticed, it is said, "Jacob was afraid, and said, How dreadful is this place!" also Hab."0 Lord, I have heard Thy report (the report, viz., of Thy glorious deeds in behalf of Thy people), and was afraid." Com-pletely mistaken is the sense which De Wette and others give to this verse, understanding it thus: "The Psalmist pronounces80 THE BOOK OF PSALMS. himself blessed in opposition to the ungodly, in that he belongs to those who can approach God; he visits His temple and serves Him. But it is of God's great mercy, that he may do this." Against such a view it is enough to compare this verse with the corresponding 11th, which, like this, expresses, according to our view, the hope of deliverance. The manifest contrast to the miserable lot prepared by God for the wicked, vers. 4-6, re-quires that here the happy condition of the righteous should be described. Access to the outward sanctuary was free also to the ungodly, and it did not require "the fulness of the love of God" to keep open the way. The "fulness of the love of God," as contrasted with His annihilating abhorrence of the wicked, can only be considered here so far as it is the power which delivers the righteous. The expression, "in Thy fear," is, according to the view in question, torn away from its con-nection with the words, "in the greatness of God's favour." And, what is the main point, this explanation gives the first strophe, which is manifestly complete in itself, an unsatisfac-tory conclusion. The Psalmist had begun with a prayer for help and deliverance, grounded upon God's abhorrence of sin, in consequence of which He cannot but destroy the wicked, his enemies. The only conclusion we could expect, is the hope and confidence of help. But instead of this, the Psalmist is made to speak of his happiness in being able to visit the temple of the Lord-how, we are not told; and of the result of his prayer We learn absolutely nothing. קדשך-היכל-אל: is not, as many expo-sitors take it, in, but "to Thy holy temple." The interior of the temple David was not allowed to enter. But he would, accord-ing to the custom of the worship then established, turn, at the time of prayer, towards the place where the gracious presence of the Lord had its seat, from whence also his aid had come. יהוה היכל was the dwelling-place of the Lord, not so named as being a great building, but from being His residence as King of Israel. The house where a king or prince dwells, is a palace, whether it be splendid or not. Hence the tabernacle bore this name equally with the subsequent temple. Of the former it is used in 1 Samuel 1:9; 1 Samuel 3:3 : "And ere the lamp of God went out in the temple of the Lord, where the ark of God was,"- passages which, with perfect arbitrariness (for there is no reason to consider היכל as exclusively used for designating the temple), men have sought to get rid of by the remark, that the authorunconsciously carries back to an antecedent period, a word of later origin. But an incontestible proof that the word was applied also to the tabernacle, is furnished by Psalms 27 : From that word occurring in ver. 4, De Wette concludes the Psalm not to be one of David's. But he has overlooked the circumstance, that in ver. 6 of the same Psalm, the Psalmist vows to bring an offering to God in the tabernacle or tent-temple. It is undeniable, therefore, that at a time when the temple was still unbuilt, the holy tent was named היכל; first the old Mosaic tabernacle, then the tent which David erected over the ark of the covenant on Mount Zion. It is, besides, false to maintain, as is usually done, that the word denotes the Holy, in opposition to the Most Holy Place. Those who hold this view are perplexed with this passage, since the person praying could only so far direct himself to the היכל, as the Lord was throned there,-comp. Psalms 28:2, where David stretches out his hands to the holiest of all; and 1 Samuel 3:3, where the lamp belong-ing to the sanctuary is represented as being found in the Hekal. The right view is, that Hekal denotes the Holy and the Most Holy Place together-the temple in the strictest sense, as op-posed to the outer courts. Only in a few passages, such as 1 Kings 6:5, is it used specially to denote the Holy Place, where it is limited by being expressly distinguished from the Most Holy Place,-a relation similar to that of Israel and Judah, Judah and Jerusalem,-so that we cannot properly say, that Hekal of itself denotes the Holy Place, for the more limited idea is only conveyed by the context. Ver. 8. The Psalmist makes here, as it were, a new onset. Just as upon his prayer joyful hope had followed, so here out of his hope a new prayer comes forth, to which new confidence attaches. The matter from vers. 8-12 runs parallel with vers. 3-7, first a prayer, then its ground, and lastly a hope.-Leadme, O Lord, in Thy righteousness, because of mine enemies; make Thy way smooth before my face. The Psalmist prays the Lord, that He would display His righteousness in His dealings, and bring salvation to His servant. A great many expositors,-of more recent ones, De Wette, Ewald, Hitzig, Maurer,-translate "in the righteousness" which Thou requirest, which is well-pleasing to Thee. The words, "because of mine enemies," i.e. from regard to them, that they may not triumph over me, if I should make a false step; "make straight Thy way before me,"82 THE BOOK OF PSALMS. make easier for me the course of action, which Thou lovest. But the whole of this interpretation is certainly erroneous. The righteousness here spoken of is rather the attribute of God, according to which He gives to every one his own-befriends the pious, who confide in His promises, and destroys the un-godly. This is evident from the for in the next verse, which assigns the reason. How little this accords with the first expo-sition may appear from the remark of De Wette in the earlier editions of his Com.: "כי, dropt out in the translation, is not here a proper logical for, and is often an expletive;" and also from the remark made in the fourth edit., on ver. 9, "the ground, on account of which God should uphold him in right-eousness, and protect him against his enemies,"-which last words he is obliged to supply, though his exposition of the pre-ceding verse does not justify him in doing so. The meaning is: Because mine enemies are so godless, but my cause and object are righteous, Thy righteousness demands that Thou shouldst guide me, as I can find no other resource,--shouldst make plain to me Thy way, the path by which Thou leadest me, and remove the mountains of difficulty which Thou hast now thrown in the way. This view is confirmed as the right one, by a comparison with ver. 5, where David pleads for help on the same ground, and also with ver. 12, where it is said, "Thou, 0 Lord, blessest the righteous." It is a further confirmation, that this view alone brings the prayer here into a proper rela-tion to the hope in ver. 11, which concerns not moral preserva-tion, but salvation and blessing. Then, on no other interpreta-tion can our verse be fitly connected with ver. 7, where not moral support, but salvation and deliverance are hoped for-and in particular, the words, "In Thy righteousness," with "the greatness of Thy favour." Finally, our interpretation is borne out by a great number of parallel passages in the Psalms, the meaning of which has in no small degree been perverted;for example, Psalms 23:3, "He leadeth me in the paths of right-eousness;" Psalms 25:4; Psalms 25:5, "Show me Thy ways, O Lord; teach me Thy paths: lead me in Thy truth, and teach me; for Thou art the God of my salvation;" Psalms 27:11, "Teach me Thy way, O Lord, and lead me in a plain path, because of mine ene-mies." The expression "in Thy righteousness," is, according both to the parallelism and the parallel passages, to be thus explained, that the righteousness of God is represented as thePSALM 5. VER. 9. 83 way in which the Psalmist desires to be led, by which nothing more is meant, than that it should develop itself in what befell him. When the Psalmist pleads, "because of his enemies," it shows how much, being surrounded by powerful adversaries, he stood in need of help. Through the whole he has only to do with Divine aid against his enemies. In the word הושר there is united a twofold reading. The consonants belong to that of the text, which must be pronounced רשaוה, the vowels to that of the gloss רשaי;הa. Both forms are the imperative in Hiph. of the verb ישר, to be straight. The form of the text is here, as always, to be preferred; for in Hiph. the original verbs פי almost always borrow their forms from the פו; comp. Ewald, p. 393. The Masorites have here, as very often, only substituted the grammatical regularity, to which they were also particularly led by a regard to Proverbs 4:25, where the form הישר is actually found. Just as in our text they satisfied their love for regularity and uniformity by substituting הישר for הושר, so in Isaiah 45:2, for the same reason, they placed the Piel in the Kri instead of the Hiph. of the text. Ver. 9. For there is no uprightness in his mouth; their inward part is wickedness, their throat is an open sepulchre, they make smooth their tongue. We remarked already, that here also the description of the wickedness of the enemies is completed in the number seven. The four points contained in our verse are obvious; and to these must be added those in ver. 10-their destructive counsels, the fulness of their transgressions, their re-bellion against God. Our verse corresponds exactly to the 4th and 5th verses, and ver. 10 to the 7th. In both places, the seven fall into four and three. The for shows that vers. 9 and 10 lay the ground of the petition expressed in ver. 8. God must take the part of the Psalmist, and grant him deliverance, for his enemies are in the highest degree corrupt, are rebels against God, whom He, as the Holy One, cannot but discomfit. The suffixes refer to the adversaries in ver. 8. The use of the singular suffix at the first, is to be explained by the entire mass of enemies being represented by the Psalmist as one person, as personified ungodliness. The enemies are only numerically dif-ferent; in respect to wickedness, there is no distinction among them. They are as a head with many members. "There is no uprightness in his mouth." They speak nothing but faithless deceit and lies. Comp. Psalms 62:4, "They bless with84 THE BOOK OF PSALMS. their mouth, but they curse inwardly." "Their inward part" many explain simply by "their soul." But this is not allow-able; for in the whole verse mention is always made of the bodily part that corresponds to the spiritual. So that here also, the inward as opposed to the outward-the mouth as the organ of words-denotes the heart as the seat of feelings. We too speak of the heart in the body. הוAהa, from הוה=היה, to be, pro-perly accident, casus; then in a bad sense, an ill accident, mis-fortune, evil, and not simply such as one suffers, but, as here, such also as one brings-hurt, wickedness. "Their heart is wickedness," very expressive; it has so completely taken posses-sion of their hearts, that there is no distinction between them. The throat, according to several, is introduced here as the organ of swallowing, to denote the insatiable thirst for destruction of his enemies. So Calvin: "He compares them to graves, as if he would say, They are all-devouring abysses; denoting thereby, their insatiable thirst to shed blood." But the throat is com-monly used as an organ of speech; comp. Psa_149, 110, 7, etc.; and that it must here also be regarded as the same, appears from the connection in which it stands with the mouth as an in-strument of speech, with the heart as the source of speech, and with the tongue. The point of comparison between the throat and an open grave is, that each is pregnant with destruction. Their talk prepares destruction for those who approach them.-They make smooth their tongue, speak smoothly and hypocritically. Venema "They pretend love to God and man, that they may the more easily impose on the credulous, and overwhelm them." Falsely many: with the tongue. לשונם is accusative, governed by the verb יהליקון, which in Hiph. is always transitive; and in connection with the accusative, "the tongue," or "the words," as in Proverbs 2:16; Proverbs 7:5, signify "to flatter." Ver. 10. This verse, as to its matter, continues the plea for deliverance, grounded by the Psalmist on the corruptness of his enemies, which, according to the Divine righteousness, would necessitate their destruction. But in place of: Thou must or wilt hold them guilty on account of their counsels, etc., the im-perative is introduced for liveliness of effect: Hold them guilty, etc. Hold them guilty, O God; let them fall on account of their counsels; on account of the multitude of their crimes, overthrow them, for they have rebelled against Thee. אשם signifies in Kal to be guilty; hence, in Hiph., in which it occurs only here, to make PSALM V. VER. 10. 85 or hold guilty. It is wrong to say, that the word in Hiph. exactly means punish. It is perfectly sufficient to take it as meaning "to make guilty," "to represent as guilty," in so far as the guilty is thereby first exhibited before the eyes of men in his real character: comp., for example, Psalms 34:21, "Evil shall slay the wicked, and they that hate the righteous shall be guilty." Michaelis: Reos eos pronuntia, ut qui multis modis rei suet. Luther: "The word properly signifies such a decision and judgment, as would show and manifest what sort of men they are, when their ungodly nature is disclosed, and is made knownto every one." In the expression ממעצותיהם יפלו, the preposition is best taken as the causal מ: comp. Hosea 11:6, where the same compound is used in the same sense; "on account, because, of their counsels." This exposition is confirmed by the analogy of the following clause, "Because of the multitude of their crimes;" and also, "For they have rebelled against Thee." Only when thus understood, can the clause fall into the circle of the number seven. The cause of their perdition, and of the Psalmist's deliverance from them, is, that their mouth is with-out uprightness, etc. These ground's decide against other ex-positions. Not a few, following in the footsteps of Luther-that they fall from their own plans:-let them fall, perish from their counsels, i.e. without their being able to execute them. Others: "Let their counsels become vain," מן נפל like the Latin, spe excidere, ausis excidere. But against this, it is to be urged, that no example can be produced of this signification. Then there is the parallel, "overthrow them," which shows thatנפל must here mean "fall" in its proper sense. Comp. Psalms 36:12, "There are the workers of iniquity fallen: they are cast down, and shall not be able to rise:" Psalms 141:10. Still others: "Let them fall by their counsels, or through them."- ברב signifies prop. in the multitude of. The effect rests in its cause. For against Thee have they rebelled. The verbs which express an affection, particularly those which mark a hostile feeling, are commonly connected with the object to which the effect adheres, by the prep. ב. Since the Psalm, as already shown, refers not specially to David, but to the right-eous generally, we must not expound: "For not against me, but against Thee, have they rebelled;" the contrast is one be-tween enmity toward men, and rebellion against God. The Psalmist's enemies must sustain a defeat, for they are rebelsagainst God, whose sacred rights they trample under foot. God would not be God, if He should suffer them to go un-punished. The wishes of the Psalmist are at the same time so many predictions; for he prays only for that which God, on the supposition that his enemies do not change-that is expressly stated in Psalms 7:12, and is always to be supposed in such cases-must, according to His nature, necessarily do; the re-quest, hold them guilty, has this for its ground and justification: Thou must hold them guilty. For what God does, and must do, that man not merely may, but should wish. So already August. Sermo. 22 ad Script.: "The prophet utters in the form of a wish, what he certainly foresees, will take place, showing simply, as appears to me, that we may not be dissatisfied with the known decree of God, which He has firmly and unalterably fixed." Of a thirst for revenge, there can be no question in cases like the preceding; it is not against personal enemies as such, but only against enemies of God, that the Psalmist pre-tends to give judgment. Ver. 11. And all those that put their trust in Thee shall re-joice; they shall for ever shout for joy, and Thou wilt protect them; and in Thee shall they be joyful, who love Thy name. The and connects this with the announcement indirectly con- tained in the preceding context, of the overthrow of the wicked. That the Futures of the verbs are not, with Luther and others, to be taken optatively (let them rejoice, etc.), but in the sense of the Future, expressing not a prayer, but a hope, is clear from the analogy of the corresponding eighth verse. That those who trust upon the Lord, are not, as most expositors think, such as are different from the Psalmist, rejoicing at the deliverance granted to him, but rather those very persons who participate in the deliverance,-that the gladness and rejoicing here, are considered only in respect of their object and occasion: "they shall rejoice, etc.;" as if he had said: "Thou wilt, through Thy salvation, afford them cause for joy,"-is evident, 1. From the analogy of ver. 7, where, in like manner, the hope of salvation is indirectly declared,-the joy and rejoicing here correspond to the coming into the temple there: 2. From the circumstance, that if the Psalmist spoke of others, who would be glad at his deliverance, this object of their delight would probably have been more minutely described: 3. From the words, "they shall for ever shout for joy," which, as others could not possibly besupposed to rejoice perpetually at the deliverance of the Psalmist, necessarily imply, that the persons rejoicing are the delivered themselves, and that the rejoicing is spoken of only as the con-sequence of the deliverance; Thou wilt give them perpetual cause for rejoicing: 4. From the consideration, that "they shall rejoice," "they shall shout for joy," "they shall be joyful," stand entirely on a par with, "and Thou wilt protect them,"-which the defenders of the exposition we oppose, in vain strive to separate from the preceding and succeeding context, render-ing "since Thou protectest them," or, "whom Thou pro-tectest:" 5. And, finally, our view is confirmed by the entirely general character of the Psalm; so that it cannot appear strange, if, at the close, the plurality concealed under the unity should clearly come to light, and the righteous at large should be sub-stituted in the place of the righteous individual. The meaning, therefore, is simply this: Whereas destruction befalls impious rebels, salvation is experienced by the pious.-Upon ך`ב-הוסיcomp. on Psalms 2:12. The former is the full pausal form; Ewald. p. 137. ך`סת is Fut. in Hiph. from ךכס, to cover, with על, to cover upon, to protect.- Those that love Thy name. The name of God never stands in the Old Testament as a mere designa-tion, but always emphatically, as an expression of His nature. Hence, "to love the name of the Lord" is as much as to "love Him," so far as He has manifested His nature. If God were nameless, He could not be the object of love; for then He could not manifest Himself, as the name is the necessary pro-duct of the manifestation, that in which the Church gathers up the impression which it has received through the manifestation, so that the name only needs to be named, in order to renew the impression. Ver. 12. The Psalmist here lays the foundation of the hope, expressed in the preceding verse. The pious shall have occasion to rejoice, on account of the salvation of God; for the manner of God, founded in His nature, is to bless the righteous, or him who trusts in God, and loves His name. For Thou blessest the righteous, O Lord; with favour Thou compassest him about as with a shield. The Fut. is used in the sense of custom. Hope in regard to that which the Lord will do, is only well founded when it rests on what He constantly does. The הנצכ is prop. to be rendered: "as a shield," i.e. covers. The comparison is often not fully expressed, when a mere indication will suffice;88 THE BOOK OF PSALMS. for example, Isaiah 1:25, "I will cleanse thy dross, as soap," that is, as soap cleanses; comp. Ew. p. 614. Just as improper as to supply a ב is it to maintain, that צנה stands in the accus. governed by the verb. (De Wette.) Then the shield would be not that which covers, but that which is covered. ונרטעת is Fut. in Kal. To take it as Fut. in Hiph. with Rosenm�ller, is unwarranted. The Hiph. is never used in the sense of covering or crowning, but only in a single place, Isaiah 23:8, as Denom. from הרטע, a crown, in the sense of "distributing crowns." Luther is not exactly right in rendering: Thou crownest him with favour. The signification of crowning does not belong to the Kal, but only to the Piel. Psalms 6. Surrounded by enemies, the Psalmist cries to God for help, vers. 1-7. He receives from God the assurance that He will hear him, and calls upon his enemies to desist from their pro-jects, since the Lord has vouchsafed to him support, vers. 8-10. The two main divisions here marked, are very obvious. Koester divides the first into three strophes, 1-3, 5 and 6, 7 and 8; so that the measure would be 3. 2. 2. 3. But it is better to divide the Psalm into clear strophes of two verses, with a beginning and concluding verse. Then the strophical arrangement ex-actly agrees with the divisions in sense. In vers. 2 and 3 the Psalmist grounds his prayer for deliverance on the fact, that through suffering he had become quite exhausted, faint in body and soul. In 4 and 5 he goes so far as to declare, that he had come nigh to death, and was consequently in danger of losing his highest good, that of being able to praise God, which God in His mercy ought not to take from him. In vers. 6 and 7, he justifies his affirmation, that he had reached the precincts of the dead: consuming grief at the malice of his enemies had ex-hausted the springs of his life. Vers. 8 and 9 form the strophe of his acceptance and confidence. The first and last verses con-tain the quintessence of the whole; vers. 2-7 being simply a further expansion of ver. 1, and ver. 10 drawing the conclusion from vers. 8 and 9. If we bring vers. 1 and 10 together, we have the Psalm in nuce. Traces of a formal arrangement, apart from the division intostrophes, may be perceived. The Psalm has its course in the number ten; it contains, as it were, a decalogue for those who are sadly oppressed by their enemies. Further, we cannot look upon it as accidental, that, in accordance with the superscrip-tion according to the eight, the name of God occurs in it precisely eight times. The fact, also, that in the first part the name of God is found just five times, cannot be overlooked, when viewed in connection with the whole number of verses, ten. It would seem that the author wished in this way to mark the first part as the one half of his decalogue. See on the five, as the broken, half-completed number, Baehr Symbolik Th. I. p. 183. The repetition thrice of the name of God, in the second part, makes one just the more inclined to perceive a reference to the thrice repeated name of God in the Mosaic blessing, the fulfilment of which in himself the Psalmist here triumphantly announces, especially as in Psalms 4:7, and elsewhere frequently in the Psalms, there are distinct verbal allusions to the same. The superscription ascribes the Psalm to David, and there is certainly nothing to throw a doubt upon its accuracy. What makes David so great-the deep feeling of his sins, and his un-worthiness before God, united with firm confidence that God will not withdraw His favour from those who implore it with a broken heart-is all uttered here. Hitzig, indeed, maintains that the Psalmist exhibits a different character from that of David,-a desponding spirit, which permits itself to be easily dismayed,-a weak, languishing heart, certainly not that of a warrior; David did not behave so unmanfully when in danger of death, but always discovered a lively confidence in God, which is awanting here. To begin with the last point, that the Psalmist does not abandon himself to a comfortless despair, but has a lively confidence in God, is evident from his addressing a prayer full of expectation for help from the Lord. But if any one might overlook this in the prayer, he cannot fail to perceive it in the second part, which breathes nothing but triumphant confidence. That in David, however, when heavily oppressed with suffering, the natural man sunk not less than with the Psalmist here, is capable of abundant proof from his history. According to 1 Samuel 30:6, "David was greatly distressed, but he encouraged himself in the Lord his God." According to 2 Sam. 12:16 sq., he fasted and wept for seven long days, after the prophet announced to him the death of his child. In 2 Sam.Psalms 15:30, he is said to "have gone up Mount Olivet weeping, and with his head covered,"-traits which ill agree with the ideal of a great man formed by the world. The whole argument rests upon the transference of this ideal to a sphere to which it does not belong. That supposed greatness of soul which con-siders suffering as a plaything, above which one should rise with manly courage, is not to be met with in Scripture: there we find constantly faint, weak and dissolving hearts, whose strength and consolation are in God alone. This circumstance arises from more than one cause. 1. Suffering has quite another aspect to the members of God's Church than to the world. While the latter regard it only as the effect of acci-dent, which one should meet with manly courage, the pious man recognizes in every trial the visitation of an angry God, a chastisement for his sins. This is to him the real sting of the suffering, from which it derives its power to pierce into the marrow and bone. "Rightly to feel sin," says Luther, "is the torture of all tortures." He who considers sufferings in that light cannot without impiety attempt to cast it to the winds. He must regard it as his duty to allow it to go to his heart; and if this is not the case, even that must become again the object of his pungent sorrow. To make light of tribulations is equiva-lent, in the view of Scripture, to making light of God. 2. "The tenderer the heart, the deeper the pain." Living piety makes the heart soft and tender, refines all its sensibilities, and, consequently, takes away the power of resistance, which the world possesses, from the roughness of its heart. Many sources of pain are opened up in the Christian, which are closed in the ungodly. Love is much more deeply wounded by hatred, than hatred itself; righteousness sees wickedness in a quite dif-ferent light from what wickedness itself does; a soft heart hasgoods to lose, of which a hard one knows nothing. 3. The pious man has a friend in heaven, and on that account has no reason to be violently overcome by his sorrow. He permits the floods thereof quietly to pass over him; lets nature take its free, spontaneous course, knowing well, that besides the natural prin-ciple, another also exists within him, and that the latter develops power in the proportion in which the former gains its rights -that according to the depths of the pain, is the height of the joy derived from God-that every one is consoled according to the measure of the sufferings which he has borne-that themeat never comes but from the eater, and honey from the ter-rible. On the contrary, whosoever lives in the world without God, he perceives that, having lost himself, he has lost all. He girds himself up, gnashes at his pain, does violence to nature, seeks distractions, endeavours to supply to nature on the one side what it lacks on the other; and thus he succeeds in obtain-ing the mastery over his pain, so long as God pleases. 4. The pious man has no reason to prevent himself and others from seeing into his heart. His strength is in God, and so he can lay open his weakness. The ungodly, on the other hand, con-sider it as a reproach to look upon themselves in their weakness, and to be looked upon by others in it. Even when inwardly dissolved with pain, he feigns freedom from it, so long as he can. What relation to sufferings is the right one, may be seen from the consequences to both classes. The pious man, regard-ing all suffering as a punishment, suffers it to lead him to repent-ance, and derives from it the fruit of righteousness. He, on the other hand, who looks upon suffering merely as the sport of accident, thereby deprives himself of all blessing from it. And while, in this respect, he is not the better for his suffering, he is decidedly the worse in another. He only gathers himself toge-ther, only raises himself above his suffering, in such a way as to strengthen as much as possible the fancy of his own worth, dignity, and excellence; and in proportion as pride grows, love decays; hardness becomes his inseparable companion. So that he in reality feeds upon his own fat, and quenches his thirst with his own heart's blood; and those words apply here, "What shall it profit a man if he should gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?" But suffering, when endured in faith, serves to free the heart of its natural hardness, to make it softer, and to open it to love. Finally, only the lighter sufferings can find consolation apart from God, even at this dear rate. Whereas no misfortune can crush the righteous, however great it may be -for he strengthens himself in God, whose power is infinite -on the contrary, the man who trusts in himself bears up only so long as "fate," or in truth, He who sends the affliction, per-mits. Every moment he may be precipitated into the abyss of despair. He who never fainted, who mocked at the faintings of believers, and spake in a contemptuous tone of the "plain-tive Psalms," must then feel utterly undone. Human strength, even though everything be done to increase it, is still but alimited resource: it needs only find its proper antagonist to be wounded in the heel; then it gives way, and, along with the steadiness gained by force, vanishes also that which was feigned. Nothing is better fitted to show the insufficiency of all human power in the struggle against suffering, than the confession of King Frederick II., who spared no cost to elevate this power, and whose great and mighty soul certainly accomplished all that can be accomplished in that field. He says, among other places in the Ep. to D'Alembert, sec. 12, p. 9: "It is unfortunate, that all who suffer are forced flatly to contradict Zeno; for there is none but will confess pain to be a great evil." P. 12: "It is a noble thing to rise above the disagreeable accidents to which we are exposed, and a moderate stoicism is the only means of consolation for the unfortunate. But whenever the stone, thegout, or the bull of Phalaris mix in the scene, the frightful shrieks which escape from the sufferers, leave no doubt that pain is a very real evil." Again, p. 16: "When a misfortune presses us, which merely affects our person, self-love makes it a point of honour to withstand vigorously this misfortune; but the moment we suffer an injury which is for ever irreparable, there is nothing left in Pandora's box which can bring us consolation, besides, perhaps, for a man of my advanced years, the strong conviction that I must soon be with those who have gone before me (i.e. in the land of nothingness). The heart is conscious of a wound, the Stoic says indeed to himself, ‘ thou shouldst feel no pain;’ but I do feel it against my will; it consumes, it lace-rates me; an internal feeling overcomes my strength, and extorts from me complaints and fruitless groans." We have not extended our remarks further than the subjectdemanded; for what Hitzig urges against this Psalm is but aparticular shoot of that modern cast of thought, which finds astumblingblock in the tone of deep lamentation that pervadesthe Psalms. Hence it appeared proper to employ this oppor-tunity, in order, once for all, to cut up such objections by the root. It is of importance for the exposition, to determine some-what closely from the Psalm itself the situation in which thespeaker was placed. From ver. 7, and vers. 8-10, it appearsthat he was sorely pressed with enemies. This serves of itselfsufficiently to manifest the objectionableness of that view whichrepresents the distress as consisting in a mere corporeal illness.There are certainly passages, such as ver. 2, which could not,without the greatest violence, be understood of anything but of exhaustion of all bodily powers. But the whole becomes plain, when we represent to ourselves the position of the speaker thus: His distress proceeded at first from external enemies. But upon this arose another of a far heavier kind. He saw in that out-ward distress a punishment of his past sins, which now returned upon his soul with the weight of an oppressive load. He fell into a severe conflict, which left even his body weak and im-poverished. At length he gives vent to his oppressed soul in this supplication; and then to his deep notes of lamentation, succeeds the most triumphant tone of joy. Now he mocks at outward distress, and in spirit sees his enemies already van-quished. De Wette and Hitzig, without the least ground, give the Psalm a national reference, and suppose, that under the image of a suffering individual, is represented the Israelitish people in exile. Not the slightest trace is to be found of such a reference. When De Wette appeals to the great resemblance this has to public songs of a plaintive nature, as chap. 3of Lam., he overlooks the fact, that these poems, descriptive of a nation's grief, were imitations of personal poems of a like na-ture. Ewald remarks, in opposition to De Wette, of this and similar Psalms: "No exposition of such poems can be more erroneous than that which considers the representation of a severe illness as figurative, or which connects therewith the ideaof a whole people's lamentation being contained in it, instead of that of a single individual." But we must not, on the other hand, attribute too much importance to the disease,-must not take it as something independent. The second part speaks decidedly against this. Inasmuch as the Psalmist here only expresses his triumphant confidence, that the Lord will deliver him from his enemies, and never mentions bodily sickness, such sickness can only have been the result of hostile attacks, the con-sequence of the anxiety which they occasioned him; hence, when the cause ceased, the effect ceased. The considerations which oppose the reference to mere bodily trouble, also oppose the exposition of Luther and others, who regard the Psalm as relat-ing to a high spiritual conflict in the hour of death. "It is not to be supposed," says Luther, "that all Christians are afflicted with the vexation and painful trials of which this Psalm speaks; for all are not exercised with the same kind of tribulation, although God tries all with many tribulations and hardships-He contends here with death and hell, a battle which is not waged with men, nor concerning temporal or spiritual tempta-tions, but in the spirit within, nay, without and above the spirit in that last struggle, when no one either sees, or hears, or feels, save alone that Spirit, who with unutterable groans prays and intercedes for the saints." The words, "because of all mine enemies," in ver. 7, and "depart from me, all ye workers of iniquity," in ver. 8, are quite inexplicable on this view. As the Psalm does not contain a single feature of a per-sonal kind, it is highly probable that David here expresses the feelings of those who are vexed to death with the long-con-tinued assaults of malicious enemies. For this view, perhaps, vers. 6 and 7 may be adduced, where the profound grief is de-scribed in a manner which seems to indicate a supposed, rather than an actual position. David's desire is to impress on the minds of his companions in tribulation that even at the worst they ought not to despair: the desolation itself should be converted into a source of comfort, in that, on the ground thereof, we may implore God for help, who is ever ready to assist His own, when things are at the worst,-so that the lowest depth of sorrow is a sure harbinger of salvation, the approach of death a pledge of life. This general characteristic of the Psalm was perceived by Luther: "I conceive that we have here a common lesson and instruction, which is suited to every Christian who is plunged in such distress." It is of course plain, that what is here said primarily of the oppression of enemies, may be, substantially, equally applied to every other sort of trouble. The particular is the accident-what is true of the species is true of the kind, and of every other species of the kind. The remarks of the Berleburg Bible on, "Depart from me, all ye workers of iniquity:" "Depart from me, ye false tormenting accusations, ye rage and fury of menacing spirits and powers, that terrify me to death, and have shut up my blessed life as in the abyss of hell; ye are the real evil-doers, whom my external foes merely represent,"-are perfectly correct, when considered as a theological exposition, but not as a grammatical historical one. That the special kind of affliction with which the Psalm is occupied does not so prominently appear under the New Testament dispensation, so that many cannot understand these incessant complaints regarding the malice of enemies, is a mighty proof of the world-transforming power of Christianity. In regard to the principle which forms the basis of the Psalm, viz. that outward suffering is a chastisement for sin, nothing can be more superficial than to maintain, that this view is peculiar to the lower stage of the Old Testament. The same precisely is found in the New Testament; for example, in the declarations of our Lord Himself; John 5:14; and Luke 5:20; Luke 13:1, etc. In the first passage, sickness is threatened as a punishment for sin; in the second, taken away as such; in the third, the Lord threatens, on occasion of a heavy calamity, a similar calamity to all, if they repented not,-implying, therefore, that the evil al-ready inflicted was to be regarded as a punishment for sin. If the suffering be not viewed as a punishment, it cannot be re-conciled with the Divine righteousness, it loses all its influence for good, and it is no longer a call to repentance. The only error is to refer the suffering to some special sin, to some coarse offence, instead of to sin in general,-an error characterized as such by our Lord in John 9:2; John 9:3. Far, therefore, from turn-ing up the nose at the religious standpoint of the old covenant, we should rather follow the admonition of Muis: "As often as we are visited with sickness, or any other suffering, we should, after the example of David, call our sins to remembrance, and flee to God's compassion; not like the ungodly, who ascribe their evil, as well as their good, to any cause rather than God, and hence are never led, either by the one to repentance, or by the other to gratitude. Sickness or calamity is not to be esti-mated according to the mind of the flesh, but of the spirit; and we must reflect, that if God afflicts us, He deals with us as sons, that He may chasten and improve us."שמינית is taken by many expositors for a musical instrument, and because שמיני, signifies eight, the kind of instrument is gener-ally considered as a guitar with eight strings. It is impossible, however, that "the eight" can denote an instrument of eight cords. Besides, both here and in Psalms 12., the musical instru-ment is mentioned in addition, as also in 1 Chronicles 15:21. The correct explanation is given by those who take it for an indica-tion of the time. The על is then put to mark the relation of the particular to the general; that which forms its substratum, upon which it is laid, and according to which it is measured and regu-lated. But our ignorance of Heb. music renders all more minute explanations impossible. Ver. 1. O Lord, rebuke me not in Thine anger, neither chastenme in Thy hot displeasure. Calvin: "I acknowledge, Lord, that I am indeed worthy of being destroyed by Thee; but as I am not in a condition to sustain Thy power, deal with me, not according to my desert, but rather pardon the sins, through which I have drawn Thine indignation upon me." Most ex-positors remark with De Wette: "The sufferer prays not for a removal, but only for an alleviation of the calamity." So also Luther: "This he regards not, nay, he will readily yield to be punished and chastened; but he begs that it may be done in mercy and goodness, not in anger and fury . . . . Therefore the prophet teaches us here, that there are two rods of God, one of mercy and goodness, another of anger and fury. Hence Jeremiah prays, chap. 10:24, '0 Lord, correct me, but with judgment, not in Thine anger, lest Thou bring me to nothing.'" But that this exposition, flowing from an unseasonable compa-rison of the above passage in Jeremiah, is unsound, is evident from this, that the Psalmist, in what follows, always begs that chastisement in general may be taken away; but especially from the assurance in the second part, where he still experiences nothing but what he had prayed for (comp. "The Lord hath heard my supplication, the Lord will receive my prayer"), not merely of an alleviation of his suffering, but of an entire re-moval of it. The contrast is, therefore, not between a chastise-ment in love and a chastisement in anger, but between a loving deliverance and a chastisement, which always proceeds from a principle of anger. The sufferer prays that, as matters had come to an extremity with him, and his powers of endurance were now completely exhausted, the sun of grace might shine through the cloud of indignation, by which it had been so long obscured. Whereas the ungodly is subject to Divine wrath alone, the righteous, though always at the same time a sinner, is an object of Divine love, even in the midst of wrath; which love must manifest itself as soon as the expression of anger has fulfilled its purpose, and the sufferer is brought to the verge of destruc-tion, which can alight only on the wicked. God does not deal in a soft way with His own: He consumes what remains in them of sin by hard sufferings, but He always orders it so that they are able to bear it; when it has proceeded to a certain point, then He turns, and, instead of concealed grace (for even the exhibi-tion of anger has a part to serve in the work of grace), there is now given an open manifestation of it. But that the suffererbelongs to the number of the righteous, for whom the exchange from anger into grace is certain, he makes to appear by this, that though he feels nothing but anger, he still sees the light of grace shining through the midst of thick darkness. This he alone can do, who is closely related to God, and has a living faith. In the midst of distress, to pray for grace, to hope for grace, is a sure sign of being in the state of grace, a clear pledge that grace may be looked for. Luther: "This Psalm then teaches us, that when one is plied with such assaults, he must have recourse to no other refuge than to the angry Lord Himself; but that is a matter of difficulty and labour, and is always to believe against hope, Romans 4:18, and to strive against impossibilities.-But it is carefully to be borne in mind, that they who experience such distress should adhere with their whole heart to the doctrine of this Psalm, viz. that they should not let their feelings carry them too far, should not howl and cry, nor seek for human con-solation; but should stand out against the heaviest trials, and suffer the hand of God, and, with the prophet here, apply no-where but to the Lord, and say, Ah! Lord, rebuke me not in Thine anger, and chasten me not in Thy hot displeasure. When men do not conduct themselves in this prudent way, they fall, to their great hurt, out of the hand of God, who in this manner heals and purifies them; especially if they seek consolation in a worldly way, and have recourse to some poor creature, the issue cannot be otherwise with them. If the clay, while being turned, falls out of the hand of the potter, it becomes more completely shattered than before, insomuch that it is useless, and the potter throws it away as good for nothing." -הוכיה to reprove. But the discourse here is of a sermo realis. God reproves the sinner's guilt through the sufferings which He lays upon him. It is in-correct to say, that the verb here signifies precisely "to punish by deeds," but elsewhere, "to punish with words." המה prop. heat, glow, then "the glow of anger." Ver. 2. Have mercy upon me, O Lord, for I am faint; O Lord, heal me, for my bones are terrified. The Psalmist, re-nouncing all disputes with God, and recognising thoroughly the righteousness of his sufferings, appeals alone to the Divine com-passion. In this he lays down for his foundation the principle, that God can never suffer His own wholly to perish; and thus supporting himself, entreats help from the Lord, since matters had already gone to extremities with him. Muis: "He deals with98 THE BOOK OF PSALMS. God as with a father, and sets before Him his pain, in order to move Him to the communication of aid." Such childlike confi-dence, far from being excluded by the conviction, that sufferings have the nature of punishment, only grows upon this soil, and the one disappears with the other. אמלל, withered, faint, properly of plants, cannot, on account of the Patach, be the partic. in Pulal with the מ dropt, but must be the pret., which, with the rela-tive word intended to belong to it, is a substitute for the adjective -prop. I am one who is faint. The pret. is used precisely in this way in Isaiah 28:16. That the healing is not here to be taken for delivering, helping in general, is clear from the declara-tion, "I am faint, and my bones are terrified." The healing, therefore, must be primarily understood of the removal of his state of bodily distress. But the means of healing is the re-pulsing of the enemies, with which the bodily exhaustion would cease of itself. The words, "My bones are terrified," are ad-mirably explained by Luther: "It is certain, that with those who suffer such assaults, their bones are so terrified in their body, that they cannot even do what bones are meant to do in the body. Just as, on the other hand, we see that those who have a merry heart, overflowing with joy, have also strong bones, apt to leap, and capable of lifting up and bearing along with them the heavy and sluggish body; so that they feel as if joy were spread through their bones, like as when one pours some-thing moist or liquid over the whole body, which refreshes it, as Solomon says, Proverbs 3:8, ‘ It shall be health, to thy navel, and marrow (pro. moistening) to thy bones.’ Where the heart, then, is troubled and sorrowful, the whole body is faint and broken; and where, again, the heart is full of gladness, the body becomes so much the stronger and more agile. Therefore, the prophet here speaks rightly, when he prays the Lord to heal him, and was so weak in body, that he could not stand upon his legs. So mighty end violent is the power of such assaults, not leaving a corner in the whole frame that is not appalled and bruised thereby.-But man cannot love God, much less have a heart-felt desire after Him, without being vexed with such great troubles, which constrain and drive him to seek God's help and consolation with a vehement cry of the soul, especially when he has been sunk deep in sin, and his life has been spent in an indolent, corrupt death of flesh." Ver. 3. And my soul is greatly terrified; and Thou, O Lord,how long? The soul is placed in opposition to the bones. The general complaint, "I am faint," the Psalmist carries out first in reference to his body, then to his soul. In the expression, how long, there is not properly an ellipsis, but an aposiopesis, occasioned by the violence of the pain, which caused the words to escape in a broken manner. This Domine quosque was Calvin's motto. The most intense pain under trouble could never extort from him another word. Luther: "He not merely begs God to hasten to him with help, but, as one impa-tient of delay, he complains that this is very painful to him, since in all emotions of the heart, such as fear, love, hope, hatred, and the like, a state of suspense and delay is vexa-tious and difficult to be borne, as Solomon says in Proverbs 13:12, ‘ Hope deferred maketh the heart sick.’ But in troubles of this kind, delay is the most severe and insupportable pain." Ver. 4. Return, O Lord, deliver my soul; Oh save me for Thy mercies' sake. The words, my soul, are not here placed instead of the personal pronoun. The Psalmist feels himself so wretched in soul and body, that he believes himself to be near death. This clearly appears from the following verse. But the soul is the principle of life. Luther: "Not for mine own merits, which indeed are nothing, as is enough and more than enough proved by this terror at Thine anger, and my trembling bones, and the sadness of my heart and soul. There-fore, help me for Thy mercies' sake, that Thine honour and the glory of Thy compassion may be for ever connected with my deliverance." Ver. 5. For in death there is no remembrance of Thee; in the grave (in sheol) who shall give Thee praise? David had prayed, that his God would deliver him, and not permit him to sink in despair. He seeks to move Him to grant the prayer by the consideration, that the dead do not praise Him and celebrate His goodness, but only the living. Comp. Psalms 115:17; Psalms 115:18, "The dead praise not the Lord, neither any that go down into silence; but we shall bless the Lord from this time forth and for ever-more." Psalms 88:10 : "Wilt Thou show wonders to the dead? Shall the dead arise and praise Thee?" Comp. also Psalms 30:9; Isaiah 38:18. According to the common expla-nation, the thought that the Lord is not remembered and praised in death is here urged as a ground of deliverance, inas-much as God Himself, to whom the praise of the righteous isthe most acceptable sacrifice, must therefore be inclined to pre-serve them in life. The supposition on which the ground thus made out proceeds, viz. that the Lord delights in the praise of His people, is no more peculiar to the Old Testament than to the New. Comp., for example, Hebrews 13:15. As the living God has made men for His praise, He rejoices when this end of His creation is fulfilled, when the fruit of the lips that praise Him is offered. The God of the Bible is as far removed from the cold indifference and self-satisfaction of the Stoic's God, as the Christian is from a Stoic. But for us this ground receives its full meaning, only when we place eternal death in the room of the bodily, agreeably to the clearer light which we have re-ceived regarding the state after death, and to the vast change which New Testament times have effected in reference to that future state. See the treatise on the Doctrine of the Psalms, where also will be investigated more fully the import of sheol. Then ought we also, having found consolation, to venture to plead the same ground before God, and, appealing to it, beg Him to turn away from us the troubles which threaten to shut our mouths for ever to His praise. There is another way, how-ever, of explaining the ground:-the prayer for deliverance may so far be grounded on the fact of one's not being able to praise-God in death, as the praise of God was the Psalmist's most blessed employment, to be deprived of which would be to him the heaviest loss. And this view is strongly confirmed by the preceding words, "for Thy mercies' sake," which naturally lead us to expect some reason connected with the Psalmist's own interest. It would be contrary to the love of God to rob His own of their highest good, to make them inexpressibly miserable, by closing their mouths from praising Him, before the time fixed by the general law of mortality. Understood thus, the words afford a deep, and for us humiliating, insight into the heart of pious men under the old covenant. To consider the praise of God as the highest good, as the most essential thing in life, to love life only as furnishing the opportunity for that, is the highest proof of near fellowship with God.-The constr. of הודה with ל is explained by a modification of the meaning: to render praise to any one. Ver. 6. The Psalmist shows in this and the following verse, that it was not in vain he asked for deliverance, that he had not without cause described himself as one whose mouth deathwas threatening to shut up from praising God. Consuming grief preyed upon his heart, and would soon carry him away.I am weary with my groaning, every night I make my bed to swim; I make my couch to dissolve with my tears. The groan- ing is here represented as the cause of all his exhaustion. The prep. ב however, commonly marks the relation of effect to the cause. I make my couch to dissolve. מסה is of one meaning with the more common form מסס, to dissolve. Calvin: "Those who have even moderately experienced what it is to contend with the fear of eternal death, will find no straining in these words." Ver. 7. My eye consumes from vexation; it waxes old, be-cause of all my enemies. עשש, "to fall in, to go to decay," is used of the eye in Psalms 31:9, as also of the soul. Some very improperly maintain, that the eye here is taken for the face, in which sense it never occurs. The eye is a mirror and gauge of soundness, not merely as respects the soul, but also the body. By long-continued suffering, the eye sinks, becomes dull and languid, like that of an aged person. Both verbs are hence perfectly suitable to the eye. כעס may here be appropriately taken in its common signification of displeasure, vexation. It is not necessary to give it the sense of grief, which is never ascribed to it without arbitrariness. Nay, the former sense is here recommended by the corresponding expression, "because of mine enemies," where the ב again is to be explained thus, that the effect is considered as rooted in its cause. Ver. 8. David, as Calvin remarks, assumes now, as it were, a new person. He announces, that God has heard his prayer, and admonishes his enemies to desist from him, as he had now again come under God's protection. Amyrald: "Those violent motions, in which, after the most bitter and dolorous lamenta-tions and testimonies concerning human weakness, faith sud-denly regains the ascendant, and, through the offered hope of deliverance, sheds light and serenity over the mind, are very common in the Psalms." Koester falsely: The Psalmist, in thankfulness, renounces the fellowship of sinners: this is con-tradicted by a comparison of the verse with the preceding con-text-also ver. 10. Depart from me, all ye workers of iniquity, for the Lord has heard the voice of my weeping. The Berleb. Bible: "So soon can the righteous Lord change everything, and illuminate with the rays of His love the dark earth of men, which was before covered with thick clouds, while in the depthof their heart also all was dark." It remarks on the for:"The winter is past, the rain is gone, the turtle-dove is again heard." The voice of my weeping, my audible weeping. Roberts, Orient. Illustr. of the Sacred Scrip. p. 316: "Silent grief is not much known in the East. Hence when the people speak of lamentation, they say, Have I not heard the voice of his mourn-ing?" It is not necessary to give to שמע here, and in similar places, the sense of "hearken." If God hears the cry of His own, He also accepts of it: if He will not do this, then He turns away His ear from it. Ver. 9. The Lord has heard my supplication; the Lord re-ceives my prayer. The matter of this prayer we learn from ver. 10, where the Psalmist more minutely describes what he obtains in consequence of his being heard. Ver. 10. All mine enemies shall be ashamed and terrified; they shall return, be ashamed suddenly. Their being terrified points back to vers. 2, 3. The terror passes over from the Psalmist to those who prepared it for themselves, according to God's righteous retribution. יבשו ישבו may be expounded by, "They shall be again ashamed;" see Ewald, p. 631. But a more expressive meaning is yielded, if we take the word as standing by itself, and render, "they shall return." David sees his enemies, gathered around him for the attack, all at once faint-heartedly give way. In confirmation of this speaks the "Depart from me," ver. 8, and still more, the "Return, O Lord," in ver. 4. The returning of the Lord, and the turning back of the enemies, stand related to each other as cause and effect. Psalms 7. The Psalmist prays the Lord for help against his cruel and blood-thirsty enemies, vers. 1, 2. He protests that he had given no occasion to their hatred, vers. 3-5. In the confidence of this blamelessness, he calls upon the Lord for assistance, and for judgment between him and his enemies, vers. 6-9. God's righteousness affords him hope that this decision and the over-throw of his enemies is near, vers. 10-13; of the fulfilment of which he has an inward assurance, so that he is able to conclude with gratitude for granted deliverance, vers. 14-17. Vers. 1-5 constitute as it were the porch, and the-entranceinto the proper edifice of the Psalm is ver. 6. This is divided into three parts of equal compass, three strophes, each of four verses. First is the strophe of prayer. The prayer here has a much fuller swell, and is far more earnest and important incharacter, than the one uttered in the introduction, for the rea- son that, according to the basis laid down in vers. 3-5, it is upheld by God's righteousness, which never leaves those to sup-plicate in vain, who are justified in appealing to it. Then comes the strophe of hope, which, as the prayer was grounded upon God's righteousness, in its turn grows out of a lively conviction of the same. Finally, the strophe of confidence, resting on the inwardly received assurance of being heard, and celebrating the deliverance as one already obtained. It is distinguished from the second strophe by the Behold with which it begins, and also by the preterites in vers. 14 and 17. The internal character of the two first strophes, as those which contain only what is pre-liminary, is expressed in the proportion of their length to the length of those which form the proper building of the Psalm. They are as it were the steps by which one ascends to it. This becomes still more evident, if we bring the superscription into the body of the Psalm, which we should be justified in doing by its peculiar character-its obviously poetical con-struction. Reckoning that as ver. 1, the scheme would be, 1. 2. 3. 4. 4. 4. Like the building itself, the porch then falls into three parts-the occasion and subject, a preliminary prayer, the removal of the hindrance to its fulfilment. The proper build-ing (twelve verses) measures double the compass of the porch (six verses). For understanding more exactly the position in which David was then placed, we must examine the superscription. In thisדברי על is commonly taken in the sense of, on account of, in re-ference to. But this exposition is manifestly false; the correct one being, on account of the words, occasioned by the calumnies. This is clear for a philological reason alone. The phrase is always דבר-על, and never, דברי-על, when it means simply on ac-count of. The passages adduced by Gesenius in support of the signification, on account of, are, besides this, Deuteronomy 4:21; Jeremiah 14:1; Jeremiah 7:22; but they do not bear examination; they rather imply that the דברים in them all signifies speeches or words. InDeu_4:21, "The Lord was angry with me," דבריכם על, "foryour words," is to be compared with Numbers 20:3-5, where thetalk of the people is recorded, by which the faith of Moses was overcome. Jeremiah 14:1 is to be rendered, "The word of the Lord came to Jeremias, on account of the words of the dearth." The words of the dearth, the prayer which Jeremias sent forth on account of the dearth, and to which the word of the Lord refers, follow in vers. 2-9; the word of the Lord does not come till ver. 10. If we expound, "on account of (or concerning) the dearth," then the superscription-which, 1. announces words of the dearth, and, 2. the answer of the Lord to these words-does not seem appropriate. Hence Hitzig, in his hasty manner, has pronounced it spurious. In Jeremiah 7:22, we are, finally, to expound, "I have not commanded them upon words of burnt-offering or sacrifice." Words of, sacrifice are words which re-spect sacrifice, as much as: "I have laid upon them no com-mands," resting upon, or consisting in words regarding sacrifice. The correctness of this exposition is rendered clear by the con-trast in ver. 23, "But this word did I command them;" for the דבר must necessarily be taken in the preceding verse in the same sense that it bears here. The LXX. also translate the words before us, ὑנוס פשם כןדשם ׳ןץףי. But what especially decides in favour of our rendering is, that David, vers. 3-5, defends himself, with the strongest protestations, against calum-nies. From this defence we see also wherein the accusation consisted. He had been charged with having sought the life of Saul, and, in general, recompensed good with evil. It is important now to determine who Cush the Benjamite is, whose calumnious charges against David gave occasion to the inditing of this Psalm. According to the supposition now generally current, there was an individual Benjamite of the name of Cush, who, by his calumnies, stirred up afresh Saul's hatred against David, and with such effect that David found himself exposed to constant danger of death. Now, that such calumniators and go-betweens were busy in the matter of Saul and David, we learn from 1 Samuel 24:9, where David says to Saul, "Wherefore hearest thou men's words, saying, Behold, David seeketh thy hurt?" and in ch. 26:19, "But if the children of men stirred thee up against me," etc. It cannot but appear remarkable, however, that no Cush is mentioned in the comparatively full historical details of this period, if the part which he played was of such importance as to have led David to compose this Psalm, and immortalize his name in the super-scription of it, -which must have proceeded from David himself, from its appearing to form a necessary member of the Psalm, from its internal character, and from the undeniable fact that Habakkuk refers to it, in a way which implies that it was even then reckoned an integral part of the Psalm. It must further appear extraordinary that the words of Cush, according to vers. 3-5, do not refer to any peculiar fiction, to any new calumny by which he sought to rekindle the fire of Saul's anger (the words of Cush appear as the efficient cause of the persecutions); but rather allege, quite in a general way, that David was laying wait for Saul,-an allegation which, from the very first, was in the mouth of Saul; 1 Samuel 22:7; 1 Samuel 22:13. One does not rightly under-stand how an individual of the name of Cush could put David into such a commotion, by merely adding his own to the many slanderous tongues which uttered this calumny, with the view of ingratiating themselves into the favour of their master-why he should have selected him in particular from the mass of such persons-why he should not rather have kept to the words of Saul himself. Others, again, consider the name Cush as sym-bolical, and suppose David to have applied the epithet to his enemy on account of his dark malice, which was too inveterate to admit, of a change for the better. So almost all the Jewish expositors, with the exception of Abenezra, who adopted the opinion now generally received; so also Luther, who translates, “on account of the words of the Moor,” and remarks, "He calls him Moor, because of his shameless manners, as one incapable of anything, good or righteous. Just as we commonly call a lying and wicked fellow black. Hence the language of the poet: He is black, O Roman, be thou ware of him. As we also call him fair, who deals with people in an honest and upright manner,-who has a heart that is free of envy. Therefore it is said, David has willingly left out his proper name, and given him a new name in accordance with his perverse heart and ways." This rendering derives support from two passages in the pro-phets: Jeremiah 13:23, "Can the Ethiopian change his skin, or the leopard, his spots? Then may ye also do good, that are accustomed to do evil." And Amos 9:7, "Are ye not as the children of the Ethiopians unto me, O children of Israel? saith the Lord;" Chr. Ben. Michaelis: "Who change not the skin, as ye change not your ways." Besides, this view is exceedingly favoured by the character of the Psalms of David, in which agreat predilection for the enigmatical may be discerned; comp.. for example, Psalms 9:9; Psalms 22:22; Psalms 22:60., where precisely similar enigmatical designations of the subject-matter are to be found, and of such a nature as to show that one can only ascribe to a predilection for the enigmatical, David's here not calling his adversary by his proper name, and that the superscriptions, as well as the body of the Psalms, are poetical: a fact which has been too often overlooked. Now, those who follow this mode of explanation are again divided in regard to the person whom David had in view. The Jewish expositors all agree upon Saul; but Luther and others upon Shimei, whose slanders are given in 2 Samuel 16:11. The latter supposition is, for various reasons, to be rejected, of which we shall adduce only this one as suffi-cient, that David could not pray during the rebellion of Absa-lom, "Save me from all my persecutors," as he does in ver. 1. He had then to do, not with persecutors, but with revolters. A special reason may be assigned in support of the reference to Saul, which probably led the Psalmist to the choice of a symbo-lical designation for his enemy. Saul was the son of Kish, and David plays upon this, name of his father. Since it is a mere play on words, it is no objection that Kish is written with a koph; and the less so, as the two letters, so like in sound, are not rarely interchanged. See Gesell. on כ. From the preceding investigation, we have gathered the re-sult, that this Psalm belongs to the period of Saul's persecution. The more exact time within this period may be in some measure learned from ver. 4. There, allusion is made to the fact of David's not having employed the opportunity presented for killing his persecutor. According to the history, such an op-portunity was presented to David twice; 1 Samuel 24:24; 1 Samuel 24:26. Here it can only be the earlier occasion that is meant. For, after the second, David immediately passed into the land of the Philistines, 1 Samuel 27:4 : "And it was told Saul, that David was fled to Gath; and he sought no more again for him." On the present occasion, however, David is still in-volved in the most pressing danger. The fact, gathered from our Psalm, that David had Saul once already in his power before the close of his persecutions, is of importance in esti-mating the relation of 1 Samuel 24. to 26. Hitzig's view, which maintains that only one circumstance of the kind existed as the foundation of the two narratives, and throws awaythe one in ch. 24. as too marvellous, is thereby proved to be unfounded. Luther remarks: "Although he composed this Psalm after the assault, that it might be seen how he now, taught by the end and issue of the assault, holds out a consolation to those who are involved in tribulation, and God's anger to those who vex and persecute pious men, furnishing instruction to others by his own and his enemies' danger and hurt; yet it is still to be believed that, in the midst of this transaction, he had the very thoughts which he afterwards expressed in this Psalm. For he never despaired regarding God; and he therefore knew well that it would turn out so, that such misfortune would befall his adversaries and opponents." This view will be admitted, when it is seen that, as in all the Psalms which, whilst in the first instance originating in a subjective experience, yet have at the same time a general reference, so this Psalm did not, at some later period, acquire this general reference, but from the first was designed to possess it. Luther, however, goes into the other extreme, by altogether doing away with the significance of the Psalm, for, the Psalmist himself. No reason exists for the sup-position that David composed the Psalm only after the close of Saul's persecutions, and transferred himself to that period in thought simply to benefit the Church; and yet that supposi-tion, as the more remote one, would require clear grounds to legitimize it. De Wette is inclined to deny the Davidic authorship of this Psalm, and its personal character, and to put it amongst the large class of plaintive Psalms. But against this argues, 1. The superscription, the originality of which is supported by the reasons already adduced. 2. The unquestionably very distinct reference to David's connection with Saul, in ver. 4, not to speak of the by no means unimportant general agreement in the position,-in both cases alike, a malicious persecutor hunting after the life of a blameless man, under the pretext that he was brooding ill against him. 3. The correspondence of many expressions here, with those of David as reported in the historical accounts of the period-comp., for example, ver. 1, "Save me from all my perse-cutors," with 1 Samuel 24:14, "After whom is the king of Israel come out? After whom dost thou pursue? Also 26:20, "As when one doth hunt a partridge upon the mountains." Ver. 3: "0 Lord, my God, if I have done this, if there be iniquity inmy hands," with 1 Samuel 24:11, where David protests that there was "neither evil nor transgression in his hand." Ver. 8 Judge me, O Lord, according to my righteousness, and ac-cording to mine integrity;" and ver. 11, "God judgeth the righteous, and God is angry every day," with 1 Samuel 24:12, "The Lord judge between me and thee, and the Lord avenge me of thee," and ver. 15, "The Lord therefore be judge, and judge between me and thee, and see, and plead my cause, and judge me out of thine hand." Ver. 16: "His mischief shall return upon his own head," with 1 Samuel 25:39, where David, on hearing the report of Nabal's death, said, "The Lord hath returned the wickedness of Nabal upon his own head." All these corresponding expressions of David belong exactly to the point of time to which the composition of this Psalm must be referred. A twofold didactic element particularly discovers itself in the Psalm. It teaches, 1. That to be able to stretch forth pure hands to God, is an indispensable condition of Divine help under the oppression of enemies; and, 2. That where this condition exists, the Divine righteousness affords undoubted certainty of deliverance. Superscrip. Erring, of David, which he sung to the Lord, be-cause of the words of the Moor, of Benjamin. It only remains for us here to explain the meaning of שגיון. So much is certain that we are not warranted, when the root שגה is of such common occurrence in Hebrew, to derive our explanation from a doubt-ful comparison with the cognate dialects. At the outset, there-fore, are to be rejected the current renderings from the Syriac by carmen, and from the Arabic by mourning song. The latter reference accords with the subject neither of our Psalm, nor of Hab. iii., where the same word is found in the superscription, but nowhere else. For lamentation and pain are in both places not the predominating ideas. The general signification, poem, is not at all admissible in Habakkuk. Neither can we with pro-priety take the word, with the greater part of those who rightly go back to Hebrew usage, as a musical designation. For itwould then be very difficult to explain how it should occur only in the superscription of this one Psalm. שגה always signifies to err, in a physical or moral sense; but never of itself has the meaning, which Clauss improperly supposes to be the radical one, to be drunk. Derived from this, then (comp. on the form,Ewald, p. 246), it would signify erring, error. In accordancewith the concise style of the superscriptions, one might verywell designate a Psalm thus, which had respect to the errors andtransgressions Of the wicked; the more so, as it is further definedby the following שר, under which lies שיר, "erring which sang,"q. d. "a song upon the erring, which sang." An explanationof the concise expression is to be found in that of Habakkuk,which alludes to the one before us. He describes his song asone upon Shiggionoth,-a prayer of Habakkuk the prophet "onthe errings, or transgressions." The whole of that chapter isoccupied with the transgressions of the enemy. Against thesethe people of God seek help, and express their confidence ofreceiving it. Thus the gist of the whole Psalm is indicated bythese words. It is also worthy of remark, that the verb שגה oc-curs in the address of Saul to David, in 1 Samuel 26:21, "Be-hold, I have played the fool and erred exceedingly," הרבה ואשגה מאוד -a passage which, at the same time, confutes those whowould maintain that שגיון is too mild a word for designating suchtransgressions as those of Saul against David; comp. also Psalms 119:21; Psalms 119:118. So that we are here also confirmed in supposingthat the dark and difficult words of the superscriptions refergenerally to the subject, and that we obtain the key for under-standing them whenever we have become acquainted with this.Luther understood the word as referring to the subject, buterred in giving it the sense of "innocence." Ver. 1. O Lord, my God, in Thee do I put my trust; saveme from all my persecutors, and deliver me. Calvin: "This isthe true proof of our faith, that we cease not, even in our greatestdistress, to trust in God. From this also we conclude, that thedoor is shut against our prayers, if we cannot open it with thekey of confidence. Nor is it a superfluous thing for him toname the Lord his God; but he sets this up as a bank againstthe waves of temptation, that they might not overflow his faith."Berleb. Bible: "If we honour God, and seek no support besidesHim to which we would commit ourselves, He shows us, and givesus to experience, that we also need no other, but that He will beto us quite sufficient." The words, from all mine enemies, showthe greatness of the distress and danger, the necessity of God'sagency to deliver. Ver. 2. Lest he tear my soul, like a lion., rending in pieces,while there is none to deliver. In the preceding verse mentionwas made of many persecutors, while in this David speaks only of one. Expositors have, for the most part, united the two, by understanding under the many, those who calumniated David to Saul, and whom the latter made use of for the purpose of persecuting David; but under the one enemy, Saul, who was the originator of the whole persecution, and who was, properly, the one enemy of David, because all the others only acted under his commission. As we find the same thing, however, where such an explanation cannot be adopted, it is much better to explain the singular on the principle of personification. The multitude of his enemies David represents as one person, as that of the ungodly and evil-doer. This person, though primarily ideal, was indeed represented here by Saul. He speaks of his soul, because it concerned his life. The similitude of the lion, who cruelly rends in pieces a helpless sheep, is intended to make God, the only and ever present deliverer, the more inclined to, help. פרק stands here in its common signification, to tear pieces. Ver. 3. Since God cannot be called on, without exciting His anger, to vindicate an unrighteous cause, David therefore pro-tests his innocence before he proceeds with his prayer. The apodosis follows in ver. 5. O Lord, my God, if I have done this; if there be iniquity in my hands. Most expositors interpret the word this, "that which my enemies reproach me with, and on account of which I am persecuted by Saul." Ven.: "hoc quod mihi impingitur, et in vulgus notum est." Others understand by it the crime, the mention of which immediately follows. Sub-stantially, both are the same; for the publicly proclaimed accusa-tion against David, is that which is spoken of in the following verse. But the first mode of explanation is the more natural one. The crime is attributed to the hands, because they serve as instruments for its execution, and are consequently polluted. So also purity of hands is not rarely taken for innocence. Ver. 4. If I have rendered evil to him that was at peace with me, or spoiled him that without cause was mine enemy. שלמי, is rendered by most expositors, him that is at peace with me, that is my friend. Luther: "Him who lived with me so, peacefully." Psalms 41:10. According to this exposition, David first clears him-self of the crime of neglected gratitude and friendship, as Saul's retainers characterized the attempt slanderously attributed to him; then of revenge toward one who had causelessly becomehis enemy, which Saul in reality had. Or, perhaps David divides the wrong which he might have done, and which would have rendered him unworthy of Divine help, into two parts: 1. "Wrong toward Saul, during the time that David was in goodunderstanding with him,-to which the reproaches of Saul par- ticularly referred: he grounded his persecution on the belief that David laid snares for him. 2. A revengeful behaviour toward him during the time of his unrighteous persecution. It is otherwise understood, however, by the older translators,-in particular, by the LXX., Vulg., Syr., which take the word as equivalent to משלמי "one who recompenses me;" comp. Psalms 38:21; Psalms 35:12. The clause is then perfectly parallel to the following one: If I have requited him who has done evil to me, and spoiled him who without cause was mine enemy. Against this explanation may be urged that שלם never has the signification of recompensing in Kal, but always in Piel,-a consideration which is certainly somewhat obviated by the fact, that the verb also, in the sense of being at peace, in friendship with, which appears to be borrowed from שלום, does not elsewhere occur. Besides, in the case of David, with respect to Saul, it cannot be appropriate to speak of recompense. But there is a decisive reason against the interpretation, in the circumstance, that the sense of retali-ating, which it ascribes to גמל, does not belong to this verb. If we can only expound it by render, then the רע must of ne-cessity belong to גמלתי, and the interpretation in question falls to the ground of itself. Hitzig does indeed translate: "If I have done evil to him, who requites me for it." But it is ob-viously harsh to suppose that the suff. is to be supplied.1 הלץ1 גמל signifies in Arab., Pulcher tam corpore, quam moribus, elegans, decorus fuit; in the 2d conj., bonum pulchrumque et bene atque eleganter fecit; in the 8d, pulchre, benigneque et humaniter egit, therefore, to be beautiful, to make and act beautifully, and do beautifully. The many derivatives are easily traced back in the Arab. to the original meaning. In Heb. also, the verb first signified to be good, beautiful; in which sense it occurs Isaiah 18:5 : גמל בסר omphases maturescentes, ripening clusters; andfrom it is camel, derived, as the Arabic shows, camelus, sc., pleniore adultus robore. Then to make good, beautiful; so Numbers 17:8, "And it yielded (made good) almonds," brought them to ripeness. Hither also belongs גמל as used of the weaning of children, which is considered as a transplanting of them into a more perfect state; and on this account, even in patriarchal times, the weaning day was spent festively. Genesis 21:8 : "And Abraham made a great feast the day that Isaac was weaned,"-a112 THE BOOK OF PSALMS. "to strip," specially of the spoiling of a dead enemy, 2 Samuel 2:21; Judges 14:19. David alludes here to his conduct toward Saul, as the best refutation of the calumnies circulated against him. As a proof that it was in his power to have killed him and carried off his armour, he cut off the skirt of his garment. Otherwise, David makes asseveration of his innocence in quite a general manner, although he has in view his behaviour toward Saul, intending specially to refute the calumny uttered in regard to him. He thus shows that his conduct towards Saul was not something peculiar, but was rooted in his whole disposition and mode of action. "If I ever have requited evil with evil, as you reproach me with doing, in reference to Saul; and that the more wrongfully, inasmuch as towards him in particular, I showed quite a different spirit," etc. In reference to the spirit here dis-played, Calvin says: "If any one not merely does not repay the injury that has been received, but also strives to overcome the evil with good, he gives a solid proof of Divine goodness, and shows himself to be one of God's children; for it is only from the spirit of sonship that such a gentleness proceeds." Luther: "Let this also be marked, that David here manifests an evangelical degree of righteousness. For, to recompense evil with evil, the flesh and old Adam think to be right and proper. But it was forbidden even in the law of Moses, except as in-flicted by the magistrate; consequently, not of one's own malice consideration which readily explains how, on that particular day, the mockery of the envious Ishmael should have broken out so wantonly. Finally, to show one's self good or beautiful, to act so, to give or bestow. This last signification is to be retained, even where the word is used of evil; for in such cases, there is always an unexpressed contrast to some good which should have been given. Particularly deserving of notice on this score Isaiah 1 Samuel 24:17, where Saul says to David, "Thou hast rewarded (done) me good, and I have done thee evil," for, I, who should likewise have done thee good, have, instead, extended to thee evil. Comp. also Genesis 1:15; Genesis 1:17; 2 Chronicles 20:11; Isaiah 9. Gousset was on the right track, when he remarked; "I confess, that when used in a bad sense, a noun such as רעה, etc., is often added, whence I gather that, in its radical meaning, the word was not of ambiguous import, but rather referred to what was good. With על it is used only of good, not of evil, excepting in 2 Chronicles 20:11, but applied ironically, and so is reduced to a good, since it is only in a figure that the evil is done. Also, in Joe 4:4, there is the same sort of irony, as appears from the subjoined antithesis." He has not, however, pursued his line of thought to its proper issue, and it has wholly escaped modern lexicographers.and authority." This evangelical degree of righteousness De Wette will not accord to the Old Testament. It appears to him inconceivable that it should be here marked as a serious crime, to recompense evil with evil. He would therefore take the sense to be "Did I wrong him, who now deals toward me as an enemy? No, he is an enemy without cause." But what pur-pose is served by banishing from the Psalm "the evangelical degree of righteousness," since it cannot be banished from the history? Saul himself accords to the Psalmist what De Wette would withhold from him! In 1 Samuel 24:19, he says to him, "For if a man find his enemy, will he let him go well away? Wherefore the Lord reward thee good for that thou hast done unto me this day." But that rendering of De Wette proceeds upon an ungrammatical explanation of הלץ by doing wrong. If it can only signify to strip, the subject in hand cannot be a wrong which preceded the persecution. To strip, to spoil, can only be used of a vanquished enemy; and when he is vanquished, the persecution ceases as a matter of course. Ver. 5. Apodosis: If I have done this, then let the enemy persecute my soul and take it, and tread down my life upon the earth, and lay mine honour in the dust. In vers. 1 and 2 the Psalmist had prayed for the deliverance of his life from all his persecutors. Here he solemnly offers his life to destruction, nay, expressly invokes it, and renounces all claim to Divine deliverance, if the soul, which the enemy sought to take from him, were one laden with guilt. The most inward conscious-ness of innocence, and the deepest horror of guilt, are here at the same time manifested. The declaration has a high parae-netic meaning. It teaches the oppressed more forcibly than any direct exhortation, that they can only share in the help of God so far as they keep themselves free from guilt; it demands of them, first of all, to commune with themselves, to investigate their walk before God, inasmuch as the righteous God can undertake nothing but a righteous cause. The form ףדoרaיi has been very differently explained. The most probable view is the following: In the text stood originally the Fut. in Piel, ףדeרaי;. The Masorites wished to read for this the Fut. in Kal, ףדoר;יi, because the Kal, in the sense of persecuting, is much more com- mon than the Piel; which, however, as being the intensive-form (Ewald, p. 1.95), is the most suitable here, where the most vio-lent, repeated, and continued persecution, are intended. Thedifference being merely in the vowels, no Kri could be placed in the margin. They called attention to this by uniting both punctuations. The one standing in the text is therefore noform at all; but we must read either ףדeרaי;, which is the correctone, or ףדoר;יi, which latter form is found in many MSS., whose transcribers were bolder than the Masorites. It is customary also with the Arabians, when the punctuation is doubtful, to write the points in two or more ways; comp. Ewald, p. 489. The notion still found in Ewald, p. (302, that ל sprung from אל, is still often of like import with it, and, in particular, is used of direction to a place, turns out, on a closer examination of the examples collected by Winer, Lex. p. 510, to be incorrect. Theל always marks, quite differently from אל, the relation of be-longing to. Accordingly, here לארץ רמס is to "tread down so, that it belongs to the earth;" and the honour also is made to dwell so, that it henceforth is a property of the dust. The dwelling signifies that it is lasting-an overthrow from which there is no recovery. According to De Wette, the expressions,my soul, my life, and mine honour," are a mere circumlocu-tion for the pers. pron. But this is manifestly false. "My soul," as the parallel; "my life," shows, which is never a sub-stitute for the pron., is used here, as in ver. 1, because it was a question of life to David. That "my honour" does not stand for the pron. is obvious even from the contrast in which it stands to the dust. According to many expositors, David offers here, in case he should be found guilty, to suffer the loss of the two earthly possessions which were most highly prized, and were claimed by Saul,-life and glory. So already Calvin: "The sense is,-"not only let the enemy destroy me, but let him also add all manner of insult to the dead, so that my name may abide in filth and dirt:" in this case, however, the loss of honour is too strictly referred to the disgrace of his memory after death, instead of to dishonour before, in and after, death. Others, however, take the honour as a designation of the soul, corresponding to "my soul and my life," and as im-plying that David was ready to sacrifice his noblest part. For this latter exposition there are two conclusive reasons: 1. The putting of "mine honour" for "my soul," in so far as this con-stitutes the glory of man, and is that which elevates him above the whole animal creation, to which, as to his body, he is re-lated-he alone being in respect of his soul a breath of God,Genesis 2:7 -is, according to the precedent in Genesis 49:6, of such frequent use in the Psalms of David (comp. Psalms 16:9; Psalms 57:8, 108: 2), that it is very natural to take the honour in this sense, when we find it connected with the soul and the life. 2. The reference of our verse to ver. 2 is also in favour of this sense. The Psalmist here manifestly consents that the enemy, in case of hid guilt, should attain the end there said to be aimed at by him. There, however, only the soul is spoken of: "lest he tear my soul like a lion." The enemy seeks after David's soul, and his soul he will readily give him, if it be laden with guilt; but, since the accusations of the enemy are only lying inventions, God must needs deliver his soul. To make to dwell in the dust, denotes a shameful and humiliating destruction. In accordance with the relation of "mine honour" to "my life," it is a stronger expression than "treading upon the earth." The honour of the Psalmist, his glory, must lie covered with dust upon the ground. Ver. 6. Conscious of his innocence, the Psalmist summons the Lord to execute judgment against his enemies. The Berleb. Bible points out well the relation to the preceding context, "But, because my conscience acquits me of such things, and testifies that I am innocent therein, therefore I seek Thy protection, and call upon Thy righteousness, which is wont to defend the guilt-less." Arise, O Lord, in Thine anger, lift up Thyself at the raging of mine, enemies; and awake for me, Thou who hast or- dained judgment. The "lift up" is stronger than "arise," and is q. d.: "Show Thyself mighty;" comp. Isaiah 33:10, where the "rising" is connected with "exalting one's self." עברה prop. an overstepping, then especially of a violent rage, breaking through all bounds of order. The stat. constr. in plural has עברות, in Job 40:11. But the variation is explicable from the general inclination of the gutturals to the A sound, Ewald, p. 110; which was the more easily to be satisfied here, as the vowel is merely an assumed one, formed from two shevas. Expositors generally translate: "Against the rage of mine enemies." But this rendering weakens the sense, by confound-ing the obvious contrast between the anger of God and the anger of the enemies. בערברות stands in close relation to the pre-ceding באפך, and the ב must therefore be similarly rendered here. This was already seen by Calvin: "To the rage of his enemies he opposes the anger of God. Whilst the ungodlyburn, and belch out the flames of their rage, he begs God that He also would wax hot." "Awake for me," is for, "turn Thy-self wakingly toward me." Thou hast ordained judgment. As regards the matter, the clause is a relative one: Thou, who hast ordained judgment; and that this is not externally indicated, is to be explained from the circumstance, that poetry loves the abrupt and concise. David begins here to ground his prayer for help on God's being the righteous judge of the world. This thought is further expanded in what follows. We must not translate with De Wette: "Order judgment, command that a day of judgment be appointed," for then the ו relat. could not be absent. Moreover, the sense of the first explanation is more suitable. David says here, the Lord has ordained judgment, inasmuch as to exercise judgment is a necessary outflow of His nature, of His holiness and righteousness, with a reference, per-haps, to the numerous declarations of the law concerning this exercise of judgment-which, however, only are so far con-sidered, as they testify to the fact of God's having appointed judgment. We are not to understand, "Thou hast ordained judgment in, but according to Thy word;" for in the law, judg-ment is not ordained, but announced. In what follows, then, he calls upon God actually to hold this judgment: "Help me, for Thou hast ordained judgment; Thou hast ordained judgment, therefore judge the people first, and then, in particular, me." Ver. 7. And let time congregation of time peoples compass Thee about; and over it return Thou on high. The main idea of the verse is, Show Thyself, O Lord, as the judge of the world. Every special act of God's judgment is a consequence of His being judge of the whole world. If this were not the case, the expec-tation of such a thing would be groundless, a mere act of arbi-trary procedure. Hence, the Psalmists and Prophets not un-frequently point to an universal judgment, before announcing a special judgment, or a prayer for one-comp. Micah 1:2 ss., Isaiah 2:9 ss. The proper wish of the Psalmist is contained in ver. 8, "Judge me." But because a special judgment is only a result of the general and comprehensive judgment, the Psalmist first of all prays that the latter might begin: "Thou hast ar-ranged judgment; come then to the judgment of the world; come also to the judgment between me and my enemies." The clothing of this idea is taken from the manner of pronouncing judgment, which still prevails in the East, where the king, sur-rounded by the crowd of contending parties, ascends the throne, and then gives forth the judgment. The Lord comes down from His lofty seat in the heavens;-(this is what is to be understood by המרום, "the height," as appears from the quite similar representation in Psalms 63.; see especially ver. 18, "Thou hast ascended on high, Thou hast led captivity captive, Thou hast received gifts for men")-around Him are gathered all nations of the earth; after the judgment has been held, He returns back to heaven. This representation is in perfect ac-cordance with the common figurative, description of every mani-festation of God, as a coming down from heaven to earth. The true God is at once above and in the world; whilst the self-made god is either wholly shut out from it, after the manner of the naturalists, or wholly depressed to the world, and amalgamated with it, after the manner of the pantheists. Neither לאמים nor עמים ever designates the family of Israel, of whom various ex-positors, incapable of apprehending the true sense, here think. (In Deuteronomy 33:3; Deuteronomy 33:19, the word עמים signifies, not nations, but peoples or persons.) Nor are the nations to be considered merely in the light of witnesses of the judgment, but rather as those on whom the judgment is to be exercised. This is unde-niably clear from the words in next verse, "The Lord shall judge the people;" comp. also Micah 1:3. עלה, over or above.it, raising Thyself above it, refers to the assemblage of the nations. למרום-שוב, to return back, that one may belong to the height; as to the sense, but not grammatically, equivalent to "return to the height.” Venema: Universo coetu inspectante coelum, unde descendisti, repete. In disproof of De Wette's forced interpretation: "Over it turn to the height, i.e. to Thy elevated seat upon Mount Zion," "This His seat, Jehovah had in a manner left, as He was not exercising righteousness among the people, and permitting the good to be oppressed," it is enough to remark, that המרום is never used of Mount Zion, but always of God's lofty dwelling-place in the heavens. Besides, at the time of this Psalm's composition, Mount Zion was not yet the seat of the Lord; and the words, "over it," are not suitable, etc. Luther has also quite failed in giving the right meaning: "That the people again assemble before Thee, and for their sakes rise up again." Ver. 8. The Lord judges the people; judge me also, O Lord, according to my righteousness, and integrity in me. Many ex-plain עלי, "over me," from David's representing his integrity as a cover and shield, protecting him against hostile assaults, and insuring him of Divine assistance. We may, however, simply explain, "in me," "which is peculiar to me." The qualities of the man are, as it were, over, or cover him in whom they inhere. That the Psalmist here prays God to judge him according to his righteousness and innocence, agrees quite well with that in Psalms 143. , "Enter not into judgment with Thy servant, for in Thy sight shall no man living be justified." The discourse here, as may be seen by comparing vers. 3-5, is properly of righteous-ness in reference to a determinate matter, which certainly can only be conceived as an outflow of righteousness generally; yet still only presupposes such a righteousness as does not exclude the exercise of Divine mercy in pardoning, but only fits us for becoming partakers thereof. Ver. 9. Oh, let the wickedness of the wicked come to an end, and establish the just; and the trier of the heart and reins art Thou, O righteous God. David's conflict with Saul was not a conflict between individuals, but between parties; Saul's cause was espoused by the wicked as theirs, and David's by the right Rous. Comp. the often misunderstood passage, 1 Samuel 22:2. Therefore, the Psalmist prays, that in Saul the wicked might be judged, in him the righteous delivered. Many render: "May He, the Lord, bring to an end." But as there is an address to the Lord both in the preceding and following verse, we should scarcely expect Him to be here spoken of in the third person. גמר occurs also elsewhere in the Psalms in an intrans. sense; 12:1, 77:8. The words: "The trier art Thou," etc., point to the Divine righteousness, which does not permit God to be indifferent toward the righteous and the wicked, but constantly makes use of His omniscience to penetrate into the inmost regions of the heart, in order to discern the one and the other, and to visit them with blessing or punishment accordingly. "The proving of the heart and the reins" is mentioned, as is evident from the expression, "0 righteous God," not as pledging the mere possibility, but the reality of the Divine judgment, not as an outflow of the Divine omniscience, but of the Divine right-eousness. Comp. Jeremiah 17:10, "I, the Lord, search the heart, I try the reins, even to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings;" 20:12, "And, O Lord of hosts, that triest the righteous, and seest the reins and theheart, I shall see my revenge on them." The and also is better explained on this view than on the other, which would rather lead us to expect a "for," insomuch that some of its supporters, for example Ewald, are disposed to throw it out of the text entirely. If the trying of the heart and reins is a spontaneous activity of God, then there is involved in the words before us, which, primarily, simply ascribe this activity to God, when viewed in connection with the preceding entreaties, an indirect solicita-tion to exercise such activity-"Thou art a trier," etc., so try then--and the second clause of the verse comes into parallelism with the first. If God does try the heart and the reins, He cannot but bring to an end the wickedness of the wicked, and establish the righteous. Many translate: And the righteous God tries the heart and the reins; but it is better to regard this as a direct address to God, in accordance with the pre-ceding one. Ver. 10. In the room of the prayer, appears now the hope grounded upon the righteousness of God, which manifests itself in defence of the righteous, and for the destruction of the wicked. My shield is with God, who delivers the upright in heart. Theעל cannot mean precisely with here. Wherever this appears to be the sense, the connection with the radical meaning upon must still be able to be pointed out. Here the use of the preposition may be explained thus, that the shield stands figuratively for defence either it devolves on God to protect me, to hold His shield over me (comp. Judges 19:20, "All thy wants are upon me," it lies upon me to relieve them; Psalms 56:12, "Thy vows are upon me, O God"), or my defence rests upon God, has Him for its foundation. This latter supposition is favoured by Psalms 62:7, “ Upon God is my salvation and my glory.” In that David expects deliverance only on the ground of God's saving the upright, he supplies a new evidence of his having a good conscience. Ver. 11. God judges the righteous, and the Almighty is angry every day. This is David's double ground of hope. For he is a righteous man, and his enemies are the ungodly. Many take שופט as a subst., and צדיק as the adjective belonging to it: God is a righteous judge. But the parallelism with זעם requires that שופט also should be taken as a participle standing for the verb finite. This is confirmed by a comparison with ver. 8. To the "Judge me, O Lord, according to my righteousness," there,corresponds here, the "God judges the righteous;" there the prayer, here the positive principle, which guarantees the fulfil-ment of the prayer. The every day, continually, points to the fact, that the Divine judgment on ungodliness is one always realizing itself in the course of history, so that they who practise it can never be secure, but are always in danger of a sudden overthrow. Ver. 12. If he turn not, He will whet His sword, bend His bow, and make it ready. The subject of the verb turn, the ungodly, is to be borrowed from the second half of the preceding verse, where it occurs by implication. It is erroneous to suppose with many that a particular enemy, Saul, is here described as such. That the Psalmist delineates here only in a general way the punishment of the ungodly, is clear even from the preceding context. This and the next verse are merely a further expan-sion of the words, "God is angry every day," which, on account of the "every day," must not be restricted to the enemies of David. The punishment of the enemies of David follows from this, with the same necessity as, from the general principle, "God judges the righteous," does the deliverance of David. The "turning back" is wider than the "turning back to the Lord." It denotes merely in general the ceasing from former doings and strivings, while the latter, at the same time, indi-cates the aim toward which the changed course is directed. Koester justly remarks, that it perfectly accords with the plac-able spirit of the Psalm, comp. ver. 4, that David should first wish the conversion of the enemy. He will whet His sword. The Lord is represented under the image of a warrior who prepares himself for the attack; comp. Deuteronomy 32:41, "I whet My glit-tering sword, and My hand lays hold on judgment." This passage, which, the mention of arrows immediately after the sword, as here, proves more certainly to have been in the eye of the Psalmist, is of itself sufficient to confute those who suppose that the ungodly are the subject of the whole verse. And make it ready -He places the arrows upon it. Falsely, De Wette: "And directs it." This signification does not accord with the parallel passage, Psalms 11:2, nor does it occur in the Pilel of the verb כון. In all the passages adduced by Gesenius in favour of the sense "to direct," that of preparing, making ready, charging, should rather be admitted, The "directing" is first introduced in ver. 13. It is a remarkable instance of that play of Divine Providence which so often occurs in history, that in the death of Saul, the bow and the sword both actually had their share. Saul was hit by the hostile archers, and sore pressed, so that he despaired of his life. "Then said he to his armour-bearer, Draw thy sword, and thrust me through therewith, lest these uncircumcised come and thrust me through, and abuse me: but his armour-bearer would not, for he was sore afraid. Therefore Saul took a sword and fell upon it." 1 Samuel 31:3; 1 Samuel 31:4. The apparently coarse manner of expression in our text, representing God as a warrior, equipped with sword and bow, has, besides, for its foundation, the coarseness of sinners, and the weakness of faith on the part of believers, which does not find the simple thought, that God judges, a sufficient support in face of visible danger, but demands that the thought take to itself flesh and blood, and that the judge should stand over against the sinner, man against man, sword against sword. But this kind of re-presentation shows, at the same time, a very lively faith, which alone was able, in order to satisfy this need of the weakness of faith, to clothe the judge and avenger with flesh and blood. The idea of God's righteousness must have possessed great vigour to render such a representation possible. There are some excel-lent remarks upon the ground of it in Luther, who, however, too much overlooks the fact, that the Psalmist presents before his eyes this form of an angry and avenging God, primarily with the view of strengthening, by its consideration, his own hope; and pays too little regard to the distinction between the Psalmist, who only indirectly teaches, that is, presents what he himself has inwardly experienced, and the Prophet: "The Prophet employs a coarse human similitude, in order that he might inspire terror into the ungodly. For he speaks against stupid and hardened people, who would not apprehend the reality of a Divine judgment, of which he had just spoken, unless it should be shown them by the use of serious human images.-Now the Prophet is not satisfied with mentioning the sword, but he adds thereto the bow; even this does not satisfy him, but he describes how it is already stretched, and aim is taken, and the arrows are applied to it, as here follows. So hard, stiffnecked, and unabashed are the ungodly, that how-ever many threatenings may be urged against them, they will still remain unmoved. But in these words he forcibly describes how God's anger presses hard upon the ungodly, though theywill never understand this until they actually experience it. It is also to be remarked here, that we have had so frightful a threatening and indignation against the ungodly in no Psalm before this; neither has the Spirit of God attacked them with so many words. Then, in the following verses, he also recounts their plans and purposes; shows how these will not only be in vain, but will return again upon their own head. So that it clearly and manifestly appears to all those who suffer wrong and reproach, as a matter of consolation, that God hates such revilers and slanderers above all other characters." Ver. 13. And He has prepared for him the instruments of death, He makes His arrows burning. The ל with the verb הכין denotes the object toward which something is directed; which is aimed here, therefore, at the ungodly. The object stands here with peculiar emphasis in the foreground. The Psalmist draws attention to the danger of being the target at which God levels His attack. דלק to burn. In sieges it is cus-tomary to wrap round the arrows burning matter, and to shoot them after being kindled. Ver. 14. Behold, he travails with mischief, but is big with misery, and brings forth falsehood. In place of the hope which springs out of the consideration of God's righteousness-which leads Him to help the righteous, but to prepare for the wicked a fearful destruction-confidence now enters. The Psalmist sees with his eyes how the malicious plots of the wicked, for the ruin of the righteous, are brought to nought, and turn out to their own destruction. The "behold," and the prophetic pret., are a wonderful proof of the strength of faith, which can over-look what violently presses upon the sense, and see what is still invisible. Luther: "He first says, ‘ behold,’ as if he himself wondered, and called upon all to come, as it were to a rare spec-tacle. For it appears far otherwise to our senses." Luther translates: Behold, he has evil in his heart, with misfortune he is pregnant, but he will bring forth a failure; and he is followed by De Wette, Hitzig, etc. But we must rather refer the words, "he is big with misery," to the issue as full of wretchedness for the wicked. This is supported, 1. By the accents, which connect the words, not with what precedes, but with what fol-lows, comp. ver. 15; 2. and, besides, the being in labour, ought in the other case to follow upon the being pregnant. Ver. 15. The same thought, under another image. He hasdigged a pit, and hollowed it out; but he falls into the ditch which he makes. Luther: "All this is written for the consolation of those who are oppressed, to the end that they may be sure and certain, that the evil, which is directed against them, shall fall upon their revilers and persecutors. At the same time, it is also written for a terror to the ungodly, persecutors, and slanderers, whose excessive rashness and security needs to be alarmed, as the weakness of the other to be strengthened." It is customary to dig pits, and cover them with foliage, in order to catch lions and other wild beasts in them. From such cus-tom the image is here taken:-And hollowed it out. This addi-tion marks the depth of the pit dug by him, the anxiety of the wicked to have it made as deep as possible. Luther: "See how admirably he expresses the hot burning fury of the ungodly; not simply declaring: he has dug a pit, but adding to this: and hollowed it out. So active and diligent are they to have the pit dug and the hole prepared. They try everything, they explore everything; and not satisfied that they have dug a pit, but clear it out and make it deep, as deep as they possibly can, that they may destroy and subvert the innocent. In this way the Jews acted: although they were eager to have Christ put to death, and their whole efforts were directed thereto, still they were not satisfied that He should die a painful death, but took care that His death should be of the most shameful kind, just as if they had dug a very deep pit for Him, and cleared it out. So are all godless persecutors and revilers disposed, not to be satis-fied with merely destroying their neighbour, but strive as much as in them lies to bring them to the most shameful end." Be-fore יפעל, the pron. relat. is to be supplied; or, more correctly, there is here an usage of very frequent occurrence, especially in poetry, of placing the relative clause after the substantive without any particular word. Comp. Ewald, p. 646. The pron. suff. also is awanting, because the sense is clear from the substantive immediately preceding: poetry, too, is fond of ex-pressive brevity. Therefore: he falls into the pit he makes. We must not expound: into the pit which he has made. The wicked man is still occupied with the pit, still working at it, when he falls into it. The punishment overtakes him in the midst of his guilty career. Kaiser supposes, without ground, that an external deliverance already past is here celebrated. But that by no means necessarily follows from the Fut. withvau cony. ויפל. For this form only marks that an action fol-lows out of the preceding. If this is all, it may stand also for the present and the future, although certainly it is most com-monly used of the past. Therefore not he fell; but, he falls. Ewald, p. 541. Ver. 16. His mischief shall return upon his own head, and his iniquity shall come down upon his own pate, like a stone or an arrow, which, having been thrown aloft, returns upon the head of him who threw it. The ב in בראשו, is the ב which is used with verbs of motion, when the object moved remains in its place. Upon his head, is not grammatically correct. The head is considered as the seat of the mischief. The mischief not merely falls upon it, but presses into it. עמל always denotes the evil one suffers, not that which one inflicts. The evilhere characterized by the suffix, which refers to the ungodly, belonging to him, as wrought by him. This verse, like the two preceding ones, points to "the elastic nature of right, according to which every infliction calls forth a counter infliction:" as is indeed a necessary consequence of the existence of a living God. God, indeed, cannot be conceived of without the idea of recom-pense. Luther "For this is the incomprehensible nature of the Divine judgment, that God catches the wicked with their own plots and counsels, and leads them into the destruction which they had themselves devised." Ver. 17. In what precedes, the Psalmist had attained to a living acquaintance with the Divine righteousness, and de-scribed its manifestations. Here he concludes with giving praise to God on account of this His righteousness, and generally on account of His glorious nature, or with the declaration, that he will praise Him on account thereof. I will praise the Lord according to His righteousness, and will sing praise to the name of the Lord Most High. According to His righteousness, in pro- portion thereto, so that the righteousness and the praise shall correspond. The verse forms a suitable conclusion to the strophe of vision. For the manifestations of Divine righteousness are taken for granted in it as having been already given. PSALM VIII. The grand topic of this Psalm must, according to various expositors, be twofold,-the greatness of God, as the God of theworld and nature, and His goodness toward man. But a more careful examination of it shows, that the latter topic alone is strictly the theme, to which the other is merely subordinate; that the greatness of the Lord in the creation of the world is only celebrated for the purpose of presenting in a more striking light His condescending goodness towards weak man.-God's glory-this is the train of thought-is made known on earth by the splendour of the heavenly edifice, in so impressive, feeling, and palpable a manner, that even children apprehend it, and by the wondering delight which they experience, and the praise which they stammer forth to Him, put to shame the folly of His hardened blasphemers; vers. 1, 2.-When one considers this glory and greatness of God revealing themselves in the heavens, how must it fill with adoring wonder, with sincere gratitude, that such a God should have so taken notice of weak man, who appears unworthy of the least regard from Him, crowned him with honour, made him His vicegerent upon earth, and delivered into his hands the lordship thereof! vers. 3-8. Great indeed is God, as well in the dignity which, in the fulness of His love and condescension, He has conferred on men, as in the glory of the heavens!-This, then, is the theme, The greatness of God in the greatness of man. The Psalm needs no historical exposition, and bears none. It has been often said, that David was raised to the adoration of God by the sight of the starry sky. And in this way it has been commonly explained, why, in the third verse, amid the glo-rious works of God in the heavens, the sun is omitted, and the moon and the stars only are mentioned. Sun is this idea is not well-grounded, we shall see when we come to the exposition of the verse. That David composed this Psalm, not as a shepherd, as some have supposed, for the sake of their sentimentality, but as king, is probable from the familiar reference in the Psalm to the kingly glory; comp. vers. 1 and 5. In his shepherd-days, David had not yet begun to indite Psalms; and in him also was verified the proverb, "The wine-press only presses out the wine;" and this, "Necessity teaches men to pray." It was in the per- secutions that he endured from Saul, that the springs of Divine song began to flow in him. Passages from this Psalm are applied to Christ in the New Testament; and this has led many expositors to refer the whole Psalm to Him alone. Not only, however, do many internal grounds oppose this view, but it is not sufficiently confirmed by the authority of the New Testament. This will appear on an examination of the particular passages. In Matthew 21:16, Christ rebukes the Pharisees, who could not contain themselves because children were crying to him Hosanna, by bringing to their re-membrance the 2d verse of this Psalm: "Have ye never read, Out of the mouths of babes and sucklings Thou hast perfected praise?" From this quotation, it does not at all follow that the Lord explained the Psalm to refer to Himself. It is enough that the idea uttered in the Psalm,-viz. the high-minded, who proudly shut their heart to the impression of what is Divine, withstanding, and impiously blaspheming it, are put to shame by the cheerful acknowledgment thereof, uttered by the un-sophisticated mind of childhood, here also exemplified. The stroke which the Lord here dealt to the Pharisees, was a com-pletely silencing one; they must have felt it in their innermostconscience. The second quotation from this Psalm, in Heb. ii.6-9, appears to favour more the Messianic interpretation. Therevers. 4, 5, are applied to Christ's glory, and His lordship overall creation. But neither are we necessitated by this passage torefer the Psalm, in its primary and proper sense, to Christ.Although David, in the first instance, speaks of the human racegenerally, the writer of the Epistle might still justly refer whatis said to Christ, in its highest and fullest sense. For whereasthe glory of human nature, here delineated, has been so dimmed through the fall, that only some few slight flashes of it are seen,and therefore what is here said refers rather to the idea thanto the reality, it appeared anew in Christ in full splendour. Thewriter of the Epistle describes the dominion obtained for hu-manity in Christ over creation, whereby it was exalted abovethe angels, in the words of the 4th and 5th verse of this Psalm.The thoroughly incidental reference of the beginning of ver. 5,as rendered in the LXX., to the humiliation of Christ, is notproperly an exposition, but a popular adaptation. This is un-questionably the case also with the third quotation, in 1 Corinthians 15:27. Paul there refers the words of ver. 6, "Thou hast putall things under His feet," to Christ, because the power of hu-manity over the whole creation, lost and changed in Adam to a base servitude, was regained in Christ, and that, indeed, in a still higher and more perfect manner than it was possessed by Adam. The following remarks may contribute to a deeper insight into the ideal Messianic meaning of this Psalm. The Psalm stands in the closest connection with the first chapter of Genesis. What is written there of the dignity with which God invested man over the works of His hands, whom He placed as His representative on earth, and endowed with the lordship of creation, is here made the subject of thanks and praise.That passage in Genesis is here turned into a prayer for us. But how far man still really possesses that glory, what remains of it, how much of it has been lost, of this the Psalmist takes no note. His object was simply to praise the goodness of God, which still remained the same, as God, who does not repent Him of His gifts, had not arbitrarily withdrawn what He gave; but man, by his folly, has robbed himself of them. But, in con-sequence of his looking only to the goodness of God, which continues the same, the entire representation completely suits only the beginning and the end, and only very imperfectly suits the middle period, in which we, along with the Psalmist, now are. When this middle is considered, man is represented quite otherwise in the Old Testament than we find him in this Psalm, -as a sleep, a shadow, a falling leaf, a worm, as dust and ashes. And that for which God is here thanked, the prophets hoped and longed to see in the future: see especially Isaiah 11:6-9, where the same reference is made as here to Gen. i., and where is ex-pressed an expectation that the Messianic period will restore theoriginal, but now disordered, relation of the earth to man. Ac- cordingly, the matter of this Psalm can find its full verification only in the future; and for the present it applies to none but Christ, in whom human nature again possesses the dignity and power over creation, which it lost in Adam. By and by, when the moral consequences of the fall have been swept away, this also shall come to be the common inheritance of the human family.הגתית-על, upon the harp of Gath, or in the Gathic style. As the termination י-i, except in the cases of adjectives which are derived from proper names, is rare, and as יתiגi in the sense of Gathic, of Gath, a city of the Philistines, occurs frequently(comp. Joshua 13:3; 2 Samuel 6:10; 2 Samuel 6:11; 2 Samuel 15:18), we must reject, as arbitrary, all other derivations, such as from גתa, a "wine-press," and still more those from the purely imaginary גתa cantus fidium. Now, the Gittith may be either an instrument invented in Gath, or a tune or air originated there, just as the Greeks speak of a Lydian or Phrygian air, and according to the analogy of the expression, "upon the Sheminith." It is worthy of re-mark, that all the three Psalms distinguished by this name(besides this, 81. 84.) are of a joyful, thanksgiving character; from which it may be inferred, that the Gittith was an instrument of cheerful sound, or a lively air. Ver. 1. Jehovah, our Lord, how glorious is Thy name in all the earth! who hast crowned the heavens with Thy majesty. The“our Lord,” shows at once that the Psalmist speaks here, andthroughout the Psalm, not in his own name, but in that of the whole human race. That the word שם is ever used as a mere periphrasis for the person, without any further reference, is just as erroneous as the opinion, that it is synonymous with renown.The name, in the language of the ancient world generally, and of the Hebrews in particular, is the image and expression of the being, the echo of its manifestation. God, as He is in Himself, is nameless. But a manifestation and a name are inseparable from each other. The name proceeds quite naturally out of it; and the more glorious the manifestation, so much more glori-ous also is the name, that is, it is the more full and significant. Now, the following words declare by what means the name of God has become glorious on the whole earth, -point to the mani-festation, whose product is the glorious name. They are to be translated literally: "Thou, in respect to whom, giving is Thy glory, above the heavens." This, according to most interpreters, is equivalent to: Thou, who hast not confined Thyself to over-spread the earth with Thy glory, but who hast also crowned the heavens with it, hast set it upon these as a crown. But if we compare ver. 3, where the heavens alone are spoken of, it will be seen that the glory of the name of God upon earth is here only in so far celebrated, as God is glorified upon it through the magnificence of the heavens. This is also implied in the אשר, which indicates in what respect, and by what means, God's name is glorious upon the earth, or how He has acquired His glory upon earth. תנה is the inf. constr. in Kal of נתן. Those of the verbs פן, which form the Fut. upon Zere or Patach, commonly throwaway in inf. constr. the נ pointed with Schwa; for the small word the feminal termination ת-, is commonly chosen; from נתן, תנת, contracted תתe. In place of this, we find here the fem. term. ה-A, just as along with the common inf. constr. of ירד, רדת the form הדAר; also occurs; see Ewald, p. 460. Now the inf. governs here, as usual, the case of the verb fin.: the giving Thy glory; Ew. p. 622. We must not translate, with Ewald and Winer: the giving of Thy glory; for the form of the inf. constr. with the appended ה fem. has precisely the nature of a noun in stat. absol. There is not a single instance to be found, where such a form should be directly connected with a following noun. Itshould then, of necessity, have been תתe, and not תנה.� The prep.על instead of our rather expecting ב, is explicable from the fact, that הוד, glory, is considered as a crown, which the Lord sets upon the heavens; comp. ver. 5.-The common exposition con-siders the inf. of נתן to be used here, instead of the preterite. But this cannot be admitted, for two reasons. First, the inf. constr. never stands in place of the pret., but only the inf. absol., which must have been נתוןA because נ furnished with a long vowel is not to be dropt. And then, the inf. absol. also can stand for the pret. only when used simply of the action, expressed by the inf., but not when used of the acting person. This, how-ever, is so far from being the case here, that the acting person is just what comes prominently into view. The attempt of Hitzig, and others, to derive the word from another verb thanנתן is refuted alone by the parallel passages, 1 Chronicles 29:25,Numbers 27:20, Daniel 11:21, in which הוד נתן is found exactlyas here, with על. We willingly omit other still more untenable explanations, such as that of Hoffmann, who would take the word as an imperative.- הוד is rendered by many expositors, renown; but this signification never belongs to it: it always means glory. God has clad the heavens with His glory, in that He has set in them the sun, moon, and stars, as monuments of His almighty power and greatness. Ver. 2. Out of the mouths of babes and sucklings thou hastprepared for thyself a power. עוללים, are children in general.יונקים, children till the third year, up to which the Hebrew Atwomen used to suckle their children. De Wette, without cause, stumbles at the circumstance, that praise to God is here ascribed to sucklings. Even a little child is conscious of pleasure, in look- ing upon the lovely scenes of nature, in particular, upon the starry heavens, which are here specifically mentioned, and this admiration of the works of God is a sort of silent praising of them. According to De Wette, and others, the sense must be"The child, his existence, his life, his advancement, &c., pro-claim God as creator." Or: "The child, even in his happy being in the fulness of his delight in life, is a witness of God's renown, But the incorrectness of this view is evinced partly by its render- ing the expression, "out of the mouth," devoid of meaning,-for no one surely will agree with Hoffmann in thinking, that "the mouth" here is superfluous,-and partly because the allusion tochildren, in proof of the creative power of God, is here quiteunsuitable, as in the following verse, which again takes up andresumes the subject of ver. 1 and 2, it is God's greatness in the framework of the world that is discoursed of. The beautiful structure and connection of the Psalm is entirely destroyed, if the children are made to praise God through their being, and notthrough their admiration of the glory of God, as displayed in heavens,-a reason which also disproves the view of Umbreit, who, artfully enough, seeks to get rid of the difficulty connect with "the mouth," by referring it "to the living breath of the new-born child, to the first cry of the babe, and the first move- ment of the infant lips to pronounce words." It is further to be noticed, that it would be quite unsuitable to bring forward children here, as proofs of the creative power of God, followedup, as it would presently be, by a declaration of the nothing- ness of man, for the purpose of magnifying the more the graceof God. If children were indeed viewed as proclaiming the glory of God, not less than the starry heavens, it might seem nothing wonderful or unexpected, that God should bestow so richly of his favour upon men. יסד commonly means, to lay the foundation of, and then also to prepare in general. עז mostmodern commentators take in the sense of praise, renown; but we must retain, with Calvin and others, the sense of might. strength; this seems the more suitable: God needs for his im-potent and foolish adversaries, no other combatants than chil-dren, who are themselves in a condition to maintain his cause. And what is quite decisive, a more careful consideration of the passages, in which the word, according to grammariansand lexicographers, should signify praise, shows that such ameaning is quite imaginary. עז always signifies might orstrength. By taking it in the sense of praise here, the mean-ing is disfigured. The marked contrast between the proud enemies of God, and the little children whom he sets up against them as his force of war, then completely disappears. But God obtains the victory over his rebellious subjects, by means of children, in so far as it is through their conscious or un-conscious praise of his glory, as that is manifested in the splen-dour of his creation, especially of the starry firmament, thatputs to shame the hardihood of the deniers of his being orhis perfections. Even Koester, who otherwise egregiously errs in the right construction of the Psalm, returns here to the cor-rect explanation: "In עז, there is contained a pointed irony, indi- cating that the lisping of infants forms a sort of tower of de- fence (?) against the violent assaults of the disowners of God,which is perfectly sufficient."In order to still the enemy and the revengeful, all those who, if they were visited by thee for their sins, would burn againstthee with foolish rage and impotent revenge. The words are a farther extension of the preceding ones; because of thine ad-versaries. The enemy and the revengeful are united here to-gether, just as in Psalms 44:16, where they have for their ac- companiment the reproacher and blasphemer. How revenge might be spoken of in respect to God, is shown especially by the book of Job, where, for example, Elihu in ch. 36:13, speaks of the lawless, "who heap up wrath, and cry not when he bindeth them;" that is, when God inflicts sufferings upon them,they flee not for pardon and grace, but kick against him, refer- ring specially to Job, who, because punishment of sin was com-bined with want of acknowledgment of sin, turned his spirit against God, and cried out against him to the blood avenger of his wrong, existing not on earth but in heaven: "O earth, covernot thou my blood, and let my cry have no place." In modern literature, nothing could be of more service to keep us fromevery attempt to force a foreign meaning upon מתנקם, than the journal of Carl von Hohenhausen, in the work: C. v. Hohen. Ver. 3. When I consider Thy heavens, the work of Thy hands-inasmuch as men can make nothing without fingers, and in expressive contrast to the poor works which they can make therewith-the moon and the stars, which Thou hast founded. If we would not account for the absence of the sun by suppos-ing the Psalm was sung at night, we may conceive, with S. Schmidt among the older expositors (quando suscipio coelum,prout illud interdiu apparet cum sole suo, noctu autem lunam), and and Ewald among the more recent, that the Psalmist, in the first member, has his eye chiefly upon the sun, and then, in the second, specially describes the splendid appearance of the night-heavens; and this seems the more natural, particularly on account of the reference to Gen. i., where, among the objects of creation, the sun holds so prominent a place. When the heavens are spoken of as proofs of the greatness of God, every one thinks first of the sun. Ver. 4. What is man, that Thou art mindful of him? Thedesignation אנוש, which, according to its etymology, is weak, frail, is here used intentionally. Calvin: "The prophet means, that God's wonderful goodness is the more brightly displayed, in that He, the great Creator, whose omnipotence shines forth in the heavens, should crown so miserable and unworthy a creature with the highest honour, and enrich him with number-less treasures." Contrasted with God, whose almightiness and greatness as Creator is manifested by the heavens with their shining stars, man appears nothing more than a worm in the dust, undeserving of the least regard. What a wonderful dis-play of love is it, then, that he should still have done so much for him, as is set forth in the following verses?-פקד to visit. Every manifestation of God for blessing or for punishment.- which of the two must always be determined by the connection -appears as a visit by Him. So, for example, Rth 1:6,"The Lord visited His people to give them bread." In Genesis 18:13, the Lord promises, then personally present, that Hewould return about that time the following year to Abraham,and then would Sarah have a son. In ch. 21:1, the fulfilmentof the promise is thus recorded, "And the Lord visited Sarah,as He had said;" therewith are conjoined, as having the sameforce, the words, "and the Lord did unto Sarah as He hadspoken." The Lord appeared not personally, but invisibly inthe fulfilment of His promise. From this and similar passagesit is manifest, that the commonly received signification of פקד in such a connection: "to look on something or some one," is inadmissible. The expression testifies to a great force of the religions consciousness, which apprehends God in every opera-tion of His hand.-The commencement of David's prayer in 2 Samuel 7:18 presents a striking resemblance to our verse: "Who am I, O Lord God, and what is my house, that Thou hast led me hitherto?" It is the same humility which here wonders at the greatness of God's condescension to man ingeneral and there at the greatness of His condescension to the son of Jesse. The words, "what is man, what am I," expressed one of the deepest feelings of David's soul. In vers. 5-8 he further enlarges on the way in which God has thought upon man, and visited him. Ver. 5. Thou settest him a little beneath Divine rank, Thou crownest him with honour and glory. Various expositors follow the Chaldee and the LXX. in rendering אלהים by angels. But this exposition has manifestly sprung from doctrinal considera-tions. In support of this meaning, one can only appeal to certain passages in which it has been falsely so rendered either for doctrinal reasons, or others beside the mark; and in connec-tion with, those passages, appeal is made again to the one before us. But, there is here a special ground for rejecting this expo-sition, which was first pointed out by Dereser. The grace of God is here celebrated, which led Him to give to man the sovereignty over the earth. But how could he be compared in this respect with angels, who possess no such sovereignty ? Others expound: Thou hast made him only a little less than God. But there is a double objection to be made also to this exposition: 1. הסר in Pi., with מן, is taken in the sense of making less than, to make inferior to, which is against the usus loquendi. The verb signifies, in Piel, to make, or cause, to want; and the noun connected with it by מן in marks the object, in re-gard to which there is the want. So in the only place besides,where it does occur. Ecclesiastes 4:8, מטובה נפשי-את מהסר, "Deprive my soul of good;" comp. the adj. רסeהA with מן of the thing in Ecclesiastes 6:2. Accordingly, the expression here, ‘מ תהסרהו, can only be rendered: Thou hast made him to want little of God. 2. It is not admissible to understand by אלהים here, precisely and exclusively the only true God. The passage would, in that case, be at variance with the view unfolded in Scripture, of the134 THE BOOK OF PSALMS. infinite distance between God and man, and so loftily expressed in this Psalm itself. The correct interpretation is the follow-ing: The Elohim expresses the abstract idea of Godhead. But where it is not made concrete by the article, it is not unfre-quently used merely to designate something super-earthly. (See my Treatise on the names of God in the Pent. in 2d vol. of Beitr. zur Einl. ins A. T.) Important in this point of view is the passage, Zechariah 12:8, "The house of David shall be as Elohim, as the angel of the Lord," where the transition from "Elohim" to "the angel of the Lord," is put as an advance from the less to the greater. The idea of the Elohim sinks lowest in 1 Samuel 28:13, where the witch of Endor says to Saul, "I see Elohim ascending out of the earth." Here there remains only the vague representation of a super-earthly, super-human power, which the woman sees entering in the one appa-rition, into the world of sense. Now, applying this to the place before us, it shows that the words, "Thou makest him want little of God," Thou makest him well-nigh possess God, is cor-rectly expounded by Calvin: Parum abesse eum jussisti a divino et coelesti statu--Thou bestowest on him an almost super-earthly dignity. There remains the inquiry, whether the comparison refers to all the privileges conferred by God on man, or only to some-thing special. The latter is undoubtedly the right supposition. The discourse is of man's dignity only, in so far as the lordship over the earth has been given him by God. This is clear from the parallelism alone. God is praised in the second member, because He has conferred royal dignity on man. But still more does it appear so from the following verses. These are only a further expansion of the present one. And in them, the sub- ject handled throughout, is solely the lordship of man over the earth, as the deputy of God. In his representation, the Psalmist has manifestly before his eye the passage in Genesis, in which man is installed by God as lord of the earth. In what follows, there are, to some extent, verbal coincidences: comp. Genesis 1:26 : "Let us make man in our image, and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, etc.;" ver. 28, and especially 9:2, "And the fear of you, and the dread of you, shall be upon every beast of the earth, and upon every fowl of the air. . . and upon all the fishes of the sea; into your hand arethey delivered;" which last passage has this in common with our verse, that its enumeration of the objects ruled, begins with the higher, and goes on to the lower; whereas in Genesis 1 :the reverse order is observed. Our Psalm is properly the expres-sion of the subjective feelings occasioned by this sovereign act on the part of God. But though the Psalm directly relates only to the supremacy of man over the earth, it does indeed in-directly lead farther. This particular dignity of man is but the result of his general endowment, of the general pre-eminence which he holds above all creatures of earth. In Genesis this is very obvious. It is because man bears God's image, that there the lordship of creation is given him. But, whilst allowing that the Psalm inculcates indirectly the dignity of man in general, we do not justify those who would derive from the Psalm a proof that the moral dignity of man still continues after the fall, or rather a proof against the fall. We have already shown, that the Psalm simply and solely treats of God's appointment and gift; and does not notice what man has squandered and de-stroyed thereof. If this holds true of the proper object, to wit, the lordship over the earth, it must also hold true of that which is considered only so far as it is presupposed by that object.And with honour and glory Thou crownest him,-the common designations of kingly state and majesty; comp. Psalms 21:5; Psalms 45:3; Jeremiah 22:18; 1 Chronicles 29:25. God has set up man on earth as His deputy-king. It is self-evident, however, that not every individual man is represented here as God's deputy and vicegerent, but humanity. The Fut. with vau conv. at the beginning, shows, that the "making him to want little" is a consequence of the remembrance and visitation. That we can-not grammatically translate: "Thou hast made him to want, but, Thou makest him to want, or, and so Thou makest him" (comp. Psalms 7:15), appears from the parallel תעטרהו, Thou crownest him. To the Psalmist, the action of God is not one limited to a period absolutely past, but one continued through all time, and independent of time. God daily crowns man anew. רטeעe, to crown, like all verbs of "covering," with a double accusative. Ver. 6. Thou makest him to have dominion over the works of Thy hands; Thou puttest all under his feet. In Genesis, the corresponding phrase is רדה with ב; prop. "to plant the foot on something," "to tread," then "to rule." Ver. 7. All sheep and oxen, and also the beasts of the field.צנה=צאן, a flock made up of sheep and goats. The choice of the rare form is to be referred here to the poetical dialect. The form midway between the two, occurs in Numbers 32:24. שדי, poetic form for שדה, field; Ewald, p. 298. Ver. 8. But Thou hast not merely put land animals beneath his feet, or subjected them to his rule; Thou hast added also the tenants of the air, and of the water,-the fowl of the air, and the fish of the sea, whatsoever passes through the paths of the sea. The paths of the sea, as the Homer. ὑדסב ךוכוץטב. עבר is not to be straightway referred to דגי, for then we should have ex-pected the plural, but that which passeth through, whatsoever goes through; Eng. Trans.: And whatsoever passeth, beside fishes, the other inhabitants also of the sea; comp. Genesis 1:21. That what is here ascribed to man, is peculiar to him to a cer-tain extent, even since the fall, as is implied in the frequent use of the Future denoting the Present, is shown, not only by Genesis 9:2, but also by daily experience. No creature is so strong, so savage, so alert, but that man, though relatively one of the weakest creatures, in process of time becomes its master; comp. James 3:7. Nevertheless, there is a vast difference in this re-spect between his condition before and since the fall. Before that event, the obedience of all creatures toward the appointed vicegerent of God was a spontaneous one; after it, his subjects revolted against him, as he against his Lord. He must main-tain against them, as against the resisting earth, a hard conflict, -must on all hands employ art and cunning; and though, on the whole, he remains conqueror in this warfare, yet, in particulars, he has to suffer many defeats. Ver. 9. Jehovah, our Lord, how glorious is Thy name in all the earth! These words are not a simple repetition of those in ver 1. There they contained a general expression of praise to God, on account of the glory accruing to Him on earth, by means of His manifestation in the heavens. Here they refer to the great proof of His glory, which God has given in His condescension and goodness toward man. PSALM IX. God's righteousness, in assisting His people, and humbling their ungodly enemies, is praised, vers. 1-6. From what God has done, a conclusion is drawn as to what He is, righteous, and an helper to the oppressed, vers. 7-13. From the consciousness of what the Lord had formerly done, and what He is, the Psalmist, or rather the people in whose name he speaks, raise the prayer that He would graciously assist them, as heretofore, against all their other and still unsubdued enemies, who threaten them with destruction, vers. 13, 14. They receive the assurance of an ac-ceptable hearing, vers. 15, 17; and conclude with the hope, that God will verify His word, vers. 18, 19, and with the prayer that He would do so, vers. 19, 20. The opinion of Koester, that the author has observed a six-membered strophe, is not well founded. To secure that, we should need to divide what belongs to one part, and throw together what belongs to different ones. The superscription attributes the Psalm to David, and no weight is due to the reasons which have been alleged to the contrary. Even by critics like Hitzig the authorship of David is admitted, both of this and the next Psalm. In support of this, he mentions the rough and abrupt style, the archaisms, and many traits in common with those Psalms which are certainly David's. The precise time, however, in the life of David to which the Psalm is to be referred, cannot be determined; for nothing more definite can be learned from the Psalm itself than, 1. That it must have been composed after Zion had become the sanctuary a the nation, by the removal thither of the ark of the covenant,-the Lord being spoken of in ver. 11 as "dwell-ing in Zion;" and, 2. That it was composed at a time when some of the external enemies had been conquered, and while others were still threatening danger: But in such a position David was placed almost through the whole of his life. Indeed, this is the case with God's Church in general upon earth. In the ecclesia militans, the words, "I will praise the Lord with my whole heart," are constantly succeeded by "Have mercy upon me, O Lord." The Psalm, besides, may be fully explained without any more exact historical reference. The matter is so general, that one is obliged to suppose that David, from the very first, penned the Psalm for the use of the people, whenpressed with danger from foreign adversaries. There is nothing to set against this supposition, if we refer the first part, vers. 1-12, not to any particular transaction, but in general to all the deliverances which God had granted to His people. The sacred penman makes grateful remembrance of this, that, by such a recognition of the past, he might render God more inclined to listen to the prayer which follows. The view now taken con-tributes much to set the Psalm in its true light. Especially does it serve to make the general bearing of the entire first part clear. The relation of this part to the second has been very much misunderstood by De Wette. He conceives that it only contains the hope, that the Lord would subdue the enemies, confi-dently expressed. But we only need to consider the representa-tion more closely, in order to see that it expresses, not hope for help to be afforded, but thanksgiving for benefits already con-ferred. De Wette himself is obliged to admit that "the Psalm certainly stands in this respect alone." Here, and in a multi-tude of other Psalms, thanks and praise are offered up before prayer for a double reason. The Giver will be more disposed to bestow new gifts when He sees that those already conferred are kept in grateful recollection. A spirit of thankfulness is one of the marks by which the family of God is distinguished from the world. He who cannot from the heart give thanks shall beg in vain. The receiver raises himself more easily to the hope of future kindnesses, when he recalls the remembrance of former benefits derived from the Giver. The foundation of despair is always ingratitude. The false supposition of De Wette is occasioned by another just as false, according to which the first part is made to express thanks (by anticipation) only for a single deliverance, notwithstanding the "all Thy wonders," in ver. 1, and the still more decidedly contradictory words in ver. 5, "Thou rebukest the heathen." The relation which David had in view when he composed this Psalm for public use, was that of the Church of God to its external enemies. We must not take objection to their being simply designated the wicked, those who forget God, while the Israelites appear as the righteous, the meek. The same appear-ance constantly recurs again,-to wit, that a society which is animated by a truly Divine principle, and, consequently, has a kernel of members in whom this principle is embodied, regard-less of the husk, which everywhere exists, is contrasted withanother society which is animated by an ungodly principle, and in which, as a society, there can consequently be no kernel (the evil rather being the kernel), and is opposed thereto, as the king-dom of good, to the kingdom of evil. Let us just look at the songs of the age of the Reformation. They everywhere contrast the community of God and the community of Antichrist. Who would conclude from this, that the reformers reckoned every professing member of the Evangelic Church truly pious, and every member of the Romish Church utterly bad? Still, ac-cording to their view, it was accidental, because not involved in the idea and principle, if in the former any ungodly person was found; and in the latter any pious. Then, it is also to be taken into account, that, in relation to the heathen, the justice of the cause was always on the side of Israel, who, humanly considered, were unjustly oppressed. In this point of view Habakkuk justly asks of God, 1:13, "Wherefore lookest Thou upon theme, that deal treacherously, and holdest Thy tongue, when the wicked devoureth the man that is more righteous than he?" The two together, the internal righteousness of the kernel, and external righteousness of the cause, gave a solid ground of confidence to the prayer for deliverance out of the hand of the heathen. It may also be considered how entirely analogous the language was with ourselves during the war for freedom. In opposing De Wette, who would put this into the large class of plaintive Psalms, Clauss has suffered himself to fall into an entirely false view of it. He maintains that the Psalm con-tains no element of prayer, but is wholly occupied with thanks-giving and praise. He is thus obliged to take up the unnatural position, in which he is certainly preceded by many of the older expositors, that ver. 13 only adduces directly the cry of the miserable, which was already heard; which is contradicted, however, by the conclusion of the Psalm, where there is also a prayer, showing that the evil was still not altogether removed. The structure of our Psalm is quite analogous to that of Psa 18:18; Psalms 40:40; Psalms 40:68., and to many others, in which the deliverance already obtained is first fully described, and then, upon the ground thereof, are expressed hope and prayer. It is certainly true that the feeling of gratitude for the aid already received here predominates, and on that account the prayer here is shorter, and is at once replaced by the confidence of being heard. Hencewe are not to think of such times as the exile, when the pain was much more severely felt, and the conflict more violent. That the Psalmist speaks not in his own person, and of what he himself had either obtained or wished to obtain, but in the name of the Church and of the deliverance granted to it, or wished for by it, is clear from the designation of, the object of the Divine care, as "the afflicted," ver. 12, "the meek," in ver. 18, "those who know the name of the Lord and seek Him," in ver. 10. Consequently, what Hitzig alleges in support of the Davidic authorship of the Psalm, that the author must, from vers. 3, 4, 13, have been a king, vanishes of itself. For this allegation rests upon a confusion of the author with the person speaking. The position, that the Psalm does not refer to the personal relations of the Psalmist, but from the first was composed in the name of the whole body, and designed for its use, is supported, not only by the absence of all definite historical references, to which we have already adverted, but also by the whole tone of the Psalm, which evidently betrays the situation of the author to have been merely a supposititious one. We also discover here nothing of that inwardness and liveliness of feeling displayed in those Psalms which refer to personal relations, or even to the community at large, when particular circumstances were in question, or a special necessity oppressed it, or a special deliver-ance had been experienced. In the LXX., which the Vulgate follows, this Psalm is united to the following one. Many expositors approve of this, appealing to the similarity of subject, and the want of a super-scription to Psalms 10. We shall return more at length to the matter in our introduction to that Psalm. The words לבן מות-על in the superscription are not easy. Winer, De Wette, and others, read the two first as one word, and point תומלAעE; which is used at the beginning of Psalms 46 :for marking the tune. לבן they render: for Ben, or the Benites. A Ben is mentioned in 1 Chronicles 15:18 as a master-singer. It is to be alleged against this, however, that the common reading and punctuation have on their side the preponderance of ex-ternal authorities; and still more, that we are then driven to the unjustifiable necessity of supplying על before עלמות. Clauss gets rid of this difficulty only by introducing a greater one. He would read תומל;עa. But this word, which never actually occurs,could only signify virginity; and out of this to get a "virgin-song," or "virgin-piece" -music-piece of the character עלמות על, is not very easy. Finally, the בן should then have been with-out the article,-an objection which is not of itself indeed quite conclusive, but which still gives important confirmation to the others, as the article is very rarely placed before proper nouns: see Ewald, p. 568. If, with others, we consider the words as taken from an old song, after the air of which our Psalm was to be sung, still they needed not have formed exactly the begin-ning of this song, but only to have occurred somewhere in it. Songs were not always named from their commencing words. Thus David's song of lamentation upon the death of Saul and Jonathan, in 2 Sam. i.18, is named the bow, קשת, because mention is made in it of the bow. It would then be very natural to sup-pose that this old song was a plaintive one on the death of a son, dying to the son, either with some such verb as has happened; or it might be taken as a mere circumlocution for the stat. constr., rendered necessary from the circumstance that the first noun was intended to be an indefinite one, the second a definite one, not "the dying," but "dying:" see Ewald, p. 583. מות is found as inf. nominasc. also in Psalms 14, comp. Genesis 25:32. But this whole view labours under the difficulty, that for such a pointed reference to a song, after the air of which a Psalm was to be sung, there is no analogy whatever in the super-scriptions; in every other place, where this hypothesis has been advanced, it has turned out, on closer investigation, to be ground-less. The true mode of explanation was hit upon by Grotius,who supposed that לבן was put by a transposition of letters forנבל, and that the superscription marks the subject of the Psalm. But he erred in taking נבל as a proper name, upon the dying of Nabal-a subject to which the Psalm could not possibly refer -instead of: upon the dying of the fool. This error being rectified, the superscription accords exactly with the contents: the destruction of the fool (comp. Psalms 14:1) is actually the subject of the Psalm. Precisely corresponding words are used in ver. 5, "Thou hast destroyed the wicked:" comp. also in ver. 3, "they shall perish at Thy presence;" in ver. 6, "their memorial is, perished;" in ver. 12, "when He maketh inquisi-tion for blood, He remembereth them;" and in ver. 17, "the wicked shall be turned into hell." Analogous examples of an enigmatical designation by a change of letters, are Sesach forBabel, and the Leb Kamai for Kasdim in Jeremiah, both ac-cording to the Alphabet um Atbash.-See on this and similar enigmatical designations, Christology, Part 2:p. 92 ss. Such an enigmatical description of the subject is peculiarly appro-priate in the superscriptions of the Psalms, and finds in them, as our exposition will show, a great number of analogies. This explanation derives special support from 2 Samuel 3:33, where David laments, "Died Abner as the fool dieth," נבל כמות; comp. also 1 Samuel 25:38, "And it came to pass about ten days after, that the Lord smote Nabal that he died." Though the word is here to be taken as an adjective, yet it would seem that David had his eye upon that circumstance, which he viewed in the light of a prediction; comp. 1 Samuel 25:26, where Abigail said, "Let thine enemies, and they that seek evil to my lord, be as Nabal." In the first half of the first strophe, vers. 1-6, the Psalmist first declares his purpose of praising God, in vers. 1, 2; then in vers. 3, 4, he mentions the overthrow which God had inflicted on the enemies as the ground and occasion of this purpose; and in vers. 5, 6, he enlarges on the same subject. Ver. 1. I will praise the Lord with my whole heart, I will show forth all Thy marvellous works. The words, "with my whole heart," serve at once to show the greatness of the deliver-ances wrought for the Psalmist, and to distinguish him from the hypocrites-the coarse ones, who praise the Lord for His good-ness merely with the lips, and the more refined ones, who praise Him only with half their heart, while they secretly ascribe the deliverance more to themselves than to Him. All Thy wonders, the marvellous tokens of Thy grace. The Psalmist shows by this term, that he recognised them in all their greatness. Where this is done, there the Lord is also praised with the whole heart. Half-heartedness, and the depreciation of Divine grace, go hand in hand. The ב the ב instrum. The heart is the instrument of praise, the mouth only its organ. Ver. 2. I will be glad and rejoice in Thee; I will adorn Thy name, O Thou Most High. Many expositors render ך`ב by, upon Thee, upon Thy wonderful doings. But the ב after a verb of joy always denotes the person or object wherein the affection reposes. It is not a mere joy before God, but a joy in God. To adorn the name of God is equivalent to singing of His glorious deeds (Venema: Deum factis illustrem), for the nameis the product of the deeds. The Most High is used descrip-tively, because God had manifested Himself as uncontrolled ruler over all earthly things. Ver. 3. When mine enemies are turned back-the ב points to the occasion of the praise, the circumstances which had called it forth, its cause-they stumble and perish at Thy presence: not human power and might have compassed their overthrow, but Thy indignation, which they could not withstand. This is poetically expressed, as if the enemies had been thrown to the ground by the glance of God's fiery countenance. מן is the מן causae. פנים has the sense of angry face, only from the connec-tion; it never signifies this, as many expositors maintain, by itself. The use of the Fut. is to be explained from the lively nature of the representation. The Psalmist sees the downfall of his enemies taking place before his eyes. With this De Wette could not sympathize; and so he thinks that in thisverse he finds a support to his false view, that vers. 1-6 ex- press hope an regard to future deliverance. In the furtherenlargement that is given in vers. 4-6, the Psalmist speaks in a calmer style, and there the Preterite is constantly used. Ver. 4. For Thou hast Made my judgment and right. The for marks the relation of vers. 4-6 to ver. 3. What has been said in general, is confirmed by particulars. משפט and דין both denote, according to many expositors, causam forensem. Thou hast made, q. d. Thou dost undertake, or decide. The idea of a favourable decision is necessarily involved therein, since God, as the righteous one, if He undertakes a cause at all, cannot but do justice to the righteous. But this exposition is contra-dicted by the fact, that the expressions משפט עשה and דין עשה are never used, except of a decision in favour of a righteous cause; while, according to it, they might be used just as well of a decision against the ungodly. Comp. 1 Kings 8:45; 1 Kings 8:49; Deuteronomy 10:18; Ps. c 40:12. These parallel passages show that the two words must be taken rather in the sense of judgment and right (דין in this sense, Proverbs 20:8, Isaiah 10:2), that which be-longs to me, which is due to nay righteous cause. This exposi-tion also fits better than the first into the parallelism. Thou satest on the throne as righteous judge. ישב should here, accord-ing to many, be taken in the sense of setting Himself, on account of the prep. ל following; for, that ל; is not put for ב, is to be taken for granted. But there is nothing to prevent us fromabiding by the common and only certain meaning of the verb. For there is as little to warrant us in taking ל in the sense of אל, as these interpreters presuppose, as in that of ב. Therefore ישב לכסא, “ to sit as one belonging to the throne,” is equivalent to "sitting upon the throne." Ver. 5. Thou hast rebuked the heathen, Thou hast destroyed the wicked. גער, to rebuke, denotes, when used of God, the in-fliction of the punishment, without receiving another sense than the word usually has. The punishment is considered as a sermo realis. The גוים shows that the thanksgivings do not refer to victory over a single heathenish nation. Thou hast put out their name for ever and ever: Thou hast so completely extirpated them, that their memory has perished with them. Ver. 6. The enemy, finished are the destructions for ever; and Thou hast destroyed cities, their memorial is perished, even they. The pron. sep. המה is used with emphasis, after the suff. had already been employed. Their memorial perished, even theirs; or more exactly: "their memory perished, even they (have perished)." Attention is called to the great contrast betweenthe proud expectations of the enemies, their apparently invin-cible strength, and their now entire annihilation: their memory is gone,-the memory of those who, in their supercilious pride, and in their actual possession of all human means of help, fancied themselves lords of the whole earth. Thus emphati-cally also at the beginning stands the nom. absol. the enemy-he who thought himself so secure, so invincible, who appeared destined to lasting prosperity. תמם in the sense of being com-pleted, finished, is found also in Joshua 5:8; 1 Kings 6:22; 1 Kings 7:22; Psalms 64:6. While תמו marks the entireness of the deso-lation which reigns in the land of the enemies, לנצה expresses the perpetuity of it. By the ruins we are to understand, as is evident from the parallel, cities, and even from the word itself, destroyed fortresses and dwellings. In the verb, "Thou hast destroyed," the address is directed to God, as in ver. 5, throughout. As in the first and last clause the desolation is merely described by itself, it is necessary that attention be called to the author of it in the middle, the desolation being here viewed only so far as it is one wrought by God. The second clause stands in the same relation here to the first and third, as in ver. 3 the third does to the first and second. Another expo-sition renders: "the enemies, their devastations have an end."But it is to be objected, that הרבה never signifies devastation in an active sense, but only "ruins." Apart from usage, which furnishes no instance of the word being employed in the former signification, either in the masculine or feminine gender, the inadmissibility of that signification is evident also from the form. The Segol-forms with מ serve only to express intransitive or passive ideas: see Ewald, p. 228. As the verb signifies only to be desolated, never to desolate, so also the noun must mean desolation in the passive sense. The parallelism too: "Thou hast destroyed cities," tends to show that the subject of dis-course here is the ruin of hostile habitations; as also the asser-tion, that "their memory is perished," indicates a total destruc-tion of them. The three verbs, תמו�נתשת�אבד, stand inexact parallelism. Now, if the affairs of the enemies are de-scribed by the two last as going to ruin, the same explanation must be held also to be the only correct one in regard to the first. Ewald, following Venema, would take האויב as the sub- ject the enemies are completed as desolations for ever, i.e. the enemies became altogether perpetual desolations. But desola-tions do not suit persons; and how little the parallelism favours this exposition may be gathered from this alone, that Ewald sees himself under the necessity of taking ערים in the sense of צרים, adversaries. Quite arbitrary, also, is the exposition of Maurer: O enemy, there is an end to the ruins and the cities which thou hast destroyed. For the address in the first part is throughout directed to the Lord; and it could not be said that the cities destroyed by the enemies have an end. Finally, the exposition of De Wette: The enemies are gone, desolations (are) for ever, does violence to the accents, which separate תמו from האויב, and connect it with הרבות: the verb in the plural, standing in the middle between a noun in the singular and a noun in the plural, is more naturally joined with the latter than the former; according to the analogy of נתשת and אבד, the תמו also is to be referred, not to the enemies themselves, but to that which belongs to them; lastly, that the words, לנצה הרבות, form a period by themselves, with the omission of the verb, is against the analogy of the other members of the verse, and of vers. 4 and 5, where verbs are constantly placed in the Preterite. The contents of vers. 5 and 6 suit most exactly to the Amalekites (without being confined to them), who, after the victories gained over them by Saul and David, altogether disappear from thetheatre of history. That the Psalmist had them chiefly in view, and derived from their fate the strong colours in which he depicts the overthrow of the enemies of God's people, is pro-bable from the reference which the expressions, "Thou hast put out their name for ever," and “ their memorial is perished,” seem to bear to Exodus 17:14, "I will utterly put out the remem-brance of Amalek," and Deuteronomy 25:19, "Thou shalt blot out the remembrance of Amalek." Comp. also Numbers 24:20, "Amalek is the first of the heathen, but his end is destruction," אבד עדי. The representation, however, was also verified in the overthrow of the Canaanites, and in the victories of David over the Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, and other nations. Ver. 6. The enemy, finished are the destructions for ever; and Thou hast destroyed cities, their memorial is perished, even they. The pron. sep. δξδ is used with emphasis, after the suff. had already been employed. Their memorial perished, even theirs; or more exactly: “their memory perished, even they (have perished).” Attention is called to the great contrast between the proud expectations of the enemies, their apparently invincible strength, and their now entire annihilation: their memory is gone,—the memory of those who, in their supercilious pride, and in their actual possession of all human means of help, fancied themselves lords of the whole earth. Thus emphatically also at the beginning stands the nom. absol. the enemy—he who thought himself so secure, so invincible, who appeared destined to lasting prosperity. ϊξν in the sense of being completed, finished, is found also in Joshua 5:8; 1 Kings 6:22, 1 Kings 7:22; Psalms 64:6. While ϊξε marks the entireness of the desolation which reigns in the land of the enemies, μπεη expresses the perpetuity of it. By the ruins we are to understand, as is evident from the parallel, cities, and even from the word itself, destroyed fortresses and dwellings. In the verb, “Thou hast destroyed,” the address is directed to God, as in Psalms 9:5, throughout. As in the first and last clause the desolation is merely described by itself, it is necessary that attention be called to the author of it in the middle, the desolation being here viewed only so far as it is one wrought by God. The second clause stands in the same relation here to the first and third, as in Psalms 9:3 the third does to the first and second. Another exposition renders: “the enemies, their devastations have an end.” But it is to be objected, that ηψαδ never signifies devastation in an active sense, but only “ruins.” Apart from usage, which furnishes no instance of the word being employed in the former signification, either in the masculine or feminine gender, the inadmissibility of that signification is evident also from the form. The Segol-forms with ξ serve only to express intransitive or passive ideas: see Ewald, p. 228. As the verb signifies only to be desolated, never to desolate, so also the noun must mean desolation in the passive sense. The parallelism too: “Thou hast destroyed cities,” tends to show that the subject of discourse here is the ruin of hostile habitations; as also the assertion, that “their memory is perished,” indicates a total destruction of them. The three verbs, ϊξε—πϊωϊ—ΰαγ, stand in exact parallelism. Now, if the affairs of the enemies are described by the two last as going to ruin, the same explanation must be held also to be the only correct one in regard to the first. Ewald, following Venema, would take δΰεια as the subject the enemies are completed as desolations for ever, i.e. the enemies became altogether perpetual desolations. But desolations do not suit persons; and how little the parallelism favours this exposition may be gathered from this alone, that Ewald sees himself under the necessity of taking ςψιν in the sense of φψιν, adversaries. Quite arbitrary, also, is the exposition of Maurer: O enemy, there is an end to the ruins and the cities which thou hast destroyed. For the address in the first part is throughout directed to the Lord; and it could not be said that the cities destroyed by the enemies have an end. Finally, the exposition of De Wette: The enemies are gone, desolations (are) for ever, does violence to the accents, which separate ϊξε from δΰεια, and connect it with ηψαεϊ: the verb in the plural, standing in the middle between a noun in the singular and a noun in the plural, is more naturally joined with the latter than the former; according to the analogy of πϊωϊ and ΰαγ, the ϊξε also is to be referred, not to the enemies themselves, but to that which belongs to them; lastly, that the words, ηψαεϊμπφη, form a period by themselves, with the omission of the verb, is against the analogy of the other members of the verse, and of Psa 9:4 and Psalms 9:5, where verbs are constantly placed in the Preterite. The contents of Psa 9:5 and Psalms 9:6 suit most exactly to the Amalekites (without being confined to them), who, after the victories gained over them by Saul and David, altogether disappear from the theatre of history. That the Psalmist had them chiefly in view, and derived from their fate the strong colours in which he depicts the overthrow of the enemies of God’s people, is probable from the reference which the expressions, “Thou hast put out their name for ever,” and “their memorial is perished,” seem to bear to Exodus 17:14, “I will utterly put out the remembrance of Amalek,” and Deuteronomy 25:19, “Thou shalt blot out the remembrance of Amalek.” Comp. also Numbers 24:20, “Amalek is the first of the heathen, but his end is destruction,” ςγιΰαγ. The representation, however, was also verified in the overthrow of the Canaanites, and in the victories of David over the Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, and other nations. Ver. 7. And the Lord is enthroned for ever; He has pre-pared His throne for judgment, or for holding judgment. ThePsalmist strengthens his faith through the conviction, confirmed by those deliverances, that God is the eternal ruler and judge of the world; that, however the rage of the ungodly may swell, they can never prevail to push God from His exalted throne, from which, with almighty power and perfect righteousness, He governs the world, and vindicates the cause of the oppressed. He thus derives the general from the particular, from individual realizations he forms the idea, from history he deduces the doctrine, and praises God because His very nature is a pledge of the salvation of His people in all their needs. The way is. thus prepared for the prayer he has to present. The Futures are to be translated in the Present, and mark the continuous, action.Ver. 8. And He judges the world in righteousness; He ministers judgment to the people in uprightness. Ver. 8. And He judges the world in righteousness; He ministers judgment to the people in uprightness. Ver. 9. And the Lord will be a refuge for the oppressed. ויהי might be taken as an Optative. The Psalmist would then express a wish that God would be to him what He had been described in the preceding context. Through this wish he would make known his pleasure in what is divine. However, as in poetry the abbreviated form stands in place of the com-mon one, we may also translate in accordance with the preced- ing and following context: "And there is." משגב is a high place, where one is secure from the attacks of one's enemies. The remark of Venema is not to be overlooked: "Utique David, quod observo, primes est qui Daum locum editum, hac voce, appellavit." The ground of David's predilection for this designation of God, he finds in the circumstance of David's having often experienced safety in such places, when fleeing from Saul. ך`ד from ך`כד, "to crush," signifies, "one who is oppressed." A refuge for times in trouble. Times in trouble are times when one is in trouble; comp. Psalms 10:1. In this verse, also, faith judges from that which God has done, what He is, and will do. How He had shown Himself during the past, in a series of actions, as a refuge for the oppressed, was declared in vers. 3-6; therefore such is His character generally, and such also must He prove Himself in regard to the present oppression.Ver. 10. And they that know Thy name do put their trust in Thee. To know the name of God, is to know Him according to His historical manifestation, as described in vers. 3-6.-For the name of God is the product of this manifestation. When one hears Him named, then one calls to remembrance all that He has done. The name is the focus in which all the rays of His actions meet. For-this is shown by Thy name, this is pledged by Thine historical character, which can only result from Thy nature-Thou hast not forsaken them that seek Thee, O Lord. Ver. 10. And they that know Thy name do put their trust in Thee. To know the name of God, is to know Him according to His historical manifestation, as described in vers. 3-6. For the name of God is the product of this manifestation. When one hears Him named, then one calls to remembrance all that He has done. The name is the focus in which all the rays of His actions meet. For—this is shown by Thy name, this is pledged by Thine historical character, which can only result from Thy nature Thou hast not forsaken them that seek Thee, O Lord. Ver. 11. This and the following verse form the conclusion, the epiphony and resume of the whole first part, or of the two first strophes, in which it has been described how the Lord has acted, then how He is: therefore sing. Sing praises to the Lord, who is throned upon Zion-prop. the enthrones of Zion, to whom Zion belongs. This designation is here chosen because God had acted as King of Israel, as guardian of the nation, and in that capacity had been described. Declare among the people His doings: tell among the heathen how gloriously He has helped, and still helps, His people. Rightly Calvin: "Although this were substantially to preach to deaf ears, yet David would show by this form of expression, that the limits of Judea were too narrow to comprise within themselves the everlasting riches of the praise of God."Ver. 12. For the avenger of blood remembereth him, He for- getteth not the cry of time afflicted. For-this is the deduction from the deeds with which the Psalmist had just been occupyinghimself-the Lord, who leaves not innocent blood to be shed with impunity upon the earth, punishes the enemies for the cruelty which they practised upon His people. In regard to the Preterites of the verb, which are to be rendered by the Present,the remark of Ewald, Small Gr. § 263, specially applies: "General truths which are clear from experience, and have al-ready shown and proved themselves to be such, are described in the Perfect." The suffix in אתם refers to the plural דמים. God appears to have forgotten the blood of the slain so long as He leaves the murderer unpunished; He calls him to remembrance when He punishes him. The sense is weakened if we refer it to the following עניים, and it is also opposed to the parallelism. God remembers blood: He forgets not the cry of the afflicted. In both members mention is made of that which calls forth the vengeance of God against the evil-doers. Blood is not here to be taken, with the generality of expositors, as synecdochically comprehending all sorts of misdeeds; but the Psalmist naturally mentions the highest pitch of hostile malice, as peculiarly fitted to draw forth the Divine vengeance. A special reason for thismanner of expression is to be found in the unquestionable re- ference to Genesis 9:5, where God designates Himself the avenger of blood, "I will require your blood:" "He, who in His word announces Himself to be the avenger of blood, does, as experience testifies, remember him." (Venema: "Quam personam Deus sibi jam aptavit tempore Abelis, cujus sanguis vindictam clamavit et se constanter in orbis gubernatione esse gesturum declaravit. Genesis 9.") For עניים the Masoretic marginal reading is ענוים whose vowels, as usual, stand in the text. The marginal reading is here also to be rejected. It has only arisen from the feel- ing that a moral quality, humility, is necessary to the hearing of prayer. But it is overlooked, that although עני constantly retains its proper signification (see upon the never-failing dis-tinction between עני, afflicted, miserable, and ענו humble, Christo P. 2 p. 126 ss.), it is clear enough from the connection that only persons who innocently suffer are meant. The mention of a cry and of blood also points to the idea of suffering, and notof humility. The reading in the text is further confirmed bythe following עניי, in ver. 13, which is most closely related to עניים: "God forgets not the cry of the afflicted,--Be merciful tome, O Lord, behold my affliction." Ver. 12. For the avenger of blood remembereth him, He forgetteth not the cry of time afflicted. For—this is the deduction from the deeds with which the Psalmist had just been occupying himself—the Lord, who leaves not innocent blood to be shed with impunity upon the earth, punishes the enemies for the cruelty which they practised upon His people. In regard to the Preterites of the verb, which are to be rendered by the Present, the remark of Ewald, Small Gr. § 263, specially applies: “General truths which are clear from experience, and have already shown and proved themselves to be such, are described in the Perfect.” The suffix in ΰϊν refers to the plural γξιν. God appears to have forgotten the blood of the slain so long as He leaves the murderer unpunished; He calls him to remembrance when He punishes him. The sense is weakened if we refer it to the following ςπιιν, and it is also opposed to the parallelism. God remembers blood: He forgets not the cry of the afflicted. In both members mention is made of that which calls forth the vengeance of God against the evil-doers. Blood is not here to be taken, with the generality of expositors, as synecdochically comprehending all sorts of misdeeds; but the Psalmist naturally mentions the highest pitch of hostile malice, as peculiarly fitted to draw forth the Divine vengeance. A special reason for this manner of expression is to be found in the unquestionable reference to Genesis 9:5, where God designates Himself the avenger of blood, “I will require your blood:” “He, who in His word  announces Himself to be the avenger of blood, does, as experience testifies, remember him.” (Venema: “Quam personam Deus sibi jam aptavit tempore Abelis, cujus sanguis vindictam clamavit et se constanter in orbis gubernatione esse gesturum declaravit. Genesis 9”)  For ςπιιν the Masoretic marginal reading is ςπειν whose vowels, as usual, stand in the text. The marginal reading is here also to be rejected. It has only arisen from the feeling that a moral quality, humility, is necessary to the hearing of prayer. But it is overlooked, that although ςπι constantly retains its proper signification (see upon the never-failing distinction between ςπι, afflicted, miserable, and ςπε humble, Christo P. ii. p. 126 ss.), it is clear enough from the connection that only persons who innocently suffer are meant. The mention of a cry and of blood also points to the idea of suffering, and not of humility. The reading in the text is further confirmed by the followingςπιι , in Psalms 9:13, which is most closely related to ςπιιν: “God forgets not the cry of the afflicted, Be merciful to me, O Lord, behold my affliction.” Ver. 13. The prayer now rises on the foundation laid in the preceding context. Luther remarks: "in the same way do all feel and speak who have already overcome some tribulation misfortune, and are once more oppressed, tormented, and plagued. They cry and beg that they may be delivered." This is un-questionably the right view of this and the next verse. Be gra-cious to me, O Lord, behold my affliction of my haters, Thou that liftest me up from the gates of death. ינiנeנ;הA is formed as if the verb were a regular one. According to the analogy of the verbs עע, it ought to have been ינiנe.הA. Such forms are merely poetical; Ewald, p. 476. Poetry ever strives to give outward expression to its internal separation from common life. Of my haters, i.e. proceeding from them, done to me. מן designates the originator. Not so good is the exposition of those who suppose here a constr. praegnans: Behold my affliction and free me from my haters. There are certainly to be found similar constructions. So, for example, is it said in 2 Samuel 18:19, "The Lord hath judged him out of the hand of his enemies." But still the passage here is note perfectly analogous. The seeing is less practical than the judging, and even than the hearing in Psalms 22:21; the helping 'is not involved here, as it is there, in the expression itself (it is to be observed that in Psalms 22. not שמע, but ענה is used), but is only a consequence of the seeing. Thou, my lifter up, Thou, whose constant part it is to lift me up. Death, or the realm of death, sheol, is represented under the image of a deep, firmly barred prison-house, from which no one can deliver him-self. The greatest distress and misery are here, therefore, de-noted by the sinking down into sheol. That God is a helper in distress, begets confidence towards Him in particular seasons of distress. The words comprehend in brief, what in the first part had been exhibited in detail, and, consequently, direct at-tention to the relation subsisting between this strophe and the two preceding ones-the connection between the prayer and the thanksgiving and praise. Ver. 14. As a reason for the granting of his prayer for further deliverance, the Psalmist declares that he should thereby have occasion for still more praising God. In this verse we discover one of the two ends intended to be answered by a pre-vious offering of thanks and praise. It is substantially based on the supposition that the thanks and praise of His people are acceptable to God. That I may show forth all Thy praise, all Thy wonderful doings, in the gates of the daughter of Zion. That we must not, with many expositors, the last of whom was Clauss, render למען by on this account, we have seen on a former occasion. In the gates-expositors commonly remark-were the assemblies and judgments held; hence, "in the gates" is equivalent to "inthe public assembly." But this view is untenable. God's praise is not to be celebrated in the gates, amid the noise of worldly business, but in the temple. The expression is to be regarded as simply meaning within. It is confessedly often used in that sense in the Pentateuch; see the Lexicons. The former interpre-tation is opposed also by "the gates of death," in the preceding verse, which also signify the whole region of the dead. The daughter of Zion is Jerusalem. The Gen. is to be understoodprecisely as in the words, פרת נהר, "the river of the Euphrates,"for, Euphrates. So ירושלם בת, בבל בת, is not "daughter of Jerusalem," "daughter of Babylon," but rather, "daughter Jerusalem," "daughter Babylon," etc. Words which are very frequently coupled together, take gradually the form of the stat. constr., although, according to their meaning, they merely stand in apposition; Ewald, p. 579. Cities were poetically personi-fied as maidens or daughters, and that so frequently that the designation sometimes found its way also into prose. The form ך~ית,לA.הiת; cannot be plural; the plural must have been ך~ית,ל.הiת;; neither can it be singular, for then the Jod must have been awanting. It appears that the vowels have originally belonged to a Kri, which had afterwards been dropt from the margin, The Masorites wished to read the singular instead of the rarer plural, which they considered to be recommended by Psalms 71:4; Psalms 106:2. Ver. 15. The fourth strophe contains the internal assurance of being heard.- The heathen are sunk down in the pit that they made; in the net which they hid, was their own foot taken. That the Praeterites refer to an ideal past; denote that which, not the corporeal eye, but faith, saw as present; and that we must hence not suppose, with most expositors, that the Psalmist returns to celebrate a deliverance actually past,-appears from ver. 17 ss., where he continues to express his hope of that in the future, which is here represented as already afforded. Ver. 16. "The Lord made Himself known, He held judg-ment." The latter words describe the manner of making known, that through which He was recognised, wherein He manifested Himself. It is quite unnecessary to bring the two members into a closer relation to each other, to make the second gram-matically dependent on the first. The abrupt mode of expres-sion is in perfect accordance with the joyful emotions of the Psalmist. In the work of his own hands,-in the snares pre-pared by himself, and laid for others,-the wicked is snared;comp. Psalms 7:15; Psalms 7:16. נוקש is the participle in Kal of the verbנקש; in Piel, "to ensnare," in Kal, "to be ensnared." As thisverb is also found elsewhere, there is no reason for taking theword here as an irregular form of the Praet. in Niph. from יקש;in which case, instead of the Zere, Patach should have beenused. -הגיון is found in three other places besides this. In twoof them, Psalms 19:14, Lamentations 3:61, the sense, musing, reflection,is certain, and generally recognised. This established meaningis also quite suitable in the third passage, Psalms 92:3 -to museupon the harp, is "to play meditatively, feelingly thereupon,"corresponding to the silent praise in Psalms 65:1,-and to substi-tute, with Gesenius, De Wette, and others, the unfounded senseof loud playing, or music, is quite arbitrary. Applying this sig-nification also here, הגיון contains a call to reflection, most appro-priate to the elevation of the moment at which he renewed theassurance of being heard. The Selah, pause, is very suitablyadded here. The music must cease, to afford space for calmmeditation. Ver. 17. The fifth strophe. The wicked shall be turned intohell, all the nations forgetting God. The transition from the Pret.to the Fut., which is the rather to be noticed, as Higgaion andSelah intervene between the two, may be explained in this way,that the lively emotions which took possession of the Psalmist,when he became assured of acceptance, have now subsided, sothat he continues his discourse in a more calm and ordinarymanner; or, perhaps, in versa 15 and 16 the Psalmist, as out ofhimself, sees things with God's eye as present, while here he fallsback to the common point of view, and hope consequently takesthe place of sight.--שוב never signifies to turn one's self anywhither, but always to turn away, to turn back; and this signifi-cation is quite suitable here also: "They turn away from thePsalmist, and towards sheol." Already was it remarked by J. DMichaelis: Ceterum reditur quidem interdum a termino, adquem ventum erat, set ad alium, quam in quo quis antea fuerat,e. 100:2 Par. 18:25, Job 1:21. The ה in לשאולה, can only beheld to be superfluous by those who fail to see the distinctionbetween ל and אל. There is a reference to ver. 13. The sameGod who raises the righteous from the gates of sheol, drives thewicked down thither, as into "their own place." In referenceto "the forgetting of God," Venema remarks excellently: "Notin that sense in which the Gentiles are said to be without God and His worship, which is common to them all, but rather in an emphatical one, as treading all law and righteousness beneath their feet, and manifesting that they have thrown off all regard to God, the judge of the world, and the avenger of crime-that they have obliterated and erased all those thoughts and appre-hensions of God, which are inscribed upon the consciences of men." Ver. 18. For the poor shall not always be forgotten, the hope of the meek doth not perish for ever. In the second hemistich, the אל is to be supplied from the first. The Kri עניים for ענוים arose simply from the false notion of the Masorites, that the parallel אביון requires a word which does not denote a moral quality, but has respect to the outward condition. According to the connection, the needy is the poor and neglected righteous man, and the ענוים are the suffering meek ones.Ver. 19. The last strophe. There is a renewal of the prayer, with the difference, however, from the former, that it now Springs from the assurance of being heard (the Psalmist takes God at His word); whereas, in the former case, it rested only on the ground of a general confidence in God's grace.-Arise, O Lord, let not, man prevail; let the heathen be judged in Thy sight. The words, "Let not man prevail" (be strong), call attention to the internal contradiction which exists in the present state of things, to the contrast between the reality and the idea, which im-periously demands reconciling. That man, whose very name is weakness (comp. the vindication of the derivation of אנוש from אנש, to be weak, by Tholuck, Beitr. z. Spracherkl. S. 61), makes his power prevail, is so intolerable a quid pro quo, that God must necessarily lift Himself up, in order to put it down. The use of the על is to be explained thus: The parties stand before the sitting judge, and so are raised above Him. Ver. 19. The last strophe. There is a renewal of the prayer, with the difference, however, from the former, that it now Springs from the assurance of being heard (the Psalmist takes God at His word); whereas, in the former case, it rested only on the ground of a general confidence in God’s grace. Arise, O Lord, let not, man prevail; let the heathen be judged in Thy sight. The words, “Let not man prevail” (be strong), call attention to the internal contradiction which exists in the present state of things, to the contrast between the reality and the idea, which imperiously demands reconciling. That man, whose very name is weakness (comp. the vindication of the derivation of ΰπεω from ΰπω, to be weak, by Tholuck, Beitr. z. Spracherkl. S. 61), makes his power prevail, is so intolerable a quid pro quo, that God must necessarily lift Himself up, in order to put it down. The use of the ςμ is to be explained thus: The parties stand before the sitting judge, and so are raised above Him. Ver. 20. Put fear into them, O Lord; i.e. associate it with them as a companion, place it beside them, or appoint it for them. שות with ל exactly as in Psalms 141:13 : "Set a watch to my mouth." To drive into, or lay on, cannot be the meaning of the verb with ל. Some take מורה in the sense of razor, in which sense it occurs Judges 13:5, and elsewhere, and translate: "Lay on them the razor." By this would then be denoted the greatest dishonour, for it is customary in the East to let the beard grow, and to have no beard is counted a reproach. Butthis cannot, as we have said, be the meaning of the verb; andthe expression has here, where all else is so simple, a forced andunnatural appearance. It is, therefore, better to take מורה asonly a different manner of writing the word on the margin,מורא, fear, from ירא. ה often usurps the place of א, becausethe sound at the end is the same, and the number of wordswhich end in ה, is much greater than those which have 10:The Masorites, then, have only, as they have often done, placed thecurrent for the rarer form.-Let the heathen know that they aremen, weak, impotent creatures. The singular אנוש carries moreemphasis than the plural-dying, feeble man, not God. Theuse of the singular shows, that in all numerical and other differ- ences, the nature still remains the same. Psalms 10. The Psalmist complains, that the Lord delivers up His people to the oppressions of proud, cruel, deceitful enemies, who forget God, vers. 1-11. He calls upon Him to withhold no longer His help from the innocent, and avenge Himself and them on His despisers and their oppressors, and expresses his confident hope that this will be done, vers. 12-15. He receives the assur-ance of being heard; and, with the eye of faith, sees the enemies annihilated, the meek redeemed, the offence removed, which had drawn from him the "wherefore," vers. 16-18. Though the Psalm has no superscription, yet its place among those which belong to David renders it very probable that he was the author. At all events, the exceedingly compressed and difficult style, and the impress of originality, allowed even by De Wette, proves it to belong to an early age. The almost literal agreement in many passages between it and the preceding Psalm, which the superscription ascribes to David, would lead us to infer that this also must be his: comp. especially the peculiar phrase בצרה לעתות, in ver. 1, which nowhere else occurs, with 9:9; "Arise, O Lord," in ver. 12, with 9:20; "That the man of the earth may no more oppress," at the close, with "let not man prevail," in 9:19; the words, "the heathen are perished," and "judge the fatherless and the oppressed," in vers. 16 and 18, with "let the heathen be judged," in 9:19, etc. These simi-larities, especially the first, prove not merely the identity of theauthor, but also contemporaneity of composition. Others show, that a still nearer connection existed between the two Psalms; and that therefore the older translators, such as the LXX. and Vulgate, who joined both together, did not do so without reason. It is, first of all, remarkable, that this Psalm has, unlike all those which immediately precede and follow, no superscription. It is still more remarkable, that Psalms 9. begins with and Psalms 10. closes with ת,�\, that through the two Psalms a certain alphabetical arrangement discovers itself, though it is not preserved through-out. In the rule, every alternate verse begins with the letter of the alphabet next in order. This fact is not overthrown by a number of exceptions. For these are to be explained on the principle, that the external arrangement was subordinated to the sense, and hence sacrificed to it, where the one could not be adapted to the other. The same view also is supported by the manifest internal reference of the words, "Thou hidest Thyself in times of trouble," in 10:1, to those in 9:9, "The Lord is a refuge in times of trouble,"-a reference, to which the similarity of the otherwise quite singular expression is but a fingerpost, and by which Psalms 10. proclaims itself to be a continuation of Psalms 9. But, on the other hand, it does not suit well to unite both Psalms precisely into one. An external ground against this exists in the division in the MSS., which certainly is not acci-dental; and an internal one, that the two Psalms are separate, and complete in themselves. There only remains, therefore, the supposition, that the author designed the two Psalms to form one whole, divisible into two parts-a sort of thing which also occurs elsewhere; for example, in the relation of Ps. i. and ii., Psalms 42:43. to each other. Along with the unquestionably great resemblance between the two Psalms in reference to the object, situation, train of thought, and particular features, there still exists a threefold difference, not to be overlooked: 1. The help, which the Lord had already granted to His people, forms in Psalms 9. the foundation on which the prayer is based; whereas in Psalms 10. the same purpose is served by a lengthened description of the mournful state of things, loudly calling for Divine inter-ference, of the superciliousness of the ungodly, nourished by their impunity, and of the sufferings of the righteous. This parallelism of the two sections, Psalms 9:1-13; Psalms 10:1-11, is of importance for coming to a right judgment on the first. It shows that the thanks rendered in it have not an independentsignificance, but that the remembrance of that, which the Lord had formerly done, was only designed to insure the fulfilment of the word, "Ask in faith, nothing doubting." 2. In Psalms 9. the reference to the heathen is decidedly prominent. On the contrary, in Psalms 10. the heathen are only once thought of, in ver. 16; and the author, besides, is throughout concerned simply with "the wicked." 3. In Psalms 9. the Psalmist introduces the people of the Lord saying, "I will praise the Lord," etc., which has caused some groundlessly to suppose that it refers to the personal relations of the Psalmist; here, on the contrary, he speaks always of the meek, the afflicted, etc., in the third person.-That David composed this Psalm, not in reference to any particular position of his life, but to the end that the people might avail themselves of it in all seasons of distress, was remarked even by Kimchi and if this supposition had been kept steadily in view here, as also in the preceding Psalm, confirmed as it is by the entire matter, a host of fruitless conjectures might have been spared,-such, for example, as Hitzig has brought forward, who, however, has decidedly acknowledged the authorship of David. No trace is anywhere to be found of an individual reference; and vers. 8-10, which might be most readily explained historically, con-clusively show that the individual element, where it seems to occur, is merely poetical individualization. The individual re-presentation is also excluded here, as in Psalms 9., by the use of the alphabetical arrangement. This is never found in the personal Psalms. Ver. 1. Why standest Thou afar off, O Lord? Why standest Thou as an indifferent spectator of my contest with the enemy, and dost not hasten to my rescue? The why is, in circumstances like the present, an evidence of lively faith. Only he who possesses it, and, with it, a firm conviction of God's omnipotence and righteousness, will consider it as a mon-strous thing, and one that cannot continue, that God should not assist His suffering people. Thou coverest in times of trouble. תעלים rightly by Calvin: "connives;" to which must be supplied, eyes. The expression stands in full, Leviticus 20:4, 1 Samuel 12:3, and in many other places. See upon the omis-sion of the members in current phrases, Ewald, p. 190. When God does not assist His people, He appears to have turned away His face from them, to have covered His eyes; comp. ver. 14. See on Psalms 9:9, for the expression, "times of distressor trouble." The supposition that "times in distress" stands simply for "times of distress," is opposed by the very concise character of the whole Psalm. We have already shown, that the words are externally, as well as internally, related to Psalms 9:9. There the Psalmist had obtained from the earlier mani-festations of God the sure result, that He is a refuge in times when one is in distress. He here takes up the inference from this result, and asks God, wherefore His actions are in contra- diction thereto. The בצרה לעתות is to be viewed as furnished with marks of quotation, and תעלים should have stress laid on it, as forming the contrast to משגב. Ver. 2. Through the pride of the wicked the poor is inflamed; they are taken in the plots which they have devised. דלק, in Heb. as well as in the cognate dialects, signifies, "to burn." Here the burning, or setting on fire, figuratively denotes "anger:" comp. כעס indignation, in ver. 14, which so often appears under the image of fire-comp., for example, Psalms 37:1, "Be not inflamed against the evil-doers;" Psalms 39:3, "My heart was hot within me; while I was musing, the fire burned;" Isaiah 30:27, "burning His anger;" Ezekiel 21:36 (31), בערים, burning, for angry, raging. Against Gesenius and De Wette, who think that burn must here mean to be in anguish, we place the fact, that anguish is never so designated in Hebrew; and against Stier, who takes דלק to signify the heat of tribulation, and of Hitzig, who translates, is burned, we may urge as decisive, the remark of J. H. Michaelis: "דלק ardorem activum, quails est in igne, non passivum, qualis in materia denotat." The expo-sition of Sachs and others: "Through the pride of the wicked he persecutes the miserable," does not suit the parallelism so well; only one passage, Lamentations 4:19, in support of דלק con-nected in this signification with the accusative, can be adduced. Elsewhere it has this signification only with אהרי, which also is strictly necessary; and indeed it could only be left out, when the language had already grown corrupt. Most expositors ex-plain the second clause: "they, the wretched, are caught or taken through the plans which those, the wicked, have devised;" and this exposition is to be preferred, from the parallelism and connection, to the other: "may they, the wicked, be caught or taken in the wiles which they have devised;" although the latter may be supported by parallel passages, such as Psalms 7:13 ss., 9:16. Ver. 3. For the wicked extols the desire of his soul, and he who makes gain blesses, despises the Lord. The for marks not so much the relation of this verse to the preceding one, as the relation of the whole representation in vers. 3-11 to vers. 1 and 2. The brief intimations which the Psalmist had given in these two verses, regarding the posture of things, he establishes by a further elucidation in vers. 3-11. כי has precisely the same force in Psalms 9:4; and this agreement also points to a closer connection between the two Psalms. The first clause is com-monly rendered: "For the wicked boasts of his desire." But this rendering is inadmissible, as הלל never signifies to boast, to be proud, least of all in Psalms 56:4, where its object is coupled with it, nor in Psalms 44:8. We must rather translate: "The wicked extols the desire of his heart." The על stands then quite appropriately as a designation of the object, to which the ex-tolling refers-its substratum. When the wicked ventures to laud in public the shameful lusts of his heart, as things which need not shun the light, this is the highest degree of depravity; and betokens, at the same time, how secure he has become in consequence of his impunity, how sad the condition of the poor, how much occasion there is for such to fear, how necessary therefore it is for God to interfere, and what reason there was for the why in the first verse. So also Ewald: "He gives praise, not, as is due, to Jehovah, but to his own lust;" comp. Habakkuk 11-16. The second clause can only be rendered: who-soever makes gain, blesses, despises God. בצע is correctly ex-plained by Venema: quaestum faciens per fas et nefas. The bad sense lies not in the word itself, but in the connection. The object of the lamentation is, that whosoever makes gain, without further consideration, blesses God for it, without ever asking whether the gain is a righteous one or not. Blesses God. This indicates the highest degree of boldness. For a man who possesses any moral feeling will say, "Blessed be God," only when he has obtained a righteous gain;-comp. Zechariah 11:5, which passage clearly shows, that God is to be con-sidered as the object of blessing. With this is fitly connected, "he despises the Lord." Such a blessing of God is, indeed, the highest kind of contempt toward Him. For, as Calvin justly remarks: "Whosoever believes that God will be his judge, will shudder to bless his soul (rather, God), while he has an evil conscience." That from the expression, "he blesses the Lord," 158 THE BOOK OF PSALMS. we are not to conclude the Psalmist to have referred to the wicked in Israel, is manifest from the passage already quoted, Zechariah 11:5, the oversight of which has been a main cause in the misunderstanding the present words. Zechariah speaks of the flock of slaughter, " whose buyers slay them, and hold them-selves not guilty; and they that sell them say, Blessed be the Lord, for I am rich." Under the buyers and sellers are there to be understood the foreign oppressors; see Christol. in loc. The blessing or praising of the Lord here, on account of gain, we are not to regard quite so seriously,-it is done half in joke; moreover, even the heathen were inclined to grant a certain portion to Jehovah of the advantages which they obtained over His people,-comp., for example, Jeremiah 1:7. De Wette, follow-ing many of the older expositors, and himself again followed by Maurer and others, expounds quite differently "The plun-derer blasphemes, despises God." If we would follow this exposition, we must, in that case, not take ך`רב in the sense of blaspheming, which it never has, but in that of renouncing, bid-ding farewell, which originated in the custom of blessing at sepa-ration. That the sense of blaspheming does not, and cannot exist, Schultens has proved on Job, p. 12. Comp. further, my Beitr. Th. II. S. 131, where I have shown, that that meaning is not found in the passage, 1 Kings 21:10, on which the principal stress is laid. Neither should we force on בצע, the signification of plunderers, which is not justified by a robber's being designated עaצeוב in Habakkuk 2:9 -for what might not then be proved?-but it must be taken in the only certain signification: "the gain-getting," which is also perfectly suitable in Hab. 9, where itis clear that we must render רעa עצaב, עaצeבo. "he who gaineth a wrong gain." Not only is the meaning, robber, unsuitable, but that also of covetous, which others have accepted. Therefore: "He who only makes gain, renounces the Lord, despises Him." The verbs ך`רב and נאץ would then mark a progression. But against this explanation, even as thus modified, we may urge, that the obvious and striking contrast between blessing and despising, the designation of the highest degree of impiety by the juxtaposition of these extreme opposites, is destroyed by it; to which also must be added, that ך`רב can scarcely be taken in any other sense than that of blessing, were it only for theparallelism with הלל, to extol; the extolling of the desire of hissoul, and the blessing of God on account of his unrighteousgain, are closely connected. The exposition: "He blesses him-self," adopted by Stier and others, after Venema, is quite arbi-trary. In the passage referred to by them, Deuteronomy 29:18, theverb in Hithpael is unquestionably used in a transitive sense. We repeat, that all these wrong expositions are set aside by the passage in Zechariah. Ver. 4. The wicked in his pride, he does not inquire: God is not, are all his purposes. The height of the nose is a picturesque description of pride. Many render the first clause: "The wicked in, or according to, his pride, does not concern him-self." They either supply God to ידרש: he does not seek after,or care for, God; or they understand the verb quite generally: in his heart the wicked disregards everything; right and wrong are alike to him; he knows no other law than his own lust. "The principle of right action through the whole of life," remarksCalvin, "is inquiry, in that we do not allow ourselves to be blindly carried about wherever our own spirit, and the impulses of our corrupt flesh, would draw us. But the disposition to in-quire springs from humility, in that we, as becomes us, set Godbefore us as our judge and guide." But others take ידרש בל as the words of an evil-doer: "the wicked in his pride (says) He (God) searches or perceives not." And this exposition, which presents no difficulty when we bear in mind the extremely con-cise style of the Psalm, is shown to be the correct one, by com-paring ver. 13: "Wherefore doth the wicked despise God;and say in his heart, Thou wilt not require it?" תדרש לא,--a parallel passage which is the more decisive, as ver. 13 mani-festly resumes the subject of vers. 3 and 4. In these verses the fact is set before us, that he despises God, that he says, "Thou punishest not;" in ver. 13 reference is made to the abnormity of such thoughts, and to the necessity of their being uprooted: "Wherefore does he despise, wherefore does he speak?" We may also comp. דמים דרש in Psalms 9:12, where the verb, in like manner, signifies "to inquire into," "to punish." The denial of providence is here justly marked as the product of pride. The wicked desires to be a god himself; therefore he suppresses consciousness regarding God in heaven. God is not, are all his purposes: they are a continued practical denial of God. For had he a real conviction of the being of a living God, he would stand in awe of the judgment-seat. Whether he have a cold and dead notion of God, or even of His provi-dente, is a matter of indifference. Venema: "Their counsels and projects were such, that in their very nature they involved the denial of God; and if an inference might be drawn there-from concerning the faith of those who entertain them, we should conclude them to be deniers of God: in which sense those who confess God in words, are said to deny Him by their works, Titus 1:16." מזמה we take here, according to the usage of the Psalms, for ungodly purposes, and the rather so, as it had occurred in that sense in ver. 2. The sense is weakened if we render, with other expositors: "There is no God, are all his thoughts." This exposition is also unsuitable, in that it would attribute a theoretical denial of God to the wicked, in opposition to the first clause, ver. 3, vers. 11 and 13. Some, in order to avoid this objection, would take the "not God," against the usage, as meaning: "God is nothing; He has no power." אין always denies existence, not quiddity�. P. 2 p. 474 ss. Hupfeld, Hitzig, and De Wette, in his 4th ed., take רשע absolutely, and both periods as expressing his thoughts: "The wicked, according to his pride, he punishes not, God is not, are all his thoughts." But this construction, which destroys the parallelism, rests upon the view of מזמותיו, which has already been proved to be false. If this be under-stood of the purposes, it cannot be referred to ידרש בל. For the denial of providence is, according to vers. 11 and 13, the theo-retical principle of the wicked. Ver. 5. His ways, his undertakings, are always prosperous. The Chaldee gives this sense, and the best expositors follow it. The verb הול occurs in a similar meaning in Job_20::21; and the derivative, היל strength, also confirms it. Against the parallelism, some expositors take it in the unproved sense of being crooked, and translate: His ways are always crooked. The relation of the two following members to this first was already pointed out quite correctly by Venema: "The other two members take out of the way the obstacles to prosperity, the one of which is the judgments of God, the other, the attacks of enemies." A height are Thy judgments, Thy punish-merit's, away from him; i.e. Thy righteous chastisements are so far removed from him, that they never reach him. This can only be understood in two ways-either as a continued descrip-tion of the prosperity of the wicked, and their freedom from punishment, from which sprung their supercilious security de-scribed in ver. 6; or as a description of this supercilious security itself, as a consequence of their being "prospered in their ways." The latter exposition is adopted by Calvin: "Because continual prosperity flows in upon them, they think that God is obliged to them. And so it comes to pass, that they put His judgments far from them." But as there is not the slightest hint of a reference to the wicked's thoughts, and since the pre-ceding words, "his ways are prosperous," refer not to a fancy, but to the reality, this view could only be considered as admis-sible, in case these grounds could be counterbalanced by an undeniable reference of the last clause to the supercilious se-curity of the wicked. This, however, is by no means the case. The last clause, also, has respect, not to the thoughts, but to the actual lot of the wicked. From what has been said, the presumption is in favour of this view, and the most natural exposition is: All His adversaries, He breathes upon them; i.e. He blows them away with little trouble; He has only to breathe, and they vanish: comp. Isaiah 40:24, "He blows upon them, and they wither;" and the "cujus to legiones difflavisti. spiritu quasi ventus folia" of Plautus, in the Mil. Glor. 1:1, 17. To explain the words as referring to some sort of blowing, through which a proud disposition manifested itself, has this against it, that such a blowing is nowhere mentioned in the Old Testa-ment. In Malachi 1:13, to which we are referred, the הפיה, "to make to breathe out," is, by comp. with Job 31:39, as much as, "to blow out the light of life," to rob the soul, to annihilate. So that all the three clauses refer to the external lot of the wicked; and the following verse for the first time sets forth the influence, which his prosperity and his impunity have upon his disposition. Ver. 6. A feeling of security springs from his prosperity.He says in his heart, I shall not be moved; from generation to generation, I am he who is not in adversity; i.e. is not unfor- tunate. The meaning is: Misfortune shall never overtake me. The expression, "from generation to generation," is to be ex-plained by the circumstance, that the wicked here is an ideal personage. ברע, in evil, for, in misfortune, as in Exodus 5:19. The אשר is used with peculiar emphasis, and not as a kind of ex-pletive, as we might at first sight suppose. He is that man who defies all misfortune, whom God cannot harm, even if He would. Precisely so is it also used, for example, in Isa. viii.162 THE BOOK OF Psalms 20, "If they speak not according to these, they are those for whom there is no dawn." Calvin here beautifully contrasts the confidence of the pious, which is the offspring of faith, and the false security of the wicked. "The latter says, I shall not be moved, or shall not shake for ever, because he thinks his strength sufficient to bear up against all assaults. The believer says, If I should happen to be moved, or even to fall, and to sink into the depths, still I shall not utterly perish; for God will put His hand beneath me." Ver. 7. The representation given of the violation of duties toward neighbours, which the ungodly, confirmed in his un-conscientiousness by his prosperity, allows to grow into actual guilt, is commenced in this verse with the words, and pro-ceeds in vers. 8-10 to deeds. His mouth is full of cursing, and of deceit and oppression. אלה preserves here its common signification. But the circumstance, that it occurs here in a description, which refers only to the relation toward: neigh-bours, and its being coupled with deceit and oppression, shows that such cursings are here spoken of, as the ungodly utters upon himself, so that he may be successful in his deceit, and may win confidence to the perjuries through which he seeks to circumvent his neighbour in goods and chattels. In the fore-ground are perjury and deceit, false assurances of peace and love: in the background are violence and oppression. By the former his victims are made defenceless; and then he comes forth with the latter. In Psalms 59:12, אלה is coupled with כהש, "lie," as it is here with מרמה. In opposition to the connec-tion, Stier regards the cursings, execrations, and calumnies, as directed against God, as well as men. מלא not an adjective, but a verb.-And of deceit and oppression. מרמות the LXX. render by ניךסיב, bitterness, probably confounding the word with מרות from מרר.�Under his tongue is sorrow and mischief.עמל, never actively, distress, which one brings upon another; but here, as always, misfortune, distress, which others suffer. און signifies here, and constantly, mischief. The sorrow, the product of the injustice, is in, and with this under the tongue: comp. the investigations upon both words in my Treatise on Balaam, p. 112 sq. In the expression, "under his tongue," the metaphor, according to several interpreters, is taken from the poison of serpents, which is concealed under the teeth, and from thence is pressed out, as is mentioned in Psalms 140:3,PSALM X. VER. 8. 163 "Adder's poison is under their lips." But the parallelism, with the mouth, favours the less remote exposition of others, who consider the tongue to be mentioned here as the organ of speech. That the Psalmist says under the tongue, and not, as elsewhere, upon it, arises from his thinking of a whole storehouse of misery and injustice as being under their tongue, from which, at fitting times, particular portions are taken and laid upon the tongue. This corresponds precisely to the words in the first clause: His mouth is full. His mouth is like a magazine of sorrow and mischief. It is also against the reference to the poison of ser-pents, that, in Psalms 66:17, the expression, “ under the tongue,” is in like manner used of words, and that in a good sense: "I cried unto Him with my mouth, and the song of praise was under my tongue." Ver. 8. Having set forth, that if God be willing to help, now is the proper time, as the profligacy of the wicked had mounted to the highest pitch, the Psalmist turns from words to deeds. He describes them as robbers and murderers, who lay wait for the defenceless traveller for the purpose of destroy-ing him. Several commentators are disposed to understand this representation figuratively: the wicked are likened to rob-bers. But there is just as little ground for this supposition as for the other, that a reference exists here to special historical events. The representation is not a figurative, but an individu-alizing one; and the particular mode in which the heathen com-mitted their wickedness here mentioned, is in reality no more under consideration than any others: the individualization is only designed to give vividness to the description. The par-ticular trait, besides, manifestly suits better to evil-doers among the Israelites, than to foreign adversaries, who were wont to break in upon the land with open violence, and not to waylay individuals in lurking places: comp. the analogous description, Job 24:14. Habakkuk 3:14, to which De Wette appeals in sup-port of the reference to the heathen, is placed by him in a dis-torted light. The Chaldeans are there expressly compared to such as waylay the poor in secret places, who are here the sub-ject of discourse; it cannot, therefore, have been their custom. He lies in the lurking places of the villages; i.e. in concealed places, in the thicket, in the neighbourhood of townships, they lie in wait for the peaceable inhabitants, with the view of suddenly falling upon them, and killing or plundering them. The verbישב is specially used of the lion, which lies in his den upon the watch, comp. ver. 9; then also of men. In the secret places he murders the innocent. מסתר is used pre-eminently of covered places, which are adapted for snares. So, of the dens of lions, where they lie in secret, Psalms 17:12; Lamentations 3:10.-His eyes keep watch upon the miserable. צפן prop. denotes to conceal, and nothing else. The sense of watching, as it occurs here and in Proverbs 1:11; Proverbs 1:18, comes only from the general omission of the object, as is often the case in Hiph., that is, of the concealed place of the snares or gins. But this omission must have been so current, that the verb gradually got to mean simply“watching.” For here, on account of the verb's being con- nected with the eyes, it would not at all do to supply the object.הכAל;הe is very differently explained. The Masorites think it is a compound of the defectively written word הילe host, and the suff. ך~ with ה appended. Believing that the first syllable must have been originally written plene, they have given to it the vowel Zere, whereas otherwise, in a compound syllable, a short vowel must always stand. Hence the vowels, as due to the Masoretic explanation, do not come under consideration. This exposition of the word, which a number of interpreters follow, is un-doubtedly false, and yields no fitting sense. Equally false is another explanation, that of Schroeder ad Ps. dec. p. 180-88, which is adopted by most recent expositors. According to it, the word is derived from the Arabic , to be black, which, in the metaphorical sense, must mean to be unfortunate. It is in itself a questionable proceeding to transfer a root at once to the Hebrew, which does not otherwise occur in it, and that too in a sense not even found in the Arabic; some faint trace of it is discernible there only in the derivatives. The chief objec-tion, however, against it is, that the ה cannot, as is done by some, be taken as a formative, or with others as parag., since the plural הלכאים in ver. 10, where then ה is exchanged for א, shows it to be a radical. We must rather take הלכה as a qua-driliterum compositum, formed from the two Hebrew roots הלה, to be weak, sick, and כאה, moerore affectus, afflictus fuit. Comp. Psalms 109:16, Ezekiel 13:22. The sing. is then to be pointed הכ,ל;הa, the plural םיאiכAל;הa. There are not wanting examples of similarcompounds; comp. Ewald, p. 519, Christol. P. p. 98. The double form with ה and with א admits then of an easy explana-tion, because both letters properly belonged to the root, and themode of abbreviation was a matter of choice. We can thus also understand how the Masorites should have come to con-sider the word as a double one. In ver. 10 they understand one of its component parts quite correctly. They take הלכאים as meaning an agmen afilictorum, and consequently derive כאים from the verb כאה. With this exposition agrees also admirably the rendering of the LXX., the Syriac., Chal., by poor; that of Aquila and Symm. by weak. But what is the main thing, this exposition is in perfect accordance with that which the Psalm itself suggests in reference to the signification of הלכה. We must, firstly, now consider the other designations in the Psalm of those here denominated. In reference to these, it is remarked by Gousset: "Semel (vers. 14, 18) vocantur nomine יתום, semel nomine נקי, alias quoque nomine עני.�At meritoעני praeferemus, quia multoties in eodem sermone occurrit, tan- quam proprium orationis subjectum et cujus ideam ac notionem auctor sibi frequentius objiceret." Then, an important help to- wards a right explanation is supplied by ver. 10, where הלכאים stands in opposition to עצומים, the strong." Now, in הלכאים, according to the view we have taken, both ideas, that of a mournful, poor condition (כאה), and that of weakness (הלה), are combined, while the latter, according to the derivation fromך`לה, is entirely absent. The writer unquestionably formed this word himself, which is never used elsewhere, and intended it to be a kind of enigma. Ver. 9. He lies in wait in the secret places as a lion in his den, he lies in wait to catch the poor, he does catch the poor, drawing him with his net. The suff. in במשבו. refers to the poor; comp. in Hosea 11:4, םכשמא אדם בההלי; funibus humanis eos attraxi. Others refer it to the ungodly, and translate: "while he draws, or draws to his net;" comp. ך`שמ with ב, in the sense of drawing, in 1 Kings 22:34. The Psalmist, who, in the first member, had com-pared the robber to a lion, lets this image drop here, and repre-sents the ungodly under the figure of a hunter, who casts his noose around the neck of the unsuspecting game; comp. Psalms 35:7; Psalms 57:6. The thought which lies at the bottom of the figurative representation is this, that the ungodly always unite cunning with open violence, and that, consequently, the poor servants of God must be wretched every way, unless the Lord deliver them. Ver. 10. Crushed, he sinks down, the poor man. The firstword has a double reading. The form in the text, which must be pronounced הכAדAו;, is an adj. verb, formed from דכה=ך`כד; the marginal reading, which must be pronounced הכ,ד;יi, and the vowels of which, as usual, stand in the text, is Fut. in Kal of דכה. The text is here, as always, when there is no urgent reason to the contrary, to be preferred to the margin. The unhappy man is represented under the image of a wild animal, which, entangled in the net, falls to the ground. The crushing, over-powering, is to be taken figuratively, and refers to the utter impotence produced by the netting, to use his powers and save himself; comp. Psalms 57:6. With ישה here should be comparedmy soul is bowed down," in Psalms 57:6. And the poor fallsthrough his strong ones. עצומים signifies, wherever it occurs in the Old Testament, the strong; hence all those expositions which give the word another meaning must be rejected at once, from such as palm on it a foreign sense out of the Arabic, to those which take it abstractly in the sense of strength. The suff.refers to the רשע as an ideal person. His strong ones stand in opposition to הלכאים, and indicate how the latter, in their impotence and helplessness, must be an easy prey for such formidable enemies. "Through his strong ones," is sub-stantially the same as, "through them, the strong." The in-dividuals are represented as belonging to the personified idea. Calvin explains it somewhat differently. According to him, the image of a lion is here continued, his claws and teeth are personified as strong warriors. This supposition, though de-serving to be rejected, as the Psalmist has long since dropt the image of a lion, is, however, more admissible than the one adopted by some recent expositors, who would have the word to signify strong members. This view weakens also the manifest contrast between עצומים and הלכאים, which requires the former, according to its constant import, to be a designation of persons. The connection of a verb in the singular with a noun in the plural is always allowable, when the verb precedes, inasmuch as then the speaker has not in view determinate persons, their number or sex; comp. Ewald, p. 639. Here the use of the singular was the more natural, as in the first member he had spoken of an individual who was wretched. Ver. 11. The Psalmist here comes back again to the source of the audacity of the wicked, their fancy, fostered by continued impunity, that God's providence rules not over human things.He brings this so prominently out, because it must be to God the most pressing motive to interference, and is consequently the best preparation for the immediately following prayer. He, the wicked, says in his heart: God hath forgotten, namely, my shame-ful deeds, as well as the sufferings of the unfortunate; it is to Him a matter of indifference what is done on earth, He troubles not Himself about it-He hideth His face, that He may not be disturbed in His repose by the sight of the confusion on earth. Ver. 12. Arise, O Lord: O God, lift up Thine hand; forget not the wretched. Here the second part begins-the prayer, which, of itself, springs out of, and was indeed strictly con-tained in, the complaint uttered before God. As the visible presented no traces of God's righteousness and providence, but seems rather to clash therewith, it is to the Psalmist, in accord-ance with the weakness of human nature, as if God rested, and did not concern Himself about earthly things, and left His people in forgetfulness. But while the ungodly purposely cherishes and feeds this error, the offspring of his own reprobate state of mind, the believer fights against it, as a thought that has arisen only from his troubled condition, and prays the Lord to help him in his conflict, and, at the same time, to destroy the delusion of the wicked; by making Himself known in His righteousness and retribution. The lifting up of the hand, is spoken of one, who, after he has been taking rest, and has put his hand into his bosom, arises and addresses himself to his work. The words "forget not," refer to those of the wicked in ver. 11, "God hath forgotten." On the different readings, עניים and ענוים, see on Psalms 9:12. Here, too, the latter, which is the marginal reading, arose out of the supposition that a moral quality was required. Ver. 13. Wherefore does the wicked contemn God? Where-fore dost Thou permit him to despise Thee with impunity? Wherefore does he speak, wherefore dare he say, Thou punishest not? prop. Thou dost not inquire. This, with God, coincides with punishing. For when God inquires into the doings of men, being a righteous God, it necessarily follows that He also recompenses. The transition from the third person to the second gives more emphasis to the language. He speaks as itwere to God's very face. Still we might also take the words תדרש לא as oratio obliqua, = "that Thou punishest not;" and this view is even to be preferred. Calvin: "Though it is superfluous to bring forth reasons before God, for the purposeof persuading Him, He yet permits us to deal familiarly with Him in our prayers, to address Him as a son addresses his earthly father. For the object of the prayer must always be kept in view, namely, that God may be the witness of all our feelings, not as if they would otherwise escape Him, but be-cause, while we pour out our hearts before Him, our cares are lightened, and our confidence of being heard, increases." Thus David here rises to hope, through representing to himself how absurd a thing it would be for God to suffer the impious to despise Him with impunity. The verse, besides, is closely con-nected with the first part, vers. 3 and 4. There the fact was set forth; here attention is called to its absurdity, and conse-quently to the necessity of a reaction of the idea against the actual state of things. Ver. 14. Thou hast seen. The Psalmist here rises to the confidence, to the faith, that the Lord will put to shame, the fancy of the ungodly, mentioned in ver. 11, that He is uncon-cerned about earthly things in general, and especially about their wickedness; and that He sees both their abominable deeds, and the sufferings of the righteous, and will act accord- ingly. We might regard this as the commencement of the third part of the Psalm. However, as the Psalmist turns back again to the prayer in ver. 15, it is better to begin the third part with ver. 16, from where confidence alone, has the ascendant. When more closely examined, the confidence here also is different from that in ver. 16 sq. Here it is grounded upon a conclusion; there it is an immediate conviction. Con-fidence of the first kind, which may be designated a presup-posing one, is more related to prayer, nay, a kind of prayer: I hope still that Thou dost see. The Psalmist here expresses his confidence in the form of a conclusion a genere ad speciem. God is, in general, the all-knowing, the righteous One, the true helper of His people; consequently, He both will, and must prove Himself to be such here also. This conclusion a genere ad speciem is, of all tasks, the most difficult, and one that can be performed only by the powerful assistance of God. That all human things are placed under God's providence, is not so difficult to be received as a matter of conviction; but to judge every particular oppression in accordance therewith, to apply this doctrine thereto, at the very time when the flesh feels pre-cisely the reverse, when God appears to be merely an inactivespectator of our misery, is possible to none but the regenerate, and yet there is no living faith in Divine providence without it. The same holds good also in reference to the doctrine of the atonement. To accept it as true, that Christ died for the sins of the whole world, is not so difficult. But to be convinced, and firmly persuaded, that He died specially for our sins, whilst sin and Satan are loudly crying the opposite, lies beyond the reach of human power. The object of the word ראיתה, which refers to לנצה ראה בל in ver. 11, is the particular case,--that inrespect to which the ungodly had declared, God inquires not. The תביט, on the other hand, refers to the general. Allowingthis, כי, as part. ration., is evidently quite suitable, and there is no need of palming on it, with many expositors, strange mean-ings, such as yea, yea indeed. With this also agrees the use, first of the Preterite, and then of the Future. Thou hast seen, for Thou art accustomed to behold. If the latter were not, the assumption of the former would be utterly groundless. For God does nothing which has not its foundation in His nature; and what has its foundation there, must regularly take place. But the latter being the case, then it is unreasonable not to assume the first. For this is virtually to hold that God denies Himself, that He is not God. For Thou seest suffering andanger in the city, to put them in Thine hand. The verb כעס always signifies to be angry; the noun, without exception, rage, anger; and the meanings grief, lamentation, which expositors give it here and in some other places, are palmed on it merely from the connection. Here it is anger at the unjust assaults of the wicked,-the righteous indignation, the subjective feeling which is called forth by the suffering, עמל: comp. 1 Samuel 1:6, where an example also occurs of the manner in which God takes this anger into His hand, when He appears for a mo-ment to forget: also the expression in ver. 2, "the wretched one burns;" and the passage in Job 6:2, which is important for the signification of כעס, when connected with words ex-pressive of misfortune. In the words, "to give, or put them in Thine hand," the image, according to many, is derived from those who make for themselves marks of remembrance in their hand. The justness of this explanation is thought to be clear from Isaiah 49:16, "Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of My hands, thy walls are continually before Me."But the use of the verb נתן does not favour the view adopted.Rather is the thought, that the Lord lays the sufferings of His people in His hand, a sign that He will, in His own time, avenge them upon their enemies, that no part of their afflictions escapes Him, or is a matter of indifference to Him; comp. 56:8, "Thou tellest my wanderings; put my tears in Thy bottle, nay, they stand in Thy book." Against the explanation, "to recompense with Thy hand," apart from the impossibility of at once assign-ing such a meaning to giving, there is also the circumstance, that ביד נתן uniformly occurs, in the sense of, "to put into the hand." The poor commits to Thee. יעזב, "may commit to Thee," as the parallel last clause shows. The subject in hand is not primarily that which the helpless in duty ought to do, but what he, in good confidence, can do. עזב is not to be taken here in a reflec-tive sense: neither is any definite object, his weakness or the like, to be supplied; but it is as if he had said: "The unfor-tunate man commits to Thee, to Thee he surrenders." Of the orphan, Thou art the helper. יתום, "an orphan," is used in this Psalm, which refers to the relation of the Church of God to the heathen, as a figurative designation of helplessness and desertion. There is also a reference to passages of the law which ascribe to God a tender care for orphans in the strict and proper sense: e. g. Deut. 10:18; Exodus 22:22 (21). So also Psalms 68:5 (6); Hosea 14:4. Ver. 15. Break the arm of the wicked, annihilate his power, which he is applying to the destruction of the innocent,-and the evil, seek out his wickedness, find them not. רע, according to the accents, belongs to the second clause, and stands as nomin. absol.: And the evil. Expositors generally explain: Thou may-est seek his wickedness, not find it; i.e. may Thy judgments so utterly annihilate him, that even Thine all-seeing eye shall be able to detect no more wickedness remaining to be punished. The trackless disappearance of a thing, and its complete de-struction, are often denoted by the seeking and not finding of it: comp. Psalms 37:35; Psalms 37:36. But it is remarked, on the other hand, quite correctly by Claus, after the older expositors, such as Venema, that there is thereby overlooked the unmistakeable reference to דרש, in ver. 13. The verb must here be taken in the same sense as there,-therefore: search out his wickedness, drag it before Thy judgment-seat, to which he thinks himself not liable; and that with such a result, that it shall be utterly brought to an end, that Thou Thyself shalt find it no more.Venema: "Until Thou shalt not find; i.e. until there shall be none surviving, or nothing shall remain to be punished, and so Thou mayest require to the very uttermost." To the תדרש לא of the ungodly, stands opposed the תדרש. The תמצא בל con-tains a piece of covert raillery. True, indeed, as thou sayest, it shall not be found; but from quite another cause than thou supposest, to wit, because thou, with thy ungodliness, shalt be wholly extirpated. The prayer, that God would break the arm of the ungodly, and search out Ids wickedness, proceeds from the living faith that He can and must do so; that the ungodly rages only through His permission; that he would be made to disappear without leaving a trace behind, the moment God pleased, and that He would certainly be pleased to do it in His own time. We have proceeded on the supposition that תדרש and תמצא are to be taken optatively in paral. with the Imper. שבר. But, as the demand has hope for its foundation, we can also fairly expound: Thou wilt search out, Thou wilt not find; and this might be represented as the more suitable, since the transition to the undoubting confidence, expressed in ver. 16, would then appear a more natural one: "Break, for that we pray; Thou wilt search out, for that we hope; they are perished, that we behold." Ver. 16. The third strophe-the confidence, as it springs from the inwardly received assurance of being heard. The Psalmist gives utterance here to an exuberant joy of faith. The Lord has granted him such an internal assurance of being heard, that he already sees the ungodly conquered, and the holy land of God purged of their abominations. The Lord is King for ever and ever. At an earlier period, when his faith was still subject to assaults, it had appeared to the Psalmist as if the Lord were thrust down from His high throne, but now the matter presents itself to him quite otherwise. Faith shows him how impotent all attempts of the rebels are to rob Him of His supremacy. He is, and abides KING, and will prove Himself such now and for ever. The Lord is named King here, not as ruler of the world, but as sovereign over His people and His holy land; comp. Neut. 33:5, Numbers 23:21. The heathen are perished out of His land. Luther understands by גוים such as ought to have belonged to God's people and the chosen Israel, but have now degenerated and become heathens, and so are no longer God's people, but His enemies. So also Calvin,172 THE BOOK OF PSALMS. with an appeal to Ezekiel 16:3, "Thy birth and thy nativity is of the land of Canaan; thy father was an Amorite, and thy mother a Hittite;" for: As to thy way and manners, thou derivest thy being from these people; comp. other passages in which the ungodly among the Israelites are described as heathens, in Christol. P. 2 p. 398. But we have no reason here to depart from the usual signification of the word; and this, indeed, is rather confirmed by a comp. with ver. 9, where heathens, in the proper sense, are unquestionably meant. גוים also signifies, not heathen, as individuals, but heathen nations. Yet it does not follow from this that the whole Psalm limits itself to them. The Psalmist might here very well name a par-ticular species of ungodly enemies-just as the poor are in vers. 14, 18, denoted by the individualizing term of the orphan, and the wicked in vers. 8-10 are described under the particular character of robbers-because the same law which brought their subjection, would certainly carry in its bosom the subjec- tion of the others. Against the exclusive reference of the whole Psalm to heathenish enemies, we have to urge the want of any special allusion to them in all the rest of the Psalm, and the existence of many traits which suit better a home conflict between the pious and the ungodly; comp. on vers. 7-10. But all appearances are satisfactorily explained when the Psalm isviewed as a song for the general use of the pious, when suffer- ing oppression at the hands of the wicked,-it being of no moment whether the latter were merely uncircumcised in heart, or also uncircumcised in flesh; comp. Jeremiah 9:25. The words,“out of His land,” point to the cause of the extirpation of"the heathen." The Pret. אבדו is to be explained thus, that the Psalmist, by the internal vision of faith, sees his enemies as already annihilated. Ver. 17. Thou hast heard, O Lord, the desire of the meek Thou makest their heart firm: through the inward conviction which Thou givest them of the hearing of their prayer, Thou impartest to them the power of resisting all assaults, in the firm hope of obtaining the deliverance promised them. A firm heart is opposed to a heart that is moved, shaking, trembling, and in-dicates courage, strength, repose; comp. Psalms 112:7, "His heart is fixed, trusting in the Lord," Psalms 51:12; Psalms 57:7. Thou causestThine ear to hear. Ver. 18. In order that Thou makest judge the orphan and theoppressed. These words are closely connected with the close of the preceding verse.- The man of the earth will not continue to defy. We must take the second clause as an expression of con-fidence, not of desire. For in the latter case, the abbreviated Fut. would have been used. אנוש has, as was already remarked, the subordinate ideas of feebleness and weakness, which are still more plainly denoted by the addition, "of the earth;" q. d.: He who is, sprung from the earth, who belongs to it; the man of the earth, as opposed to the God of heaven. The expression occurs in Psa_148::7, "Praise the Lord, הארץ מן, ye of the earth," ye inhabitants thereof; before, in ver. 1, it was, "Praise the Lord, from the heavens." Comp. also, examples of the similar use of מן in Venema, in loc. The verb ערץ has in the Arabicand Hebrew (Isaiah 47:12) the signification of, withstanding, braving. As the object of the resistance or defiance, God is to be understood. Between לערץ and הארץ there exists an inten-tional paronomasia, pointing to the glaring contradiction be-tween nature and will. The exposition of Hitzig and others: "That they may not further drive the people out of the land," is already confuted by the parallel passage, Psalms 9:19; Psalms 9:20, "Arise, O Lord, let not man prevail," where the same contrast is found between the assumed strength and native weakness; and also by the circumstance, that it destroys the significance of the paronomasia, which was taken notice of by Luther: "Here is a fine play upon the words, in that man who is still of the earth, should magnify and exalt himself; which contains within itself a strong contrast, since it is wholly and utterly improper, that man, because he is a man, and besides born of the earth, and return-ing again to it, should thus exalt himself and act proudly." Also, we do not perceive how the suffering could be designated אנוש, which refers solely to human weakness in general. Finally, it is far-fetched to render יוסיף בל, "one will not continue." Psalms 11. The speaker is hard pressed by godless enemies; and he is advised, abandoning all-all, indeed, being already lost-to look only to the safety of his life, vers. 1-3. But he answers, that he puts his confidence in God, who, throned on high in His holy heaven, rules with His providence over the affairs of men,and will assuredly accomplish the overthrow of evil, though it seems almighty, and secure victory to the righteous, vers. 4-7. "Confidence in the Lord and His protection, even against the huge force of the wicked," remarks Claus, is the simple subject of this Psalm. After expressing briefly this confidence ("in Jehovah I put my trust"), he sets forth the facts, which seem to show, that the condition of the people of God is a perfectly hopeless one; that the suppression of the good principle and its supporters, and the triumph of wickedness, is a decided one; so that the righteous and upright, who can no longer be of ser-vice in public affairs, does best to attend only to his own per-sonal deliverance. In opposition to these facts, the speaker proceeds to unfold the words, "I put my trust in the Lord;" representing how the Lord would bring deliverance in what, humanly considered, were completely hopeless circumstances, so that it was not necessary to flee, but to continue in good courage. The general principle laid down in ver. 4, that the providence of the holy and omnipotent God bears rule among men ("His eyes behold, His eyelids try the children of men"), is carried out further in ver. 5 by the assertion, that He lovingly knows the righteous, and hatingly knows the wicked ("The Lord trieth the righteous, and the wicked His soul hateth"): these two principles the Psalmist carries out still further in vers. 6 and 7, taking up again the last first, "Upon the wicked He will rain snares," etc., and then returning again to the first, "Righteous is the Lord, He loveth righteousness, His counte-nance beholds the upright." The hypothesis of Koester, who divides the Psalm into two strophes of three verses, with a concluding verse, is quite sub-verted by this distribution of the matter. The second strophe is mutilated, if we separate ver. 7 from it. At first sight, the Psalm appears to bear an individual character; the words, "I put my trust," and, "How say ye to my soul," seem to introduce us into the midst of personal re-lations. But, considered more narrowly, this commencement leads to a precisely opposite result: the address directed to a number, "flee," and the expression, "to your mountain," can only be satisfactorily explained by supposing, that the speaker introduced, saying, "I put my trust," is an ideal person, the personification of a whole class-more especially, as the suppo-sition, which otherwise is somewhat far-fetched, that, along withthe Psalmist, his companions are addressed, has against it the following singular, צפור, in which the Psalmist again returns to the personification. In vers. 2-7, also, there is no trace what-ever of a reference to an individual: we have only to do with "the wicked," "the right-hearted," "the righteous," "the up-right,"-the two classes which constantly meet us in those Psalms that are of a general character. How little colour the Psalm affords for a personal construction, is evident from the circum-stance, that those who take that view perpetually dispute whether it refers to the times of Saul or of Absalom. The in-dividualizing designation, given in ver. 2, to the misdeeds which the wicked practise against the righteous, appears also to be opposed to both, inasmuch as it points to crafty devices of a private nature, whereas, in both the periods referred to, the wicked openly lifted themselves up against the righteous-a trait which is equally fatal also to the supposition of De Wette, that the Psalm refers to the relation of the Israelites to their heathen oppressors; comp. on Psalms 10:8-10. The following, accordingly, presents itself to our mind as the correct view: David had lived to see two great conflicts of the evil principle against the good; and, having stood in both as the representative of the latter, had on each occasion "strength-ened himself in the Lord," and had received deliverance as the reward of his faith. On the ground of this personal experience, he here shows "the righteous," how in similar circumstances, when the Church is in a troubled and distracted condition, they ought to behave themselves; viz. that they should not abandon themselves to despair, but should trust in the Lord. The placing of this Psalm in the same series with the pre-ceding ones, appears to have arisen, not merely from the general similarity of its contents, but also specially from the resemblance of ver. 2 to Psalms 10:8. Ver. 1. In the Lord put I my trust, how say ye to my soul, Flee as a bird to your mountain? איך, quomodo ergo�pression of wonder, of reproach. The words, "to my soul," are explained by Calvin: "He indicates that his heart was pierced by the taunting question." But ver. 2 shows rather that the soul is mentioned because the life of the righteous is endangered, and flight appears to be the only means of deliverance (comp. Gem. 19:17). If he who is introduced saying, "In the Lord put I my trust," is an ideal person, the righteous man, those alsowho address him must be ideal persons. The Psalmist has in his eye such as, though attached to the good cause (the words unquestionably betoken that), still stand on a lower ground of faith, and who, because their gaze continues fixed on the visible, think that all is irrecoverably gone. In reality, these persons are merely personifications of the doubting thoughts, which arose of themselves in the mind of the speaker,-the "flee," is the voice of the flesh, which is met by the voice of the Spirit in the declaration, "I put my trust in the Lord." No one, not even the most advanced, needs to seek those who say "Flee," outside of himself. The plural נודו is accounted for by what has been already remarked. הרכם, your mountain, is, according to the common interpretation, the mountain which will afford you pro-tection, in which ye have your places of refuge. This, however, is somewhat forced; and we might feel tempted, even were it only because of the word your, to take mountain in a figurative sense, "your mountain"- your hiding-place. Ven.: mons hic locum exilii extra societatem, ad quam noster pertinabat, designat. This exposition is the more natural, as the following צפור appears to explain why the hiding-place is figuratively described as a mountain. Birds escape the dangers to which they are exposed in the open plain, by betaking themselves to wooded moun-tains. But even if we should keep to the literal meaning, still the expression would afford no countenance to the individual view of the Psalm. For the mountain, in that case, would only be chosen as an individualizing trait, having respect to the natural appearance of Palestine, where the mountains occupy the first rank among the hiding places: comp. the saying of our Lord, which contains an allusion to this passage, in Matthew 24:16, "Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains." We are not, as many expositors think, to supply כ simil. before צפור, but to regard it as a decurtata compar.: as a bird (a bird in the figurative sense). Lamentations 3:52, "Mine enemies chased me sore, like a bird, without cause," is a parallel passage. הרכם is in the accus., as is usual with verbs of motion; Ewald, p. 585. The Masorites wished, on account of the sing. לנפשי preceding, to read, not נודו, but נודי. This reading would not have been pre-ferred to that of the text, had it been borne in mind, that, like all the Kris, it is no more than a mere conjecture. What is advanced by Hitzig in its support,-that the Ketib offends against the sing. צפור, and is quite unsuitable to the precedingcontext, where an individual is addressed, serves to explain how it arose. Neither the originators nor the defenders of this reading have succeeded in referring the interchange between the singular and the plural in this verse back to its true ground. They sought, therefore, to set aside what they did not under-stand, but proceeded with little consistency, when they leftstanding the to them not less inexplicable הרכם. If we lookmore closely, we shall find, that נודי, "flee thou, soul," cannotat all stand. To the soul belongs feeling, not action. The likemay be said of the various reading, which the old translators arethought by many to have followed, and which, after their sup-posed example, several expositors have preferred: רוPצi כמו; הרa, "to the mountain as a bird." The easier this reading, the moredoubtful is it. Our difficult text could never have arisen fromone whose meaning lies so plainly on the surface. The old trans-lators probably left out only the suffix, which must always remain a matter of difficulty, so long as one does not recognise in הרכם the decurtata comparatio, which the following צפור so naturally suggests. Too straitened a sense is given to the verse, bythose who seek nothing more in it than a simple call to flee. This the righteous might have complied with, as David indeed actually did flee during the persecutions of Saul and Absalom, without necessarily renouncing confidence in the Lord. Theflight may rather, under particular circumstances, be the productof confidence. But here the righteous contrasts confidence in theLord with such a call. In what sense this was meant, appearsfrom vers. 2 and 3, where it is grounded upon the circumstance,that the constitution of the Church was shaken to its lowest depths, and all prospect of a healthful state of things was fore-closed against the righteous. This flee, therefore, was a word ofutter despair, which the righteous meets here by the declaration, "In the Lord put I my trust;" and still more strongly in ver. 4sq., after expressly exhibiting in vers. 2 and 3 what those, who looked on things with an eye of flesh, produced in justification of their proposal. As in ver. 6 there is undoubtedly a verbal reference to the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrha, as re-corded in Genesis, it is possible that the words, "Flee to the mountain," contain an allusion to those of the angel to Lot, "Escape to the mountain," in Genesis 19:17. Ver. 2. The friends of the righteous indicate the ground on which they think flight necessary for him. That כי must notbe expounded, with Claus, by, indeed! it is true, certainly! is self-evident; and, consequently, there can be no doubt that this verse, and the next, contain the continuation of the discourse of the friends.-For, lo! the wicked bend the bow, place their arrow upon the string.-כון in Pilel, aptare, to shoot in the dark,�concealed lurking-place, comp. במסתרים: in Psalms 10:9,�at the upright. There is just as little ground here as there, for un-derstanding the expression figuratively; the less so, if we keep in view the general character of the Psalm, to which the matter of this verse also certainly points. For time utterance of wicked-ness, here set forth in an individualized form, which was pe-culiarly adapted to poetry, as being fond of picturesque scenes, was, unquestionably, of very rare occurrence in real life, farrarer than others. לב ישרי, properly, straight of heart, not in re-spect to the cunning and malice of the wicked, but to their own state, as conformed to the rule; comp. Vitringa on Deuteronomy 32 :p. 41: "It is implied in the idea of rectitude, that there is some canon, rule, or common measure, according to which judgment may be given in regard to all spiritual operations. What is conformed to this standard is morally straight, as that is, also called in architecture, which is exact according to the line or plummet." The word "upright" is purposely without the article. That the wicked, should relentlessly persecute the upright, show's what is the state of things. ירה, to throw, to shoot an arrow; elsewhere with the accus., here with ל of the person, to whom the action pertains, so far as it is the aim thereof. The distinction is such as between our shooting any one, which involves the hitting, and "shooting at one." Ver. 3. For the foundations are destroyed. We have no right to take כי in the sense of if, which it very rarely possesses: �gIf the foundations are destroyed, what doeth the righteous?” The common signification, for, is quite suitable. The particular matter mentioned in the preceding verse is here referred to the general, as to its ground, or root. This general is a state of moral dissolution, which deprives the righteous of any footing for successful activity. שתות from שות, "to lay," is rightly ren-dered by the Chaldee, Syriac, Aquila, and Symmachus found-ations. What is to be understood by the foundations is obvious enough from the preceding verse, as also from the words, "What can the righteous do?" The basis of society is the supremacy of justice and righteousness. The foundations aredestroyed "in societies remarkably corrupt, in which the laws of right and equity are wantonly trodden under foot" (Venema).-The righteous, what does he do? With the dissolving of thefoundations, in the sense meant, the impossibility of the right-eous accomplishing anything goes hand in hand. Things must have gone far with a community, when such an impossibility exists. What is said by Ewald in his Small GT. § 262, suits the Prat. exactly: "The Perfect is used of actions which the speaker considers as complete, as already finished, but so reach-ing into the present, that modern languages employ the simple Present." That the righteous effects nothing, is sufficiently proved by past experience, is a fait accompli. The exposition of De Wette and others: "The righteous, what should he do, what else should he do than emigrate, flee away?" has against it the Pret.; the common use of פעל, not facere, but efficere, comp. Job 11:8; Job 35:6; and the parallelism, since, according to it, we get two unconnected sentences, and we are obliged to resort to such unhappy explanations as: "If the foundations aredestroyed, etc." Ver. 4. The reply of faith, which sees heaven open, to reason, whose gaze is fixed on earth. Geier: "He returns now to his first resolution to confide, ver. 1, and fortifies himself in it." Although certainly the earth offered him no help and hope, though all was remediless, so far as human aid was concerned, yet a regard to the Lord and His providence made despair ap-pear to be folly. We can either expound "The Lord (is) in His holy temple, the Lord, in heaven is His throne;" or: "The Lord, in His holy temple, the Lord, whose throne is in heaven,His eyes see," for: "The eyes of the Lord, who is in His holytemple, whose throne is in heaven, see." In support of the latterexposition there, Isaiah, 1. This, that in the succeeding context theprinciple, "His eyes see," "His eyelids try," is only further ex-tended; and 2. The parallel passage in Psalms 102:18; Psalms 102:19, "ForHe looks down from His holy height, the Lord looks fromheaven upon earth, to hear the groaning of the prisoner, to loosethe children of death." These reasons are sufficient to show,that if we prefer the first exposition, which certainly looks thesimplest of the two, still the words, "The Lord is in His holytemple, the Lord, in heaven is His throne," cannot be consideredas independently co-ordinate with these others, "His eyes see,"etc., but only as the basis on which the assertion in the latter ismade; so that this alone, "His eyes see," is the proper shield which preserves the righteous from despair. The Lord is in his holy temple, i.e., as appears from the second clause, in heaven. Calvin: "It is a great exercise of faith, when we are on all sides environed by darkness in the world, to seek light from heaven to guide us into the hope of safety. For though all confess that the world is governed by God, yet, when the sad disorder of affairs has enveloped us in darkness, there are few in whose inmost minds this persuasion keeps a firm hold." The Lord's throne is in heaven. The Lord's throne being in heaven, as a mark of loftiness and majesty, shows His power to see, and the holiness of His abode, arising from His personal purity, His will; for as a holy God He cannot permit unholy beings to obtain the ascendancy in His kingdom on earth. On these two founda-tions is based the declaration, His eyes see, His eyelids try the children of men-His eye is continually directed toward earthly things; He watches every operation of men, continually weighs their spirits, in order to reward every man according to his works.עפעפיו "His eye-lashes," for His eyes, in parallelism with עיניו, because the language offered no expression quite synonymous.ןהב, “ to prove,” of the penetrating glance of the Lord as judge. Ver. 5. The Lord tries the righteous. Because God is the just One, His searching and proving involve also His protecting. It must necessarily be a blessing to the righteous for God's judging eye to be directed to them. Precisely as in Psa_:1:6, the first member is to be supplied out of the second, and the second out of the first. And the wicked, and him that loveth violence, His soul hates. Luther: "This, too, is spoken emphatically, in that the prophet does not say simply, He hates, but, His soul hates; thereby declaring that God hates the wicked in a high degree, and with His whole heart: He cannot, as we may say, either see or hear them. It is not to be understood as if God had a soul as we have; just as He has no eyes. The language here is metaphorical," etc. Ver. 6. Upon the wicked He will rain snares, fire and brim-stone. ימטר stands here poetically for the common Fut. פהים must here, according to various expositors, be taken as a figura-tive designation of lightning, which is alleged to be called also by the Arabians, in prose and poetry, by the name of chains. But it is a sufficient objection to this meaning, that פה does not signify cord in general, but specially gin, snare, trap. We arethe less warranted to give up the ordinary signification, as the cords, nets, and snares, in which God entangles the wicked, area a common image one destruction which He prepares for them; comp. Psalms 9:15, "In the net which they hid, is their own foot taken;" Job 18:9, "The gin (פה) shall take him by the heel;" 22:10, "Therefore snares are round about thee;" Isaiah 24:17; Isaiah 24:18; Proverbs 22:5. The common signification also of פהים is confirmed here, by the relation in which it stands to "bird" in ver. 1, being specially used of the snares of bird-catchers; comp. Amos 3:15, Gesenius, Thes. s. v. While the wicked believe that they have the righteous in their snares, and are able with little difficulty to destroy them, suddenly a whole load of snares is sent down upon them from heaven, and, all flight being cut off for them, they are smitten by the destroying judgment of God. It is well remarked by Calvin: "He appropriately men- tions snares, before he comes to fire and brimstone. For we know that the wicked fear nothing so long as they are spared by God, but go boldly on, as having a free course. Then, if anything of an adverse nature threatens them, they, bethink themselves of ways of escape. At last, they mock God, as if they could not be caught, until He binds them with His cords" (more correctly: catches them in His gins). This explanation contains, at the same time, a refutation of the supposed emenda-tion of Olshausen, who reads םהAP,, "coals"�in-admissible, indeed, even on the ground that the word, when used without any further addition, denotes black coals not yet kindled, in contrast to גהלים, "burning coals;" as appears incon-testably from Proverbs 26:21. The same consideration also dis- poses of the assertion of Gesenius, that פהים is here singular, and of like import with פהם; as also of Boettcher's "etymologi-cal explanation" of פהים, as meaning "something striking with fearful violence." We may well dispense with "etymological explanations" of words that are of such frequent occurrence. Hitzig takes the word, indeed, in its common signification, but thinks that the snares must consist of fire and brimstone;---"a sort of burning sulphur-threads is meant." It is sufficient to object thereto, that פה signifies not "cord," but "gin," and to refer also to the parallel passages. One is at a loss to compre- hend what should have given rise to all these unfortunate attempts at exposition, since the, correct meaning is so obvious. The ex-pression, "that He will rain," can present no real difficulty, as182 THE BOOK OF PSALMS. it simply points to the fulness of God's retributive judgments, noticed already by Luther, when he says that by it "the prophet indicates the great variety and multitude of the evils threatened." In the words, "God will rain fire and brimstone," there is a verbal reference to the overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrha, Genesis 19:24. That event must be regarded as a standing monu-ment of the punitive righteousness of God, the more impressive, as the scene of it lay before the eyes of the covenant-people. The Psalmist hopes that the event in question would be repeated, as every Divine act, indeed, is a prediction, in the form of fact, regarding the future, and, under like circumstances, must again take place. A similar verbal allusion is found in Ezekiel 38:22, comp. Job 18:15. The "fire and brimstone," in the opinion of many exposi-tors on Genesis, in particular Le Clerc and Michaelis, must beunderstood as a circumlocution for "lightning." A numberof expositors are inclined also to adopt this explanation here, but it has not sprung from an unprejudiced investigation. In conformity with the natural constitution of the region of Sodom and Gomorrha, we must assume a literal raining of brimstone, which supplied material for the fire that at the same time descended. This is perfectly clear from Job 18:15, where brimstone occurs without fire, so that we cannot suppose light-ning to be referred to. If we take the words here in their na-tural sense, we see at once that we must lay too much stress on the letter of the descriptions given in the Psalms of the destruc-tion of the wicked. Inasmuch as the rain of fire and brimstone is something very isolated, it is plain that the Psalmist repre-sents that in the future which is essentially of the same nature, under the form of what had happened in the past, and that we are to concern ourselves only with the essence, and not with the form. The last clause is explained by recent interpreters: And a burning wind is the portion of their cup; more correctly, their cup-portion, for the suffix refers to the compound idea. The wind Silaphot is said to be the pestiferous wind, called by the Arabians Samum, which blows in July and August, and in-stantly kills everything which does not prostrate itself on the ground. But the language does not support this exposition. Of the two other places where the word occurs, that in Psalms 119:53 does not admit of this exposition. And then the image of the burning wind, which does not blow in Palestine, is generally, and, in particular, as denoting the punishment of the ungodly, very seldom used. The only well-grounded expo-sition is: strong wrath. The ל is a letter inserted, not belonging to the root: comp. the collection of similar examples in Gous-set's Lexicon, and Ewald, p. 520. The root זעף has, in Hebrew, the signification of being angry; no other, not even that of being hot, is to be found in the dialects: the vehemence of the anger is denoted by the plural, perhaps also by the strengthening of the form. The wrath-wind is the Divine anger, which resembles a wind, breaks forth even as a tempest. The representation of the Divine anger under the image of wind and storm, is a very current one. Here it is the more suitable, as mention had just been made of fire and brimstone. The breath of God's indig- nation blows upon the burning coals, Isaiah 30:33. In the two other passages also this exposition is quite suitable: Psalms 119:53, "Anger, indignation hath taken hold of me, because of the wicked, who forsake Thy law." In the paral. ver 139, קנאה, zeal, is substituted for זלעפה. In Lamentations 5:9, the prophet takes the keenness of hunger as a poetical description of His fury. Their cup-portion, that which is proper for them to drink-a figur-ative description of their lot or portion. Upon the form תנAמ;, with Kanietz, comp. Ewald, Small Gr. § 386. Such repre-sentations of the fearful destruction of the wicked, as already intimated, are not to be taken literally; but we ought always to bear in mind the remark of Luther on this passage: "This verse contains the description of a storm against the wicked, who do not, however, always perish in an actual tempest, and by a corporeal destruction; but it does happen, nevertheless, in whatever way, that they perish, not in peace and enjoyment." This is the substance of the thing; the form is partly borrowed from the earlier judgment upon Sodom and Gomorrha, and partly adapted to the imaginative character of poetry, so that it must not be taken into account. The threatening is also ful-filled in him who, though outwardly reposing in the lap of for-tune, breathes his last amid pangs of remorse. Ver. 7. For righteous is the Lord, He loves righteousness, His countenance beholds the upright. The Psalmist concludes from the nature of God, that He could not do otherwise than suspend Over the ungodly the judgment spoken of in the preceding verse. He, the righteous One, loves righteousness, because itaccords with His own nature; His eye, therefore, rests with satisfaction upon the upright, as the possessor of righteousness; and He must support and avenge him by the overthrow of the wicked. The verse is to be viewed primarily as laying the ground for what is affirmed in ver. 6. But a comparison of ver. 5 shows that it must be also co-ordinated with that. We have already remarked, that in it the Psalmist further unfolds the first half of ver. 5, just as in ver. 6 he further unfolds the second half. The words, His countenance beholds, is a mark of satisfaction. God hides or veils His face from those with whom He is displeased. The plural suffix is to be explained from the fulness and richness of the Divine nature. ימו never stands for the singular-as is evident from the circumstance, that where it appears to do so, it always refers to collectives, or ideal persons, who, in point of fact, comprise a multitude, while it is never used in regard to actual individuals. See on the plural desig-nations of God, which are unconnected with Elohim, and spring from the same root with it (the plural of the suf. in Genesis 1:26, "In our image, after our likeness"), my Beitrהge, P. 2 pp. 256-260, 309. Here the plural suf. is probably chosen for the sake of having at the close a full, well-sounding form. Others expound, "the righteous behold His countenance," equivalent to, "they rejoice in His favour;" as the expression is unques-tionably used in Psalms 17:15,-only we should then have ex-pected the plural. The plural יהזו, standing between a singular and a plural, cannot, without the greatest violence, be referred to any other than the latter. Then by this exposition the obvious parallelism between the first and second member is left un-noticed: as פנימו יהזו corresponds to אהב, so must ישר stand in a like relation to צדקת. Further, everything is represented in vers. 4-7 as proceeding from God even as to form, and hence to His acting the conclusion must especially refer. But be-sides, there is not the slightest ground for rejecting the first exposition. It is supported by ver. 4, where, likewise, God's eyes, that is, God's countenance, are the seeing, and the children of men are the seen. Let it only be remarked how exactly this, "His eyes behold the children of men," corresponds to that, "His countenance beholds the upright." A comparison of the two parallel passages also speaks against the exposition of Koester: "the righteous shall see it with their countenance," which is inferior even to the second. So also does it exclude theexposition of Boettcher: "on that which is right, His counte-nance looks." (ישר as neuter, in which Luther also takes it, though not in Psalms 37:37, yet in Psalms 111:8, Job 33:27.) The seen must here, as well as there, be persons. All these ex-positions vanish the moment we discern aright the structure of vers. 4-7,-see introduction. It is then perceived that the words, "His eyes behold the children of men," in ver. 4, and those in ver. 5, "the Lord tries the righteous," have not merely the significance of passages accidentally parallel, but are also strictly a standard for ascertaining the sense of the passage before us. Against the objection of Boettcher, that ישר is never used as an appellative for the upright, it is enough simply to refer to Ps. 37: 37; and against the allegation of De Wette, that the ex-pression, "His countenance beholds," never occurs, but that it is always, "His eye beholds," Psalms 34:16 is a sufficient proof, where the words, "the eyes of the Lord are upon the right-eous," are followed by "the face of the Lord is against them that do evil." Psalms 12. The Psalmist complains of the corruption of the world, espe-cially of its prevailing faithlessness and malice, and entreats the Lord to stand by His own, to bring to nought the delusion of ungodliness that it is almighty, to which it had been led by con-fidence in its own deceptive worth, and, finally, to destroy super-cilious iniquity, vers. 1-4. The Lord answers, and promises him a sure fulfilment of his prayer, ver. 5. And on this pro-mise the Psalmist places an undoubting confidence, vers. 6-8.The Psalm may be divided into two strophes of four members, the first of which contains the complaint and prayer, and the second the answer and hope. Those who set out with the supposition that the Psalm pos-sesses an individual character, differ from each other in regard to the precise period of David's life to which it refers. Some understand it of Absalom's revolt, and especially of Ahitophel; others, of the persecutions under Saul. The Psalm, however, is undoubtedly not individual, but composed from the first by David for the necessities of the Church. The Psalmist never claims help for himself: he does not say in ver. 7, "Thou shalt186 THE BOOK OF PSALMS. keep me," but, "Thou shalt keep them" the righteous. From ver. 5, also, it is evident that he prays, not specially for himself, but for "the poor and needy." For, their oppressed condition, not that of any single individual, is there assigned as the reason for the Divine interference. Finally, in ver. 8, we have the contrast usually found in Psalms possessing a general character, between the wicked on the one hand, and the righteous, suffer-ing under their oppressions, on the other. Attempts have been made to refer this Psalm to the rela-tions between Israel and the heathen; but the peculiar promi-nence given to flattery and deceit would then be without mean-ing, as the heathen nations acted toward the Israelites, not with cunning, but with open violence. The heathen adversaries did not say, as it is here written in ver. 4, "Through our tongues we will prevail," but through our swords. The allusion to hypo-crisy and deceit is precisely the individual physiognomy of the Psalm; and circumstances which it does not suit, must, at the very outset, be regarded as excluded. The Psalm can only be referred to the internal relations of the people of God them-selves, and to the great conflict existing within that community, between the righteous and the wicked. The aim of the Psalm, which Geier rightly describes as "the common complaint of the Church of all times," is to show, how the righteous are to behave in the sufferings which come upon them through the corruption of the world, manifesting itself even in the covenant-people, aid especially through the prevailing dishonesty and deception, the artifices of a hypocriti-cal and flattering tongue, which appear to prepare for them certain destruction. The Church must carry this affliction up to God, and with unshaken confidence trust in His help. On the Sheminith, see on Ps. vi. Ver. 1. Help, Lord. Luther: "It sounds more impressive, when one says, Deliver, or give help, than to say, Deliver me. As one says also in our language, under circumstances of great distress, or approaching death: 'Help, Thou compassionate God,' looking simply to the danger, and crying out with all one's might; so does the prophet, as one inflamed with zeal on account of the perishing condition of God's people, cry out with-out any prefatory words, and implore in the most impressive manner, the help of God." For the godly man ceases, the up-right fail from among the children of men. It might seem as if thePsalms 12. VER. 1. 187 Psalmist, in common with the prophets, complains, in a general way, that piety, truth, and faith had vanished from the land, and the holy land of the Lord had been changed into a dwelling of unrighteousness,-as if the very sting of his pain were this same degeneracy of the people of God, considered in itself, and without respect to the sufferings which were thereby prepared for the righteous. In fact, several expositors, as Venema, have allowed themselves to be deceived by this appearance. But a closer examination shows, that the disappearing of the pious and upright is here brought under consideration only in so far as the righteous man was thereby placed in circumstances of dif-ficulty, and was exposed to the attacks of the reigning impiety. The "help," at the very outset, implies that; for that it sub-stantially means, "help me, the righteous man," is evident from the words, "I will set him in safety, who sighs after it" (ver. 5), which form the answer, and assure him of being heard. Then, the same thing is decidedly proved by these other words, in that verse, "For the oppression of the poor, for the sighing of the needy, now will I arise, saith the Lord." It is not, then, the reigning corruption in itself, but what the righteous have to suffer therefrom, that is set forth as the ground for the Divine inter-ference. Vers. 7 and 8 also confirm this view, since they express the hope, not that God will improve or annihilate the wicked, purge His floor, but that He will preserve the righteous from that race, and raise them out of the low position to which they had been brought by their machinations.-That the expressions, "The godly man ceases," "The upright fail," are not to be under-stood very literally, that the Psalmist had only for a moment lost sight of the small beloved band of pious and faithful men, by rea-son of his sorrow at the wide-spread corruption, is manifest from his own words afterwards, from the mention he makes in ver. 5 of "the poor and needy." Still, the truly pious must have been only a very small flock; otherwise, the Psalmist could not have spoken, as he did, of the whole human race as of a corrupt mass. Luther: "That the prophet here speaks in such a manner as to make the matter seem greater than it was in reality, arose from his intense zeal; for there always are holy persons upon earth. In the same style, people still complain from time to time, that there is no longer any honesty among men, they act deceitfully ineverything." The ἅנבמ כודןלוםןם, פסס is best taken with Jarchi as synonymous with the related אפס, "to come to an end," "to 188 THE BOOK OF PSALMS. fail." This signification agrees quite well with the parallelism with גמר. אמון=נאמן, properly, "the trustworthy." The words, "the upright fail," stand related to "the godly man ceases," as the particular to the general, or as the consequence, which it is the design of the Psalm specially to consider, to the cause. Were it perfectly certain that אמונים is an adj. or part. Pual of אמן, it would of course have to be so taken here. For, not only do the paral. words, "the pious or godly," support it; but also the passage in Micah 7:2, “ The pious is perished out of the earth, and there is none righteous among men,” where ישר cor-responds to אמונים; and the one passage so remarkably coincides with the other, that the prophet appears to have had the words of the Psalmist before him. However, as אמונים often occurs elsewhere as the plural of אמוןe fidelity, while for the adj. mean-ing no passage can be adduced (Psalms 31:23, אמונים נצר must be compared with אמונים שמר in Isaiah 26:2, and be rendered "maintaining faithfulness"), we are driven to follow the example of those who, with the Vulgate, render: "Truth and faith have disappeared from among men." Ver. 2. They speak lies every one with his neighbour, withsmooth lips. Instead of "lies," Luther has improperly: "Profit- less things." In connections such as this, the word "neighbour" is not to be taken in the attenuated sense that it commonly bears with us. They refer back to the law, in which רע, �gcompanion, fellow, friend,” alternates with "brother," and forms, in the commands of the second table, the ratio legi adjecta. Herethe words, "with his neighbour," point to the abominableness of the conduct spoken of: those whom they deceive, whom they try to cheat through hollow assurances of friendship, are not strangers, but such as God has joined to them by close bonds. When Paul, in the exhortation, Ephesians 4:25, based on this pas-sage, "Wherefore, putting away lying, speak every man truth with his neighbour, for we are members one with another," makesthe ὃפי ἐףלום ἀככחכשם לוכח follow upon the לופב פןץ נכחףיןםבὐפןץ?, he only gives a development of the same idea, but intro-duces no new matter. הלקות שפת, is most easily explained as the accus., just as אקרא קולי in Psalms 3:4, as to, or with lips of smoothness: comp. with this kind of accus., Ewald, Small Gr. § 512. The exposition: They speak lips of smoothness-lips, for that which is spoken by the lips, words, is opposed by ver. 3, as well as by the parallel: with a double heart. A lip of smooth- Psalms 12. VER. 3. 189 ness is a flattering lip; comp. in Psalms 5:9, "They make their tongue smooth"-on which Luther: "Soft, cozening, and hypocritical," Proverbs 6:24. Here he substitutes, "They act the hypocrite," for "They flatter." הלקות is the plural of הלקה, smoothness.- With a double heart do they speak. It is usually expounded: They speak otherwise than they think. But how this sense can be derived from the words without some addition, it is not easy to perceive. The attempts also of Venema to makea distinction: "With a double mind, the one which they express, and another which they conceal, the former bland and open the other impious and malignant;" and Umbreit: "That is, that they have one for themselves, and another for their friends," are not without difficulties. The words, simply considered, im-ply a duplicity in the mind itself, just as the ἀםחס הירץקןע, in James 1:8, is not one who is internally unbelieving, feigns faith, but one who is at the same time both believing and unbelieving-has faith in the surface of his heart, but in its depths, unbelief. Experience shows, that hypocrisy and flattery very rarely mani-fest themselves in a coarse outward shape; this would defeat their object. The hypocrite and flatterer is so dangerous, precisely because he calls forth momentarily in himself, such feelings as appear to him fitted for accomplishing his aim. He not merely feigns love, but he prepares it. Yet, while this prepared love is on the surface, the natural hatred still keeps possession of the underground of his heart. In the paral. passage also of 1 Chronicles 12:33, the words ולב לב בלא mark an internal duplicity of heart. Michaelis: "Not with a wavering and discordant, but with a firm and concordant mind." The diversity is indicated by re-peating the word; so Deuteronomy 25:13, ואבן אבן, stone and stone, a double stone, diverse weights, comp. ver. 14. Ewald, p. 637. Ver. 3. After the complaint, the Psalmist here follows with the prayer. The Futures must be taken optatively, as was al-ready done by the LXX. The Lord cut of all flattering lips, the tongue that speaks big-the boastful tongue. Expositors find here a difficulty, through which they have partly been drawn into very forced and false interpretations. Supercilious speeches -say they-proud words against the poor and oppressed, do not square with the design of entrapping by "smooth words." But if we compare the following verse, we plainly see, that the proud, speeches are not to be thought of as directed against the poor; that they rather boast of their fancied almightiness, whichthey possess by means of their artifices, their skill in lying, hypocrisy, and flattery; so that the meaning is: The tongue, which boasts of its power to deceive. They are the same persons who in Isaiah 28:15 say, "We have made lies our refuge, and under falsehood have we hid ourselves." That the rooting out of the lips and the tongue must be accomplished by extirpating their possessors, is shown in the following verse. Ver. 4. Who thus speak-to be supplied from the preceding verse: The Lord cut off: through our tongues we are strong,-all we wish, we can accomplish through our tongue. According to some, this exposition is unsuitable, for a twofold reason-ללשננו cannot signify "through our tongue;" and the verb has not in Hiph. an intransitive signification; it rather means cor-roboravit. We must hence translate: Our tongues will we endow with strength; we will so arm them with lies and calum-nies, that no one will be in a condition to resist us. Still, how- ever, the reasons against the first exposition are not decisiveללשננו only needs to be rendered, "in respect to our tongue;" and הגביר may warrantably be taken in the sense of "acting vigorously," the more readily, as the assertion, that it can only mean "to strengthen," rests merely upon the single passage of Dan 9:27, where it is connected, not as here with ל but with the accusative. This exposition also is favoured by the connec-tion and the parallelism. Not the purpose: "we will get strength for our tongues," but only the declaration: "through our tongues we show ourselves to be strong," suits the words, "the tongue which speaks big," and especially "our lips are with us, who is Lord over us?" the second member of the verse. On the expression with us, J. H. Michaelis: nobis auxilio et praesto sent; and on the expression, "who is Lord over us?" qui impecliat, quod nobis placet et decretum fuit. Our lips im-part to us such a power, that we can do what we will-by means of our lips we are omnipotent. Ver. 5. The Lord answers the complaint and prayer of the righteous, and promises to repress the violence. Because of the desolation of the poor, because of the sighing of the needy, now will I arise, saith the Lord. מן is the מן causae, marking the motion from out of a thing. The misery of the poor is that from which the Divine action proceeds as from its immediate cause; comp. Ewald, p. 601. עתה is used with peculiar empha-sis. Till now, says the Lord, I have rested; but now I mustact. At the foundation of this lies the consolatory truth, that so soon as the malice of the wicked, and the wretchedness of the poor, has reached a certain point, God must interpose. The last member is literally: place will I in safety him who sighs after it. The constr. of שית with ב is to be explained in this way, that safety is here considered as a possession, in which God instals the righteous. Till now he had been in distress, now God sets him in safety. Rightly already Calvin: "To the unjustly oppressed God promises a restitutio in integrum." The words contain the answer to the “ help,” at the commence-ment. The suff. in לו refers to the deliverance. The pron. relat. is awanting from the originally looser connection, which latterly is also very common in poetry; comp. Ewald, p. 646. פוה signifies in Hiph. to pant, to long earnestly for something; the object after which one does sigh, is connected with it by ל, as in Habakkuk 2:3, לקץ יפה anhelat ad finem oraculum, in paral-lelism with: there is no delay. In a similar way is שאף used, prop. anhelare, not unfrequently of vehement longings and sighings. Therefore: I shall conduct him to a state of safety, who longs for it, viz. safety. According to this exposition, the second member is quite parallel to the first. On account of the sighing of the needy will I now arise. Others expound: I set him in safety against whom they, or the impious, snort. But this exposition is to be rejected on the simple ground, that the verb פוה in Hiph. is never used in the sense of puffing. And besides, the puffing is here not at all suitable. The wicked in the Psalm are not scornful tyrants, but sleek hypocrites and flatterers. The exposition of Gesell. in his Thes.: quem suf-flant, contemnunt, is also to be rejected. We already showed on Psalms 10:4, that blowing is never used as a gesture of con-tempt. Others again, as Calvin and Dereser, expound: I set in security him, who is blown upon, whom the ungodly thinks to blow away like chaff. But we should then have expected not לו, but rather, as in Psalms 10:4, בו. Contrary to usage also is the exposition of Schultens, which takes הפיה in the sense of breathing upon: it (the deliverance), or he must breath on him-self, i.e. recover strength. The word, however, never occurs in this signification; and by that exposition, אשית would lose its object, which cannot fail. Ver. 6. The righteous places firm confidence in this promise of the Lord. For: the words of the Lord ("the words of theLord" here refer to "thus saith the Lord," in ver. 5) are pure words; they are throughout true, have no mixture of false in them; they are not like impure ore, from which dross and earth must first be removed, but they are purified silver of a lord of the earth, purified seven times. The ב in בעליל we take, withAben Ezra and Kimchi, as radical, and בעליל as synonymouswith בעל dominus, with a reduplication of the last radical letter,as is done in סגריר, הכליל, שפריר, עבטיט; comp. Ewald, Small Gr.§ 332. לארץ is a periphrasis of the stat, constr., placed thus not without reason, as the Psalmist wished to say "of a lord," while הארץ �eב would have implied "of the lord of the earth;" comp. Ewald, p. 582. It is remarked by Gesenius in his Thes., p. 730, that "ל stands occasionally after nouns, which signify lord, king, god, and, on the other hand, servant, minister, espe-cially when the noun is used quite indefinitely," as the ל afterאדון Genesis 45:8; Genesis 45:9, and after ך`למ, Isaiah 37:13, and לנו אדון inthe present Psalm. Kings and judges of the earth not unfre-quently occur in the Psalms; comp. Psalms 2:1; Psalms 2:9; Psalms 138:4; Psalms 148:11. The meaning, according to this sense, is well given by Vatable: "The word of the Lord is like the purest silver, which is diligently and with the greatest care purged from all dross, not for common use, but for the use of an earthly prince." The striking parallel is not to be overlooked, which arises out of this explanation: the word of the Lord of the whole world is pure as the silver of a prince of the earth; it is related to an ordinary word as this silver is to common silver. A great mass of wrong expositions have been occasioned by the belief, thatב was to be taken as a servile. Of these expositions we shall examine only those which are now the most current. Rosenm., Gesen., Winer, and Hitzig expound: "Silver purified in the workshop, in respect to earth, or earthy ingredients." This exposition is objectionable on two grounds. The meaning ascribed to עליל, workshop, is a pure invention. The idea of working does lie in the root עלל, as the derivative עלילה and others show, but still עליל cannot, from its form, signify a work-shop. The form קטיל is that of adjectives, partly with a pas-sive, partly with an intransitive signification; comp. Ewald, p. 234; and that we must attribute this signification also עליל, is clear from the frequently occurring fem. עלילה, "that which is worked, done," then, "the work, the deed." This first ground may be urged also against another exposition (that ofLuther, recently Maurer), according to which עליל, without any apparent justification from Hebrew usage-merely upon the authority of Rabbins, guessing from the context, or on the basis of an etymological combination (Hupfeld)-is taken in the sense of crucible. But the second reason is still more de-cisive. לארץ cannot possibly signify "in reference to earthy elements," for ארץ never denotes the earth as matter. For this the Hebrews have a special word, אדמה; for example, "man is of the earth," taken ex humo, could not be expressed by הארץ מן, but only by האדמה מן. This difficulty Umbreit escapes by ren-dering: "in the workshop upon earth." But he still has the first standing against him. He succeeds better, however, with לארץ than the defenders of the exposition, "in a crucible," who render the words: "upon the earth, into which the crucible is built,"-for that were quite useless and confusing-or even: “of earth, earthy” (Luther). The same may be said against this last, as well as that it is contrary to usage. Others, as Michaelis and Dereser, expound: "as silver purified in a work-shop of earth,-as solid silver, which has been found in the mountains, the workshop of earth." But against this is to be advanced, not only the inadmissibility of the explanation of עליל by workshop, but also, that then the two nouns ought to have been connected by the stat. constr., and not by ל. For the workshop of earth would in that case have been defined by its contrast with a human workshop. Besides, one does not see how solid silver, which has never been purified, can be calledצרוף. The comparison of the word of God with purified metal is peculiar to David, and occurs again in Psalms 18:30. Calvin: "Though such knowledge may appear, at first sight, easy of attainment, yet if any one will consider, more attentively, how prone the minds of men are to distrust and impious doubts, he will readily understand how profitable it is to have our faith strengthened by the testimony, that God is not fallacious, and does not beguile us with empty words, nor unduly laud His own power and goodness, but that He simply offers in His word, what, in reality, He is willing to bestow. There is no one, in-deed, who does not profess heartily to believe what David here says, that the words of God are pure; but those who, in ease and retirement, extol the word of God loudly, when matters come to serious conflict, though they dare not openly spout outblasphemies against God, yet often charge Him with bad faith. For whenever He delays to help us; we consider His fidelity at fault, and forthwith begin to cry out, as if we had been de-frauded." Luther remarks: "It is not necessary, by God's words, to understand only such as are taken from Scripture into the mouth; but also what God speaks through men, whatsoever it may be, and whether the speaker be learned or unlearned; also what He spake through His apostles, apart from the use of Scripture, and what He still speaks from day to day, through His. own people." In general this is quite correct. The praise of God's word is here, indeed, immediately occasioned by an in-ward oracle, which the righteous received, and which was de-signed to serve the purpose of leading him to grasp with firm faith the substance thereof, which should be again repeated for every one that reads the Psalm. We must, therefore, com-prehend under the words of God those also of which Paul Gerhard sings: "His Spirit often speaks to my spirit in sweet consoling strains," etc. It is not, however, to be forgotten, that these internal speeches, now that Scripture exists, always rest upon its foundation, as here the word of the Lord, in ver. 5, is only a special application of the promises of the law to the righteous. Ver. 7. Thou, O Lord, shalt keep them,-Thy people suffer-ing wrongfully.-Luther, incorrectly: "Be pleased to keep them." The context demands the expression of firm hope, not of a'wish.- Thou shalt preserve him against this generation for ever. The singular suffix in the second clause is to be explained as a personification. In order to mark the contrast more point-edly between the pious and the ungodly, and to indicate that it is not one between certain individuals and certain others, "the pious man" is often set in opposition to "the ungodly man," the righteous to the wicked; the former as the object of Divine care, the latter as the object of Divine punishment. The זו הדור מן is not, "from this sort of men," but "from thisgeneration." Calvin: "We collect from this, that the age was so corrupt, that David could, by way of reproach, throw them all together, as it were, into one bundle." This exposition has the common usage on its side, and perfectly agrees with the general spread of corruption, described in ver. I. It affords a far grander contrast than the other:-on the one side, the small band of pious men, and, on the other, the immense massof the ungodly, who form, as it were, the whole present gene-ration, the bearers of the spirit of the age. This is a contrast which arises out of the character of human nature, and has given rise to the prevailing use in the New Testament of ךןף-לןע, in opposition to the chosen. The signification of ךןףלןע, Koester would here attribute to עולם. He renders: "Thou wilt keep them from the generation which lives to the world." But the word never has that signification; it never means the world, but always eternity; and לעולם is always used adverbi-ally, for ever. Ver. 8. The wicked walk round about,-they have encom-passed the righteous on all hands, so that, without God's help, deliverance is impossible; comp. Psalms 3:6. As elevation is de-pression to the sons of men; i.e. although now the righteous are overborne by the wicked, yet their distress is to be regarded in the light of prosperity, because God forsakes not His own, but will richly recompense them for the sufferings they have endured. The sense requires that a but should be inserted before the second member. רם, "elevation," is inf. nomin-ascens. The meaning of זלות, which occurs only here, cannot be doubtful. זלל has the same, and only one, meaning in all the Semitic dialects. In the Chal., according to Buxtorf, it signifies, vilescere, vilipendi, despici, ut Hebr. קלה et קלל quibus quandoque respondet. In Arabic, abjectus, vilis,despectus fuit. In Hebr. ללeוז, "the little-worth," stands op- posed in Jeremiah 15:19 to יקר, "the precious the same worddenotes, in Deuteronomy 21:28, etc., a man of manners. The Niph. of the verb occurs in Isaiah 64:2, in the sense of "to be lowered, despised." So that זלות can signify nothing else than "humiliation, contempt," just as the Chald. זלותא, vilitas, de-spectus. This signification, as it is the only one philologically grounded, so it is specially recommended by the contrast with רם, which is perfectly obvious, and which all other expositions leave unnoticed. The sense of terror, which Gesenius and Hitzig give to the word, is unproved and unsuitable. Still more so is that of storm, which Maurer adopts. The greater part of expositors follow Kimchi in their explanation of this hemistich, who thinks that כרם is put for כרמם; it is then ren-dered: "as they exalt themselves, it is a reproach to the chil-dren of men." But this exposition cannot be at all grammati-cally justified, since for such an omission of the suffix, no analogous example can anywhere be produced. In addition to this, the repetition of the complaint, of the power of the un-godly, without any mention being made of hope in the Lord's assistance, to which the righteous looks for consolation, would here be unsuitable: the conclusion would be quite an unsatis-factory one, such as one should be compelled to wish away. The same reason decides also against the exposition of J. H. Michaelis and Umbreit: "When disgrace exalts itself among men;" and against that also of Ewald, which is of like import: "So soon as baseness exalts itself;" and it is further to be ob-jected to the latter, that זלות cannot signify baseness, and that רום does not mean "to exalt itself, or to rise," but "to be high," -which latter difficulty is avoided by Luther, though he fol-lows the same exposition, by rendering: "Where such wicked people reign among men." According to our exposition, the conclusion of the Psalm gathers up, in a short enigmatic say-ing, the substance of the whole of it. The depth to which the righteous have sunk, through the hostilities of the wicked, is equivalent to an elevation. For, as sure as there is a God in heaven, their suffering is a prediction of their joy, their con-tempt of their honour. So that they may quietly look on at all the machinations of malice. PSALM XIII. The Psalmist complains of his great distress upon earth, and that in heaven he seemed to be forgotten, vers. 1 and 2. He prays the Lord for help, vers. 3, 4, and is revived by the assur-ance he obtains of it, vers. 5, 6. The Psalm contains no indication, from which the time of its composition might be more exactly determined. We are therefore here also justified in supposing, that the Psalm was not, at a later period, first devoted to general use, but that David originally composed it with this design. Already did Luther understand it of every pious man, who was persecuted as David was. The general character of this Psalm, as well as of many others, is falsely viewed by Jarchi, Kimchi, and De Wette, who refer it exclusively to the relation of the Israelitish people to the heathen. Of national enemies, too, there is no trace what-ever to be found here. As throughout the Psalm a single individual comes into view, it cannot be doubted that he is described from the soul of suffering individuals, oppressed by personal enemies, unless it could be proved on definite grounds, that the people are here personified as an individual. Such grounds, however, have no existence. The situation is that of one who, through lengthened perse-cutions and continued withholding of Divine help, has been brought to the verge of despair, and is plunged in deadly sor-row. This particular feature of the Psalm may be recognised in the four times repeated question, how long? States of mind such as those here described, must often have crept upon David in the later periods of the Sauline persecution, and with the consolation which he experienced under them he here comfort's his brethren. Ver. 1. How long, O Lord, wilt Thou continually forget me? How long hidest Thou Thy face from me? The נצה, according to the most obvious exposition, marks the uninterruptedness, and consequently the entireness, of the forgetting. The Psalmist's darkness was illuminated by no ray of Divine favour; his misery had no lucid intervals. This exposition is confirmed by the corresponding יומם, "the whole day," in ver. 2. It may be doubted, however, whether the נצה and the לנצה which occurs in parallel passages (Psalms 79:5, "How long, O Lord, wilt Thou be angry" לנצה? and again in Psalms 74:10; Psalms 89:46), can signify continually, in the sense of constant, uninterrupted, as it rather appears to mean only, for ever-comp. especially 9:18 "For the needy shall not alway be forgotten, the expec-tation of the meek shall not perish for ever;" where לנצה is parallel to לעד, and obviously only a final forgetting is spoken of. It is the more natural to think of this here, as the sufferer, according to ver. 3, "Lighten mine eyes, that I sleep not unto death," believes himself to have already reached the last stage, and prays God that He would still rescue him before the gate is closed. Now, if we attach decisive importance to these doubts with regard to the exposition in question, we must render the clause: "How long wilt Thou forget me for ever?" The weak man, who is always inclined to estimate the grace of God according to his own feeling and experience, is prone, in every suffering, to give himself to despair concerning it, to re-gard himself as wholly and irrecoverably lost. But when ahard and continuous cross has been appointed, as is the case here, the flesh cries out even to the strongest man, that he is for ever forgotten. On the other hand, however, the Spirit raises its protest; faith lays hold of the declaration, that the poor shall not alway be forgotten. This conflict in the feelings of the sufferer discovers itself also in his address to God; for he prays God at length to restore to him the favour which appearances teach, and the flesh affirms, had completely gone. The sense is quite correctly given by Muis: "Thou showest Thyself to me such as if Thou hadst entirely forgotten me." Calvin: "Not in a human way, or by natural feelings, do we recognise in our misery that God cares for us, but by faith we apprehend His invisible providence. So David, as far as he could gather from the actual state of things, seemed to himself to be deserted by God. Still, however, with eyes previously enlightened by the light of faith, he saw the grace of God, though hidden; else, how could he have directed his groans and desires to Him?" Luther: "Does he not thus paint this most pungent and bitter anxiety of mind in the most graphic words, as one that feels he has to do with a God alienated from him, -hostile, unappeasable, inexorable, and for ever angry? For here hope itself despairs, and despair, notwithstanding, hopes; and there only lives the unutterable groaning with which the Holy Spirit intercedes for us, Romans 8:26; who moved upon the darkness which covered the waters, as is said at the begin-ning of Genesis. This no one understands who has not tasted it." Luther also perceived what emphasis lies in the repetition of the "how long," with which the sufferer introduces his "four bitter and violent complaints." "In Hebrew the expression, "how long," is four times repeated without alteration; instead of which, however, the Latin translator has substituted another word at the third repetition, for the sake of variety. But we would rather preserve the simplicity of the Hebrew dialect, be-cause, by the fourfold use of the same word, it seeks,to express the emotion of the prophet; and its impressiveness is weakened by the change adopted by the Latin interpreter." The Psalm is prepared for those who have been sighing under long distress, and in the one expression, "how long," its whole nature is, in a manner, expressed. Ver. 2. How long must I take counsel in my soul, sorrow in my heart daily? The expression, "put or lay counsels," hasPsalms 13. VER. 2. 199 something strange in it. The simplest mode of explaining it is by taking the word lay as equivalent to lay down, as in Exodus 10:1, "That I may lay (put down) these My signs in thy midst." The soul and heart appear as a store-room, which is entirely filled with counsels and sorrows. The sense of the words, "How long must I take counsels?" is: How long wilt Thou leave me to myself -how long must I weary myself in finding a way of escape from this misery and distress, from which Thou couldst so easily deliver me? We have here very strikingly portrayed the mental condition of a man who harasses himself in helpless embarrassment, seeking for counsel, falling some-times upon this, sometimes upon that plan, and then giving them all up again in utter despondency, because he sees them to be all unavailing. This disquiet, which arises in us whenever the Lord turns away His face from us in trouble, the sufferer considers as his greatest evil. Luther: "When the unhappy man finds that God feels toward him in the manner described, he does as follows:-That is, his heart is as a raging sea, in which all sorts of counsels move up and down; he tries on all hands to find a hole through which he can make his escape; he thinks of various plans, and still is utterly at a loss what to advise." What is implied in taking or forming counsels, David knew well in his, own experience, especially during the perse-cution of Saul, when hunted by his enemies "like a partridge upon the mountains:" he sought refuge, sometimes upon the hill-tops, sometimes among the Moabites, sometimes among the Philistines; and amid all the projects which he formed for his deliverance, the mournful reflection still forced itself upon him, "I shall notwithstanding perish one day by the hand of Saul." The sufferer was pained, not merely because of his out-ward trouble, but still more because God seemed to have turned away His face from him, denying him His favour and assist-ance. This was the real sting of his pain, the throbbing pulse of his misery. Many render יומם improperly: "the whole day," giving it the force of ולילה יומם. The day, in its more extended signification, comprehends also the night. The word here means, not merely "by day," but also "daily;" comp. Ezekiel 30:16. "Just as diu in Latin is connected with dies;" Ewald. Against the former view may be urged, that יומם and לילה are constantly opposed: and against the latter view, that a combina-tion of such different meanings should only be assumed in anextreme case. יומם rather means "the day through;" here, and in Ezekiel 30:16, it is equivalent to "from morning to evening." Night, as the time of sleep, is left out of view. How long shall mine enemy exalt himself over me? Ver. 3. The prayer stands in immediate connection with the complaint. Luther: "He here sets something over against each of the preceding points. He had complained of four evil things, therefore he begs for four sorts of good." To the for- getting and the hiding of the countenance stand opposed the looking and hearing; to the counsels and sorrow, the lightening of the eyes; and to the words: "How long shall mine enemy exalt himself over me?" reference is made in ver. 4. The Psalmist, however, has avoided all monotony: in the three first petitions, the reference is only in the matter, and never ver-bally expressed; and in the fourth, even the form of a petition is abandoned. Look hither. This is opposed to the hiding of the face, of which the Psalmist complains in the first verse. "So long (remarks Calvin) as God does not actually stretch out His hand to help us, the flesh cries out that His eyes are shut." Hear me, O Lord my God, enlighten mine eyes. These words are explained by Luther thus: "As soon as the face of God is turned away from us, presently follows consternation, distrac- tion, darkness in the understanding and uncertainty of counsel,so that we grope as it were in the dark, and seek everywhere how we may find an escape. Therefore, when the Lord lifts upon us the light of His countenance, and turns His face toward us, listening to our cry, then are our eyes again enlight-ened, and we have no difficulty in obtaining counsel." But, that this exposition is not right-that the enlightening of the eyes here is not to be understood spiritually, but literally, with a special reference to the words, "the sorrow in my heart," in ver. 2, is evident from the following words: So that I sleep not unto death. In the man who is oppressed with sorrow, the feeble and dying, the eyes, which reflect the power of life, become dim; hence to "enlighten the eyes" is as much as to give the vital spark, as Calvin justly remarks. The passage 1 Samuel 14. throws light on this. The eyes of Jonathan, who was faint almost to death, were covered with darkness; but after he had tasted the honey-comb, his eyes see, according to ver. 27 (where the Ketib alone is right), and are enlightened, אורו, according to ver. 29. In Ezra 9:8, the words, "enlighten our eyes," standin connection with "give us a reviving." The Psalmist here, then, represents himself as a dying man, as one already half gone, who will soon be wholly overwhelmed with the darkness of death, if the Lord do not give him new power of life, set him free from consuming grief and sorrow, by granting him deliverance, and so prevent his threatening dissolution. Ewald exclaims: "Pity that we could not more exactly determine the historical circum-stances." But with this, after the remarks made in the intro-duction, we cannot sympathize. The feeling here expressed is not so very singular a one, as to need explanation from the facts of history. How many souls, driven to the verge of death, have found in this verse the record of their own experience!-Nay, who that has been exercised in the cross, has not already passed through such experience? It is also against all experience to maintain, that the man who feels thus, looks to this earthly life as the final limit of his existence.-To sleep to death-a bold poetical connection for: To sleep the sleep of death; comp. Jeremiah 51:39; Jeremiah 51:57, where sleeping an eternal sleep occur; Ewald, p. 591. Ver. 4. Lest mine enemy say, I have prevailed against him. יכלתיו from יכל, potuit, stands, according to many, for לו יכלתי; but this is wrong, if the suff. accus. be understood to designate precisely the dative. The construction with the accus., instead of the common one with ל, is rather to be explained from a modification of the meaning of the verb, "to overpower any one."-Mine adversaries rejoice not when I fail. The sufferer says, that it were unworthy of God to give His servant as an occasion of mirth to the ungodly, who were just watching for this fall, to rail at it. He proceeds, therefore, on the principle, that it is God's peculiar business to check the impudence of sinners, as often as they boast of having conquered His people, and through them Himself. Vers. 5, 6. The Lord imparts to the Psalmist, and through him to all who are in a similar situation; or, rather, He imparts to the righteous sufferer, the assurance of His favour and assist-ance.-And I trust in Thy goodness, my heart rejoices in Thy salvation. I will sing to the Lord, for He has dealt bountifully with me.-- יגל as many, "will rejoice," but, "shall rejoice," as even the form, which is the Fut. apocop. for the optative (comp. Ewald, p. 527), and its suitability to the following, "I will sing," suggest. The Psalmist declares his wish and resolu-tion, that his heart might give thanks to God for his salvation, which, as already inwardly promised to him, he sees with the eye of faith as actually present. In this wish is involved, at the same time, the certainty and greatness of the salvation. The ex- ultation of the righteous man's heart stands opposed to that of the enemies, ver. 4. The object of the emotion of joy is marked by n. The Pret. גמל is to be explained from the faith, which sees what is not as if it were. Luther, whom most expositors follow, renders: "That He deals so well with me;" and this exposition is right, and decidedly to be preferred to the other: "That He recompenses me." Comp. upon גמל with על, "to make presents," on Psalms 7:4. PSALM XIV. The Psalmist begins with a lamentation regarding the fright-ful power and extent of corruption reigning in the world, vers. 1-3. But the righteous, who have much to suffer from sin, must not therefore despair. As sure as there is a God in heaven, they shall bring upon themselves destruction. From the watch-tower of faith, the Psalmist beholds with triumphant joy the overthrow of impiety, and the establishment of righteousness, vers. 4-6. He closes with the wish, that the Lord would fulfil His purpose, and send salvation and deliverance to His people, and thereby give occasion to grateful joy, ver. 7. In the first part, the complaint relates to the corruption of the world by itself, without respect to the sufferings which thence arise to the "generation of the righteous." But that the complaint is really closely related also to these sufferings,-that the Psalmist delineates the corruption of the world with respect to the difficult and apparently hopeless position into which the righteous are thereby brought, is evident from the second part, which is occupied throughout, not, after the man-ner of the prophets, with the judgments coming upon the wicked world in themselves, but only in so far as they affect the salvation of the righteous, and rescue them from the clutches of the wicked. Hence the aim of the Psalm is quite similar to that of Psalms 12.; it is designed to administer consolation to the righteous, when tempted by the sight of the corruption of the world, and the ascendancy of wickedness, which appears to threaten their entire destruction. Should even the whole worldbe given up to corruption, and be in league against them, they may still comfort themselves with the thought, that God over-comes the world. Along with this, however, the Psalm con-tains a forcible warning to the ungodly. And that this is not to be excluded, is evident alone from the superscription of the corresponding 53d Psalm. The absence of all special allusions renders it certain, that this Psalm also, like the many nearly related ones immediately preceding, was from the first destined by David for the general use of the Church. As regards those who call forth the com-plaint of the Psalm, and against whom the Lord is entreated, the reference of the Psalm is just as wide as the designation, "children of men," can make it. Whether the corrupt children of men belonged outwardly to the people of God, or not, makes no difference. The former were not proper members of His Church. In the Pentateuch, the standing formula in respect to evil-doers is, "their soul is cut off from among their people,"-it is ipso facto separated, belongs no longer to the people of God, although the theocratic government might lack power and will to accomplish externally, also, the separation, as was constantly -for example, in Deuteronomy 13:5 -enjoined in the words, "So shalt thou put the evil away from the midst of thee." From this it is clear enough how the contrast between עמי and עמו, in vers. 4, 7, and the children of men, is to be understood. The contrast is that between a righteous generation and a corrupt world, such as has existed in all ages, and will continue even to the end of the present constitution of things. De Wette and others would refer the Psalm exclusively to the relation of Israel to its heathenish oppressors. That the first part is unfavourable to this hypothesis, De Wette himself is forced to admit. Vers. 1-3, he remarks, "has quite the appearance of a general moral delineation." Of a special reference to the heathen, there does not exist the smallest trace. It is not heathenish, but human corruption, that is described. This is confirmed also by the re-ference which the description bears to Genesis 6:12, "And God looked upon the earth, and behold it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted its way upon the earth;" comp. ver. 5, "And the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great upon the earth." This passage refers not to the heathen, but to mankind gene-rally. How little the prophets and sacred bards were disposed to limit corruption merely to the heathen, and exempt Israelfrom it, might be shown by a great multitude of passages; but we shall produce only one, in which what is here said of the whole world is just as expressly said of Israel, Jeremiah 5:1, "Run ye to and fro through the streets of Jerusalem, and seek in the broad places thereof, if ye can find one, if there be one that executeth judgment and striveth after integrity, and I will par-don it." That the view in question is not favoured by ver. 4, "Who eat up My people like bread," even De Wette is obliged to admit. He says, "The oppressors spoken of in ver. 4 might well be sought among the Israelites." That this not merely could be done, but that the native oppressors must not be excluded, appears from the following passage in Micah, which refers ex- clusively to the internal relations, 3:2, 3, "Who also eat the flesh of My people," etc., which is obviously based on the verse in question, and does not comment upon, and carry out into detail, what is here only generally indicated. Comp. also the passage in Proverbs 30:14, which likewise refers to domestic enemies, "There is a generation, whose teeth are as swords, and their jaw-teeth as knives, to devour the poor from off the earth, and the needy from among men." De Wette rests his view entirely upon ver. 7, conceiving that the wish there ex-pressed for a return from captivity, points to oppression of a political nature, and most naturally to the circumstances of the exiles under the Chaldeans. But our exposition will prove, that the verse contains not a word of a return from captivity, but only expresses a general wish, that God would have com-passion on the misery of His people, whether inflicted by inter-nal or by foreign wickedness. Other expositors, as Stier, have been led, by opposition to the view just noticed, to assert, that the Psalm refers merely to the domestic conflict between the righteous and the wicked,that human corruption is described in vers. 1-3, only in re-ference to its manifestations in Israel, -that the evil-doers, who ate up the people as bread, are to be sought only in Israel, and that it is only the wicked in Israel who are threatened with de-struction, and from whom the righteous are to have deliverance. But this view is just as arbitrary as the other: the contrast throughout is that of the corrupt world and the righteous genera-tion; and as this contrast manifested itself in what "the chosen" among Israel had to suffer from heathen malice, one cannot per-ceive with what justice this relation should be excluded. The fatal alternative of a domestic conflict, or a reference to external, heathen oppressors, should at last be abandoned; we must cease to assume that our choice lies necessarily between either the one or the other. The men of God, elevated by His Spirit above a merely national point of view, contemplated heathenish and Israelitish wickedness as one whole, without suffering themselves to be deceived by the difference of costume. So also everywhere Moses, to whose command, "Thou shalt not have diverse weights in thy bag," this here corresponds. Comp., for example, Deuteronomy 32. From the preceding remarks, it is manifest that, with per-fect propriety, Paul adduces, in Romans 10-12, a proof from this Psalm of the scripturalness of his position, that "Jews and heathens are all under sin." He justly puts this passage, vers. 1-3, at the head of his proof; for the Old Testament con-tains no passage in which the universality and depth of human corruption are painted in such vivid colours. What has been alleged against the Davidic origin of the Psalm proceeds entirely on a false understanding of ver. 7. This Psalm recurs once again, with certain alterations, in Psalms 53. These alterations (with the exception, perhaps, of the omission of the "all," in ver. 4) have all the same character,- everywhere, in Ps. liii., is the rare, the uncommon, the strong, and the elevated, substituted for the common and the simple. The consideration of particulars will show this. The simple superscription of the 14., "to the chief musician of David," is enlarged in the 53. by a twofold addition, and these additions both possess the character now mentioned. First, in regard to תלaהEמa-עלa. That nothing is to be made out of these words, on the supposition that they designate an instrument or a melody, the remark of Ewald (Poet. Books, P. 1:p. 174) may suffice to show: "A word, on the meaning of which nothing whatever can be said." We conceive that the words contain an enigmatical description of the subject and object, and translate: "concerning sickness." This view is justified, 1. By its being the only one admissible in a grammatical point of view. The verb in Hebrew has no other signification than to be weal sick; and the very nearly related forms הל,הEמa and הלAהEמa occur in the sense of sick-ness. Before it has been shown that מהלת cannot bear this sig-nification, it is quite arbitrary to explain it out of the Ethiopian. 2. In the superscription of Psalms 88., where the same words206 THE BOOK OF PSALMS. are again used, they are connected with תונ.עaל;, which, according to the usage, and the תAינi.עi, in ver. 7, and the ינiעo, in ver. 9, can only be explained: "regarding the tribulation," thus admirably comporting with: "concerning sickness." The com-mon exposition: "for singing," must be abandoned as arbitrary. 3. The words, rendered as we have done, suit exceedingly well the purport of the Psalms which they designate. Psalms 53. is taken up with the spiritual sickness of the sons of men. Psalms 88.: is the prayer of one visited by severe bodily sickness. -The second addition in the superscription is משכיל, a didac-tic Psalm (comp. on Psalms 32.). This designation has been chosen with an ingenious reference to ver. 2. The Psalm aims at bringing the unreasonable, who are there discoursed of, to sound reason. With that is connected its second aim, to instruct the sick, that is, sufferers, how to behave in sickness, and what remedies to apply. In the Psalm itself there is a pervading change in the substitution of Elohim everywhere for Jehovah. The reason of that is the following: It is not to be doubted that even, in Psalms 14. the sevenfold use of the name of God (thrice Elohim, and four times Jehovah) is not accidental, especially when the corresponding sevenfold number of the verses is taken into account, which, of evident purpose, is preserved also in Ps. liii., where the extended superscription forms a verse by itself (whereas we find combined in ver. 6 [in Heb.] what in Psalms 14. forms two); and analogies, such as that in Psalms 29.,where יהוה קול recurs seven times. Now, while in Psalms 14. the wish predominated to use the different names of God accord-ing to their different meanings, and according to the relation of the Psalm to the former one, united with which it formed a pair, in Psalms 53. another interest prevailed, namely, to ren-der palpable the intentionalness of the sevenfold repetition by the uniformity of the name,-a design which was the more visibly accomplished, as the Elohim in some of its connections, -for example, "they call not upon Elohim," -sounds rather strange.-In Psalms 53. ver. 1, עול "crime," is substituted for עלילה, "deed." The "deed" is justified by the contrast with speaking in the heart; apart from this important reference, עול, as being the stronger, is at the same time the more character-istic; so that here, as is generally the case, each of the readingshas its peculiar advantage. In ver. 3, כלו is first substituted forthe simple and also clear הבל and it is not quite certain howthe suffix should be explained. Then, instead of the com-mon סר the very rare סג is substituted, which elsewhere occurs only twice in Kal. In this case a word is manifestly chosen, as nearly related as possible, both in writing and pronunciation, to the other,-just as Jeremiah appears fond of substituting words similarly written and spoken to those of the original; comp. K�per Ierem. libr. sacr. interpres. p. 14. In ver. 5, to "there were they in great fear," there is added, with the view of filling up and strengthening the picture, "where no fear;" and instead of the plain words, "for God is in the generation of the righteous," are put the far more emphatic and highly poeti-cal ones, "for God scatters the bones of him who encamps against thee," prop. of thy besieger. So also in ver. 6, the state-ment, "only put to shame the counsel of the wretched, for God is his refuge," which stands, so to speak, on the defensive, is supplanted in Psalms 53. by another plainly offensive, and, as the form of address itself shows, much more lively, "thou dost put to shame, for God rejects them." Finally, in ver. 7, for the singular ישועת the rarer and more emphatic plural is substi-tuted. From the representation now given, it is clear that we can never adopt any such account of the origin of the variations in the two Psalms as that espoused by Ewald, who supposes a reader to have rectified for himself, as well as he could, the text of a manuscript that had become illegible. It is not less clear, that the variations could not have sprung from traditional usage. They all belong to one author, who made them with consideration and method. That it was David himself, appears to be indicated by the superscription of Ps. liii., which ascribes the Psalm also in that form of it to him; and it is impossible to bring forward any well-grounded proof against it. When the collectors gave a place to both forms, the original and the altered, they certainly acted in the spirit of the author of the changes himself, who did not intend by the one form, to set aside the other, but only claimed for it a place beside the other. Each of the two forms has its peculiar beauties and characteristics; and it is most justly remarked by Venemp., thatno variation occurs, which does not provide a sense excellent in both Psalms, and suited to the scope." Ver. 1. The fool speaks in his heart, God is not:-not: "it is only the fool that speaks in his heart:" "whosoever speaksthus in his heart is a fool;" but: the whole world is full of fools, who speak, or, the fools, of whom the world is full, speak. The Psalmist describes the reigning folly first, according to its internal root in the mind (Muis: orditur a fonte omnium scelerum impie-tate), and then passes on to describe its manifestations in deed. נבל stands here in its original signification, which, indeed, it never loses, if we examine carefully. For, even when it is used of crimes, these are always contemplated in the light of folly. David designates those who, with a renunciation of all fear of God, give themselves up to unrighteousness, as blinded fools, in silent contrast to the judgment of the world, and their own, which magnifies them as great spirits, and people of dis-tinguished talent. That נבל is used here in its original signifi-cation, appears also from the expression in ver. 4, "know they not," which refers back to this. Their whole course is folly, because it proceeds upon the supposition that God is not, does not see and recompense. It is not less apparent from the opposite משכיל in ver. 2, and from the designation of the Psalm as משכיל in Psalms 53. The fools ought by this Psalm to be made wise. It is, therefore, quite wrong, when De Wette rendersנבל by ungodly, and when Sachs, in bad taste also, does it by the rogue. The pious and just of Scripture is, at the same time, the wise man, because his frame of mind and his conduct rest upon and are followed by a right insight into the nature of things. This, however, does not imply that the piety and god-liness of Scripture are interchangeable ideas, but the spheres of both, and of the qualities opposed to them, continue strictly separate. The discourse here is not of the atheism of the un-derstanding, but of the atheism of the heart (he speaks in his heart), whose sphere is an infinitely greater one than that of the former. The world is well nigh given up to the former, although the number of theoretical deniers of God is but small, and with it also the righteous has still constantly to fight. Luther: "The prophet speaks here in the Spirit, sees no person in an outward point of view, goes to the bottom of the reins and hearts, and says: The fool speaks, there is no God, not with the mouth, gesture, appearance, and other external signs-for in such re-spects he often boasts before the true lovers of God, that he knows God-but in heart, that is, in his inward sentiments. These in the ungodly are darkened: thereupon follows blindness of under-standing, so that he can neither think rightly of God, nor speak,nor direct his conduct properly. Accordingly, those alone have God, who believe in God not with an hypocritical faith. All besides are fools; they say in their hearts: There is no God."They are corrupt, abominable in their actions, there is none 1 that does good. The relation of this second part to the first was explained quite correctly by Luther, according to whom "the other evil" is here described, "which is a flowing stream, issu-ing with force out of the spring of unbelief." Atheism of the heart has corruption of life for its inseparable attendant. It is a question how עלילה, and the corresponding עול in Ps. 53., is to be construed-whether, with most expositors, as an accus. go-verned by השהיתו and התעיבו, "they make their conduct corrupt, abominable," or as a mere appended accus. which defines more narrowly the sphere of the two verbs, "as to action, crime" (on such accusatives, see Ewald, Small Gr. § 512); as already Lu-ther here: "with their nature," in Ps. liii.: "in their evil nature." The latter construction is favoured first of all by the circum-stance, that the contrast between actions and heart, which the salmist obviously had in view, and for expressing which עלילה is used, becomes more prominent. Then, according to the other view, we should have expected the plural with the suff., insteadof the sing. without the suff.,-comp. עלילותם השהיתו in Zeph. iii. 7. It is also a confirmation of the same view, that השהית has only exceptionally an accus. after it; as a rule, it stands absolutely in the sense of acting corruptly-comp. upon this and similar verbs in Hiph., Ewald, p. 189; but התעיב, in the only two other places where it occurs, 1 Kings 21:26, Ezekiel 16:52, has the signification of acting abominably, not of making abomin-able. עול also, "injustice, crime," does not well suit either of the verbs in the sense of corrupting, making abominable. That השהיתו contains an allusion to Genesis 6:12, where the corruption of men before the flood is described with the same word, we can entertain the less doubt, as in ver. 2 a still more manifest re-ference is found to that passage. Luther: "He describes the race of the ungodly as equally corrupt then, with what they were at that time." The Preterites in this verse, and the fol-lowing one, are to be understood just as in Psalms 11:4; Psalms 10:3, and to be rendered by the Present. The sense and the connection of the Psalm are quite destroyed, if we translate, with Ewald and Hitzig: "he spoke, etc." Ver. 2. The Lord looks down from heaven upon the children of men, that he may see whether there be one that acts wisely; that seeks God. That David represents the Lord as looking down from heaven, and finding no fearer of God on the earth, is done for a double reason. First, the greatness and universality of the reigning corruption are thereby well brought out. Not merely the short-sighted eye of man, but God's all-seeing, all-penetrating glance, can find no piety upon earth. Michaelis Ex infallibili dei judicio et scrutinio. This reference is the leading one. But, at the same time, by way of contrast to the delusion of those forgetters of God, who shut Him up in heaven, and do not let Him trouble Himself with earthly things, the re-presentation points to the fact, that His all-ruling providence isever active, that He continually looks out from the high watch-tower, the heavens, upon the actions of men, in order to hurl down, in His own time, judgments upon the wicked-a truth full of consolation to the fearers of God, full of terror to the ungodly. According to the latter reference, the clause, "The Lord looks down from heaven," forms a contrast to the words of the fools; "There is no God," and prepares for the catastrophe described in vers. 4-6. Both references were noticed by Lu-ther: "This is spoken against the folly of fools, who say that there is no God. As if he would say: There is not only a God, but also a God who sees, nay, who sees all; i. e. He penetrates all with His eye, there is nothing too far removed, or too deeply concealed, for Him to grasp. Next, in order that no one might think that these fools, and such as corrupt their ways, were only a handful of people, among whom alone none could be found who did good, he extends his declaration far and wide to all, saying: The Lord looked down from heaven, whence He beholds all people upon earth, and from Him no one is concealed. So that he had in view. Genesis 6:12, where the whole earth is said to be corrupt." Besides this passage, there are two others, which come into view as a type of the re-presentation given-the first of which is Genesis 11:5, "And the Lord came down from heaven to see the city and the tower, which the children of men builded," from which the expression, "children of men," seems to have been derived; and the other is Genesis 18:21. Very suitably is Elohim, whose existence the ungodly deny, set over against Jehovah, who looks down from heaven. They deny, forsooth, the existence of a deity; but there is a living, and in the highest sense personal God, who lives and beholds. משכיל, one who acts prudently, forms the contrast to: they act corruptly, abominably, just as: "God looks down to see," stands in opposition to the fool, who says: "There is no God;" so that in this way the order of the first verse is here reversed. משכיל signifies, not to be prudent, and still less to be pious, but is always used of the conduct, to act prudently, reasonably. The wicked man, while following, in-stead of the law of God, his own perverse inclinations and desires, treads reason under foot by his actions, does in his way-wardness what profits not, and what hands him over to de-struction. That the very common phrase, אלהים דרש, can only signify, to seek God, is clear from the counter expression of finding in Deuteronomy 4:29, "Thou shalt find the Lord, if thou seek Him with all thy heart and with all thy soul," comp. Jeremiah 29:13; 2 Chronicles 15:2. To seek God, designates the desire of the heart after Him, the longing directed towards Him. The wicked do not seek God; they flee and shun Him as their greatest enemy; but whosoever does not seek God, him God visits with His punishment. The Elohim has here already acquired the nature of a proper name. Hence the את, though the article is awanting. This particle never occurs except before definite nouns. The examples of the contrary, which Ewald still retains, fall away on closer examination. Ver. 3. All are gone aside, they are together corrupt; there is not that does good, not even one. It may be asked, how this charge of a corruption extending through the whole of humanity can be reconciled with ver. 5, where mention is made of a right-eous generation. This can only be accounted for by the sup-position, that in view of the monstrous corruption, which had spread itself among men, the author overlooked the few right-eous persons; so that his words are to be taken with some limita-tion, as is done by himself subsequently. Comp. what we have already said on a quite similar statement in Psalms 12. Others, as Calvin, understand by the "children of men," ver. 2, the whole of humanity in its natural condition, as opposed to the children of God, who, through the Spirit, have been delivered from the general corruption. But it is quite improbable, that the expression, “ children of men," should be used in this sense without being elucidated by the contrast. Substantially, indeed, this view is certainly the correct one; for the few righteous persons, whom the Psalmist excepts from the corrupt mass, aresuch by the grace of God. Besides, these must have been pro-portionally very few; otherwise the Psalmist could not have represented the corruption as so all-pervading. Luther: "See how many redundant words he uses, that he may comprehend all men in the charge, and except none. First, he says all; afterwards, once and again, that there is not so much as one." There is an emphasis in the הכל, "the allness;" the whole of humanity is, as it were, a corrupt mass. The expression, "to go aside," is more closely defined by the contrast in which it stands with "seeking the Lord," just as the being corrupt, and the not doing good, forms the contrast to משכיל. In the de-lineation of the fool, godliness and immoral conduct are con-stantly linked together; and in such a way, indeed, that the next pair always begins with the same member with which the preceding one had closed. The acting prudently, answers to the acting corruptly-the all going away, to the seeking of God-the evil-doers, who eat up my people, to the being corrupt, and no one doing good. The last member of the description: "They call not upon the Lord," corresponds to the first: "He says in his heart, There is no God." The whole chain is broken, if to the words, "all are gone aside," we supply, in-stead of God, "from the right way."--אלה, originally to be sour, to corrupt, here as in Job 15:16, in a moral sense.--At the end of this verse, some critical helps-in particular, the Cod. Vat., the LXX., and Vulgate-introduce a longer addition, which manifestly owes its origin to Romans 3:13-18. There other de-clarations from the Old Testament, bearing on the same subject, are added to the citation made from our Psalm. And while it has been overlooked, that the Apostle does not confine his cita-tions to our Psalm, but professes to give passages of Scripture in general, it has been thought that an addition should be made to the Psalm on his authority. Ver. 4. Know not, then, all evil-doers, who eat my people as bread, and call not upon the Lord? The Psalmist begins the second part with an expression of wonder at the great blindness of the fools, who do not see what lies before their very eyes, and what is depicted in lively colours in vers. 5 and 6. The designation of the fools as evil-doers, who eat up the people of God, and call not on the Lord, sums up the contents, vers. 1-3, but substitutes for their evil actions generally, their shameful conduct toward the people of God, as the species in the genus, which came par-only profit from them, and who do not employ their office for the glory of God, and the salvation of those over whom they are placed." The expression, "as bread," indicates the heartless indifference of the eaters: he who eats bread never thinks that he is doing wrong. We must not explain, "As they eat bread" -which would either require us to supply כאשר and that is not at all allowable, or to suppose that the comparison clause is loosely placed;-against this interpretation, קראו, which connects itself, not with אכלי, but with אכלו, and which requires us to conceive of אשר as standing before אכלי, is decisive. We must rather ex-pound: "Who eating my people, eat bread;" so that the people themselves are described as bread, namely, in a spiritual sense, what in spiritual things corresponds to bread. The exposition of Luther, Claus, and others: "Eating my people, they eat food," they find nourishment therein, gives a tame meaning. The simple עמי אכלו would then be more expressive. Even Calvin remarks, that the matter of the verse is more appropriate to the degenerate members of the Church of God, than to heathenish enemies. The abominableness lay precisely in this, that the shepherds spared not their own flock, and that the subjects of Jehovah concerned not themselves about their king. The not calling upon God, is a periphrasis for ungodliness. For with-out calling upon God, fear of God is inconceivable. The Psalmist here connects impiety with unrighteousness toward men, as its inseparable attendant; the latter, indeed, necessarily follows on the former. We have already pointed out, that the words, "They call not upon the Lord," correspond to the earlier descriptions of ungodliness, through "saying in their heart, There is no God, not seeking God, and turning away from Him." Ver. 5. There, terror overtakes them; for God is among the righteous generation. Instead of there, many put then, at the time when punishment alights on them. But the particle שם always denotes in Hebrew, place, never, as in Arabic, time. Others retain the usual signification of the word, and expound: There, in the very place where they have committed their crimes, shall their punishment surprise them. It is best explained by Calvin, who supposes that the Psalmist intended only to mark the certainty of the punishment, pointing to it, as it were, with his finger. The שם, as well as the Pret. פהדו, is a testimony to the strength of the Psalmist's faith, who sets the judgment to come on the wicked as vividly before his eyes, as if it wereactually present. The same strength of faith discovers itself also in the wondering question, "Know they not?" in the pre-ceding verse.-For God is in the righteous generation,-He is found amongst them as helper and deliverer. Falsely, Luther: But God is in the righteous generation. God's being in the righteous generation, is the ground of the destruction, which He suspends over their oppressors. Hence also we must not supply, with Claus: "but not with and among them, the ungodly."-After the words פהד פהדו, there is added in Psalms 53. פהד היה לא,where no fear was, i. e. in the midst of their prosperity, whilst in a human way nothing of the kind could have been looked for, suddenly. Venema: "Where they were securely indulging themselves, there they began suddenly to be afraid, and so were unexpectedly overwhelmed." Others, incorrectly, and quite un-suitably to the context: “ They fall into a blind, groundless fear.” The discourse here is not of the remorse of conscience, but of Divine judgments actually inflicted. We are not, therefore, to refer to such passages as Leviticus 26:17; Leviticus 26:36; Proverbs 28:1, where God threatens the transgressors of His law, that they would flee when no one pursued them, would be frightened by the rustle of a falling leaf; but to such passages as Job 15:21, "The sound of terrors is in his ears, in prosperity the destroyer shall come upon him," and 1 Thessalonians 5:3, "When they shall say, Peace and safety, then sudden destruction cometh on them." The sudden and unexpected nature of the destruction of the wicked, overtaking them while they are still in great prosperity, is constantly brought forward in the Psalms. It is further addedin Ps. liii.: ך`נAהo תומצ;עa רזa.Pi םיהiלoא< כיi, "for God scatters the bonesof those who encamp against thee," substituting these words for the last member of our verse. ך`נAהo, pausal-form for ך~נ;הo, of the besieging thee, is partic. of הנה to besiege. It is generally con-strued with על. The construction found here is to be explained thus, that הנה, "he who encamps," stands for "the besieger;"comp. קמי for עלי קמים in Psalms 39. The oppression of the pious, by the ungodly, appears here under the image of a siege, which God raises by shattering the besieging enemies, so that their bones, formerly the seat of their strength, cover the field of battle. This addition renders unquestionable the soundness of the exposition given by us of the preceding words. For how could it assign the ground thereof, if a baseless fear in them were spoken of? "In the midst of their security, destructionovertakes them,-for, O righteous generation, God annihilates your adversaries." According to this view, the changes in Ps. liii. would not touch the essential meaning. The addition: where no fear was, serves only to complete the picture, and is in substance contained in the preceding words, where already the state of the ungodly is described as one of such perfect security and untroubled prosperity, that they no longer thought there could be a God at all. And in the second member both Psalms contain the same fundamental thought, that God inter-poses for the good of His people against the wicked, only in Ps. liii. the destruction wrought in their behalf is delineated in strik-ing colours. To the expression, "He scatters the bones," there is a verbal paral. in Psalms 141:7. Ver. 6. Put to shame the counsel of the poor, for God is his refuge. The address is to the enemies. These the Psalmist, in the full strength of faith, tells that he does not grudge the triumph of succeeding in defeating the plans for delivering the oppressed servants of God. For such joy will soon be annihi-lated, inasmuch as the righteous have on their side a mighty helper, mightier than themselves. בוש in Hiph. to shame, to put to shame. Various commentators render mock only; but this meaning is unwarranted. That the כי is not, after Luther's example, to be explained by but, is obvious; and, consequently, it is certain that we must render, not, "ye put to shame," but, "shame only, I will not hinder you." The כי assigns the reason why the enemies may put to shame the counsels of the poor. In Psalms 53. we have, corresponding to these words, אלהים כי הבישתהמאסם, thou shamest, viz. thine enemy, him who encamps against thee (the naming of the object was unnecessary, because suffi-ciently plain from the preceding context), for the Lord has re-jected them. The righteous man, or the righteous generation, is addressed; in ך`נה also it had been addressed. In point of sense, these words are almost of one import with ours. Both passages contain the firm hope of deliverance, on the ground that the Lord could not fail to give to righteousness the victory over wickedness. Ver. 7. The Psalmist closes by expressing his desire after the previously promised salvation of God, in the destruction of the Church's enemies. Oh that the salvation of Israel were come out of Zion, and the Lord returned to the imprisonment of His people! Then let Jacob rejoice, and Israel be glad. The first clause is literally: Who will give from Zion the deliverance of Israel? The יתן מי, who will give, is confessedly used with the force of the optative, as if it were: might it but come. From Zion, because there the Lord was enthroned in His sanctuary, as King of His people. It is quite erroneously supposed by De Wette, that the Psalmist must have been far from his native land, and looking towards it. The expectation of help from Zion is found continually in those Psalms, which were unques-tionably David's, and in those which were certainly composed after the captivity; comp., for example, Psalms 3:4; Psalms 28:2; Psalms 20:2; Psalms 20:5; Psalms 134:3. When the pious Psalmists utter this expectation, they remind God that it is His obligation to help,since, as the Head of the Divine kingdom, He cannot abandon it to the devastations of the impious. If the Psalm had belonged to the period of the captivity, the Psalmist could not have looked for salvation from Zion. For the kingdom of God had no longer its centre there, after the destruction of the temple, as Ezekiel indicated, ch. 11:22, by causing the Shekinah, the symbol of God's indwelling presence, solemnly to depart from the temple. When Daniel also, after the destruction of the temple, turned his face in prayer toward Jerusalem, he did so only in reference to what had once been there, and what should be there again. He did not expect help out of Zion, but he directed his face thither, simply because, in his view, the city was holy, where the temple had stood, and where again a temple was to be reared. The only passage that De Wette can adduce as a proof that, even in exile, help was expected out of Zion, is Psalms 121:1; and this is such only on the arbitrary supposition, that the Psalm belongs to the times of the captivity, the groundlessness of which is proved by the very commencement: "I lift mine eyes to the hills, from whence cometh my help." So here also the words under consideration show that the Psalm could not have been composed, according to the modern hypothesis, in exile; and every interpretation of the following words which proceeds upon that hypothesis, must appear inadmissible. The words, "in the returning of the Lord to the imprisonment of His people," announce more immediately the way and manner in which the salvation of Israel should come out of Zion. It comes thus,-that the Lord, who is throned in Zion, takes compassion on the misery of His people, and returns to them in the manifestations of His grace. Modern commentators for the most part expound:"When the Lord brings back the prisoners of His people." They then draw from this a proof that the Psalm could not be the production of David, but must have been composed during the captivity. Others, who still ascribe it to David, have been led thereby to consider our verse as a later addition, as was done also by the present writer, Beitr. p. 142,-a supposition which is the less probable, as this verse is found also in Ps. liii., and as thereby the sevenfold use of the name of God would be lost. But the whole exposition is demonstrably false; for, 1. שוב never has the signification of to bring back, it never is used transi-tively, but always means to return; comp. Beitr. p. 104. 2. It is alleged, without the least proof, that שבות, signifies the prisoners; whereas, wherever it occurs, excepting in this form of expression, it rather denotes the captivity, the status captivi-tatis. 3. The entire phrase is unquestionably used in many other places, in a general way, of "grace, favour,"-imprison-ment, captivity, an image of misery, as very often the prison, Psalms 142:7, bands, cords; comp., for example, Isaiah 42:7; Isaiah 49:9 etc. So Job 42:10, "And the Lord turned the captivity (prop., turned himself to the prison) of Job," though certainly, Job was never confined. Then Jeremiah 30:18, "I turn myself to the captivity of Jacob's tents," for, to their mournful condi-tion, as the tents cannot be considered there as imprisoned. Ezekiel 16:53, "I will return to their captivity, the captivity of Sodom and her daughters," etc. q. d. I will take pity on their misery; for certainly Sodom and the other cities of the plain of Jordan were not carried away into captivity, but were wholly annihilated; comp. the investigations in my Beitr. P. 2 p. 104 ss. On the other hand, there is not to be found one place in which the form of expression can be shown to have been used in reference to the exiles. 4. The original founda-tion of all the passages where this expression occurs, is that of Deu 30:3, "And the Lord thy God returns to thy prison-house, or captivity." But that there שוב is employed in its common signification of returning, and has the goal of the re-turn beside it in the accus., is clear as day. In vers. 1-6 alonethe word occurs no fewer than six times: of these, it is generally admitted to be five times used in the sense of returning, and why should it in one case alone signify to bring back? Now, if we add to this the special grounds which, in our Psalm, stand in the way of a reference to the bringing back from captivity,-to wit, the desire of help from Zion; the entire remaining contents of the Psalm, which do not allude in the slightest way to the times of the captivity, but rather concern relations of a general kind, common to all ages; and, finally, the superscrip-tion-we cannot entertain the least doubt of the alone correctness of the explanation, "when the Lord returns to the captivity, i.e. the misery of His people" (the accus. being used, as is customary in verbs of motion; comp. Exodus 4:19; Exodus 4:20; Numbers 10:36; Psalms 85:4; Nahum 3). But to express his wish that the Lord might have compassion on the wretchedness of His Church, in a Psalm destined for the use of the pious in all ages, David had the more occasion, the greater the disorders had been, of which he himself had been a witness in the times of Saul and Absalom. The wish here expressed found its highest fulfilment in Christ; and in this case also the highest stage thereof is reserved for the future, when the triumphant Church shall take the place of the militant. Till then, we shall have occasion enough to make the wish of the pious Psalmist our own. Amid the joy which arises from lower fulfilments, the longing after the last and highest can never be extinguished. יגל and ישמה, on account of the form of the first, and from a comparison with Psalms 13:6,-to similarity with which this Psalm, in all proba-bility, owes its position,-are to be taken as a wish and demand: "Then let Jacob exult, let Israel rejoice." PSALM XV. In this Psalm the question is answered, what must be the moral condition of the man who would be a true servant of the Lord, and a partaker of His grace. First, the question is put: Who is loved and esteemed by God? ver. 1. Then comes the answer, in two strophes of two verses, each of three members, vers. 2, 3, and 4, 5. The first verse of both strophes describes the nature of piety positively, the second negatively. The Psalm concludes with a declaration, which recurs to the begin-ning, "He who doeth such things may comfort himself that God will help him." The fundamental idea of the Psalm may be summed up in the words of the Saviour, "Ye are My friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you." Most expositors suppose that David composed this Psalmwhen the ark of the covenant was transferred to Zion, comp. 2 Samuel 6:12 ss., 1 Chronicles 16:1 ss., with the view of stirring up the people, on this opportunity, to the true honouring of God, to genuine righteousness. Though this event afforded a suitable occasion, yet in the Psalm itself there is nothing which neces-sarily refers thereto; and we should have regarded the supposi-tion as a mere uncertain hypothesis, if the 24. Psalm, which coincides in a very striking manner with this, had not been un-doubtedly occasioned by the circumstance in question. Notwithstanding the simply positive aspect of the Psalm, when formally considered, it still has an unquestionably polemi-cal reference; it brings out the purely moral and internal con-ditions of participation in God's kingdom, in contrast to the delusion of the hypocrite, who thinks himself secure of God's favour through the possession of externals, and the observance of ceremonies. This was perceived by Luther: "But this Psalm is dead against the lovers of outward show. For the Jews exalted themselves above all other people, on the two grounds, that they alone were the seed of the Fathers, and alone possessed the law of God." As in perfect accordance with an occasion like that of the transference of the ark, we must espe-cially regard the opposition raised to merely external service of God. David wished to meet, at the very threshold, the errors which so easily connected themselves with the restoration of thecultus effected on the removal of the ark to Zion. It is only when viewed in respect to such a polemical design that the subject of the Psalm can be rightly apprehended. The exclusive emphasis laid on the commands of the second table can only be explained by supposing opposition to hypocrites. The present Psalm most probably owes its position after the 14. to an internal relation of the matter of the two. Luther al-ready remarked: "This Psalm follows the preceding one in the finest order. For, just as in that the form and pattern of the ungodly was described, so now in this the pattern of the godly is described." This delineation of the righteous was with the more propriety made to follow Psalms 14., as mention there occurs of a "righteous generation," which might console itself with the sure hope of God's help. It was important that every one should clearly understand what really constituted one a member of that righteous generation. That David was the author of the Psalm, appears not onlyfrom the superscription and a comparison with Psalms 24., but also from ver. 1. The mention of the tabernacle of God in this verse does not permit us to come lower than the times of David. Hitzig, indeed, maintains that the name tabernacle was some-times applied to the temple of Solomon: but this is in itself very improbable, and no satisfactory proof can be brought in support of it. Ver. 1. Lord, who shall abide in Thy tabernacle, who dwell on Thy holy hill? The sum, says Calvin, is this, that access to God is open to none but His pure worshippers. The repre-sentation in the verse is a figurative one. The holy hill of God appears as a place of refuge, His tabernacle as a hospitable tent, in which He receives His people to Himself. Parallel passages, in which precisely the same figurative representation prevails, and no reference whatever is found to the outward worship of God, are Psalms 5:4, "The wicked doth not dwell with Thee;" Psalms 23:6, "I shall dwell in the house of the Lord all my days;" Psalms 27:5, "He shall hide me in His pavilion in the day of trouble;" Psalms 24:3; Psalms 61:4; comp. Christol. P. 2 p. 447. The image in all these places is taken from one who is received by another into his dwelling, or his possession. This kindness can be experienced from God only by those whose im-purity does not exclude them from His sacred presence; as is here indicated by the expression, "on Thy holy hill," and even, indeed, by the emphatic suffix, "in Thy tabernacle." The majority of modern expositors have misunderstood this figura-tive representation, occasioned probably by the external ap-proach of great multitudes to the tabernacle of the Lord. Hence have arisen such expositions as those of De Wette, Maurer, and others, that the tarrying and the dwelling imply here nothing but a frequent approach: as if it had been, "who dare, or who is worthy to tarry?" But such a method of ex-position is as little accordant with the words of our text as with the parallel passages. These latter plainly show that the writer refers to a continual social dwelling with God, which the right-eous man enjoys, or that the dwelling with God is only an image of intimacy. The close of the Psalm, where "the never being moved" is made to correspond to the "dwelling in the house of the Lord," supports this. Venema: "Conclusio re-sponsi a quaesito discrepare nequit." Dwelling with God is, in general, a designation of intimacy; but protection and stability222 THE BOOK OF PSALMS are a necessary consequence of it. The Futures are accordingly to be taken as proper Futures, as it depends only upon the Lordwho is to be admitted to this intimacy. Who shall dwell--whom wilt Thou permit, or to whom wilt Thou grant the favour of dwelling with Thee? That the ground was already laid for this figurative representation in the law, where the sacred tabernacle, by its very name, "the tabernacle of meet-ing," is pointed out as the place where God was to hold fellow-ship with His people, and that hence, in Leviticus 16:6, the Israel-ites are regarded as dwelling with God in His holy tabernacle, with all their sins, involving the necessity of an atonement, has been shown in my Beitr., vol. 3p. 628. The representation extends even into the New Testament. In Matthew 23:38, the temple appears as the spiritual dwelling-place of Israel, and in Ephesians 2:19, the members of God's kingdom are called ןἰךויןיפןץ; טוןץ?, inmates of God's house.--גור never signifies to dwell in general, but always specially to dwell as a guest and so-journer. The expression is to be primarily explained from the image of a rich and powerful man, who hospitably receives a poor stranger into his tent,-an image which is more distinctly brought out in Psalms 27:5. But the substance of the figure is, that our dwelling with God is only after the manner of guests; that we are not born and rightful inmates of His house, but have become so merely through grace. That the figure is not to be carried too far,-that it must not be explained: "in whom dost Thou interest Thyself, as one who receives a stranger into his tent?" but only, "who dwells in Thy tabernacle as a stranger, that has been received by some potentate of earth?" is clear from the expression, "on Thy holy hill," which corre-sponds to "Thy tabernacle." At the same time, the mention of the holy hill, which can only signify Zion, shows that the tabernacle of God is not the old Mosaic tabernacle, which was then, without the ark of the covenant, at Gibeon-comp. 1 Chron. 16:39; 2 Chronicles 1:3; 2 Chronicles 1:5 -but the tent which David had prepared for the ark on Zion; comp. 2 Samuel 6:17; 2 Samuel 6:1 Chron. 15:1, 16:1; 2 Chronicles 1:4. Nowhere, indeed, have the Psalms anything to do with that old tabernacle at Gibeon, that shell without a kernel; but always, where they speak of the sanctuary of the Lord, that upon Zion is the one referred to. The question regarding the qualifications for a participation in the kingdom of God, which the Psalmist here addresses to theLord, he answers in the following verses before the Lord, ac-cording to His mind, and through His Spirit. For the purpose of showing that the settlement of the matter belongs to God and to him, who speaks in God's name, he addressed the ques-tion to the Lord. Those who suppose that the Psalmist puts the question in ver. 1, while in vers. 2-5 God answers, are wrong in point of form, but right as to the substance. Ver. 2. He who walks blamelessly, and works righteousness, and speaks truth in his heart. We must explain: "walking a," for, "as a blameless person." In Psalms 84:11, בתמים ך`לה, "to walk in an unblameable," stands for, "as an unblameable." De Wette and Maurer would take תמים as a substantive, in the accus.; but it is never so used, not even in Joshua 24:14. The supposition is also opposed by the original passage, which the Psalmist seems to have had in his eye, Genesis 17:1, where God says to Abram, "Walk before Me, and be thou unblameable." We may consider the words, "who walks unblameably," as the general sentiment; the second member referring to deeds, and the third referring to words and thoughts, as the carrying out. On the expression, "and works righteousness," Luther remarks: "As if he would say, Not because thou art a priest, or a holy monk; not because thou prayest much, because thou dost mira-cles, because thou teachest admirably, because thou art dignified with the title of Father; nor, finally, because of any particular work, except righteousness, shalt thou dwell upon the holy hill of God." This is sound exposition. The Psalmist had not in view the particular kinds of false conceit which are specified by Luther, but he certainly had the genus under which they are comprehended. In reference to the exclusive mention of works, which also frequently occurs in the New Testament, for example, Matthew 25., it is remarked by the same reformer: "And, indeed, it is worthy of notice, that he draws the likeness of a pious people, without showing whence it was to come, or to be derived. Hence, it is true that a foolish person may apply all that is written in this Psalm to the moral virtues and free-will, though it is solely a work of the grace of God, which He works in us." That the Psalmist speaks merely of the works of the second table, arises from his wish to distinguish the true members of the Church from hypocrites, who have a thousand ways of counterfeiting the works of the first table. This Calvin notices: "Faith, calling upon God, spiritual sacri-flees, are by no means excluded by David; but because hypo-crites sought to exalt themselves by many ceremonies, though their impiety manifests itself in their life, which is full of pride, cruelty, violence, fraud, and such things, the proof of sincere and genuine faith is therefore sought in the second table of the law, that such deceivers might be exposed. For if men prac-tise justice and equity with their neighbours, they show by deeds that they fear God." But of what sort the righteousness is, which the Psalmist requires,-that it consists, not like that of the Pharisees, in appearance, but in living reality; that it requires the most thorough agreement, not of the external actions merely, but of the heart, with the law of God,-is very strikingly expressed in the last clause: "Who speaks truth in his heart." The words, "in the heart," show that the writer speaks of internal purity and truth, to which the truth that is outwardly expressed by the lips is related as streams to the fountainhead. This reference to the heart goes through the whole Psalm, and excludes all, who give only an outward satis-faction to its requirements, from any interest in its promises. If in one point the heart is required expressly, in the other points also, though the heart be not mentioned, words and deeds can only be so far considered, as they proceed from a pure and spiritual mind; only in such a case, indeed, can words and deeds be surely and continuously calculated upon. "Hypocrites," says Luther, "can do much, or even the whole of this in appearance for a time, but in a time of evil they do the reverse." Ver. 3. As the Psalmist, in the preceding verse, had men-tioned some gifts which the true members of the Church must possess, so here, he points to certain faults from which they, must be free. In regard to construction, this verse, like the following ones, is quite complete of itself. He slanders not with his tongue. רגל occurs frequently in Piel, in Kal, only here.Derived from לג,ר, foot, it properly means, to go hither and thither, whence the signification of spying out, babbling to and fro, slandering, very naturally arises. The tongue stands op-posed to the heart. Here also we are presented with the trilogy of thought, word, and deed, which runs through the Decalogue. The preposition על is to be explained by the cir-cumstance, that the tongue forms, as it were, the substratum of calumnies. Quite analogous is the expression in Genesis 27:40,"Upon thy sword shalt thou live;" comp. also Isaiah 38:16. There is an allusion to the passage in Leviticus 19:16, "Thou shalt not go up and down as a tale-bearer, רכיל�רכל=רגל � among thy people." He does not evil to his friend, and does not take up a reproach against his neighbour. The words לרעהו and קרבו על are used with peculiar emphasis. They imply, how un-worthy it is to act injuriously toward those who are united to us by so many ties. As this idea is so evidently implied, it is not advisable to take the two words, with Kimchi and others, in the most general sense for any one with whom we have to do: what the latter, indeed, cannot properly signify. They both refer to everything by which the members of the Church of God are bound together,-not merely the general relation of man to man, but also the common bodily and spiritual deriva-tion, through which they become, in a double sense, brethren. It is the latter which is peculiarly pointed to in all the laws of the Pentateuch, referring to the injury of neighbours. Israel constantly appears as a nation of brothers; every violation of the duties of neighbours is viewed as an unnatural crime. All this applies to Christians in a still higher degree. Comp., also, Exodus 32:27, where רע and קרוב are found united as here, and where the explanation, "Every one with whom we have to do," is quite inadmissible. נשא cannot be taken here in the sense of uttering, which most interpreters give it, as the subjoined עלa sufficiently shows, but must have the signification, tollere; there-fore, properly: Who does not lift up a reproach on his neigh-bour. Considered more narrowly, we find that the word may well enough signify to originate, but never to utter. In Exodus 23:1, to which reference is here made, the proper reading is, "Thou shalt not raise a false report;" the raising standing in contrast to "letting lie,"-a contrast which exists also here. That משא, which is commonly derived from נשא, in the sense of speaking forth, uttering, signifies, not "an utterance," but a "burden," has been proved in my Christology, P. 2 p. 102. With על, the verb often occurs in the sense of "lifting on any one;" for example, 2 Kings 9:25, "The Lord lifted or laid on him this burden," Genesis 31:17. Reproach is considered as a burden, which the person who spreads the slander, instead of allowing to lie, heaves on his neighbour. Ver. 4. In his eyes the rejected is despised, but he honours them that fear the Lord. נמאס is either "the one who is to be226 THE BOOK OF PSALMS. rejected," "the vile," or “ he whom God has rejected.” The exposition is to be preferred, because of the contrast it presents with the "honourers of the Lord" in the following clause, and because of the parallel passage in Jeremiah 6:30, where it is said of wicked princes, “ They are reprobate silver, for the Lord has rejected them.” The sense is therefore given by Luther: "The righteous One is no regarder of persons; He considers not how holy, learned, powerful, any one may be.If He sees virtue in him, He honours him, even though he should be a beggar; but if He does not see that in him, He accounts him, as an evil person, of no value, tells him so, punishes him. Thou despisest, says he, God's word, Thou re-vilest thy neighbour; therefore will I be open with thee." Hitzig has revived another interpretation, already adopted by some old commentators (Chat Abenezra): "He who is de-spised, who is little in his own eyes." The deepest humility and self-abasement would then be given as a mark of a true honourer of the Lord; as is beautifully set forth by David in 2 Samuel 6:22. But this exposition has already been set aside by the remark of Calvin, that apart from the harshness of the asyndeton, the manifest contrast between the two clauses de- cide against it. Just as "despised" stands opposed to "he honours,” so must נמאס form the contrast to the "fearers of God." Here, therefore, the writer can only be speaking of the right posture of a man toward the different classes of his fellow-men, or rather, of his fellow-members. To this posture the fearer of God attains, because his eye is pure, because his heart is drawn only to that with which he has affinity, which has its origin in God; and he dreads, as a denying of the Lord, tojoin those externally, from whom he internally differs, and an external separation from those with whom he is internally united. The exposition of Jarchi is less objectionable "The despicable is in his eyes rejected;" although this also lies open to the objection, that the despising forms a more suitable con-trast to the honouring than the rejecting, and that the word despised can scarcely, without some addition, stand for despi-cable. In reference to the words, "He honours them that fear the Lord"-who are to be regarded as honoured by God, justas the dishonourers of God are rejected or despised by Him- Calvin remarks: "It is no common virtue to honour pious and godly men. For, since they are often as the offscouring of theworld, it not unfrequently happens, that their friends also are compelled to share its hatred with them. Hence, most men reject their friendship, and suffer them to remain in dishonour, which cannot be done without great and dreadful offence to God."He swears to his own hurt, and exchanges not. Following the LXX., who pointed עaרeהAל;, Luther has: "who swears to his neighbour." De Wette, Gesenius, and others, render: "He swears to the wicked, and changes not;" i.e., even the promises which he made to the ungodly, he fulfils with inviolable inte-grity. According to this exposition, להרע is equivalent to לרע with ה elided. The article is indeed commonly dropt after ב, כ, ל; but in particular cases it has been retained; comp. the ex. in Ewald, p. 175. These cases nearly all belong to a later age, and are taken from Nehemiah, Chronicles, Ezekiel, when the language, gradually falling into disuse, was again written according to the etymology, although one instance does occur in the Psalms of David, בהשמים. Apart, however, from the consideration, that we should only be justified in admitting here so rare a form, if no other suitable exposition presented itself, the sense yielded by this exposition is by no means a suitable one. For who would seek to get rid of an oath, on the pretext, that he to whom it was made, was not a virtuous man? Then, also, it is decisive against this exposition, that it destroys the connection so manifestly existing between this pas-sage and Leviticus 5:4,-which is the less to be approved, as the Psalm is throughout so closely connected with the law. We must therefore cast about for another interpretation. The form להרע, in all the places where it occurs-and these are many-is,inf. in Hiph. with ל of the verb רוע, to do ill, to bring hurt, to hurt.So it is found, particularly in Leviticus 5:4, where the discourse isof a hasty oath: להיטיב או להרע, "for hurt, or for benefit." Hence: "He swears for hurt, and exchanges not," must mean, Even when he has made a promise or oath which tends to his hurt, he most religiously fulfils it." "Hence," Calvin remarks, "arises such lawless perfidy among men, because they conceive themselves to be no further bound by their pledged word, than may be for their profit. Therefore David, while he condemns that levity, demands of the children of God another sort of stedfastness in their promises." The objection, that the person ought to have been more exactly described, whom the hurtaffects, is unimportant. It is so perfectly obvious who was to suffer damage by the oath, that no further description was necessary. המיר may, properly enough, be taken in its common signification, of "to exchange," or "to put something else in the place of;" and there is no reason for substituting the sense of "not to keep," or, "to break." He exchanges not, is equiva-lent to: "He gives what he has agreed by oath to give, and puts nothing else in its place." Luther remarks, quite in the spirit of the Psalmist: "I believe that what the prophet here says of keeping an oath, is to be understood also of every sort of promise. For its object is to inculcate truth and fidelity among men. But it makes special mention of the oath, because, in a pre-eminent way, good faith is thereby either kept or broken." Ver. 5. He gives not his money to usury. The Mosaic law forbids the lending of money for interest to an Israelite: Exodus 22:25; Leviticus 25:37; Deuteronomy 23:19; Proverbs 28:8; Ezekiel 18:8. In several of the passages referred to, it is expressly supposed that only the poor will borrow money,-a supposition which has its ground in the simple circumstances of the Mosaic times, in which lending, for the purpose of speculation and gain, had no existence. Such lending ought to be a work of brotherly love; and it is a great violation of love, if any one, instead of helping his neighbour, takes advantage of his need to bring him into still greater straits. The Mosaic regulation in question has ac-cordingly its import also for New Testament times. With the taking of interest for capital which is borrowed for speculation, it has nothing to do. This belongs to a quite different sphere, as is implied even by the name ך`שנ, a mordendo, according to which only such usury can be meant as plagues and impoverishes a neighbour. By unseasonable comparison with our modes of speech, many would expound: "his money he puts not to in-terest." That the נתן signifies here to give, not to put, is shown by לקה in the next clause; "evil giving" and "evil taking" are placed parallel to each other. ך`שנב cannot signify: "on interest," but only: "for interest;" the ב is currently used when prices are specified, Ewald, p. 607. Opposed to the giving for usury is the giving gratis, whether in loan or as a present; comp. Proverbs 28:8. There is a verbal, and even literal, reference to Leviticus 25:37, "Thou shalt not give thy money for usury." And he takes not a present against the in-nocent: when he has to give judgment on a cause, he does notpermit himself to be seduced by bribes from the rich and power-ful to an unrighteous decision. This also is branded in the law of Moses as a great crime: Exodus 23:6; Deuteronomy 16:19, "Thou shalt not respect persons, neither take a gift; for a gift doth blind the eyes of the wise, and pervert the words of the right-eous;" 27:25, "Cursed be he that taketh reward to slay an innocent person." From these two passages the words before us are literally taken. The last words: he who does this shall never be moved, are parallel to the first, "he shall abide," etc. For he whom the Lord takes into His house as a member is secure against all the storms of misfortune. Psalms 55:23 may be compared as parallel. De Wette's words: "For, according to the notions of the Jews, the pious, as such, is prosperous," may be allowed to pass, if only the addition is permitted: "as also to those of Christians." PSALM XVI. The substance of this Psalm is comprised in its very first words, "Preserve me, O God; for in Thee do I put my trust." All, besides, is at once seen to be merely the development of these thoughts, so soon as it is observed that the words, preserve me, have for their foundation the confident hope of such pre-servation, and include within them these other words, "Thou wilt preserve me." The first words embody a twofold idea: they express the Psalmist's confidence in the Lord, or that the Lord is his confidence and salvation, and make them the ground of his preservation amid the dangers by which he was surrounded. Both elements appear also among us in the same connection; for example, in the declaration, "Jesus is my confidence and my salvation in life; this I know; must I not therefore take comfort? And why also should I brood over the long night of death?" The further development of the first idea, "I trust in Thee," is contained in vers. 2-7. He recognises in Jehovah the only Lord of all things, without whom nothing can help, with whom nothing can injure, the sole author of his salvation, with the whole community of the Lord, to which he attaches himself with inward love, vers. 2, 3.230 THE BOOK OF PSALMS. He turns away with abhorrence from the other gods, from which the world seeks salvation, purchasing by their sacrifices pain instead of the happiness desired: he finds his salvation in the Lord, who prepares for him a glorious portion, vers. 4, 5. He accounts himself blessed in the possession of this inheri-tance, of the salvation of the Lord, or of the Lord with His goods and gifts, and is full of gratitude to the Lord, who has laid open to him the way to such an inheritance, vers. 6, 7. The development of the second idea, of the "Preserve me, 0 God," the exhibition of the hope growing out of the confi-dence already expressed, is given in vers. 8-11. His hopeful eye is in the time of trouble directed to the Lord; for He, his Saviour, will not permit him to sink. There- fore is his heart full of joy at the impending deliverance, and of this he reckons himself quite certain, vers. 8, 9. For God, his Saviour, will not give up him, His pious one, to death-confiding in Him, he shall exclaim, "Death, where is thy sting? Grave, where is thy victory?"-God will endow him with life, joy, and salvation, vers. 10, 11. The strophe-division follows naturally from the representa-tion of the contents just given. The first verse, which has an introductory character, and contains the quintessence of the subject, stands by itself. The rest has a regular course in strophes of two verses each. Apart from the introduction, the whole is completed in ten verses; and the ten are subdivided into five. The superscription names David as the author, and even De Wette cannot help remarking that "there is no decided reason for the contrary." The originality of the superscription is con-firmed by the circumstance, that מכתם occurs only in those superscriptions of the Psalms which are marked with the name of David-a fact not easily to be accounted for by those who hold the superscriptions to be the work of later collectors. The nature also of this designation, which is quite enigmatical, is what David was peculiarly fond of in his superscriptions. Its correctness is further confirmed by the remarkable coincidences with other Psalms of David, which we meet with here: comp. ver. 1 with 7:1, 11:1; ver. 5 with 11:6; ver. 8 with 15:5, x. 6; ver. 11 with 17:15. We call attention also to such genuinely Davidic phrases as "my glory," in ver. 9 (comp. on6); "dwell confidently," in ver. 9, comp. with 4:8; "withThy countenance," in ver. 11, comp. with 21:6; and. "by Thy right hand," in ver. 11, comp. 17:7. The situation of the speaker is that of one who finds himself in great danger, and is in prospect of death. But this danger is nowhere particularly specified; it is only indicated in the most general way. This alone renders it probable that David composed the Psalm, not so much in his own person as in that of the pious man in general; that he presented here for the feelings of such an one a mirror, in which all pious men might recognise themselves-a pattern by which they might develop themselves; not, however, as if for that purpose he imagina-tively put himself into a position and frame of mind quite foreign to himself, but only that he, drawing from the source of his natural experience, extended his consciousness so as to embrace that of the pious at large. This supposition becomes a certainty, when we take the reading in ver. 10, "Thy holy ones," to be the correct one. In such a case, it is clear that the person who speaks in this Psalm is an ideal one, embrac-ing actually a plurality, and that every pious man should find himself represented in it, and by its help should rise, on the ladder of confidence in God, to the watch-tower of hope.A secret of David. מכתם is very variously expounded. Many of the older translators (Chald., Aq., Symm.) considered it to be a compound word; and this has found a modern sup-porter in Vorstmann, in his laborious commentary on this Psalm, Haag 1829. The word, according to him, is=תם ך`מ,probably falsely pointed, and he renders: "The distressed, de- livered." This explanation has something, at first sight, that recommends it; for such enigmatical designations of the in sub- ject in the superscriptions are quite in the manner of David; and the superscriptions, thus explained, suit admirably to the subject of the Psalms where they occur,-as, for example, be-sides the present one, also Ps. lvi.-60. But to say nothing of the punctuation, and the fact that תם is always used in a moral sense, it is decisive against this view, that מכתם never occurs along with מזמור, "Psalm," or with משכיל, "didactic Psalm," or even with תפלה, "prayer," but always stands in the same position in relation to these words, that is, either before לדוד or after it (the same alternation is found in the use of מזמור; see for ex. Psalms 23:23; Psalms 23:24.). Precisely as we have here מכתם לדוד, we have in Psalms 17. לדוד תפלה, from which it clearly ap- 232 THE BOOK OF PSALMS. pears that the word before us must stand on the same footing as these others. Some again derive it from כתם, "gold." So Aben Ezra, who says that the Psalms were so named because they are as excellent as the best gold. Luther: "A golden jewel." Similar designations also occur elsewhere. Among the Arabians, the seven pre-Mohammedan poems, known under the name of Moallakat, are also called, on account of their ex-cellence, Modhahabat, that is, golden. Further, among them the proverbs of Ali are for the same reason named, the gold of morals. Among the Greeks we find the golden verses of Py-thagoras. But it is to be objected to this exposition, that scarcely a single noun can be found with מ, which borrowed its signification merely from a derivative noun, without respect to the idea of the verb, and especially one which occurs in poetry. Others, for example Gesenius, in his Thes., take מכתם as = מכתב, "writing," which is used in Isaiah 38:9, in the super-scription of Hezekiah's song of praise. But this view also is to be rejected, on the ground that the roots כתם and כתב are kept strictly separate in the Semitic dialects, no trace being found of their intermixture; and still more decisive is it that writing says too little, and the predilection of David for this designation, as also the circumstance that it is peculiar to him alone, cannot then be explained. Others, as Hitzig, take the word in the sense of jewel, from כתם, to which they give the meaning of carefully preserving. The verb, however, never has this signi-fication, but only: "to conceal, to cover, to secrete." In this sense it occurs in Arabic; the Syriac significations, "to seal up," and "to stain," and "to disfigure" (comp. in reference to the latter, ἀצבםיזוים in Matthew 6:16), are but derivatives from it. In Hebrew it occurs in Jeremiah 2:22, " Though thou wash thyself ever so much, yet is thine iniquity concealed before Me;" and in כתם, gold, prop. "the covered," comp. סגור in Job 28:15. Hence would the word מכתם (a word first formed probably by David) mean "a secret" a song with a deep import. Un-derstood in this sense, the designation is in the highest degree suitable. How does the Psalm conduct us into the mysterious depths of the divine life! how deeply mystical is its very language! Its whole subject is quite dark to those who are not experienced in the ways of the Lord We should greatly, however, err, did we suppose that David, in giving to many Psalms, in the super-scription, the predicate of “ the secret,” denied that characterto the rest. It is rather common to them all, and is ascribed to some particular ones, only because they are parts of the whole; still, of course, to such as peculiarly possess this character. The same also holds good, for example, of the name משכיל, "didactic Psalm." We must everywhere understand it positively, not ex-clusively. All the Psalms are didactic; and in many this cha-racter is even more prominently displayed than in those which are expressly called such, so that there was no need for any N. B. to that effect in the superscription. From the above re-marks, it appears that Michtam in the superscription was as a "procul profani;" it cried out, at the very outset, to the readers, "0 the heights and the depths which the Spirit of God alone can reveal!" The connection between this word and the מכתב, in Isa. 38., does not need to be wholly given up. It is not improbable that the latter forms the groundwork of our desig-nation, and that David only, by the change of a letter, trans-formed a word of a very common meaning, into one of deep signification. Ver. 1. Preserve me, O God; for in Thee do I put my trust. What an infinite fulness of matter these simple words conceal within themselves, is shown by the subsequent development. On the words, "Preserve me, O God," Luther remarks: "He here begins like a man who sees his destruction before his eyes, who is abandoned by all, and must presently die. Such a man would speak in the following manner: Behold, I must die; my strength is departed from me; angels and men have forsaken me, nay, devils and men seek to devour me. I cannot escape; no one cares for my soul; every one already looks on me as lost, and bewails me as dead. Therefore, Lord, Thou alone art my preserver and my deliverer, Thou, who savest him that is re-garded as lost, and makest the dead to live, and liftest up the oppressed: Lord, deliver me, let me not be brought to shame. As he says elsewhere in Psalms 31:5 : Lord, into Thy hands I commit my spirit.-So fares it with the godly: he dies daily, and still is always delivered and preserved. And this is the new life of faith and hope, which is celebrated in this Psalm, namely, the life under the cross, the life in the midst of death . . . . Let us therefore here learn that we must call upon the Lord, especially in distress, when we are ready to perish; in which cir-cumstances the children of men do everything but call upon the Lord, and rather renounce all hope, and give themselves up to234 THE BOOK OF PSALMS. despair." On the other words, "For I trust in Thee," he also re-marks: "See how trust here calls upon the Lord. How can he call upon the Lord who does not confide in Him? Confidence and believing trust are reckoned among those things which God, in compassion, will regard graciously, and through which He will make us eternally blessed, as we see here. Nothing can stand, nothing can uphold or deliver, when matters come to such a pass, but a pure and firm faith, which grounds itself solely upon the Divine compassion, and which promises itself nothing from itself, but everything from God. . . . Whenever man places his hope on anything else than on the Lord our God, he cannot say: I trust in Thee. Hence should all persons in misery, and wrestling with despair, take heed that they labour and strive after the state of mind here described. This most excellent and noble emotion, confidence in God, forms the distinction between the people of Christ, who are His property, and those who are not His people; and here there is no respect of persons, no rank nor title." But this confidence is considered here, not simply as an emotion, but also in reference to its object: whosoever places his confidence on the Lord, his confidence and salvation is He. That both are here to be taken into account, that the Psalmist'sground of hope is not a subjective one merely, but also an ob- jective one, is evident from what follows. Ver. 2. (0 my soul) thou sayest to Jehovah, Thou art my Lord, my salvation is not without Thee. The ת;ר;מaאA second person fem., can only be explained by supposing the address to be directed to the soul (fem.). For the soul to be addressed, or introduced as speaking, is no unusual thing: comp. Psalms 42:42; Psalms 42:43., in which the Psalmist constantly addresses his soul anew, and stirs it up to confidence and hope in God; Jeremiah 4:19, and especially Lamentations 3:24; Lamentations 3:25 : "The Lord is my portion, saith my soul; therefore will I hope in Him. The Lord is good unto them that wait upon Him, to the soul that seeketh Him," -where allusion seems to be made to our Psalm. The difference between this latter passage and the one before us is only this, that here the soul is not expressly named; but such an omission is quite in keeping with the enigmatical character of our Psalm, and thegeneral difficulty of its style; and analogies may be produced forit from the Arabian poets, perhaps also from 1 Samuel 24:11,2 Samuel 13:39. The majority of modern expositors would readיתiר;מaאA "I speak:" But this is opposed both by external autho-rities and by internal grounds. The expression, "I speak," would be extremely bald and tame; the address to the soul gives dramatic life to the discourse. The Psalmist, after he has uttered the solemn words, "I put my trust in Thee," holds converse with his soul, and brings to its mind that this is in reality its settled feeling, that it cannot despair in times of trouble, with-out flagrantly contradicting itself. The consequence of this is, that the soul, having again become conscious of itself, "rejoices and is glad," in the sure expectation of God's salvation, ver. 9. Such interlocutions, in which the sacred bards still and pacify their souls, like a child weaned by his mother, Psalms 131:3, have something indescribably moving and touching. The first ex-pression of trust in the true God is this, that we say to Him, "Thou art the Lord;" the uncontrolled ruler over all in heaven and on earth; the possessor of all power; the dispenser of all safety; the One, without whom not a hair of our head can fall, who holds every breath of those who threaten us with destruc-tion; the almighty Lord, whom heaven and earth obey; the supreme God, who has, and can do everything. "Who is it that orders all things? Who distributes all gifts? It is God; and He also is the One who can supply counsel and aid when we are ready to sink." Trust in God manifests itself, further, in the lively acknowledgment that He is the sole author of salva-tion-that it is to be sought and found only in Him, not in those whom the world calls gods. This knowledge, which is a simple outflow of the conviction, that God is the Lord-for, being this, He must also be the only author of redemption-is expressed in the words, "my good is not without Thee," or be-side Thee; to which many analogous passages might be pro-duced from our own sacred poetry, such as: "All that I am and have, comes from the hand of God; all is the gift of the High-est, nothing happens by chance; God alone is everything to me, He shall ever be my helper; all else that is to be found on earth soon vanishes," etc. That special reference is made here to the gods, when preservation is ascribed to God alone, appears from ver. 4. This special reference is, however, a non-essential element: the gods are noticed only as those from whom, if men do not recognise Jehovah to be the Lord, they commonly seek help and safety; and on precisely the same footing stand one's own power, the aid of one's fellow-men, and whatever other objects of trust exist apart from God. In unison with Ps. 73:25, "Whom have I in heaven but Thee? and there is none on earth that I desire beside Thee," the Psalmist renounces all such helpers and dispensers of good, and thereby proves that he has said in perfect sincerity, "I trust in Thee." We take טובה, "good," in the sense of preservation and prosperity, resting upon the contrast of "sorrows," in ver. 4, and upon the corresponding words, "my part, my cup, my lot, my inheritance," in vers. 5 and 6. עליך, we expound, "out of Thee, beside Thee," prop. "in addition to Thee," with allusion to Exodus 20:3, "Thou shalt have no other gods beside Me," פני על, prop. in addition to Me; LXX. נכחם ἐלןץ;, Targ. מני בר. This passage is the more important, as the Psalmist obviously had it in his eye; which we shall be the less inclined to doubt, after an examination of the beginning of ver: 4. Just as the words, "Thou art, the Lord," are the soul's response to the words in Exodus 20:2, "I am the Lord thy God," so the words, "Thou alone art my salvation," are the response to the command, "Thou shalt have no other gods beside Me;" they are the soul's declaration, that what should be, actually is. The nearest approach to theexposition we have given is that of Sym., ἀדבטןם לןץ ןὐך ἔףפיםἄםוץ ףןץ: that of Jerome, Bonum meum non est sine te; as also that of the Chal. and Syr., "Thou art my highest good." A decisive objection to this last is, the reference to the Decalogue and vers. 4, 5, 6, according to which, not only the above, but also the beside is excluded. That על does not absolutely require such an exposition, is evident, not only from the ground passagebut also the examples in Gesenius's Thes. under על 1, b. ד: though these latter need sifting. Still more decidedly objection-able is the exposition of Boettcher, Gesen., and others: “ All my prosperity is not above Thee; the best which I have, I prefer, not to Thee.” The unsoundness of this view appears from th antithesis in ver. 4: "many are the sorrows, etc.;" from the positive declaration in ver. 5 of what is here negatively expressed; from the reference to the Decalogue; and, finally, because this thought cannot be considered as a carrying out of the sentiment "I put my trust in Thee" (which alone is sufficient), nor as suiting the Psalm as a whole. The same grounds also, for the most part, decide against the exposition: "My good is not over Thee," = I can do Thee no good, which, after the example ofthe LXX. (ὅפי פשם ἀדבטשם לןץ ןὐ קסויבם ἔקויע), Calvin pro-pounds. “ The sum," says he, "is this, that when we approachto God, we must lay aside all self-confidence. For if we imagine that there is something in ourselves, we need not be surprised if He repel us, since we rob Him of the chief part of His honour." This thought, however excellent in itself as a development of the words, "I trust in Thee," does not suit the context, nor even the parallelism. But ver. 5 in particular is against it. The contrast with the pains or sorrows, which are experienced by the servants of false gods, shows that by the good of the Psalmist, must be understood, not the good which he does, but that only which he receives, which is imparted to him, namely, prosperity or deliverance: comp. טובה in this signification, Psalms 116:5, "Visit me with Thy favour, that I may see the good of Thy chosen," Job 9:25. Utterly to be rejected also is the exposition of Kimchi and Jarchi, "Thou art not under obligation to do me good;" as also that of Luther, "I must suffer for Thy sake," in connection with the following verse, which he renders, "for the saints, who are upon the earth, and for the honourable." We have then, indeed, a sense which is applicable to Christ alone, but at the expense of the whole connection and train of thought. In his comm., however, he goes along with the LXX. Ver. 3. With the saints that are in the land, and the honour-able ones, in whom is all my delight. With this his confidence in Jehovah, the conviction that He alone is the Lord, the sole author of salvation, the Psalmist does not stand alone; he has it in common with the Church of God, which God endows with the highest gifts, invests with high dignity, and to which, on this account, the Psalmist cleaves with a fervent love. As a member of this Church, which has its seat in the land of the Lord, he trusts in the Lord as his only Saviour, disdaining all those whom the world, the surrounding heathen nations, have forged to themselves. According to this exposition, ל has quite its common signification, and Stier's objection, that the ellipsis, joining myself, is too hard, is without force; as there is just as little of an ellipsis here, as in the לדוד, "belonging to David," in the superscription. ל is used in a quite similar man-ner (de eo quorsum quis pertinet, Gesen. in Thes. s. v.), for example, 1 Kings 15:27 : Baasha the son of Ahijah, ישכר לבית, belonging to the house of Issachar. By the holy and honour-able persons, are not designated certain individuals, or a particular class in Israel, but ideally, all Israelites are holy and honour-able, the whole people of the covenant; and this predicate con-238 THE BOOK OF PSALMS. tinues to be applied to the whole, although a great part of the individuals may have excluded themselves, by their own guilt, from an actual participation in this dignity. The souls that are cut off from their people are considered as absent, though they may still be present as to the body. In favour of this reference to the Church at large, decides, first, the expression, "who are in the land;" then a comparison of the original passages on which the designation is based: Exodus 19:6, "And ye shall be to Me a kingdom of priests (comp. the royal priesthood, as applied in 1 Peter 2:9 to the whole Church of the New Testament), and a holy people;" and Deuteronomy 7:6, “ For thou art an holy people to the Lord thy God; the Lord thy God hath chosen thee to be a special people to Himself, out of all peoples that are on the earth." As a predicate of the whole people, the term " holy" is found also in Psalms 34:9, Daniel 8:24; Daniel 7:21. That the term "holy" here does not designate moral quality, but dignity, appears not only from the passages already referred to, but also from the parallel אדירים, which never denotes the noble in senti-ment, but the noble in dignity, and is excellently rendered in the Berleb. Bible by "serene highness." The saints are the chosen ones, those whom God has taken out of the region of the profane world, and raised to be His people. Of this eleva-tion in dignity, an elevation in sentiment is certainly the con-sequence. The election of God, first of all, and above all, manifests itself in His appointing institutions, providing arrange-ments, and communicating powers, through which He makes to Himself a people that is zealous of good works.בארץ, which must be translated, not, "on the earth," but "in the land," points to the dwelling-place of the holy, and the honourable. The Church of God is a visible community, cir-cumscribed in point of space; its place is the land of the Lord. The opposite of the saints, who are in the land, are the foreign worshippers of idols, of whom mention is made in ver. 4. Out of the land there are no holy and honourable ones, but such only as Jehovah has not chosen, and who do not trust in Him, do not say to Him, "Thou art the Lord, my salvation is not out of Thee," but rather purchase others. This same connection be-tween the people of the Lord, and His land, is brought to view by David, in 1 Samuel 26:19, where he says to Saul, "And if the children of men (have stirred: thee up against me), cursed be they before the Lord; for they have driven me out this dayPsalms 16. VER. 3. 239 from abiding in the inheritance of the Lord, saying, Go serve other gods." Then Joshua 22:24; Joshua 22:25, is also very clear, as, according to it, the tribes beyond Jordan, who did not dwell, strictly speaking, in Canaan, were afraid lest those within Jordan might say, "What have ye to do with the Lord God of Israel? for the Lord hath made Jordan a boundary between us and you, ye have no part in the Lord." We see here how close the union was represented between an interest in the land of the Lord, and an interest in the Lord Himself. So early as in Genesis we meet with this localization of the Church of God. Cain's banishment from the rest of the human family was equally a banishment from the presence of God. Jacob is full of admir-ing gratitude to God, when Jehovah revealed Himself to him after his withdrawal from the place to which the Church of God was at that time confined. The deep truth which lies at the bottom of this view, is unfolded by Melancthon in his Loci de Ecclesia, at the beginning: "By the Church we are to under-stand the company of the called, which is the visible Church, and are not to dream that we are chosen elsewhere than in this visible community. For God does not wish to be called upon or acknowledged where He has not revealed Himself; and He has nowhere revealed Himself but in the, visible Church, in which alone is heard the sound of the Gospel," etc. The last words properly mean: "The nobles, of the entirety of my pleasure in them;" comp. on the stat. constr. as thus used, Ewald, Large Gr. § 303, and the Small, § 509. The ground of the Psalmist's satisfaction in the holy and the noble, is their holiness and their nobility; he attaches himself with all his heart to those, whom God has distinguished above all others, whom He has ennobled by His election. Of the erroneous expositions, we shall test only the most plausible and widely diffused. 1. Many, and among the last, Gesenius, expound: "As regards the holy, who are in the land, and the honourable, in them is all my delight." But against this it is to be urged, that the stat. constr. is never used for the stat. absol.; as here אדירים would stand for אדירי. Besides, the sense thus obtained, does not at all suit the connection of the Psalm. As everything to ver. 7 is only an expansion of the idea, "In the Lord I put my trust," as it all only utters the confidence that is felt in the Lord, so the satis-faction of the Psalmist in the saints might well be expressed by the way, in a sort of side statement, but could not form a sub-240 THE BOOK OF PSALMS. stantive and independent declaration. We must give up either this exposition, or the connection. Finally, the words, "who purchase another," in ver. 4, immediately connect themselves with: "My good is not out of Thee," in ver. 2, and only in this connection can we understand the word another; but this con-nection is destroyed the moment we assign to the third verse an independent position. Only on our view, according to which the Psalmist, in this verse, merely gives utterance to the thought, that he was not alone in his recognition of Jehovah, as the Lord and the sole author of salvation, but expressed it as a member of the Church of God, does such a connection exist. 2. De Wette and others expound: "The saints who, in the land, are the honourable, in whom is all my delight." This exposition avoids only the first of the objections just mentioned. The two others remain against it in full force. According to it also, the thought breaks in upon the connection. De Wette, indeed, thinks that the sense suits admirably with the sentiment in the following verse: "The sense of the verse, according to our exposition, is: the poet holds with the pious in the land; by way of contrast to which, he declares in the next verse, that he abhors the worshippers of idols." But the main idea placed in the front of the following verse, "that those who purchase another have many sorrows," is thereby left quite out of view, and of a horror of the worshippers of idols, there is no mention in this verse, when rightly expounded. 3. Hoffmann, in his "Prophecy and its Fulfilment," takes the ל here as correlative to that before Jehovah. In ver. 2, it is what the soul says to the Lord; in ver. 4, what it says to the saints. But the address is, throughout the whole Psalm, only to Jehovah; ver. 4 con-tains nothing, in point of matter, which is peculiarly suitable for an address to the saints; in point of form, also, there is not the least trace of such an address. It is also against this view, that it destroys the whole strophe-construction. Besides, this view was advanced before Hoffmann, and was also refuted. Boettcher remarks against it: "The reference to ver. 2 involves a too wearisome train of thought; in ירבו, in ver. 4, a too indistinct commencement for an address, for ordinary readers, not accus-tomed to subtleties of exegesis, to perceive it at such a distance from אמרת." Ver. 4. The Lord is the only salvation both of the holy in the land, and of the Psalmist. They who seek their salvationPsalms 16. VER. 4. 241 from others, receive, for the sacrifices through which they en-deavour to propitiate their favour, instead of the expected ful-ness of gifts, a fulness of sorrows; therefore he turns himself away with horror from these others, the idol-gods, he will have no part in their abominable service, and their names he will not take upon his lips. Many are the sorrows of those who pur-chase another; I will not pour out their drink-offerings of blood, and not take their names upon my lips. Instead of "many are the sorrows," Ewald, Maurer, and several others, expound: "many are the idols." But this exposition is against the usage; the reading must then have been םה,יבeצaעE; עצבות are always sorrows. But this assured meaning must be retained here also on account of the contrast with טובה, in ver. 2: "I seek my salvation from the Lord, for with the others are only sor-rows." Further, the mention of the many false gods appears in such a case out of place here; this explanation also deprives the verse of that which constitutes an extension of the Psalmist's declaration, "I trust in the Lord," and disturbs its relation to the following verse, in which the many sorrows, which alone one can obtain from the false gods, are contrasted with the rich blessings which the Lord imparts. So much only in that expo-sition is right, that the Psalmist probably plays upon the wordוצבים "idols," points to the mournful omen contained even in the name,-an allusion which has the more significance, as the two words, עצבים and עצבות actually stand in close connection with each other, idols having received their name from the trouble and toil it cost to make them. On such a commence-ment no good end could follow. The sorrows consist, not merely in the disappointed hope, but also in the judgments which God suspends over the apostate; comp. Isaiah 65:14, "Behold, My servants shall sing for joy of heart, but ye shall cry for sorrow of heart, and shall howl for vexation of spirit." מהרו אהר many explain, with De Wette: "who hasten away elsewhere,"-an exposition which was long ago set aside by the older commen- tators with the remark, that אהר never signifies, "away else- where," and that we are not justified in giving to מהר here the signification of hastening, as this signification elsewhere belongs to it only in Piel, while the Kal is used in Exodus 22:15, as also in Arabic and Syriac, in a quite different signification, viz. "of buying a wife." Luther, who renders: "they who hasten after another will have great suffering of heart," has avoided the242 THE BOOK OF PSALMS. first objection. But usage admits only one explanation: "who purchase another." Against those who allege that "another" could not be used thus of other gods without some addition, we must not simply appeal, with Boettcher, to the fact, that "He-brew poets constantly direct their thoughts toward God, and Divine things." The expression, "another," is not used simply by itself for other gods; it is more closely defined by ver. 2, where the Psalmist described Jehovah as the only Lord, as the One, beside whom there is no salvation, and no saviour. Viewed in this connection, "the other" can only be another God beside Jehovah; and when it is maintained that אהר can only signify a false deity, when, as in Isaiah 42:8; Isaiah 48:11, it is directly contrasted with Jehovah, nothing, in fact, is de-manded which is not found here. A more explicit description was the less necessary, as, in the Pentateuch, the expression,go away after other gods," is currently used. Here, as there,אהר is employed, not without emphasis, instead of the proper term for idols, by way of teaching that it matters not whom we seek, if it be another than Jehovah, the Lord, the only Saviour. The word thus clearly shows how unimportant the distinction is between idolatry in the strict sense, here primarily referred to, and idolatry in the more general sense. If the only question is, whether another than the Lord is the object of trust, then does mammon (whom our Lord personified for the purpose of setting it on a level with the false gods, com-monly so called) stand on the same footing as Dagon. In מהרו several commentators retain only the general idea of buying, purchasing. They perceive here merely a sort, of antithesis to the sacrifices with which the worshippers of idols seek to propitiate their favour, lavishing much expense upon their worship, and reaping in return nothing but sorrows. But there is no reason for omitting here the special meaning which usage has attached to the word, emit dote uxorem. It furnishes here a fuller and deeper sense; and the application of it in such a connection is the more natural, as it is by images borrowed from the married state, that the relation to the true God and to idols is constantly described. These latter received the title מאהבים, “ paramours.” Applying this idea, the verb itself serves admirably to point out the incongruity of the relation be-tween idolaters and idols. According to the oriental fashion, a man purchases his wife. From the nature of the case, this alsoshould take place between the divinity and its worshippers. It was the part of the deity to take the initiative, to go forth and win the regard of its chosen. And this is precisely what was done by Jehovah in relation to Israel: He purchased Israel toHimself from the bondage of Egypt comp. Hosea 3:2. He met Israel with great demonstrations of love-first loved him, and only seeks his love in return. But it was quite otherwise with idols. These had done nothing to prove their existence, or their love; the relation commences with expensive sacrifices to them, on the part of their servants. Such a beginning could lead to no other end than the one here mentioned. A bought god never can afford salvation; the seed of the sacrifices can yield nothing but sorrows. A god who does not begin the con-nection by giving tokens of his love, will never show it, and it is a piece of folly to cherish such a hope. Analogous is the repre-sentation in Hosea 8:9, "Ephraim hath bought for himself love;" and in Ezekiel 16:33; Ezekiel 16:34, where the prophet brings out the absurdity that, whereas in all other cases presents were given to the person loved, the worshippers of idols gave presents to theirlovers, the idol-gods. The suffixes נסכיהם, "their drink-offer-ings," and שמותם, "their names," are referred by many expositorsto those who purchase another, the idolaters; by others, on the contrary, to the idols. The admissibility of the latter exposition cannot be denied, as the אהר is unity only in an ideal sense, in opposition to the one true God, and, in point of fact, compre-hends a multiplicity. It is also supported by the undeniable reference which the words, "I will not take their names into my lips," bear to the original passage, Exodus 28:13, "Make no mention of the name of other gods, neither let it be heard out of thy mouth;" on which also Hosea 2:17 is based, "And I will take away the names of the Baalim out of their mouth, and they shall be no more remembered by their name." The words themselves, also, are opposed to the reference to idolaters; the pronouncing of their name, that is, of the name of the heathen nations, the Psalmist could have had no desire to shun. Finally, the reference to idols is demanded by the contrast in ver. 5. The drink-offerings of blood are understood by various expositorsliterally; but in this reference to a particular heathenish cus-tom, for which only very few proofs can be adduced, and thesewith much difficulty, the connection is not attended to, whichwould lead us to expect a rejection of the worship of false gods244 THE BOOK OF PSALMS. as such, of those who are no saviours, and to whom is only given what is taken from the true God; not the how, but the fact of idolatry, is an object of abhorrence to the Psalmist. One must rather, comparing Isaiah 63:3, explain the drink-offerings of blood as follows: "drink-offerings which are as much objects of abhorrence as if they consisted, not of the wine, which ex-ternally they were, but literally of blood." The expression, "of blood," was the more natural, as wine is named the "blood of grapes" in Genesis 49:11, Deuteronomy 32:14, etc. Drink-offer-ings, outwardly of the blood of grapes, inwardly of the blood of men. Ver. 5. Not those others, who only give sorrow, are the Psalmist's salvation; the Lord alone is that, and in Him he finds fulness of blessing. The Lord is my portion and my cup; Thou makest my lot glorious. The meaning is given quite cor-rectly by Muis "All my good is of God, and in God alone." That the Psalmist here names God his portion, not after the manner of the pure love of the mystics, does not count himself, blessed, as Boettcher supposes, on account of his inward union with God, but rather simply declares that God is the sole author of his salvation, is clear from the circumstance, that this verse further carries out the sentiment, "I put my trust in Thee;" also from the expression, "Thou makest glorious my, lot;" but especially from the affirmation in ver. 2, "My good is not apart from Thee," which here returns in another form (according to which the Psalmist expressly renounces connec-tion with those who seek good out of God), and, finally, from the contrast of the many sorrows which the service of those others brings in its train. The Lord is viewed here, therefore according to the entire fulness of the blessings and gifts which belong to Him; and the declaration, "The Lord is my portion and my cup," is substantially the same as if he had said: What the Lord has, and gives, that alone do I seek; that is for me, and with it I am content. This meaning receives confirmation as the only correct one, from a comparison of the original pas-sages in the Pentateuch, which the Psalmist manifestly has in view here. They are those in which the Lord is designated. Levi's portion and inheritance: Numbers 18:20, "The Lord spake unto Aaron, Thou shalt have no inheritance in their land, neither shalt thou have any part among them; I am thy part and thine inheritance among the children of Israel,"-where J. H. Michaelis thus gives very correctly the sense: "From Me alone thou shalt receive what is amply sufficient; and what things are due to Me, these shall be thine;" Deut. x. 9, 18:1, 2, where the words, "The Lord is his inherit-ance," are explained by, "The offerings of the Lord and His inheritance shall they eat." Not as if it were demanded of Levi, to be content with the simple enjoyment of the favour of God, and to consider this as compensation for his sacrifices, resigning all happiness besides. Rather was a participation in the rich goods of the Lord assigned him as compensation. So here also the declaration, "The Lord is my portion," is equiva-lent to: In the possession of the Lord and His goods and gifts, I freely give up to the world its seeming givers and goods, which, more carefully examined, are but sorrows. Calvin justly remarks, that the opposite state of feeling, unbelieving and ungrateful dissatisfaction with the highest and only good, or the only true source of all happiness, is the basis of super-stition and of all false worship. On the form מנת, comp. on Psalms 11:6. What is the import of, "The Lord is my cup," is evident from Psalms 23:5, "My cup runneth over;" comp. also Psalms 11:6. The Lord is for His people a cup which is never empty, and never suffers them to become thirsty, the source of all good; He provides them richly with everything that can contribute to their refreshment during life, so that it were thankless folly for them to seek for refreshment elsewhere. The last words are commonly expounded: "Thou supportest, or maintainest, my lot." After the example of the older trans-lators, ך`ימות is taken as a participle. But such a participle-form is wholly without example. The ףסiוי in Isaiah 29:14; Isaiah 38:5, which is referred to, is manifestly not a participle, but the third person Future. It is to be observed, besides, that the expression, "to support or maintain the lot," has a strange sound; the Psalmist's lot is not maintained by God, but be-stowed on him. As the word stands here, it can scarcely be anything else than the Fut. in Hiph. of ך`מי. Now this verb has in Arabic the highly suitable signification, amplus fuit; consequently, in Hiph. "to make broad, glorious." So first Schultens Inst. ad fundam. 1. Hebr. p. 298. Ver. 6. My possession has fallen to me in bliss; also a goodly heritage became mine. The sense is excellently given by Calvin: "He confirms what he had already said in the preceding verse,namely, that he rested with a composed and tranquil mind in the one God (and His salvation); may, he so glories therein, that he looks down with contempt on whatever the world might imagine to be desirable apart from God." הבלים, "lines," “measuring cord,” then the "measured out portion, the posses-sion." So Joshua 17:5. The possession of the Psalmist is the Lord, with His goods and gifts. The falling is, according to most interpreters, derived from the figure of a lot. But no ground exists for this supposition. נפל with ל occurs, in the signification of, "to fall to any one," without respect to casting lots, in Numbers 34:2, Judges 18:1. בנעימים is commonly rendered: "in pleasant places." But against this Boettcher justly alleges, that no example is to be found of an adjective, not of , local import, being directly used in regard to localities; that נעימות, in ver. 11, is parallel with שמהות; and that in Job 36:11, the equivalent בנעימים is used with the signification, "in bliss." These reasons are decisive. The plural is used here, as frequently, to mark the abstract: "delightful things," for "delightfulness, bliss." But when Boettcher further maintains, that "in delightfulness" stands for, "in the most delightful manner," we cannot agree with him. When a noun with ב, follows the words, "a possession fell to me," every one expects it to designate the locality of the possession. We consider the bliss and delight as the spiritual region, in which a possession has fallen to the lot of the Psalmist. אף is used here, as also in ver. 9, not as a particle of enhancement, but with a weaker import, in the sense of also; comp. Winer, s. v. נהלת is, not stat. constr., but a poetical form of the stat. absol. The expres- sion, "an inheritance, it is excellent," is a loose construction for, "an inheritance, which is excellent," a glorious or goodly heritage. עלי strictly means, upon me, for, "it is with me," "I possess it," and is to be explained by the fact, that the possessor of anything is considered as its bearer. Precisely so is על used in Psalms 7:8; Psalms 131:2, Nehemiah 5:7. Quite correctly already Luther: "A fine inheritance has become mine." Gesenius, De Wette, and others, render: "and the possession pleases me." But then אף, which can only mean also, not and, must be con-nected, not with the noun, but with the verb; we should have expected the art. or the suff. at נהלת; and though שפר with על occurs in Chal. in the sense of to please, it never does so in Hebrew. Ver. 7. I will bless the Lord, who has counselled me; also by night my reins admonish me. The words, "who has coun-selled me," receive light by being viewed in connection with what precedes. The Psalmist, placed in the midst of posses-sions, knows not what to choose, or where to settle. Then the Lord conveys to him the counsel, to choose the pleasant inherit-ance delineated in the preceding verses, i.e. to put his trust in Him, to seek his salvation only in Him, to turn to Him as the only Saviour; and this counsel he celebrates here with grate-ful praise. Calvin: "Finally, David confesses that it was en-tirely of the grace of God, that he had come by faith into the possession of so great a good. For the mere gracious offer by itself is nothing, seeing it is made to all alike. We must there-fore know that both are the gift of God's free grace-His being our inheritance, and our possessing Him in faith." The object of the counsel is inaccurately defined by Jarchi, "to choose the life, and to walk in His ways;" by De Wette, "that I have remained true to Him;" and by Boettcher, "not to renounce it,"-to say nothing of the arbitrary view of Hitzig. Others render: "because He has cared for me;" but this ex-planation is philologically baseless. יעץ with the accus. signi-fies, "to give any one counsel;" comp. Exodus 18:19; Jer. 38:15; 1 Kings 1:12. In the second clause, that to which the Psalmist is admonished, is manifestly the praise and thanks-givings mentioned in the first. The impulse to thank the Lord for His gracious counsel, springing from the most profound and lively apprehension of the greatness of the salvation, with which the Psalmist had been mercifully favoured, is so powerful in him, that it continues with him even through the night-season, and leads him to praise and give thanks, when the whole world is asleep. Here begins the second part of the Psalm, in which hope springs out of confidence. Ver. 8. I set the Lord always before me; because He is at my right hand, I shall not be moved. According to the connection, the eye of the Psalmist continually directed to the Lord, hopes in the very midst of difficulty (ver. 8), or looks to the Lord to be a helper in trouble and death. Luther: "Such a thing gives fresh courage and an undaunted heart to those who have God always before their eyes; so that even adversity, the cross, and sufferings, can then be cheerfully met and borne. Verily,such a faith can be overmastered and vanquished by no cross and calamity." In the words, Because He is, etc., the Psalmist gives the ground of his hope being placed upon the Lord. The hope is based on confidence. The expression, "He is on my right hand," as my Saviour and helper, corresponds to the, "I put my trust in Thee," in ver. 1, and briefly sums up the sub-stance of vers. 2-7, where the Psalmist sets forth that the Lord is his Saviour. Ver. 9. Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoices; my flesh also shall rest secure. Therefore, namely, because the Lord is on my right hand, and I therefore shall not be moved. In the preceding verse, "I hope in the Lord, for He is my Saviour;" here, "He is my Saviour, therefore I hope in Him; I am full of joy and gladness, and sure of my deliverance." The glory or honour is here also an emphatic designation for the soul. What the heart and soul rejoice in, namely, the certainty of salvation, security in trouble and against death, is clear from the parallel: "My flesh also shall dwell secure," in ver. 10. By the flesh, many of the Messianic interpreters understand the lifeless body, the corpse; to this the Psalmist is considered to promise a safe repose in the tomb; so Luther: "My flesh also will lie secure." But the following reasons are against this: 1.בשר, “ flesh,” denotes elsewhere, when used in connection with the soul and heart, not the corpse, but the living body: the soul in such cases is not that which is separated from the body, but the soul in the body. Comp. Psalms 63:1, "My soul thirsteth for Thee, my flesh longeth for Thee;" 84:2, "My soul longeth, yea, even fainteth for the courts of the Lord, my heart and my flesh." 2. The expression, לבטה שכן, cannot of itself be properly understood of the rest of the body in the grave; the word, "to dwell," is not very suitable, as is clear from the fact, that these expositors for the most part quietly substitute, "to lie," in its place. And if we compare the primary and parallel passages, this exposition appears all the more inadmissible. In them, the expression denotes a condition of settled prosperity, endangered and disturbed by no hostile assault. So Deuteronomy 33:12, of Benjamin, "The beloved of the Lord shall dwell in safety with him;" ver. 28, "And Israel dwells in safety,"-which passages, in particular the latter, are the rather to be considered as primary or ground-passages, seeing that the expression of, "to dwell safely," when used of an individual, has a certain airof strangeness, and that there is an unquestionable reference to it in Psalms 4:8, "For Thou, Lord, only makest me to dwell in safety." Comp., besides, Jeremiah 23:6; Jeremiah 33:16; Judges 18:7:3. The succeeding context decides against the exposition in question. For, first, the circumstance that there the "soul" is substituted for "flesh," naturally leads us to reject the idea that here the flesh denotes the soulless body. Then, we do not find there, as that interpretation would lead us to expect, the hope of preservation in death, but of preservation against death.-We may not, therefore, even adopting the strict and direct Messianic meaning, refer the words to secure repose in the grave, but only to salvation and deliverance in general. That Peter understood the words so, appears from his finding in the words of the following verse a declaration of Christ's preservation, not in death, but from it. Ver. 10. For Thou, my only good, my portion and my cup, Thou, who makest my lot glorious. That we must fill up thus, appears from the words, "Thy holy ones," in the second member-Thou wilt not leave my soul to hell, nor give up Thy holy, ones to see the grave. The confidence of salvation expressed in the preceding verse, is here grounded upon the consideration, that the Lord, as the Psalmist's Saviour, cannot surrender him a prey to death. The corresponding positive idea is presented in the next verse, viz. that He will impart to him life, joy, and bliss. עזב with ל, means, "to leave over, to give up to any one;" Comp. Leviticus 19:10; Psalms 49:10; Job 39:14. The exposition of Luther, and of many others: "Thou wilt not leave my soul in hell," has both usage and the parallelism against it; accord-ing to which, the pious is not even to see the grave, and, conse-quently, his soul will not attain to hell (sheol). Peter, for the sake of whom this exposition has been adopted, has not followed it. He renders, in Acts 2:27, "Thou wilt not leave my soul to hell," וἱע ᾅהןץ, or, according to Lachman'', ᾅהחם, as also the LXX. have "not to die and be buried,"-this is the hope Peter finds expressed in the Psalm, and realised in Christ, not-withstanding His death and burial. For a death such as His (and in consequence of His, that also of His people), is but as a passage into life, and does not deserve the name of death. We may here also take into account the words of Christ, Matthew 9:24 : "The maid is not dead, but sleepeth." Comp. also John 11:11. -To decide between the two readings, ך~ידיסה, "Thy holyones," and ך~דיסה, "Thy holy one," is difficult. Were the latter a mere Kri, we should not hesitate to reject it, as of no greater consequence than a conjecture of some modern critic. But the matter is not so. A great many manuscripts, and among them some very good ones, have "Thy holy one" in the text. All the old translations express the singular, and so also do Paul and Peter in their quotations. Besides this, the Jewish polemical interest, their opposition to the Messianic interpretation, favoured the plural reading ך~ידיסה. The passages in Jewish writers, in which it is employed for this purpose, may be found collected by Aurivillius, de vera lectione vocis, הסידיך. We are still in-clined, however, to regard the plural form as the original read-ing. It is supported, 1. By the preponderance of the external critical authorities; the testimony of the manuscripts, which is chiefly upon its side, cannot be outweighed by the testimony of the old translations, which carry no great weight in such matters. 2. The plural, as the more difficult reading, might readily be exchanged for the more easy singular by those who knew not what to do with it, seeing that, throughout the rest of the Psalm, one individual appears as the speaker. That the Jewish polemical interest favoured the plural, is not enough to counter-balance this reason; for such considerations can never ex-ercise more than a partial influence.-Taking the plural as the correct reading, we perceive here, as was remarked in the introduction, the non-individualistic character of the Psalm, its destination for all pious persons, precisely as in Psalms 17:11.-The expression, "Thy holy ones," contains the ground of con-fidence. It combines all that the Psalmist-or those in whose name, and out of whose soul he speaks-has uttered, in vers. 2-8, with regard to his relation to the Lord; the pious, or holy man, is he who trusts in the Lord, takes Him for his only good etc.- שהת is rendered היבצטןסבם by the LXX.; and that there is a noun שהת with the meaning "corruption," derived fromשהת, “ to corrupt, destroy,” beside the common שהת, which is derived from שוה, and signifies, pit, grave, is recognised even by Gesenius and Winer. But the passage which is chiefly appealed to, Job 17:14, is by no means decisive, since the common signification, "pit, grave," may very well be admitted there as parallel with worm; and the most urgent reasons ought to be produced, as it is very improbable that one and the same word can have different derivations and meanings. Here the senseof corruption is the less admissible, as the same expression ראה שהת is elsewhere, Psalms 49:9, demonstrably used in the sense of, "to see the grave." The defenders of the other exposition have wrongly adduced the authority of Peter in support of it. It appears that Peter, Acts ii., who undoubtedly addressed the "men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem" in the Aramaic dialect, took שהת (he probably retained the word) in the sense of grave, and not of corruption; for, to the expression, "see שהת," corresponds, in reference to David, the expression, "He died and was buried, and his sepulchre is with us to this day;" as also the expression, "he died," corresponds to, "Thou wilt not leave my soul to hell." Hence it appears, that no stress is to be laid upon the היבצטןסב, which Luke may easily have adopted from the received translation. The argument of Peter remains in full force, even if we substitute grave for corruption, if only we understand by "seeing the grave," something abiding continuous. "Seeing life," is always in such a sense. Christ's death and burial are not considered as death and burial. Paul, also, in his line of argument, Acts 13:36; Acts 13:37, lays no stress upon the idea of corruption, as distinguished from the grave: "David, after he had in his own generation served the will of God, fell on sleep, and was laid unto his fathers, and saw cor-ruption; but He, whom God raised again, saw no corruption." The argument is not at all overthrown, if we substitute grave for corruption. Christ did not see the grave in the same sense that David did; He did not see it in the sense of the Psalmist. Ver. 11. Thou wilt make known to me the way of life; fulness of joy is mine before Thy face; blessedness through Thy right hand for evermore. The Psalmist hopes to receive from the Lord, his Saviour and his confidence, negatively, preservation from death (the preceding verse), positively, life, joy, and bliss. The way of life is, as Luther rightly renders: the way to life. In Proverbs 2:19, the paths of life are the paths which lead to life. Life is in the first instance opposed to that death, from which the Psalmist hopes, in ver. 10, to be preserved; and therefore it is incorrect to interpret life, as some do, to mean exactly salvation. But that, on the other hand, neither bare life, nor bare immor-tality is meant, is shown by its connection with joy and bliss. A miserable life is not to be called life at all, in the Bible sense; it is only a form of death. The words, "Thou wilt make known to me the way of life," involve, therefore, a double idea:"Thou wilt preserve the in life, and endow me with blessing." פניך את, prop. "with Thy countenance," occur again in Psalms 21:6 : "Thou enlivenest him through joy with Thy counte-nance." The joy springs out of fellowship with the Lord's countenance, which was turned towards the Psalmist; light breaks in upon the darkness of his misery. Comp. Psalms 4:6, "Lift upon us the light of Thy countenance." Psalms 80:3. בימינך can only mean, "through Thy right hand;" and the in-terpretation of Luther and others, "at Thy right hand," is wrong. As joy-proceeds from God's countenance, so from His right hand, which is almighty either to punish or to deliver, bliss: comp. Psalms 17:7. It still remains for us, now that we have finished our expo-sition of the Psalm; to investigate its Messianic import. That it has such an import, is certain, even apart from the testimonies of the New Testament. The situation does, unquestionably, appear to be that of one, who found himself in great danger, and whose life was threatened. But the Psalmist does not ex-press merely the hope of obtaining deliverance from that par-ticular danger; his soul rises higher; he triumphs not only over a particular danger of death, but over death itself; he exclaims confidently, "Death, where is thy sting? Hell, where is thy victory?" The ground of hope leads him beyond that, which was momentarily necessary, and the hope itself is expressed more comprehensively. He expresses quite generally the assur-ance, that death and the grave can exercise no power over those who are inwardly united to the living God; of this he is confi-dent, nor for the present moment merely, but for ever, נצה, in ver. 11; and on that account, he feels sure, for that present also, in respect to which primarily he gives utterance to the general hope. Apart from Christ, this hope must be regarded as a chimera, which the issue will put to shame. David served God in his generation; and then he died, was buried and corrupted. But in Christ, who has brought life and immortality to light, it becomes perfectly true. David, in Christ, could speak as he does here with full right. Christ has conquered death, not merely for Him-self, but also for His members His resurrection is the ground of our resurrection; "for can the head fail to draw its members after it?" In so far as what is here hoped for the members, canonly become theirs through its first becoming the Head's, so far the Psalm must be considered as a direct prophecy of Christ. But how far David himself clearly understood the Messianic substance of his hope, we cannot ascertain. That the prophecy of Christ was not a matter of total ignorance to him, is implied by the declaration of Peter, in Acts 2:30; Acts 2:31. Paul, however, contents himself with the simple fact, that the Psalm was fully verified in Christ. That the heroes of the Old Testament, in their more elevated moments, were favoured with a deep insight into the mystery of the future redemption, is presupposed by our Lord Himself, John 8:56. A more or less conscious connection between the hope of eternal life, and the expectation of Christ, is attended with the less difficulty, as this connection constantly appears, where we find, in later times, the hope of eternal life expressed in Isaiah, Ezekiel, Daniel. Our explanation of the Messianic import substantially agrees with that of Calvin, expressed by him with the greatest clear-ness and distinctness in his Comm. on the Acts of the. Apostles: "When he glories that he shall not see the grave, he doubtless considers himself as a member of Christ's body, by whom death is overcome, and its empire abolished. But if David promised himself deliverance from the grave, only in so far as he was a member of Christ, it is evident that with Christ, as the Head, we must take our start." Many of the older expositors, on the ground of the New Testament quotations of this Psalm, and not perceiving that the contrast in them lies, not between David and Christ, but between David apart from Christ, and David in Christ, have maintained that the Psalm refers directly and exclusively to Christ, who is introduced by the Psalmist as speaking. But against the Messianic interpretation thus understood, which was also advocated in my Christology, there are certain diffi-culties not easily disposed of. That the Psalmist should, from the commencement, speak in the person of another, does not comport well with the prevailing subjective character of the Psalmodic poetry; and even from the circle of prophetic lite-rature, scarcely can an example be produced, where this is done so directly, and without some previous more exact designation of the person. Further, the matter of vers. 1-8 is too little of a special Messianic character;-a consideration which is unin-tentionally shown to be of importance by the forced interpreta-tions to which those are driven, who attempt to introduce a specially Messianic element. Also, that in vers. 9-11, the direct and exclusive Messianic references rest entirely on a false exposition, has already been shown. Further, by this ex-position the Psalm is wrested from its connection with so many others, which are unquestionably very closely related to it, and, above all, with the following one, which is united with it into a pair. Finally, we are necessitated by this exposition, to hold the reading הסידיך, ver. 10, to be incorrect, which cannot be done, at all events, with positive certainty; and the less so, when we compare it with Psalms 17:11, where, in a similar manner, the plurality, concealed under the unity, manifests itself all at once. -The only apparent ground for this opinion, the testimony of the New Testament, must certainly be regarded as quite decisive by any one who examines the citation isolatedly; but those will judge differently, who, taking properly into account the whole relation in which the New Testament stands to the Old, have attained to a comprehensive view of the free and genial manner in which our Lord and His Apostles use prophecy for proof. PSALM XVII. The situation here, also, is that of one who finds himself in great distress and danger, through hostile oppression. "We know that God heareth not sinners; but if any man be a wor-shipper of God, and doeth His will, him He heareth." "Let every one that names the name of God, depart from iniquity." -Therefore does the Psalmist first of all base his supplication to be heard on his righteousness; which is so far removed from hypocrisy, that it does not shun the most searching scrutiny of that Divine omniscience which penetrates into the most secret recesses of the heart. He declares his firm, conviction, that this scrutiny will bring to light no contrariety between heart and mouth, but rather a perfect harmony between the two, vers. 1-5. On the foundation thus laid, there then arises a more confident and urgent prayer, the reasonableness of which is made clear by a detailed and eloquent description of the ungodliness and wickedness of his enemies, loudly calling for the interference of Heaven; and the conclusion embodies an expression of joy-ful hope in the salvation of the Lord, vers. 6-15. The two parts of the Psalm, the first of which may be de-scribed as the porch, and the second as the proper building, present themselves to us as distinctly separate. The external dimensions of these parts are proportioned to their internal relation to each other. The introduction, which declares the Psalmist to be in possession of the indispensable condition of being heard, comprises five verses; the main burden of the Psalm is comprised in the number ten, which is the symbol of complete-ness. To this the formal arrangement appears to be confined. We might, however, conceive another division, analogous to that pointed out in Ps. vii., of strophes, which have an ascending number of verses; only that the one in which all the rest are enclosed, and into which they run out, instead of beginning, forms the conclusion: 2. 3. 4. 5. 1. Each of those strophes would really have pretty much its own proper ideas: vers. 1 and 2, the prayer of the Psalmist about his right; vers. 3-5, the ground-ing of this his right; vers. 6-9, his prayer for deliverance from the wicked who oppressed him; vers. 10-14, the grounding of this prayer, pointing to their disregard of all Divine and human rights, which called aloud for the interposition of God, and to their hitherto prosperous condition, which, as being contrary to God's word and nature, could therefore not continue. Finally, in ver. 15 we have the expression of hope and confidence in the salvation of the Lord. Still, this division cannot be held with the same confidence as the first: the last strophe especially, consisting of only one verse, renders it very doubtful. If we assume a particular occasion for the Psalm, it must be one from the times of Saul; to those of Absalom we cannot assign it, because the Psalmist appears through the whole as a private individual who is oppressed. But the absence of all in-dividual traits makes it probable, that the Psalmist does not speak in his own person, but in that of the righteous; and this supposition is confirmed by ver. 11, where, precisely as in ver. 10 of the preceding Psalm, the plurality concealed under the unity comes distinctly out. The individual character is discounte-nanced also by the introduction, vers. 1-5, in which the didac-tic tendency-the purpose of directing the members of the Church to the fact, that righteousness is the indispensable, though also the sure foundation of the hearing of prayer, and the bestowment of salvation-can scarcely be overlooked. This Psalm has many coincidences with Psalms 16., which are 256 THE BOOK OF PSALMS. so important, that they give colour to the idea of both Psalms having been united by the author into one pair. (Venema re-marks: "Such is the agreement between this Psalm and the preceding one, that I am almost disposed to reckon them as one Psalm.") First, in both Psalms there is the same formal ar-rangement, mainly consisting in this, that the main substance is completed in the number ten, with the distinction, that in the former one, the introduction consists only of one verse, while in the latter it occupies five. Then, the situation in both Psalms is precisely the same, that of one who is brought into peril of life by the persecutions of wicked and ungodly enemies. Fur-ther, the conclusion of both Psalms remarkably agrees. And, finally, they present many striking coincidences in particular points. Comp. the following expressions: here in ver. 7, "through Thy right hand," with the same in Psalms 16:11; "Thou deliverer of them that put their trust in Thee," here in ver. 7, with "I put my trust in Thee," in Psalms 16:1; "preserve me," here in ver. 8, with "preserve me," in Psalms 16:1; and the plurality which discovers itself in ver. 11, with the plural expression, "Thy pious ones," in Psalms 16:10. Taking into view these several points, they furnish us with the following result. David, intending to prepare a treasure of consolation and confidence for the sorely persecuted and op-pressed from his own experience during the times of Saul, pre-sented it in a whole, divided into two parts. Of the different subjects which come under consideration,-namely, confidence in the Lord, affording the sure hope of salvation; his ownrighteousness; and the unrighteousness of his enemies,-the first is handled in Psalms 16., and the second and third in the Psalm before us. The subject with which he exclusively occu-pies himself in Psalms 16., and which forms the proper theme of that Psalm, is referred to again here, for the purpose of bring-ing both Psalms into organic connection, and of assigning to Psalms 17. its proper, even a subordinate place. After the Psalmist had solemnly protested before God his righteousness, he calls on God as the "deliverer of those that trust in Him;" teaching, that when once a foundation of righteousness exists, there, cer-tainly and fully, confidence attains to the prominent position assigned it in Psalms 16. Besides this connection with Psalms 16., there is one also, though not so close, with Ps. vii., which is of importance, espe-cially in so far as it shows how, in David's case, general prin-ciples were evolved out of, and based on, the individual-how his own personal experience lies at the foundation even of those Psalms which he from the first indited, as it were, out of the soul of the Church-how he consoled others only with the con-solation with which he himself had been comforted of God. As in Psalms 7. there was a porch of six, and a building of twelve verses, so we have here a porch of five, and a building of ten verses. In both Psalms also the ascent in the number of verses of which the strophes are composed, is alike, in so far as this may be recognised to have any place in our Psalm. The mat-ter of the introduction, the protestation of innocence and right-eousness, is in both Psalms the same. Common to both, also, is the "arise," in Psalms 7:6, and here, in ver. 13; and the ex-pression, "trier of the hearts and reins art Thou, O righteous God," in Psalms 7:10, agrees with the "proving of the heart," etc., in ver. 3 here; comp. also Psalms 11:4; Psalms 11:5. Finally, vers. 1-5, in this Psalm, coincide with Psalms 18:20-27. Just as here the prayer for deliverance is grounded on righteousness, so there the deliverance obtained is derived from righteousness. This coincidence probably led the collector to place Psalms 18. immediately after ours,-a very fitting con-nection, since confidence in righteousness, as the ground of sal-vation, must grow when it is manifested as such in so glorious a manner by experience. The superscription, "A prayer of David," can have had no other than David for its author, as appears from the remarks already made, though it is not to be understood to designate him as the one to whose circumstances the prayer refers. The superscription in Habakkuk 1, "A prayer of Habakkuk," formed on the model of this, is quite analogous. For, in the whole chapter, the Church, and not the prophet, is the speaker. Ver. 1. Hear righteousness, O Lord; attend to my cry, give ear to my prayer, from lips without deceit. The prayer is here still only as means to an end; only serves the purpose of intro-ducing the Psalmist's protestation of righteousness: the proper commencement of the prayer is at ver. 6. The Psalmist begs that the Lord would hear righteousness. Instead of the right-eous, he puts righteousness, with the view of giving emphasis to the fact, that he sought nothing from the holy and right-eous God, with whom there is no respect of persons, as a 258 THE BOOK OF PSALMS. matter of party preference or favouritism; that he laid claim to His help and salvation only in so far as righteousness ap-peared to be personified in him. He is inwardly penetrated by the conviction, that the sine ira et studio, quorum causas procul habeo, of which men do but falsely boast, holds true of God in the fullest sense, and he wishes to communicate this conviction to others. It has often been found a stone of stumbling, that the Psalmist seems here to make his reception of the Divine help depend on a condition, which lies beyond the reach of sinful men. Several expositors have been induced thereby, either to refer the Psalm exclusively to Christ, or at least, to maintain that it has its full truth only in Christ. So Amyrald remarks: "In the exposition of this Psalm, and of some others, the left eye must be so fixed on David, that the right may be kept intent on Christ." Luther says: "The Hebrew text says simply, ‘ Lord, hear righteousness,’ without attaching the word my to it. We shall here pass by the error of the Jews, who feign, that David, in consequence of the sin here committed of boasting of his own righteousness, afterwards fell into adultery; and we only bear in mind, that some of our-selves also have taken such offence at this word, as to have ascribed all that is said here to Christ." Others seek to avoid the difficulty by substituting the righteousness of the cause for that of the person. So Luther: "He says, Though I who beg do indeed possess no righteousness as to my person, yet is the cause in itself worthy, because it concerns Thy word and the faith; it is truly righteousness, and worthy that Thou shouldst, not leave it to be overthrown;" and Venema, who gives a somewhat different delineation of the idea: "Righteous is my cause, which I bring before Thee, O God; and I have neither in thought, in word, nor deed, been guilty of any such things as they lay to my charge, and on account of which I am perse-cuted." To the like effect, also, J. H. Michaelis, De Wette and others. But it is to be objected, that neither here nor in the succeeding verses is a trace to be found of any specialreference to a particular cause: righteousness and integrity in general the Psalmist ascribes to himself, protests that his heart is pure and upright, and that he has constantly adhered to the ways of God. To the righteousness of his cause, the parallel section in Psalms 18:21 ss., cannot possibly be referred. And, finally, even the righteousness of the cause is not of itself suffi-dent to constitute a foundation for the hope of deliverance, it is possible for the wicked also to have a righteous cause, with-out having on that score any claim to the Divine help. The righteousness of the cause can only be of importance, in so far as it arises out of the righteousness of the person; and hence the Psalmist, even if he did in the first instance assert the right-eousness merely of his cause, would still, at the same time, have laid claim to righteousness of person. The legitimate removal of the difficulty presents itself as soon as we define more accu-rately the idea of the personal righteousness, which the Psalmist ascribes to himself: it is not perfect holiness-how far David was from laying claim to that, appears from such expressions as Psalms 143:2, "Enter not into judgment with Thy servant, for in Thy sight shall no flesh living be justified," Psalms 19:13,-it is upright moral effort. If the main bent of the mind is towards the fulfilment of the Divine law, God graciously par-dons many weaknesses; and such a man is termed righteous. Righteousness in this sense is as certainly a distinctive feature of the elect, an indispensable condition of Divine help, as that true religion has a thoroughly ethical character, and addresses to those who dream of being able to put God off with idle feel-ings, the solemn admonition, "Be ye holy, for I am holy." It is not less required in the New Testament, than it was in the Old. John, indeed, says in his First Ephesians 1:8, "If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us;" but he says also, ch. 3:6, "Whosoever abideth in Him, sinneth not (leads no life of sin-sin being used there in the narrower sense, just as righteousness here); whosoever sinneth, hath not seen Him, neither known Him;" and in ver. 9, "Who-soever is born of God, doth not commit sin; for His seed re-maineth in him; and he cannot sin, because he is born of God." That here the term, "righteousness," can only refer to the gene-ral tenor of the life, may be inferred even from the contrast in vers. 1 and 3, with hypocrisy. To draw a more exact line of demarcation between the righteousness of endeavour and abso-lute sinlessness, could the less occur to the Psalmist's mind, as the deep consciousness of human guilt, which was peculiar to the Old Testament, did not permit such an idea as the latter to present itself either to him or to his readers. As he here brings into view the one side, righteousness, because he was now concerned with it alone, so elsewhere he lays stress on the other 260 THE BOOK OF PSALMS. side, without ever dreaming that the one excluded the other. There are times also when the prayer, "Hear righteousness, O God," is for us also the only suitable one; and again other times, when the juste judex ultionis, donum fac remissionis ante diem ultionis, rushes with power from the heart. Besides, what the Berleb. Bible says is quite correct, "The soul is never in a state to desire that its righteousness may be heard, unless it have already lost all its own righteousness." The righteousness which the Psalmist here urges, always and only shoots forth from the soil of pardon of sin, which presupposes the renouncement of all one's own righteousness. Righteousness of life is the fruit of righteousness of faith, according to the Old Testament plan, as most clearly laid down in Psalms 51.; and also according to that of the New Testament. Still, we must not here, against the plain letter, put the righteousness of faith in the room of right-eousness of life. The question here is not one about justifica-tion, but one about help against enemies, and deliverance from distress, which can only be claimed on the ground of an already existing righteousness of life. The majority of expositors consider the second petition as terminated with the words, "attend to my cry," and the words, "with lips without deceit," as belonging solely to the third. According to them, the ground is twofold on which the Psalmist rests his prayer; first, the righteousness of his cause (or of his person),-then his faith, which impelled him to seek help from God, and which God ought not to put to shame. They main-tain that the first requisite could have existed without the latter. "It often happens," remarks Calvin, "that even profane men justly boast of having a good cause; yet, because they do not consider that God governs the world, they shut themselves up in their own consciences; and bear injuries more stubbornly and stedfastly, because they seek no consolation from faith in God, and supplication to Him." The Psalmist must then, it is thought, in the last clause, have united both elements together. But it is decisive against this view, that according to the whole tenor of the first part, it is impossible for any other element than righteousness to be brought out independently; the unity thereof would be broken, if we deny the reference of the petition, "at-tend to my cry," to that which follows. The crying, like the prayer, is in place here, only in so far as it proceeds from lips without deceit. That these words belong to both the last peti-tions, is indicated also by the accentuation, which is opposed to the too close and exclusive connection with the third. Every one has lips of deceit who comes before God praying for, and claiming salvation, without being a righteous person. For, as it is certain that salvation is bestowed only on the ground of righteousness, that God only hears the righteous, so every prayer involves a declaration of righteousness, whether uttered in words or not. Whosoever prays without being a righteous person, is a hypocrite of the worst kind; not content with deceiving men thereby, he would also impose on the all-seeing God, imagining, in the blindness of his folly, that God looks only on his counte-nance, and not on his heart. Ver. 2. Let my right go forth from Thee, let Thine eyes behold uprightness. The Fut. of the verb may be regarded as expres-sive either of the wish or of the hope. Both are much alike as to the sense. The emphasis, in any case, is upon the משפטי, and on the מישרים. Only on the ground of his right and his integrity, does he either expect or desire God's help. The word, “my right” (Luther, falsely, "Speak Thou in my cause"), stands opposed to partial favouritism: it is not this the Psalmist desires, but only the salvation which God, the righteous One, has promised to righteousness; and because he desires only this, only what God must necessarily grant, and cannot refuse, with-out denying His own nature, and the expression thereof in His word, the prayer cannot possibly remain unheard, just as little as it could have been heard if it had not sprung from such a root, if the Divine help had been claimed as a reward of merely saying, Lord, Lord. In the second clause, the upright-ness is that which is to be beheld, as, in ver. 1, the righteousness is that which is to be heard. Because, with a righteous judge, to recognise and to deliver uprightness are one and the same thing, it is said of God, in the language of emotion, that He does not see uprightness, when He allows it to be overthrown. We must reject the exposition of Hitzig and De Wette, who, taking מישרים adverbially, render, "Thine eyes behold rightly." The word signifies, not correctness, but integrity, honesty; it is never used adverbially, not even in Psalms 58:1. The idea is foreign to the context; this is not the place to say that God is upright, but that the Psalmist is upright; uprightness is on the same footing as righteousness, as the lips without deceit, the right. The words, "His countenance beholds the upright" in Psalms 11:7, are parallel.Luther remarks: "So that we see, how everywhere zeal and hatred break forth against hypocrisy, which the saints avoid with as great a horror in themselves, as they bring accusations against it." Ver. 3. The Psalmist had grounded his prayer for help, in the preceding context, on his righteousness. This indispensable condition of salvation actually existed in him; he did not merely feign righteousness before the eyes of short-sighted men; and therefore (woe to him who cannot do the same) he appeals to the judgment of the all-seeing God, who knows the purity of his heart, whose inmost recesses are open before Him. Luther: "He had prayed that the Lord would regard his righteousness; now he declares what sort of confidence he had to rest on, in begging this." Thou provest my heart, Thou examinest it by night; Thou purgest me, Thou findest not; my thought oversteps not my mouth. The Preterites of the verb mark the past reach- ing into the present. The Psalmist appeals to the result of trials already held: God is constantly putting men to the proof; and there is no reason for rendering, with some, "when Thou provest, etc., Thou findest not;" or, with others, to put a demand in the place of a simple declaration. The night is named as the time when good and evil thoughts in the soul of man spring up in greatest force, because he is then free from outward busi-ness and influences; and having nothing to scatter them, and not being restrained by any regard to, or fear of others, they come forth with the greatest force. That the Psalm was an evening song, is rendered probable by this allusion alone; comp. on ver. 15. In the words, "Thou purgest or purifiest me," there is an allusion to the purifying of gold and silver. Pure gold and silver is what stands the test, and is found free from dross. Dereser expounds falsely: "Thou purgest and purifiest me through tribulations from defects." There is nothing here of a purifying through tribulation, though it is often referred to elsewhere. God's proving is only represented under the image of purifying, so far as in both alike a sure result is obtained in regard to the purity or impurity of the object; comp. Proverbs 17:3. Thou findest not-namely, anything that would show the affirmation I made of my righteousness to be untrue, or prove me to be a hypocrite; one who presents a fair exterior, but within is full of ravening and unrighteousness. It is obvious, that the purity and righteousness of heart, which the Psalmist here lays claim to, is not opposed to the testimony, that therighteous falls seven times a day. This is clear, especially from the last words, which show that the Psalmist only asserts his freedom from hypocrisy, and not from frailty. We take זמתי as inf. from זמם. The fem. form of the inf. in ות, according to this form of verbs in עע, occurs in Psalms 77:9; Ezekiel 36:3. It is to be explained from the affinity between verbs עע and לה. The זמותי is accus., the פי nominative. That the common sequence of the words is departed from, the object preceding the subject, arises from the fact, that it was not the mouth, but the thought, the state of feeling, which was the object of the Divine search; comp. the words, "Thou provest my heart." From the proving of his internal disposition, the result is derived, that the Psalmist's mouth had not gone beyond it, in that, coming before God, he gave himself out as a righteous person. Luther, though he errs in his translation, yet explains quite correctly in his comment.: "The mouth overpasses the thoughts when it utters more, and otherwise, than the heart thinks, so that the mouth and heart do not correspond with each other." We must reject the other expositions. Gesenius takes זמתי as the plural of המ.Aזa, which must be of like import with המ.Aזi, and ex-plains, "my thoughts overstep not my mouth." But we con-ceive that this contains three philological difficulties-המ.Aזa never occurs elsewhere, the singular suffix in זמתי would stand in the room of the plural יתaמ.oזa, the verb in the sing. masc. would be joined to a noun in the plural fem.--and the meaning, purchased at so dear a rate, is after all not suitable. The question is not, whether the Psalmist thinks otherwise than he speaks, but whether he speaks otherwise than he thinks,-nor whether his feeling agrees with his words, but whether his words agree with his feeling-comp. the expression, "not with deceitful lips," in ver. I. He appears before God asserting his righteousness; and the proving of his heart shows that his mouth had spoken the truth. Others take זמתי as the first person Preterite. So Luther: "I have purposed to myself, that my mouth shall not transgress." But this exposition is contrary to the accents, according to which the word has the tone upon the last syllable; and the sense, besides, is a quite unsuitable one; "the trans-gressing of the mouth," is out of place here. Ewald, De Wette, and Koester, connect זמתי with what precedes: "Thou dost not find me meditating evil, my mouth transgresses not." But the external authority of the accents, the Masorah, and the oldtranslations, are all against it: the expression, "my meditation," for, "that I meditate evil," is hard. עבר cannot, without some further explanation, signify "to transgress," and the proving of the heart has nothing to do with the transgressions of the mouth. According to the connection, the only thing here in question is, whether the utterances of the mouth are confirmed by the con-dition of the heart. That the heart, with its thoughts and in- clinations, should here be represented as the proper seat of righteousness, and that the hope of salvation should be con-sidered well-grounded only where the heart did not need to shun the sharpest Divine search, is characteristic as to the moral platform of the Old Testament, which, even in its original legal enjoinments, did not limit its claims to word and deed, but ex-tended them to the whole sphere of thoughts and inclinations. Ver. 4. As for the doing of man: by the word of Thy lips I observe the ways of the transgressor. The Psalmist protests that he has constantly kept far away from the paths of transgressors, while pointing at the same time to that which the treading of these paths at once suggested, namely, the common corrupt bent of the hearts of men, and to the word of God, which he carefully followed, as a guide. ל is not rarely used, especially at the beginning of sentences, in the signification of, "in refer-ence to," "in respect of," "as regards;" see Gesell. Thes. p. 732. פעלות stands in its common meaning, doing, manner of acting: 2 Chronicles 15:7; Jeremiah 31:16; Psalms 28:5. The doing of man is the course of action that is natural to man, in whom the imagination of the heart is only evil from his youth, and that continually (Genesis 6:5; Genesis 8:21), who has been born in guilt, and conceived by his mother in iniquity (Psalms 51:5). It is one of the strongest testimonies for the natural corruption of man, that a corrupt line of action, a walking in the ways of the transgressor, is here spoken of simply as the doing of man. There is a parallel passage in 1 Samuel 24:9, where David says to Saul, "Wherefore hearest thou men's words?" and in Hos. vi. 7, "And they as men transgress the covenant" (Manger: more humano levitatis; Hitzig's interpretation, "like Adam," deserves rejection simply on the ground that Adam did not transgress the covenant); also in Job 31:33, where hypocrisy is described without further explanation as natural to man, "If I covered my transgressions as man, hiding mine iniquity in my bosom;" and in Job 23:12, where the law of man, the courseof life which his natural inclination leads him to take, is de-scribed as directly opposed to the law of God, "More than my law I have respected the words of His mouth." We should, then, entirely mistake if, by the doing of man, we were to un-derstand merely the power of evil example, which would also be opposed to the parallel passages now adduced, and likewise against the quite analogous declaration in Psalms 18:23, "And I kept myself from mine iniquity." The Psalmist does not place himself in contrast to men, but comprehends himself amongst them. That evil-doing is the doing of man, renders it exceedingly difficult to keep far from the paths of the trans-gressor, which one has not first to be at pains to discover, but into which one is apt to slip quite naturally and imperceptibly. Whosoever would shun them, must not follow his natural dis-position, but must deny it. Many expound, "in the doing of men;" but this signification of the ל is doubtful (comp. Gesen. Thes. p. 733), and the sense is rendered tame by such an expo-sition, as the Psalmist would then except himself from the num-ber of men. The expression, "in the word of Thy lips," points to the authority which the Psalmist followed in shunning the ways of the violent, to which natural inclination drew him, or to that from which he received an impulse in the better direc-tion. ב denotes the relation of effect to cause: "in the word" = "at the word." בדבר, is used precisely in the same way in Numbers 31:16, "These taught the children of Israel, at the word of Balaam, unfaithfulness to the Lord,"-the word of Balaam is the cause, in which the effect abides, that from which the impulse proceeds, the authority-- 1 Chronicles 21:19, "at the word of Gad;" comp. דוד במצות "at the command of David," on the ground of his command, in 2 Chronicles 29:25. The word of God is the only light on the otherwise dark way of man; from it alone can the good impulse proceed, through which we keep ourselves unspotted from the world within and without us-withstand the corrupt inclinations of nature, and the spirit of the world-swim against the stream which, with gigantic and resistless force, carries everything along with it. The contrast here implied between men's natural inclination and the word of God, lies also at the basis of the Decalogue. To it is due the negative form which predominates in the ten command-ments. Everywhere we are forced to add in thought: "where-to thy corrupt heart is prone," just as in a command in thepositive form the word, "remember," points to the tendency to ward forgetfulness.אני is used emphatically in opposition to the enemies, the wicked, who, according to ver. 11, direct their eyes to turn aside in the land. שמר, "to observe," in connection with the way, commonly with the design of keeping it, comp. Psalms 21; Job 23:11; only here with the design of shunning it. The Psalmist opposes his own observation of the way of the transgressor, which was under the guidance of the word of God, to the foolish eagerness with which the world blindly enters them. There is probably a witty allusion to this current mode of expression, "I have, observing the ways of God, in order to keep myself in them, at the same time observed the ways of the transgressor, in order to shun them"- a reference which becomes still more plain, as soon as we set in thought a dash after שמרתי. The verb פרץ, "to break through," is used in Hosea 4:2, of the breaking through of all the limits of good and right; and derived from it, the term פריץ signifies the transgressor. Luther's trans-lation, "I keep myself in the word of Thy lips from the work of man on the path of the murderer," gives, on the whole, the true sense, only that for transgressor, the far too special and gross name of murderer is substituted. Ver. 5. My steps hold fast by Thy paths, my feet slide not. The paths of God, which the Psalmist held fast by, are con-trasted with the ways of the transgressor, which he shunned. The verse contains still, like the preceding one, a protestation of the Psalmist's righteousness, and forms a suitable conclusion to the whole section, vers. 1-5, which is entirely taken up there-with. Exactly parallel is Job 23:11, "My foot holdeth fast, אהזה, His step; His way have I kept and not declined." "To the protestation of his innocence," remarks De Wette, "the Psalmist now adds a prayer for the maintenance thereof, that moral power might be given him." But the sense which this exposition affords, is so unsuitable to the context, that any other might be held equally valid; we should then have an isolated thought, a genuine ejaculation before us. The Psalm has nothing at all to do with a prayer for moral support. The ob-ject of prayer in it is merely salvation from enemies, grounded upon his own righteousness already existing, and the wicked-ness of his enemies. Then, the exposition is also objectionable in a philological point of view. The force of the inf. absol.,bringing out the simple action, is always more carefully defined. by the context. But this points here decidedly to the Preterite, that goes before, and follows in the parallelism. ך`מת, "to seize, take hold," never signifies, with ב, "to, maintain," but always to take hold of, to hold to, to keep fast by; comp. Psalms 63:8, where the idea of holding fast is required by the parallelism, "My soul cleaveth to Thee, Thy right hand holdeth me fast:" Psalms 41:12; Exodus 17:12; Isaiah 42:1. Ver. 6. The prayer of the Psalmist, which had only been indicated before, comes out in full force now, that the right foundation has been laid in his righteousness. It receives afterwards a second foundation, that of the wickedness of the enemies, which constitutes a call to God for vengeance. I call upon Thee, for Thou God Nearest me: incline Thine ear to me, hear my speech. The תענני is either, "Thou wilt hear me," or, "Thou art accustomed to hear me." The latter view is sup-ported by the corresponding words in the next verse, "Thou deliverer of those," etc. Luther "It comprehends both in itself, the past as well as the future. The meaning of it appears to be this,-I have confidence, that my words shall not be in vain, since I know how, according to Thy grace, Thou art wont to hear me. Thus the compassion of God is celebrated, which consists in His hearing when we cry. This moves us, and is the cause why we can presume to call." According to the ex-position, "Thou wilt hear me," the Psalmist would refer to his righteousness, as set forth in the preceding context. To this, at all events, points the אני, "I," the righteous person. Ver. 7. Single out Thy loving-kindness, Thou deliverer of the confiding from the revolters, by Thy right hand. Upon הפלה to single out, separate, not, "to make wonderful," comp. on Ps. iv. 3. The tokens of favour which the Psalmist desires, must be distinguished from the common ones. This indicates the greatness of the danger. De Wette thinks, that this almost presumptuous-looking prayer, like the similar one following, should be ascribed to the spirit of Hebraism, which was not yet penetrated by the resignation of Christianity. But if this prayer be presumptuous, so also is the prayer of the Canaan-itish woman, who also supplicated: "Single out Thy mercies, have compassion on me, O Lord, for my daughter is tormented;" and yet the Lord does not appear to have regarded it so, other-wise He would not have replied to her: "O woman, great isthy faith; be it done to thee as thou wilt." If the Stoic resig-nation of De Wette were Christian, then Christ's wonder-work-ing activity would be unchristian, and the prayer also for our daily bread, in the Lord's Prayer, must be erased. Were a doctrine so unhuman Christian, then the Old Testament, which places the whole of human existence in a relation to God, would stand higher than the New. The words, "Thou deliverer of those," etc., contain the ground of the Psalmist's hope of being heard. Calvin: "As often as we draw near to God, we ought first to bear in mind that we are not to be afraid of God's being ready to help us, because He is not in vain called the deliverer of those who put their trust in Him." The הס,הo is used in Proverbs 14:32 absolutely, as here, without any designation of what the confidence is placed on. In the case of those who revolt or rise, the object of resistance must be the same as in the case of those who confide, the less so, as, in the latter case, the person on whom the confidence is placed is not named. The former, therefore, could only be revolters against God. Luther: "By this he seeks to bring his enemies into great hatred, as persons whose madness swelled against God." בימינך is to be coupled with מושיע, "Thou who deliverest by Thy right hand;" it points to the plenitude of power with which God is provided for the defence of His people. That we must not expound: "from those who rebel against Thy right hand," as Luther, or: "who confide in Thy right hand, from those who set them-selves against it," appears by a comparison with Psalms 16:11, and ver. 14 here, and by what was already remarked by Venema: "The pious are more properly said to be preserved by the right hand of God, than enemies attacking the pious, to rise up against it." Luther: "See how quickly emotion makes an ex-cellent orator. He recommends to God his cause in the most favourable light, he seeks to put himself on good terms with Him, he makes complaint against his adversaries, he tries to have these made hateful, and this he does in very few and choice words. But he does so, not as if they were necessary in order to pre-vail on God, but for the sake of faith. For the more vigor-ous and fervent our faith is, the more always does God work through it." Ver. 8. Keep me as the apple of the eye, in the shadow of Thy wings hide me. That reference is made in the first clause to Deuteronomy 32:10, "He kept him (Israel) as the apple of His eye,"is the more probable, as there the similitude of the eagle caring for her young ones immediately follows. On אישון, not "little man," but "the male," "the masculine," see my work, Balaam, p. 98. עין בת, prop. �g. the daughter of the eye.�h. Son and daughter, in the Semitic dialects, are applied to what belongs to another thing, or is dependent on it; for example, arrows are named, in Lamentations 3:13, "sons of the quiver." Luther: "In this verse he employs many words to say one and the same thing; since he magnifies the danger, and, by expressing his great anxiety strongly, gives us, as it were, to understand that he cannot be made secure enough against the snares of the wicked. Therefore in these words there is embodied the emotion of a person oppressed with fear, and who flees from a very great danger; such as we ob-serve in little children, who run to the lap of their parents, and hang around their neck, when they are alarmed at danger." The figure in the second member is found enlarged in Matthew 23:37, probably in allusion to this passage. Ver. 9. From the wicked, who disturb me, mine enemies, who against the soul compass me about. Many interpreters take שדדin the Arabic sense of seizing hold; but the Hebrew one is quite suitable, if it only be remembered that the Psalmist represents himself under the image of a city destroyed by enemies, or of a land laid waste. "שדודA is also used in Judges 5:27, of a slain man. בנפש, prop. "in soul," in matters of life, so that it is equivalent to life. Many expound it, after the example of Aben-ezra, by, "in desire." But in doing so, they overlook the re-lation in which the words, "deliver my soul," stand to the בנפש here. They think to destroy my soul," in Psalms 40:14, is parallel. Ver. 10. Their fat they close up, with their mouth they speak proudly. How the expression, "their fat they close up," is to be understood-that it is equivalent to "they have closed it upon one another, wholly covered themselves in fat," appears from Judges 3:22, "the fat closed upon the blade." The fat here, however, is not corporeal, but spiritual; it denotes the spiritual deadness, and hardening, by which their whole mind was overlaid. In this sense fat is very often used. So, first, in the ground-passage, Deuteronomy 32:15, "But Jeshurun waxed fat and kicked; thou didst wax fat, thou didst grow thick, thou art covered;" where many quite erroneously think of an external condition, a state of prosperity granted by God, -a view which leaves the sudden address and the threefold repetition altogetherunexplained. The reference is rather to becoming fat internally, which so easily results from prosperity, and from the undisturbed enjoyment of the Divine gifts. Then Job 15:27, "Because he covered his face with his fatness, and made collops of fat upon his flanks;" where the fat, from the connection, can only be understood morally-for the verse contains the ground of a proud revolt against God-q. d. he resembles such an one spiritually who covers his bodily face, etc., he is spiritually as devoid of feeling, as that person is corporeally; comp. Psalms 119:70, where the abbreviated comparison comes out in a complete form, "Their heart is as fat as grease." Finally, Psalms 73:7, "Their eyes stand out with fatness." Modern expositors, for the most part, suppose that the הלב, from the contrast with the mouth, must necessarily mean the heart. Rosenm�ller, depart-ing from the Hebrew signification of that word, attributes to it, from the Arabic, the import of heart. Others leave to it its common and alone certain signification, but maintain that the words, "your fat is, etc.," are equivalent to "your fat, unfeel-ing heart:" So Ewald: "While from hardness they have closed their unfeeling heart against compassion, their haughty mouth opens itself so much the wider for reproach." But there is no ground for such an interpretation, as, according to our view also, full justice is done to the contrast with the mouth; the closing in of the fat, the covering itself in fat, indirectly describes a state of heart and mind, carnal-mindedness. And, on the other hand, we can appeal to the parallel passages, which everywhere speak, not of unfeeling hardness toward brethren, but of carnal-mindedness in general; also to the fact, that the expression, "to close the heart," as a description of unfeeling hardness, is found nowhere else in the Old Testament; and, finally, to the consider-ation that the enclosing of the heart in this connection is too tame. פימו, like אשרנו in ver. 11, and הרבך in ver. 13, the accu-sative, "after their mouth," "with their mouth." The predi-lection for this sort of accus. is one of the peculiarities of our Psalm. Ver. 11. After our steps they compass me about now; they di-rect their eyes, to turn aside in the land. אשרנו, "after our steps," "whithersoever we turn ourselves:" everywhere our enemies pursue us, and cut off from us all escape, take from us every hope of deliverance. To take the word, with some, as nom. absol., does not accord with the predilection just noticed, which the Psalmistshows for this sort of accusative. For the more difficult read-ing of the text, סבבוני, explicable on the ground that the speaker is the righteous person, so that he can speak in the sing. of him-self, not less than in the plural (comp. the sing. in reference to enemies in ver. 12), the Masorites have put ונובבAס;, "they have compassed us about," corresponding to the suffix in אשרנו. The Psalmist has, without doubt, intentionally conjoined thus closely the sing. and the plural, on purpose to show that behind the ideal unity there was concealed a multiplicity. The now points to the fact, that the greatest danger had arrived, and conse-quently, also, the time for God to help. בארץ לנטות is commonly explained, "in order to cast down to the earth, or in the land." This mode of explanation does not allow us to supply, with De Wette, "me or us;" but we must consider, as the object thrown down, whatever is high or stands erect. Calvin: "The godless, as if they must fall, when the world stands, would fain see the whole human race destroyed; and hence they apply themselves with vigour to throw everything to the ground." But it is against this exposition, that though נטה may properly enough be taken in the sense of "to bend or bow," comp. 62:3, "a bowing wall," yet, in the present connection, that is too tame; not so, however, "to beat down," "to throw to the ground." The right exposition is seen on a comparison with ver. 5. Whilst the righteous directs his eye to the object of holding fast the ways of the Lord, they are equally zealous and bent on turning aside from God's ways, and hence are as much the ob-jects of God's punishing, as the others of His saving, energy. נטה is constantly employed to designate the turning aside from God, from His ways and His laws; to set up which as the task of life, and to sin boldly and with a high hand, is a mark of the most thorough abandonment. Comp., for example, Job 31:7, "If my foot hath turned out of the way;" 1 Kings 11:9, "And the Lord was angry with Solomon, because his heart was turned from the Lord God of Israel." Psalms 119:51:157. נטה, "to turn aside," as here, is used absolutely for, "to turn out of the way," in Jeremiah 14:8. On בארץ, not, "upon earth," but, "in the land," "in the land of the Lord," compare Psalms 16:3. Ver. 12. He is like a lion greedy to tear in pieces, and a young lion, lying in covert. Luther: "But the pride and haughtiness of Moab is greater than his strength. He undertakes more than lie can execute." The sing. suffix is here also to be explainedfrom the circumstance, that the whole host of wicked ones is represented in one person. Ver. 13. Arise, O Lord, surprise his face, cast him down, deliver my soul from the wicked through Thy sword. The "face" is named, because it threatened destruction to the Psalmist; comp. the מפני in ver. 3. קדם, "to anticipate," then, "to sur- prise," is used, as here, in Psalms 95:2, with פנים. הרבך, �gas to Thy sword," through Thy sword. Several Jewish expositors interpret, "from the ungodly, who is Thy sword;" in the fol-lowing verse also, where Luther adopts the same view, they render, "from the men, who are Thy hand;" overlooking, however, the Psalmist's marked predilection for the accusative, and besides, disregarding the connection, which does not per-mit such a mode of considering enemies as that found in Isa. x. 5, where Assyria is called the rod of Divine wrath. This trait would have broken the strength of the Psalmist's prayer, which is founded on his own righteousness and the enemies' wickedness. Ver. 14. From the men through Thy hand, O Lord, from the men of continuance, whose portion in life, and whose body Thou fittest with Thy treasures; they have sons in plenty, and leave their affluence to their children. The Psalmist believes that he can the more confidently present the prayer uttered in the preceding context, and hope with the greater certainty for its fulfilment, since it does not consist with God's nature and word, that those who, in alienation from God, despise Him, and lift themselves proudly up against Him, should be richly en-dowed by Him with goods, and become partakers of the bless-ing which is promised to the righteous. This contrast between the reality and the idea, must God, as certainly as He is God, remove by His judgment; He must abolish the abnormity which is so fitted to strengthen the wicked in his wickedness, and to cause the pious to fail in his piety, and which can only be regarded as a temporary and passing state of things. Pre-paration is made for the contrast which is here unfolded be-tween the reality and the idea, by קומה, "stand up, arise," in the preceding verse, which presupposes the existence of such a contrast. The length of the verse shows, that the theme is one in which the Psalmist is peculiarly interested. The repetition of ממתים is emphatical, as was justly remarked by Calvin. מהלד is in the main correctly expounded by Calvin, "Qui sunt aseculo." By the preposition, says he, David expresses, that they had not raised themselves as of yesterday, but that their prosperity had already continued for a long series of years, which, however, ought to have vanished in a moment. So also Venema, according to whom the מהלד מתים are, "florente et durante in fortuna constituti." That the primary significa-tion of הלד is that of continuance, appears from the Arabic.Dscheuhari in Scheid. in cant. Hisk. p. 51, says: "הלד denotat existentiae continuationem; de homine dicitur הלד quando per-sistit et viget." From this primary signification, which here ob-tains, flow in Heb. the two derived ones of life and the world. Life is named continuance, as what usually belongs to exist-ence; comp. Job 11:17; Psalms 89:47; Psalms 39:5, in which two latter passages allusion is made to the primary import; inthe last: הלדי, my life, which has its name from continuance, isas nothing before Thee. The world bears the name of continuance, as the general, abiding, while individual parts are transitory. In Arabic, "chytropodes, rupes et saxa dicuntur הולד quia semper manent, deleantur licet domuum, etc. vestigia," Dscheuh. by Scheid. So in Psalms 49:1, הלד is used of the world. Hezekiah alludes to the הלד ישבי there, the inhabitants of continuance, when inIsa_38:11, he calls the dwellers in Sheol לד,ה, יבeש;י, "in-habitants of ceasing;" an allusion which presupposes that הלד, even when used of the world, retains its common signification. Parallel to the expression here, "of continuance," is that in Ps. x. 5, "His ways are strong at all times."-Most modern exposi-tors, after the example of Luther, render, "of the people of this world," i.e., De Wette remarks, whose whole striving termi-nates with this temporal, finite world, and does not pass over into eternity; הלד marks the temporal, perishing, sensible, as opposed to what is eternal, above sense. But a false meaning is forced by this exposition upon the word. It signifies neither, as Gesenius maintains, vita eaque cito praeterlabens, fluxa et caduca-for in Psalms 89:47; Psalms 39:5, the idea of fleetness and transitoriness, which is not suitable in Job 11:17, is not contained in the word itself, but in the connection-nor hic mundus, cujus res fluxae et caducae sunt. In order to obtain this signification, we must violently tear the Heb. הלד from the Arabic. Further, a contrast between the temporal and the eternal, so sharply expressed, and so briefly indicated, cannotbe expected in the Psalms. It will not do to compare the ןἱץἰןי פןץ בἰשםןע פןץפןץ, of the New Testament, as the contrast here rests upon a clear recognition of a future state of being. In such a contrast, also, we should have expected the article. Finally, what follows the words, "whose part in life," cannot possibly be understood otherwise than of the prosperous condi-tion of the ungodly. According to this, however, the begin-ning of the verse must refer, not to the disposition, but to the course of the wicked. The verse is miserably torn asunder if this reference is overlooked.בהיים הלקם is sometimes rendered, "who have their firm and secure portion of life;" but better, "whose part is in life," so that life is the sphere in which they obtain their part, their lot: comp. הלק in this signification for ex. in Job 20:29, "This is the portion of the wicked man from God," 27:13; 31:2, 3, "For what is the portion of God from above? and what is the inheritance of the Almighty from on high? Is not misfortune to the wicked, and misery to the evil-doers?" which last passage especially serves to throw light on the one before us, whose com-plaint it answers. Life stands here in an emphatic sense for prosperous life, because a disastrous one is rather to be ac-counted a death: their part is that they live and prosper. Calvin: “ I understand these words to mean, that they are free from all discomfort, and riot in joy, and therefore are quite exempt from the general lot, as inversely is said of the miserable man, that his part is in death.” Expositors generally interpret it, "who are of an earthly disposition." "Inheritance," accord-ing to De Wette, "is equivalent to the 'highest good or aim; life is opposed to eternity after death." But as both the pre-ceding and the subsequent context refers to the lot of the wicked, this word cannot possibly denote their disposition; and that היים by itself can denote the earthly life as opposed to the eternal, is destitute of all proof. Such a contrast of necessity requires a more pointed description.-- צפינך, for which the Masorites, without any necessity, would substitute צפונך, the part. pas.; properly, "thy concealed." Calvin: "The con-cealed goods of God here mean rare and peculiar dainties, since God often endows the wicked, not merely with all the common comforts of life, but also with thoroughly special ones. It is a strong temptation, when a man measures God's favour by earthly prosperity. But we must remember, that in hiscomplaint, the pious man seeks alleviation; he does not mur-mur against God, so that we may also learn to direct our sighs toward heaven" The state of things in which the wicked, who lie under the Divine anger, are replenished by Him with goods and gifts, considered as a permanent one, would be the perverse world; but on that very account it cannot possibly be a perma-nent state.- בנים ישבעו is rendered by Luther: Who have chil-dren the fulness; and he remarks: "This refers not merely to the great number of children, but rather to their state and con-dition;" quite correctly, since it is only strong and healthful children that can be considered as a token of prosperity. But according to the current exposition, בנים is to be taken as the nominative, not as the accus., "full are their children." De Wette "They hunger not, like the children of the poor, who cry for bread." The first construction is the only right one. It is supported by the want of the suffix, and the analogy of the words, "I shall be satisfied with Thy likeness." It is fur-ther supported by the parallel passages, in which a blooming host of children is spoken of as a reward for the fear of God; comp. Psalms 127. "Lo, children are an heritage of the Lord; the fruit of the womb is His reward;" Psalms 128:3; Psalms 128:4, "Thy wife shall be as a fruitful vine by, the sides of thy house," etc. "Behold, thus shall the man be blessed that feareth the Lord." Or complaint is made, that this blessing, which properly belongs only to the righteous, is lavished on the ungodly; comp. Job 21:11, "They send forth their little ones like a flock, and their children dance," magna foecunditate emittunt (Michaelis), in . contrast to the pious Job, who lost all his children.-The ex-pression, "they leave their superfluity to their children," can only refer to the outward appearance. For God is called upon to interpose against the parents themselves, and bring on; their ruin. They will not be able to leave their overflowing abund-ance to their children, notwithstanding the seemingly well-grounded prosperity of their house, notwithstanding their confi-dent thoughts, and the actual state of affairs, which decidedly favours them; for God has threatened the ungodly in His word, that He will punish their sins in themselves and in their chil-dren, even to the third and the fourth generation. Those words give a fearful emphasis.to the prayer of the Psalmist: "Arise, O Lord." Ver. 15. The prayer uttered in the preceding verses con-tains even within itself the germ of hope and confidence, in consequence of the foundation on which it stands, and of the opposition between the contrast, in the reality, considered as permanent, and God's word and nature. That germ comes here into development. "The Psalmist raises himself on the wings of faith to a serene repose, in which he sees everything in order. He mocks the proud boasting of the enemy; and although, as it seemed, quite cast off by God, he still promises himself the enjoyment ere long of his confiding look." I shall behold Thy face in righteousness, satisfy myself when I awake with Thy form. אני with emphasis, "I," very different from my enemies, for whom the Lord is preparing destruction. Righteousness is here, according to the common view, named as the ground upon which the Psalmist rests his hope of seeing the face of God. As matters then stood, his righteousness appeared to be of no avail; God seemed to make nothing of it. But as certain as that God is righteous, such a state of things cannot last, the Psalmist's righteousness must still bear its pro-per fruit. We may also expound, "as a righteous or justified person;" and it is in favour of this latter exposition, that accord-ing to the former, we should have expected the suffix. Now the Psalmist was represented by his position and experiences as an unrighteous person. But he trusts the righteous God will represent him as the person he really is, will justify him by facts; so that righteousness is here considered as the gift of God. The words, I shall behold Thy face, refer to ver. 2, where the Psalmist wishes that his right might come forth from God's presence, that His eyes might behold uprightness. This wish he sees here fulfilled. For, to behold God's face, presup-poses that God's face is turned towards him, that God's eye looks on him and his uprightness. Just as it is said of God, that He hides His countenance, when He withdraws His favour and help, so is He said to turn towards us, His countenance, when He shows Himself gracious,-comp. Psalms 11:7, "His countenance beholds the upright." To see God, or God's face, therefore, is nothing else than to enjoy the Divine favour, to experience the friendship of God, to be assured of His love, and through it to obtain deliverance from the hands of our enemies. So un-questionably is the seeing of God used in the prayer of Heze-kiah, Isaiah 38:11, "I said, I shall not see the Lord in the land of the living." Precisely similar also is Psalms 16:11, wherethe Psalmist expects fulness of joy in the presence of the Lord; so that the Lord sees him, and he the Lord. The expression,“when I awake” -inasmuch as the figurative view, already adopted by Calvin, according to which a person freed from suffering is represented as one awaking, and the rendering, "as often as I awake," every morning, are arbitrary-obliges us to suppose, that our Psalm contains an evening prayer of the Psalmist, or was designed by him to be an evening prayer for the faithful. In the stillness of night, the righteous man on his bed complains to the Lord of his distress, and receives from Him inward consolation and the assurance of His help. Calmed, he now sleeps, certain that on his awaking the Lord will grant him the promised aid. That the custom of prayer at even, springing from the very nature of the case, was then also pre-valent with the pious, is evident from Psalms 3:5; Psalms 4:8,-passages which are plainly opposed to every explanation of the expres-sion, "when I awake," other than the one just given; the existence also of the custom of morning prayer distinctly ap-pears from Psalms 5:3.-תמונה always signifies form. The Psalmist refers here to Numbers 12:8, where God, to indicate the confi-dential relation of Moses to Him, says, "With him I speak mouth to mouth, and face to face, not in dark speeches, and the form of the Lord he beholds." A like confidential relation to the Lord is here meant, a like visible (namely, by the eye of faith) and felt nearness to Him; the form in opposition to image and shadow; the Psalmist means God to take, as it were, flesh and blood, to meet him in the most concrete, living manner. The Psalmist consoles himself justly therewith, regarding what happened to Moses as a real prophecy for all righteous persons. This hope of the righteous, of satisfying themselves with the form of the Lord, grows out of the same feeling of need, which was met by the appearances of God under a corporeal veil in the time of the fathers, and which had its highest satisfaction in the incarnation of the Word. There is so strong a craving in the human heart for a near, human God, that, anticipating the incarnation of God, it figuratively attributes corporeity to Him, lends to Him form, that it might be able to love Him very-intimately, and to derive full comfort from Him. The received exposition of this Psalm we cannot set forth better than in the words of Luther, with whose translation ours agrees, only thathe improperly connects תמונתך with בהקיץ: � when I awakeafter Thine image." "He sets these words over against what he had said of the ungodly. These strive only after earthly things, are full of children, and place their portion in this life: to me, however, this life is contemptible; I hasten toward the future, where I shall behold, not in riches, but in righteousness, not these earthly things, but Thy face itself. I shall also not be satisfied with children of flesh, but when I shall awake in Thine image." In recent times this exposition has gained much currency by having been espoused even by De Wette. Many thought, that a reference to a blessed immortality must surely be well grounded, which was admitted even by so great a scep-tic. Already, however, did Calvin designate this exposition as one not supported by the text, as subtle. It has nothing, indeed, on its side. The supposition, that a striving after the eternal, after eternal blessedness, is here spoken of, and that this appears from the contrast to the striving of the un-godly after temporal goods, mentioned in the preceding verse, rests simply and exclusively upon a false exposition of that verse. How it can be maintained, that the seeing of the Lord's face, and being satisfied with His form, must necessarily be un-derstood of the seeing of God in the life to come, one cannot easily see. There cannot be a corporeal vision even in that life; even on that view, the satisfaction with the form of God must be figuratively understood. The seeing of God in the present, and the seeing of Him in the future life, are different only in degree, not in kind. This is most manifest from the declaration of our Lord, "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God;" the promise in which, as in all others, is to be referred not less to this life, than to the future one. But what thoroughly refutes this exposition, is the circumstance that, according to it, not merely would there be expressed here a knowledge of eternal life more clear and confident than we could expect to find in a Psalm of David, but especially that the Psalmist would be declaring his entire resignation in regard to earthly things, wholly abandoning them to the wicked, and would express hope only in regard to what is heavenly. The rest of the Psalm stands in direct opposition to this rationalistic, rather than Christian sort of resignation; for a strong and healthy faith in regard to a future recompense, always rests on the foundation of a present retribution. Besides, in ver. 13, we find the Psalmist calling upon the Lord to deliver his soul from the ungodly byHis sword, and in ver. 14, making complaint of the temporal prosperity of the wicked. Psalms 18. Full of thankfulness, David praises the Lord for having heard his prayer, and delivered him out of great danger, vers. 1-3. He delineates in vers. 4-19 the first part of his dangers and deliverances, which are particularly mentioned in the super-scription, by a variety of elevated figures. He affirms, in vers. 20-27, that he had, received the Lord's assistance only in con-sequence of the righteousness of his endeavours, and his de-votedness. The deliverance from Saul had been referred back to this source; and now the representation of the second part, of the Divine goodness, in vers. 28-45, namely, of the assistance which God had in part already given him against foreign ene-mies, the opponents of his kingdom, and which He was still to give by means of His promise, both to David personally and to his posterity, starts from the same point. The conclusion in vers. 46-50, consists of praise to God for the whole of His won-derful deeds. We have thus five parts: the introduction, at the end of which, in. ver. 3, the theme is announced, "according to His glory I call upon the Lord, and am delivered from mine ene-mies; the conclusion, a twofold representation of the wonder-ful deeds of God; in the middle, a representation of the sub-jective conditions on which the Lord imparts His aid, connected alike with what is behind and what is before. That we have here an artistically composed whole, is obvious from this view of the subject and the train of thought. No traces of a strophe-arrangement are discoverable. We cannot overlook, however, the respect had to the number three, point-ing to the Mosaic blessing, which in the Psalmist had met with so remarkable a fulfilment. In the superscription, the name Jehovah is thrice used; and thrice also in the introduction, which consists too of three verses. The names of God in ver. 2, in which the Psalmist has concentrated the entire fulness of the Divine grace, fall into three divisions. The first and the third of these divisions contain three names, whilst that in the middle, only one. The whole number of names is seven; so that along-280 THE BOOK OF PSALMS. side of the number of the blessing, occurring five times, goes the number of the covenant. As in the introduction we meet the number three, so also in the beginning of the conclusion. It can hardly be accidental also, that the whole is made up of fifty verses, five decades, in correspondence with the five verses of the conclusion. The strongest scepticism has not ventured to deny here theDavidic authorship. With the solitary exception of Olshausen, in the "Emendations," it is universally recognised. Ewald urges in support of it, that here there are expressed, with the greatest clearness, David's nature, his views, and his lofty con-sciousness, and his experiences, so peculiar in their kind. That the Psalmist was a king, is quite manifest from ver. 50, as also from ver. 43. The same confidence in the blessing of God, in respect even to his latest posterity, discovers itself in the last words of David, 2 Samuel 23. The separate words have quite the Davidic hue. The recurrence in the Books of Samuel is also to be regarded as an external ground, and of the greater importance, as all the other songs which these books contain, as of David, are certainly his genuine productions. Hitzigmarks, "The author is a warrior, whom the armies of his enemies had often threatened with death, ver. 29. But Jehovah had delivered him from them all, because of his piety, withdrawn him from their power, and enabled him finally to subdue them. He not only brought him forth unscathed from domestic wars, and set him upon the throne of Israel, but subjected to him also, far and wide, the heathen nations. One of the most important indications of the hand of David, is to be found in the relation, to be investigated afterwards, in which ver. 28 ff. stand to the promise in 2 Samuel 7. Another also will be pointed out in the course of our exposition. In regard to the situation, we are told in the superscription, that David sung this Psalm after the Lord had delivered him out of the hand of all his enemies. The Psalm is thus desig-nated as not having arisen from some special occasion, but as a general thanksgiving for all the grace and the assistance which he had received from God all his life long, as a combination of the thanks which David had uttered from time to time on particular occasions, as a great halleluiah with which he retired from the theatre of life. In the Books of Samuel this Psalm is expressly connected with the end of David's life, immediately before his"last words," which are presently after given in ch. 23. With this account the matter of the Psalm entirely agrees. In it the Psalmist thanks God, not for any single deliverance, but has throughout before his eyes a great whole of gracious ad-ministrations, an entire life rich with experiences of the loving-kindness of God. Without foundation, Venema and others would conclude from ver. 20 ss., that this Psalm must have been composedbefore the adultery with Bathsheba. That deed, though a dread-ful sin, yet being one only of infirmity, from the guilt of which David was delivered by a sincere repentance, cannot be regarded as inconsistent with what he here says of himself, if his words are but rightly understood. In 2 Samuel 22., this Psalm is repeated with not a few varia-tions. The supposition which is now commonly received, and which has been specially defended by Lengerkei and Hitzig, is, that these variations have arisen from carelessness, discovering itself in both forms of the text, though principally in that of Samuel. But the following reasons may be advanced against this view: 1. If such were the correct view of the origin of these variations, it would follow, that before the collection of the canon, the text of the books of the Old Testament had been very carelessly treated. For it is improbable that this particular Psalm should have had a specially unpropitious fate. And in that case, conjectural criticism must have a very large field as-signed it. We should have to proceed on the expectation of finding one, or even more faults, in almost every verse. But even the rashest of our critics do not consider the text to be in such a state, and the more judicious confine conjectural criti-cism within very narrow limits. 2. In other places where similar variations are found, where there are texts that come in contact with each other, these variations are uniformly not the result of accident and negligence, but of design. So, for example, in Isa. ch. ii., comp. with Mic. iv., and in Jeremiah, comp. with the numerous passages in the older Scriptures, which he has appro-priated. 3. The text in each of the forms is of such a nature, that one would never have thought of regarding it as faulty in any particular place, were it not for the comparison with the corresponding place. If negligence had here played its part, Comment. de dupl. Psalms 18, exemplo. 282 THE BOOK OF PSALMS. there would inevitably be a multitude of passages in which the fault would be discoverable at a glance, and could be shown in-contestably to be such. 4. A great number of the variations, nay, the greater part of them, are of such a kind that they can-not be explained by accident. This circumstance forbids the derivation from accident, even in those cases where it might fairly be allowed to have had place, since it is improbable that the variations should have flowed from a double source. The proof of this will be found in considering the particular varia-tions. 5. It is not difficult to discover certain principles by which the variations in the Books of Samuel are governed. That which has had the most powerful influence, is the tendency already found in Ps. liii., as comp. with 14., to substitute for the simple, plain, and common, the far-fetched, elevated, em-phatic, and rare. Besides this, there is also perceptible the desire to explain what is dark. Such pervading tendencies can-not be shown to exist in the sphere of accident. It has been advanced in support of the view we oppose, that the variation in a number of cases consists only in the change of a single letter, and sometimes, indeed, of such letters as are, either in form or pronunciation, similar to each other; for ex-ample, ver. 11, וידא and וירא, in ver. 12, השכת and השרת, etc. But this appearance is found even where the variations have unquestionably arisen from design; and wherever a text is re-vised, the author of the variations will take particular pleasure in expressing a different sense by the greatest possible similarity of form. The fact in question could only have been of moment in the case of the sense being unsuitable in one of the readings. But no trace of this is at all discoverable. We derive the variations, altogether from an intentional revision; and as both the texts are prefaced by the superscrip-tion of David, the revision must have been undertaken by him-self. As to the object of the revision, we do not consider it to have been that of antiquating the earlier form, but of producing variations which should be placed alongside of the original and main text. The text in the Psalms appears to us to be this original and main one, partly on the external ground, that this Psalm was given up by David for public use, as we learn from the expression, "To the chief musician," in the superscription, partly also on the internal ground already noticed, that in a con-siderable number of variations in the Books of Samuel, designis unmistakeable; and finally, because the text in Samuel, though excellent when considered simply as a variation, is, apart from that, decidedly inferior to the text of the Psalms. From this view we derive the advantage of being wholly delivered from a line of procedure, the arbitrariness and inad-missibleness of which experience has sufficiently shown;-the course, namely, which leads writers constantly to extol the one text at the expense of the other, and to use every means for making one of them appear deserving of utter rejection. What has been objected to this view by Lengerke, that such an artificial mode of procedure was not to be expected of David, rests upon a view of the Psalms as mere natural poetry, the falseness of which has been sufficiently proved by our previous exposition; nor can it have much weight, at any rate, in a Psalm like the present, which was already designated by Amyrald as artis poeticae luculentissimum specimen, and by Hitzig as "an unrivalled production of art and reflection."To the chief musician, of the servant of the Lord David, who spake to the Lord the words of this song, at the time, when the Lord delivered him from the hand of his enemies, and from the hand of Saul. In this superscription, the form of introduction to the song of Moses, in Deuteronomy 31:30, seems to be imitated: "And Moses spoke in the ears of all the congregation of Israel the words of this song,"-a supposition which is the more natu-ral, since in the song itself the reference to Deuteronomy 32. is un-questionable, from which, in particular, David has borrowed the designation of God as the rock, צור; and since the introduction to the last words of David, in 2 Samuel 23:1, rests in like man-ner upon the introduction of Balaam to his prophecies, in Numbers 24:3. Especially noticeable is the coincidence in the expres-sion, "the words of this song," for which, elsewhere, we find simply,"this song," Exodus 15:1, etc. Instead of, "in the ears of the congregation," we have here, "to the Lord," which occurs also in Exodus 15:1. The expression, "of the servant of the Lord," indicates the dignity and importance of the person, who con-stituted the ground-work of the deliverances granted to him, and corresponds to the words in the conclusion, "who makes great the salvation of his king," equivalent to, "my salvation because I am His king." To this dignity of the person, to its importance in respect to the kingdom of God, are to be attributed the words,284 THE BOOK OF PSALMS. "To the chief musician." A song so thoroughly individual in its character as this is, could not have been consecrated to the public worship of God if its author and object had not repre-sented the whole of the Church, and that his blessing and grace were its also. Every pious man, in a general sense, is named the servant of the Lord; so Job, in ch. 1:8, 2:3, comp. also Psalms 19:11; Psalms 19:13. Even in this general sense, the designation has respect, not merely to the subjective element of obedience, but also to the dignity of him who is thus denominated: it is an honour to be received by God as among the number of His servants, who enjoy the support and protection of their rich and mighty Lord. But the designation is more commonly used in a special sense of those whom God employs for the execution of His purposes, to whom He entrusts the manage-ment of His concerns, and whom He fits for the advance-ment of His glory. David, who is said in the Acts 13:36, to have "served the will (purpose) of God in his generation," was the first, after Moses and Joshua, who in such a sense was called the servant of God. He is so designated here--in the superscription of Ps. 36., which is nearly related to ours, and must consequently have proceeded from the author himself-and again in his own words, in 2 Samuel 7. Analogous alsothe description in the last wordsof David, "The man who was raised up on high, the anointed of the God of Jacob"-a passage which fully justifies the remark of Venema, that the designation is not one merely of modesty and humility,-though these qua-lities are recognisable in it, so far as David seeks his honour in what God had given him, not in what he had of himself,-but also, and pre-eminently, of honour. Not that he acts presumptu-ously in assuming to himself such an honourable appellation; for the position which he vindicates to himself belonged to him according to unquestionable testimonies on the part of God, both in word and deed, and in such cases it is only false humility to decline claiming that which God has openly bestowed. With ביום, the entire following period stands in stat. constr.: in the day of the Jehovah delivered him; for: in the day that Jehovah delivered him. To the words, "from the hand of all his ene-mies, and (especially) from the hand of Saul," correspond those in Exodus 18:10, "Blessed be the Lord, who hath delivered you out of the hand of Egypt, and out of the hand of Pharaoh." The deliverance of David from the hand of Saul was too im-portant not to be specially referred to in the superscription, and in the Psalm itself. It was the first of all; it was by means of what he experienced in these necessities that his faith in God's fatherly care first developed itself; and in all his subsequent difficulties, David's mind always fell back on those experiences which formed the basis of his inward life. That deliverance was for him the same as the redemption out of Egypt was for Israel. The danger, besides, was for David the greatest of all. In later times, he stood as king over against other kings, or his own rebellious subjects; but here as a private man, without power or resources, over against the king, who employed all his power to persecute: never afterwards was he so much alone, and immediately thrown upon God. This distinction is im-pressed upon the Psalm itself. In the section which celebrates the deliverance from the hand of Saul, David is represented as entirely passive: the hand out of the clouds lays hold of him, and pulls him out of great waters. On the other hand, in the section which is taken up with his deliverance from the hand of his other enemies, we see him throughout active: God delivers him by imparting His blessing to the use of the means which he had himself furnished. He is no longer like a "flea," is no more "hunted like a partridge upon the mountains;" but as a warrior he places himself in opposition to warriors, "runs in the Lord upon troops, and in his God springs over walls."1 He must first learn to read with larger characters, and then the smaller shall become legible to him. Finally, in no later de-liverance did the height to which David was raised form such a contrast to the depth to which he had sunk, nor in any later catastrophe was there, in reference to his enemies, such a con-trast between the depth to which they fell, and their former elevation: he, raised from tending flocks to be the shepherd of a people-out of the deepest misery to kingly power and glory; Saul, abandoned to despair and an ignominious death, his family thrust down to a low condition. One can only read with surprise the assertion of Lengerke, that the words, "and from the hand 1 This important distinction was first noticed by Venema, whose remark, however, appears to have been quite overlooked by later writers: "In the former section he had ascribed his deliverance to God alone as a just Judge, and had reserved no part to himself; here, however, while he acknowledges God as the source of power and victory, he yet represents himself as an instrument in the hand of God, whereby the enemies were subdued."286 THE BOOK OF PSALMS. of Saul," are a latter addition. It is justified as genuine by the division of matter in the song itself. The deliverance from Saul is treated as a separate whole, and is disconnected from the mass of the other deliverances and gracious acts of God.1 The introduction occupies vers. 1-3; and in it the Psalmist first declares his tender love to God, and then draws attention to its grounds, as well through the number of epithets applied to God, as in ver. 3, through an open exhibition of the actual facts.1 That the superscription is not, as some have supposed, borrowed from 2 Sam., is shown even by its formal agreement with the introduction (the threefold number of the names of God), which bespeaks its origin with the Psalmist himself. The same thing is still more decisively proved by the in-ternal character of the superscription, -in particular by the words, "and from the hand of Saul," as compared with the contents. The variations in 2 Sam. are just so many intentional changes. First, the words, "To the chief musician," are left out, because here the song comes under considera-tion only as the personal confession of David. Then the words, "of the servant of the Lord," are omitted, for no other reason than that in 2 Sam., in the superscription and introduction, the entire arrangement, and the pre-dominance of the number three, which rendered these words necessary, are abolished; of the genuineness of the words, one can scarcely doubt after com-paring 2 Sam. vii., 23:1, and the corresponding, "His king and His anointed," of the conclusion. Finally, instead of מיד, there is used a second time מכף, for conformity sake, while the original מיד was probably employed on purpose to distinguish the deliverance from the hand of Saul more clearly from that out of the hands of the other enemies. Ver. 1. And he said: Heartily do I love Thee, O Lord, my strength. Luther: "Our sweet and joyful affection ought to impel us with great force to those to whose goodness we owe deliverance from huge evil and misfortune. So says he now: I have a sincere and childlike longing toward Thee. He thus con-fesses the warmest love, and that he has had pleasure in our Lord God, for he has found His kindness to be unspeakable; and from this constraining desire and love it arises that he ascribes to God so many names." Love to God, even in Deuteronomy 10:12, and in a series of other passages in the Pentateuch, is declared to be the sum of the whole law. The manifestations of God's love are designed to lead to Him; but this aim is not accomplished in all: many embrace the gifts, and forget the Giver-their hearts be-come colder toward God the more eminent His gifts are. Of Israel it is said in Deuteronomy 15, "But, Israel waxed fat and kicked; he forgot God that made him, and lightly esteemed the Rock of his salvation." In David, however, the manifestationsof God's love to him kindled the flame of a corresponding love, and caused it to burn ever clearer and brighter. רהם, diligere ex intimis visceribus, to love heartily, occurs in Kal only here; Piel could not have been used, for that always marks the tender love of the stronger toward the weaker, compassion. It appears that David made the word for himself, because no existing term was sufficient to express his feeling. The word, "my strength" (קז,הe, also ἅנבמ כוד.), is referred by Luther to that strength "with which a man is clothed from above, and by which he is inwardly strengthened and fortified,-the firmness which braces weak and delicate minds." This strength, he says, we have not, excepting from God. For when it depends upon ourselves, we are quite weak, in good as well as in bad times, and we melt like wax before the sun. This view would lead to the compari-son of 1 Samuel 30:6, "David strengthened himself in the Lord his God." But that "my strength" is at least not exclusively, or even pre-eminently, to be referred to internal strengthening, is evident from the following names of God, which all refer to the external aid granted by God, and also from the entire sequel, which treats of actual deliverances, and may be said to be in-volved in this one word.11 This first verse is altogether awanting in 2 Sam. Its internal cha- racter bespeaks its genuineness; the judgment of Lengerke, inanis est et frigidus versiculus, is characteristic only of him who uttered it, not of the saying, which was the source of two of our finest hymns (Herzlich lieb hab' ich dich, O Herr, and Ich will dich lieben meine Stהrke). The ἁנ. כוד. רהם is a further proof of its originality; and also the fact, that the threefold use of the name Jehovah fails in the introduction, if this verse is held to be of later origin. Finally, as an external ground, the name of King Hezekiah, which, in all probability, was derived from this verse. Against the opinion of Hitzig, that the words were dropt in 2 Sam. from negligence, we would say, that such a degree of negligence precisely at the commencement is scarcely to be conceived. But it is quite conclusive that this omission goes hand in hand with the longer addition in ver. 3, which was manifestly de-signed to supply the place of what was omitted, and which therefore must have been known to the author. If we should attribute to the author of the text in 2 Sam. the design of supplanting our text by the addition, "my Saviour, who savest me from violence," he would certainly have done very ill. But this was obviously not his design. He only wished to give a variation. Ver. 2. The Lord is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer: my God is my stronghold, in whom I trust; my shield and horn of my salvation, my citadel. The first thing to be con- sidered here is, how the words in the middle, בו אהסה צורי אלי are to be understood. Generally two names of God are found here, "my God, my Stronghold, in whom I trust." We, how-ever, render, "my God is my stronghold, in which I trust," so that only this, the term, "my Stronghold," belongs to the series of appellatives applied to God. This view is supported, first, by the consideration that the quite general term, "my God," interrupts the series of appellatives, which all bear a special character. In the second place, that on the other view, in place of the number seven, so significant, and such a favour-ite with David, and which we the rather expect here, as the number plays so conspicuous a part in the superscription and introduction, the meaningless eight would be found. In the third place, אלי does not form one of the series of the other names of God; as is shown also by the corresponding, "my rock-God, in whom I trust," in 2 Sam. The author divides the seven names, with which he would praise God, into three parts. The first and the third contain three names; for the inter-mediate part only one remains. צורי alone would have been too isolated and bald; hence was אלי prefixed, and בו אהסה added. If then we must render, "my God is my rock or stronghold," it is certain that the whole verse, precisely as ver. 3 (comp. also Psalms 46:1, "God is our refuge and strength"), speaks concern-ing Jehovah, and that the current exposition, which regards it as containing direct addresses, dependent on the words, "I love Thee," is to be rejected. So long a series of vocatives also would have something formal and cold about it, and would not accord with the calmness appropriate to an introduction, and which is observed in the two other verses. Our construction was already adopted by the Vulgate. The designations of God in this verse, as also that in the preceding, "my strength," contain not only an expression of thankfulness for what is past, but also, at the same time, ex-pression of hope in respect to the future; not the Lord was, but the Lord is my rock, etc. David's relation to God is a standing one, out of which the future salvation will proceed, just as the past salvation has proceeded. That the designations must be thus understood, is evident, first of all, from the expres-sion in the next verse, "I am delivered," not, I was. Then it is clear also from the body of the Psalm, which refers not merely to the deliverance already received, but also to the future, inclusive even of that which David was to receive in his posterity.Psalms 18. VER. 2. 289 The two first names, and also the last, are taken from the natu-ral features of Palestine, where the precipitous rocks, surrounded by deep ravines, afford protection to the flying: comp. "He sets me up upon a rock," in Psalms 27:5, for, He delivers me, Judges vi. 2; 1 Samuel 24:22; 2 Samuel 5:8. David's predilection for this figurative description of the Divine protection, which shows itself, not merely in the threefold repetition, but also in its form-ing both the beginning and the end, comprising everything else, appears to have originated in the persecution of Saul. Then he often had to betake himself to rocks for refuge. He grounded the hope of his security, however, not upon their natural inac-cessibility, but his mind rose from the corporeal rock to the spi-ritual, which he beheld under the form of the corporeal. The mode of contemplation, to which he then became familiarized, suggested such figurative designations of God, his deliverer, as his rock, his fastness, his stronghold. Placed upon this rock, he could say: non curo te Caesar, with infinitely better right than he who, according to Augustine, on Psalms 70., from a lofty cliff addressed the Emperor with these words, as he passed be-neath. The third designation, "my deliverer," the only proper one amid others solely figurative, is intended to explain the two first, pointing to their real substance. In the fourth designa-tion, "my mountain, in whom I trust," it is not the height and inaccessibility, as in the case of the rock, which are considered, but the immoveableness, and unchangeable firmness. It directs attention to the immutability of God, His constancy and inviola-ble faithfulness. The etymology also suggests this sense; צור properly signifies, not, "rock," but, "stone." Such decidedly is its import in the first passage, where it is used as a designa-tion of God, Deuteronomy 32:4. There it is manifestly equivalent to אמונה, �gfidelity,�h and the meaning, tutissimum asylum, is quite unsuitable. That David borrowed the צור from this passage, which with singular predilection he used for his last words, is evident from ver. 31. Similarly dependent on that original passage, צור is found in Psalms 92:15, "To show that the Lord is upright, my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in Him." The Psalm celebrates God's love and fidelity, אמונה, ver. 2. צור frequently occurs in close connection with Jehovah, the One who absolutely is, the unchangeable (see my Beitr. Th. II. p. 244 ss.), and especially in Isaiah 26:4. The name in Genesis 49:24, "the stone of Israel," is analogous. This stone is the290 THE BOOK OF PSALMS. touchstone for the interpretation of צור, showing what is the quality in it that comes under consideration. To suppose that this quality here is the inaccessible height, would only be justi-fiable, if we could take הסה with ב in the sense of "to fly to," whereas it always signifies "to trust in." To the trusting ex-actly corresponds unchangeableness and fidelity.-The epithet, "My shield," occurred already in Psalms 3:3. In Deuteronomy 33:29, God is named, "the shield of the help of Israel."-Horn of deliverance, is either equivalent to "delivering horn" (so Luther: It signifies an horn of salvation, because it overcomes the ene-mies, delivers from the enemies, and gives salvation)-or the literal term ישעי is the explanation of the figurative one קרן, "my deliverance-horn," q. d. "my horn," that is, "my deliverance;" His power affords me the deliverance which horns afford to beasts. In any case, the image is taken from beasts which de-fend themselves with their horns, and in these have the seat of their strength. To the interpretation of others, who take the word in the sense of height, there is the objection, that this signi-fication occurs only in one passage, namely, Isaiah 5:1, and even there it means, not mountain-top, but hill; whereas it is found in a great number of passages in the sense adopted by us, with a reference to beasts, whose strength resides in their horns; comp. for ex. Deuteronomy 33:27; 1 Samuel 2:10; Job 16:15. It is a confirmation also of this view, that the epithet, "my high place," of the conclusion, may better stand alone than "my shield." For it only rounds off, and points back to the com-mencement. In Deuteronomy 33:29, parallel with the " helping shield," is "the imperious sword," defence and offence.1 1 In 2 Sam. לי is added מפלטי, my deliverer, which is neither, with Lengerke, to be declared original, nor, with others, to be characterized as wholly to be rejected. It bears the character of the unusual, which dis-tinguishes so many of the variations in 2 Sam. It is found also in Psalms 144:2, a passage grounded upon ours, and cannot therefore be regarded as a corruption of late origin. Of the passages in which Lengerke has sought to find a similar use of the Psalms 27:2; Psalms 31:4, the first has nothing to do with it, and the second is uncertain. Instead of, "my Godis my rock," there is in 2 Sam., "my rock-God," ירiוצ יהeלoא< a variation which is shown to be intentional by ver. 47, where the designation, "rock-God," again occurs. Such a regularity is incompatible with an accidentalorigin. The solitariness of משגבי is in 2 Sam. relieved by the addition מנוסי;, my refuge. Then there is also appended a fuller conclusion: my Redeemer, who redeemest me from violence. It is impossible to account for such an ad-dition by accident. Our text maintains here throughout the character of the ground-text; but considered as a variation, that in 2 Sam. is quite unexceptionable. No one would think of bettering it, if we had it alone. Ver. 3. As on the glorious one I call upon the Lord, and from mine enemies I am delivered. The Futs. of the verb are to be taken aoristically, "as often as I call upon Thee, I am de-livered;" so that the sentiment refers at once to the past, the present, and the future. Luther: "He would teach us by this, that there is nothing so bad, so great, so mighty, so tedious, which may not be overcome by the power of God, if we only put our trust therein. Likewise, that we have pre-eminent cause to hope that the power of God will be mighty in us, when many great, strong, and continuous evils forcibly press upon us, inasmuch as it is a property of Divine strength to help the little, the feeble, the dejected, not merely amid the evils of punishment, but also of guilt. For what sort of power were God's, if it could only prevail over punishment, and not also over sin in us? So full is this passage of consolation; because the state of things it contemplates seems to be wholly against nature, and that one must abandon all hope, when not evil merely, but also great, weighty, and long-continued evils break in." The first clause is translated by many, "I call upon the Lord as one that has been praised," i. e. "after that I have already praised Him." So Luther: I will praise the Lord, and call upon: Him. "This doctrine," says he, "is in tribulation the most noble and truly golden. It is scarcely credible what a powerful assistance such praise of God is in pressing danger. For the moment thou beginnest to praise God, the evil begins to abate, the consoled courage grows, and then follows the calling upon God with confidence. There are people who cry to the Lord, and are not heard, ver. 41. Why this? Because they do not praise the Lord when they cry to Him, but go to Him with reluctance; they have not represented to themselves how sweet the Lord is, but have looked only upon the bitter-ness. But no one is delivered from evil by simply looking upon his evil, and becoming alarmed at it; he can only do so by overcoming it, clinging to the Lord, and having respect to His goodness. O doubtless a hard counsel! And a rare thing, truly, in the midst of misfortune to conceive of God as sweet, and, worthy of being praised; and when He has removed Himself from us, and is incomprehensible, even then to regard Him morestrongly than our present misfortune, which keeps us from re-garding Him. Only let any one try it, and endeavour to praise God when he is not in good heart: he will presently experi- ence an alleviation. All other consolation profits not, or profits in a deceitful manner; in other words, is highly injurious." Though the sense, however, is given here with substantial cor-rectness, yet the view taken of מהלל cannot be grammatically justified. To take "praised," for, "after that I have praised Him," is harsh, and everywhere else the word is used in the Psalms as an epithet of God: "praised" glorious, Psalms 48:1; Psalms 96:4; Psalms 113:3; Psalms 145:3, comp. 1 Chronicles 16:25. So mustbe understood here also. It marks that property of God which David vividly realized to himself in calling upon Him; points out that it is not enough simply to call upon the Lord, comp. ver. 41; but that the full recognition of His glory must be coupled therewith, which only dwells in the heart that has un-doubting faith. This it is that distinguishes the prayer of faith from that of the doubter, who prays merely by way of experi-ment, and dares not hope that he shall receive anything comp. James 1:5. מהלל stands in the accus., comp. Ewald, �˜ 510, c.; and the position at the beginning, which has led many astray, is to be explained from the design of giving emphasis to this word. After the introduction, there follows now, in vers. 4-19, the first part of the description of the Divine help which David had experienced amid the great necessities and manifold dan-gers of his life, referring to the period of the persecution under Saul. This is opened in vers. 4 and 5, by a description of the necessity. Then, in vers. 6-19, he sets forth how the words, "I call upon the Lord as the glorious one, and am delivered from mine enemies," were fulfilled. Ver. 4. The cords of death compassed me about, and the waters of mischief frightened me. Ver. 5. The cords of hell compassed me about; the snares of death surprised me. The question first of all arises, Of what distress in the life of David does he here speak? The proper answer is, that David here masses all the necessities, of the Sauline period together. This view is favoured by the superscription, which divides all the distresses of David into two great halves,-the Sauline ones, and the others; and also by the relation between the two sec-tions, vers. 4-19, and 28-45, already referred to: in the for-293 Psalms 18. VERS. 4, 5. mer, David is delivered by God, without his co-operation; while in the latter, he is represented as at once the instrument and the object of the Divine deliverance. The supposition, that David comprehends all the distresses of his life into one, is discounte-nanced by the division of the matter into two parts; and the opinion of De Wette and Lengerke, viz. that the Psalmist speaks of one particular danger and deliverance (De Wette is uncertain what, Lengerke thinks of David's escape from the treachery of the Ziphites), is not suited to the occasion. to the general character of the Psalm; it is based on the supposi-tion, that the Psalmist spoke too largely, without being able to explain why he should have given such prominence to one par-ticular event at the expense of others. Instead of cords, severalhave, "the pains of death." ילeב;ה, can certainly signify that; but the sense of cords, to which the compassing is also more suitable, is decided for here by מוקשי, parallel to the second הבלי, with which the first must accord in meaning. Death is repre-sented under the image of a hunter, from whom the animal canno longer escape, when the fatal net has been thrown over it. Belial is taken here by many expositors in the sense of "de-struction." The brooks or waters of destruction must be a figurative description of great misfortune, which in a manneroverflows a man. But Belial always signifies unprofitableness in a moral sense, worthlessness. In this sense it occurs even in Deuteronomy 13:13; Deuteronomy 15:19. In that sense it was quite familiarly used, especially in David’ s time, and is so used in the last words of David, 2 Samuel 23:6, which are so closely related to this Psalm: worthlessness as abstr. pr. concr., or personified. For the signification, “ misfortune,” "destruction," Gesenius produces only, in addition to our passage, Nahum 1:11; where,however, בליעל יועץ is explained by Michaelis, "consiliariusBelial, nequam, diabolicus," and according to chap. 2:1, it must be so rendered. If we follow the only certain meaning of the word, as already the LXX. קוילבס᾽ס῾נןי ἀםןליבע, then by the brooks of unworthiness, we can only understand, with Muis and others, the unworthy (Saul and his company), who overflow as brooks. This view is supported also by what follows. If Belial is explained by destruction, no clear description of the distress is given at all. One might think, for example, that the Psalmist had been sick unto death. But that is contrary to the conclusion in vers. 17 and 18, where it is clearly intimated, that294 THE BOOK OF PSALMS. the troubles proceeded from enemies. In this conclusion there is, further, as good as an express comment on the brooks of Belial. In ver. 17 we find parallel with the preceding words, "He drew me out of many waters,"-which refer to the brooks of Belial,-"He delivered me from my strong enemy, and from my haters, for they were too strong for me." Also in Psalms 144:7, which is based on the present one, "Deliver me out of many waters, out of the hand of strange children," the waters are not the image of misfortune, but of its cause, the enemies. The Fut. יבעתוני is to be explained from the lively realization of pre-sence. קדם is, "to surprise;" comp. on Psalms 17:13:1 1 In 2 Sam. we have first, at the beginning of ver. 5, כי added. Thisaddition bears the character of an explanation. The כי marks precisely the relation in which the section just begun, stands to the preceding. Luther: "In what precedes he had said and taught, that we must call upon the name of the Lord with praise and love, if we would be delivered from the hand of our enemies; and now, further, he relates that he had done this, and relates his own history as an example of the doctrine which he had taught." Then, instead of מות הבלי, the cords of death, stands תו,מA ירeב;ש;מi, the waves of death. Thereby the first member is made moreconformable to the second, and the repetition is avoided. But we are not to conclude from this, that משברי is the original. If it had been so, cer-tainly no one would have thought of substituting הבלי for it. With the reading הבלי, the two verses are made only too regular. If Belial denotes mischief, then there is the less reason for wishing anything exactly corre-sponding to the brooks. The repetition of הבלי has an analogy in vers. 12 and 13. The thought of the cords is so peculiarly attractive to the Psalmist, that he involuntarily, as it were, returns to it. Bound, entan-gled by death, a helpless victim of it, this is the most suitable description of his case; and to this he returns again, after having slightly employed another image, and thus indicated the source of his deadly distress. From all which it is clear, that משברי has only the import of a good variation. The antiquity of the הבלי is also secured by Psalms 116:3. Finally, for סבבוני; the fuller and more sonorous poetic form, there is in 2 Sam. the commonינiבuסa. The two readings taken together correspond to סבבוני גם סבוני in Ps. ינiבוסa. 11. The סבני in 2 Sam. serves the purpose of pointing to the em-phasis in סבבוני here. Ver. 6. In my distress I call upon the Lord, and cry to my God; He hears out of His temple my voice, and my cry comes before Him, in His ear. Just as before the distresses had been all comprehended in one great distress, as also again at the commencement of this verse, so here, and in the subsequent context, the manifold Divine hearings and helps are united into a single grand hearing and help. The Futures of the verb are again to be explained from the lively realization of presence.Faith knows no past and no future; what God has done and will do, is present to it. Stier would take צר as the third per-son Pret. But as צרa unquestionably occurs in Job 15:24 as a noun in the sense of distress, we have no occasion to prefer here the more strained exposition, "in the distress to me," for, "in this my distress." שוע, stronger than קרא, denotes the cry for help uttered by him who is in the greatest danger and ex-tremity. On the expression, "my God," Calvin remarks: "In calling God his God, he distinguishes himself from those gross despisers of God and hypocrites, who, indeed, confusedly invocate a heavenly power, when impelled by hard necessity; but neither with a pure heart, nor as on terms of intimacy, draw near to God, of whose fatherly grace they know nothing." By the temple of God is here indicated His dwelling-place in the heavens, not for the reason adduced by Theodoret, that the earthly temple was then still unbuilt-for היכל is used, as was formerly noticed, also of the tabernacle; and it was only from this being named the dwelling of God, that heaven was also named so-but because, by this exposition, we obtain a finer contrast: the servant far below on the earth cries, and the Lord hears high up in the heavens; nay, the more highly He is enthroned, the better does He hear, the more easily does He help; because the following context represents how God comes down from heaven, in order to help His servant; and lastly, also, because of the parallel passage in Psalms 11:4, "The Lord is in His holy temple, the Lord's throne is in heaven."1-Ber-leb. Bible: "Has thy God now heard thee, O thou oppressedking; then let us know how it has turned out with thy cry and prayer for redemption." 1 In 2 Sam, there is ארAק;א, instead of אשוע here. This throws the em- phasis upon אלהי, whereas its import does not come out so decidedly with our reading, which, by the increased force of the expression, "I cry," rather draws attention to the singular intensity of emotion and the great-ness of the distress. That it is appropriate thus to distinguish אלהי, and to draw attention to it by employing the same verb, is clear as day. On the ground that Jehovah was David's God, rested the confidence of his prayer, and, indeed, the whole result reported in the sequel. But thatאשוע is the original reading, is manifest from שיעתיל, by which it is againresumed. The תבא לפניו is awanting in 2 Sam. Our reading has the ad- vantage of picturesqueness and vividness: we see how the prayer with winged speed travels the long way from earth to heaven, comes before God's throne, and enters into His ear. The reading in 2 Sam., on the other hand, has the advantage of impressive brevity. Both readings stand peacefully beside other, and expositors in vain try to bring them into col-lision. Ver. 7. Then the earth shakes and trembles, and the founda-tions of the mountains move and shake, because He is wroth. The Psalmist's cry for help has penetrated from the deepest depth to the highest height. It had kindled in his God, who heard him, indignation against those who oppressed His servant; and, be-fore the wrath of the Almighty, the earth heaves in frightful anticipation of the things which are soon to come to pass. "The foundations of the mountains," for, "their lowest base." Ver. 8. Smoke goes up in His nose, and fire out of His mouth devours, coals burn from it. In the whole verse there is a fur-ther expansion of the words, לו הרה, prop. "He is inflamed," with which the preceding verse had closed (Michaelis rightly: ascendit enim), and so the Divine wrath is represented under the image of a fire, just as in Deut. 32:22, 29:20, "Then the anger of the Lord, and His jealousy, shall smoke against that man;" Psalms 74 :I. With the thunder-storm, smoke, and fire, and coals have primarily nothing to do here; this is here only prepared. The nose is named, because it is commonly considered the seat of anger,-the mouth, because it consumes. That אף signifies "nose" (LXX.: ἀםוגח ךבנםןע ἐם ὀסדח? בὐפןץ?; Vulgate: in ira ejus; so also Stier), is clear from the juxtaposition with mouth; and that מפיו is to be rendered by, "out of His mouth," is clear from its juxtaposition with nose. Quite falsely has the ascension of smoke in the nose been connected with the observa-tion, that furious beasts, such as horses, lions, snort dreadfully; and then Stier finds occasion, in the "unpolished, nay, monstrous nature of the image," for adopting his false exposition. Smoke has nothing to do with snorting; it is only the inseparable ac-companiment of fire. The relation of the two to each other is discovered in Exodus 19:18, "And Mount Sinai was altogether on a smoke, because the Lord descended on it in fire." To the nose1 In 2 Sam. we have, instead of the foundations of the mountains, the foundations of the heavens, שמים מוסדות. Our reading takes into view alone the shaking of the earth, because it is concerned with the judgments of the Lord, which now begin to discover themselves in wrath. On the other hand, the reading in 2 Sam., with the view of marking very strongly the frightfulness of the wrath of the Almighty, represents the whole fabric of the universe as trembling before Him. This could only be regarded as unsuitable if, misunderstanding the whole verse, we should imagine a thunder-storm to be spoken of. is attributed the fire of the Divine anger, in its smoking aspect, simply because, in its burning, consuming aspect, it is best attri-buted to the mouth. The word devours stands purposely with-out an object, and we must not supply the enemies. It is the burning power only which is here considered. The whole scene in vers. 7 and 8 still belongs to the heavens. By the coals we are not to understand lightning. This is only the later pro-duct (comp. ver. 12) of the glow of fire and wrath, here first kindled. The suffix in ממנו refers to the mouth. "Coals burn out of it," is not equivalent to "burning coals go forth out of it," but to, "the flame of burning coals bursts forth from it," as out of a burning oven, אש תנור, Genesis 15. The second point comes now: the expression of the anger, whose growth had been described in the preceding verses. The wrath which was kindled in the heavens makes itself felt upon the earth, which had called it forth, and embodies itself in a storm upon the heads of the wicked, whose destruction is at the same time the deliverance of the servant of the Lord. Ver. 9. He bowed the heavens and came down, and darkness was under His feet. He, God, as burning fire. The heavens appear to let themselves down in a storm. Luther: "When there is a clear heaven, the clouds are high; but when a storm comes, one might fancy them pushing against the roof." There seems to be some allusion to this here. However, as is justly remarked by Stier, the words, "He bowed," are in themselves a fit introduction to the strong expression, "He came down." He appeals to Isaiah 63:19. It is a proof of the living nature of faith, when, in times of judgment and help, one sees not merely the working of a God far removed, but Himself in bodily mani-festation. What is to be understood by the darkness, we may best learn from Exodus 19:16, "And there were thunders, and lightnings, and a thick cloud upon the Mount;" and Deuteronomy 5:22, "All these words spake the Lord unto all your assembly in the Mount, out of the midst of the fire, of the cloud, and of the thick darkness," הערפל. The Lord approaches, marching upon the black thunder-clouds. These are, to His enemies, an indi-cation of His anger, and a proclamation of His judgment. Michaelis: "That the wicked might not perceive His serene countenance, but only the terrible signs of His severe anger, and of His punishment." Ver. 10. He rode upon, the cherub and did fly, and He flewupon the wings of the wind. "The cherub," remarks Baehr, Symbolik, Th. p. 341, who, of recent authors, has given the most correct and profound investigation of the nature of the cherub, and with which my remarks on Egypt and the Books of Moses, p. 154 ss., may be compared, as supplementary of his,--“ The cherub is a being which stands on the highest pinnacle of created life, and combines in itself the most perfect kinds of creaturely life, is the most complete manifestation of God, and of the Divine life. It is an image of the creature in its highest form, an ideal creature. The powers of life, divided amongst the creatures that occupy the highest place in the visible creation, are in it combined and individualized." The cherub is a per-sonification of creation. When the Lord is represented asthroned on the cherub, as in the sanctuary, or as riding upon it, as in this place and in Ezekiel, it signifies that creation belongs to and serves Him, that He is the God and Lord of the whole earth, its Creator, Sustainer, and Ruler. When He comes to judgment, woe to those on earth who have awakened His anger. In the passage, Psalms 104:3, which is based on the one before us, the clouds are substituted for the cherub: "Who makes the clouds His chariot." That the appearance of the Lord must not be measured with an earthly measure, that He comes in the majesty of the Lord of the whole creation, not in human weak-ness,-to this also the second clause refers: "He flew upon the wings of the wind."1 1 For וירא, "He flew, hovered," there is in 2 Sam. ארAיeוa, "and He ap- peared;" the appearing of God, in contrast to His concealment in the heavens. Quite fruitless are the efforts made to represent this reading as unsuitable; it offers rather a pleasant variation. As דאה frequently occurs, Deuteronomy 28:49 ; Jeremiah 48:40; Jeremiah 49:22, the reading cannot be explained with Hitzig, from the offence which was taken at the rarer form. Ver. 11. He makes darkness His covering, round about Him in His tent, dark waters, thick clouds. This verse is related to the last words of ver. precisely as ver. 8 is to the last words of ver. 7. It further expands the words, "darkness was under His feet," for the purpose of introducing, at ver. 12, the descrip-tion of the lightning thunder, and hail, which broke forth fromthese dark tempest-clouds. The abbrev. Fut. ישת is used poe-tically with the meaning of the usual Fut. Thunder-clouds are designated, just as here, the tent of God, in Job 36:29, comp. also- Psalms 97:2, "Clouds and darkness are round about Him."Calvin: "When God covers the heavens with darkness, He in a manner prevents men from beholding Him, as when a king, displeased with his people, withdraws and hides himself." To "dark waters," and "thick clouds," we must supply: "He makes His tent." Dark waters are a designation of thunder-clouds. שהקים עבי, prop. "clouds of cloud," equivalent to "the most dense clouds," such as are not scattered, but form, one entire cloud. שהקים denotes clouds more as a whole, compacted together; hence it never occurs in the singular as עב and stands for the cloudsof the entire heaven. There is a corresponding phrase in Exodus 19:9, ןנAעAה, עבa, thick clouds. Gesenius improperly takes עב, in both places, in the sense of darkness.11 In 2 Sam. כתרו is awanting, and for סכתו stands סכותu. An inten- tional abbreviation. For השכת stands the ἁנבמ כוד. תרaש;הa, according to theArabic, gathering. The rare and select השרת is poetical in its form; theהשכת, water-darkness, for dark rain-clouds, is the same in its import. Ver. 12. From the brightness before Him His clouds passed, hailstones and coals of fire, The storm of the Divine anger dis-charges itself. Amid. frightful thunder (ver. 13), from the sea of fire, with which the Lord in His indignation is encompassed (comp. ver. 8), there shoot forth lightnings, dividing the clouds, and hailstones pour down,-the weapons with which the Lord fights against His own and the Psalmist's enemies, as heretofore against the Egyptians, Exodus 9:24, comp. Psalms 88:47; Psalms 88:48, and the Canaanites at Bethhoron, Joshua 10:11. The deep floods under which the Psalmist lies buried, disperse themselves under God'salmighty hand, until the earth is laid open in its inmost recesses,even to the chambers of the dead, and God's hand reaches into the deep abyss, the yawning jaws of hell, and lays hold of His servant. The first clause was quite correctly expounded by Luther: "It is a description of lightning. When He pleases, He rends the clouds asunder, and darts forth a flash, such as the clouds cannot restrain; it breaks through just as if there were no clouds there. As we see that the whole heaven, as it were, opens when there is lightning." In the second clause, the verb cannot be supplied from the first-עבר does not suit. "Hailstones and coals of fire" stands rather as an exclamation, referring to the frightful nature of the unexpected manifesta-tion. Lengerke, whom De Wette follows, expounds: "From the brightness before Him went forth His clouds, hailstones, and coals of fire;" the latter being taken as explanatory: but עבר doesdoes not mean "to go forth;" and the clouds, which may not be identified with lightning and hail, do not proceed from the brightness, but cover it.11 In 2 Sam. it runs merely: out of the brightness before Him ורעEבA אשe-ילeהEגa, coals of fire burned. It is there more distinctly brought out, that these coals of fire are the effect of the brightness. The variation cannot be accounted for by accident, it is too great; and there are also analog. var. in the superscription and ver. 6. Ver. 13. And the Lord thundered in the heaven, and the Highest gave His voice, hailstones and coals of fire. In Exodus 9:23 it is said, " The Lord gave voices and hail, and the fire ran upon the earth." The comparison with this ground-passage shows, that the words, "hailstones, etc.," are still dependent on יתן, and at the same time confutes those who, following the LXX., would set aside "the hailstones and coals of fire" as spurious, and as interpolated from the preceding verse. The repetition is the more in its place, as the coals of fire, or the lightning and the hail, are the very things by which the enemies of the Psalmist were annihilated,-the rest were but the circumstan-tials which rendered the scene of annihilation more frightful.22 In 2 Sam., instead of, "in the heaven," there is, "from the heaven," it. Both are equally good. Hitzig maintains, that בשמים is to be rejected, especially since, ver. 9, Jehovah is no longer in the heaven. But the Lord is perpetually there; even when he comes down, God is still said to be in heaven. Comp. Genesis 11:7, where the Lord, after He had already come clown, ver. 6, says, "Go to, We will go down," etc.; Genesis 18:21, where the Lord says, at the time He was walking upon the earth, "I will go down;" and John 3:13, "And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but He that came down from heaven, the Son of Man that is in heaven," where the Son of God is said to have been in heaven at the very time of His so-journing on earth. In 2 Sam. there are also awanting the words, "hail-stones and coals of fire." The hail, therefore, altogether fails in 2 Sam. The destruction of the enemies is accomplished merely by lightning This constancy argues against those who would derive the variations from accident. So also the fact, that the recension in 2 Sam. remains uniform in its predilection for abbreviations. The text in Psalms 18. is proved to be the original by its closer approximation to the original passage in Exodus 9. Ver. 14. And He sent out His arrows, and scattered them; much lightning, and discomfited them. The Lord is represented under the image of a warrior who comes to the help of David. The arrows which He sends upon them, are the lightnings and the hail. The former are alone named in the second clause, as being the most destructive weapons. The suff. here also require us to understand by the brooks of Belial, in ver. 4, the enemies.For no other designation of them had been given before. רבA, the pausal-form for רבa, is either an adverb, enough, comp. Genesis 45:28; Exodus 9:28; Numbers 16:3; Numbers 16:7; Deuteronomy 1:6; or, we mayalso render, "so that there is much of them," comp. coll., multum, for multi, Exodus 19:21; 1 Samuel 14:6; Numbers 26:54. The latter exposition, according to which a comma is to be supplied before רב, quorum multum erat, is the simplest. There is a corresponding expression, "from my enemy, strong," in ver. 17. It shows a strong predilection for strained expositions to drag in here the verb רבב, "to shoot arrows," which occurs only in Genesis 49:23 : "He hurls forth lightnings." On the ויהמם, "and He discomfited, confounded them," Exodus 14:24 is to be comp.: "And God troubled (confounded), ויהם, the host of the Egyptians,"-the more so, as there also it was effected by light-ning. Further, Exodus 23:27, "I will confound all thine enemies,against whom thou shalt come, and give all thine enemies against thee to the neck;" which passage the Psalmist also, in ver. 40, considers as a prophecy, that had now met with its fulfilment.11 2 Sam. for, "His arrows," there is simply םיצ.iהi; for "lightnings many," the simple קרAבA; for, "He discomfited them," merely, "He discom-fited." All these variations have sprung from the disposition to impart an elevated character, by abbreviating the discourse. The author of Psalms 144. had, in ver. 6, at once ברק in 2 Sam. and הציו of our Psalm in his eye. Ver. 15. Then were seen the brooks of waters, and discovered the foundations of the earth, before Thy rebuke, O Lord, before the blast of the breath of Thy nostrils. The signification channel as regards אפיק is quite uncertain: in Isaiah 8:7, "And he (Euphrates) goes over all his brooks," i.e. "overflows all his canals," the common signification is perfectly suitable, as also in Ezekiel 32:6, comp. 31:12. מים here is against that signifi-cation. The brooks are in a manner invisible, so long as their waters are not divided, and not discovered even to their lowest bottom, in which the Psalmist lies buried. The becoming visi-ble of their lowest depths, refers to the brooks of mischief, in which the Psalmist, according to ver. 4, lay sunk; comp. Psalms 144:6, "Deliver me out of many waters, out of the hand of strange children;" on the other hand, the laying open of the inmost parts of the earth, even to the cords of sheol, with whichhe was bound, ver. 5. In the preceding verse, it was the van-quishing of the enemies; here, and in the following verses, it isthe deliverance of the Psalmist from their hands, and from themisery which they had prepared for him. The nose here also is employed as the seat of anger.11 Instead of מים, we have in 2 Sam. יםA. In 2 Sam the enemies appear wider the stronger image of sea-brooks. Then instead of מגערתך, תרaעEגaב;, told for אפך, אפוa. The address to Jehovah is laid aside, in accordance with the preceding and subsequent context, where Jehovah is spoken of in the third person. The reading in 2 Sam. has the advantage of uniformity, the other of liveliness. Ver. 16. He sends from above, takes me, draws me out of many waters. ישלה stands absolutely in Psalms 57:3, as here, In Psalms 144:7, the object, "His hand," omitted here, as being sufficiently indicated by the words, "He took me," is expressly mentioned. That the many waters are an image of the ene-mies, is evident from the explanation in ver. 17. That there is a reference to Exodus 2:10, "And she called his name Moses, and said, Because I drew him out of the water,"-that David marks himself as the second Moses, is clear, especially from the use of משה, which occurs nowhere else but here, and in that original passage. Luther already called attention to this reference. It is the more important, as Moses was a type of the Israelitish people; the waters, an image of the hostile oppression, in conse-quence of which Moses was exposed; and the event, a prophecy constantly fulfilling itself anew under similar circumstances. Ver. 17. He delivers me from my enemy, strong, and frommy haters, because they are too powerful. The discourse, as Ewald remarks, passes on more quietly to a simpler representa-tion, after the exhaustion of the great image. That by the enemy is to be understood, not an individual, but an ideal per-son, who was most completely represented by the individual Saul, appears from the parallel, "my haters." The strong properly forms an entire period, i.q. "who was strong." This also appears from the corresponding words, "because they are too powerful," in the second clause, which rest on the supposi-tion, that our weakness necessitates the Lord to employ His almightiness in our behalf. Ver. 18. They surprised me in the day of my calamity; but the Lord was my stay. The words, "in the day of my ca-lamity,"-as Amalek surprised Israel on the way, "when he was faint and weary," Deuteronomy 25:18,-are explained by facts, such as are recorded in 1 Samuel 24., where David, helplessly wandering about, and feeling like a dead dog or a flea, ver. 15,is pursued by Saul with three thousand men, and finds himself in the back part of the cave, in whose entrance Saul took up his abode.11 Instead of למשען, there is in 2 Sam. משען. Excellently Schultens: hoc est elegantius, illud vero simplicius. The use of ל in such cases is certainly the common custom. Ver. 19. And He brought me into a large place; He delivered me, for He delighted in me, the righteous, comp. vers. 20-27; while, on the other hand, mine enemies, by their malice, have drawn on them His wrath.2 There follow, in vers. 20-27, as a further expansion of the last words of the verse, the grounds which moved God to de-liver David in so glorious a manner, set forth with the design, not that the prophecy contained in this fact should be appro-priated by those to whom it did not belong, but of bringing the Church of God to the conviction, that righteousness is the only path of salvation. The arrangement of the section is as follows:-The Psalmist first sets forth the thesis, that his sal-vation was the fruit of his righteousness. Then he goes on to prove this thesis in vers. 21-23, by showing that he actually possessed righteousness. He next repeats the principle, as proved in ver. 24, with the view of connecting therewith a general de-claration in vers. 25-27, in accordance with the didactive and admonitory design, which he pursues throughout the whole section, in order to show how, in what was peculiar to himself, there was realized a general law; so that every one possessing righteousness is sure of salvation, while none without righteous-ness can comfort himself with the hope of it.2 In 2 Sam. יתiאo למרהב אצEיo.וa. אתי brings out the me more pointedly, quite suitably to the context: here, "He brought me into a large place;" there, "He brought into a large place, me." אתי belongs not merely to prose, but also to poetry, though certainly rarer in it; see Ew., p. 593. Ver. 20. The Lord rewards me according to my righteousness, according to the cleanness of my hands He recompenses me. In order to set aside the least appearance of arbitrariness or partial favour, and to show that what happened to himself was grounded on the eternal laws of the Divine government, David points to that as existing in himself, which, according to the faithful word of God, as already declared in the law of Moses in a multitude of passages, but most expressly in Deut. 28., forms the indis-pensable condition of every exercise of Divine help. Amid allthe infirmities common to men, they still fall into two great divisions, between which an immense gulf is fixed, the wicked and the righteous; and only the prayer of the latter can be heard. The reproach of self-righteousness, we must not, with Calvin, endeavour to meet by the remark, that David had a peculiar reason here for insisting on the righteousness of his endeavours, in the manifold calumnies which were circulated against him, whose injurious consequences affected not his per-son merely, but the whole Church and cause of God; nor with Muis, by the remark, that David attributes to himself right-eousness here, rather with respect to his enemies, than in refer-ence to God; nor yet with Geier, that he laid claim, not to righteousness of person, but to righteousness of cause. The legitimate removal of the objection rests upon the three follow-ing remarks: 1. Righteousness forms a contrast, not to infirmity, but to wickedness. 2. David owed this only to his faithful and inward adherence to God, who kept His servant from wicked-ness, that it might not reign over him. In both respects, this Psalm, as well as Psalms 17., is necessarily supplemented by Psalms 19., which, not without reason and design, immediately follows. 3. Finally, the reason why David here so insists on his righteousness, is not a vain bepraising of self, but the design of enlivening within himself and others, zeal for the fulfilment of the law. The reproach of self-righteousness, were it just here, might also be brought against a multitude of assertions in Christian songs. Quite analogous, for ex., in the fine song of Anton Ulrich: Nun tret’ Ich wieder aus der Ruh, is the stanza: "Thus my heart is refreshed, when I feel myself enclosed by the guardian care of the Highest; still, in order to be assured of this, I must live free from sin, and walk in the way of God. My God will never go my way, unless I go His way.11 For כצדקי in 2 Sam. יתiקAד;צiכ;. That the difference is not accidental, ap- pears from ver. 25, where the same variation again occurs. But it affects not the essence of the idea צדק is, "the being righteous," and צדקה "right-eousness." Ver. 21. For I have kept the ways of the Lord, and was not evil against my God. שמר, "to observe, keep," stands opposed to the reckless conduct of the ungodly. This becomes quite clear from the corresponding expression in next verse, "all His judgments were before me," also Psalms 17:4. מאלהי, prop. from my God: in that I turn myself away in vile ingratitude fromHim who is the guardian of my life. For wickedness, as Luther remarks, is a departing and turning away from God. Calvin: "The word which he employs denotes, not a single transgres-sion, but apostasy, which entirely alienates man from God. But though David, through infirmity of flesh, had sometimes fallen, yet never did he give up piety of life, or abandon the warfare committed to him." Ver. 22. But all His judgments were before me, and His com-mandments I do not put away from me. כי corresponds to our but. To institute the one contrast, involves the negation of the other. Whoever has all the commands of God before his eyes = observes the ways of God, he cannot be evil from his God.11 In 2 Sam. הנAמ,מi אסורA לאo, I depart not therefrom. Ven.: rotundior et facilior constructio in Ps. The reading in 2 Sam. is closely related to that in Deut., comp. 5:29, 17:11. Ver. 23. And I was blameless toward Him, and kept myself from mine iniquity. With the first member is to be compared Genesis 17:1, Deuteronomy 18:13, and the Divine testimony for David in 1 Kings 14:8, "My servant David, who kept My commandments, and who followed Me with all his heart, to do that only which was right in Mine eyes;" and 15:5, "David did that which was right in the eyes of the Lord, and turned not aside from anything that He commanded him, all the days of his life, save only in the matter of Uriah the Hittite." By the עמו, prop. with Him, David, in the opinion of some, opposes himself to the hypocrites, who succeed in appearing before men as unblameable. But that the expression is rather equivalent to, toward Him (comp. 1 Kings 11:4, "His heart was not upright with the Lord his God, as the heart of David his father"), ap-pears, 1. From the corresponding לו in 2 Samuel; and 2. By a comparison of vers. 25, 26,-grounds which are equally con-clusive against the exposition of Venema, "adhering to Him, remaining with Him." By the words, "from my guilt," i.q. "from the guilt into which I may so readily fall," to which I am so exposed, David shows that he is not a spotless saint, but a sinner, who had to take care by watchfulness and conflict that his indwelling corruption did not regain dominion over him, and entangle him in guilt. He who was born in sin, Psalms 51:6, must call sin his all his life long, and be continually on his guard against it. Compare Psalms 17:4, where David characterizedsinful doing as the doing of man. To suppose, with De Wette and others, that the expression means, that iniquity might not be mine, that I might not contract guilt, is groundless, as the simpler exposition affords so beautiful a sense, and one so nearly allied to other declarations of David. Much light is thrown on the words, from my sin, by the narrative in 1 Samuel 24. David's cutting off the skirt of Saul's robe is to be regarded as the first step on the path to murder. This is clear from the connection in which it stands with the speeches of David's companions urging the killing of Saul, with which the act in question is immediately connected, and from ver. 5, which can only be ex-plained on this supposition, "And it came to pass afterward, that David's heart smote him, because he had cut off Saul's skirt." We see here how near the guilt lay to him, but, at the same time, how he kept himself from it. At the first step in the course of sin, he starts back, and expels from his heart, with abhorrence, the evil thoughts that arose in it. Certainly the Psalmist had here, as also in the preceding verses, his conduct toward Saul pre-eminently before his eyes; to whom he said in 1 Samuel 26:23; 1 Samuel 26:24 : "The Lord renders to every man his righteousness, and his faithfulness; for the Lord delivered thee into my hand to-day, but I would not stretch forth my hand against the Lord's anointed. And, behold, as thy life was much set by this day in mine eyes, so let my life be much set by in the eyes of the Lord, and let Him deliver me out of all tribulation." What he there confidently hopes for on the ground of his right-eousness, that he here describes as accorded to him on the same ground.11 In 2 Sam. לו is used for עמו--valuable explanation, as the false renderings of עמו show. Then we find there the forms הי,ה;א,וA and הירAמ;.תaש;א,וA. The form with He occurs in the Fut. with v. conv. in the Day. Psalms,comp. 3:6, 7:4. Ver. 24. Thus the Lord recompensed me according to my righteousness, according to the cleanness of my hands before His eyes. The Psalmist returns, according to the plan already an- nounced, to the proposition laid down in the introduction, in order to connect therewith the following general statements.22 In 2 Sam. stands here, as in ver. 21, כצדקתי. We find צדקה likewise in 1 Samuel 26:23, in David's mouth. For, "according to the cleanness or my hands," there is merely in 2 Sam., "according to my cleanness,"ירבoכ;. It also would not have been placed there, if the more common ידי כברhad not been used before in ver. 21. It is justified by the רכAנA in ver. 27, to which it forms the transition. Ver. 25 Toward the pious Thou art pious, toward the upright Thou art upright: Ver. 26. Toward the pure Thou art pure, and toward the perverse Thou art perverse. The transition here from the particular to the general, equivalent to, "for so Thou dost always act," shows why David laid so much stress on the particular; that he had therein a didactic purpose in view, spoke of himself, not from vain self-conceit, but rather self-denyingly, -had in view, not his own honour, but God's honour, and his neighbour's edification. The expression has something peculiar, which vanishes, however, as soon as it is perceived that the Psalmist here, in order to express as pointedly as possible the thought, that God regulates His procedure toward men exactly according to men's procedure toward Him, so describes the con-duct of God toward the wicked, as it would appear apart from the abnormal relation in which they had placed themselves to- ward Him. That which, considered in itself, would be unloving, impure, perverse, appears, when done by way of reprisals towards the unloving, impure, perverse, as alone worthy of God, as the necessary outflow of His holiness: that which, considered in itself, seems perverse, is the only right. But to the sinner, who lacks the sense of sin and its damnableness, the conduct of God; which is determined by sin, and is justified thereby, appears really unloving, impure, and perverse. He imagines God to be a hard, envious, and malignant tyrant and despot. Against such an imagination the whole of the 32d ch. of Deut. is directed. A similar mode of speech prevails in Leviticus 26:23; Leviticus 26:24, "If ye will walk perversely toward Me, then will I also walk perversely toward you." The רבaג; is the rarer poetical form for רב,ג,. The Hithpael of all the four verbs seems to have been first formed by David expressly for the purpose of paint-ing, in the most vivid colours, the Divine jus talionis. The Hithp. of ברר, is found only once elsewhere, in Daniel 12:10, and of the three other verbs nowhere else.11 In 2 Sam., instead of רבaג; stands גבורi which is as little to be rejected, as it is original. גבור means only hero, and the other significations are to be derived from this, according to the pattern in Isaiah 5:22, "Woe to the heroes in drinking wine." The expression, "a hero, unblameable," denotes either one who excels in unblameableness, or better, it indicates that heroic power belongs to unblameableness, equivalent to, "with the unpunishable man, who is to be esteemed as a hero, who is a hero in the spiritual sphere" -comp. in ver. 23: from mine iniquity. Further, there are in 2 Sam. the two forms רבaתAתi and לPaתaתi. These forms, of which the last in particular can withdifficulty be justified grammatically, are formed on account of euphony andsimilarity of sound, the first with reference to רבAנA, the second on account of similarity of sound to רבaתAתi. If one reflects, that the Hithpael of these verbs does not occur elsewhere, that the formation itself was undertaken in the interest of the context, and that every uncertainty was thereby re-moved from the existing original text, one will be inclined to defend these readings from the attacks which some recent critics have brought against them. Ver. 27. For Thou helpest the poor people, and the lofty eyes Thou bringest down. The reason implied in for consists only in the further enlargement. עני which always, and without ex-ception, consequently also here, means poor, not humble, meek, is more exactly defined by the preceding context (Muis: "whom he had before called holy, innocent, clean, he now names afflicted, intimating that it is almost the destiny of the pious in this life to be afflicted with innumerable evils") and by the contrast, though it necessarily involves this meaning in itself, inasmuch as only the righteous are, in the strict sense, sufferers; comp, theillustration in the introd. to Ps. vi.-עם, "people," characterizes the עניים as a society, as an exclusive class of men, which stands opposed to another class just as exclusive. The lowering of the lofty eves denotes the humiliation of the proud, who exalt them-selves superciliously above all, and, despising the Divine law, tread their neighbours under their feet. The general sentiment of our text is best exemplified by the relation of David and Saul, which was the particular case on which the general declaration is here based.1 1 In 2 Sam. stands first, and Thou deliverest, instead of for Thou. As כיis only an explication, there was no way of avoiding its frequent repetition, recurring as it does at the beginning of ver. 29 and ver. 30, but by sub-stituting the mere copulative ו which is important for the exposition of the כי. Instead of simple עם there is in 2 Sam. עם-את. The את draws atten-tion to the fact, that even without the article the word must have a deter-minate sense, comp. Ewald, § 524; the article being only left out poetically. The second member runs in 2 Sam. ליPiש;תa םימiיA-עלa ך~ינ,יעeו;: "and Thine eyes are against the high, that Thou mayest bring them down;" comp. Isaiah 2:12, "For the day of the Lord of Hosts is upon everything that is high, רם, that it may be brought low, ושפל;" also ver. 17. Here again in 2 Sam., the more select expression is employed. Lengerke and Hitzig explain, "Thine eyes Thou lettest down against proud men." But the deviations in 2 Sam. are only variations, having the same radical sense, -a circumstance which decidedly contradicts the accidental origin of the differences; then the ex-pression, " to make low the eyes," never occurs as a description of displeasure. Psalms 113:6, to which Lengerke refers, has nothing to do with this; nor also Jeremiah 3:12, Job 36:27, which Hitzig appeals to. We come now to the second great representation of the Divine grace and help, reaching from ver. 28 to ver. 45. This is connected with the preceding by for. David had described his deliverance from the hand of Saul as the consequence of his righteousness, and then, rising from the particular to the general, had laid down the principle, that righteousness is always the ground of salvation. Here he descends from the general to the particular, confirms the general principle from his own experience, and shows how its truth had been manifested in the help already received, and would still further be shown in that which the Divine promise made him sure of still further receiving. In regard to the Divine favour, which David cele-brates in this section, a twofold view presents itself. According to the one, the whole representation refers merely to the past; according to the other, to the past, present, and future alike: David is supposed to glorify the grace which, without including the deliverance from the hand of Saul, spoken of in the pre-ceding section, he had already in part received, and which, in part, the Divine promise gave him reason to expect, not only in his own person, but also in his posterity. The last view is the only correct one. It is supported, 1. By the almost uniform use of the Future in this representation, designative, according to this view, of continued action; whereas this use cannot be explained on the other view. 2. הפAד;ר;א,, "I will pursue," in 2 Sam. ver. 38, which must at once be considered erroneous on the supposition that the whole representation has respect only to the past. 3. The express declaration of David at the close of the whole in ver. 50, which alone might suffice, affirming the object of his praise to be the favours which God manifests to David and to his seed for ever. There was the more reason for David's uniting the future with the past, as he possessed, in reference to it, a sure word of promise, which rendered the future salvation just as certain as the past. If we take this promise into account, and the deep impression which it had made upon the mind of David, we shall feel it to have been im-possible for him to have wholly confined himself in this general song of thanksgiving to the past. The joyful confidence regard-ing the fulfilment of the promises made by the Lord towardshis house, David gives utterance to besides, in 2 Samuel 23:5, in his last words. Nathan, in his address to David in 2 Sam. vii., connects both together, the past salvation and the future, the salvation of the person himself and that of his seed: comp. ver. 9, "And I was with thee whithersoever thou wentest, and have cut off all thine enemies out of thy sight, and have made thee a great name;" ver. 12, "And when thy days shall be ful-filled, and thou shalt sleep with thy fathers, I will set up thy seed after thee, and I will establish his kingdom." How deep root this announcement of the future salvation struck into the mind of David, appears from vers. 18, 19, "Who am I, O Lord God, and what is my house, that Thou hast brought me hither-to? And this was yet a small thing in Thy sight, O Lord God; but Thou hast spoken also of Thy servant's house for a great while to come;" ver. 25, "And now, O Lord God, the word that Thou hast spoken concerning Thy servant, and con-cerning his house, establish it for ever, and do as Thou hast said;" vers. 28, 29, "And now," etc. By holding fast the right view in regard to the object of the representation, it follows also, that it unfolds a Messianic element. If it respects David and his seed for evermore, it can find its complete truth only in Christ. Ver. 28. For Thou snakest my lamp clear; the Lord mq God makes my darkness light. The shining of the lamp is an image of prosperity, just as its extinguishment is an image of misfor-tune; comp. Job 18:5; Job 18:6, "The light of the wicked shall be put out, and the spark of his fire shall not shine. The light shall be dark in his tabernacle, and his lamp shall be put up-on him;" 21:17. The Lord had enlightened David's darkness; raised him from the state of inferiority, contempt, and misery, in which he was, especially during the days of Saul, to, high honour and great prosperity; and the Lord will further also enlighten David's darkness, by causing to shine upon him and his seed, amid every season of darkness and distress, the light of His salvation.11 In 2 Sam. the verse runs, "For Thou art my light, O Lord; and the Lord makes my darkness light." The admissibility of ירiינe התAאa doubted by Hitzig and others, shines out still more clearly than in Psalms 27:1, Job 29:3, from 2 Samuel 21:17, where David is named the lamp or light of Israel. His people say to him, "Thou shalt no more go out with us to battle, that thou quench not the lamp of Israel." Probably these wordsoccasioned the variation in 2 Sam. David gives God the glory which they had ascribed to him. If he is Israel's lamp, it can only be by God beinghis. Ver. 29. For in Thee do I rush upon troops, and in my God I spring over walls. Luther: "In confidence on Thee I am terrified at no assault, contend against all kinds of enemies, leap over all walls, and whatever else is opposed to me; that is, I, who in myself am weak, shall be invincible in Thee; and as Paul boasts in Philippians 4:13, "I can do all things through Him who strengthens me," and in 2 Corinthians 2:14, "God be thanked, who always maketh us to triumph in Christ." The ב in both cases retains its common signification, in David was not in himself, but in God, from whose fulness he drew power and salvation. The רוץ "to run," is, as a verb of motion, construed with the accus. Ver. 30. The God, whose way is perfect: the word of the Lord is purified; He is a buckler to all who trust in Him. The האל is in appos. with אלהי in the preceding verse. The Psalmist describes more exactly what sort of God his God is. Taking it as nomin. absol., the article remains inexplicable. In the second clause, the connection with the preceding verse is then given up. But the whole of the verse stands in the closest connection therewith. What is here said of God, explains and grounds the expressions there, in Thee, and in my God; the God whose way, etc., equivalent to, "for He is a God," etc., very different from the idol-gods, who feed their votaries with wind and ashes; comp. 2 Samuel 7:22, "For there is none like Thee, neither is there any God besides Thee." By the word of the Lord, is here specially to be understood His promises. On the expression purified, comp. Psalms 12:6. Ver. 31. For who is God, save the Lord? and who is a rock, besides our God? The for refers to the subject of the whole preceding verse, "The way of Jehovah, our God, is blameless;" He abides by what He has spoken, supports His own, for He is the only true God, the one ground of salvation. Upon this also, that Jehovah is exclusively God, David grounds his confidence in 2 Samuel 7 :For צור, comp. on ver. 2. Ver. 32. The God, who girds me with power, and makes my way perfect. A return is here made to the path which was left in vers. 30 and 31, with a very close allusion, however, to what immediately precedes. האל stands in appos. to אלהינו, "besidesour God, the God, who, etc." That the Lord alone is God and a rock, David confirms by the fact, that He has manifested Himself as such in His dealings. To be girded with power, is simply equivalent to being furnished with power. Verbs of clothing are frequently used in the sense of allotting. As תמים is always used in a moral sense, we must not understand by the way of the Psalmist, that in which he goes, but only that in which he is led, his leading. It is favoured also by ver. 30, where the word is likewise used in a moral sense, and refers to God, and by the original passage, Deuteronomy 32:4, "The rock, perfect is His work."11 In 2 Sam., the first clause runs ליiהA יזiועמA לאeהA, "the God who is my strong fortress." Before היל a comma is to be supplied, precisely as מהסי עז in Psalms 71:7. We are not to imagine, with Lengerke, a stat. constr. interrupted by a suff. The מעוז occurs precisely as in Psalms 27:1, "The Lord is the fortress of my life," Psalms 31:4. Hitzig objects to this reading its "meaningless generality;" but it is not more general than the other, and, as a variation, certainly excellent. The second clause is וכר;דa םימiתA רתeי.aוa,"and the upright He leads his way," is his leader and guide. נתר=תור, which in Proverbs 12:26 occurs in the sense of to lead, comp. Umbreit in loc. The suff. in דרכו is, on account of the following רגליו, to be referred to theblameless, perfect. The Kri יכiר;דa rests on a misunderstanding. Ver. 33. Who makes my feet like hinds, and places me upon my heights. משוה, like מלמד in the next verse, connects itself with האל, "our God, who girds me, who makes me like;" who teaches. Like the hinds, that is, as to their feet. That hinds, and not stags, are here mentioned, must have a real or a sup-posed foundation in nature. They must be regarded as the fleeter. For, that the word denotes both sexes; is incorrect. In Egyptian paintings also; the hind is the image of fleetness. Many, as De Wette, conceive that the discourse here is of speed in flight. But this is against the connection-the words, "who maketh like hinds, etc.," occupy a middle position between equipment with strength and instruction in war-against the parallelism, and against the parallel passages: 2 Samuel 2:18, "And Asahel was light of foot as one of the gazelles that is in the field, and he pursued, etc.;" and 1 Chronicles 12:8, where it is said of those who came out of the tribe of Gad to David, that their look was like that of lions, and their swiftness of foot like the gazelles on the mountains. A figurative element lies in what is said here of fleetness, which becomes quite obvious when we take it along with the last clause, and compare it alsowith the dependent passage, Habakkuk 3:19. David points to the quick and unrestrained course of his conquests, just as already in ver. 29, the words, "I spring over walls," do not refer simply to David's personal deeds, but to what he did also by his army. In the second clause, the heights are the hostile positions, which David in the strength of the Lord surmounts. He names these heights his in faith; because he has the Lord for his helper, he considers them all beforehand as his possession, none are in-surmountable. That we are not, with De Wette and others, to understand by the heights, places of refuge, is clear, not only from the context and parallelism, but also from the original passages in Deuteronomy 32:13, "He made him ride upon the high places of the earth," and Deuteronomy 33:29, "thine enemies shall be found liars unto thee, and thou shalt tread upon their high places," in which, not secure flight, but resistless victory is spoken of, as it is also in the passage, Habakkuk 3:19, which is based on our verse, "The Lord is my strength, and He makes my feet like the hind's, and He leads me on my high places."11 The רגליו, "his feet," in 2 Sam., has been occasioned by the discourse concerning the blameless or perfect being in the third person. Ver. 34. Who teaches my hands in the war, and a brazen bow is drawn by my arms. That this verse also has in some measure a figurative character, that the particular comes into consideration less as such than as an individualization, and in order to render palpable the ground-idea, namely, the invincible strength, which the Psalmist receives from God, to resist all attacks of the enemies and gain the victory over them, appears from the partial reference to the race. The N. T. parallel pas-sage Isaiah 2 Corinthians 10:3-5. The "not after the flesh," and "not fleshly,” there, are not peculiar to the Apostle, but belong also to David. The external conflict with the enemies of God's kingdom is not in itself fleshly, but becomes so only through the spirit in which it is conducted, just as a spiritual conflict is not necessarily spiritual, but only is so when it is fought with divine weapons, with the power which the Lord imparts. Lu-ther justly finds in this verse the promise, that an "unwearied and invincible power to overcome all adversaries is given to those preachers who are taught of God Himself." Such a promise is implied, not merely in so far as what is said of one believer holds good regarding all, but also more directly inas-much as David speaks here not of himself alone, but of hiswhole race, which is perfected in Christ; so that everything he says refers in the highest and fullest sense to Christ and His kingdom and servants. The form נהתה is Pi. from נהת "to de-scend," "to make to descend" = to constrain, to stretch, bend, because in the stretching the cord is brought down. The fem.. of the sing. is to be explained by this, that the arms here are treated as abstr.; comp. Ewald, p. 629. Also the sing. of the masc. in 2 Sam., תהaנiו;, presents no difficulty, as the verb precedes. Brass was often used in antiquity for making weapons. The arms of the Egyptians in particular were entirely made of brass. To draw a bow of brass is a proof of the greatest strength. Ver. 35. Thou givest me the shield of Thy salvation, and Thy right hand holds me up, and Thy lowliness makes me great. The shield of salvation is the shield which consists in salvation. ענוה does not signify here simply goodness, as many expositors suppose. Derived from ענה, to be low�sense, certainly of outward lowness, the verb occurs in Psalms 116:10; Isaiah 25:5, -it denotes, first, humility, then the meekness and gentleness which spring from humility. The idea of lowliness predominates in Proverbs 15:33; Proverbs 15:12; the idea of meekness, which, how-ever, is always to be considered as proceeding from humility or lowliness, in Zephaniah 2:3; Psalms 45:4. Here the idea of lowliness is the predominant one. This is proved by the contrast with greatness, and the parallel passage 2 Samuel 7:18, "Who am I, Jehovah, and what is my house, that Thou hast brought me hitherto?" What our Lord says of Himself, "Come to Me, for I am meek and lowly in heart," may equally be said of Jehovah. He also condescends to the lowly, to men at large, and to those who are poorest among them; comp. Ps. viii., where, after the description of God's infinite majesty, follows, "What is man, that Thou thinkest of him, and the son of man, that Thou visitest him?" and Isaiah 66:1; Isaiah 66:2, where the Lord, who has heaven for His throne, and earth for His footstool, is spoken of as looking down on the poor and contrite in spirit. But that we may become partakers in the manifestations of this humility and condescension of God, it is necessary that we be, not externally merely, but also internally, lowly,-that we feel ourselves to be poor and needy. To any others it would be a profanation of His dignity. But the lowly His lowliness makes great. That this qualification was possessed by David, is evident from this, that he derives all that God had done forhim out of his lowliness. Luther remarks: "Who then are we, that we should either fancy or undertake to defend the truth and overcome the adversaries, or should feel indignant if we do not succeed therein? It proceeds from the Divine meek-ness (lowliness) and grace, if we are held up and honoured, not from our designing and undertaking; so that the whole glory remains with God."11 In 2 Sam. "and Thy right hand holds me up" is awanting. This is done out of the uniform predilection for impressive brevity. For "Thy lowliness" the infin. is used, ך~ת;נoעE, "Thy being lowly," Hitzig's exposition, "Thy hearing," gives, according to his own remark, "a very unpleasant and improbable sense,"-which is the more select, as in the words, "O my Lord Jesus, Thy being near," is more poetical than, "Thy nearness." Ver. 36. Thou makest space under me to go, and my ankles fail not. Thou makest long my step, etc. One takes small steps, when many stumbling-blocks and hindrances are in the way.2 2 For תהתי there is in 2 Sam. ינiתeה;תa. The difference cannot be acci-dental, as the latter is repeated in vers. 40 and 48. In this case also the reading in 2 Sam. is the more select, 1. Because of the rare singular suf. with תהת, see Ew. p. 501; and, 2. Because of the insertion of נ ib. p. 506. Ver. 37. I pursue my enemies and overtake them, and turn not again till I have consumed them. David's kingdom was, is, and shall be for ever a victorious kingdom. Any temporal limitation also of this declaration is inadmissible, as David's celebration of the Divine grace cannot be narrower than this grace itself, partly already bestowed on him, and partly held in promise, which found its culminating point in Christ. That under Christ the form of conflict and victory is predominantly, although by no means exclusively different, makes no essential distinction; enough, that David also in Him conquers and con-stantly will conquer. Luther: "And this has happened, and still happens, in all the victories of God's people, when at the beginning of the contest the enemies seemed to be superior and invincible; but when once the onset is fairly made, it is strength-ened, and the enemies flee and are slain; and then the Church remits not to follow up the victory that has been won, until all the enemies are consumed."33 The הפAד;ר;א, in 2 Sam., which can only mean, I will pursue, could only be rejected on the erroneous supposition that the whole description re-ferred to the past, and it is valuable as a sort of finger-post for the right understanding. For, "and I overtake them," 2 Sam. has "and I extirpate them." In our Psalm there is a progression in the thought; in 2 Sam., on the contrary, the parallelism is simply a synonym. That in Exodus 15:9; Psalms 7:5, the overtaking is also coupled with the pursuing, may be a strong proof in favour of the originality of this form, although it does not in the slightest imply the incorrectness of the other text. Ver. 38. I dash them in pieces, and they cannot rise up again; they fall under my feet.1 Ver. 39. And Thou girdest me with strength to the battle, Thou bowest mine adversaries under me. Calvin remarks, that it might seem as if David gave too mili- tary an air to the whole representation, as if he gave to his human passions too much space, and forgot the mildness which should shine forth in all believers, in order that they may be like their heavenly Father. But the matter becomes quite dif-ferent, if David is viewed not as a private individual,-as such he shrunk from shedding a single drop of blood,-but in refer-ence to his Divine calling and his Divine office. As king hehas his sacred obligations to pursue the stiff-necked and obsti-nate enemies of God and of His people with unrelenting strict- ness, and with the power given him by God, and to spare only the penitent-just as Christ, his great antitype, while He ten-derly calls all to repentance, at the same time shivers with His iron sceptre such as obstinately resist Him to the last. He then shows how every one, even he who is not properly called to fight for the kingdom of God against external enemies, has to apply this representation to his edification and strengthening in the faith: "As the victories of David are common to us, it follows that an insuperable aid is promised to us against all the assaults of the devil, all the snares of sin, and all the tempta-tions of the flesh. While, therefore, Christ obtains His peace-ful kingdom only through war, it is matter of certainty to us, that God's hand will be always ready for his support. But we must at the same time learn here, with what arms we must fight according to the will of God, with those alone which He gives us."21 In 2 Sam. there is at the beginning, םלeכaאEוA. Mich. rightly: consumaminquam eos; and instead of, "they cannot stand up," "they do not standup," יקומון; לאo. The expression, "I extirpate them," indicates that this verse is an extension of the thought, "till they are extirpated," in the pre-ceding, and implying that the extirpation was seriously intended. Of an accidental origin we cannot think, as, whilst something is added, some-thing also is thrown away. The words, "they stand not up," are to be explained from the predilection for impressive brevity.2 In 2 Sam. ינiרeז;תaוa, with the omission of א, the rarer, and hence more poetic form. Ver. 40. Thou puttest me mine enemies to flight, and my haters I extirpate. The first clause we must either render, "thou hast given them to me so, that they are only necks to me, must turn the back toward me," or, "in respect to the neck," so that ערף determines more precisely in what respect the enemies of David were delivered up to him. The former exposition is supported by the original passage, Exodus 23:27, "And I will give all thine enemies to thee as necks." The Psalmist recognises in his own case the fulfilment of the pro-mise which the Lord there gave to His people.11 In 2 Sam., for נתתה there is the rare form התAתa. The ו is awanting before משנאי, and is placed instead before the last word, "my haters," whom I extirpate, -more poetical and impressive than the simple, "my haters, I extirpate them;" comp. Isaiah 6:13; Isaiah 9:4; Daniel 8:25. Ver. 41. They cry, but there is no helper: to the Lord, but He does not hear them. על is employed, because Jehovah is, as it were, the substratum of the crying, the person upon whom the crying rests; comp. 1 Samuel 1:10, "She prayed יהוה על," Ewald, p. 531. The words, "to the Lord," add to the gene-ral, the particular which best promised help, equivalent to, "they cry in vain even when their cry is addressed, not to false gods, but to Jehovah," to whom even the heathens in their last extremities knew to turn, Jonah 2:14, or at least might possibly turn. The reason why even Jehovah would not hear, is, that the particular prayer had not its justification in the general relation toward God, which alone could make it accept-able; that the persons addressing it are without the covenant and the promises, are the enemies of God, who cannot pray to Him in true faith, but only by way of venture. That which was the ground of David's prayer being heard, excluded theirs from the privilege.22 In 2 Sam., instead of ישועו, �g, they cry,�h. we have ועש;יi, "they look out." The rarer and more select שעה, is used precisely thus in Isaiah 17:7, "In that day shall a man look to his Maker, and his eyes shall have respect to the God of Israel." For על the explanatory אל is substituted. Ver. 42. I crush them as dust before the wind; as the dirt of the streets I pour them out. As the dust before the wind is not crushed, but carried away, and the enemies are not carried away, but crushed, we gain nothing by arbitrarily inserting such words as, scattering, or carrying away. The sense, therefore, is, "so that they resemble the dust;" to crush them is as easy as forthe wind to drive before it the dust. The sense is, "to crush is only a sort of pastime to me." Exactly analogous are the comparisons in Job 38:30, "The waters disappear like a stone;" 30:14; Zephaniah 1:17. The like holds good also of the second member. As the dirt of the street is not poured out, but trodden down, the expression, "as dirt of the street," can only mean, "they resemble the dirt of the street, in respect, namely, to the contemptuous treatment which they suffer." This is always the point of comparison which is aimed at in such a use of the dirt of the street: Isaiah 10:6; Zechariah 10:5. In the expression, "I pour them out," there is at bottom a second image, that of unclean water,-equivalent to, "I have as little respect for them, I use as little ceremony with them as with the offscourings which one treads upon, filthy water which one pours out." In these words, also, there is praise given to the grace of God, who strengthens the Psalmist so completely to bumble the enemies, that he can treat them in such a manner.11 In 2 Sam. the comparison stands otherwise, in both members. There we have a fully expressed one, while here it is merely indicated. For, "dust before the wind," stands, "dust of the earth," because this is the object of crushing. Comp. ארץ עפר. in this sense, though denied by Hitzig, in Genesis 13:16; Genesis 28:14; Exodus 8:12; Exodus 8:13; Isaiah 40:12; Amos 2:7. For, "I pour them out," stands םק.eדiאE, "I make them thin or small," because the dirt of the street is the object, not of pouring out, but of treading to pieces. (Against Hitzig: רקק, signifies in Hiph. not "to crush, to rub to pieces," but everywhere, "to make thin, small;" also the dirt of the street, or street-filth, is not to be thought of as necessarily fluid.) As this אדקם for אריקם cannot possibly be accidental, we may certainly infer design in the other deviations which consist only in the substitution of particular letters nearly related to the others in form or in sound. The judgment of that man is not assuredly to be envied, who would attempt to explain the whole of the ingenious alterations in both members by accident. The strongerword, םעeקרAא,, "I stamp upon them," is added to אדקם, in 2 Sam., and that,too, without connection, as the character of the entire recension would lead us to expect. Ver. 43. Thou deliverest me from the enmities of the people: Thou settest me at the head of the heathen; a people, whom I know not, serve me. By the people in the first clause, is indicated here the great multitude of enemies, in opposition to indivi-duals. That the first member refers to the domestic adversaries of David (Saul and Absalom, with their adherents), is evident, not only from the words, "my people," in 2 Sam., but even from ריב, which relates rather to disputes than to wars; comp.Psalms 35:1; 1 Samuel 25:39. In the whole of the second part, too, which refers to his heathen adversaries, he does not speak of deliverance from them, but of their being conquered and de-stroyed. On the contrary, when domestic enemies are spoken of, the idea is principally that of deliverance; comp. 16-19. Deliverance from the enmity of his own people is brought into notice here chiefly as a foundation and preparation for the supremacy over the heathen. This appears clearly in 2 Sam., in the words, "Thou keepest me for the head of the heathen." The whole context also shows it. Both before and after, and, indeed, generally in the second part, the discourse is of the heathen. That in the expression, "a people whom I know not, serves me," which is of increased force, the word knowing is to be taken emphatically, equivalent to, "such as I have had no nearer relation to,"-as, for example, the king of Hamath, 2 Sam. 8:10, -appears from the next verse. As David, accord-ing to ver. 50, speaks not merely of the kindnesses which were shown to himself personally, but of those also which were to be shown to his posterity, various expositors, such as Calvin, have justly remarked, that the complete fulfilment of this and the next verse is to be sought in Christ.1 1 In 2 Sam. stands ימi.עa, my people, instead of עם, a deviation of an explanatory character, the more valuable, as many expositors, such as Lengerke and De Wette, who disdained its help, have made mistakes. For, "Thou settest me," there is the more select phrase, "Thou keepest me," ינiרeמ;ש;תi�of a change adhering closely in form to the original text, which cannot be explained from accident, -which brings more distinctly into view the connection between the second clause and the first. Hitzig "Out of these Jehovah delivered him," in order to preserve him for a future leader of peoples. Ver. 44. Those who heard by the hearing of the ear became mine: the sons of the stranger play the hypocrite to me. De Wette remarks, that "from this point the Futs. appear to have the force of the Present." But if they have it from this, they must also have it throughout the whole section. For there is nothing to justify us in supposing a change to take place just here. The first member is commonly expounded, "on hearing, on the mere report, they obey me." But this exposition is alto-gether inadmissible: שמע in Niph. can only signify "to be heard," not, "to be made to hear,"-and this cannot stand for, "to obey." In the sense of "to be heard," Niphal is also every-where used. Afore objectionable still is another exposition, "onwhat their ear heard, on the mere word, they obey me." For it takes not only ישמעו, but also אזן לשמע, contrary to the common usage. שמע, "hearing" = what one hears, the heard, stands both with and without אזן specially of that, which one receives through hearsay, through report; comp. for ex. Job 42:5, where אזן לשמע, in the sense of hearing merely through report, is opposed to seeing,-uncertain and fluctuating knowledge, to clear and determinate. The variation in 2 Sam. also is against both in-terpretations. One must either translate as we have done above, or, "they, the people who serve me, are heard of me by the hearing of the ear,-I know of them merely by report." The paral. is by the latter rendering only apparently lost. For, "by the hearing of the ear, etc.," is from the connection as much as, "there serve me those, etc." The first of these expositions, both which are in essential agreement, is more favoured by the text in 2 Sam. The expression, "they feign to me," is equiva-lent to, "far distant people, of whom I hitherto have known only through hearsay, testify to me their subjection, from fear, in the most humble terms, although they hate me in heart, and would fain shake off, my yoke." Such an external and con-strained obedience, -just on account of its bearing this character, the power which God manifested in behalf of David is made more conspicuous; for how great must this be, when the fear it awakened overcame the strongest aversion!-is denoted by כהש in the original passage, Deuteronomy 33:29, "And Thine enemies shall feign to Thee," to which David here refers, as having met with its fulfilment in him; comp. also Psalms 66:3; Psalms 81:15:1 Ver. 45. The sons of the stranger fade away, and tremble out of their castles. For the άנ. כוד. הרג �. הרגא, �gterror�h -we have in Mich. 7:17, רגז, "to shake," in a precisely similar connection.1 In the closing verses, which now begin, the subject cf the whole is recapitulated. Ver. 46. Living is the Lord, and praised be my rock, and ex-alted is my salvation-God. That the threefold praise of God here, has respect to the Mosaic blessing, we remarked before. The words, "living Jehovah," can either be explained, "livingis," or, "living be Jehovah." Recent expositors mostly follow the latter rendering: they conceive that the usual acclamation to the king is here transferred to God. But as the expression, “may he live,” presupposes the possibility of dying, and is always used in reference to mortals, such a transference is scarcely to be thought of; the formula for kings is a different one, ך`למה יהי, 1 Samuel 10:24; 2 Samuel 16:16; 1 Kings 1:25; 2 Kings 11:12; and finally, what of itself is enough to decide the matter, יהוה הי is familiar as a form of oath, and in that use always means, "living is the Lord." These passages are regulative for the exposition of the present one, the only one where the expression occurs not as an oath. The ground derived from the analogy of the following doxologies is without significance. The expres-sion, "living is the Lord," is also doxology, and accords with what follows. Compare 1 Timothy 6:16, "who alone has immor-tality." To praise God, means nothing else than to ascribe to Him the glorious perfections which He possesses; for we can only give to Him what is His own. The exalted also is a mere declaration, "He is," not, "let Him be, exalted." If it were a wish, then the verb would have been the Fut. apoc. The Lord is named living in contrast with the dead idols, who can do nothing, leave their own without support, given up to destruc-tion. That David was living, exalted, and blessed, showed that his God was also living, exalted, and to be blessed. He is Him-self the living proof of His vitality, exaltedness, and title to be praised.11 In 2 Sam. ורג;ה;יaו; "they gird themselves," namely, for going forth. Hitzig expounds according to the Syriac "they limp out of their castles." But it is quite unjustifiable to take a word of such common use in the Hebrew in a signification so peculiar. The girding for departure, Exodus 12:11, and especially 2 Kings 4:29. As a variation, the reading is quite good, but certainly that in our text is the original one. Ver. 47. The God, who gives me vengeance, and constrains peoples under me. This and the following verse sum up in brief what had been set forth in detail in vers. 4-19 and vers. 28-45, and direct attention to the ground of the praise of God in the preceding verse, to the facts which prove Him to be living, ex-alted, and worthy to be praised. It is as if this verse had begun with a for. Revenge is justly sweet to David, because he does not take it for himself, but God takes it through him. Where the individual is the representative of right appointed by God, it would be sinful not to seek revenge, not to withstand the viola-tion of right, not to strive, that injustice may recoil on the head of those who commit and not to rejoice when this takes place.11 In 2 Sam. for וידבר, with the view of making plain, ומוריד, and brings down. The הדביר in the sense of, "to drive," only elsewhere in Ps. civil. 3. Ver. 48. Who deliverest me from my enemies; Thou also liftest me up from my adversaries, from the man of violence Thou deliverest me. As in the second clause there is no positive indication either in the verb or in the noun of a climax, אף can-not be used to denote increased force, but, as very commonly in the Psalms of David, simply for the purpose of connecting and adding; and the and in 2 Sam. approves itself as the right exposition. If we seek for an increase of force in the noun, then קמי causes us perplexity; if we seek it in the verb, we are again perplexed by the words, “ Thou deliverest me,” in the third clause. The expression, "Thou liftest me up from myadversaries," is constr.: exaltas me, hostibus mein ereptum. The man of violence is primarily an ideal person, as "the strong enemy," in ver. 17; comp. Psalms 140:1; Psalms 140:4. Still the refer-ence to the superscription shows that the Psalmist had Saul specially in view.22 In 2 Sam. stands, instead of מפלטי, the more select יאiיצiומ, pointing to ver. 19. Further, instead of המס איש there is the stronger phrase המסים איש, which also occurs in Psalms 140:1; Psalms 140:4. Ver. 49. Therefore will I praise Thee among the heathen, O Lord, and sing praises to Thy name. The mention of the heathen indicates, that the mercies experienced by David were too great for the praise of them to be confined within the narrow bounds of Palestine. He can only have a proper auditory in the nations of the whole earth. Paul brings forward, in Rom.15:9, among the Old Testament passages which show that salvation was appointed also for the heathen, this verse, in con-nection with the similar passage, Deuteronomy 32:43, "Rejoice, ye heathen, (rejoice) His people," i. q. with His people, Psalms 117:1. These passages are quite adapted to prove what they are intended to prove. If the heathen are interested in that which Jehovah does in Israel, if they also belong to the auditory to which His great deeds are to be made known, then God must be the God not merely of the Jews, but also of the heathen, and conse-quently must make Himself known as such through the offer of His salvation. Our verse and the similar passages decidedly oppose that wretched particularism which Paul combats. The variations in 2 Sam. are unimportant. Ver. 50. Who gives great salvation to His king, and does good to His anointed, to David and his seed for evermore. Who gives great, is equivalent to, "for He gives great." The pl. ישועות points to the rich fulness of the salvation. The Epexegesis to משיהו is not merely לדוד, but ולזרעו לדוד. There is an evident reference to 2 Samuel 7:12-16, where it was promised, that God would show favour to the seed of David even to eternity; זרע, הסד, andעולם עד, all occur there again. By this reference, and by the necessity for a guide to the meaning of vers. 28-45, the words, "to David and his seed for evermore," are justified as genuine, though they have been objected to by some who fail to under-stand the description. Elsewhere too David has interwoven his name in his song and prayer; comp. 2 Samuel 7:20; 2 Samuel 7:26; 2 Samuel 23:1. Similar to our Psalm is Psalms 89., where likewise the favours of the Lord to the seed of David, both past and future, are celebrated; comp. also Psalms 21. These Psalms are distinguished from those which may more strictly be called Messianic, Psalms 2:45:72:110., only by this, that in the latter the Messiah ex-clusively is brought into view, while here He is presented to our notice only as a member of the seed of David. Psalms 19. God manifests Himself in creation, and His works in theheavens attest His glory, unceasingly, mightily, over the wholeearth, especially the most glorious object in them, the sun, whichmajestically performs his long course, and fills everything withhis warmth, vers. 1-6. The law, which has been given by this world-God, possesses all the advantages which are inseparable from its originating in such a source; it gives to man sure and unerring instruction how to order his life, and fills his heart with joy, by bringing his painful uncertainty in this respect to an end, vers. 7-10. With sincere gratitude the Psalmist acknow-ledges the enlightenment which he has received from this law, which, as surely as it is the pure expression of the will of the Almighty, so surely promises a rich reward to those who keep it. But that he may actually attain to this reward, he stands in need of two things,-the grace of forgiveness for the manifold sins of imperfection, which spring from corruption of nature even in the servant of the Lord, and the grace of preservation from the heinous transgressions, which would cause him to for-feit his place as a servant of God; and therefore he begs that the Lord, as his true Redeemer, would grant such tokens of kindness to him, vers. 11-14. According to this representation of the subject, the descrip- tion of the glory of God in creation is only an introduction to the praise of the glory of the law; and this again serves the Psalmist only as a ladder to reach his proper aim, the prayer for pardon and for moral preservation. The relation between vers. 1-6 and 7-10 is, by some of those who recognise the introductory character of the first section, construed thus: God has manifested Himself indeed in creation, but He has done so far more gloriously in the law. But if it were intended to set forth this relation, the pre-emi-nence of the law above nature, as a manifestation of God, would have been brought out far more emphatically than is done by the employment of Jehovah in the second part, instead of the general name, God, in the first. If the introduction were in-tended to exalt the higher by comparison with the lower, in the manner of Deu 4:19; Deuteronomy 4:20, the latter must have been marked more decidedly as such. The design of the introduction must rather be only to point out the glory of the lawgiver, to give to Jehovah, the God of Israel, who made known His will through the law, the basis of Godhead; and so, to bring the mind from the very first into a right position toward the law. The thought, that He who gave the law is He whose praise the heavens de-clare, whose greatness as the Creator is manifested by the sun, must fill the mind with holy reverence before Him, and withPsa_19internal love toward Him. The first part, therefore, serves the same design as is elsewhere served by placing together the names Jehovah Elohim, which is always done in opposition to particularistic ideas of Jehovah, for the purpose of uprooting the fancy, that Jehovah was only the God of Israel (comp. my Beitr. Th. II. p. 311 ss.). To serve the very same purpose, David was led to the use of Jehovah Elohim and Sabaoth in his discourse in 2 Samuel 7:22; 2 Samuel 7:25; 2 Samuel 7:26; 2 Samuel 7:27 : there he constantly recurs to the thought, that Jehovah, who had given him so glorious a promise, was no other than very God, the Lord of heaven and of earth, in order to strengthen his faith in this promise. Especially instructive for the relation of our two sections to each other is ver. 28 there. "And now, O Lord Jehovah, Thou art God, and Thy words are truth." There, as here, the consideration of Jehovah's being God is the ground-work on which rests the conviction of the truth and infinite preciousness of the Divine word; even as we also, if we would obtain the right blessing from reading the holy word, must keep vividly before our eye, that He who speaks in it is no other than the Creator of heaven and of earth. The plan of the Psalm is quite mistaken by those who, as lately Hitzig and Maurer, make it fall into two loosely-con-nected halves, the first containing the praise of God from nature, the second from the law, or generally from revelation. The practical conclusion of the Psalm, which refers only to the law, is decisive against this. If the first part possessed an inde-pendent, significance, the manifestation of God in creation must necessarily also have been placed in an ethical light toward man, and reference have been made to the feelings it should awaken in him, the obligations it lays upon him. The only aim, the proper kernel of the Psalm, comes out so pointedly in the concluding verses, that it is inconceivable how it could be overlooked. This, misapprehension as to the plan of the Psalm has given rise also to the hypothesis of De Wette, Koester, and others, that it is made up of two originally distinct songs; against which Hitzig remarks, that ver. 6 forms no proper conclusion; that the discourse would terminate when at its climax; that the conclusion is for the second half alone too extended and solemn; and shortly and ably sets aside the only plausible ground for this hypothesis, as follows: "The more quiet tone, the more equal movement in the second part, is to be explained from the326 THE BOOK OF PSALMS. less arousing nature of the object, which does not fall within the sphere of perception." What is besides advanced by De Wette, that the poet, who began with such an elevated con-templation of nature, could scarcely close with the feelings of a bruised heart, falls at once to the ground, since the conclusion is just as full of joy as the beginning-what can be more joyful than for one to be able to name the Lord his Rock and his Redeemer!-and since even in the middle there is no trace of a bruised heart; the mind rises in face of human weakness, easily and without a struggle, to the blessed hope of Divine forgive-ness, and sustaining grace. It is also matter of surprise that Ewald was not superior to the common mutilation, although he feels himself obliged to recognise that the two halves are not in themselves complete: the first not, because, if viewed as independent, the song would be without all doctrine and application, without any in-timation as to how man should praise God, or receive that praise of the heavens; it has thus the appearance of a torso, unsatis-factory and unanimating: the second not; for ver. 7 begins too coldly for a prayer. We might still further add, that the com-mencement would be an awkward one, the Psalmist would stumble at the gate into the house. So that the strange sup-position must be resorted to, that the conclusion of the first half has been lost, and that a later poet has added to the fragment a new, unsuitable conclusion. For the integrity of the Psalm, there is also to be mentioned the evident system which prevails in the use of the names of God throughout the whole. In the first part, which treats of the general manifestation of God in nature, the general name of God is employed, El; coincident with the transition to Revelation begins the use of the name Jehovah, the occurrence of which just seven times shows how much of design there is in the use made of the names of God. As a further proof of integrity, is to be noticed the peculiar prominence given to the sun in the first part, and indeed particularly toward the close. Corresponding to it in the second part, the law is held up as the spiritual sun; comp. the predicates, clear, pure, heart-quicken-ing, eye-enlightening, also נזהר in ver. 11. Finally, in Ps. viii., as here, the heaven appears as the proclaimer of the praise of God; and there also this representation has no independent mean-ing, but serves merely as a stepping-stone to the second part. Of the Davidic authorship there can be no doubt, after the superscription, and the relation, already noticed, in which it stands to Ps. 8., and 2 Samuel 7. An indication has been sought, though without foundation, of the Psalmist's circumstances in ver. 13. The designation, "Thy servant," is meant to be appro-priated by every one who recognises in the Psalm the expres-sion of his own feelings. The Psalmist speaks from the soul of every pious man, and we have before us a truly congregational song. Ver. 1. The heavens declare the glory of God, and the firma-ment shows forth His handiwork. Calvin: "There is nothing certainly in the smallest corners of the earth so dark and des-picable that some traces of Divine power and wisdom are not discernible therein; but because a more expressive image is im-printed in the heavens, David made principal choice of these, in order that their glory might lead us to the contemplation of the whole world. For if any one has recognised God from the contemplation of the heavens, he cannot fail also to recognise and admire His wisdom in the smallest plants." In the East, the consideration of the heavens is peculiarly adapted to give a deep impression of the greatness of God as Creator. When C. Niebuhr, many years after his return from the East, lay in bed under the blindness and exhaustion of old age, "the glitter-ing splendour of the nocturnal Asiatic sky, on which he had so often gazed, imaged itself to his mind in the hours of stillness, or its lofty vault and azure by day, and in this he found his sweetest enjoyment." The heavens and the firmament are personified, and the announcement of the glory of the Creator is attributed to them, which is apprehended in them by the pious mind. This personification is chosen with reference to the actual manifestation of God in the words contained in vers. 7-10. In-stead of "the glory of God," Paul, in the passage Romans 1:20, which is based on this here, has "eternal power and Godhead." That the firmament is identical with the heavens, appears from Genesis 1:8. It is the vault of heaven, in which are sun, moon, and stars, Genesis 1:14 ss., the shining witnesses of God's glory; in reference to which He bears the name of Sabaoth, God of hosts. The word, which occurs only once again in the Psalms 150:1, points back to the history of creation. Many, as De Wette, render הגיד by, "to praise, to extol," and the expression, ידיו מעשה "what He can make and do by means of His almightiness and wis-dom." Both, however, are inadmissible. The former can only signify announce, show forth, as both the usage and the paral. with ספר, "to relate," show, and ידיו מעשה, only, "the work of His hands." The firmament, whose very existence is a factual announcement of what God has made, testifies, at the same time (since doing proceeds from being), of the Creator, what He is, concerning His glory. It was justly remarked by Venema, that in substance the two members are to be regarded as supplementing one another, q.d., "the heavens make known the work of God's hands, and thereby His glory;" or, "the heavens, as the work of God's hands, make known His glory." So also already Paul, in Romans 1:20, "For the invisible things of God, from the creation of the world, are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead." Ver. 2. Day unto day pours forth speech, and night unto night shows knowledge. The naked thought is this, that the heavens, with their starry host, unceasingly testify of God's glory, since by day the sun constantly shines, and by night the moon and stars. The Psalmist expresses the thought in such a manner as to constitute the days and nights heralds of God's glory, communicating to their successors what they had learned from the heavens and from the firmament. The speech of the day can only be the echo of the speech of the heavens, and the knowledge of God's glory (דעת signifies only knowing, percep-tion, insight, never news) which the night gives, is only such as has been furnished it by the heavens. This is evident from the relation in which אמר stands to מספרים, from the resumption of אמר in ver. 3, and the suffixes in ver. 4, which unquestion-ably refer back to the heavens, and which exclude all interrup-tion of the reference to the heavens. The connection is de-stroyed by the remark of Stier: "We are to understand not merely what we see by day and night in the heavens, but, as the expression naturally imports (that is, if viewed without respect to the connection), all that is done by day and night under the heavens." Here, as also in Ps. viii., the discourse is merely of the testimony of the heavens. הביע, to cause to sputter forth, marks the rich fulness with which the testimony on all hands breaks forth. Ver. 3. There is not speech, and there are not words; their voice is not heard. נשמע is pointed as partic.: "there is not aheard one," their voice is not among the number of the heard. The suff. in קולם refers to the heavens and the firmament, and these are the very things of which speech and words are denied. The author points to the powerfulness of the testimony which the heavens deliver of God's glory. How strongly must the traces of God's glory be impressed upon them, when they need no speech to make Him known as their Creator, when they need only to be dumb-heralds of the Divine greatness, and not-withstanding declare and show forth! It is commonly supposed by those who follow this exposition, that the sense is first com-pleted by the addition of the following verse: "They are indeed speechless, yet still their preaching is perceived throughout the whole earth," so loudly do they proclaim by their mere exist-ence the glory of God. But this supposition is not necessary; just as well, and even better indeed, we can say, that here the powerfulness of the testimony is represented, and there the wide compass of its sphere. The more definite דברים is added to אמר, which admits of a more general construction, in order to signify, that we have here a discourse in the strict sense. Lu-ther, Calvin, and others expound, "There is no speech and dis-course where their voice is not heard." Calvin: "He extends through a silent contrast the efficacy of this testimony which the heavens give to their Creator; as if he said: Although the nations are very different in language, yet the heavens have a common speech for instructing all in like manner, and nothing but carelessness prevents all from being taught at the mouth of this one teacher." But it is to be objected to this exposition, that it takes אמר and דברים in the sense of dialect, language, in which the first certainly never occurs; nor is Genesis 11:1 suffi-cient to establish it as properly belonging to the latter; that speech and language would not be very fitly connected with hearing; that it requires אמר to be taken in another sense than it was in ver. 2, and forcibly separates it from מספרים and דיגמ in ver. 1; and, finally, that it destroys the parallelism which mani-festly exists between the expressions, "there is not speech, and there are not words," and, "their voice is not heard."-Others expound, after Vitringa: "There is, what day and night an-nounce, no speech, and no words, whose voice one may not perceive," supplying אשר before בלי. But this gives a very tame sense; it destroys, like the other, the parallelism, and draws the whole into a single protracted period; to which itmay also be added, that, according to it, the suffix in קולם must be referred to "speech" and "words," while the analogy of the suffixes in the following verse decides for the reference to the heavens and the firmament, from which also the discourse and the knowledge proceed, which day and night deliver to each other. Ver. 4. Their line goes out over the whole earth, and the words even to the farthest bounds of the earth; He has made for the sun a tent in them. The first clause has occasioned great trouble to expositors. But the difficulty is less an inherent than a derived one. It immediately vanishes, if we simply and faithfully abide by the established usage, and then only con-sider how the meaning thus acquired suits the context. The suffix in קום refers, as that in בהם unquestionably shows, to the heavens and the firmament. קו signifies a measuring-line. Such a line is used for determining the limits, the compass of the territory which any one has to receive; comp. for ex. Isaiah 34:17, "His hand has divided it (Idumea) to them (the wild beasts), with the measuring-line; they shall possess it for ever; from generation to generation shall they dwell therein:" Ezekiel 47:3; Zechariah 1:16. The measuring-line extends as far as the territory is to reach; comp. יצא, in Isaiah 15:3 ss., and especially as connected with קו, Jeremiah 31:39. Accordingly, the only legitimate translation is, "their measuring-line goes out over the whole earth;" and the only legitimate exposition, "the whole earth is their portion and territory." In what re-spect, is evident from the whole context, according to which the heavens can come into consideration merely as heralds of the Divine glory; and all doubt is removed by the second clause, which serves to explain the first, expressly pointing to this refer-ence: their proclamation of the Divine glory limits itself not to some one region, but extends as far as the earth itself.-- How untenable the current expositions are, is obvious from this, that Olshausen and Gesenius, finding no satisfaction in them, would read קולם for קום, their voice. The sense, sound, speech,which many ascribe to קו, never has; nor can they with cer-tainty appeal for it to the authority of the old translators, as it is doubtful whether these did not merely give a free rendering according to the sense. The signification, string, by which some would transfer it from the established meaning to what the context is here supposed to require, is inadmissible, as קו never signifies string, but always specially measuring-line. Consequently the exposition of Hitzig is also to be rejected, which imagines an uninterrupted chain of hymns of praise, with which day and night, or more properly the heavens and firma-ment, span the earth, "as we speak of the thread of a dis-course." Ewald commits himself to still greater arbitrariness in the explanation of קו. Those who, as Stier, abide by the received signification of קו explain, "as their extent reaches over the whole earth, so also, in like manner, their words." But this exposition destroys the parallelism, and understands the outgoing of the measuring-line of mere extent, whereas it must be regarded as designating the compass of the territory. In the third clause the Psalmist makes special mention, among the heavenly works of God, of the sun, because it is the most glorious of them, and also from a special reference to the law as the spiritual sun. The suf. in בהם, which unquestion-ably refers to the heavens and the earth, shows that we must consider the speech and knowledge, which, according to ver. 2, day and night proclaim, as communicated to them by the hea-vens; and that the suf. in קולם in ver. 3 must be referred, not, with many, to day and night, nor, with others, to the discourse and the words, but to the heavens; that not to day and night, but to the heavens is אמר, in its more restricted sense, as far as it is synonymous with דברים, denied, and that also in the two first members of our verse the suffixes can only refer to the heavens. In a perfectly unreliable manner has De Wette sought to remove the invincible difficulty, arising from the reference of the suf. to a distant noun, by remarking, that the sun, as to thought, is comprehended in the preceding words, "to the end of the world." For this is equivalent to, "to the end of the heavens," where the sun had been mentioned. But תבל, according to its derivation (prop. the bearing, fruit-bearing), signifies earth, not world, and is synonymous with the parallel ארץ. Then one does not see how there should have been a plural suf. De Wette's supposition, that it is used in-determinately, is a mere shift; Psalms 39:6 cannot be com-pared, as there what is to be supplied is clearly given in the context. But to suppose, with Maurer, that here the tent of the sun must be placed in the extremity of the earth, is much less allowable, since the end of the earth, in common speech, and according to the parallel in the preceding context, is still apart of itself; but no one has ever apportioned the sun to the earth, and here, in particular, it is represented as the most glorious object in the heavenly regions. The tent of the sun is not to be considered as the place of his nightly repose: against this Stier justly remarks, that it is not fitting, on a first mention of the sun in the heavens, to consider it as absent and concealed: it is rather his dwelling-tent.1 The expression, "Hehas set a tent for it," substantially the same as, “ He has prescribed a place for it.” With the words of the two first members of this verse, Paul describes, in Romans 10:18, the spread of the Gospel over the whole earth. This led many of the older expositors into the quite false supposition, that vers. 1-6 contained a direct prophecy of Christ and the Gospel. But not less objectionable is the supposition, that the Apostle used the words of our verse merely as an accidental reminiscence. The reference has a deep ground. The universality of God's manifestation of Himself in nature, is a prophecy in fact of the universality of the proclamation of the Gospel. If the former is not accidental, if it is grounded in the Divine nature, so must the latter also spring from the same Divine nature. The re-velation of God in nature is for all His creatures; to them as such it is given; and it is a pledge that they shall also one day be made to share in the higher and more glorious revelation. It was a surety for the heathen, that the temporal limitation salvation to Israel was not a hindrance, but a means towards the removal of the limitation.1 Quite correctly already Ven.: singulis sideribus dantur tentoria tensa cum apparent, et detensa cum disparent, quae tentoria eorum stationem in campis aethereis designant. Ver. 5. And he is as a bridegroom who comes out of his chamber, rejoices as a hero to run a race. The point of com-parison in the first member, is neither the delight beaming from the countenance of the bridegroom, nor his ornaments (Isaiah 61:10), but his vigour, power, or feeling of strength. This ap-pears from the words, “ he comes forth from his chamber,” prop. e thoro, or, thalamo suo (falsely, therefore, Michaelis: ad sponsam v. excipiendam, v. domum ducendam), and likewise from the second clause, which gives equal prominence to the energetic power of the sun. In German the comparison loses in both members, from the sun being a feminine noun. Ver. 6. He goes forth from the end of the heavens, and runsabout even to their end, and nothing is concealed from his heat. On מוצא comp. Christol. P. III. p. 300. על is to be explained from the fact, that the going round at last touches, reaches the ends of the heavens. The רתסנ אין prop. "not is concealed," "there is not anything which can be concealed." Heat is not to be considered as the opposite to light, as Venema and others think, according to whom what precedes refers only to the light; but as its inseparable accompaniment, equivalent to, "before its warming light." These last words also have respect to the mighty power of the sun, so that the Psalmist has this, through the whole representation, before his eyes. There follows now, in vers. 7-10, the praise of the law which has been given by this God, whose glory the heavens proclaim, and from whom, on this territory also, nothing but what is glorious and perfect can proceed. An artistic arrange-ment in this praise is not to be overlooked. In the three verses, vers. 7-9, the law is praised in twelve sayings. These fall into six pairs, in which the second always stands to the first in the relation of effect to cause-a relation which is intimated through the regular want of the copula in the second, and the occur-rence of Jehovah only in the first clause. So, for example, in ver. 7, "The law of the Lord is perfect, (and hence) it quickens the soul; the testimony of the Lord is sure, (and hence) makes the simple wise." In vers. 7 and 8, the result is uniformly some effect which the law produces in the mind of man, accord-ing to the quality indicated in the preceding clause. In the concluding verse, ver. 10, the glory and preciousness of the law thus constituted, is celebrated as a whole. To the sixfold men-tion of the name Jehovah here, there is added a seventh at the close in ver. 14. Ver. 7. The law of the Lord is perfect, quickens the soul; the testimony of the Lord is sure, makes wise the simple. To silence those who, after the example of Cocceius, would understand by תורה the Gospel, many expositors maintain that it stands here in its original meaning of "doctrine," and comprehends the whole sum of religion. But this notion is altogether un-tenable. תורה, although certainly it originally meant instruc-tion in general, always occurs, in the whole of the existing usage, which was formed under the influence of the Pentateuch, in that of doctrine embodied in commands; it always mean's law, not excepting Isaiah 1:10; Isaiah 8:16. But even if its meaning weredoubtful, the following synonyms would be sufficient to remove all doubt. Occasion was given to this false view by the con-sideration that such high terms of praise could not be employed of the law by itself, after the declarations of the Apostle, and the testimony of experience. This consideration, however, is set aside in a legitimate way by the remark, that David only speaks of what the law is for those who, like himself, are in a state of grace, and in whom, consequently, the inmost disposition of the heart coincides with the law,-of that, therefore, which-theologians call "the third use of the law," or, "its use to the regenerate" (comp. Melancthon at the close of his Loc. de usu legis; Calvin, Inst. L. 2:c. 7, § 12; Nitzsch, System. § 155). Such a man is inwardly rejoiced that he has in the law a pure mirror of Divine holiness, a sure standard for his actions. But Paul, on the other hand, has to do with the relation of the law to the fleshly, to those who are sold under sin. That here the Psalm treats only of what the law is to believers, is manifest from the fact of its composition by David, who speaks, in the first instance, in his own name; also from the expression, "Thy servant," in ver. 11, which implies that the speaker was already in a gracious relation to God; from his naming the Lord "his Rock and his Redeemer," in ver. 14; and from vers. 12 and 13, where he indeed claims Divine forgiveness for many sins of imperfection, but confesses himself to be free from pre-sumptuous and daring violations of God's commands, and prays that, through God's grace, he may be able to remain free from such. All these are marks of a state of grace. The right view was already taken by Luther, who says: "The prophet repre-sents to his view those, who through the word of faith have received the Spirit, are joyful thereat, and have conceived a de-sire to do that which is according to the law. Thereupon he proceeds to teach how holy, how righteous and good the law is, which appears grievous and hard to those who have not the Spirit,-the blame, however, being not in the law, but in the in-clination. Moses was, in fact, the meekest man upon earth, Numbers 12:3, though they did not know it. And so also is the law of the Lord very full of love; only the wickedness of our heart understands it not, till the voice of the Bridegroom takes away its wickedness, and gives the Spirit, and then the law is understood and loved. The law does nothing of this sort by itself, but it becomes such a law through the heat of the sun, which breaks forth through faith in the word." The law is named perfect, as being a pure expression of the will of God, and in contrast to the imperfect results of human thought in this sphere, even on the part of the well-disposed. Because it isin itself perfect, it makes those also perfect who follow it; Comp. 2 Timothy 3:15; 2 Timothy 3:16. The consequence of the law's being perfect is, that it quickens the heart, namely, by its putting an end to painful uncertainty in reference to the will of God and the means of pleasing Him, which but for the law would still in some measure continue even with believers, and such as are brought to partake of the gifts of the Spirit, and by opening up a perfectly secure way, by which one may attain to righteous-ness before God, and the peace of a good conscience, and con-sequently to a joyful hope of salvation. That the perfectness of the law is in so far the cause of the quickening, appears from the following words, "makes wise the simple," which more definitely point out the way and manner in which the law pro-duces quickening. Many, and recently Stier, expound, "con-verts the soul." But this is inadmissible, as to matter,-con-version has nothing to do here, for the law cannot work it; the subject of discourse at present is simply what the law is for be-lievers, those who have already been converted,--and so it is also in a philological point of view. The expression, placed so absolutely, as here without a terminus ad quem, uniformly de-notes quickening, refreshment: the soul is as it were escaped from the pain and misery in which it was imbedded; comp. Lamentations 1:11; Lamentations 1:16; Rth 4:15; Psalms 23:3. Testimony, עדות, the law is named, not as being a kind of solemn declaration of the Divine will, but because it testifies against sin; comp. my Beitr. Part III. p. 640. Sure, reliable the testimony is named, in contrast to the uncertain, vacillating, unreliable knowledge of reason in matters of this nature. By reason of this very sureness the law is fitted to make the simple wise (ףןציףבי, 2 Timothy 3:15). The expression simple, does not denote a particular class among believers, as if there were others wise enough of them-selves; but it is a common predicate of all believers viewed apart from the Divine Believers are also simple still; for even at their best estate, they lack a sufficient knowledge of the Divine will; but they are only simple, while others are blinded fools, םילבנ. The exposition of Stier and others, "the susceptible, open," is refuted by the contrast with wise; comp. also םייתפ ןיבמ in Psalms 119:130. On the other hand, Luther's silly is too strong. פתי denotes only a deficiency, a want, not a positively perverted character; an ignorance, which has its root in the region of the understanding, not such as springs from an ethical ground. Gesen. in his Thes.: dicitur de ea stoliditate, cujusfons est in inopia consilii, prudentim, disciplinae et rerum usus, qualis puerorum et adolescentulorum est pellectu facilium, licet non malorum et noxiorum. Ver. 8. The commandments of the Lord are right, rejoice the heart; the statute of the Lard is clear, enlightens the eyes. The law receives the name of םידוקפ, in so far as it delivers to man charges, which he has to execute; the name of הוצמ, in so far as it prescribes to him what he has to do. That the law of the Lord rejoices the heart, appears as the effect of its rectitude, just as its quickening the soul was represented as the effect of its perfectness. The believer acknowledges with heart-felt joy and gratitude that he knows the will of God from the revelaticn He has given, and that he is thereby delivered from the deceit of his own fancy, and of his own heart, and has obtained a sure guide through life. The enlightening of the eyes is referred by many to the communication of the light of Divine knowledge. In that case, "enlightening the eyes," would stand related to, "rejoicing the heart," just as in ver. 7, "making wise the simple," is related to, "quickening the soul." There, "it is perfect and sure," and therefore quickens the soul, in that it makes wise the simple. Here, "it is right and clear," and therefore rejoices the heart, in that it enlightens the eyes. However, as the expression, "enlightens the eyes," so commonly occurs in the sense of mak-ing brisk and joyful,-pain and misery make the eyes dim,heavy, and dull, comp. on Psalms 3,-it will be well for us also to adopt this signification here. Accordingly the words, "en-lightening the eyes," correspond precisely to, "rejoicing the heart," and in the preceding verse, not to, "making wise the simple," but rather to, "quickening the soul." Ver. 9. The fear of the Lord is pure, continues for ever;judgments of the Lord are truth, righteous altogether. The fear of the Lord here marks the instruction afforded by God for fearing Him, Psalms 34:11; Proverbs 1:29; Proverbs 2:5; Proverbs 15:33; the law,which, according to Deuteronomy 17:19, should serve the purpose of leading men "to fear the Lord their God." That the word,"fear of God," is thus transferred directly to its norm or stan-dard in the law, shows how close is the connection between the two; directs attention to the circumstance, that all seeming fear of God, which fashions its substance according to men's own notions, is rather a dishonouring of God. The consequence of the purity of the law, which renders absurd any attempt to make it purer, or to reform it in any measure, is its perpetual continu-ance. This is naturally to be referred to the substance of the Old Testament law, and indeed to the whole of it-for the limitation to the so-called moral law is an arbitrary one-in re-ference to which the Lord also says, that He came, not to destroy the law, but to fulfil it, Matthew 5:17. The destruction as it has taken place under the New Testament, respects only the form. In regard to its substance, the law is so unconditionally eternal, that, according to another saying of our Lord, not one jot or tittle of it shall perish, Matthew 5:18. The truth of the Lord's judgments consists in this, that they do not profess to be judgments of the Lord, but really are judgments of the Lord; and since nothing can proceed from the Lord but what is righteous, they are righteous altogether, without any exception. The truth stands opposed to lies, to deceit. If by truth is un-derstood, not the formal, but the material, then the expression, "they are righteous altogether," passes from the relation of effect to cause, and is merely co-ordinate with the other, "they are truth." Ver. 10. They, more precious than gold, and much fine gold, and sweeter than honey and the honey-comb. Calvin: "Here again it is clear, that he speaks not of the naked precept and the mere dead letter (more correctly: of the relation of the law to the faithful and spiritual, not of its relation to the fleshly and such as are destitute of faith). For if the law when merely commanding terrified, how then could it be deserving of love? Certainly, if it is separated from the hope of forgiveness, and from the Spirit of Christ, it is so far from the sweetness of honey, that it rather by its bitterness kills the poor soul." Luther: "This is a great wonder of the Holy Spirit and of the judgments of the Most High, that they change everything, rendering that most acceptable, which before was most distasteful. For what do men seek more eagerly than riches and pleasures? and yet the spirit has far greater delight in the law of God, than the flesh can have in its goods and pleasures." The third strophe, vers. 11-14: the law in relation to thePsalmist, as to every individual who finds in the Psalm the fitting expression of his feelings. Ver. 11. Also thy servant is enlightened by them: whosoeverkeeps them has great reward. The participle רהAז;נi indicates that the enlightening, or reminding, through the law is one that is continually proceeding, abiding; comp. Ew. § 349. The ex-pression, "Whosoever keeps them," is, when viewed in regard to the context, equivalent to, "the keeping of them, as to all, so also to me, brings great reward:" I also receive enlightenment from Thy law, as to how my life should be directed; and if I keep it, acting agreeably to this knowledge, great reward. How the' Psalmist recognised the truth of this principle from his own ex-perience, is shown by Psalms 18:20-27. This declaration at the same time paves the way to the following prayers for the removal of the hindrances which threatened to deprive him, in whole or in part, of the reward which attends the keeping of the law. He, also, who stands in the faith needs pardon for the sins which are the offspring of infirmity, if he is to come to the full enjoyment of this reward, ver. 12. He needs, moreover, the constant pre- servation of God, through His Spirit, from presumptuous trans-gressions of the law, from prevailing sin, which threatens whollyto deprive him of the reward. We are not to conclude from the Psalmist's expectation of the reward, that he was a hireling, We should otherwise have to reproach also the New Testament on account of 1 Timothy 4:8, and many other passages, which en- join a seeking of the reward. The principle which really im-pelled the Psalmist to keep the law, was the love of God; the reward he takes with a grateful heart as an agreeable addition, as a declaration of God, that the service rendered was well pleasing to Him. Luther: "This is said for the consolation of those who take pains, not to have their desire for reward strengthened, as is wont to be the case with hirelings and ser-vants; I mean those who, by their little bits of work, would make God I know not what sort of merchant, because they take no pains in doing the judgments of the Lord. Therefore does Paul, in 1 Corinthians 15:58, console those who labour in the serviceof God, exhorting them to be stedfast, immovable, and always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as they know that their labour shall not be in vain in the Lord. For the servants of the Lord must, know that they please God in their work, so that they may not languish, nor sink into despair; sinceGod desires to have willing and cheerful labourers. But if they please God, there will infallibly come a great reward, though they do not seek it, because God cannot deny Himself, who said to Abraham, I am thy exceeding great reward." Ver. 12. Errors, who can mark them? From those which are secret, acquit me. The first clause discloses the depth of human depravity, which draws even believers into many failings. Berleb. Bible: "Who can mark them? Who knows them all, and is able to number them? Who can keep so sharp a watch, as to mark how often something of the old proud disposition springsup against the new nature of the spirit of faith?"-The second clause grounds upon this the prayer for forgiveness; the ne-cessity for which rests upon the fact, that sin everywhere cleaves to us, appearing in the subtlest forms, scarcely discernible by the human eye, in many ways disguises itself, and assumes the appearance of good. Did sin possess only a gross character, we might satisfy ourselves with a simple "Lead us not into temp-tation;" but as it is able also to assume a refined shape, and become invisible, we need besides to pray, "Forgive us our trans-gressions." -It is not sins generally, but a special kind of sins, for which David begs the Divine forgiveness,-those which cleave even to believers, and consequently persons well-inclined, -sins of infirmity. האיגש is = הגAגAש; of the law,�. Leviticus 4:2, error, peccatum per imprudentiam commissum,- and תורתסנ, con-cealed sins, are such as have no gross corpus delicti connected with them, belong mainly to the sphere of the spirit, to thought or feeling, and withdraw themselves from the observation of others, and more or less also from one's own. That these are mainly to be thought of, is evident from the relation in which תורתסנ stands to יבין מי,�, "since the failings are so numerous and delicate that no one can mark them all, do Thou acquit me of those concealed sins, which, by their very subtlety, render their entire extirpation impossible." ינקנ, according to Stier and others, must signify not only forgiveness, but also inter-nal purification. But it was justly remarked even by S. Schmidt, that "it is a judicial term, and means acquittal. For original sin is not extirpated in this world, but forgiven." הק.Aנi always signifies, "to declare innocent, to acquit," never, "to make inno-cent;" nor can it possibly do so, for one may well indeed be blameless (ver. 13), but cannot be made so otherwise, than in the sense of being acquitted. Ver. 13. Also from presumptuous ones keep Thy servant, let them not have dominion over me; so shall I be blameless, and re- main innocent of great iniquity. From sins of infirmity the Psalmist passes on to sins of deliberation. As for the first he entreats the Divine pardon, so in regard to these he asks the Divine preservation. To the preceding verse the petition, "For-give us our sins," corresponds; and to this verse, the petition, "Lead us not into temptation." Our Psalm shows us, what a close internal connection subsists between the decalogue and the Lord's prayer. That the verb דוז, with its derived nouns, con-veys the idea of intentional, presumptuous, and daring sins, in opposition to such as spring from infirmity, is clear from Exodus 21:14; Deuteronomy 22, 17:12; 1 Samuel 17:28. םידiזe is the stand-ing designation of those who raise themselves proudly and rashly against God, despise His word, and break His law. The con-trast between זדים and תואיגש here, is precisely the same as the contrast between הגגשב and רמה ביד, sinning with a high hand, i. e. openly, freely, and boldly, in Numbers 15:27-31, a passage which forms the basis of the New Testament doctrine of the sin against the Holy Ghost; comp. Hebrews 10:26-28. Just as here, the sphere of forgiveness is confined to the תואיגש, while the Psalmist prays to be kept from the זדים, which would have the effect of putting him out of the state of grace, so there, sacrifices are to be offered only for those who had sinned הגגשב; he, on the contrary, who had sinned רמה ביד, was cut off from his people, "because he hath despised the word of the Lord, and broken His commandment." An example of a sin ןודזב, or ביד רמה, is the transgression of him who gathered wood on the Sab-bath-day, Numbers 15:32 ss. He was without mercy punished with death. But the sin which, under the Old Testament dis-pensation, bore so frightful a character, that whosoever committed it forfeited his earthly life, unless he received mercy from God, attained first under the New Testament to its proper completion, in which it inevitably draws after it eternal death. For the greatness of the punishment is determined by the greatness of the internally and externally offered grace.-Presumptuous sin: are here personified as tyrants who strive to bring the servant of God into unworthy bondage to them. That the Lord alone can keep from this servitude, discovers the depth of human corrup-tion. That we are not, with many, to take זדים at once in the sense of insolence, or of wilful sinning, appears from usage,according to which, the word constantly denotes persons; as also from the words, "Let them not have dominion over me," which point to real or imaginary persons. But just as little may we, with others, understand by זדים, real persons. Palpably false is this exposition, when such persons are supposed to be national enemies, and the dominion an external supremacy. In that case, too, the following words, "then shall I be perfect," etc., yield no sense, and the idea in this connection is quite foreign. The interpretation is more tolerable, which takes the dominion in a moral point of view, "keep me from the influence and seduc-tion of daring sinners." But though by this exposition the con-trast, so pointedly indicated through גם and the double מן, be-tween sins of infirmity and presumptuous sins, is not entirely destroyed, yet it is made less direct, and is cast into the shade; the having dominion would be something strange (comp. what is said of sin in Romans 6:14); and ךשה at least nowhere else is used of preservation from bad company, whereas it is certainly twice used of keeping from sinning, Genesis 20:6, and 1 Samuel 25:39, "and hath kept His servant from evil." To the then there is commonly added, "When I obtain these two." But this is opposed by the פשע, which exclusively refers to the sins described in our verse. It denotes the greatest sin, prop. "apos-tasy, revolt," such as זדים, bold despisers of God, commit; com-pare Job 34:37. This exposition is also opposed by תמם, which is properly used only of inherent innocence. The םתיא Isaiah 1 pers. Fut. of תמם: comp. on the י, Ewald, p. 466, Small Gr. § 270. An innocent, blameless person is the Psalmist, notwith-standing his sins of infirmity. יתיקנ points back to ינקנ, in the preceding verse: to be made blameless, and to remain blameless, are the two conditions of salvation. But the realization of the latter, also, can only proceed from God. The expression, "from much or great iniquity," must be supplemented in thought by, "into which I shall otherwise inevitably fall." פשע stands in contrast to the unavoidable smaller transgressions spoken of in the preceding context. Ver. . 14. Let the words of my mouth be acceptable to Thee, and the meditations of my heart before Thee, O Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer. The Psalmist prays for the favourable reception of his song, not as a production of sacred art, but in its sub-stance and matter, in reference to the two petitions with which it is occupied; or, it is not as a poet, but as a suppliant, that thePsalmist claims the Divline acceptance. This clearly appears from the two predicates of God, on which the Psalmist grounds his prayer, and which led him confidently to hope for the grant-ing of it. In saying, "let it be acceptable," the Psalmist seems to use a sacrificial term, perhaps the very words which were spoken by the priests at, the presentation of the sacrifice. At least the expression is regularly used in respect to offerings: comp. Leviticus 19:5; Leviticus 19:7; Leviticus 22:19; Leviticus 22:20; Leviticus 22:29; Leviticus 23:11; Isa. 56:7, 60:7; Romans 12:1. Such a transference of language was the more natural, as sacrifice itself was an embodied prayer. It is better to connect the words, "before Thee," with the words, "the meditation of my heart," than with the expression, "ac-ceptable," from which they are too far separated. The expres-sion "acceptable" occurs elsewhere without any further addition to it, and is only once found connected with the words, "before the Lord," namely, in Exodus 28:38. The expression, "myRock," denotes here also that faithfulness, certainty, which do not permit the Lord to desert His people; see on Psalms 18:2. He would deny His rock-nature, if He should not pardon their infirmities, and keep them from flagrant misdeeds. PSALM XX. The people wish for their king, that the Lord, the God of Israel, would be with him in the impending battle, and grant him the victory, vers. 1-5. The firm confidence is expressed, that the Lord will protect His anointed and his kingdom, vers. 6-8. They conclude with the prayer that the Lord would do as He had inwardly promised, ver. 9. That the Psalm is not, in the general, "a song of Israel for and to its king, as we have in our song-book songs in which prayers and thanks are presented for kings and rulers, and their office is praised;" that Israel rather presents in it a special en-treaty for help to His anointed, in the immediate prospect of battle, and expresses a firm, triumphant confidence therein, is evident from the words, "in the day of distress," in ver. 1, as compared with vers. 7, 8, which determine more exactly the kind of distress as one proceeding from enemies. According to ver. 3, the Psalm was sung along with the solemn offerings which the king presented at his going out to battle. Many expositors conceive that the Psalm refers to a particular occasion. Several follow the Syriac in connecting it with the Ammonitic-Syrian war. But no ground exists for any such special reference: there appears in it, indeed, no individualizing trait; nothing carries us beyond the general application to the troubles of war; and this generality of its aim is specially counte-nanced by "the day of distress" in ver. 1, and "the day of our calling" in ver. 9. The beginning and conclusion both indicate that the Psalm was to be sung as often as the troubles of war required the people to claim help from its God. If we hold the Psalm to be thus general in its character, we must also admit that it bears reference to Christ and His king-dom, that the Christian Church justly appropriates it as an ex-pression of her longing for the triumph of His cause, and of her confident hope. For the kingdom of David, to which it refers, culminated in Christ. He is in the full sense "the Anointed of the Lord." On the other hand, the Psalm refers to Christian kings only when they are His servants, and in so far as they are so. It has been objected to the composition of the Psalm as David's, affirmed in the superscription, that he does not appear as the speaker, but the people address him. This objection, however, is of no force. The person addressed is not David in particular, but the anointed of the Lord in general; the speaker is, of course, not the Psalmist, but he speaks in the name of the people; and if so, who might be more readily expected to stand forth as an interpreter of the feelings of the Lord's people in this respect, than David, who always lived in and with the Church, who always served it with his poetical gift, identified himself with its circumstances, and cared for its wants? Only through paying in general too little heed to this, can we here entertain any doubt of the correctness of the statement made in the superscription. Besides, the Davidic authorship is con-firmed by the numerous coincidences with Psalms of David, which we shall notice in the exposition. Then, whatever wit-nesses for the Davidic authorship of Psalms 21. also makes for this, for they are connected as a pair. The great simplicity, ease, and transparent clearness of the Psalm, which have been urged against its ascription to David, are to be accounted for from its character; these are characteristics of a national song. Luther says briefly and well: "It seems to me as if David had composed this Psalm, that it might serve as a devout andpious battle-cry, whereby he would stir up himself and the people, and fit them for prayer." Ver. 1. The Lord hear thee in the day of distress, the name of the God of Jacob exalt thee. That we are not, with Hitzig, to expound, "will hear thee," but, "may He hear thee," and that the following Futures are also to be taken so, appears from ידשנה, "May He declare for fat, may He favourably accept," in ver. 3, from נרננה, in ver. 5, and the expression, "the king hear us," at the close, which returns to the beginning. שגב means to lift up, to exalt, in the sense of delivering, to transfer to a high and secure place; comp. 59:1, 91:14, and 18:2, where David names God his height. God's being called the God of Jacob, is equivalent to, "the God, who was and is the God of Jacob, in his person, and that of his posterity," and points to the relation which constituted the ground of the hearing and the elevation, and of the joyfulness and confidence of the prayer. The ex-pression, "the name of Jacob's God," is equivalent to, "God, who manifested Himself as Jacob's God," or, "Jacob's God, who manifested Himself as such in a fulness of deeds." God is not merely the God of Jacob, He is also named so, has thus made Himself known, and made for Himself a name. His election is not a dark one, but manifest, confirmed by facts. Without such facts the God of Jacob would be nameless, His name would be a nomen vanum. Ver. 2. Send thee help from the sanctuary, and out of Zion sup-port thee. Here also is the help of God sought on the ground of His covenant, of His relation to the Church. This is implied in the words, "out of the sanctuary, out of Zion;" comp. on Psalms 14:7. Ver. 3. Remember all thy meat-offerings, and accept thy burnt-offerings. That we are here to think, not of the sacri-fices of the king in general, but specially of the solemn oblations presented before going forth to battle (comp. 1 Samuel 13:9 ss., where Saul offers such a sacrifice, with the view of entreating God's favour, and making Him gracious toward him), appears from the Selah, which can only be explained on the supposition, that between this verse and the following one the work of offering the sacrifices intervened, during which there ensued a solemn pause. The word, "remember," seems to allude to the name הרAכAז;אa, which in the law was borne by that part of the meat-offering which was burnt on the altar, because it put God, as it were, in remembrance of the offerer; comp. Leviticus 2:2,vi. 8, etc. To remembering is opposed forgetting, or indif-ferent reception. The expression is likewise used in the New Testament; comp. Acts 10:31. According to the entire spiri-tual point of view, from which the Psalmist speaks, it is of course to be understood, that the sacrifices are here considered, not in regard to their body, but in regard to the soul, which dwelt in them; and that their gracious acceptance by God was hoped for only on the ground of the presence of the internal aim and disposition, which were embodied in them. In the symbolism of the law, the presentation of the burnt-offering ex-pressed the consecration and yielding up of self. Whoever presented the meat-offering, which was closely connected with the burnt-offering, vowed that he would present to God the spiritual nutriment due to Him, good works. Where such pro- fession is made in truth, there, the subjective conditions on which the dispensation of salvation proceeds, are such as they are required to be; then, God cannot do otherwise than give to the suppliant according to his heart, and fulfil all his counsel. Luther remarks:" Just as in the new law there are other persons, other matters, other times, other places, so are there also other sacrifices; though still there remains one faith and one spirit: the external only has changed, the internal re-mains the same.-Wherefore, our sacrifice, which we must present to God in the time of trouble, is a broken heart, and the confession of sin; and this we do when we sigh after God in the time of trouble, recognise our distress as right-eous, bear patiently the mortification of self, and yield our-selves up to God, as ready to do all His will.” -ןש.eדi signifies,"to make fat," Psalms 23:5, and then "to declare fat, good," to accept with satisfaction. The ה is the ה of striving; comp. Ew. § 293. Ver. 4. Give thee what thy heart desires, and fulfil all thy counsels. The discourse is not of the desires and counsels of the king generally, but only of those which relate to the present necessity.Ver. 5. May we rejoice over thy salvation, and through the name of our God be lifted up; the Lord fulfil all thy petitions. Various expositors render, "then shall we rejoice," etc.; but this construction is inadmissible, partly on account of the form, which discovers itself to be the optative through the appended ה, partly on account of the last member, which, like the preced-ing context, still contains the expression of a wish. We must, therefore, expound: "may we rejoice," etc., equivalent to, “may occasion be furnished us, through thy salvation, for re-joicing.” The name of God stands here emphatically, as inver. 1. The explanation of נדגל is uncertain: the suppositionthat it is denomin. דגל of "banner," is opposed by Son 5:11, where the part. per. occurs in the sense of exalted, or distin-guished. Probably the verb is related to גדל. The LXX. already rendered, as we have done, לודבכץםטחףןלוטב, and the Vulgate, magnificabimur. Ver. 5. May we rejoice over thy salvation, and through the name of our God be lifted up; the Lord fulfil all thy petitions. Various expositors render, “then shall we rejoice,” etc.; but this construction is inadmissible, partly on account of the form, which discovers itself to be the optative through the appended δ, partly on account of the last member, which, like the preceding context, still contains the expression of a wish. We must, therefore, expound: “may we rejoice,” etc., equivalent to, “may occasion be furnished us, through thy salvation, for rejoicing.” The name of God stands here emphatically, as in ver. 1. The explanation of πγβμ is uncertain: the supposition that it is denomin. γβμ of “banner,” is opposed by Son 5:11, where the part. per. occurs in the sense of exalted, or distinguished. Probably the verb is related to βγμ. The LXX. already rendered, as we have done, μεγαλυνθησόμεθα, and the Vulgate, magnificabimur. Ver. 6. Now know I that the Lord helps His anointed, He hears him from His holy heaven, through the salutary exploits of His right hand. Till now the people had spoken in the plural; here they speak as an ideal person in the singular. That there is here a great turning-point, is also indicated by the circum-stance that the king is no more addressed, but is spoken of. The now is to be explained from the fact, that the suppliants suddenly obtain confidence of being heard. This now also, in that it shows that the transition from prayer to confidence is effected here quickly and directly-precisely as, for example, in Psalms 6:8 -is an objection against reckoning ver. 5 to the second strophe. The now I know is, quite misunderstood by those who, with Maurer, would refer it to a just won victory; it refers to an internal fact, and Luther has quite correctly explained it: "Henceforth the prophet is full of sure hope, and converts into a promise what lie had hitherto been praying for. For in such a manner does the heart which rests its full confidence in God, imagine quite certainly that what it has prayed for will infallibly be done. Faith, if it is truly in the heart, takes such a firm hold of that which it believes, that it can speak of nothing as more certain, and it knows it, indeed, to be as certain as if it had actually happened. Therefore he does not say here, I conceive, I think, but, I know." The deliverance is here expected from heaven, as in ver. 2, from Zion. The two to-gether, that God dwells in Zion, and also in heaven, constitute the sure ground of hope. The first proves that God will help, the second that He can help; the first is a pledge of God's love, the second of His almightiness. Heaven is characterized as holy, on account of the strong contrast between it and earth, with its impotence and helplessness. On the expression, from His holy heaven, see on Psalms 11:4; "the right hand of God," ismentioned in the same connection in Psalms 18:36 : עשaיe occursalso in Psalms 12:5. Ver. 7. Some make mention of chariots, and some of horses; but we, of the name of the Lord our God. Ver. 8. They stoop and fall; but we rise and stand upright. As the object of con-fidence in the world and in the Church is different, so is also the fate: there, from height to depth; here, from depth to height. הזכיר elsewhere always signifies "to make mention," never, "to praise" (where the latter signification is adopted, it rests on a false explanation); and this signification must here be the more firmly held, as it exists also in the radical passage, Exodus 23."The name of other gods ye shall not make mention of," as appears from the parallel, "neither let it be heard in thy mouth." That the mention is in the way of praise, does not lie in the word itself, but in the constr. with ב, pointing to the feeling of confidence with which the person mentioning rests in the object. Parallel to ver. 7 Isaiah 1 Samuel 17:45, where David says to Goliath, "Thou comest to me with a sword, and with a spear, and with a shield; but I come to thee in the name of the Lord God of Hosts:” Psalms 33:17; Isaiah 31:3. By the chariots, chariots of war are to be understood. The contrast lies between human means of help, and the assistance of God. The Preterites of ver. 8 are to be explained by the fact, that the people in faith see the enemies as already conquered. Luther: "Faith alone, which commits itself to God, can sing the song of triumph be-fore the victory, and raise the shout of joy before help has been obtained; for to faith all is permitted. It trusts in God, and so really has what it believes, because faith deceives not; as it believes, so is it done." Before the catastrophe here described the enemies had the upper hand, and the people of God were put to the worse. This especially appears from קום, which means, not, "to stand," but, "to stand up." Luther: "At the commencement of the attack, the ungodly, indeed, appear to stand firm, confiding in their chariots and horsemen; on the other hand, the pious, who trust in the name of the Lord, ap-pear to be far from equal to them. But faith boasts thus: Although those stand, and we seem to be weak and to fall, yet we are sure, that presently matters shall be entirely reversed, and they shall fall; but we shall be raised on high and stand, nay, we are already lifted up and stand erect. O what a noble pattern of faith is this!" Ver. 9. Lord, help; the King hear us when we call. The last strophe, that of the renewed prayer, stands in close relation to the preceding context. The help is based on the, He helps, in ver. 6; the hear us points back to, He will hear him, in the same verse. The prayer springs from the promise: "the Lord is entreated to do what He has promised." By this re-ference to the promise, the prayer at the end is distinguished from that at the beginning. The expression, "may He hear us," here, is much more emphatic than the expression, "may He hear thee," there, which is now resumed again. Special emphasis rests on המלך; Luther: "Hear Thou us, Thou who truly art our King. For David, who serves Thee, is not king, and governs not his, but Thy kingdom. With what vehement emotion does he move God, that is, does he teach us to move God, as one who is moved when we ourselves are moved! For how should He not hear when His kingdom, His interest, His honour is in danger? In other words, we then pray most ear-nestly when we have confidence that we are God's kingdom and His heritage. For then we seek not our own, and are cer-tain that He will not abandon a cause which belongs to Him, and a kingdom which is His, especially when we call upon Him for this." As King of Israel, God appears already in Deuteronomy 33:5, comp. Psalms 48:3. Without ground, several expositors, following the LXX. and Vulgate, domine salvum fac regem, leave the accents, and connect המלך with the first clause. By this exposition the sense of the first member is weakened; the simple, "Lord, help," is more emphatic; then, in the second member, the designation of God is awanting, which grounds the prayer for help; and what is the chief point, the transition from the address to the third person is then de-prived of all occasion, on which account also the Vulgate, on its own authority, supplies the address, "et exaudi nos." The expression, "in the day of our calling," rests on Deuteronomy 15:2. Psalms 21. The people testify their joy at the rich benefits which the Lord has bestowed upon His king, vers. 1-6; express the hope, that through God he will destroy all his enemies, vers. 8-12: and conclude by praising the Lord, ver. 13. The speakers rise first to the Lord: O Lord, what hast Thou done to the king? ver. 1 ss.; then come down to the king, first speaking of him, ver. 7, then to him, "0 king, what wilt thou do in the Lord?" vers. 8-12; finally, again ascend to the Lord, ver. 13, "Praise to Thee, O Lord, for what Thou hast done to the king, and what the king has done in Thee." In the address to God, the benefits are more comprehen-sively and generally described: perpetual continuance of do-minion, salvation, strength, honour; on the other hand, in the address to the king, a particular point is specially brought out, namely, how through God's help he will be superior to all his enemies. Various expositors-most recently, Kaiser, Hitzig, Koester -suppose that our Psalm stands in a closer relation to Psalms 20. than the mere circumstance that the people in both present themselves before God on the business of their king; that Psalms 20. was composed when the king went forth to war, the pre- sent one on his return home. What is there wished, is here thankfully acknowledged; the salvation desired in the one, is spoken of as having been found in the other, Psalms 21:1; and the wish here mentioned in ver. 2 as obtained, is that which was uttered there. But this supposition is quite inadmissible. Our Psalm does not give thanks for any particular victory granted to the king, but for strength and salvation in general, for dominion received; compare the words, "Thou settest acrown of gold upon his head," and, what is perfectly decisive, for "length of days for ever and ever," ver. 4. According to De Wette, the Psalm is a wish for the success of the king in an impending campaign, with an introduction in vers. 1-7; in it the deliverance just about to be afforded to the king, is celebrated. But then we cannot explain the con-clusion in ver. 13, where the Lord is thanked for what has already been obtained, as appears alone from the circumstance, that De Wette feels himself obliged, in favour of his hypo-thesis, to change thanks and praise into "a prayer for Jehovah's help." The only correct view is this: The Psalm expresses the thanksgivings of the people for the promises given to David in 2 Sam. vii., and for the joyful hope in regard to their fulfil-ment. Only on this view can we explain ver. 4, according to which an eternal duration of life is guaranteed to the king,and ver. 6, according to which he has been set for an eternal blessing-passages which exclude all reference to any single royal individual as such. The supposition of a hyperbolical mode of speech, which is necessarily to be rejected, appears the more objectionable when we compare the promise in 2 Sam. vii., and the other Psalms which have their foundation in it, Psalms 89:132:110. This Psalm forms a side-piece to Psalms 18., from which it is separated only by Psalms 19. and Psalms 20., which with this is united into a pair. In Psalms 18. David presents to the Lord, in pre-sence of the Church, thanks for the glorious promise which had been vouchsafed to him; here he utters, in the name of the people, grateful joy for the same promise. His aim is to call forth and quicken in the mind of the Church a feeling of grati-tude toward the Lord, of love toward His anointed, of immove-able confidence in the prospect of danger. Precisely as here, David, in his last words, as recorded in 2 Samuel 23., finds in the promise of the Lord, 1. The pledge of salvation for his house, ver. 5; and 2. The pledge of destruc-tion in regard to his enemies, the sons of Belial, vers. 6, 7. The exclusively Messianic exposition, which has been de-fended by many of the older commentators, and latterly by Rosenmüller, in his 2d ed., is deprived by our view of the foundation which it was conceived to have in vers. 4 and 7. It is opposed even by the undeniable reference which the Psalm has to 2 Samuel 7. This admits of the application to Christ only in so far as the promise found its last and highest fulfil-ment in Him, in whom the royal stem of David culminated, but at the same time imperiously demands the reference to Christ in this sense. Apart from Christ, the words, "Thou givest him length of days for ever and ever," and, "Thou settest him for blessing for ever," are nothing but an empty dream. The testimony of the superscription in behalf of the Davidic authorship is confirmed by characteristic coincidences with the Davidic Psalms, many of which have been noticed by Hit-zig. Then the exultant, confident tone of the Psalm points to the times of David, showing that the idea had as yet come into no conflict with the reality, as it did latterly in so impor-tant a manner through the degeneracy of the line of David. How entirely otherwise does Psalms 89. sound, which was com-posed after the beginning of this conflict! First, in vers. 1-6 we have the blesser in relation to the blessed; the general principle in ver. 1, the expansion of it in vers. 2-6.Ver. 1. O Lord, the king rejoices at Thy strength, and how greatly does he rejoice at Thy salvation! Properly, in Thy strength, in Thy salvation. The in stands for our at, concern-ing, in accordance with another mode of contemplation. There the joy rests in, here upon its object. The strength, the salva-tion of the Lord, are the things promised by the Lord, and, in consequence of the promise, to be granted by Him. For ליגiיA, the Masorites would without ground ready לג,יA, the Fut. apoc. with abbr. vowels on account of the transference of the tone to the first syllable. Ew., p. 415.Ver. 2. Thou gavest him the wish of his heart, and the desire of his lips Thou didst not withhold from him. The wish does not simply denote here the wished-for thing-this is opposed by the parallel words, "the desire of his lips"-it is rather, "to give the wish," equivalent to, "to grant or fulfil it." The silent wish, and the spoken prayer, stand in contrast. Luther: "The arrangement is certainly fine here, namely, that the prayer of the heart must go before, without which the prayer of the lips is an unprofitable bawling." By the connection with the pre-ceding context, whose further expansion here begins, the nature of the desire is more exactly defined to be one after deliverance and strength; but it is still more exactly determined, by con-necting, it with what follows, as one after the continuance of dominion in his line, of honour and glory in his posterity. De Wette's affirmation, that it is "general, and not to be understood of any determinate wish," is clearly refuted by ver. 4, which is linked to our verse by the words, "he desired life of Thee."-That the promise in 2 Samuel 7. was a hearing of prayer for David, is not expressly stated there, but it may be regarded as self-evident, inasmuch as certainly no king is without thought for the future lot of his offspring; and especially under the Old Testament was the interest taken in the offspring peculiarly lively. The fate of David's race must, moreover, have lain all the nearer to his heart, having constantly before his eyes the mourn-ful fate of the family of Saul. If the promise had not met the ardent wishes and prayers of David, it could scarcely have made so deep an impression upon him, or filled him with such tri-umphant joy and inward gratitude.-The Preterites of this verseare falsely taken by many expositors aoristically, with reference to the following Futures. David's desire for the perpetuity of his kingdom, and the salvation of his seed, was already satisfied by the promise. The discourse is here of a fact already past and concluded.-The Selah stands suitably between the indica-tion and the further expansion, admonishing us before the latter to consider the grace of God, which brought satisfaction to the wish of His servant.Ver. 3. For Thou surprisest him with the blessings of pro-sperity, Thou settest upon his head a crown of gold. In reference to the connection with what precedes, Luther says excellently "But what has the heart desired? What have the lips wished? This comes next." קדם, "to surprise," comp. on Psalms 17:12; Psalms 18:5. The character of joyful surprise appears throughout the whole of that prayer of David, which he made after receiving the promise, in 2 Samuel 7. The "blessings of the good," equivalent to, "consisting in good, or prosperity," denote the entire sum of the benefits which the Lord promised to give to David's stem. A closer description of these benefits is given in what follows. The setting on of the crown marks the bestow-ment of dominion. David was crowned, as it were, anew,-or even for the first time, for the earlier crowning did not come, in this respect, into consideration,--when he received that great promise of the everlasting supremacy of his offspring. He then,for the first time, became king in the true and proper sense. The kings of the Philistines, to distinguish themselves from the poor elective kings, took the name of Abimelech, king's-father, and here was unspeakably more than there! That we are not to suppose David's first crowning, or the conferring on him of the kingly office in general, to be referred to, is evident from the following context, which is to be regarded as a further enlarge-ment of the words before us.Ver. 4. He asked of Thee life, Thou gavest him long life for ever and ever. God has so far placed a golden crown on David's head, as He gives him to reign perpetually in his posterity. Cal-vin and many other expositors think that a comparison is here made between David's earlier time, when, surrounded as he was by pressing dangers, he must have regarded it as a special fa-vour to be delivered from the moment's danger of death, and the later time, when, so far beyond his boldest wishes, he ob-tained from God the promise that he should live and reign forever in his posterity. But it is better to refer the words. "for life he asked of Thee," to the wish of David to have his life con-tinued in his posterity,-a wish which, as is said in the second clause, was more than fulfilled by God. Then the words, " he asked life of Thee," perfectly correspond to the wish of the heart and the desire of the lips in ver. 2; and the life which David asks for himself, stands on the same footing as the length of days which is granted to him. With the "length of days for ever and ever," is to be compared 2 Samuel 7:13, "I will esta-blish the throne of his kingdom for ever," and ver. 16, "and thy house and thy kingdom shall be established for ever before thee, thy throne shall be established for ever;" Psalms 89:4, "Thy seed will I establish for ever, and build up thy throne to all generations."Ver. 5. Great is his honour through Thy salvation; glory and majesty Thou layest upon him. In his seed, David will possess the full enjoyment of the kingly honour and glory. Ver. 6. For Thou settest him for blessing for ever, Thou makest him bright with joy before Thy countenance. "Thou settest him for bless- ing"-the plural points to the rich fatness of the blessing-for "Thou blessest him, so that he seems to be blessing itself;" comp. Genesis 12:2. The joy with the Lord's countenance (the very peculiar expression, with Thy countenance, is used in the very same connection also in Psalms 16:11), is the joy which arises from David's being in fellowship with the Lord's countenance, from this countenance being graciously directed toward him; there-fore, in substance, the same as "through Thy favour." He does not mean the joy which arises from "consciousness of the Divine favour," but which the enjoyment thereof gives. Ver. 2. Thou gavest him the wish of his heart, and the desire of his lips Thou didst not withhold from him. The wish does not simply denote here the wished-for thing—this is opposed by the parallel words, “the desire of his lips”—it is rather, “to give the wish,” equivalent to, “to grant or fulfil it.” The silent wish, and the spoken prayer, stand in contrast. Luther: “The arrangement is certainly fine here, namely, that the prayer of the heart must go before, without which the prayer of the lips is an unprofitable bawling.” By the connection with the preceding context, whose further expansion here begins, the nature of the desire is more exactly defined to be one after deliverance and strength; but it is still more exactly determined, by connecting, it with what follows, as one after the continuance of dominion in his line, of honour and glory in his posterity. De Wette’s affirmation, that it is “general, and not to be understood of any determinate wish,” is clearly refuted by Psalms 21:4, which is linked to our verse by the words, “he desired life of Thee.” That the promise in 2 Samuel 7 was a hearing of prayer for David, is not expressly stated there, but it may be regarded as self-evident, inasmuch as certainly no king is without thought for the future lot of his offspring; and especially under the Old Testament was the interest taken in the offspring peculiarly lively. The fate of David’s race must, moreover, have lain all the nearer to his heart, having constantly before his eyes the mournful fate of the family of Saul. If the promise had not met the ardent wishes and prayers of David, it could scarcely have made so deep an impression upon him, or filled him with such triumphant joy and inward gratitude. The Preterites of this verse are falsely taken by many expositors aoristically, with reference to the following Futures. David’s desire for the perpetuity of his kingdom, and the salvation of his seed, was already satisfied by the promise. The discourse is here of a fact already past and concluded. The Selah stands suitably between the indication and the further expansion, admonishing us before the latter to consider the grace of God, which brought satisfaction to the wish of His servant. Ver. 3. For Thou surprisest him with the blessings of prosperity, Thou settest upon his head a crown of gold. In reference to the connection with what precedes, Luther says excellently “But what has the heart desired? What have the lips wished? This comes next.” ÷ãí, “to surprise,” comp. on Psalms 17:12, Psalms 18:5. The character of joyful surprise appears throughout the whole of that prayer of David, which he made after receiving the promise, in 2 Samuel 7. The “blessings of the good,” equivalent to, “consisting in good, or prosperity,” denote the entire sum of the benefits which the Lord promised to give to David’s stem. A closer description of these benefits is given in what follows. The setting on of the crown marks the bestowment of dominion. David was crowned, as it were, anew,—or even for the first time, for the earlier crowning did not come, in this respect, into consideration,--when he received that great promise of the everlasting supremacy of his offspring. He then, for the first time, became king in the true and proper sense. The kings of the Philistines, to distinguish themselves from the poor elective kings, took the name of Abimelech, king’s-father, and here was unspeakably more than there! That we are not to suppose David’s first crowning, or the conferring on him of the kingly office in general, to be referred to, is evident from the following context, which is to be regarded as a further enlargement of the words before us. Ver. 4. He asked of Thee life, Thou gavest him long life for ever and ever. God has so far placed a golden crown on David’s head, as He gives him to reign perpetually in his posterity. Calvin and many other expositors think that a comparison is here made between David’s earlier time, when, surrounded as he was by pressing dangers, he must have regarded it as a special favour to be delivered from the moment’s danger of death, and the later time, when, so far beyond his boldest wishes, he obtained from God the promise that he should live and reign for ever in his posterity. But it is better to refer the words. “for life he asked of Thee,” to the wish of David to have his life continued in his posterity,—a wish which, as is said in the second clause, was more than fulfilled by God. Then the words, “ he asked life of Thee,” perfectly correspond to the wish of the heart and the desire of the lips in Psalms 21:2; and the life which David asks for himself, stands on the same footing as the length of days which is granted to him. With the “length of days for ever and ever,” is to be compared 2 Samuel 7:13, “I will establish the throne of his kingdom for ever,” and 2 Samuel 7:16, “and thy house and thy kingdom shall be established for ever before thee, thy throne shall be established for ever;” Psalms 89:4, “Thy seed will I establish for ever, and build up thy throne to all generations.” Ver. 5. Great is his honour through Thy salvation; glory and majesty Thou layest upon him. In his seed, David will possess the full enjoyment of the kingly honour and glory. Ver. 6. For Thou settest him for blessing for ever, Thou makest him bright with joy before Thy countenance. “Thou settest him for blessing”—the plural points to the rich fatness of the blessing—for “Thou blessest him, so that he seems to be blessing itself;” comp. Genesis 12:2. The joy with the Lord’s countenance (the very peculiar expression, with Thy countenance, is used in the very same connection also in Psalms 16:11), is the joy which arises from David’s being in fellowship with the Lord’s countenance, from this countenance being graciously directed toward him; therefore, in substance, the same as “through Thy favour.” He does not mean the joy which arises from “consciousness of the Divine favour,” but which the enjoyment thereof gives. Ver. 7. For the king trusts in the Lord; and through the fa-vour of the Highest, he shall not be moved. This verse, which speaks of the king and of the Lord, forms the transition from the first part, the address to God, to the second, the address to the king. The connection with the preceding is falsely given by De Wette thus: "The king deserves it through his confidence in God." Confidence is here considered not as an affection, but in respect to its object. This is shown by the parallel, "he shall not be moved." The expression, "he trusts in the Lord," is as much as, "the Lord is his ground of hope, his Saviour." Calvin: “ Though the world turns round like a wheel, whence it happens that those who were elevated to the highest point aresuddenly brought down again, yet the kingdom of Judah, and its antitype, the kingdom of Christ, form an exception." The people now tell the king what he has to hope for him-self and his posterity, in consequence of the Divine promise.Ver. 8. Thy hand shall find out all thine enemies, thy right hand shall find out thy haters. Ver. 9. Thou wilt make them like a fiery oven, when thou lookest on them; the Lord in His anger will destroy them, and the fire will devour them. In the words, "like a fiery oven," the comparison, as often happens, is merely indicated, q. d. "Thou wilt put them in such a condition that they shall be as if they were in a fiery oven." We reject the supposition of a reference to Sodom and Gomorrah; we must rather compare such passages as Malachi 4:1, "Behold, the day comes that shall burn as an oven, and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble, and the day that cometh shall burn them." Hupfeld's exposition, "Thou wilt treat them as a fiery oven," is inadmissible. For שית does not signify, to treat. The expression, "at the time of thy counte-nance," equivalent to, "as soon as thou turnest to them thy countenance, lookest on them," has reference to, "with thy countenance," in ver. 6. Because the Lord's countenance is turned toward the king, the king's countenance is terrible to the enemies. That what has hitherto been spoken of is ascribed to the king only as an instrument of God, and is to be referred to God in the king, and to the king in God, is put beyond a doubt by the two last clauses. Ver. 10. Their fruit thou wilt extirpate from the earth, and their seed from the children of men. The sense is: Thou wilt entirely uproot them. "Fruit and seed," denote posterity, ver. 11. For they intended evil against thee, they conceived designs, yet they are not able for it. According to many expositors, the wickedness of the godless is here announced as the cause of their destruction. But then it would be unsuitable to say, "they are not able for it." We must rather view the connection thus, "For though they threaten thee with destruction, yet they can-not execute their designs; these shall rather turn out to their own destruction, as certainly as God has promised perpetuity to the kingdom of David." The relation of the Pret. and Fut. here refers to the distinction of earlier and later in the future. The attempt is expressed by the Pret., the result by the Fut. Several expound, "they span against thee evil," supposing theimage to be taken from the spreading out of the net. But נטה is never thus used. We must rather expound, "they incline, bend evil upon thee, in order to throw it down on thee." נטה, in this sense in Psalms 62:3, and in the same kind of connection in 1 Chronicles 21:10, "three things I bend over thee," where in the parallel passage, 2 Samuel 24:12, the corresponding, נוטל, "I lift up," is used.-In the expression, "they cannot, are not able,"-what they are unable to work or accomplish, must be supplied from the context. Ver. 12. For thou wilt make them for shoulder, fill thy strings against their countenance. The first member, "Thou wilt put them into a condition, that they shall be altogether shoulder, thou wilt put them to flight," comp. on Psalms 18:40, where, instead of shoulder, there is neck. The "for" refers to the last words of the preceding verse, "they are not able," which con-tain the leading idea thereof. כונן signifies, not "to aim," but,"to load;" comp. on Psalms 7:12; Psalms 11:2. Luther: "The troubles stimulate them to flight; and the bow, meeting them in the face, compels them to retreat; so that they find themselves in a strait, and in seeking to escape the rain, go under the spout."Ver. 13. Praise to Thee, O Lord, for Thy strength: we will sing and extol Thy might. The Psalm is not, according to the common supposition, closed with a prayer, but with the praise of the Lord, for the great, grace which He manifests to His king and people, through the promise and its fulfilment. רומה, not, "raise Thyself," or "show Thyself exalted,"-this were against usage, comp. Psalms 57:5-11, against the parallelism, and against the analogy of the conclusion of Psa 18:46 ss.; -but, "be exalted in our consciousness," equivalent to, "praise be to Thee." God's power and strength are what He unfolds when He gives power and strength to His anointed; comp. on ver. 1. Ver. 13. Praise to Thee, O Lord, for Thy strength: we will sing and extol Thy might. The Psalm is not, according to the common supposition, closed with a prayer, but with the praise of the Lord, for the great, grace which He manifests to His king and people, through the promise and its fulfilment. øåîä, not, “raise Thyself,” or “show Thyself exalted,”—this were against usage, comp. Psalms 57:5-11, against the parallelism, and against the analogy of the conclusion of Psa 18:46 ss.;—but, “be exalted in our consciousness,” equivalent to, “praise be to Thee.” God’s power and strength are what He unfolds when He gives power and strength to His anointed; comp. on Psalms 21:1. Psalms 22. The Psalm contains the prayer of a sufferer. It begins with the cry, "My God, why hast Thou forsaken me?" vers. 1, 2; and then develops, as it proceeds, how completely anoma- lous it would be, if God, as all appearances seemed to show, intended to forsake him: "Thou art the Holy and the Glori-ous One, in all time past the faithful deliverer of Thy people,"vers. 3-5. In singular contrast to this, stands my misery, my condition, to all appearance completely desperate, which loudly proclaims, that Thou hast forsaken me, vers. 6-8:-a contrast all the more singular, that Thou hast manifested Thyself as my God from my early youth; so that the explanation of the diffi-culty cannot be found in this, that Thou art not my God as well as theirs, vers. 9,10. Having demonstrated how completely anomalous desertion would be, and having shown that to the inquiry, "Why hast Thou forsaken me?" there is but one answer, "I have not forsaken thee," the foundation is laid for the petition of ver. 11, "Be not far from me;" and the assignment of the reason there-of, viz., "for distress is nigh, because there is no helper," pre-pares the way for a detailed description of the trouble, after which the prayer returns developed and strengthened. The whole description of the trouble, vers. 12-18, is directed to show, that it had come to the very last extremity with the sufferer; that now to be far away, that now not to help, would be thoroughly and completely to forsake; which, according to vers. 1-10, is impossible, inasmuch as it would involve God in opposition to Himself: for the sufferer, it was now a question of existence and non-existence; he is in articulo mortis; another moment, and he will no longer be an object of the Divine as-sistance at all; surrounded by powerful and furious enemies, in a state of complete exhaustion and dissolution, wasted away and emaciated, a living corpse, the sufferer is awaiting the stroke of death, while those around, breaking the bridge between him and life, are employed in stripping him of, and dividing, his clothes. The prayer, which, after the last basis had thus been given to it (God cannot forsake, vers. 1-10; He would forsake, if He did not help now, vers. 12-18) breaks out in an ex-panded form in vers. 19-21, passes on, at its conclusion, to the confident assurance of an answer,-a confidence which can never fail when built on such a solid foundation. In the last part (from vers. 22-31), the sufferer depicts the happy consequences of his deliverance, which he anticipates in faith, and, lifted up in spirit above the present, beholds as if it were present. These truly great consequences will extend to all without distinction. First, the greatest of all distinctions, that between Israel and the heathen, will, in reference to these, be abolished. Among Israel (vers. 22-26), the manifestationof the glory of God, in the deliverance of His servant, will greatly strengthen faith, and will fill all believers with adoring wonder at such a God, and with courage and joy: their heart shall live for ever through this great proof of the life of their God. The heathen, vers. 27, 28, from one end of the earth to the other, as they seriously ponder this glorious manifestation of Jehovah, will turn to Him with adoring hearts, as the only true God, so that He, who is the king of the earth, will be re-cognised as such over it all. In the next place, the distinction of individual circumstances will be removed: rich and poor, high and low, happy and miserable, will take part in blessing this publication, and with devout feelings will thank Him for it. Finally, in vers. 30 and 31, the distinction of time will be re-moved: not only at present, but also throughout the distant future, will the praise and the worship of God be extended through this manifestation of His righteousness and faithfulness. The Psalm naturally divides itself into three strophes, each containing a distinct subject of its own, of the same length, and consisting of ten verses, vers. 1-10, vers. 12-21, vers. 22-31. Between the first and second strophe a verse is thrown in, which, connecting the two together, leads on from the one to the other. De Wette and Koester's division into strophes of five members cannot be continued throughout, without break-ing the connection. The three and the ten play a conspicuous part in several of the Psalms of David. Compare, for example, the 18th Psalm. David is named in the title as the author of the Psalm, and even De Wette is obliged to concede that nothing decisive can be urged against this view. Hitzig would have Jeremiah acknowledged as the author of the Psalm, but the grounds of his opinion are not such as to call for a formal refutation. "The somewhat diffuse and loose style of Jeremiah" is more or less common to him with all who are in deep distress, and with those who speak from the souls of such. The entire originality of our Psalm does not at all cor- respond to Jeremiah's style. There are no characteristic pas-sages in which Jeremiah agrees with our Psalm; and though there were, it would not be sufficient to prove the point. We should only have to assume that Jeremiah, according to his usual practice, borrowed from the older scriptures. The determination of the subject is a much more difficultpoint than the determination of the author of the Psalm. Many, going on the supposition that he who appears as speaker can be no other than the author, have assumed that David is the suf-ferer of the Psalm. Against this idea there are insuperable objections, drawn even from the first part (vers. 1-21). David never was in such great trouble as is here described; his ene-mies never parted his clothes, or cast lots upon his vesture; even in the greatest heat of the conflict with Saul, to which alone we can look, he never was in that state of exhaustion, weakness, and emaciation, which meets us in the subject of this Psalm. In addition to this, we must observe, that while in the picture of the sufferings there is much which does not suit David's case, we do not meet, on the other hand, with one ex-pression, by which we could single out any circumstance in David's history to which this prayer could be referred. This hypothesis, moreover, appears completely untenable, when we look at the second part. Such consequences as are there spoken of-among others, the conversion of all the nations of the whole earth to the true God, the fulfilment of the great pro-mise made to the Patriarchs-David could not possibly expect to flow from his deliverance. The objections urged against David apply with equal force against any other Israelitish individual-against Hezekiah (ac-cording to Jahn), and Jeremiah (according to Hitzig)-sup-positions which are, moreover, rendered untenable by the words of the title. That the reference of this Psalm to David, or to any other member of the Jewish nation, is untenable, appears from the efforts made by all who maintain it to get rid of the facts con-tained in the Psalm by arbitrary interpretations. What sacri-fices, for example, is Hoffmann compelled to make (Prophecy and its Fulfilment, Part I. p. 156) to uphold his hypothesis, according to which the Psalm refers to David, in the circum-stances narrated at 1 Samuel 25, 26. The first part con-tains, according to him, a strange medley of fact and imagina-tion, distinguished from each other by no rule, except as they best suit the convenience of the maintainer of this hypothesis. In the first strophe, the first and second verses contain matters of fact, the seventh and eighth matters of fancy: "how they will insult the prisoner, and mock at his trust in God." In the second part, from ver. 12 to ver. 15, the subject-matter is his-torical; from ver. 16 to ver. 18, the circumstances (which cannot be made to correspond to the supposed condition) are hypothetical: "He sees Himself in their midst, and witnesses their joy at His wasted form, and how after His death they part and cast lots for His clothes." A very singular way, as-suredly, of determining the situation. One, according to it, would need to have a very free hand, and to have a peculiar taste for following every sudden idea. In the second part, the conversion of the heathen is violently separated from its cause and occasion: "The time will come when the people will again think upon Jehovah, and turn to Him." The whole passage, from ver. 26 to ver. 31, will merely show, "what a God He must be who has listened to such a prayer, and to whom such praise will be rendered." Against this the last verse is quite sufficient:- They shall make known His righteousness, and that He hath done this. At the expression, "they eat," ver. 29, there will have to be supplied, "the good things of life,"-ar-bitrarily (for the object to be eaten must be determined from the preceding context), and in opposition to ver. 26. Other attempts to set aside the actual state of the case by ex-position, I have already adverted to in my Christology. Among these we reckon the assertion, which, after the example of Ve-nema, has been frequently brought forward, that the sufferer in the Psalm is not yet in the power of his enemies, but only threatened by them. The passages which are brought forward for the purpose, viz., 11, 12, 20, 21, do not prove it: for the nearness of the trouble in ver 11, is not contrasted with its pre-sence, but with its distance; trouble is near to him who is in the midst of it; the expression, "many bulls have compassed me, etc.," suits a victim which has been seized, and, to cut off every hope of escape, has been surrounded by ferocious ene-mies, for the purpose of inflicting the death-stroke; and the 20th and 21st verses only show, what of itself is obvious, that this stroke has not yet fallen. The 17th and 18th verses prove the contrary:-according to them, his enemies have already stripped the sufferer quite naked, so that his emaciation lies exposed to his own eyes and to theirs, while they enjoy the miserable spectacle, and divide his clothes among themselves. To refer, with Rosenm�ller and others, the 18th verse merely to the proposal to divide the clothes, will not do, irrespective of every other consideration, on account of the connection withthe 17th verse, where the sufferer is represented as already stripped naked. Those who propose to understand the 18th verse figuratively, appear to be at a loss what to say in their embarrassment. The hypothesis of Jarchi, Kimchi, and others, is much more tolerable, viz., that by the sufferer we are to understand the people, or the pious part of the same. It will afterwards come out that this hypothesis, and in a certain measure, also, the one which refers the Psalm to David, has truth for its foundation.But if we apply the Psalm to the people directly and exclusively, we shall meet with insuperable difficulties. On the supposition that the sufferer is the whole people, it will clearly be necessary to understand, that by the troop of evil-doers, the dogs, the lions, and the bulls, the heathen are especially and exclusively meant; for which idea the Psalm does not furnish one single particle of evidence. The opposition everywhere, is between wickedness and uprightness: and it is quite arbitrary here, as in all the similar cases which are so frequent in the Psalms, to turn a purely moral into a national opposition. Further, if we suppose the whole people, or the pious part of the same, to be the suf-ferer, how could he say he would make known the name of the Lord among his brethren, that he would praise Him in the midst of the congregation, that from him would go forth His praise in the great assembly, that he would pay his vows before them that fear Him? How could he exhort the fearers of God, the whole seed of Jacob, the whole seed of Israel, placing himself over against them, to praise the Lord for what had happened to him? How could he promise to the meek, to those who seek the Lord, nothing more than the co-enjoyment of a salvation which was primarily conferred on himself, and nothing, more than the strengthening of their faith from the same? The whole passage, from 22d to 26th verse, is, on that hypothesis, altogether unintelligible: it is fatal to every view which removes the contents of the Psalm entirely from the domain of individual application. Such views also are con-tradicted by the strong prominence given throughout the Psalm to what specially belongs to an individual person: the sufferer speaks of his mother, his heart, his tongue, his skin, his hands, his feet, etc.-a form of speech which can lose its proper appli-cation only when well-defined marks show that the term em-ployed is a collective one. The view which has really prevailed in the Christian Church,is that which refers the Psalm directly and exclusively to Christ. The author by no means regrets that he adopted this view in the Christology. It was the easiest and the most natural of those which were then before the world, to which his atten-tion was more immediately directed; and he would not even now hesitate for one moment to adopt it, were he limited to making a choice among these, as he supposed he was,-having as yet advanced but a little way on an independent footing into the depths of the Old Testament. In addition to the views already mentioned, there was still another, held by Calvin, Melancthon, Amyrald, and others, and advocated in modern times by Stier and Umbreit,-the typical-Messianic. David, it is maintained, according to this hypothesis, in crying to the Lord on the ground of a particular case of distress, transfers, elevated by the spirit of Messianic prophecy, his own being into the extreme sufferings of the hoped-for Messiah, and speaks as the present type of the coming Deliverer. Although the author acknowledges that in this attempt justice is done to those considerations which may be pleaded in favour of oppos-ing expositions, yet he cannot but regard it as an unsuccessful attempt at reconciliation. Such a view of the way in which the Psalm was produced, appears to him as psychologically alto-gether inconceivable. How David could extend his own con-sciousness to that of his offspring, is conceivable enough; but without a destruction of the life of the soul, we cannot conceive of an hesitation and vacillation between one's own and another's personality. Meantime, the direct and exclusive reference of the Psalm to Christ, presents such difficulties, that one cannot feel perfectly satisfied with it, but is inwardly forced to look round for some other interpretation, which may content the exegetical conscience. We cannot, without violence, suppose the Messiah to be intro-duced speaking, without any characterization whatever of His per-son,-compare, for example, our remarks on the 16th Psalm. The Psalm, moreover, is so nearly related to a number of others, which have the sufferings of the righteous one generally for their subject, that it appears very difficult to break its connection with them, and to isolate it too much. Finally, what is said, in the second part, of the consequences of the deliverance of the sufferer, is undoubtedly far too grand to allow of its applicationto any one Israelitish individual, and far too personal to allow of its application directly and exclusively to the people; and, on the other hand, the exegetical sense cannot reconcile itself to set aside all other realizations of the idea, that nothing more pro-motes the glory of God, that nothing more powerfully tends to awaken and move the spirits of men to serve Him, than the deliver-ance of suffering righteousness, whether these realizations be in the experience of individuals, or in that of the Church at large, and to confine all to the one realization of the idea in Christ. The mighty influence, for example, which the almost miraculous de-liverance of David from the hand of Saul must have had in quickening the fear of God,-the events also which are recorded in Exodus 18:19, "And Jethro rejoiced for all the goodness which the Lord had done to Israel, whom He had delivered out of the hand of the Egyptians; and Jethro said, Blessed be the Lord, who hath delivered you out of the hand of the Egyptians: now know I that the Lord is greater than all gods," -in 2 Chronicles 32:23, "And many (after the Lord had glorified Himself in the deliverance of righteous Hezekiah from his enemies) brought gifts unto the Lord to Jerusalem, and presents to Hezekiah, king of Judah, so that he was magnified in the sight of all nations henceforth,"--and those in Daniel 3:28,-come so obviously within the domain of the second part, that one can scarcely rest satisfied with any interpretation which places them altogether out of connection with it. While all existing interpretations are thus encumbered with serious difficulties, we make our escape at once, and completely, from the region of embarrassment and constraint, if we consider the Psalm as referring to the ideal person of the Righteous One,--a character which is introduced more frequently throughout the Psalms than any other, so that nothing but ignorance can raise against this interpretation the reproach of arbitrariness. In this interpretation, justice is done to that truth which lies at the foundation of every one of the existing views, while, at the same time, the difficulties which stand in the way of every one of these are avoided. On this view, the case stands as follows: "David composed this poem for the use of the Church, like most of his other productions, on the ground-work of his own experience, which, in this respect, had from the beginning been so peculiarly rich. How the righteous man in this world of sin must suffer much; and how the Lord, when it comes to the last extremity,gloriously delivers him; and how his sufferings, through the manifestation of the Divine glory in his deliverance and in his victory over an ungodly world, subserve the honour of God and the sanctifying of His name, and accelerate the approach of Hiskingdom-this is the theme. Every particular righteous man might appropriate to himself the consolation of this Psalm-might expect, in his own experience, the realization of the hopes ex-pressed in it, in so far as the reality in him corresponded to the idea,-in so far as he embodied in his own person the ideal righteous man. In like manner also might the community of the righteous, the people of the covenant, in all public troubles, draw from it comfort, - the confident assurance, that the ex-tremity of trouble must at the same time be the turning-point, and that the seed of tears must produce a rich harvest in the way of advancing the kingdom of God. With all this the Psalm retained, on the whole, till the coming of Christ, the character of an unfulfilled prophecy. According to the proportion of righteousness was the proportion of deliverance, and of blessed results for the kingdom of God. Every temporary fulfilment pointed forward to a perfect one yet to come. By those in whom hope in the Messiah was in general a living one, this could be expected only in Him. The most perfect righteousness belongs so necessarily to the idea of the Messiah, that it could not be present to the mind without the most distinct recognition thereof. Now, in this Psalm we find righteousness represented as neces-sarily connected with the severest and deepest suffering, spring-ing out of the natural enmity of the ungodly world. Conse-quently, the inference is clear, that the Messiah, if a righteous, must also be a suffering one. And, further, as here we find connected suffering righteousness and such exalted deliverance, we infer that this salvation in the highest and fullest sense must be the lot of him who should be the first to realize in perfection the idea of suffering righteousness. Lastly, as the glory of God will be in proportion to the salvation vouchsafed, it must be in the time of the Messiah that this will for the first time appear in all its extent and depth, as here described. That, according to this view, justice is done to all the refer-ences which occur in the New Testament to our Psalm (com-pare Matthew 27:39; Matthew 27:43; Matthew 27:46; Mark 15:34; John 19:24; Heb. 2:11-12; and on the passage, the Christology, page 176, etc., and besides, also Matthew 28:10, and John 20:17, where ourSaviour, after His resurrection, with a significant reference to ver. 22, calls His disciples His brethren), is clear as day, and becomes particularly obvious, when we direct our attention to the other quotations from the Psalms in the history of our Saviour's sufferings. Not one of them refers to a Psalm which is of direct and exclusive Messianic import. The 69th Psalm, which, next to the one now under consideration, is the most remarkable, contains features which will not apply to Christ (the strong prominence, for example, given to the sinfulness of the sufferer), and which exclude the idea that our Lord and His Apostles have given it a direct and exclusive Messianic interpretation. Still, it is necessary to observe, that the providence of God so ordered the circumstances, that the inward conformity of the sufferer of our Psalm to Christ should become outwardly manifest. The Psalm would have been fulfilled in Christ, even although the passers-by had not shaken the head, or the mockers quoted its very words; even although there had been no dividing of His garments or casting lots upon His vestures. But the striking resemblance in these particular circumstances must be considered as an index, pointing to the hidden, inward resemblance. The same object subserved by this secret guidance of Divine provi-dence, Christ also had in view, when He borrowed His first ex-clamation on the cross from the commencement of the Psalm, and referred in His last words to its closing sentence; thereby impressively intimating, that the whole Psalm was now being fulfilled. The question may very naturally be asked, What is it that has brought such honour to our Psalm (which even Strauss, though without a good intention, has entitled the programme of the crucifixion of Christ) what is it that has led to its being ex-alted above so many similar Psalms by which it is surrounded, -Psalms which celebrate the contest of the righteous in this world of sin, and the deliverance which the Lord vouchsafes to them, and are consequently, also, indirect prophecies of Christ; inasmuch as every suffering that fell to the lot of a righteous man because of his righteousness, and every deliverance which a righteous man obtained because of his righteousness, was pre-significant of Him? To this question a threefold answer may be given. First, as has been suggested by Umbreit: "Among the many Psalms which speak of the persecutions of the right-eous by their enemies, there is not one other Psalm which soexpressively and powerfully collects together, and concentrates in one individual figure, the accumulated pains and tortures of the sufferers in the contest with an ungodly world." Second, those Psalms which originally refer to one particular individual sufferer, stand one degree more remote from direct application to the Messiah than this one, which does not first require a sepa-ration of the idea from the individual. In like manner, the re- ference to the Messiah is less prominent in those Psalms in which the righteous man is introduced speaking, but with a reference to his own failings and weaknesses. Of these no mention whatever is made in this Psalm. Lastly, in no Psalm are the consequences which flow from the deliverance of the righteous man painted in such prominent and comprehensive colours as they are here.Title. To the chief musician-on the hind of the dawn of the morning-a choice Psalm of David. The expression, השהר אילת על, has been very variously interpreted. The simple remark, however, that אילה, wherever it occurs, always signifies a hind, and that it would be perfectly arbitrary to give it any other interpreta-tion here, so decidedly sets aside a whole host of expositions, that it is unnecessary even to quote them. The interpretation of שהר is in like manner ascertained: all expositions which do not translate it by the dawn of the morning, must at once be thrown aside. Those who keep by the ascertained sense of the words, are generally of opinion that these words are either the beginning of a song, or a passage from one, the tune of which is to be sung to this Psalm: like, "The hind of the morning." These again are divided, as to whether the expression must be understood as denoting literally a hind, or (according to Ge-senius in the Thes.) as a poetical phrase for the rising sun. This last interpretation is without any analogy in the Hebrew language; and has a very insufficient ground to rest on in the fact that Arabic poets designate the rising sun "roe;" and a still weaker support in the fact that the Talmud uses the term, "the hind of the dawn of the morning," which, however, is not original, but has obviously flown from the passage before us. This whole exposition, however, has this against it, that thereis not one single ascertained case, in which a poem, the tune of which is to be sung to the Psalm, is quoted in the title. Only in a case of utmost necessity, therefore, could we come to the resolution of adopting such an interpretation. Especially, be-fore adopting it, would it be necessary for us to investigate whether it be not possible to interpret the words as designative of the subject of the Psalm. On a close examination of simi-lar dark and enigmatical superscriptions, especially of such as are introduced with על, it almost always appears that they de-mand such an interpretation. More especially in those Psalms of which David is the author, such a reference is one which might a priori be expected, as David was particularly fond of indicating, by such enigmatical superscriptions, the contents and object of his Psalms. It cannot be denied that the hindis a very appropriate emblem of the suffering and persecuted righteous man who meets us in the Psalm. On the one hand, the stag, or the hind and the roe, are frequently employed as emblematical of one persecuted or put to death. For example, 2 Samuel 1:19, David himself says of Jonathan, "The roe, O Israel, is slain on thy high places;"-on which clause Michaelis makes the following remark, "comparator Jonathan cum caprea a venatoribus confossa:" Proverbs 6:5, "Deliver thyself as a roe from the hand of the hunter, and as a bird from the hand of the fowler," Isaiah 13:14. And, on the other hand, the hind and the roe are used as emblems of loveliness, Genesis 49:21; Prov. v. 19; Son 2:7; Son 2:9; Son 8:14; and by the Arabians as emblems of innocence, especially on the persecuted. In Meid-ani (Freytag, Th. 1, N. 148), there occurs the proverb, "eum invadat malum, non dorcadem," him-not an innocent or a right-eous person: and Ferazadak (in Freytag on the passage) says, on receiving intelligence of the death of one of his enemies: "dico ei, cum ejus mors mihi nunciata esset ei non dorcadi albae in arenarum tumulo (accidat)." There is the less reason for hesitating as to this interpretation, if we remember that David, in other places, draws from the animal creation emblems of the sufferers and the persecuted: 1 Samuel 27:20, "The king of Israel is come out to hunt a flea, as when one doth hunt a partridge on the mountains;" 24:15, "After whom is the king of Israel come out? After whom doest thou pursue? After a dead dog, after a flea?" and, in the title to the 56th Psalm, "on the dumb dove among the strangers," which bears a remarkable analogy to the passage before us. The reasons already adduced show, that it is at least exceedingly probable that the hind may be a figurative expression significant of suf-fering innocence. And it is put beyond doubt by the fact, thatthe wicked and the persecutors in this Psalm, to the peculiar physiognomy of which belong emblems drawn from the brute crea- tion, are designated by the terms dogs, lions, bulls, and buf- faloes. In the title of such a Psalm, we might, a priori, ex-pect to find such a description of the sufferer as should corre-spond to that of the persecutors, especially as no such appellation occurs in the body of the Psalm. A special argument in favour of this interpretation is furnished by the term אילותי, my strength, ver. 19,-a word which occurs nowhere else in Scripture, and which seems to have been formed by the Psalmist for the sake of the allusion to the title. The אילה (hind) has its name from strength, but it lacks the substance: - a creature without strength, it is the natural prey of dogs, lions, buffaloes. But the strength which it has not in itself it has in the Lord, who must hasten to the help of the weak. On every other inter-pretation, the reference of אילות to אילת which is so manifest, remains unexplained. Finally, this reference shows at the same time that the title came from the pen of the author of the Psalm, and goes far to establish the originality generally of the titles. We are led to the same result by the manifest connec-tion between אילת, and the expression אלי, אלי, properly, my Strong One, at the very opening of the Psalm, and also by the circumstance that the symbolical designation of the sufferer in the title exactly corresponds to those of his enemies in the Psalm itself. All these references are so fine and significant, that they can have proceeded only from the author himself. Hitherto we have been discussing only the term "hind," and have left its adjunct, "the dawn of the morning," out of sight. The generality of those who consider the title as indicating the contents of the Psalm, trace the connection which the hind has with the morning dawn to its being early hunted. But this re-ference is too remote to admit of its being intended by such a short expression. The only legitimate exposition is that which is grounded on the general figurative use of the morning dawn. That the morning dawn is used in a figurative sense, we are entitled to expect from the analogy of the hind. Now, the common idea conveyed by the figurative use of the morning dawn, is that of "prosperity coming after misfortunes." Hence in Isaiah 58:8, "Then shall thy light break forth as the morn-ing;" 10, "Then shall thy light rise in obscurity, and thy dark-ness be as the noon day:" Isa. 47:11, "There shall evil comeupon thee, the morning whereof thou shalt not know;" 8:20. Hosea 6:3; Hosea 10:15. 2 Samuel 23:4. The expression will thus indicate the prosperous termination of the sufferer's condition:the suffering righteous man to whom salvation is imparted,-atitle as suitable, as exactly corresponding to the contents, as can well be conceived. The fact so carefully brought forward by the Evangelists, that Christ rose at the day-dawn,-a cir-cumstance by no means unimportant,-points to the expression,“of the morning.” The first division of the first part begins, in the 1st and 2nd verses, with the complaining question, and the interrogative complaint, "My God, my God, why hast Thou forsaken me?" In grounding this complaint, it is shown first, vers. 3-8, that God is acting towards the sufferer, whom He is giving over to destruction, in a very different manner from the way in which He had manifested Himself, in all time past, in the experience of His people; and then, vers. 9 and 10, that God is as really the God of the sufferer as He had been theirs. To this de-tail the prayer is next appended, ver. 11, that God would remove the anomaly thus demonstrated to exist, that He would not be far from the sufferer, that He would not forsake him. Ver. 1. My God, my God, why hast Thou forsaken me, far from my deliverance, far from the words of my groaning? In the first clause everything depends upon defining the idea offorsaking. This term can here signify nothing less than an en-tire and complete giving up. For the trial is completely at an end, as soon as God reveals to the sufferer that now his suffer-ings shall have an end. As soon as he can say, "Thou hast heard me," he sees that everything is right. The trial also does not consist in temporary suffering, considered as such-this the sufferer knows that he must lay his account with-but in the supposition that he has been given up by God altogether, and for ever. Hence therefore the cry,” Thou hast forsaken me," does not refer to an actual fact, but rests on a conclusion which the sufferer draws from his apparently thoroughly despe-rate condition, and upon the feeling of his flesh, which cries, that now, when there is but a "hair between him and death," everything is utterly lost. To get free from this conclusion and this feeling, is the work that devolves on the sufferer. After he has honestly done his part, and taken living hold of those truths which render the forsaking altogether impossible,he receives from God the only answer which can be given to his complaint, "Why hast Thou forsaken me?" "I have not forsaken thee, notwithstanding appearances and feeling." From this exposition, it is evident that these words, so far from being expressive of despair, are rather destined to counteract despair, to tear it up by the roots, when it is like to steal over us. From it, also, it is evident that the idea of the Berleb. Bible, that these words are strictly suitable only in the lips of Christ, is altogether erroneous. "Among us," it is there said, "no man may, in his suffering, ask God why hast Thou sent this or that affliction? for we shall at all times find sufficient rea-son why we have deserved this, and much more. All that a suffering man can say is, O my, God forsake me not." The sufferer before us does not ask why God, in general, allows him to suffer, but why He has forsaken him. To this why, every one has a right, who can in truth call God his God, not-withstanding his manifold failings. For "God has forsaken no one who trusts in Him at all times," and God can forsake no such one. In short, the expression, forsake me not, which alone, it would appear, is admissible, is not essentially different from the excla-mation, Why hast Thou forsaken me, and must rest on precisely the same ground. He only who can ask God, "Wherefore hast Thou forsaken me?" can pray with confident assurance, "For-sake me not."-The previous appellation, My God, my God, con-tains the ground of the wherefore, the right to put such a question. He who cannot call God his God, he who is without the covenant and without the promises, he who has obtained no pledges of the grace of God, may be justly forsaken: he has no ground to implore of God, that He would show by the result that the de-sertion is altogether a matter of appearance and feeling. Nay more, the greater the right any one has to call God his God, the greater is the confidence and decision with which he can utter the why. Thus it is evident that the most complete right to the why is reserved for one, viz. Christ, who, in the full sense, can call God His God; at the same time, a sufficient right belongs also to all believers. The emphatic repetition of the expression, My God, shows how firmly the sufferer clings to this his only ground of hope, how thoroughly conscious he is that it is here that he is to find an antidote to despair, that it is from this point that there must go forth a reaction against present appearances. The expression, My God, occurring three times, here and in ver. 2,is assuredly not accidental.-The following remarks are Lu- ther's: "Wherefore, let us shut up these words in our hearts, and let us keep them carefully there, till the proper time comes when we shall need them. Whoever cannot comprehend them, let him remain with the people on the plain, in the field below, and allow the disciples to go to Christ to the mountain. Luke 6:12, 17. For, not all the sayings of this Psalm are uttered to each and every man, since all have not the same gifts, and all have not the same sufferings. The Scriptures, according to the circumstances of individuals, have milk for sucklings, and wine and food for the strong; so that there is consolation not only for the weak, but also for the strong and for those who are enduring great sufferings."-The second clause most interpreters, after the example of the Septuagint and Luther (I cry, but my help is far), translate: "far from my deliverance are the words of my lamentation:" there is a great gulf between the cry for help, and the help itself, which, now that matters are at the very last extremity with the sufferer-now that he stands with one foot in the grave,-ought to stand in close contact with each other. Others translate: "far from my help, from the words of my lamentation." This translation is undoubtedly to be preferred. Were we to refer רהוק to דברי, the plural would be required; and, what is still more decisive, the reference of רהוק to God is ren-dered necessary by the expression תרהק אל in the 11 Thessalonians and 19 th verses. The cry in these verses, "be not far," grows out of the address here, "Thou art far," after that the impossibility of his continuing longer in existence had been shown. God is far from the deliverance which He does not work out, and from the corn-plaint which He does not hear. This is all the more painful, that the time for deliverance is just expiring, and that the man from whom the complaint proceeds, is at the very gates of death; so that not to help now-not to hear now- appears to be to give up altogether. We may not, however, adopt the view of most of those who follow this exposition, and translate, "Thou art far." This would require the pronoun: רהוק is in apposition to the pro-noun in עזבתני. The term שאגה signifies primarily, "roaring," or"bellowing," and secondarily, "loud complaining." Ver. 2. My God, I cry in the day time, and Thou answerest not; and in the night time, and I am not silent. Substantially, the "why" is to be supplied here also. To be able to call God his God, and, in extreme distress, to cry continually withoutbeing heard, is a striking contradiction, which imperiously calls for removal by God's at length hearing. The last words are translated by many, and I have no rest. But the term דומיה al-ways signifies "silence;" and this, translation is particularly necessary here, in consequence of the opposition between the term and the "cry" of the first clause. The sufferer can be silent when his cry finds an answer, when he gets assurance of being heard and helped: so that thus I am not silent is exactly parallel to Thou answerest not. Ver. 3. And Thou art holy, sitting enthroned on Israel's praise. There is no reason for substituting and yet in room of the simple and ascertained and. The contrast between the supposed reality and the idea-between the apparent personal and the general experience-is not here indicated in relation to the first and second verses, but is drawn for the first time in vers. 6-8 in re-lation to the contents of vers. 3-5. The import is: that I may lay down a further basis on which I rest my right to utter the complaint, "Why hast Thou forsaken me?"--Thou art holy, and hast always taken an interest in Thine own people, hast never for- saken any one of them; but I appear to be altogether forsaken by Thee. For Thou takest no interest in me, although I am now sunk to the very depth of misery.-The idea of holiness in Scrip- ture, embraces in it the idea meant to be conveyed by theologians when they define the term to be, "the highest purity in God demanding the same purity on the part of the creature." This is evident from the command, "Be ye holy, for I am holy;" and Isaiah 6:5, where the thrice repeated "holy" of the seraphims awakens in the prophet a consciousness of his own impurity. But the two ideas are by no means identical: the scriptural one is much more comprehensive than the other. Holiness in the Scriptures comprehends majesty, as well as holiness in the limited sense. God is holy, inasmuch as He is separated from every created and finite being, and lifted above them, particularly above sin, which can establish its seat only within the domain of finite beings. The opinion of Gesenius (Thes.) and of Nitzsch (Sys. 77), who would identify the scriptural with the theological sense, is negatived by the very passage, the sixth chapter of Isaiah, which shows above all others, that the Divine holiness forms also a contrast to human sinfulness. There, the thrice repeated cry of "holy" is immediately followed up by the expression, intended to form its foundation, "the whole earth is full of His glory;"and is accompanied by the description of the prophet, "seated on a throne, high, and lifted up," and "mine eyes have seen the King, the Lord, the Lord of hosts." In like manner, also, we have in Isaiah 57:15, the holiness of God placed in juxtaposition with "high," and "lifted up," and in contrast to, "of a contrite and humble spirit:" "Thus saith the high and lofty One, that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy, I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit." In Isaiah 40:25; Isaiah 40:26, we find the "holiness" of God brought into connection with His power, as displayed in the creation of the world, in a way which is inapplicable on the theological view: "To whom will ye liken Me, or shall I be equal? saith the Holy One: lift up your eyes on high, and behold who hath created these things:" to whom will ye compare Me, who am lifted up above all created and finite beings, as their Creator, from whom I am separated? In Habakkuk 3:3, the holiness of God stands in connection with His glory and His praise. "God came from Teman, and the Holy One from Mount Paran: His glory covered the heavens, and the earth was full of His praise." In the 99th Psalm, the holiness of God, into which His whole praise is re-solved, separates Him not only from sin, but from everything earthly and human. In the third verse, it is parallel to, "great and terrible" (נורא). With the latter of these terms it stands also in intimate connection in Psalms 111:9, "holy and reverend (נורא) is His name." The signification of purity, then, so far from being the only one of קדוש, cannot be considered even as the fundamental one. Nothing can be said in favour of this; for the remarks made by Gesenius, for the purpose of proving that the fundamental idea of קדוש is that of physical purity, rest on a mistaken view of the symbolical character of the precepts, in reference to the outward purity required by the law:-and that the idea implied in קדוש in such passages is that of holiness, and not that of outward purity, is evident simply from the motive appended to the exhortation, "Be ye holy, for God is holy." On the other hand, the position for which we are arguing is confirmed by the circumstance, that קדוש is much more frequently used with a general reference to the distance between God and all created beings, than to the distance specially between Him and sin-a circumstance which does not admit of explanation, on the supposition that the theological sense is the fundamental one.-In so far as the term is used in reference to God, thoseexplanations are altogether to be rejected which imply the idea of God separating Himself from all other nations, and conse-crating Himself as the God of Israel, or (Menken and Stier) as one who condescends in self-denying love.-Even in the passage before us, קדוש stands in opposition, not only to what is sinful, but also generally to whatever is created, earthly, human. It indicates that, in reference to God, every thought of inability or unwillingness, where He has promised, as proceeding from un-faithfulness, must be excluded. God has always manifested Him-self as holy, inasmuch as He has delivered His people through the mighty deeds of His right hand, has maintained His covenant, and has gloriously fulfilled His promises. He shines like a clear bright sun, unsullied by the spots of weakness or falsehood of the human race, which is wholly covered over with these spots, and presents points of light only where it is illuminated by this sun. That the holiness of God here undoubtedly comprehends His faithfulness, is obvious from the expression, "His righteousness," in the 31st verse.-In the second clause, the praise-songs of Israel come into notice, in so far as God, in proving Himself to be the Holy One, has given ample occasion to praise Him. There is, in all pro-bability, an allusion to the frequent expression, הכרובים יושב; at least, on comparing this it becomes evident that the praises of Israel are here to be regarded as the throne, the seat of honour, of God: enthroned on the praise-songs. The exposition of De Wette is unsuitable: "Inhabitant of the praises." ישב does not signify to inhabit, but only to sit, to dwell, to be enthroned. Gesenius regards יושב as used in a transitive sense�ing among the praise-songs of Israel, viz. in the temple, in which the praises of Israel are heard. But יושב is never construed with an accusative. Of the three passages which Gesenius adduces for this construction, in the first, Genesis 4:20, it is not admissible, and in the other two, Isaiah 42:11; Isaiah 44:13, it is not necessary. Ver. 4. Our fathers trusted in Thee; they trusted, and Thou deliveredst them. Ver. 5. They cried to Thee, and were de-livered; they trusted in Thee, and were not put to shame. Luther remarks: "These words look very like as if they were spoken out of envy and vehement indignation against God. For although He is the same God, yet He has heard and de-livered the fathers who have hoped in Him and cried to Him, but from this sufferer here, who also hopes and cries, He turns away, and forsakes him. For it is really a hard matter, andone which tempts a person sorely to despair and to blaspheme, that the same God should act differently towards one from what He does to another, without any fault on his part. Who-ever has been engaged in such a contest has felt such unutter-able distress in his mind." Assuredly, the pain of the sufferer must be greatly augmented by the isolation of his condition, so soon as he decidedly concludes himself to be entirely forsaken. But this is not the case with our sufferer. Although appear-ances and his own feelings say that he is forsaken, yet, even from the beginning, faith is in the background, and by and by it gains a complete victory over sight and sense. What at the first glance strengthens the complaint, becomes, when more deeply pondered, the transition to hope: for whoever is fully persuaded that God has at all times, and without any exception, manifested Himself as the Holy One, the deliverer of His people, cannot but come gradually to know that there must be a mistake as to the assumed single exception. The expression, "Thou art the Holy One," is a corroding element, which must by and by entirely consume the other, "Thou hast forsaken, me."-The deeds of the Lord, to which the speaker refers, are peculiarly those which took place when the Israelites were de-livered from Egypt, and were put in possession of the promised land. The expression, our fathers, of which the natural coun-terpart is, "we, their posterity, Thy present people," would seem to lead to the conclusion, that the speaker is not an indi-vidual, but a personified community. At least, in all similar passages, it is not an individual, but the Church of God, that is introduced complaining of the difference between the present and the past, praying for its removal, and grounding hope for the future on the early deliverances vouchsafed by the Lord to His people: comp., for example, Psalms 44:2, "O God, we have heard with our ears, our fathers have told us what Thou hast done in their days, in the days of old;" and also Psalms 78:12, etc.; Isaiah 63:7, etc.; Habakkuk 3:1. Still the refer-ence to the community of the righteous is designedly of the most indistinct character, in order that the individual suffering righteous man also may appropriate to himself the contents of these verses.-The repetition of בטהו in the second clause of the 4th verse, is intended to bind together, as inseparably as possible, the trust and the deliverance, and to show that there is the most intimate connection between them; that trust is always succeeded by deliverance. The occurrence of the expression three times is assuredly not accidental.-Stier refers בושו to the being confounded before the world, to the disgrace before the ungodly, which is more painful than any disappointment of one's own. But there is no reason for making this special reference; for בוש is constantly used in the sense of, to be ashamed, to be disappointed of one's hope. Ver. 6. But I am a worm, and no man, a reproach of men, and one despised of the people. All that is brought forward in this and the two following verses, appears evidently designed to produce the impression, that the sufferer is entirely forsaken by God; and it is only in this view that it is here brought for-ward. It is not suffering in itself, but the deepest and appa-rently irremediable depth of suffering that is placed in opposition to the deliverance of the fathers. The term ואנכי is expressive of emphatic contrast-"it is altogether otherwise with me: I am a worm, etc." Man is compared to a worm in Job 25:6, on account of the nothingness of his existence. The worm in the passage before us, as in Isaiah 41:13, serves to designate nothingness within nothingness, "Fear not, thou worm Jacob." The passage, 1 Samuel 25:15, is analogous, where David de-scribes himself as a dead dog, or as a flea. To the clause, and no man, corresponds םישiיאi לדaהE. in Isaiah 53:3, literally, "ceasing from among men, no longer belonging to them." The term, a reproach of men, properly, of the human race, indicates that the domain of the reproach is so extensive, that the whole human race may be said to reproach. One despised of the people, is one despised by the people. The people stands in opposition to one individual. The reproach is not that of an individual, it is of a popular character. The reproach and the contempt are brought under our notice, not so much in themselves, as in reference to the ground on which they rest,-the deep misery of the sufferer, whose condition is such that it is reckoned by all men as altogether desperate.Ver. 7. All who see me laugh me to scorn: they open wide the lips, they shake the head. The ב in בשפה indicates that the lip is the instrument of the opening. A parallel passage, Psalms 35:21, "They open their mouth wide against me," and Job 16:10. Instead of "they shake the head," the later com-mentators, after the example of Lackemacher, whose renderings are always somewhat suspicious, have, "they nod the head;"adducing as the reason, that it is not the shaking of the head, which is a gesture of denial, that is here suitable, but the nod-ding of the head, which is a gesture of assent, and in the face of the sufferer a gesture of satisfaction. But this exposition is etymologically inadmissible: the word הניע is altogether identical with our shake; and to shake the head is exactly the import of ראש הניע, the phrase which occurs in quite a similar connection,and also of ךיםוים פחם ךוצבכחם of the Septuagint and of Mat- thew. And the reason above adduced for departing from the only correct rendering in an etymological point a view, is at once set aside by the remark, that the denial does not here refer to the suffering, but to the existence of the sufferer. This they deny him, on the ground of his irremediable misery. The idea is this: They shake the head, in connection especially with what follows, where they declare his condition to be completely des-perate, and him to be wholly forsaken of God. This connec-tion is all the more significant, that what follows, from the omission of the לאמר, is clearly seen to be a mere commentary on the gesture: after saying by pantomime, it is all over with him, they say it by words. Ver. 7. All who see me laugh me to scorn: they open wide the lips, they shake the head. The α in αωτδ indicates that the lip is the instrument of the opening. A parallel passage, Psalms 35:21, “They open their mouth wide against me,” and Job 16:10. Instead of “they shake the head,” the later commentators, after the example of Lackemacher, whose renderings are always somewhat suspicious, have, “they nod the head;” adducing as the reason, that it is not the shaking of the head, which is a gesture of denial, that is here suitable, but the nodding of the head, which is a gesture of assent, and in the face of the sufferer a gesture of satisfaction. But this exposition is etymologically inadmissible: the word δπις is altogether identical with our shake; and to shake the head is exactly the import of ψΰωδπις, the phrase which occurs in quite a similar connection, and also of κινεῖντὴνκεφαλὴν of the Septuagint and of Matthew. And the reason above adduced for departing from the only correct rendering in an etymological point a view, is at once set aside by the remark, that the denial does not here refer to the suffering, but to the existence of the sufferer. This they deny him, on the ground of his irremediable misery. The idea is this: They shake the head, in connection especially with what follows, where they declare his condition to be completely desperate, and him to be wholly forsaken of God. This connection is all the more significant, that what follows, from the omission of the μΰνψ, is clearly seen to be a mere commentary on the gesture: after saying by pantomime, it is all over with him, they say it by words. Ver. 8. "'Devolve upon the Lord' (he has said), Now let Him rescue him, let Him deliver him, since He has delight in him." The reproach and contempt grounded on the great depth of the sufferer's misery, and illustrative of it,-the whole world has given him over for lost,-we have intimated to us in general in ver. 6th; in ver. 7th, we have its expression by gestures, and in the verse before us, in words. How sure the mockers are of the destruction of the sufferer,-how completely impossible it appears to them, that God should deliver him, -is evident in the clearest manner from this, that they express, in the form ofa wish, what, if it should really happen, would be in the highest degree fatal to them. Had they entertained a single thought of deliverance, they never would have uttered the expression, "Let Him deliver him." גל is, according to many, an infinitive. Some understand it as used in the sense of an imperative,-Let him trust in the Lord. But this is inadmissible; for, in such a case, the absolute form גלולA must have been used: comp. Ewald,Sm. Gr. 355, 56. The infinitive, moreover, is not simply and everywhere used for the imperative; and there is no reason here for the substitution. Finally, let him commit, is altogetherunsuitable to the connection; for יהוה אל גל must correspond toבו הפץ, and can therefore refer only to the relation in which the sufferer has hitherto stood to God, not to that which he is now to do. According to others, the infinitive is used instead of the Preterite tense. But in this case, also, the absolute form would be necessary: moreover, the infinitive cannot be used generally for the Preterite, but only in certain cases (see Ew. 355), of which the passage before us is not one. Those who, in conse-quence of these difficulties, give up the form of the infinitive altogether, either like Ewald change גלo into גלa or take it as aPreterite with an intransitive sense, indicated by the tone of the voice, he depended. But this alteration is altogether an arbitrary one; there is no trace anywhere of the form in the Preterite, and there is not one single example of the verb being used in an intransitive sense. Besides, the Preterite is unsuit-able to the parallel: בו הפץ would, in that case, refer to the sufferer, not to God: he has trusted in God; let Him deliver him, let Him rescue him, since He loves him. But that this will not answer, will be shown immediately.-The form גלo is, in other passages, always used as an imperative. Comp. Proverbs 16:9, and Psalms 37:5. And this last passage makes it evident that it must be understood as such in the passage before us. But we must not on this account suppose, with Gesenius, that the imperative is used here in the third person: devolvat, which does not exist. "Devolve upon the Lord," had been the motto of the sufferer. This the mockers call out to the sufferer in an ironical manner, so that we must read the words with double marks of quotation. As the ungodly are introduced speaking, without any note of preparation, it can make no difficulty that they introduce the sufferer speaking in the same way. "Trust in God is his motto; now let this God deliver him." The "hehas trusted,"-the " נןיטום " of the Septuagint, and of Mat-thew (ch.27:43) after the Septuagint, -is contained, according to this exposition, in the words. To the "devolve" is, accord-ing to Proverbs 16:3, Psalms 37:5, and 1 Peter 5:7, to be sup-plied, "thy way," "thy circumstances," "thy cares," or some-thing similar. The idea is taken from those who lay a burden on the shoulders of others, which is too heavy for them to bear themselves.-The subject in בו הפץ is the Lord, not the sufferer, as was seen by the Septuagint, ὃפי טוכוי בὐפןם, and by Matt., וἰ טוכוי בὐפןם. בו הפץ is frequently used of the complacency with which the Lord regards His people: ביהוה הפץ nowhereoccurs. This exposition is also demanded by the ninth verse. Trust on the part of man, and delight on the part of God, cor-respond: the conviction of being the object of delight to God, is the ground of the confidence;-it is because the righteous man knows that God delights in him, that he commits to Him all his cares. The mockers see in the condition of the sufferer (considering it as they do as utterly hopeless) an unqualified reproach of his confidence-a practical denial of his conviction of being delighted in by God.-Finally, the mockers here, without intending it, bear testimony, and a testimony of all others the most beautiful, to the righteous man, that he has comforted himself in the grace of God, that he has cast him-self, with his whole existence, upon God; and thus the insult-ing words, "Let Him rescue him, let Him deliver him," although, in their view, deliverance, in the circumstances of the case, is altogether impossible, contain an undesigned prophecy. God ordained it so, that the mockers at the cross of Christ, from an unconscious recollection, should utter these very words, and thus characterize themselves as the ungodly in relation to the righteous one. Ver. 9. But Thou didst take me out of my mother's womb, Thou didst permit me to trust when on my mother's breasts. The suf-ferer had hitherto, while complaining of its being altogether anomalous that God should forsake him, silently taken it for granted, that he stood in quite the same relation toward God as those who had been gladdened by deliverances vouchsafed by God. What had hitherto been taken for granted, is here, and in the 10th verse, expressly asserted and defended: God is the God of the sufferer, as He has been the God of the fathers,-He has already shown Himself as such in his helpless infancy,-He has given him good ground for exercising that confidence which is always followed by deliverance. Thus every other answer to the complaint, Why hast Thou forsaken me? is cut off except this, I have not forsaken thee: and full preparation is made for the prayer, ver. 11, Be not far from me. The verse before us is in point of form an appendage to the last clause of the preceding one, "He has delight in him:" this is true; for Thou, O God, hast given me the richest proofs of Thy delight. This connec-tion is all the more suitable, when we observe that the mockers took, "He has pleasure in him," out of the lips of the sufferer, and spoke it out of his soul: What they in contempt upbraid mewith, I have with perfect truth asserted; for Thou, etc. It appears at first sight remarkable, that the righteous man, in advancing proof for the position that God is his God, should give such prominence to what is common to all. Still this difficulty loses much of its weight through the remark of Calvin: "This wonder has, through its frequency, become common; but if it were not that ingratitude had blinded our eyes, every birth would fill us with amazement, and every preservation of a child in its tender infancy, exposed as it is, even at its very entrance into the world, to death in a hundred forms." The following passage from Luther is of a similar import: "Augustine, in the first book of his Confessions, finds great enjoyment and consolation in similar reflections, where he praises God with devout admiration for his creation and birth, and extols the Divine goodness in taking him up, and committing him to the care and attention of his mother. Although thoughts such as these may appear childish, effemi-nate, and unseasonable, for those who are in such pain and con-flicts, yet experience here teaches us to remember these tender, cheerful, lovely works of God, to seek a place of refuge when suffering the hard bites of the wrath and of the rod of God, and to enjoy the sweet and pleasant milk of our mother's heart, and all these other acts of mercy which were shown during the years of infancy. Thus shall we, when brought into trouble, be led to think (as we are commanded to do) on the days of happi- ness gone by: when distress and suffering are upon us, we shall remember the great grace and goodness of God manifested to us in early youth; and when we suffer as men, we shall reflect on what we enjoyed when children. . . . Try, and you will then understand what it is to see the Divine majesty employed and taken up with childish, that is, with small, insignificant, yea contemptible works." If any difficulty is felt after this, it may be removed by the assumption, that while the words were de-signed to suit the individual who peculiarly appropriated this Psalm, the Psalmist had primarily before his mind the community of the righteous, and on this account gave peculiar prominence to the grace of God manifested at the beginning of its existence, because then (that is, at the deliverance from Egypt, etc.) this grace was most gloriously manifested. Still we cannot go fur- ther; we cannot apply the verses directly and exclusively to the Church, because their tone is so individual, that the individual reference cannot be given up. This also is evident, as was seenin the introduction, from the passage, 22-26.-The term difficult. The still obscurer expression יוiוג, in the borrowedpassage, Psalms 71:6, gives us no assistance. It cannot be the participle, "my drawer forth;" for גוה signifies always, and even in Micah 4:10, to break forth: this form of the participle, more-over, is always intransitive; Ewald, § 140. We must, therefore,just consider גהי as the infinitive,�"my breaking forth." God may be called "the breaking forth," because it was by His power alone this took place, just as He is in other places called the covenant, the salvation, the blessing, the joy, etc., because all these depend-on Him. מבטיהי refers back to בטהו in vers. 4 and 5:-to make or permit to trust, is to give ground to trust, to warrant to do so; and this God had done to the sufferer, fly protecting him in his early youth. Now, whoever is entitled to trust, and it does not depend on whether a man is yet capable oftrusting, is also entitled to help. For trust and help have al-ways, in times past, been inseparably connected. Ver. 10. Upon Thee was I cast from my mother's womb, from my mother's lap Thou wast my God. In the first of these clauses, there lies at the bottom a reference to those who receive the child at the birth. Compare Genesis 16:2, Job 3:12, "Why did the knees receive me?" and Rth 4:16. The clause may be thus paraphrased: "Thou hast received me when I was help-less under Thy mild protection; I fell as it were into Thy lap, which was stretched out to receive me at my birth; and from having been fostered and cared for by Thee, I have retained my life, whereas, otherwise, I should most assuredly have been the prey of death:" compare, in reference to the whole Church, Ezekiel 16:5. The word השלכתי is wholly passive; and the exposi-tion of De Wette is altogether inaccurate, "I have trusted in thee;" and Stier remarks, "Some such thing is indicated as theold theologians ascribed to children in baptism." Here, as inthe remaining portions of these two verses, the Psalmist does not speak of the state of feeling of the sufferer, but of the mercy of God actually manifested in deeds towards him. The clause, Thou art my God, is equivalent to, "Thou has manifested Thyself as such." The first part of this Psalm thus returns at its close to the point at which it opened,-My God, my God. The sufferer's right to use this address, and consequently to put the question following upon it, Why hast Thou forsaken me? has its foundation assigned to it in the two closing verses. Thus it isthat every other answer to this question is cut off except this one, I have not forsaken thee. Ver. 11. Be not far from me, for trouble is near, because there is no helper. From the demonstration given in the first part, that the forsaking would be completely anomalous, flows here the prayer, "Be not far;" in laying down the basis of which it is shown, that to be far away at such a time would be the same thing as entirely to forsake. The prayer has its basis assigned it here in the very short expression, for trouble is near. This is much more accurately explained by Luther than by most modern expositors: "We are not to understand, that when the Psalmist says, Trouble is near, he has any reference to time, as if it were now in his neighbourhood, and would fall suddenly upon him; but we are to understand him as speaking of the strength, the might, and the power of the trouble which, even now, is upon him, and concerning which he complains that it is not taken away." That thus the expression, "trouble is near" (the suf-ferer says Trouble is near, instead of, It is there, on account of the contrast of the distance of the Lord), is only to be under-stood of a trouble which had already been really inflicted, is evi-dent from the expression which contains its reason, "for there is no helper;" i. e., for I have been delivered over in a state of helplessness into the power of my enemies (the man with whom this is the case must assuredly find himself in the midst of the very deepest trouble): vers. 12-18 are to be considered as a further development of the same thought. Ver. 12. Many bulls surround me, the strong ones of Bashan encompass me. In applying the term bulls to his enemies, the Psalmist has an eye to their strength and fury. In "the bulls of Bashan,"-"the strong ones," that is, "the strong bulls," - both characteristics are brought vividly before us: first, be-cause of their excellent pasture; the second, because they fed on mountains and in forests, and were consequently further removed from men, and more untamed in their habits.Ver. 13. They open their mouth wide against me,--a tearing and roaring lion. The enemies are not only like lions, they are a lion, or lions themselves, in a spiritual sense. The lion roars chiefly when he looks at his prey, and is about to fall upon it. Compare Amos 3:4; Psalms 104:21.Ver. 14. I am poured out like water, and all my bones are separated; my heart has become like wax, melted in the midst of me. The sufferer turns now from describing his outward trou-ble (in the 12 Thessalonians and 13 th verses), to lay open in this and the 15th verse his consequent inward state, which in like manner loudly proclaims, that now to be far away would mean utterly to forsake. "The picture of inward dissolution sketched here in a few strokes," remarks Ewald, "is a very terrible one." The poured-out water is here, according to the parallel clause, "my bones are separated," not descriptive of fear or-dejection, but of the most complete dissolution of all strength and of powerless-ness. The parallel passages, therefore, are such as Ps. lviii: 8;2 Samuel 14:14, "For we die, and are like water poured out -- on the earth;" and especially 1 Samuel 7:6, where the idea is . embodied in a symbolical action,-the Israelites, when oppressed by the Philistines, assembled at Mizpah, drew water and poured it out before the Lord, and cried out to Him by symbolical signs, "We are poured out like water." Passages such as the follow-ing are not parallel: Joshua 7:5, "And the heart of the people melted, and became like water;" or Lamentations 2:19. The reference in them is chiefly to the heart, and they are rather to be con-sidered as parallel to the last clause of the verse before us. As emblematical of moral helplessness or mental imbecility, the figure occurs in Genesis 49:4, "Unstable as water, thou shalt not excel."-"All my bones are separated," implies, in like manner, complete powerlessness and exhaustion. Muis: non secus vacillat totem corpus quam si omnia ossa luxata sint et a suis quaeque avulsa locis. Compare Daniel 5:6. - The heart melts, when a person sinks into despair when in extreme, irremediable distress. Luther: "Those who have good hope, and are cheerful, are said to have a fresh, strong, confident, hard, good heart, which stands immovable like a hard rock. And thus also, on the other hand, those who are cast down and terrified, are said to have a soft and feeble heart, which dissolves and melts like wax." Such melting sometimes befalls even those who, like David, have the heart of a lion. Compare 2 Samuel 7:10. Ver. 13. They open their mouth wide against me,--a tearing and roaring lion. The enemies are not only like lions, they are a lion, or lions themselves, in a spiritual sense. The lion roars chiefly when he looks at his prey, and is about to fall upon it. Compare Amos 3:4; Psalms 104:21. Ver. 14. I am poured out like water, and all my bones are separated; my heart has become like wax, melted in the midst of me. The sufferer turns now from describing his outward trouble (in the (Psalms 22:12) 12th and (Psalms 22:13) 13th verses), to lay open in this and the (Psalms 22:15) 15th verse his consequent inward state, which in like manner loudly proclaims, that now to be far away would mean utterly to forsake. “The picture of inward dissolution sketched here in a few strokes,” remarks Ewald, “is a very terrible one.” The poured-out water is here, according to the parallel clause, “my bones are separated,” not descriptive of fear or dejection, but of the most complete dissolution of all strength and of powerlessness. The parallel passages, therefore, are such as Psalms 58:8; 2 Samuel 14:14, “For we die, and are like water poured out—on the earth;” and especially 1 Samuel 7:6, where the idea is embodied in a symbolical action,—the Israelites, when oppressed by the Philistines, assembled at Mizpah, drew water and poured it out before the Lord, and cried out to Him by symbolical signs, “We are poured out like water.” Passages such as the following are not parallel: Joshua 7:5, “And the heart of the people melted, and became like water;” or Lamentations 2:19. The reference in them is chiefly to the heart, and they are rather to be considered as parallel to the last clause of the verse before us. As emblematical of moral helplessness or mental imbecility, the figure occurs in Genesis 49:4, “Unstable as water, thou shalt not excel.”—“All my bones are separated,” implies, in like manner, complete powerlessness and exhaustion. Muis: non secus vacillat totem corpus quam si omnia ossa luxata sint et a suis quaeque avulsa locis. Compare Daniel 5:6. The heart melts, when a person sinks into despair when in extreme, irremediable distress. Luther: “Those who have good hope, and are cheerful, are said to have a fresh, strong, confident, hard, good heart, which stands immovable like a hard rock. And thus also, on the other hand, those who are cast down and terrified, are said to have a soft and feeble heart, which dissolves and melts like wax.” Such melting sometimes befalls even those who, like David, have the heart of a lion. Compare 2 Samuel 7:10. Ver. 15. My strength is dried up like a potsherd: and my tongue cleaves to the roof of my mouth: and Thou layest me in the dust of death. As כה always signifies strength, and cannot be translated moisture, the יבש must be understood as used in an improper sense: my power is entirely wasted away like themoisture out of a dried potsherd. There are other instances of similar abrupt comparisons: Psalms 102:4, "My heart is smittenand withered like grass;" i. e., is as much destroyed as withered grass is.-The cleaving of the tongue to the roof of the mouth is the consequence of pain and anguish;-compare Job 29:10. Luther: "It is incredible how this inward anguish, and terror, and dismay, withers and dries up completely and suddenly the whole moisture of all the parts of the body, and makes them weak and good for nothing, especially the moisture of the tongue, in which we chiefly feel this thirst and drought." On the ac-cusative מלקוהי compare Ewald, p. 588.�In reference to the lastclause, Luther remarks, "This he adjoins as the sum and final conclusion." לעפר, taken strictly, signifies not, "into the dust," but, "so that I belong to the dust." The dust of death is the dust which stands in relation to death, that is, the dust of the grave. The Future is used in the sense of the Present-the sufferer is already more dead than alive. Everything that belongs peculiarly to life has already disappeared-all vital spirits, all vital strength,-so that when what is commonly called death comes, which the sufferer sees immediately before his eyes, it finds scarcely anything left for it to take. The expres-sion, "Thou bringest me," is deserving of observation. The suf-ferer considers everything only as an instrument in the hands of God. Hence, on the one hand, his pain was augmented; but hence, also, there was laid the necessary foundation for his hope. He who cannot trace his sufferings to God alone, cannot with a full heart look to Him for deliverance. He only who sends it can remove it; and He must remove it in cases similar to the present one, even when all prospect of deliverance appears to be gone. Calvin: "As often as this darkness befalls the spirits of believers, there are always some remains of unbelief, which prevent them from rising into the light of the new life. But in the case of Christ, there were united in a wonderful manner both terror from the curse of God, and patience from faith, so quieting all inward movements, that they were kept at rest under the rule of God." Ver. 16. For dogs compass me, the band of the wicked besets me, like lions on, my hands and feet. The sufferer calls his ene-mies here dogs, on account of their fury and bitterness. Com-pare on the savage ferocity of Eastern dogs, Oedmann's Collec-tions, 5, p. 31, 2, and Laborde's Geographical Commentary on Exodus and Numbers, p. 59.-The first word of the last clause is read differently: ירiאEכA (in the received text), ירeא;;כA, וראEכAכרוA. If we pay regard to external evidence, there can be no doubt that ירiאEכA is the true reading; and it would be to abandon everything like certainty in criticism, and along with this, criti-cism itself, were we to reject this reading, and to substitute in-stead of it, with Ewald, the reading וראEכA. The external evidence for the other readings is as good as nothing. כארו is found only in two unmspected Jewish manuscripts: כרו not even in one at first hand, and only in a few cases written on the margin. The received text, besides having on its side the whole weight of the MSS., is also supported by the Masora. None of the old trans-lators are against it, for, without following any other reading, they might, like many of the later expositors, explain כארי in the sense expressed by them; and even although, in some few instances, כארי may not have lain at the foundation of the translation, this would not imply that there was a different reading, but only a conjectural emendation, caused by the difficulty felt in interpret-ing the word in the text. Assuredly, if the old translators had found airy variety in the text, some traces of it would have re-mained in their translations. Further, though the reasons of an external kind were equally balanced on both sides, considera-tions of an internal nature would lead us to decide in favour of the received text. For it is from the more difficult reading that the others may be conceived to have arisen, and not the con-trary.-In regard to the explanation of כארי, thus determined to be the true reading, most interpreters proceed on the supposition that it is the plural of a participle, the rare plural-form instead of כארים, from the root כור. The participle is properly כרA, but there are other examples of the insertion of an א (see Gesenius' Lehrg. p. 401). If we adopt this view as to the form, which for a time was the almost universally prevailing one, we must still attach weight to all the points adverted to in the Christol. I. i. p. 180: we can neither translate it "they fetter," as was usually done at the time of the publication of the Christology, nor "theydisfigure," but only "they pierce," after the example of the Septuagint, the Vulgate, and the Syriac. It is also obvious, that if we adopt this view, the words must have a special reference to Christ, for the piercing of hands and feet here is nowhere else alluded to; and the idea of Gesenius, that the hands and feet may poetically denote the whole body, is altogether unten-able. What was brought forward in the Christology to prove, that not only Christ's hands, but also His feet, were literallypierced, has been presented more in detail by Bahr, in a paper specially devoted to this purpose, and in a defence of the same against the objections of Paulus, which appeared in Tholuck's Literary Anzeiger for 1833. But we must not forget that the supposition that כארי is a plural participle, which was commonly entertained at the date of the publication of the Christology, is en-compassed by so many difficulties, that it can be adopted only at the very last extremity. When three irregularities occur in the same word, as in the present instance,--1st, The use of the plural form in י, which at the best is extremely rare, and indeed occurs only in one other at all certain instance; 2d, The participial form with א; and 3d, The use of כור in the sense of כרה,�a force, when united, very different from what they would have if they occurred apart. Besides, let it be remarked, these words, according to this interpretation, have a special reference to Christ; whereas, on the grounds adduced in the introduction, it is evident that the Psalm has reference to Him only as embody-ing the perfect idea of the righteous man,-a supposition which would render unsuitable anything having reference exclusively to Christ. Last of all, had the New Testament writers ap-proved of the correctness of this interpretation, which was put into their hands by the current translation of the Septuagint,ὤסץמבם קויסבע לןץ ךבי נןהבע לןץ,-so eagerly laid hold of by all the Christian fathers,-how comes it that they should not have pointed to the fulfilment of this very characteristic feature in Christ, and that, when they obviously had this Psalm before their eyes throughout their whole narrative of Christ's sufferings, they should have quoted what assuredly was not so character-istically and individually fulfilled in Him? So far are they, how-ever, from applying this clause to Christ, that they do not ex-pressly mention the piercing of His feet at all. Thus this view can be adopted only in the very last extremity; and this is not the case here. There is another view which can be suggested, in which every anomaly of form disappears, without introducing any impropriety in regard to the sense. The כ is the particle of com- parison: the ארי is the same as אריה, a lion. The כארי, written exactly as it is here, occurs in the sense of lion-like in Isaiah 38:13. The Masoretic remark is not of so much importance as that we need to give the כארי here a different sense from the כארי there, any more than the Keris of the Masora, which, through-out, are obviously false. The ורגלי ידי is the accusative, so oftenused in defining more accurately any part or member of the body to which more special reference is made (comp. Ewald, 512)-thus: "They beset me, lion-like, as to hands and feet." The mention of lions cannot but be regarded here as extremely natural, as emblems drawn from the brute creation are used throughout the whole Psalm; as the enemies have already been represented in the 13th verse, under the emblem of a tearing and roaring lion; as the sufferer, the poor defenceless hind, prays in the 21st verse, "Deliver from the mouth of the lion;" and finally, as the connection between the lions here and the dogs, introduced in the first clause of the verse before us, is exceedingly appropriate. The objections urged against this interpretation,-an interpretation which Luther recognised as decidedly required by the grammar, but which, as he most un-accountably thought, must give way to the theology of the case,-are only of importance in so far as they show in what way the old translations, the Masora, and a few Hebrew manu-scripts, were induced to give up the true interpretation or reading, and thus prove that they cannot be regarded as having any authority whatever. It is said that to surround will not apply to lions, who spring upon their prey. But the surrounding is not here attributed to lions, but to the band of evil-doers; and the point of comparison between them and the lion is not the surrounding, but their wild fury. It is further objected, that the singular, "like a lion," is not at all appropriate. But this objection can be urged as of force, only on the supposition that the point of comparison is, "the surrounding." Except on this supposition, the singular is as suitable here as it is in ver. 13 and ver. 21; and the fact that the singular is used in both these passages, tends very much to give our interpretation more of an appearance of certainty:-compare also the singular כלב in ver. 20. Besides, the expression is not, "as a lion," but, "as the lion." The Kametz shows that the word has the article:- otherwise it would have had Patach;-compare Ewald, 464. The term, "the lion," indicates the species, and must be viewed as re-ferring not to the number, but to the disposition and nature. Further, that the ורגלי ידי, as there is already an accusative in הקיפוני, requires another verb, or renders an extraordinary ellipsis necessary, could be maintained only before the relative form of the accusative had been sufficiently examined. Last of all, "hands and feet," are by no means superfluous. The hands arethe instruments of defence, the feet the means of escape.-my furious foes have so beset me, that I can stir neither hand nor foot. These are the objections of Stier. Ewald remarks that the figure of lions is not at all appropriate in this connection, for it is only the shamelessness that is intended to be depicted. But this objection is wholly futile. It is not the shamelessness, but the wild fury, that is the point of resemblance iii the comparison of dogs. The designation of the enemies as "evil-doers," and the connection of this verse with the two preceding ones-assigning as it does, the cause of the effect described in them-show that we have to do in this case with coarse ill-treatment. Ver. 17. I count all my bones; these men look, they stare at me. The furious enemies have already stripped the sufferer doomed to death, and feed their eyes on the sad spectacle of his complete emaciation, -a sight which fills him with pain. אספר is generally rendered, "I could count." Against this tame rendering we have the analogy of יביטו and יראו I count, they look,-and of the other Futures both preceding and following. The sufferer, sunk in pain at his complete emaciation, counts the bones of his naked body, every one of which attracts involuntary painful attention: here one and there one, and all wanting flesh from the first to the last, every one of them. Job 33:21 is parallel. Of the enemies it is said: first, that they are spectators of a miserable sight, from which every feeling man would turn away and shut his eyes, feeling his soul pierced by the sight of such suffering in a brother; and next, that they look upon this sight, not only with rude unconcern, but even with inward joy. The ראה with ב, signifies to look at anything to which one has a strong inclination, in which one has delight.Ver. 18. They part my garments among them, and on my ves-ture they cast the lot. Clothing is the necessary condition of life; without clothes no man can be seen in public. When one's clothes are taken away, and, what is worse, disposed of, that person, if he is not dead, must be considered as destined to a certain and speedy death. The sufferer, in this view, in con-cluding the description of his distress, and when on the very threshold of his prayer, declares that he is now at the very last stage,-that his enemies are even ready to give him the last stroke, now that he is, apart from this, more dead than alive.-It is impossible here to think of the custom of spoiling enemies, for the distress throughout the Psalm is not of a warlike charac-ter:-the sufferer is completely helpless, his situation corre-sponding entirely to that of Christ. Moreover, it is a slain enemy, not a living one, that is spoiled. Neither may we render the clause: "they will divide my clothes among them," or, "they already think of doing it." For, יהלקו and יפילו, like the pre-ceding verbs, must refer to what is going on in the present. The idea of nakedness is indeed implied in the preceding verse also. We have not only, "I count all my bones," but, "they look, they stare at me," i.e. "they enjoy themselves in looking at one disfigured to a skeleton." The connection would be broken were we to refer the looking only to distress in general. Lastly, we cannot suppose that a figurative expression is here used; so much, however, is true, that this trait, like the rest of the description, has an individual character, as is indeed involved in the fact, that the Psalm refers to the ideal person of the Righteous One. The situation of such a one, with death immediately be-fore him, might have been described also by other expressions. -How exactly the whole contents of this verse were fulfilled in Christ, is rendered very clear if we keep in view an obser-vation which Luther, manifestly with good reason, makes on the dividing of the clothes: "I hold that the soldiers did not divide the clothes from need, or for gain, but in the way of jest, and for the purpose of enjoying a laugh, and as a sign that itwas now all over with this Christ, that he was utterly ruined, de-stroyed, extirpated, and never more to be heard of."- בגדים is, “clothes,” in general; לבוש is specially the principal article of dress, the long robe, without which the person is altogether naked. There is thus a gradation in the clauses: compare Job 24:7-10; Psalms 35:13; Es. 4:2; John 19:23; John 19:24. The sufferer had shown, first, that it would be completely anomalous if God intended to forsake him; second, that for God not to help him at present would be to forsake him; and now the prayer breaks forth with full power, vers. 19-21, that God would help him now, which, towards its conclusion, passes into the confident expectation of being heard. Ver. 18. They part my garments among them, and on my vesture they cast the lot. Clothing is the necessary condition of life; without clothes no man can be seen in public. When one’s clothes are taken away, and, what is worse, disposed of, that person, if he is not dead, must be considered as destined to a certain and speedy death. The sufferer, in this view, in concluding the description of his distress, and when on the very threshold of his prayer, declares that he is now at the very last stage,—that his enemies are even ready to give him the last stroke, now that he is, apart from this, more dead than alive. It is impossible here to think of the custom of spoiling enemies, for the distress throughout the Psalm is not of a warlike character:—the sufferer is completely helpless, his situation corresponding entirely to that of Christ. Moreover, it is a slain enemy, not a living one, that is spoiled. Neither may we render the clause: “they will divide my clothes among them,” or, “they already think of doing it.” For, ιημχε and ιτιμε, like the preceding verbs, must refer to what is going on in the present. The idea of nakedness is indeed implied in the preceding verse also. We have not only, “I count all my bones,” but, “they look, they stare at me,” i.e. “they enjoy themselves in looking at one disfigured to a skeleton.” The connection would be broken were we to refer the looking only to distress in general. Lastly, we cannot suppose that a figurative expression is here used; so much, however, is true, that this trait, like the rest of the description, has an individual character, as is indeed involved in the fact, that the Psalm refers to the ideal person of the Righteous One. The situation of such a one, with death immediately before him, might have been described also by other expressions. How exactly the whole contents of this verse were fulfilled in Christ, is rendered very clear if we keep in view an observation which Luther, manifestly with good reason, makes on the dividing of the clothes: “I hold that the soldiers did not divide the clothes from need, or for gain, but in the way of jest, and for the purpose of enjoying a laugh, and as a sign that it was now all over with this Christ, that he was utterly ruined, destroyed, extirpated, and never more to be heard of.”—αβγιν is, “clothes,” in general; μαεω is specially the principal article of dress, the long robe, without which the person is altogether naked. There is thus a gradation in the clauses: compare Job 24:7-10; Psalms 35:13; Esther 4:2; John 19:23, John 19:24. The sufferer had shown, first, that it would be completely anomalous if God intended to forsake him; second, that for God not to help him at present would be to forsake him; and now the prayer breaks forth with full power, Psalms 22:19-21, that God would help him now, which, towards its conclusion, passes into the confident expectation of being heard. Ver. 19. And Thou, O Lord, be not far from me; O my strength, make haste to my help. Stier well remarks that אילותי looks very like as if it were an etymological explanation of the אלי in the commencement of the Psalm. The reference to the אילת of the title has been already pointed out. The expression, make haste to help me, refers us back to the eleventh verse, there is none to help.Ver. 20. Deliver my soul from the sword, my lonely person from the power of the dog. Calvin: "Should any one ask, How can this apply to Christ, seeing the Father did not deliver Him from death? I answer, in one word, He was more mightily delivered than if the danger had been averted, just as much more so, as to raise from the dead is a mightier act than to heal from sickness. Wherefore the death of Christ did not prevent his resurrection from testifying that He was delivered." His death might well be called no death, but a simple passage to life.-The sword is an individualizing designation of what-ever is an instrument of death. Compare 2 Samuel 11:25, and ver. 24. The מיד cannot, from what follows, from the mouth, from the horns,-be with propriety considered as equivalent to the simple מן; the Psalmist is here speaking of dogs who have hands. On יהידתי Luther remarks: "He wishes to say, �eMy soul is alone and forsaken by everybody; there is no one who inquires after it, cares for it, or comforts it.'" In like manner, at Psalms 142. ver. 5, he says, "Look on the right hand; see, there no one will know me: I cannot escape; no one cares for my soul." Most interpreters, like Gesenius, consider the sufferer as saying that he has only one life to lose. But the view given above by Luther is to be preferred, because, according to it, the word is a succinct description of the condition given in the preceding verses, and because of the parallel passages, Psalms 25:16; Psalms 35:17; Psalms 68:7. The other idea does not occur in any similar passage. Ver. 20. Deliver my soul from the sword, my lonely person from the power of the dog. Calvin: “Should any one ask, How can this apply to Christ, seeing the Father did not deliver Him from death? I answer, in one word, He was more mightily delivered than if the danger had been averted, just as much more so, as to raise from the dead is a mightier act than to heal from sickness. Wherefore the death of Christ did not prevent his resurrection from testifying that He was delivered.” His death might well be called no death, but a simple passage to life. The sword is an individualizing designation of whatever is an instrument of death. Compare 2 Samuel 11:25, and Psalms 22:24. The ξιγ cannot, from what follows, from the mouth, from the horns,—be with propriety considered as equivalent to the simple Nm; the Psalmist is here speaking of dogs who have hands. On ιηιγϊι Luther remarks: “He wishes to say, ‘My soul is alone and forsaken by everybody; there is no one who inquires after it, cares for it, or comforts it.’“ In like manner, at Psalms 142 Psa 142:5, he says, “Look on the right hand; see, there no one will know me: I cannot escape; no one cares for my soul.” Most interpreters, like Gesenius, consider the sufferer as saying that he has only one life to lose. But the view given above by Luther is to be preferred, because, according to it, the word is a succinct description of the condition given in the preceding verses, and because of the parallel passages, Psalms 25:16, Psalms 35:17, Psalms 68:7. The other idea does not occur in any similar passage. Ver. 21. Deliver me from the lion's mouth, and from the horns of the buffalo,- Thou Nearest me. Luther: "The rage of the furious devil is so great, that the prophet does not consider it enough to have represented it by a sharp sword, but introduces further, for the same purpose, the tearings of raging furious dogs, the mouth of the greedy and hungry lion, which stands already open, and is ready to devour, and the dreadfully fierce wrath of the raging terrible unicorn (buffalo)." ענה, is here used pregnantly, and involves the idea of deliverance. There can be no grammatical objection made to the common rendering, "hear me." When the preceding verbs are imperative or optative, the succeeding ones are very frequently simply descriptive. But, on the other side, and in favour of the word being considered as an expression of the confidence of being heard, is the circumstance of its standing at the end of the prayer; that which follows, also, implying necessarily that something must have been pre-viously said expressive of confidence, and, lastly, the reference to תענה לא of verse second, are of considerable weight. To the word, Thou hearest me not, there, correspond here, at the close of the conflict, the words, Thou dost hear me. In a prayer of this kind, which rests on a foundation such as that on which the sufferer builds, the transition to confidence is a very easy one. "In such a Lord, come, there is always a tacit, Here, Son!" We may consider רמים מקרני and עניתני as separated by a small pause. The sufferer had, O do Thou save me, upon his tongue; but then he receives the assurance of being heard, and hence the desire for deliverance is suddenly transformed into assured confidence: and from the horns of the buffalo--Thou hast heardme. Having thus become assured of his deliverance, the sufferer next paints the happy consequences which were to flow from it. First, from ver. 22-ver. 26, in regard to Israel. Ver. 22. I will make known Thy name to my brethren: in the midst of the assembly I will praise Thee. The name is the focus in which all the rays of the acts converge, so that, to make known the name of the Lord, especially in a situation defined by the preceding description, is to make known what He has done. The address in the 23d verse shows whom we are to understand by -the brethren: they are the whole posterity of Israel. The de-liverance vouchsafed, is important not only to the sufferer, and perhaps to a few of his friends; -all his brethren, the whole people of the covenant (compare our fathers, ver. 4), shall par-ticipate in it, and shall be led by means of it to see the glory of God. We find the heathen, in ver. 27, opposed to the brethren. The false seed exclude themselves from sharing in this blessing. The assembly is not a small circle of friends, but consists of all the brethren of the sufferer-the whole seed of Israel: compare "the whole assembly of Israel," in Leviticus 16:17, and Deuteronomy 31:30. But this assembly, which also is meant in all parallel passages, Psalms 25:18; Psalms 40:10; Psalms 49:1, is here in a twofold sense an ideal one. First, every public assembly in the temple was considered as an ideal assembly of the whole people, inas-much as, though from accidental causes all the members could not really be present in person, those present represented the whole people. Compare 2 Chronicles 20:3-15 : "And Jehoshaphat proclaimed a fast over all Judah: and all Israel assembled to pray to the Lord: and Jehoshaphat stood in the assembly ofJudah and Jerusalem in the house of the Lord:-and the Spirit of the Lord came upon Jehaziel in the midst of the assembly, and he said, Hearken ye, all Judah, and ye inhabitants of Jeru-salem." Second, we are not to consider that here, or in the parallel passages, the Psalmist considered a literal assembly of the people to be necessary to realize the idea meant to be con-veyed. It is unlikely that every one who should obtain de-liverance could have an opportunity, in the public assemblies for the worship of God, of praising aloud the delivering grace of God. The kernel is only this, that the grace imparted to an individual member of the Church might tend to the good of the whole. The form in which the salvation was brought by the indi-vidual before the whole Church, is an accidental circumstance of minor importance. The Psalmist here makes choice of that form which is most vivid, and has in it most of a poetical charac-ter, without, in reality, intending it more than the others,-that form, for example, in which the Lord fulfilled the contents of the passage before us. He selected, namely, a solemn assembly of the whole people in the sanctuary, and the delivered sufferer glorifying God, and singing praise in the midst thereof.-The observation of De Wette is altogether incorrect: "We are to consider the brethren, the assembly, as sharing the same lot with the poet" (the righteous one). There is no trace of this in what follows. The salvation vouchsafed to the single individual ex-tends in so far to all, whether they be in the same situation or not, as the glory of God is reflected in it, advancement in the knowledge of which is salutary and quickening to all. There follow, in the 23d and 24th verses, the words in which the sufferer, now delivered, intends to make known the name of God, and to praise Him in the midst of the assembly. Ver. 23. Ye who fear the Lord, praise Him; all ye of the seed of Jacob, glorify Him; and be afraid before Him, all ye of the seed of Israel. Not without good reason does the Psalmist begin with, ye who fear God. He thereby intimates that he has to do, not with the seed of Jacob as such, with those who are united together only by a carnal bond, but with those whose souls are animated by one common spiritual principle. In point of form, the address is directed to the whole assembly. Those who are not of the Church, though they are in the Church, are over-looked. As intruders, they are ignored; as such, they are, how-ever, sufficiently indicated even in the words, ye who fear God.The "praise," the "glorify," and the "be afraid," especially the last, show evidently that the delivered sufferer had to do not merely with those who are in a situation similar to his own. To those he would have cried out before everything else, Put your trust in Him. The "be ye afraid," shows that He who is great in grace must also be as great in wrath, against those who despise. God is as omnipotent in all aspects as He is in one. Ver. 24. For He did not despise nor abhor the affliction of the afflicted, neither did He hide His face from him; and when he cried to Him, He heard. Luther: “ This makes God exceedingly lovely, so that all the godly love Him, and must praise Him, that His eyes alone see and are turned upon the afflicted and the poor; and the more despised and rejected a man is, so much the more is God near and gracious to him. As if he said, 'See and learn from my example: I, who have been the most despised and rejected of all men, have been regarded, cared for, and heard in the most friendly man-ner.'” ענות, is explained erroneously, by the old translators, by prayer. Ver. 24. For He did not despise nor abhor the affliction of the afflicted, neither did He hide His face from him; and when he cried to Him, He heard. Luther: “This makes God exceedingly lovely, so that all the godly love Him, and must praise Him, that His eyes alone see and are turned upon the afflicted and the poor; and the more despised and rejected a man is, so much the more is God near and gracious to him. As if he said, ‘See and learn from my example: I, who have been the most despised and rejected of all men, have been regarded, cared for, and heard in the most friendly manner.’” òðåú, is explained erroneously, by the old translators, by prayer. Ver. 25. Of Thee shall my praise be heard in the great con-gregation; I will pay my vows before them that fear Him. Of Thee is my praise:-not, Thou hast given me occasion to praise; but, Thou art the subject of my praise. Calvin: "David canendi argumentum ex deo petit." According to the connection and the parallel, the speaker does not describe what God has done to him, but how he will thank God, what blessed consequences, as regards the cause of God, will flow from his deliverance. The my praise refers back to the praises of Israel in ver. 3. The grating discord, caused by the groanings of the sufferer being heard mingling with the praises of Israel, is now at an end.-In the second clause, and in the following verse,, which is intimately connected with it, the representation is of a figurative kind. It was customary, in circumstances of great distress, to make vows, which were wont to consist of a promise to offer a certain number of sacrifices. After deliverance had been obtained, it was customary to invite to the feast connected therewith, the widow, the orphan, and the poor (comp. Deuteronomy 12:18; Deuteronomy 16:11). They thus became partakers of the salva-tion, which, in point of fact, was never imparted to the indivi-dual merely for himself; and thus also they were sharers of his joy. In such cases, the enjoyment throughout was not merelyof a sensual kind; the guests tasted at the same time how good is the Lord. The soul of the feast was admission into the community of thanks and blessing. And hence, in the passage before us, when the gratitude of the delivered sufferer expresses itself under the emblem of paying a vow-the usual expression of gratitude,-it is exceedingly natural that others should be invited to share in the blessing and the thanksgiving, under the image of a great sacrificial-feast given by him, in which all that fear God take part.-Hoffmann denies that the idea of a feast is at all implied in the passage. He interprets the pay-ing of the vows as expressing nothing more than the giving of thanks. But the vow always refers to something outward-never to mere feelings or words: Throughout, the usual kind of vows are offerings: compare Leviticus 7:16 ; and especially Psalms 66:12-15 : Michaelis on the Law of Moses, Part 3p. 145. In Psalms 1:14; Psalms 61:9, to which Hoffmann appeals, there is such a figurative representation. That by the vow here we are to understand literally promised thank-offerings, which are substantially identical with thanksgiving and praise-for the sacrifice is altogether a symbol, as in Hosea 14:3; Hebrews 13:15, and other passages,-is evident from, they shall eat, in the fol-lowing verse; compare also אכלו ver. 29. Ver. 26. The meek shall eat and be satisfied; praise the Lord shall they that seek Him: may your heart live for ever. The may live includes within it, shall live, and expresses, that this is agreeable to the wishes of the speaker. The heart dies in trouble, care, pain (Psalms 109:22; 1 Samuel 25:37), and especi-ally when it has become perplexed in regard to God. The for ever forms the opposition to the transitory life, or brief quicken-ing, which any inferior manifestation of God would give. He has here made Himself known in such a glorious manner, that whoever has incorporated into his soul this His manifestation, will henceforward stand in need of no other spiritual food, but is strengthened by it for ever. From Israel the righteous man now turns to the heathen.Ver. 27. All the ends of the earth shall ponder and turn to the Lord; all the tribes of the heathen shall worship before Thee. זכר very frequently signifies, not, "to remember," but, "to ponder," "to lay to heart." The object of this pondering is in reality identical with the object of the eating in vers. 26 and 29-the thanks and the praise of the righteous man for theglorious deliverance wrought out for him; and hence, indirectly, with the deliverance itself: compare צדקתו in ver. 31. The sal-vation of the Lord is so great, that it awakens the whole heathen world out of its stupid insensibility. Hoffmann refers יזכרו to Jehovah: they will think upon Jehovah. But this exposition proceeds only from the attempt to make the conversion of the heathen independent of the deliverance of the speaker. And the circumstance, that this connection is obscured by this inter-pretation, is against it. Besides, if we compare with יאכלו of ver. 26, and אבלו of ver. 29 (to which they worship stands in the' same relation as ישובו here does to יזכרו), יספר of the 30th verse, which also refers to the salvation imparted to the speaker, and עשה of the 31st verse, we shall feel compelled to reject this exposition, and that whole view of the Psalm, which requires such forced assistance.-In ישובו it is not at all implied, as Umbreit thinks, that the heathen originally possessed the truth. שוב means properly, "to turn oneself away" (here, from idols), and the meaning, "to turn back," is a secondary one.-The second clause alludes to the promises made to the patriarchs, and especially to Genesis 12:3; Genesis 28:14. Ver. 27. All the ends of the earth shall ponder and turn to the Lord; all the tribes of the heathen shall worship before Thee. ζλψ very frequently signifies, not, “to remember,” but, “to ponder,” “to lay to heart.” The object of this pondering is in reality identical with the object of the eating in Psalms 22:26 and Psalms 22:29—the thanks and the praise of the righteous man for the glorious deliverance wrought out for him; and hence, indirectly, with the deliverance itself: compare φγχϊε in Psalms 22:31. The salvation of the Lord is so great, that it awakens the whole heathen world out of its stupid insensibility. Hoffmann refers ιζλψε to Jehovah: they will think upon Jehovah. But this exposition proceeds only from the attempt to make the conversion of the heathen independent of the deliverance of the speaker. And the circumstance, that this connection is obscured by this interpretation, is against it. Besides, if we compare with ιΰλμε of Psalms 22:26, and ΰλμε of Psalms 22:29 (to which they worship stands in the same relation as ιωεαε here does to ιζλψε), ιρτψ of the (Psalms 22:30) 30th verse, which also refers to the salvation imparted to the speaker, and ςωδ of the (Psalms 22:31) 31st verse, we shall feel compelled to reject this exposition, and that whole view of the Psalm, which requires such forced assistance. In ιωεαε it is not at all implied, as Umbreit thinks, that the heathen originally possessed the truth. ωεα means properly, “to turn oneself away” (here, from idols), and the meaning, “to turn back,” is a secondary one. The second clause alludes to the promises made to the patriarchs, and especially to Genesis 12:3, Genesis 28:14. Ver. 28. For the kingdom is the Lord's, and He rules amongthe heathen. The verse grounds the announcement given in the preceding one, that, at a future time, the heathen shall do homage to the Lord, on this, that He alone is the lawful King of the earth. To be in reality, and not to be acknowledged, can be separated only for a little. The Lord is the King of the whole earth, and He must at some future time be acknow-ledged as such-a result which will be brought about through the manifestation of the Divine glory seen in the deliverance of the righteous man. Zechariah 14:9, or Obadiah 1:21, are not parallel passages, but Psalms 96:10; Psalms 97:1; Psalms 99:1. The removal of the distinction between Jews and Gentiles is succeeded by the removal of the distinctions of rank, and of circumstances (ver. 29), and of time (vers. 30, 31).Ver. 29. All the fat ones of the earth eat and worship, all who are gone down to the dust, and those who respited not their lives shall bow down before Him. The image of the feast is here resumed. There is, however, a contrast to the ordinary sacrificial feasts, to which the poor more especially are invited. This great spiritual feast (and it is proved even by this verse also to be a spiritual feast) is not unworthy of the presenceeven of those who live in the greatest abundance: it contains a costly viand, which all their plenty cannot give-a viand for which even the satisfied still hunger; and, on the other hand, the most needy and the most miserable are not excluded. It isa feast at which all earthly distinctions are abolished, because here, all guests are poor, and here, God is rich for all. The idea, that "to eat," may be interpreted by "to worship," does not merit a refutation. The words, "they eat," belong substantially also to the second clause: the "bow down," corresponding to the "worship," is the thanks for the entertainment The דשני, from the adjective ןשeדA, fat, denotes the satisfied fulness of exist-ence. עפר יורדי is not a general designation of misery, but spe-cially of death, in opposition to היים in the emphatic sense, and denotes one who may be said to be dead, though he has still theappearance and the lowest conditions of life. This is clear, first, from the reference to the clause of the 15th verse, "Thou layest me in the dust of death;" according to which the dust here can mean only the dust of the grave, for which עפר is very often used: compare the Lexicons. The same person who had to complain that he had fallen into the possession of death, be-comes now the fountain of life to all who may be in similar cir-cumstances. Second, from the parallel, who respited not theirlives. Third, from comparing the frequently occurring phrases,מות יורדי, בור יורדי, שאול יורדי, which at the same time show that the language does not refer to those who are going down, but to those who are already gone down.- The last clause, literally, who made not alive his own soul, is equivalent to, "who could not deliver themselves from that death, into whose hands they had fallen." The last barrier that is removed, is that of time. Ver. 29. All the fat ones of the earth eat and worship, all who are gone down to the dust, and those who respited not their lives shall bow down before Him. The image of the feast is here resumed. There is, however, a contrast to the ordinary sacrificial feasts, to which the poor more especially are invited. This great spiritual feast (and it is proved even by this verse also to be a spiritual feast) is not unworthy of the presence even of those who live in the greatest abundance: it contains a costly viand, which all their plenty cannot give—a viand for which even the satisfied still hunger; and, on the other hand, the most needy and the most miserable are not excluded. It is a feast at which all earthly distinctions are abolished, because here, all guests are poor, and here, God is rich for all. The idea, that “to eat,” may be interpreted by “to worship,” does not merit a refutation. The words, “they eat,” belong substantially also to the second clause: the “bow down,” corresponding to the “worship,” is the thanks for the entertainment The γωπι, from the adjective γָּ ?ωֵׁ ?ο, fat, denotes the satisfied fulness of existence. ιεψγιςτψ is not a general designation of misery, but specially of death, in opposition to ηιιν in the emphatic sense, and denotes one who may be said to be dead, though he has still the appearance and the lowest conditions of life. This is clear, first, from the reference to the clause of the (Psalms 22:15) 15th verse, “Thou layest me in the dust of death;” according to which the dust here can mean only the dust of the grave, for which ςτψ is very often used: compare the Lexicons. The same person who had to complain that he had fallen into the possession of death, becomes now the fountain of life to all who may be in similar circumstances. Second, from the parallel, who respited not their lives. Third, from comparing the frequently occurring phrases, ιεψγιξεϊ, ιεψγιαεψ, ιεψγιωΰεμ, which at the same time show that the language does not refer to those who are going down, but to those who are already gone down. The last clause, literally, who made not alive his own soul, is equivalent to, “who could not deliver themselves from that death, into whose hands they had fallen.” The last barrier that is removed, is that of time. Ver. 30. Posterity shall serve Him: it shall be told of the Lord to the generation. Several interpret: the seed which shall serve Him shall be reckoned to the Lord for a generation. But, according to this view, the whole is thrown into one sentence, and thus the parallelism is destroyed. This interpretation also is opposed by the following verse, in which the idea expressed here is more fully brought out, viz. that the deliverance shall not, like other benefits of inferior moment, be ever forgotten; by the correspondence between the abolition of the limits of time here announced, of those of nation and rank adverted to in the preceding verses; and, lastly, by the reference of יספר toאספרה in ver. 22. זרע, seed, is defined by its connection with what precedes to be, "the posterity," of those there spoken of.לאדני is properly, in reference to the Lord. The thing to bemade known, that, viz., which the Lord has done to the righteous man, is not more nearly described, because it is sufficiently clear from the preceding context. In like manner there is under-stood, immediately after "shall serve Him," "because of this glorious manifestation." The generation here, is equivalent to, אהרון דור in Psalms 13, 78:4. The generation which tells, is the present one; and the generation to which it is told, is the future one. In like manner, in Psalms 71:18, "the genera-tion," is defined from the connection. דור is never used in a collective sense. That it indicates here the succeeding genera-tion, is evident from ver. 31. The revelation of the Divine glory goes forth from the present to the next, and from that again to the one which follows it.Ver. 31. They shall come and make known His righteous-ness to the people which then have been born, that He has done it. The subject is the seed and the generation of the former verse. The succeeding generation will not allow the knowledge com-mitted to them to die out. It will, from its excellence, get life among them, and from them be handed down again to the next generation. They shall come, is, they shall appear on the theatre of the world: comp. Psalms 71:18. The righteousness of God embraces His faithfulness to His covenant and to His promises, which He has so gloriously manifested in the deliverance of the righteous man. There is no reason why we should translateנולד עם, the people which shall yet be born: compare on the use of the participle for the Future, Ewald, p. 534. The most ob-vious interpretation, the people which has been born at the time when the future generation is on the scene, gives a very suitable sense. In like manner, נברא עם, in Psalms 102:18, is, "the people which is then created." We must supply the object from the preceding context to the עשה, viz. what has been previously de-scribed: as was the case with יאבלו in ver. 26, יזכרו in ver. 27, and אכלו in ver. 29. It will not do to suppose that עשה is used in an absolute and emphatic sense, He has acted, i.e. Mani-fested Himself gloriously. Whenever it is used in the way in which it is in the verse before us, the object always lies con-cealed in what had previously been said. The last word of our Saviour on the cross, פוכוכוףפבי, evidently refers to this עשה asHis first exclamation is taken from the beginning of the Psalm: -of all proofs of the profound significance of this whole thus bounded, this is the surest, giving, at the same time, the key to the variously misinterpreted word of our Saviour. According to this view, we are to regard the work of God as that which was finished. The last moment of suffering is the first of deliver- ance; and the expiring Saviour here indicates that this is now at hand; that He has now received an answer, not in words but in deed, to the question, Why hast Thou forsaken Me? and that the morning dawn now succeeds the dark night. The Resurrection certifies the exclamation: It is finished. Ver. 31. They shall come and make known His righteousness to the people which then have been born, that He has done it. The subject is the seed and the generation of the former verse. The succeeding generation will not allow the knowledge committed to them to die out. It will, from its excellence, get life among them, and from them be handed down again to the next generation. They shall come, is, they shall appear on the theatre of the world: comp. Psalms 71:18. The righteousness of God embraces His faithfulness to His covenant and to His promises, which He has so gloriously manifested in the deliverance of the righteous man. There is no reason why we should translate ςνπεμγ, the people which shall yet be born: compare on the use of the participle for the Future, Ewald, p. 534. The most obvious interpretation, the people which has been born at the time when the future generation is on the scene, gives a very suitable sense. In like manner, ςνπαψΰ, in Psalms 102:18, is, “the people which is then created.” We must supply the object from the preceding context to the ςωδ, viz. what has been previously described: as was the case with ιΰλμε in Psalms 22:26, ιζφψε in Psalms 22:27, and ΰλμε in Psalms 22:29. It will not do to suppose that ςωδ is used in an absolute and emphatic sense, He has acted, i.e. manifested Himself gloriously. Whenever it is used in the way in which it is in the verse before us, the object always lies concealed in what had previously been said. The last word of our Saviour on the cross, τετέλεσται, evidently refers to this ςωδ as His first exclamation is taken from the beginning of the Psalm:—of all proofs of the profound significance of this whole thus bounded, this is the surest, giving, at the same time, the key to the variously misinterpreted word of our Saviour. According to this view, we are to regard the work of God as that which was finished. The last moment of suffering is the first of deliverance; and the expiring Saviour here indicates that this is now at hand; that He has now received an answer, not in words but in deed, to the question, Why hast Thou forsaken Me? and that the morning dawn now succeeds the dark night. The Resurrection certifies the exclamation: It is finished. Psalms 23. The first verse- The Lord is my shepherd, I want for nothing-contains the fundamental thought of the Psalm. This thought is merely expanded from ver. 2 to ver. 5: for He affords delightful rest to the weary, ver. 2; refreshment to the languid, and deliverance to the miserable, ver. 3; protection and defence in the midst of danger, ver. 4; food and drink to the hungry and thirsty, ver. 5; thus everything which human necessity requires. The conclusion returns to the generality of the com-mencement, with this difference, that the figure employed there is presented in its reality here. According to the common view, the goodness of God to-wards His people is represented in this Psalm by a double figure: first, that of a shepherd (vers. 1-4); and, second, that of the master of a household (ver. 5). But this view, which destroys altogether the unity of the Psalm, depends only on the gratui-tous supposition, that the Psalmist must always speak of the spiritual shepherd in terms which have been taken from the relations of the temporal shepherd. That the Psalmist paid very little attention to any such rule of criticism, but made a free use of his figure, is evident from the third verse, which, on this view, it would be impossible to explain. But substan-tially, if not in form, even the fifth verse praises the shepherd-faithfulness of God. It is because He is faithful to His charge as a shepherd, that He prepares a table before the Psalmist. In this He does in reality nothing more than what a good shepherd would do for his irrational sheep. But what is altogether de-cisive against this view, is, that on the idea that the praise of the good shepherd terminates at ver. 4, the principal and indispens-able feature (John 10:9), that he provides nourishment, is alto-gether wanting. And that there is no trace of this in the 2d verse, according to the common view, will be evident from our exposition. That David is the author of this Psalm, admits of no doubt; and the attempt of Hitzig to attribute it to Jeremiah, will be always welcome to those who would characterize his critical ways. The Psalm requires, and will bear, no historical exposi-tion. The opinions which have been advanced on this subject, such as those of J. D. Michaelis, Maurer, and others, that David composed it on some occasion when his provisions having be-come exhausted, there was sent to him, in the fields, a plentiful supply of food, only show how far this predilection for histori-cal interpretation may lead. This tendency is rooted in the ignorance of its representatives of the things of religion and the Church, and in their consequent inability to recognise like by like. From the spirit and tone of the Psalm, we should of course judge that it was composed at a time when David was not disturbed by any sufferings or dangers in his enjoyment of the grace of God,-at a time of quiet and quickening, which he knew so beautifully to describe. It shows us that David not only took God for his refuge in distress, but that, in prosperity he did not forget the Giver amidst the gifts, but made these (as Calvin expresses it) a ladder by which he might ascend con-tinually nearer to God. Some have thought it necessary to re-ject even this definition of the position. "Why," says Stier, "should he not for once, even in trouble, be thus confident and quiet?" But the unanimity with which other expositors of spiritual experience express their conviction, that this Psalm was sung by David at a time of revival, renders us exceedingly dis-trustful of this idea. The expression in the 12th chapter of the Epistle to the Hebrews, that no affliction for the present seemeth to be joyous but grievous, holds unexceptionably true. The suf-ferer may, even in the midst of severest trials, maintain a cer- tain degree of joyful confidence; but for all this, the sun will be only, as it were, shining through clouds; the pain and the distress will never be looked upon as at so great a distance, will never be so completely triumphed over, as they are in the case before us.-Finally, the confidence to which expression is here given,is not that of a child, is not that of one who goes forth to meet the pains and troubles of life, of which he has had no experi-ence, with a clear joy, flowing from consciousness of communion with God: it is that of an experienced combatant, one who has come through many troubles, who knows what they mean, and who has richly experienced how the Lord comforts in them, and delivers out of them. The praise of the rest, which the Lord imparts, lets us see in the Psalmist a weary pilgrim; the thanksgiving for refreshment shows us one worn out; the ex-pression, "When I walk through the valley of the shadow of death," etc., brings before us one who had already had experi-ence of the dark ways of suffering, and who had yet to walk in them. The expressions, in sight of my enemies, ver. 5, and shall follow me, ver. 6, show that we have here to do with one who, like David, had fought hard with enemies. Everywhere, it is not the sunburnt shepherd-boy, in the midst of his peaceful lambs, that meets us here, but the man David, who had experienced the hardships of the days of Saul. And yet it is from the, recol-lections of this peaceful season of youth that the figure of the Good Shepherd is drawn, which meets us for the first time in this Psalm in a full form. The absence of everything like exact personal reference ren- ders it exceedingly probable that David sung this Psalm, as it were, from the soul of every believer; and that he expressed in it his own personal joy, with the design of strengthening his brethren, and embodying their feelings in language. The reference, made by the Jewish commentators, of the Psalm to the whole people, is only to be decidedly rejected if placed in opposition to an individual interpretation. As David undoubt-edly designed the Psalm for the public worship of God, the thought could not be far distant from his mind, that its con-tents must be applicable no less to the whole body of the people than to each individual. The whole body of the people is the less to be lost sight of, as in all the other passages of the Old Testament, the figure of a good shepherd is used in reference to the faithfulness which God manifests towards the Church. It has been frequently maintained (latterly by Umbreit), that the contents of the Psalm, strictly speaking, surpass the Old Testament; that they stand especially opposed to the Mosaic law, with its jealous God, who visits the sins of the fathers. upon the children to the third and fourth generation. This idea,however, is decidedly incorrect. It proceeds altogether from directing exclusive attention to God's relationship to sinners as expressed in the law, and from not observing the aspect of grace which even there He presents. It is in the books of the law that God is first represented as the Shepherd of Israel, Genesis 48:15; Genesis 49:24; and nowhere do we find such touching proofs of the shepherd-care of God as in the lives of the patriarchs. The description of the tender care of God for His people, in Deuteronomy 32:6-14, forms a remarkable parallel to the Lord is my Shepherd: and the care of God for His people during their jour-ney through the wilderness, as detailed in the law, is described in Psalms 78:52 as that of a faithful shepherd. Ver. 1. The Lord is my Shepherd, I want for nothing. Ofall the figures that are applied to God in the Old Testament, that of a shepherd is the most beautiful. "The other names," says Luther, "sound somewhat too gloriously and majestically, and bring, as it were, an awe and fear with them, when we hear them uttered. This is the case when the Scriptures call God our Lord, King, Creator. This, however, is not the case with the sweet word shepherd. It brings to the godly, when they read it or hear it, as it were, a confidence, a consolation or se-curity, like the word father. We cannot better understand this consoling and lovely word, than by going to nature, and learn-ing carefully from her what are the dispositions and the proper-ties of the sheep, and what the duty, the labour, the care of a good shepherd. A sheep can only live through the help, pro-tection, and care of its shepherd. As soon as it loses him, it is exposed to dangers of every kind, and must perish, for it cannot help itself. The reason is, it is a poor, weak, silly creature. But, weak creature though it be, it has the habit of keeping diligently near its shepherd, of depending upon his help and protection; it follows wherever he leads, and, if it can only be near him, it cares for nothing, is afraid of no one, but feels se-cure and happy, for it wants for nothing." It is to be observed, that in both the cases in which the figure of the shepherd is first used in Scripture, the speakers, Jacob and David, were led to employ it from their own personal experience. Having been introduced by them, the figure was made use of by other writers, who were not led to make use of it from their own history. This is the case particularly with Isaiah ( 40:11), and Ezekiel (34:13), who comforts the poor, dispersed, neglected sheep of Israel,during the time of their captivity, by referring to the shepherd-faithfulness of God. See also Micah 7:14, and Psalms 80:2; Psalms 95:7. It is in obvious reference to these Old Testament passages that our Saviour calls Himself the Good Shepherd (John 10.), and is also so called by the Apostles, 1 Peter 2:25, v. 4; Hebrews 13:20. All that Jehovah, under the Old Tes-tament, does to His own, He does through His Angel and Mediator; this is His common aspect to His Church. He-the כןדןע-appeared in the flesh in Christ. Hence, whatever in the Old Testament was said of Jehovah and His Angel, is imme-diately transferred in the New to Christ. See the Christology, I. p. 247. The connection between the Old and New Testa-ment, as regards this subject, is especially laid open in Zechariah 11:11; Zechariah 13:7, where the Angel of the Lord is spoken of as the Shep-herd of Israel, and His future incarnation in the midst of His sheep is mentioned. Compare the Christology on the passage, P. 2.- Still the question remains, On what foundation does the idea expressed in the words, the Lord is my Shepherd, depend, in so far as the Psalm is, in the first instance, the expression of the feelings of the author, and of individual believers? The answer is this:-The general foundation for this conviction lies in the covenant of God with Israel, the promises of which every true and living member of the Church is entitled to apply to himself. The special foundation lies in personal experience, such as that which was enjoyed by David in such abundant measure. How often did he experience this shepherd-faithful-ness of God! How often did he enjoy from Him quiet, quick-ening, protection, and blessings!-It will not do to translate, I shall not want. The correct translation is, I want nothing. This, among other reasons, is obvious from the use of the Pre-terite דשנת in ver. 5. The development of an idea can give nothing except what is contained in the general statement. I want nothing excludes want generally, and not merely that of food: compare the expansion of the idea, vers. 2-5; דבר הסרת לא, Deuteronomy 2:7, thou hast lacked nothing; Deuteronomy 8:9, thou wantest nothing at all in it, to which the Psalmist appears especially to allude; and Psalms 34:10, they who seek the Lord shall not want any good thing. This is evident also from the concluding verse, where the affirmative, goodness and grace follow me, corresponds to the negative here, I want nothing. We must not, on the other hand, extend arbitrarily the sphere of, I want nothing,but must limit it as directed by the development of the expres-sion, in which we read only of the blessings of life, and not of deliverance from spiritual needs. We must not forget that the Psalmist (ver. 5) sings in presence of his enemies, and, conse-quently, that he is congratulating himself only on such good things as these designed to deprive him of. The following is Luther's paraphrase: "The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall as-suredly want nothing. I shall eat and drink, and have abund-ance of clothes, food, protection, peace, and necessaries of every kind which contribute to the support of life; for I have a rich Shepherd, who will not allow me to suffer want. But he speaks particularly of spiritual blessings and gifts, which the word of God brings," etc. This, on the principles of strict grammatico-historical interpretation, is correct only till he comes to say, "But he speaks particularly," etc. The theological interpreta-tion, however, will in this case undoubtedly break down the boundaries which the grammatico-historical has set up. For the view to which the Psalmist for a moment confines himself undoubtedly implies, that He who has made such abundant provision in lower matters, will not suffer any blessings of a higher kind to be withheld. Still we must not, like Umbreit, who finds at once that the words, I want nothing, express de-liverance from all spiritual troubles, mingle up the results of the grammatical interpretation with the theological exposition. By so doing, we lose altogether an insight into the train of thought and structure of the Psalm, and rob it even of that practical power, from a false regard to which it is that such attempts are made.-The paraphrase of P. Gerhard forms the best commentary on the verse before us. "The Lord, who rules all the ends of the earth with His power, the fountain of eternal good, is my Shepherd and Guardian. So long as I have Him, I am in want of no blessing the riches of His fulness most completely replenish me."-Those who, on reading the words, the Lord is my Shepherd, I am in want of nothing, are inclined to say, " How shall I know that the Lord is my Shep-herd? I do not find that He acts so friendly a part to me as corresponds to what the Psalmist says; nay, I have ample ex-perience to the very contrary;" are directed by Luther in the following words into the right way: "The prophet has not at all times been so happy; he has not been able at all times to sing as he does here. He has at times been in want of much,yea, almost of everything. He has felt that he possessed neither the righteousness, nor the consolation, nor the help of God; but only sin, the wrath of God, terror and dismay, as he complains in many of his Psalms. Still, as often as he turns him from his own feelings, and lays hold of God by His pro-mises, and thinks, ‘ It may be with me as it may, yet this is the comfort of my heart, that I have a gracious, a compassion-ate Lord for my Shepherd, whose word and whose promises strengthen and comfort me; therefore I shall be in want of nothing.’ And he has written this and other Psalms for the very purpose of assuring us, that in real temptation there is no council, help, or comfort to be found, unless we have learned the golden art of holding firm by the word and promises of God, and deciding by them, in opposition to the feelings of our own hearts. Thus assuredly shall help and comfort follow, and we shall be in want of nothing." Ver. 2. He causeth me to lie down in green meadows; He tendeth me by the waters of rest. Luther: "The prophet has shortly expressed, in the first verse, the import of the whole Psalm, viz. that whoever has the Lord for his Shepherd, shall be in want of nothing. He attempts nothing more in the whole Psalm than to expand, in fine glowing words and comparisons, how well it is with those who are the Lord's sheep." According to most in-terpreters, the green meadows, which are properly grass-pas-turage, are introduced here in connection with the good pasture which they afford. But this view is opposed, first, by, He causeth me to lie down; second, by the parallel in the second clause, which speaks of rest for the weary; and, lastly, by the circumstance, that another verse, viz. the 5th one, is devoted to the care of the shepherd, as regards the providing of food. The green meadows serve another useful purpose beside that of pasturage: they form a pleasant place of repose, where the Eastern shepherd at noon, when the heat is at its height, permits his weary flock to lie down. Compare Son 1:7. Jacob (Genesis 33:17) made booths for his sheep, when they were wearied with the long and severe travelling; in like manner, the heavenly Shep-herd gives delightful rest and repose to his spiritual sheep, when they are worn out with wandering under the burning heat of this world's sufferings and temptations. He sends to them times of health, that they may recruit their strength for wandering in the rough paths of life, till at last they are brought to that eternalrest, of which every season of temporary repose is, both to indi-viduals and to the Church as a body, a foretaste, a pledge, and a prophecy.-In the second clause, the waters of rest are generally interpreted as meaning quiet or still water,-"water which is not agitated, and therefore not dreaded by the sheep." Claus, however, has very improperly impugned this interpreta-tion. The plural, certainly, is remarkable. Then the question occurs, Can rest be attributed to water? There is at least no parallel passage. The parallelism with He maketh me to lie down, favours another interpretation: waters of rest = waters at which rest (properly rests) are enjoyed,-the plural indicating that the rest imparted is of a manifold kind, and respects not one gift, but a whole train of gifts. The Psalmist, as was perceived by the Septuagint translators, who have rendered מנוהות by ἀםבנב<-ףושע, and by the Vulgate, who give "ad aquam refectionis," is speaking of the refreshing rest which shepherds, at the noon of a hot summer day, give to their wearied flocks at the side of a shady brook, to which they have led them to drink. Compare Bochart, Hieroz. p. 529. Luther: "David here speaks of this matter after the manner of the country. The country on which so many praises have been lavished, is a hot, dry, sandy, rocky country, which has many deserts and little water. In our part of the world, we know nothing of this; for we find everywhere plenty of water. Hence David has seen, and he extols it as a great blessing, that he is under the protection of the Lord, who not only pastures him on green meadows, but also leads him during the heat to refreshing water." Hence, according to this view, the rest conveys the same idea as it does in all other pas-sages: for example, 2 Samuel 7:1, "When the king sat in his house, and the Lord had given him rest round about from all his enemies:" 1 Chronicles 22:9, "Behold, a son shall be born to thee, who shall be a man of rest; and I will give him rest from all his enemies round about:" Jeremiah 45:3, "I fainted in my sighing, and I find no rest," where the prophet complains that he could not find that which David here promises to all believers. Israel was led to waters of rest in the wilderness, when, at the command of the Lord, repose and refreshment were granted them in some one of its more favoured spots: "The ark went before them, (Numbers 10:33), to search out a resting-place for them." The ex-pression before us was fulfilled much more completely in Israel, when they were privileged to rest in Canaan from the hardshipsof their long wandering. Compare Deuteronomy 12:9; Psalms 22:11. David was led to waters of rest after the ruin of Saul, after his victory over his Gentile enemies, and after the suppression of Absalom's conspiracy. And it was fulfilled in the most complete manner in the case of Solomon, whose reign was a type of the rest of heaven to be enjoyed by the Church triumphant. Innumer-able times might David say, as he did in Psalms 116:7, "Return unto thy rest, O my soul; for the Lord hath dealt bountifully with thee."-נהל in Pihel should, according to the common ac-ceptation, mean "to lead." Doubts on this point are raised bythe use of the על here, and in the parallel passage, Isaiah 49:10. In Isaiah 40:11, the idea of leading is scarcely suitable; and in 2 Chron. 32:22, and in Genesis 47:17, it is wholly incongruous. The sense of tending, in this passage absolutely necessary, is to be retained in all passages. In Exodus 15:13, which alone appears to contradict this, Thou leadest through Thy grace the people whom Thou hast redeemed, and tendest them through Thy power by Thy holy habitation, is to be explained, Thou leadest them to Thy holy habitation, and watchest over them there. This interpretation is demanded by על. In Genesis 33:14, the Hitlipael form is used in the sense of to take care of one's self.-The import of the verse is therefore this:-The Good Shepherd, with tender care, imparts sweet repose to His weary sheep. After the rest which, according to our verse, is given to the weary, there follows suitably, in the next verse, the quickening which the Good Shepherd imparts to the exhausted-to the fainting. The extreme importance here attached to rest-its having assigned to it the first place in the enumeration of the good deeds of the Good Shepherd-indicates how severe the journey through this world is, how hot is the sun which shines even on the righteous; so that the need for rest outweighs every other, and the righteous man is not more truly thankful for any blessing than for this one. The outward rest, however, of which our verse more immediately speaks, is, in reality, a blessing to him only who has previously attained to that inward peace which, like an unperishable possession, ac-companies the believer amid all outward distresses. This inward rest-this peace of the soul in God-gives a title, which never fails to be acknowledged by God, to the outward peace. Ver. 3. He revives my soul; He leads me in, the paths of right-eousness, for His name's sake. On the first clause compare Psalms 19:7. The import is: When my soul is exhausted and wearied,He revives me, as is the custom of the good shepherd, who not only cares for the sound sheep, but also and especially attends to the weak and the sick. The import of the second clause is, He sends me salvation, when, wearied with the rough paths of life, I am pressed down with suffering. Several interpreters read it: "He leads me in an even path." But צדק never stands, in a physical sense, for straightness; it means always righteousness. And this signification could only be considered as unsuitable from assuming the false position, that the Psalmist everywhere must use expressions that are borrowed from the natural rela-tions connected with the figure which he is, for the time, em-ploying in illustration of spiritual matters. This, however, is by no means a principle observed by the sacred poets in their use of figurative language. They are often satisfied with a very slight allusion to the natural relations. In the present instance, the corresponding idea is undoubtedly that of leading in even and quiet paths, in opposition to, among thorns, and over stones and cliffs. The righteousness is not to be understood, as Mi-chaelis would have it, in a moral sense-that I may lead a holy and a pious life in this world; but it is to be considered as a gift of God, which He imparts to His own-that practical justifi-cation or clearing up of the character which forms a part of the salvation. Salvation itself is never designated צדק; so that the exposition, He leads me in the path of salvation, must be rejected as not sufficiently exact. The clause, for His name's sake, is equivalent to, for the sake of His glorious nature, because He is the Holy One, in the scriptural sense (Psalms 22:3), only so that attention is at the same time directed to the fact, that His glorious nature has not remained concealed, but has been made fully known by deeds. The product and echo of these is the name: -so that the expression is the same as, for the sake of the glory historically manifested, which forms the foundation on which rests the confidence of the Psalmist, that the Lord leads him in the paths of righteousness. The name of God is thus always used as the product of the development of the Divine nature, as the sum of the deeds of God. Thus, for example, Joshua 9:9, "And they said unto him, From a very far country are thy servants come because of the name of the Lord thy God; for we have heard the fame of Him, and all that He did in Egypt, and all that He did to the two kings of the Amorites:" 1 Kings 8:41; 1 Kings 8:42, " That cometh out of a far country for Thy name's sake:for they shall hear of Thy great name, and of Thy strong hand, and Thy stretched-out arm:" Isaiah 63:12, "Who led them by the right hand of Moses, with His glorious arm dividing the waters before them, to make to Himself a glorious name." The exposition of Aben-Ezra and others, "that His name might be praised throughout the whole world," is to be rejected; as also that of Stier, "not for any merit of mine, but out of free grace." What the Lord is and has done, is a pledge to the Psalmist for that which He is to do for him. If He has at all times endowed His people with righteousness; if He has, for example, in Egypt, caused the sun of His salvation to shine upon the darkness of the misery of His people; if he justified Joshua, by giving him the victory over his enemies, He will not deny Himself towards this His servant. For His name's sake, has a much more extended import for us than it had for David. For the name of God, during the lapse of time, has become infinitely more glorious. Between us and David there lies a long succession of glorious unfoldings of the nature of God, in imparting salvation to His own, both as individuals and in their collective capacity, every one of which is a new pledge to us. Ver. 4. Even when I walk in the valley of death-darkness, I fear no calamity: for Thou art with me; Thy rod and Thy staff, they comfort me. Calvin: "As a sheep, when it wanders through rugged deserts dark valleys, is secured by the mere presence of its shepherd against the assaults of wild beasts and other dangers, so does David here testify, that as often as he is in a situation of danger, he has a sufficient protection in the shepherd-care of God. But now that God, in the person of the only-begotten Son, has manifested Himself as a shepherd, in a far clearer and more glorious manner than He did formerly to the fathers under the law, we do not sufficiently honour His pro-tection, unless, with eye directed towards it, we trample all fear and danger under foot." Venema supposes that David over-values here his confidence: his despondency at the time of Ab-salom, shows that his firmness was by no means so unwavering. Psalms 30:6; Psalms 30:7, might be adduced here, where David accuses himself of high-minded confidence. But this idea proceeds alto-gether upon a misunderstanding. David is not here praising himself: he is praising the Lord. In reality, I fear no evil, is identical with I DARE fear no evil: and the Psalmist expresses himself in these words, only because for the moment his feelingcorresponds to the reality. It is not on the feeling that he lays stress, but on the cause which called it forth. גם is, "even,"�because, under these circumstances, the shepherd-care of God seemed as if it had come to an end. We cannot, with most ex-positors, translate it, even though I wandered, but only, even when I wander. The analogy of the other Futures, and a glance at the history of the author, who had been obliged so often to wan-der through the valley of the shadow of death, show that the author is speaking, not of something imaginary, but of some-thing real. Hitzig's version, though I even wandered, I would fear no evil, brings us at once in an unpleasant manner out of the domain of experience in which the whole Psalm moves. The death-darkness is darkness of the thickest kind, such as prevails in the grave or in sheol. The expression is too strong to allow us to think of a valley surrounded by thick forests, and over-hung by high hills: the darkness is that of midnight:- compare Jeremiah 13:16, "Give glory to the Lord your God, before He cause darkness, and before your feet stumble on the dark moun-tains, and, while ye look for light, He turn it into the shadow of death:"-all the more suitable, that it is at night when the beasts go forth to their prey. The valley is particularly men-tioned on account of the wood-clad surrounding hills, in which these beasts live. To such a valley of death-darkness there cor-respond to the spiritual sheep, seasons of great trouble, danger and severe suffering. Compare Jeremiah 9:1; Psalms 44:19. Luther: "As now our friends wander in the valley at Augsburgh." רע, properly evil, indicates, according to the connection, some fatal misfortune. This befalls the wicked only. The sheep of the Good Shepherd stumble, but they do not fall. On the words, for Thou art with me, Luther remarks: "This presence of the Lord cannot be discerned by the five senses, but it is seen by faith, which is confident of this, that the Lord is nearer to us than we are to ourselves." The rod and the staff, according to many interpreters, are to be regarded as the weapons with which the shepherd drives off the wild beasts. But they do not suit this purpose, they are too peaceable. They are rather here, as usually, to be considered as the instrument for guiding the sheep. In the dark night of suffering, the trembling soul derives com-fort from the thought, that it is under the guidance of the Lord, that He has led it into its salvation, that He protects it there, and that He will bring it out at His own time. A look at the shep-herd-staff of the Lord fills the soul with joy in the midst of pain. The following remark of De Wette is important: "The some-what diffuse language (two synonyms and the pronoun) is in-tended to depict the repose of confidence." Luther: "David prescribes here to all Christians a common rule, that there is no other way or plan upon earth by which a man can be delivered from trouble of every kind, than to cast all his care upon the Lord, to lay hold of Him by His word of grace, to hold this fast, and by no means to let it go. Whoever does this, shall be happy, be he in prosperity or adversity, be he in life or in death: he shall hold on to the end, and gain the victory over all-the devil, the world, and misfortune." Ver. 5. Thou spreadest before me a table in sight of mine ene-mies; Thou anointest my head with oil,-my cup overflows. The Psalmist had hitherto spoken only of the provident care of the Good Shepherd, in removing the manifold miseries, pains, and sufferings, which this life brings with it-of rest, refreshing, and consolation. All this is predominantly of a negative cha-racter. His language now rises higher. God not only helps His people in suffering, and out of suffering: He also bestows upon them a rich fulness of joy, He satisfies His children with the good things of His house. To these positive blessings, there corresponds, in the temporal shepherd, the provision of fodder and water made for the sheep. This, however, would have been too prosaic. The Psalmist hence depicts the shepherd-care of God in this respect by another figure, yet so as to keep as near as possible to the idea of the figure already employed. The blessings with which God satisfies the desires of His needy people, appear under the figure of a rich feast prepared for them. שלהן is not a table of any kind, but only one on which viands are spread. In sight of my enemies, is a very picturesque trait. They must look on quietly, how the table is spread, and how the Psalmist sits down at it. The grace of God towards His own appears all the more glorious, that it breaks through all hin-drances, makes its way through all the hostile efforts that are directed with a ruinous design against the righteous one, and leaves nothing for the enemies but a tormenting sight. The anointing with the oil of joy, Ps. xtv. 7,-that is, the oil which is the symbolical expression of joy,-is one of the necessary accompaniments of a festive and joyful entertainment. Ver. 6. Only goodness and love follow me all the days of mylife; and I dwell in the house of the Lord for ever. The con-clusion assumes the general form of the introductory clause, and explains the figurative language employed throughout. ך`א has its customary import, only goodness-nothing else. There is an implied antithesis in they follow me. Stier: "As the enemies, out of malignity, so the goodness of God follows all my steps with blessings." Compare Psalms 34:14. The שבתי is, accord-ing to several interpreters, I turn back. But שוב with ש, never signifies to turn back, neither in 1 Kings 2:33, nor in Hosea 12:7 : compare on the passage Ch. B. Michaelis. The charac-ter, which is general throughout, and continues to be so in the first clause of this verse, and the joyful tone of the same, are also unfavourable to this view, which assumes that David com-posed this Psalm when excluded from the services of the sanc-tuary. And, finally, this view is opposed also by the parallel passages, particularly Deuteronomy 30:20, and Psalms 27:4. These parallel passages show also that שבתי, notwithstanding its Patach, instead of Chirek, must be taken as an infinitive, my dwelling, and not (as is the view adopted by others) as a Preterite instead of ישבתי�, besides, of much greater consequence than the one implied in the other interpretation. Dwelling in the house of the Lord is commonly understood as being equivalent to undisturbed abiding in the temple. But it is impossible that the expression can be applied to literally abiding in the external temple; and it is altogether arbitrary to substitute, as Gesenius does, frequenting (frequentem adesse) instead of abiding. More-over, the possibility opened up by God of frequenting the tem-ple, if occurring at all in a Psalm which extols so well what is great and glorious in God, is least of all to be expected at the conclusion, where there ought to have come in some compre-hensive significant expression, and where it serves no other purpose except to weaken the impression of the whole. As parallel to goodness and love follow me all the days of my life, the words, I dwell in the house of the Lord for ever, sound ex-ceedingly feeble and cold, if they relate to a frequenting of the sanctuary. Finally, by adopting this exposition, we disjoin the expression from the fundamental passage, Deuteronomy 30:20, "That thou mayest love the Lord thy God, and that thou mayest obey His voice, and that thou mayest cleave unto Him; for this is thy life and the length of thy days, that thou dwell, לשבת, in the land, which the Lord sware unto thy fathers;" accordingto which, we should expect such a designation of the enjoyment of the grace of God as should be as expressive and general as the dwelling in the land of the fathers. The foundation for the right exposition has been already laid at Psalms 15. We there saw that, according to the usage in the Psalms, to dwell in the house of the Lord is a figurative expression for the closest in-timacy with God, and for the enjoyment of His favour, and that the righteous always dwell in the house of the Lord,-even when they are far absent from it in the body,-a figurative expression, which has its foundation in the law, in which the holy tabernacle is designated as the tabernacle of meeting, of intercourse between God and His people. Thus interpreted, the words before us form really the focus in which the rays of the whole passage are concentrated. In reference to the whole Church, they admit of being applied with truth, notwithstanding those words, "Your house is left unto you desolate," Matthew 23:38. For those, who at that time were thrust out of the house of God, or rather were left alone in a house which had lost the indwelling of God, were those souls only who had been cut off from their people. The true members of the Church. remain always in the house not made with hands, the Church, members of the household of God, Ephesians 2:19, and in the en- joyment of all the blessings of God's house. PSALM XXIV. Most interpreters suppose that the Psalm was composed by David at the time when he brought the ark of the covenant to Mount Zion. Compare 2 Samuel 6:1; 1 Chronicles 15. Several Jewish interpreters, on the other hand, to whom Stier may be added, have supposed that David composed this Psalm for future use, at the dedication of the temple, after he had received the revelation as to its site. De Wette has proposed an extension of this idea, viz. that the Psalm was composed at the dedication of the new temple under Solomon. But against this view, and in favour of the one first mentioned, the following weighty reasons may be urged:--1. The superscription assigns the Psalm to David. 2. If the Psalm be supposed to have reference to the dedication of the temple under Solomon, by the everlasting gates we can understand nothing else than the gates of thetemple, for into none other did the ark of the covenant at that time enter. But the gates of the newly built temple could not possibly be called everlasting gates. It is only an evasion to suppose that the everlasting refers to the future continuance of the gates. But no one would apply, simpliciter, the term ever-lasting to new gates which it was hoped would last for ever; the hope of everlasting endurance which Solomon (1 Kings 8:13) expresses in reference to the whole temple, cannot be thus sim-pliciter referred to any particular part of it; the connection requires that the predicate denote an already existing, a gene-rally acknowledged excellence. As soon, however, as we refer the Psalm to the entrance of the ark of the covenant under David, every difficulty vanishes. The gates are then those of Mount Zion. These might correctly be called ancient; for Jerusalem, with its strong Mount Zion, was already in the time of Abraham a city of the Canaanites. With the Psalmist, how-ever, whose object it was to extol the worth of the gates, for the purpose of enhancing the glory of the entrant, of whom, after all, the gates were unworthy, the idea of antiquity would easily expand in feeling into that of eternity. 3. In the appellations given to God, the Lord strong and a hero, the Lord a warlike hero, we clearly discern the voice of the warrior and the con-queror, David, who had so often, in the heat of battle, sought and obtained help from the Lord. Solomon would have chosen some other mode of expression, inasmuch as God had stood pro-minently forth on his behalf under other aspects. 4. The fifteenth Psalm is so strikingly allied to the one before us, that the grounds which were there sufficient to establish, without a doubt, the authorship as that of David, particularly the expres-sion, "in Thy tabernacle," are of equal weight here. The nine-teenth Psalm also, which was composed by David, is allied to the one before us. There, as here, the greatness of God, as the Lord of the world, serves in the introduction only as the ground-work of what forms the peculiar object of the Psalmist. Lastly, the idea, that this Psalm is to be considered as a song of victory for the return of the ark of the covenant from a battle, is to be utterly rejected. This view would scarcely harmonize even with the second part; for there the language employed refers to the coming, not to the returning of the Lord; and the call to the gates to open, proceeds on the supposition that the Lord is entering in through them for the first time, and appears unsuit-able if He had frequently gone out and in on former occasions. But the first part is wholly unintelligible on this supposition. The question, Who will ascend to the hill of the Lord, and who will stand in his holy place? would, on such an occasion, be altogether out of place; while, on the occasion which we have supposed, it would be highly suitable. It served at the com-mencement of a new state of things to determine the nature thereof, and to bring it before the minds of the people; it served to furnish a counterpoise to the outward pomp which ac-companied the bringing in of the ark of the covenant; it served to indicate that real, not mere outward, fellowship with a God such as this, the Lord of the whole earth, and participation in His blessings, are to be obtained only in one way, that of true righteousness; it served to indicate to the people the high seri-ousness of the claims upon the subjects, as seen in connection with the glory of the King who is entering in. This Psalm, which, according to vers. 7-10, must have been sung at the en-trance itself, is the first, in point of date, of the sacred songs which were composed with this view. The fifteenth followed at a later period. The contents are as follows: Jehovah is God in the full sense, the Lord, because the Creator, of the whole earth, vers. 1, 2. Who then will, in truth, ascend the hill of the Lord, and stand in His holy place? Who will dwell spiritually beside Him, in the newly-erected holy place, and receive from Him blessing, salvation, and righteousness? Not the posterity of Jacob according to the flesh, as such,-this would be a wretched family for such a King and God,-but only he who, in thought, word, and deed, is pure and without spot. It is only those, who bear this character, that constitute Jacob,-the true people of the Lord,-and not the rude crowd who falsely make their boast of this name, vers. 3-6. The ark of the covenant has now approached the gates. These, poetically personified, are commanded to open, that the glorious King, that the Lord, rich in help for His people, that the God of the world, may enter in, vers. 7-10. Ewald has advanced the hypothesis, that the Psalm is made up of two odes originally distinct, vers. 1-6, and vers. 7-10. But the chief reason which led him to adopt this hypothesis, namely, the want of connection and unity between the two parts, disappears entirely on closer investigation. The glory ofthe approaching Lord is, in both parts of the Psalm, the fun-damental idea. From this proceeds, in the first part, the demand for holiness, and, in the second, the command, addressed in form to the gates, but in reality to the hearts of His people, to open. The original connection of the two parts with each other is seen in this, that the Psalm concludes, as it began, with the praise of God as the God of the whole earth; and assuredly therefore in this, that the beginning and the conclusion mutually supplement each other-ver. 1, Jehovah, the Lord of the whole earth, in ver. 10, Jehovah, the Lord of the heavenly hosts. The coming of the Lord of glory, the high demands upon His people originating therein, the absolute necessity to prepare worthily for His arrival, form the subject-matter of the Psalm. It admits of applications far beyond the special occasion which called it forth. The Lord may be conceived of as constantly coming, in relation both to His Church collectively, and to His people individually. And His people therefore ought to be con-tinually preparing to give Him a suitable reception. Hence it follows that the Messianic interpretation, which in former times was so very prevalent, has an important element of truth in it. The coming of God to His kingdom took place in a manner in-finitely more real at the appearance of Christ than it did at the entrance of the ark of the covenant. That lower occurrence was only the shadow, but the body was in Christ. At this truly real coming, which has different gradations,-the coming in humility, the coming in spirit, and the coming in glory,-the demands rise in proportion to the greater reality. The question, "Who shall ascend to the hill of the Lord, and who shall stand in His holy place?" becomes more solemn, and the command, "Lift up your heads, ye gates," is given in a louder tone. Venema saw clearly that the idea, that the Psalm was sung by alternate choruses, is altogether without foundation. The questions (vers. 7-10), on which alone this idea rests, like the question in ver. 3, and in Psalms 15:1, are to be considered simply as interrogatory clauses. The reason why this Psalm has been placed in immediate juxtaposition to the 23d, will appear on comparing ver. 3 here, with ver. 6 there. The 23d Psalm concludes with the hope of dwelling for ever in the house of the Lord, and the Psalm be-fore us begins, after some clauses of a preparatory and intro-ductory nature, with the question, "Who is qualified to dwellwith God on His hill, and in His holy place?" The connection between the two Psalms is so interwoven with the sense, that their juxtaposition cannot be attributed to the collector. The probability is exceedingly strong, that David, from the begin-ning, united them as one pair; and that the 23d Psalm also was composed on the occasion of the removal of the ark of the cove-nant. For the purpose of preventing the hypocrites from appro-priating to their use what does not belong to them, he follows up his expression of inward confidence in God, with a represen-tation of those demands of a moral nature which God makes upon His people. The Shepherd of Israel is also the Almighty God. Wo to him who trusts in His grace without being holy as He is holy! We have already shown that the 15th Psalm, which is closely allied to the one before us, stands in a similar relation to the 14th. Ver. 1. The earth, is the Lord's, and that which fills it; the world, and those who dwell upon it. The God who is in a peculiar sense the God of Israel, is at the same time the Lord of the whole earth, and the sovereign proprietor of all things. With what holy reverence must the subjects of such a King be filled! What high demands must be made upon them! With other gods there may be an animal love and a favouritism for their own worshippers, without regard to their hearts and lives; but the God of Israel,-who is God in the true sense of the word, -cannot, without absurdity, be spoken of as having connection with any except with such as are of a pure heart. The exhor-tation in Deuteronomy 10:14, to circumcise the heart, is, like the one before us, enforced by the consideration, that Jehovah is the Lord of heaven and earth, and that He regardeth not persons, nor taketh rewards. ארץ denotes the earth in general; תבל, properly, the bearing,-the third Fut. of יבל, it bears,�bearing part of the earth, the ןἰךןץלוםח. Hence the ful-ness is properly applied to the earth, and the inhabitants speci-ally to תבל.Ver. 2. For He has founded it above the seas, and made it fast above the floods. That the earth, with all that fills it, and with its inhabitants, is the Lord's, is founded on the fact, that He alone has made it earth,-dry, fruitful, habitable, and that He preserves it such. Without Him, the waters would still or again cover it as they did at the beginning. "Above the seas," "above the floods," imply that it stands at a higher level, sothat it is not immersed below the sea. Compare the examples of על in similar connections in Ges. Thes. p. 1026. Many ex-positors apply "the seas," and "the floods," to the great sub-terraneous cavities which stand in connection with the mundane sea,-to the great deep, which, according to Genesis 7:11, was broken up at the deluge. "Nothing but the almighty power of God could found the earth on such weak materials." But these interpreters overlook, that at ver. 1 it is only the inhabited and cultivated earth that is spoken of; and, consequently, that it can only be such an act of God as has made and preserves the earth fruitful and habitable, that can be referred to here: the earth, with its fulness and its inhabitants, belongs to the Lord; for He has made it habitable and fruitful, and He pre-serves it in this condition. The reference to an occult doctrine of a physical character, to which allusion is made only in one single passage of Scripture, and that, too, in a very obscure and doubtful manner, would not be at all suitable in this passage. The Psalmist evidently refers to some act of God, generally known, and frequently spoken of in Scripture. Further, it may be objected to this view, that ימים is seas, and נהרות, floods; and that, though the singular ים might denote the subterraneous water, the plural, as even Luther observed, cannot. Finally, it will not do to tear the passage from its connection with the fun-damental passage, Genesis 1:9; Genesis 1:11, to which it manifestly refers, and from the parallel passages, Psa_136::6, "Who stretches out the earth above the waters," where everything preceding and following stands in obvious reference to Gen. i.; Psalms 106., where, in like manner, the dividing between the land and the sea comes in, in exact accordance with Genesis and Job 38:8, where it is mentioned as one of the most wonderful works of God, that "He hath set for the sea bars and doors, and path shut it in within firm bounds." These observations will, we think, be sufficient to set aside for ever the idea of the subter-ranean waters.-The change of the mood is not unworthy of notice: יסדה, refers to the creation, יכוננה to the preservation. Luther: "For it proceeds from the great power of God, that those cities and countries which are situated on seas and rivers, are not destroyed and torn to pieces." He has founded it above the seas and floods, and He keeps it fast above them. Ver. 2. For He has founded it above the seas, and made it fast above the floods. That the earth, with all that fills it, and with its inhabitants, is the Lord’s, is founded on the fact, that He alone has made it earth,—dry, fruitful, habitable, and that He preserves it such. Without Him, the waters would still or again cover it as they did at the beginning. “Above the seas,” “above the floods,” imply that it stands at a higher level, so that it is not immersed below the sea. Compare the examples of ςμ in similar connections in Ges. Thes. p. 1026. Many expositors apply “the seas,” and “the floods,” to the great subterraneous cavities which stand in connection with the mundane sea,—to the great deep, which, according to Genesis 7:11, was broken up at the deluge. “Nothing but the almighty power of God could found the earth on such weak materials.” But these interpreters overlook, that at Psalms 24:1 it is only the inhabited and cultivated earth that is spoken of; and, consequently, that it can only be such an act of God as has made and preserves the earth fruitful and habitable, that can be referred to here: the earth, with its fulness and its inhabitants, belongs to the Lord; for He has made it habitable and fruitful, and He preserves it in this condition. The reference to an occult doctrine of a physical character, to which allusion is made only in one single passage of Scripture, and that, too, in a very obscure and doubtful manner, would not be at all suitable in this passage. The Psalmist evidently refers to some act of God, generally known, and frequently spoken of in Scripture. Further, it may be objected to this view, that ιξιν is seas, and πδψεϊ, floods; and that, though the singular My might denote the subterraneous water, the plural, as even Luther observed, cannot. Finally, it will not do to tear the passage from its connection with the fundamental passage, Genesis 1:9, Genesis 1:11, to which it manifestly refers, and from the parallel passages, Psalms 136:6, “Who stretches out the earth above the waters,” where everything preceding and following stands in obvious reference to Genesis 1; Psalms 106, where, in like manner, the dividing between the land and the sea comes in, in exact accordance with Genesis and Job 38:8, where it is mentioned as one of the most wonderful works of God, that “He hath set for the sea bars and doors, and path shut it in within firm bounds.” These observations will, we think, be sufficient to set aside for ever the idea of the subterranean waters. The change of the mood is not unworthy of notice: ιργδ, refers to the creation, ιλεππδ to the preservation. Luther: “For it proceeds from the great power of God, that those cities and countries which are situated on seas and rivers, are not destroyed and torn to pieces.” He has founded it above the seas and floods, and He keeps it fast above them. Ver. 3. Who shall ascend the hill of the Lord, and who shall abide in His holy place? This question has for its foundationthe statements of vers. 1 and 2, and the sense is correctly given by several interpreters: "Who, then, shall ascend?" "Is the Lord such a mighty One?" "Who, then, can well be ad-mitted into His holy and glorious presence?" The common translation is, Who may ascend into the hill of the Lord? who is worthy to do so? But, on comparing Psalms 15., it becomes obvi-ous that we must keep to the usual sense of the Future. Zion is not for all the hill of the Lord; the temple is not for all His holy place. To Zion, to the outward temple, all might get who had good legs; but to the hill of the Lord, to His holy place, as sure as He is Lord of the whole earth, none get except those who are of a pure heart. These dwell there, always with Him, even when, in a bodily sense, they are absent. On the other hand, the ungodly, even though they can boast of being the seed of Abraham, even though they are indefatigable in their observance of the ceremonies, are, even when present, never-theless absent:-they walk only on the earth and the stones; God shuts them out from His holy presence. That we must interpret the passage in this way, and that the ascending of the hill of the Lord, and the standing in His holy place, are only figurative expressions of gracious relationship to Him (Mich.: "As a true member of the holy Church, and a denizen of His kingdom"), is evident from the parallel, ver. 5. The "Who shall receive the blessing from the Lord, and righteousness from the God of his salvation," is expository of, "Who shall ascend?" To ascend the hill of God, is to begin to walk with God; to abide in His holy place, is constantly to remain in His presence. קום is not, "to stand" (that is עמד: the passages which Gesenius adduces to prove this are not sufficient)-but "to abide."-Luther "To this question the haughty self-righteous return answer at once, We, we are worthy, especially the Jews. For from the beginning of the world there have been two kinds of those who profess to be seeking after God; yea, there still are, and there will be till the end of time. The first are those who serve God without heart, without grace, without spirit, and only by external works, ordinances, sacri-fices, and ceremonies. Thus Cain offered his gift, but kept back his heart and his person." The design of the Psalmist, however, is to repel hypocrites, and to bring self-deceivers to serious thought, while he answers the above question, by de- glaring, that as sure as the God of Israel is the God of thewhole earth, is God in the true and full sense of the word, so sure can only the pure in heart and conduct stand before Him. Luther, in the style of true theological exposition: "It is not he who sings so well or so many Psalms, nor he who fasts and watches so many days, nor he who divides his property among the poor, nor he who preaches to others, nor he who lives quietly, kindly, and friendly; nor, in fine, is it he who knows all sciences and all languages, nor he who works all virtuous and all good works that ever any man spoke or read of; but it is he alone who is pure within and without."Ver. 4. He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who draws not his soul unto falsehood, nor swears deceitfully, ver. 5. He shall draw the blessing from the Lord, and righteousness from God his Saviour. The import is this: he, and he only, shall ascend the holy hill of the Lord, and abide in His holy place: -this is what is meant by, shall draw the blessing, etc.-The Psalmist unites cleanness of hands and purity of heart. The hands are the instruments of action, the heart the seat of feel-ing. God's demands upon His people go beyond the domain of action. Those only see Him (and that is altogether the same as what is implied here, in ascending the hill of the Lord, and abiding in His holy place) who have a pure heart. The Psalmist in the first clause ascends from outward deeds to the heart, and in the second he descends from the heart to the tongue,-he who shuns sin in thought, word, and deed. We have here the same threefold division which obtains in the decalogue: deed, "Thou shalt not kill," "Thou shalt not com-mit adultery," "Thou shalt not steal;" word, "Thou shalt not bear false witness;" thought, "Thou shalt not covet." But the heart is put here in the second place, for the purpose of showing that everything ultimately is dependent on it--that purity of hands and tongue has its root in purity of heart, and is import-ant only in so far as it is rooted there. The expression נפש נשא is not of rare occurrence: it occurs, for example, Deuteronomy 24:15; Proverbs 19:18; Psalms 25:1; Psalms 86:4; Psalms 143:8, with this difference, that it is construed in these passages with אל, and here with ל. The construction with ל here is of importance for determining the signification of the phrase. The common translation is, "to lift up the soul." But for this sense the ל is not suitable. We cannot say, "to lift up his soul to falsehood." ל rather demands the signification, to carry, to carry to,-"Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also;" and on comparing Exodus 20:7 and the ישא in ver. 5, it is evident that this is the true rendering of our passage,-he who does not bear his soul to falsehood, he shall bear away; and at the same time in all other passages. Several interpreters render שוא by "vanity" or "wickedness:" Meyer, "bad ways;" Stier, "everything which the heart makes an idol of instead of the true God;" and some, "idols," in the proper sense. But if we observe the relation in which לשוא stands to למרמה, it will appear obvious that we can only translate, "to falsehood and deceit." This translation also will be at once recognised as the correct one from Exodus 20:7 : "Who hath no love for falsehood and deceit,and who, in consequence of this, does not swear deceitfully."- After the example of Stange, many interpreters render, "who does not utter his person to a lie," that is, "who does not misuse the name of God to confirm a lie," and refer to Exodus 20:7, לא לשוא ך`יהלא יהוה שם את תשא, which they render, "Thou shalt notutter the name of the Lord thy God to confirm a lie." But this interpretation depends upon the marginal reading, נפשי, my soul, which is decidedly to be rejected, as God is not introduced speaking throughout the whole Psalm. It is now, therefore, very easy to dispose of this view; and, on the other side, it may be observed that the soul of the Lord cannot stand for His per-son, nor this for His name; the phrase נפש נשא has constantly the sense of, "to carry the soul:" נשא here, from the ישא in ver. 5, must signify, "to carry," and never signifies, "to utter" (compare on Psalms 15:3); the connection between נפשו and לבב, and the obvious opposition between the soul and the tongue, render it impossible to refer נפשו to God. It is now more the time to point out the truth from which the false reading and exposition have proceeded. This is the position, that the words before us have a reference to Exodus 20:7. The resemblance is so striking, that any exposition which would tear asunder the connection between the two, cannot possibly be the correct one. According to our interpretation, however, this connection be-comes most manifest as soon as the passage in Exodus is cor-rectly translated. It must be translated, "Thou shalt not bear away the name of the Lord to a lie;" i.e. Thou shalt not mix up His name with what is false; thou shalt not utter it to con-firm a lie. The Psalmist, by the verbal reference which he makes to this passage, indicates that this bearing of one's soulto a lie-the having a pleasure in it-is the ground and foun-tain of bearing God's name to a lie, and that this last sin is the natural consequence of the first. The only sure preservative against the fearful sin of perjury, is heart-abhorrence of deceit and falsehood.- In ver. 5, he shall carry away the blessing, we may find, with Amyrald, a contradiction of the idea, that there is efficacy in the priestly and the royal benediction, apart from the moral condition of those upon whom that blessing was pro-nounced. When the ark of the covenant was brought in, David blessed the people in the name of the Lord of hosts (2 Samuel 6:18). The righteousness, parallel with the blessing, is the blessing itself, inasmuch as it is the clearing up of the character by facts, the answer of God to the subjective right-eousness of the worshipper: compare 1 Kings 8:31; 1 Kings 8:32. This righteousness, as the gift of God, is carefully to be distinguished from justification. The justification of a sinner before God goes before holiness; the righteousness here spoken of follows it. Finally, the purity which the Psalmist here speaks of as the indispensable condition of salvation, is not to be understood as a perfect, spotless holiness. It is enough that the innermost intent of the soul-the spiritual eye of Mat 6:23 -be pure. But, assuredly, as the condition of salvation is always imperfect in this life, so is the salvation itself in like manner imperfect. Ver. 4. He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who draws not his soul unto falsehood, nor swears deceitfully, ver. 5. He shall draw the blessing from the Lord, and righteousness from God his Saviour. The import is this: he, and he only, shall ascend the holy hill of the Lord, and abide in His holy place:—this is what is meant by, shall draw the blessing, etc. The Psalmist unites cleanness of hands and purity of heart. The hands are the instruments of action, the heart the seat of feeling. God’s demands upon His people go beyond the domain of action. Those only see Him (and that is altogether the same as what is implied here, in ascending the hill of the Lord, and abiding in His holy place) who have a pure heart. The Psalmist in the first clause ascends from outward deeds to the heart, and in the second he descends from the heart to the tongue,—he who shuns sin in thought, word, and deed. We have here the same threefold division which obtains in the decalogue: deed, “Thou shalt not kill,” “Thou shalt not commit adultery,” “Thou shalt not steal;” word, “Thou shalt not bear false witness;” thought, “Thou shalt not covet.” But the heart is put here in the second place, for the purpose of showing that everything ultimately is dependent on it—that purity of hands and tongue has its root in purity of heart, and is important only in so far as it is rooted there. The expression πωΰ is not of rare occurrence: it occurs, for example, Deuteronomy 24:15; Proverbs 19:18; Psalms 25:1, Psalms 86:4, Psalms 143:8, with this difference, that it is construed in these passages with ΰμ, and here with μ. The construction with μ here is of importance for determining the signification of the phrase. The common translation is, “to lift up the soul.” But for this sense the μ is not suitable. We cannot say, “to lift up his soul to falsehood.” μ rather demands the signification, to carry, to carry to,—“Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also;” and on comparing Exodus 20:7 and the ιωΰ in Psalms 24:5, it is evident that this is the true rendering of our passage,—he who does not bear his soul to falsehood, he shall bear away; and at the same time in all other passages. Several interpreters render ωεΰ by “vanity” or “wickedness:” Meyer, “bad ways;” Stier, “everything which the heart makes an idol of instead of the true God;” and some, “idols,” in the proper sense. But if we observe the relation in which μωεΰ stands to μξψξδ, it will appear obvious that we can only translate, “to falsehood and deceit.” This translation also will be at once recognised as the correct one from Exodus 20:7 : “Who hath no love for falsehood and deceit, and who, in consequence of this, does not swear deceitfully.” After the example of Stange, many interpreters render, “who does not utter his person to a lie,” that is, “who does not misuse the name of God to confirm a lie,” and refer to Exodus 20:7, ϊωΰΰϊωνιδεδΰμδικμωεΰμΰ, which they render, “Thou shalt not utter the name of the Lord thy God to confirm a lie.” But this interpretation depends upon the marginal reading, πτωι, my soul, which is decidedly to be rejected, as God is not introduced speaking throughout the whole Psalm. It is now, therefore, very easy to dispose of this view; and, on the other side, it may be observed that the soul of the Lord cannot stand for His person, nor this for His name; the phrase πωΰπτω has constantly the sense of, “to carry the soul:” πωΰ here, from the ιωΰ in Psalms 24:5, must signify, “to carry,” and never signifies, “to utter” (compare on Psalms 15:3); the connection between πτωε and μαα, and the obvious opposition between the soul and the tongue, render it impossible to refer πτωε to God. It is now more the time to point out the truth from which the false reading and exposition have proceeded. This is the position, that the words before us have a reference to Exodus 20:7. The resemblance is so striking, that any exposition which would tear asunder the connection between the two, cannot possibly be the correct one. According to our interpretation, however, this connection becomes most manifest as soon as the passage in Exodus is correctly translated. It must be translated, “Thou shalt not bear away the name of the Lord to a lie;” i.e. Thou shalt not mix up His name with what is false; thou shalt not utter it to confirm a lie. The Psalmist, by the verbal reference which he makes to this passage, indicates that this bearing of one’s soul to a lie—the having a pleasure in it—is the ground and fountain of bearing God’s name to a lie, and that this last sin is the natural consequence of the first. The only sure preservative against the fearful sin of perjury, is heart-abhorrence of deceit and falsehood. In Psalms 24:5, he shall carry away the blessing, we may find, with Amyrald, a contradiction of the idea, that there is efficacy in the priestly and the royal benediction, apart from the moral condition of those upon whom that blessing was pronounced. When the ark of the covenant was brought in, David blessed the people in the name of the Lord of hosts (2 Samuel 6:18). The righteousness, parallel with the blessing, is the blessing itself, inasmuch as it is the clearing up of the character by facts, the answer of God to the subjective righteousness of the worshipper: compare 1 Kings 8:31-32. This righteousness, as the gift of God, is carefully to be distinguished from justification. The justification of a sinner before God goes before holiness; the righteousness here spoken of follows it. Finally, the purity which the Psalmist here speaks of as the indispensable condition of salvation, is not to be understood as a perfect, spotless holiness. It is enough that the innermost intent of the soul—the spiritual eye of Mat 6:23—be pure. But, assuredly, as the condition of salvation is always imperfect in this life, so is the salvation itself in like manner imperfect. Ver. 6. This is the generation which reverences Him: they who seek thy face, are Jacob. The Psalmist having defined those to whom access to God has been opened up, brings prominently forward once more the truth, that they, and they only, are real worshippers of God, and therefore partakers of His favour, members of His Church. The name, those who seek the Lord (the textual reading ושר;דo being obviously a contraction for the marginal וישAר;דo, which ought to be rejected), circulated, as it ap-pears, like a coin, and the whole people were wont to apply to themselves this name. But the Psalmist claims it for those to whom it belongs. That man only deserves this name, who fulfils the law of God. That only can be called a reverencing of God, which is concerned about purity of heart.- To see the face of the Lord, is to be a sharer in His favour; and, therefore, to seek the face of the Lord, is to be concerned about His favour, sin-cerely to strive to please Him. And this striving manifests itself in earnest endeavours to obtain purity of heart, as the only means of seeing God, of pleasing Him. "Jacob," stands for,"the generation of Jacob." Jacob, and not Israel, is used, for the purpose of opposing the prevailing fancy of the times. The people laid great stress on their descent from Jacob, and sup-posed descent from Jacob according to the flesh, and incorpora-tion with the people of the covenant, to be identical. In oppo-sition to this, the Psalmist remarks, that only those who are earnest in their pursuit after holiness, according to the good pleasure of God, are the true posterity of Jacob, and form the people of the covenant, who are under the dominion of grace. The others, notwithstanding their descent from Jacob, belong not to Jacob, but are heathen, and thus children of wrath. We may compare, on this point, those passages in which the ungodly members of the Church, in contempt of their pretensions, found-ed on mere external relationship, are addressed as heathen, as uncircumcised, or specially as Canaanites, or by the name of some other heathen nation: Jeremiah 4:4; Jeremiah 9:25; Isaiah 1:10; Ezekiel 16:3; see also the Christol. Part 2, p. 398. In the New Tes-tament, Romans 9:6; Romans 9:7 is exactly parallel: "For they are not all Israel which are of Israel." The sudden address directed to God, who seek Thy face, gives additional emphasis to the declara-tion, which is uttered as it were in the presence of God.-Ac-cording to Stier and others, the true Israel are here put in the room of those who are descended from Jacob according to the flesh: -"Whoever, among all nations, inquires after God, receives the blessing of Abraham, and belongs to Jacob." But, in reality, we have here nothing more than a preliminary step to the idea,“among all nations, this is the generation,” etc.,-we have notyet that idea itself. The only distinction drawn, is one among the natural descendants of Jacob; and the only notion refuted, is the notion, that the grace of God is given along with descent from Jacob, and to every one of his lineal posterity.-The ex-position which, to the destruction of the parallelism, understands "Jacob" as in apposition, is to be rejected as harsh and forced: "This, the generation of His worshippers, those who seek Thy face, Jacob; that is, the true descendants of Jacob:"-the address to God is, on this view, altogether intolerable. The same remark may be made on the interpretation, "who seek thy face, O Jacob, i. e. O God of Jacob;" as also, on the supposition that אלהי has dropped out of the text.Ver. 7. The procession, with the ark of the covenant, has approached Mount Zion. The Psalmist addresses its gates, andcommands them to open, that the glorious King may enter in.Lift up, ye gates, your heads; and be ye lift up, ye everlasting doors, that the King of glory may come. The King of glory is the glorious, majestic King. What, in the first instance, is only a poetical figure, becomes, within the spiritual domain, a reality. What the external gates would have done if they had been en-dued with reason, will in reality be performed by hearts which are capable of comprehending the majesty and the glory of the approaching King. Here the doors and gates will in reality open. They will give to the King that wide and ready entrance, which formerly they gave to the world and to sin. This appli-cation, which indeed is more than an application,--is really an exposition,-becomes evident as soon as we refer back the com-mand to open to the why given by the Psalmist himself.-Along with the ark of the covenant, the Lord also came in all the ful-ness of His glory, and with all the riches of His grace and justice: compare, in reference to the import of the ark of the covenant, Numbers 10:35; Numbers 10:36; Christology, P. 3, p. 523, etc. It was not the mere change of place of a symbol that was then celebrated: it was the bringing in of a new era in the relationship of God to His people; and the Psalmist took occasion to exhort the people to know the time of their visitation. Long had the ark of the covenant been, as it were, resting in the grave: compare the Beitr. P. 3, p. 48. And now that it rose out of it, now that the Lord intended to make His habitation among His people, it was of great consequence for them to receive Him in a worthy man-ner, that so His arrival might bring upon them, not a curse, but a blessing. Ver. 7. The procession, with the ark of the covenant, has approached Mount Zion. The Psalmist addresses its gates, and commands them to open, that the glorious King may enter in. Lift up, ye gates, your heads; and be ye lift up, ye everlasting doors, that the King of glory may come. The King of glory is the glorious, majestic King. What, in the first instance, is only a poetical figure, becomes, within the spiritual domain, a reality. What the external gates would have done if they had been endued with reason, will in reality be performed by hearts which are capable of comprehending the majesty and the glory of the approaching King. Here the doors and gates will in reality open. They will give to the King that wide and ready entrance, which formerly they gave to the world and to sin. This application, which indeed is more than an application,—is really an exposition,—becomes evident as soon as we refer back the command to open to the why given by the Psalmist himself. Along with the ark of the covenant, the Lord also came in all the fulness of His glory, and with all the riches of His grace and justice: compare, in reference to the import of the ark of the covenant, Numbers 10:35-36; Christology, P. 3, p. 523, etc. It was not the mere change of place of a symbol that was then celebrated: it was the bringing in of a new era in the relationship of God to His people; and the Psalmist took occasion to exhort the people to know the time of their visitation. Long had the ark of the covenant been, as it were, resting in the grave: compare the Beitr. P. 3, p. 48. And now that it rose out of it, now that the Lord intended to make His habitation among His people, it was of great consequence for them to receive Him in a worthy manner, that so His arrival might bring upon them, not a curse, but a blessing. Ver. 8. Who is He, the King of Glory? The Lord, strong and a hero; the Lord, mighty in battle. It is certainly more natu- ral to suppose that a second chorus here falls in with the ques-tion, than, with others, that the Psalmist represents the gates as putting the question. Even this supposition, however, is un-necessary. The question is of the same kind with those in ver. 3, and Psalms 15:1, and is equivalent to, "Askest thou who He is?" It is intended merely to awaken attention. Venema "The in habitants of Zion were thereby instructed to contemplate with deep seriousness the characteristics of the King." The זה in the question has, according to several interpreters, the character of an adverb, "Who is there?" and therefore it stands without the article, and forward. Compare Ewald's Small Grammar, § 446.Others again consider it as really the pronoun. In reference to the answer, Calvin has the following very important remark: “The glorious appellations by which the Psalmist extols the power of God, are intended to show to the people of the cove-nant that God does not sit idly in the temple, but that He is prepared to help His people, and to stretch out His strong hand to preserve and to save them.” Israel, surrounded by mighty nations, and as yet a small people, could found his hope of safety only on the help of his heavenly Hero-King. Compare Exodus 15:3; Numbers 10:35; Numbers 10:36; and 1 Samuel 17:45, where David says to Goliath, "I come to thee in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel;" and ver. 47, "The battle is the Lord's, and He will give you into our hands."Ver. 9. Lift up your heads, ye doors; and lift them up, ye everlasting gates, that the King of glory may come. The sum-mons is repeated, with little alteration, for the purpose of con-necting with it a second question, as the first answer had not been sufficient, had represented only imperfectly the majesty of the King of glory. Ver. 9. Lift up your heads, ye doors; and lift them up, ye everlasting gates, that the King of glory may come. The summons is repeated, with little alteration, for the purpose of connecting with it a second question, as the first answer had not been sufficient, had represented only imperfectly the majesty of the King of glory. Ver. 10. Who is He, the King of glory? The Lord, the Lord of hosts, He is the King of glory. Several interpreters, and latterly Koester, interpret the Lord of hosts as equivalent to the God of battle. But the parallelism to which they appeal in favour of this entirely arbitrary exposition is decidedly against it. The expression, "Lord of hosts," must necessarily have a fuller meaning than ver. 8. For otherwise, no reason can be assigned for the repetition of the question. The new idea con-tained in vers. 9 and 10 is, that the God who, in the 8th verse, is represented as the hero of the earth, as the God of the earthly hosts (Israel had been, even in the Pentateuch, spoken of as the host of God, יהוה צבאות, Exodus 12:41), is also the God of the hea-venly hosts. He cannot be the first, in the right and full sense, unless He is also the second, just as He cannot in the full sense be the God of Israel, unless He is also the God of the world. What God is on earth, depends upon what He is in heaven. If He has any who are equal to Him there, He is not in the full sense the King of glory upon earth. The conclusion thus comes back to the opening strain of the Psalm, where the Lord, in like manner, had been praised as the God of the world: and the whole Psalm, which was intended to call forth in the Church a living view of the glory of her approaching God, concludes withthat appellation of God which reflects this glory most clearly. Michaelis: Plus enim et majus et brevius quid dicere de eo vobis non possum.-The hosts are always heavenly, and not created things generally. For in the passage, Genesis 2:1, the heaven and the earth is to be regarded as equivalent to the universe; and the hosts belong to it, according to that passage, only in respect to one of its two parts. The phrase, heavens and the earth, is un-questionably used in the sense of the universe, in Genesis 2:4, where man is spoken of as the product of the heavens and the earth. Just as in the second passage we find attributed to the heavens what belongs exclusively to the earth, so in the first verse there is attributed to the earth what belongs only to the heavens. The heavenly hosts are divided into spiritual hosts- the angels, and material-the stars. No single passage represents the angels as standing in closer relation to the stars, than that they together make up the heavenly hosts; and the confident asser-tion of Gesenius, "Quippe quas (the stars) ab angelis geniisque coelestibus habitatas esse existimarent," must be rejected as alto-gether without foundation. This appellation refers, throughout, principally and usually to the sun, moon, and stars, on account of the opposition implied to the prevailing Sabeanism,-which contributed very much to give the name Jehovah Sabaoth its importance.-We cannot translate, with Gesenius and others, Jehovah of hosts, but, Jehovah, of hosts: the general idea, God, must be derived from Jehovah, as has been adverted to in the Christology, P. 3, p. 218. The reasons are these: 1. יהוה cannot be used as a proper noun in the status constructus. 2. אלהים יהוהצבאות occurs in several passages, as Psalms 59:6; Psalms 80:5:3.צבאות occurs in Isaiah 10:16:4. �ץסיןע ףבגבשט occurs in the Septuagint, and in Romans 9:29, and James 5:40, which shows, that, to a certain extent, צבאות was regarded as standing by itself. On the other hand, those who would isolate Sabaoth completely, and maintain that it is to be considered just as a name of God, as Baumgarten has recently done, require to be reminded that it never occurs except in connection with one of the names of God. -In the Pentateuch (Genesis 2:1) there is to be found the basis of the appellation, but not the appellation itself. That this is not to be attributed to design on the part of the author (as might be said in the case of Ezekiel and Job), but is to be explained by the assumption that the name had not yet been formed, is evident from the fact that it does not occur either in Joshua orJudges. It would certainly be a very singular circumstance that the word should be omitted designedly in the three most ancient historical books. Psalms 25. The Psalm begins and concludes with the prayer for deliver-ance from enemies: and this is to be considered as its peculiar theme. The forgiveness of sins, which the Psalmist frequently claims in the middle, is introduced only as the ground of the deliverance. But of moral strength there is no mention made throughout the Psalm. There are no traces in the contents of any particular occa-sion for which the Psalm might be composed; and the prayer on behalf of Israel at the close, is altogether unfavourable to any such. For the transition from the individual to the whole body was much easier when the Psalm was, from the first, intended to awaken the godly, when they are pressed hard by their enemies, to hope in the guidance and protection of God. Lastly, the form in which the Psalm is composed, is decidedly against any particular reference. The alphabetical arrange-ment, which obtains here, as in Psalms 34:37:111:112:119:145., is throughout adopted in Psalms which are general in their character, and seems, from its nature, to be suitable only for such. The superscription announces that David is the author; and with this announcement the contents of the Psalm are fully ac-cordant. David was peculiarly exposed to sufferings, arising from enemies, throughout a great part of his life; he always treats this subject with peculiar delight, and regarded it as the main duty of his life to comfort others with the same consola-tion wherewith he himself had been comforted of God. But the alphabetical arrangement has been pleaded as furnishing some ground for doubt on this point: "this conceit belongs to a later age of degenerate taste." This might with as much pro-priety be said of such poems as "befiel du deine wege" of P. Ger-hardt, and "wie schצn leucht uns der Morgenstern" of Nikola., because these poems are characterized by such conceits as might not have been expected in such eminent and powerful writers. One single superscription, assigning an alphabetical Psalm toDavid, is entitled to more weight than this a priori assertion And there are several such superscriptions. And, besides, there are at least two alphabetical Psalms, the 9. and x., which, from internal evidence of the strongest kind, we know were com-posed by David. Lastly, we deny that the alphabetical ar-rangement ought to be termed "conceit." It belongs in gene-ral to those means which have been adopted for the purpose of giving to poetical compositions that character of compactness which so essentially belongs to them, and it stands on the same footing exactly with the parallelism of clauses, and the strophe arrangement. It can deserve to be called a conceit only when it is forced upon resisting materials (its use being, from the nature of the case, confined within a narrow compass), or when it is employed in a composition which requires a strict progres-sion of thought and feeling. It occurs, however, at least when completely carried out, only in a particular class of Psalms,-those, namely, in which the effort is obvious to arrange a col-lection of individual sayings, which, from beginning to end, bear upon the same subject, but are presented in different aspects, and always with new additions. For such Psalms, the alphabetical arrangement-the carrying out of the thought through the whole alphabet, the symbol of completeness and compactness-is exceedingly natural. De Wette indeed main-tains that the want of connection is the consequence, not the cause, of the alphabetical arrangement. But on this supposi-tion there are certain facts which cannot be explained: the alphabetical arrangement does not so completely stand in the way of the connection, as to render abortive every attempt, however zealous, to unite them together. But in the Psalms no such effort is at all conspicuous. The writers of the Psalms were under the less necessity of sacrificing the connection for the sake of the alphabetical arrangement, that they make a much freer use of it than is observed to have been done among other nations. From this fact, the objection of conceit or con-straint may be the more easily set aside. Even within its own peculiar province, the alphabetical arrangement is pursued only in so far as it can be done without any constraint. How little force, then, there is in what has been said of the alphabetical arrangement, that it corresponds to a special need, is evident from the fact, that we find it adopted by very different nations, and always in poetry of a particular kind. Nothing beyond this, of any consequence, has been adduced against considering David as the author of the Psalm. For example, it has been said that the prayer at the close of the Psalm, for deliverance for Israel out of all his troubles, does not correspond to the time of David. But it need scarcely be remarked, that at all times, even the most prosperous, there is enough of trouble; and that our assuming David to be the author of the Psalm, does not necessarily imply that we limit its ap-plication to the circumstances of his day. The low opinions which have been formed as to the merits of the Psalm, proceed from misunderstanding its peculiar cha-racter and design. As an alphabetical Psalm, it is beautiful; and whoever reads it in the frame of mind in which an alpha-betical Psalm ought to be read, will find it to be both beautiful and edifying. The alphabetical arrangement in our Psalm is not strictly ad-hered to. The second verse begins, like the first, with א, and the ב follows at the second word. The ל is either omitted, or it oc-curs, not at the beginning, but at the middle of the verse. The ק is altogether wanting. On the other hand, there are two verses which begin with ר. After the last letter ת, there is a verse beginning with פ. A great many critics, up to Hitzig and Ewald, have considered it necessary to remove these irregularities by emendations. But there are many very weighty reasons to be urged against every such attempt. 1. Errors of this kind in alphabetical Psalms are extremely unlikely to occur: the opposite may be expected, viz. alterations made by transcribers, with a view to remove irregularities. 2. Such irregularities occur in all the alphabetical Psalms without exception. 3. There are gradations among the deviations in particular Psalms: first, there are cases in which only a single irregularity occurs, and where, of course, a critical emendation might with some appear-ance of propriety be made; second, there are cases, such as Psalms 9. and x., in which nothing more than an attempt at alphabeti-cal arrangement seems to have been made, and which utterly defy all efforts of emendatory criticism; and, lastly, there are cases in which the alphabetical arrangement is directed, not so much to the first word as to the number of the verses. The extensive deviations indicate that the minor ones are original, and to be attributed to the author himself. 4. There are special reasons in the Psalm before us why no alterations should beattempted The omission of the ק is evidently not accidental, as its place is occupied by ר, the letter following it in the alpha-bet: nothing can be suggested either in the case of ק or ר, which might have been appropriately substituted; and it is as clear as day that the author sacrificed the form to the sense. The first and the last verses are peculiar, inasmuch as they consist each of only one clause, while all the other verses contain two; they thus stand out, as it were, from the series, for the purpose of being recognised as the beginning and the end. And it is natural that they should preserve this character also in reference to the alphabetical arrangement. The א, although it begins ver. 1, yet, as if this were regarded in a certain measure as accidental, is repeated at the beginning of the proper series, in ver. 2,-in such a manner, however, as that, while it gets, as it were, what is its due, it has not a whole verse devoted to it, for ב follows in the second word; the last verse again, which begins with its פ (instead of which any other letter would have answered equally well), stands altogether out of the alphabetical arrange-ment. Hitzig's attempt to join the אלהי of ver. 2 to ver. 1, proceeds from an entire misapprehension of this correspondence between the beginning and the end of the Psalm: the same remark may be made on his singular hypothesis in reference to the פ. Ver. 1. To Thee, O Lord, do I bear my soul. The bearing of the soul to the Lord (נפש נשא means always to bear the soul, to bear towards, never to lift; compare Psalms 24:4, and Deuteronomy 24:15) signifies the longing of the heart after Him. The soul is wherever the object of its regard is. The more im-mediate object which the Psalmist has in view becomes obvious in the following verse, where we find him speaking of seeking help from the Lord. Hence the longing after God, here spoken of, is the longing after Him as the Saviour, the helper in alltrouble: compare Psalms 8, where the bearing of the soul to God stands parallel with trusting in Him: "Cause me to hear Thy loving-kindness in the morning, for in Thee do I trust; cause me to know the way wherein I should walk, for I bear my soul to Thee." The Psalmist says, that when in distress, he does not, like the ungodly, draw his soul at one time in this direction, and at another time in that; that he does not seek to catch now at this, now at that ignis fatuus of human help: but that he goes straight with all his desire to God, and that he rests in His pro-tection. In the form of fact, there is in reality an exhortation expressed: I bear, which is put into the mouth of the sufferer, in whose name the Psalmist speaks, contains the hortative "bear" in it. The lively and undivided desire for the help of the Lord, is the indispensable condition, and at the same time the sure ground, of deliverance.Ver. 2. My God, I trust in Thee, let me not be put to shame, let not mine enemies rejoice over me. The import is, "therefore, may I not," etc. The trust in God of this verse corresponds to the bearing of the soul to Him of the preceding verse. The Psalmist grounds his prayer for deliverance on the general truth, that that man shall never be put to shame who hopes in God: the maxim, "that whoever puts his confidence in God shall not be forsaken," is the ground of his hope, his confidence, and his joy. This maxim, from which he draws an inference applicable to his special case, is expressly announced in ver. 3. Ver. 2. My God, I trust in Thee, let me not be put to shame, let not mine enemies rejoice over me. The import is, “therefore, may I not,” etc. The trust in God of this verse corresponds to the bearing of the soul to Him of the preceding verse. The Psalmist grounds his prayer for deliverance on the general truth, that that man shall never be put to shame who hopes in God: the maxim, “that whoever puts his confidence in God shall not be forsaken,” is the ground of his hope, his confidence, and his joy. This maxim, from which he draws an inference applicable to his special case, is expressly announced in Psalms 25:3. Ver. 3. Yea, all who wait on Thee shall not be put to shame: those shall be put to shame who act perfidiously without cause. The waiting corresponds to the drawing of the soul to the Lord, and to the trusting in Him, of the preceding verses. The yea, which superficial observers have supposed to be dragged in for the sake of the alphabetical arrangement, indi-cates that the sufferer does not claim anything peculiar for himself, but only what belongs to all who are in the same cir-cumstances. It is only when this "yea" can be uttered, that the prayer has a solid foundation. The Futures are not, accord-ing to many interpreters, to be considered as optatives (this would give to the verse a very insipid character); they give utterance to a general truth. The בגד has its usual sense, to act perfidiously. The perfidiousness is such as is perpetrated not against God, but against our neighbour. Perfidiousness com- prehended every violation of duty towards one's neighbour. For there existed a brotherly relationship among all the mem-bers of the Church of God: all were descended from the same bodily and spiritual race, all were interested in the covenant; and, as such, all had vowed not only love to God, but also love to each other. And perfidiousness was the want of this due and promised love. Perfidiousness, moreover, might be seen in the violation of some particular relationship, arising out of what was general in its origin. Compare Psalms 9. The highest degree of wickedness .exists where fidelity is violated without acause,- ריקם, without any provocation on the other side,�is practised against him who is faithful. Many expositors have been led to adopt a false interpretation, from the idea that, as there is no suitable contrast between those who wait on God and the perfidious, the perfidiousness must be that which has God for its object. But this ground proves nothing: for hope in God is grounded on a good conscience; the man who is not faithful to his neighbour, cannot hope for the help of God; as often as he attempts to do so, he meets with the ter-rible reply, "Depart from Me, ye workers of iniquity." We are prevented from considering God as the object of the per-fidiousness by the expression, "without cause," which is, pro-perly, "empty," and secondarily, "without ground;" as when we speak of "empty," that is, "groundless excuses;" and stands in the same connection as it does in those clauses which speak of the unprovoked violation of duty towards a neighbour in Ps.vii. 4: compare the corresponding םנ.Aהi יאaנ;ש in Psalms 69:4. Inthese passages, "without a cause," cannot refer to God-the expressions there explain themselves. ריקם signifies "thought-less," "wicked," or, "in a vain worthless way;" and may be taken as a verbal proof of the Davidic origin of our Psalm, as it occurs nowhere else in a similar connection except in Ps. vii 4. But quite decisive is the relation between the expression, "mine enemies," in ver. 2, and the expression, "perfidious with-out a cause:" Let me, who trust in Thee, not be ashamed, for all who wait on Thee are kept from being put to shame: let mine enemies not triumph over me, for all who, like mine ene-mies, are perfidious without a cause, are forbidden to triumph, and shall be put to shame; and it would be a turning of the tables if Thou wert to permit them to triumph, and me to be put to shame. Finally, the expression at the 19th verse, "they hate me with cruel hatred," is all the more deserving of being compared with the one before us, that it is impossible to fail to observe the correspondence between the beginning and the conclusion of the Psalm. Ver. 4. Make known to me Thy ways, O Lord; teach me Thy paths. Expositors generally understand by "the ways and paths of the Lord," "that manner of life which is well-pleasing to Him." The Psalmist, on this supposition, prays for instruc-tion and guidance that he may walk worthily in these ways. But it is much more correct to suppose that the Psalmist is hererepeating in other words the prayer which he had already uttered in the preceding verse, and that the ways of God are the ways of deliverance, which He makes known to His own that they may walk in them-a limitation which results from the person of the speaker: the Psalmist is not speaking of the ways of God generally, but only of those which relate to godly sufferers; and these, according to His nature and word, can be none other than the ways of deliverance. That this interpretation is the correct one, is clear from the connection, which would be broken in an unpleasant manner by the prayer for moral guidance; also from the circumstance, that in the 34. Psalm, which is nearly related to the one before us, the prayer is only for the protection of God in trouble. It is still further clear from the for in the 5th verse: “ Teach me Thy way, and lead me in it, for Thou art the God of my deliverance.” It is impossible to do justice to this for in any other way than by supposing that the making known of the ways, and the guidance in them, indicate nothing else than safety and deliverance. How strong this proof is, is evident even from the remark of De Wette: "That the second clause of this verse is not closely connected (according to his exposition) with what goes before (and yet כי shows that such a connection must necessarily exist), and that we must not give to ‘ my God of salvation’ too exact an inter-pretation!" Further, the 10th verse is in favour of this expo-sition, where, as is undeniable and generally allowed, "the ways" are "those in which He leads His own." Compare "all His ways are truth" in Deuteronomy 32:4. In like manner also, ver. 9. Ver. 5. Lead me in Thy truth and teach me, for Thou art the God of my salvation; I wait on Thee continually. Most exposi-tors consider "in Thy truth," as equivalent to "in true godliness, which is well-pleasing to Thee," or even (Hitzig) "in fidelity to Thee." But this view is opposed, in the first place, by כי, to which we have already adverted in exposing the false interpre-tation put upon the preceding verse. Secondly, יהוה אמת is always, "the truth and faithfulness which belongs to God," and never, "the truth which He desires, and which is well-pleasing to Him," or "faithfulness towards Him." Compare Psalms 30:10; Psalms 71:22; Psalms 91:4. Lastly, this exposition is opposed by the 9th verse: "All the ways of the Lord are grace and truth." Here, as in the above-mentioned, and in all other passages, "the truth of God" is "His faithfulness in fulfilling His promises." In sofar as this should be exhibited in the experience of the Psalmist, he represents it as the way in which he prays that God would lead him (ך`ירדה, generally with ב of the way in which one is led), just as he says in ver. 9, The meek God leads in right-eousness, in the paths of the same." Compare also Psalms 26:3. After the words, "teach me," we must supply, "Thy truth, let me know it by experience." It appears that the ו here stands instead of a vau at the beginning of a verse, where it could not have been conveniently placed; and that the Psalmist, for the purpose of making this apparent, repeats a word which he had already used, and introduces it in an abrupt manner: the strange appearance of the למדני was meant to suggest that it was thus placed from regard to the alphabetical arrangement. The reason assigned in the second clause of the verse, applies equally to the preceding verse, as to the first clause of this one. God must undertake for the Psalmist, because He is his Saviour, and the only ground of his hope. Ver. 6. Remember Thy tender mercies, O Lord, and Thy favours; for they are from eternity. God cannot be unlike Him-self: He cannot deny His character. Love and goodness have been His attributes from eternity; He has always had compas-sion on His own people, as a father has on his children; and therefore He cannot do otherwise than make the Psalmist, who is one of His children, partaker of His love and pity.Ver. 7. Remember not the sins of my youth, and my trans- gressions: according to Thy grace remember me, for Thy goodness sake, O Lord. Calvin explains as follows the connection with the preceding verse: "Because our sins raise up a partition wall between us and God, so that He does not hear our wishes,or stretch out His hand to help us, David now takes this obstacleout of the way. He acknowledges that he cannot otherwise, than by having his sins forgiven, be made partaker of the favour of God." But the forgiveness of sin is rather that in whichGod first makes known that favour and pity, for the manifesta-tion of which the Psalmist had prayed in the preceding verse.If lie has really become partaker of this, salvation and deliver-ance will follow as a matter of course. God remembers Histender mercies; for He cannot do otherwise, since they have dwelt with Him from eternity; and therefore He cannot remem-ber the sins of the Psalmist's youth, for to remember them would be to give scope to His strict justice, and not to His tender mercy. The Psalmist makes mention of his sins of youth, not as if he were now an immaculate saint, but because in youth the power of original corruption is particularly strong: my sins, in which my youth particularly was so rich. Luther: "For youth is not fit for virtue, or for anything that is good; because the blood is still too young and fresh, it cannot govern itself, or think of anything that is useful or good. For if any one will allow a youth to grow up, and do as he likes, he will become quite a devil; before one is aware what he is doing, it is already done." Compare Job 13:26; 2 Timothy 2:22. That the temp-tations to sin are strong in youth, is obvious not only in the case of individuals, but also in that of nations. Moses reminds the Israelites (Deuteronomy 9:7) that they had provoked the Lord from the day that He had led them out of Egypt, and then repre-sents to them, in detail, the sins of their youth. It is all the more important to make this remark, that the Psalm, according to its conclusion, is intended not only for individual members, but also for the whole body of the Church. The "transgres-sions" is a stronger word than "sins:" the climax implies that the Psalmist acknowledged the whole magnitude, and all the aggravations of his transgressions. In the words, "think on me according to Thy grace," the Psalmist does not ask God to act towards him in an arbitrary manner, but, like every pious suppliant, that He would act according to the necessity of His own nature. The strict and inexorable righteousness of God comes into operation in regard to those only who are without the covenant and the promises. God is under the necessity of remembering His own children, according to His grace. The words, "for Thy goodness' sake," point to this necessity in the nature of God. This is the ground in God from which the fulfilment of the prayer proceeds; because Thou art good, there-fore canst Thou not be severe and relentless towards the weak-ness of Thy people. If God were not good, it would be in vain to offer up to Him such a prayer as this. Ver. 7. Remember not the sins of my youth, and my transgressions: according to Thy grace remember me, for Thy goodness’ sake, O Lord. Calvin explains as follows the connection with the preceding verse: “Because our sins raise up a partition wall between us and God, so that He does not hear our wishes, or stretch out His hand to help us, David now takes this obstacle out of the way. He acknowledges that he cannot otherwise, than by having his sins forgiven, be made partaker of the favour of God.” But the forgiveness of sin is rather that in which God first makes known that favour and pity, for the manifestation of which the Psalmist had prayed in the preceding verse. If he has really become partaker of this, salvation and deliverance will follow as a matter of course. God remembers His tender mercies, for He cannot do otherwise, since they have dwelt with Him from eternity; and therefore He cannot remember the sins of the Psalmist’s youth, for to remember them would be to give scope to His strict justice, and not to His tender mercy. The Psalmist makes mention of his sins of youth, not as if he were now an immaculate saint, but because in youth the power of original corruption is particularly strong: my sins, in which my youth particularly was so rich. Luther: “For youth is not fit for virtue, or for anything that is good; because the blood is still too young and fresh, it cannot govern itself, or think of anything that is useful or good. For if any one will allow a youth to grow up, and do as he likes, he will become quite a devil; before one is aware what he is doing, it is already done.” Compare Job 13:26; 2 Timothy 2:22. That the temptations to sin are strong in youth, is obvious not only in the case of individuals, but also in that of nations. Moses reminds the Israelites (Deuteronomy 9:7) that they had provoked the Lord from the day that He had led them out of Egypt, and then represents to them, in detail, the sins of their youth. It is all the more important to make this remark, that the Psalm, according to its conclusion, is intended not only for individual members, but also for the whole body of the Church. The “transgressions” is a stronger word than “sins:” the climax implies that the Psalmist acknowledged the whole magnitude, and all the aggravations of his transgressions. In the words, “think on me according to Thy grace,” the Psalmist does not ask God to act towards him in an arbitrary manner, but, like every pious suppliant, that He would act according to the necessity of His own nature. The strict and inexorable righteousness of God comes into operation in regard to those only who are without the covenant and the promises. God is under the necessity of remembering His own children, according to His grace. The words, “for Thy goodness’ sake,” point to this necessity in the nature of God. This is the ground in God from which the fulfilment of the prayer proceeds; because Thou art good, therefore canst Thou not be severe and relentless towards the weakness of Thy people. If God were not good, it would be in vain to offer up to Him such a prayer as this. Ver. 8. Good and upright is the Lord; therefore does He teach sinners the way. The Psalmist, in the passage from vers. 8-10, in following up, "for Thy goodness' sake," enters upon the con-sideration of the Divine perfections, for the purpose of obtain- ing thereby stronger confidence in God's compassion, and new zeal in prayer. The principles on which the early petitions de-pend are here expressed. Vitringa, at the fundamental pas-sage, Deuteronomy 32:4, has some very important observations upon ישר, upright, in so far as it is used in reference to God. It de-notes agreement between the Divine nature and actions on the one hand, and the idea of what is good or Divine on the other, perincle ac architectis rectum dicitur quod exactum est ad libram ant calamum. Vitringa observes, that in this ישר there was made known the true idea of God, which the popular and mythic theology of the Gentiles had corrupted, and remarks, "that in speaking of the operations of Divine providence, we ought to take great care lest we entertain of God the blasphemous and absurd idea that He can do anything which is inconsistent with right reason, equity, and purity." God, because not good, would not even be upright, were He to fail to assist His own people in spite of their sins of infirmity. The clause, He teaches the way, properly, He instructs in the way (which explains the construc-tion with ב, which occurs instead of the usual construction with the accusative also in Psalms 32:8), is equivalent to, He is their leader in the path of life, their helper, their protection. We can-not, as most interpreters do, consider the words as having any reference whatever to moral instruction. This idea is opposed by the relation in which they stand to what goes before, and to what follows. The Psalmist merely expresses in this verse, in the form of a general affirmation, that the regular course of God's procedure was to grant what he had there besought from God for himself, and which he will. still beseech from Him. The verse before us stands in the same relation, to vers. 4-7, as Ver. 3 does to vers. 1 and 2. But in vers. 4-7, the discourse is not concerning moral instruction, but concerning forgiveness of sin and salvation. That God helps sinners,-that is, such as are at the same time righteous (the expression is not the sinners: there is also an important difference between הטאים and פשעים or רשעים), or, what amounts to the same thing, His own people,� is a necessary outgoing of the goodness and righteousness of God, tends to the praise of these attributes. Ver. 9. He guides the meek in righteousness, and teaches the meek His way. Calvin misinterprets this clause: "He speaks here of the second favour which the Lord imparts to His believ-ing people, after that they have become the willing subjects of His kingdom." According to the correct exposition, the Psalmist speaks here of the same favour of which he had spoken in the preceding verse. There, as here, the subject is the impartingof help and salvation. The meek here are the sinners of the preceding verse; from which again it is evident what sort of sinners it is that we are to think about;-those, namely, who are at the same time meek. He leads them in righteousness; that is, He gives to them, who do not oppose might with might, justice against their oppressors. Righteousness appears here like a road along which God leads His people, like truth in the 4th verse. The abbreviated Future ך`רדי stands in the sense of the usual form. The whole verse expresses the truth on the foundation of which the prayer of the 4th verse rises; and, as it is evident that it refers to what one experiences, or, what hap-pens to one, that it is altogether inadmissible to think of moral instruction and guidance there. Ver. 10. All the ways of the Lord are grace and truth to those who keep His covenant and His testimonies. Calvin: "The sum is, God acts in such a manner towards His faithful people as that they experience Him, at all points, to be gracious and true." The keeping of the covenant and the testimonies stands, according to the 8th verse, in opposition to bold and wilful transgressions. Sins of infirmity cannot deprive a man of his interest in the promises of the covenant. The covenant itself provides for them the means of expiation and forgiveness, when they are confessed and repented of.Ver. 11. For Thy name's sake, O Lord, thus wilt Thou forgive mine iniquity, for it is great. The ו in וסלהת is what is termed the vau conversivum of the Future; or, according to Ewald, p. 551, Sm. Gr. 613, the vau relative of the first mode. "On account of Thy name," is "on account of Thy nature." The name of Jehovah,-arising out of His manifestations,-brings before the mind for contemplation all that Jehovah is, renders present His whole historical character. It is the goodness and righteousness of God, according to ver. 8, that is here brought particularly under notice; according to which, He cannot do otherwise than open up to His own people the fountain of for-giveness. Luther: "We have a throne of grace for sin, so that our Lord God must absolutely shut His eyes, and say, as it stands in Psalms 32:1, Blessed is the man to whom the Lord imputeth not his sin. This is our theology, as we pray in the petition of the Lord's Prayer, Forgive us our sins; from this we know that we live only under grace. Grace, however, does not only take away sin; it also bears with it, and endures it: this isthe import of the throne of grace." De Wette is mistaken:"An opposition-not for my sake, not on account of any merit of mine." The Psalmist cannot be excluding his own merit as the ground of forgiveness of sin, for it never occurred to him.The opposition is rather, "Because Thou art good and upright, do not take vengeance on mine iniquity with inexorable severity, but forgive it." The words, "for it is great," form the ground ofthe Psalmist's prayer for forgiveness. His iniquity is so great, that he must be irremediably lost if God were to deal with himaccording to his works. Ver. 11. For Thy name’s sake, O Lord, thus wilt Thou forgive mine iniquity, for it is great. The ε in ερμηϊ is what is termed the vau conversivum of the Future; or, according to Ewald, p. 551, Sm. Gr. 613, the vau relative of the first mode. “On account of Thy name,” is “on account of Thy nature.” The name of Jehovah,—arising out of His manifestations,—brings before the mind for contemplation all that Jehovah is, renders present His whole historical character. It is the goodness and righteousness of God, according to Psalms 25:8, that is here brought particularly under notice; according to which, He cannot do otherwise than open up to His own people the fountain of forgiveness. Luther: “We have a throne of grace for sin, so that our Lord God must absolutely shut His eyes, and say, as it stands in Psalms 32:1, Blessed is the man to whom the Lord imputeth not his sin. This is our theology, as we pray in the petition of the Lord’s Prayer, Forgive us our sins; from this we know that we live only under grace. Grace, however, does not only take away sin; it also bears with it, and endures it: this is the import of the throne of grace.” De Wette is mistaken: “An opposition—not for my sake, not on account of any merit of mine.” The Psalmist cannot be excluding his own merit as the ground of forgiveness of sin, for it never occurred to him. The opposition is rather, “Because Thou art good and upright, do not take vengeance on mine iniquity with inexorable severity, but forgive it.” The words, “for it is great,” form the ground of the Psalmist’s prayer for forgiveness. His iniquity is so great, that he must be irremediably lost if God were to deal with him according to his works. Ver. 12. Who is the man who fears the Lord? He teaches him the way which he may choose. The "Who is the man?" ex-presses the sense, that wherever there is such a one, he shall notfail of the gracious guidance of God; and that the fear of the Lord and deliverance are inseparably, and without exception, bound together. The way here also, as what follows sufficiently shows, is not to be understood in a moral sense. The fearers of God have, in their journey through life, a faithful leader and guide; the Lord points out to them the way of deliverance. The un-godly, on the other hand, left to themselves, choose the way ofdestruction; they run upon their own ruin. Ver. 13. His soul spends the night in good, and his seed pos-sesses the land. The soul of the God-fearing man, is his own person in opposition to his posterity. To spend the night in good, is to enjoy an enduring prosperity. The second clause alludes to those passages in the law in which the Lord promises to His people lasting possession of Canaan, provided they con-tinue in the fear of God: compare, for example, Exodus 20:12;Leviticus 26.; Deuteronomy 28. While the ungodly, with their pos-terity, are rooted out from among their people, the promise is fulfilled to the godly and to their posterity who resemble them. ארץ, with the poetical omission of the article, stands for the land of Canaan. As the land is here used only as an example of indi-vidualizing designation for the Divine blessings attendant on faithfulness to the covenant, it is easy, without any fear of mis-understanding, to distinguish between the general substance of the thought,-viz., the enjoyment of Divine blessings, of sal-vation,-and its special Old Testament dress. Our Lord quotes the passage in this way in Matthew 5:5. Ver. 13. His soul spends the night in good, and his seed possesses the land. The soul of the God-fearing man, is his own person in opposition to his posterity. To spend the night in good, is to enjoy an enduring prosperity. The second clause alludes to those passages in the law in which the Lord promises to His people lasting possession of Canaan, provided they continue in the fear of God: compare, for example, Exodus 20:12; Leviticus 26; Deuteronomy 28. While the ungodly, with their posterity, are rooted out from among their people, the promise is fulfilled to the godly and to their posterity who resemble them. àøõ, with the poetical omission of the article, stands for the land of Canaan. As the land is here used only as an example of individualizing designation for the Divine blessings attendant on faithfulness to the covenant, it is easy, without any fear of misunderstanding, to distinguish between the general substance of the thought,—viz., the enjoyment of Divine blessings, of salvation,—and its special Old Testament dress. Our Lord quotes the passage in this way in Matthew 5:5. Ver. 14. The friendship of the Lord is with them that fear Him, and He makes known to them His covenant. At the firstclause, compare Proverbs 3:32 : "The ungodly is abomination to the Lord, but His intimate friendship is with the righteous,"סודו; Job 29:4. The second clause, literally, "His covenant is in order to make known to them," is "designed to be made known to them." Comp. on the infinitive with ל, Ewald, p. 621, Sm. Gr. 544. Or it may be thus expounded: "His covenant is for the fearers of God, that He may make it known to them." The making, known of the covenant is not inwardly; it takes place in matters of fact, through the events of their history, in which the covenant-relation is realized. Several expositors, in opposition to the parallelism, the connection, and usage, sup-pose the Psalmist to be speaking of insight into the meaning of the law.Ver. 15. Mine eyes look always towards the Lord, for He takes my feet out of the net. Comp. Psalms 9:15.Ver. 16. Turn Thyself to me, and be gracious to me; for I am lonely and miserable. Ver. 15. Mine eyes look always towards the Lord, for He takes my feet out of the net. Comp. Psalms 9:15. Ver. 16. Turn Thyself to me, and be gracious to me; for I am lonely and miserable. Ver. 17. The troubles of my heart they enlarge; bring me out of my distresses. צרה is, properly, "narrowness." We cannot take הרהיבו in an intransitive sense. The many who oppress the Psalmist, stand over against the one from whom he can hope for deliverance. Substantially, the enemies and haters (comp. the 19th verse) are the subject; but the circumstance that they are not named expressly as such, increases the emphasis. Every-thing had conspired against the Psalmist; compare יהיד of the preceding verse, out of which the subject is to be taken. Several interpreters, and lastly Hitzig, wish here to alter the text. They take the ו from the end of הרהיבו, and join it to the next clause, and point ביהiר;הa: make wide the straitnesses of my heart. But one does not see how the more easy could ever be supplanted by the more difficult reading. There is in the mere description of the greatness of the trouble, in the first clause, a stronger cry to God for help, than if the cry had been at the same time ex-pressed. The first clause of this verse corresponds exactly to the second of the preceding, and the second to the first. On an attentive consideration, it is obvious that this arbitrary alter-ation does not give a suitable sense, as the troubles do not admit of being enlarged.Ver. 18. See my misery and suffering, and forgive all my sins. The ל is not the mark of the accusative, but is properly to be translated forgive: grant forgiveness to all my sins.Ver. 19. See my enemies, for they are many, and they hate me with unrighteous hatred. If God once sees, He cannot but help: but that He should see and not further overlook, is rendered necessary from their great numbers and malicious wickedness.Ver. 20. Keep my soul, and deliver me; let me not be ashamed, for I trust in Thee. Muis: "An excellent reason:-otherwise I should have trusted in Thee in vain. The glory of God de-mands that He help."Ver. 21. Blamelessness and uprightness shall preserve me, for I hope in Thee, who helpest the upright. Otherwise the expectation that salvation shall follow uprightness would be a foolish one. Luther: "Simple and right; i.e., that I am up-right and without blame in my life." Ver. 18. See my misery and suffering, and forgive all my sins. The ì is not the mark of the accusative, but is properly to be translated forgive: grant forgiveness to all my sins. Ver. 19. See my enemies, for they are many, and they hate me with unrighteous hatred. If God once sees, He cannot but help: but that He should see and not further overlook, is rendered necessary from their great numbers and malicious wickedness. Ver. 20. Keep my soul, and deliver me; let me not be ashamed, for I trust in Thee. Muis: “An excellent reason:—otherwise I should have trusted in Thee in vain. The glory of God demands that He help.” Ver. 21. Blamelessness and uprightness shall preserve me, for I hope in Thee, who helpest the upright. Otherwise the expectation that salvation shall follow uprightness would be a foolish one. Luther: “Simple and right; i.e., that I am upright and without blame in my life.” Ver. 22. Redeem, O God, Israel out of all his troubles. This verse, which Rosenm�ller supposes to have been added at a later period, is obviously intended to be a closing verse, from the cir-cumstance of its containing only one clause. It has this in common with the 1st verse, which, in like manner, stands to a certain extent out of the alphabetical arrangement, as the 2d verse also begins with 10. The 1st verse begins with א, that the Psalm might have, as it were, the signature of an alpha-betical one on its forehead; and inasmuch as the א gets thus only a part of its rights, it has assigned to it the first word of the 2d verse. The transition from the prayer, in regard to the necessities of the individual, to one on behalf of the whole Church, is all the more easy, that the Psalm throughout has no special application. There is a similar conclusion in Psalms 34:23.-Elohim, the general name of God, is used here, although Jehovah had been used throughout the Psalm, because Israel is destitute of all human help. The opposition which called this forth is distinctly expressed in the preceding context. Psalms 26. The Psalmist begins at ver. 1 with the prayer to God for help in trouble, which he grounds on his earnest moral efforts and his unfeigned piety, especially his trust in God. He then turns first, in vers. 2-8, to expand this basis of his prayer: his heart is pure, and needs not fear the strictest scrutiny; for (as the expansion of, I have trusted in the Lord) he has had thelove of God and the faithfulness of God always before his eyes and in his heart, and in regard to them (I have walked in mine integrity), he has shunned all intercourse with the wicked in their wickedness: towards his neighbour he has acted blame-lessly, and towards God his heart is filled with fear and love. After this follows the development of the prayer, that God would not, as regards community of experience, join him with those from whom he is inwardly separated: that He would not give him over, like the wicked, to death. He obtains, in ver. 12, the confidence of being heard in this prayer, so that, at the con-clusion, he is able to give utterance to a purpose involving the most assured confidence of salvation-to thank God. We have thus an introductory and a concluding verse, and two main divisions. All the significant numbers of the Old Testament we here find brought into use. The whole Psalm has twelve verses: the main body is complete in ten; the first division of this main body, containing the description of the fulfilment of the duties of the covenant (comp. Psalms 25:10, such as keep His covenant), in seven, the number of the covenant; and the second division, containing the prayer for the blessing of the covenant, in three, which is the number of the Mosaic blessing. The situation of the Psalmist, and the occasion of the Psalm, have been almost without exception misunderstood by recent expositors. Thus De Wette remarks: "The prayer in ver. 9 has no special reference, but means, that when God sits in judgment and inflicts punishments, He will exempt the Psalmist from these;" and Ewald concludes from the same verse, "that the Psalm was composed on the occasion of a pestilence." The situation is not that of one who fears misery; it is that of one who finds himself already in misery: the prayer is not one for preservation from misery, but for deliverance out of misery, and for defence against utter destruction, against that annihilating punishment which belongs only to the wicked; while of the righteous it is said, "God afflicteth me sore, but He does not give me over to destruction." There is not a word throughout the whole Psalm of general judgments or pestilences. That this is the correct view, is evident from the very first word, judge me; that is, "interpose to give me justice, deliver me from a condition in which, if it were to be regarded as permanent, it would be unrighteous to suffer me to remain." The prayer forthe judgment of God always proceeds from such as are already in misery. It is still further evident from the 11th verse, de-liver me, or redeem me, after which De Wette inaccurately sup-plies the words, from threatening judgment, and also from the clause, have mercy on me. The same use may be made of the first clause of the concluding verse, my foot standeth in an even place, which implies that hitherto the Psalmist had been stand-ing on difficult and dangerous ground. All attempts to find out an individual application for our Psalm, or to mark out any historical circumstances with which it may be connected, have utterly failed. Thus Ewald, from the strong contrast drawn between the wicked and the right- eous, concludes that it was composed at a late period, and from vers. 6-8, that it was composed in the temple. The cir-cumstance, that the trouble is nowhere carefully defined, and that the language used is manifestly and designedly as general as it could possibly be, is sufficient to show that the Psalmist speaks in the name and out of the soul of the righteous man. If this be established, it is also clear that the Psalm is of a hor-tatory character. The theme is this: "Only he who can with truth say, I have walked in mine integrity, and I have trusted in the Lord, may hope for Divine aid in trouble, but he may do so with full confidence." The general tendency is also clear from the connection with Psalms 25. In pointing out the general character of our Psalm, we also remove an objection which Kצster has drawn, from the graphic descriptions, and from the uniform division of the verses into two parts, against its Davidic origin. Its origin is fully con-firmed, not only by the superscription, but also by its manifest-relationship to Psalms 17:17; Psalms 18:21; Psalms 15:15; Psalms 15:24. The manifest resemblance between the clause, judge me, O God, for I have walked in mine , at the beginning of our Psalm, and the one, and uprightness shall pre-serve me, near the close of Psalms 25., is sufficient to lead to the idea, that the two Psalms are very nearly related to each other. This idea is confirmed by the similarity between them as to for-mal arrangement: in Psalms 25. we have, 1. 20. 1.,-an introduc-tory verse, two decades, and a concluding verse,-and in the Psalm before us, 1. 10. 1. Perhaps also in the 25th Psalm, the effort not to go beyond the number 20 may have been the cause wily the ו and the ק were omitted. Along with this outwardsimilarity, there is an inward resemblance of the closest kind. The contents of the one Psalm supplement those of the other. In the one Psalm, the suffering righteous man is directed to seek refuge in the Divine compassion, which secures forgiveness for manifold sins of infirmity: in the other, again, he is led, from a consideration of the Divine righteousness, which must make a distinction between the righteous and the wicked, to en-tertain the firm hope of deliverance. We have, therefore, be-fore us a pair of Psalms, which point to the compassion and the righteousness of God, as the two foundations on which the Lord's people may rest a confident hope of deliverance. In order that the two might be connected, as it were, by a bridge, the idea which, in the one Psalm, is brought prominently for-ward, and has the first place assigned to it, is introduced as a subordinate element at the close of the other. Ver. 1. Judge me, O Lord, for I have walked in mine in-tegrity; and I have trusted in the Lord, therefore may I not slide. The two members of this verse are parallel to each other. I walk in mine integrity, corresponds to, I trust in the Lord; and judge me, to, may I not slide. In each member there is contained the description of a subjective condition, and a prayer grounded on that condition. This manifest parallelism would be destroyed, were we, with most recent expositors, to translate: "and I trust in the Lord without sliding." Against this interpretation, more-over, we may urge: 1st, That to slide occurs frequently in the sense of to perish, Job 12:3; Psalms 18:36; Psalms 37:31; while there is no such expression anywhere else, as to slide in trusting in God. 2d, I have trusted in the Lord, which is not at all a suitable expression in an address to God. 3d, My foot standeth in an even place, at the close of the Psalm, announces that the prayer, may I not slide, has been heard, just as, I shall praise the Lord, implies that an answer has been received to judge me, 0 God. Judge me is, in the mouth of a righteous man, equiva-lent to, help me. For if God takes up the cause of such a one, He must decide it in his favour. Only he can say, help me, in confidence of being heard, who can with a good conscience also change help me into judge me. That תם is more than openness or sincerity, that it denotes moral blamelessness, and purity in all its extent, is evident from its development (4-6), and fromits opposite in ver. 10: compare also the similar Psalms 101. This is also the fundamental meaning. In 1 Kings 22:34, the word. is used in an improper or popular sense. To walk is to act. The blamelessness of the Psalmist is that in which his conduct rests, the guiding principle of his life. The blamelessness of the Psalmist is the quality, the character, the walk, the procedure thereby determined. Hence it appears that the suffix in mine integrity is by no means superfluous, as it is permissible to inter-pret, in the integrity to which I have been accustomed.- To walk in integrity has reference to the commandments of the second table; and to trust in the Lord, to those of the first. To walk in integrity is co-ordinate with to trust in the Lord, only in the sense in which the commandment to love our neighbour is co-ordinate with the commandment to love God, in Matthew 22:39. Trust in God is the fountain of integrity. Whoever places his hope in God need not seek to advance his worldly interests by ne-glecting his duties: he expects everything from above, and, at the same time, always takes heed that he do not deprive himself of the favour of his heavenly Saviour through violating His commandments. There follows now, in vers. 2-8, the development of I have walked in integrity, and trusted in the Lord. The Psalmist first affirms the cleanness and the purity of his heart, ver. 2; then he grounds this affirmation, vers. 3-8, in which he first descends from piety to morality, vers. 3-5, and then comes back again from morality to piety, as at ver. 1. The first division of the Psalm, which is complete in seven verses, has thus a threefold division within itself-an introduction, and two strophes, each of the latter consisting of three verses. The thrice-repeated name of Jehovah is in unison with this. Ver. 2. Prove me, O Lord, and try me; for my heart and my reins are purified. The Psalmist had, in the preceding verse, grounded his prayer for help on his trust in God, and on his integrity. But these could form a good basis for prayer only if they were true, unfeigned, heartfelt; for, as everything de-pends on the heart, it is at it that the law points expressively. In order, then, to represent them as such, the Psalmist calls upon God to try his innermost heart, and affirms that this trial will be most satisfactory in its results. Psalms 17:3 is exactly parallel. The reading in the text is צרופה, the part. paul, my reins and my heart are purified. The union of the femininesingular with the plural is quite common: compare Mich. 1:9, Ew. Sm. Gr. p. 568. The connection with the first clause may either be thus explained: the Psalmist confidently exhorts God to make trial;-for his heart has been purified, so that the trial cannot but be satisfactory to him,-when Thou makest the trial, Thou shalt find, etc.: or we may consider the two clauses as simply co-ordinate, and the first in the sense, I need not fear the strictest scrutiny. The reading on the margin, הפAר;צA, the impera-tive, is a mere conjecture, and is indebted for its existence only to the effort to produce a conformity between the two clauses. The textual reading is favoured by the for at the beginning of the following verse, which, with the marginal reading, could not be so easily explained. Ver. 3. For Thy loving-kindness was before my eyes, and I walked in Thy truth. The for refers, not only to the verse, but to the whole section, vers. 3-8; the object of which is to establish the assertion of the Psalmist, that he did not fear the strictest scrutiny, because (or, and that) his heart is purified. To a purified heart there belongs first sincere piety: this the Psalmist claims for himself, here and at the end of this section, in the second half of ver. 6, and in vers. 7 and 8. The second part of purity of heart is true righteousness: this the Psalmist claims in vers. 4, 5, and the first half of ver. 6. The copiousness in regard to piety in the second strophe, corresponds to the brevity on the same subject in the first. The Psalmist design-edly begins and ends with piety: righteousness, of which it is the cause and source, is in this way enclosed within it. The import of I have walked in Thy truth, is obvious from the parallel, Thy love was before my eyes, i.e. I have always kept my eyes fixed upon Thy love. Hence the truth of God,-His faithfulness to His promises,-is the domain within which the Psalmist spi-ritually moves, the territory on which he walks: I continually thought upon the truth. The inward connection between morality and piety is here clearly exhibited. Whoever has the love of God before his eyes, and His truth in his heart, or, in one word, whoever trusts in God (for our verse is only the development of I have trusted in the Lord, ver. 1), will not sit with men of falsehood, etc. Wherever the consciousness of the grace and faithfulness of God rules the life, the man will quietly expect from on high that which one living without God in the world, and acting under the impulse of his own strong natural desirefor enjoyment, will endeavour to take in his own way, and with violation of the holy commandments of God.-Expositions such as those of Hitzig, for love of Thee was before mine eyes, and I have walked in faithfulness to Thee, disappear of themselves, as soon as we gain a real insight into the organism of the Psalm. Besides, אמת is not "faithfulness:" יהוה הסד signifies always, "the love of God," never, "love to God" (compare Psalms 5:8), and יהוה אמת always, "the truth of God;" compare Psalms 25:5. It will not do, with Maurer and others, to understand by the truth of God, His commandments, because הסד and אמת always refer, when used in this connection, to the love of God, and to His faithfulness in keeping His promises. Lastly, we cannot translate, with Muis: "I have Thy love and truth always before me for imitation." For the love and the faithfulness of God are never brought before us as a pattern or example, but always only as a ground of confidence. Ver. 4. I sat not with men of falsehood, and with dissemblers I do not come. The change of tense is to be carefully observed. The Preterite indicates what the Psalmist had hitherto done; the Future, what he would take care to do. It is not without design that the Psalmist begins with falsehood. The conviction of the truth of God raises him above all temptation to be untrue. This reference to the preceding verse clearly requires us to under-stand שוא, in its usual sense of "lying," "falsehood." We cannot, therefore, with Hitzig, translate it by crime, nor, with others, by vanity, worthlessness: the parallel term is also against all such renderings, נעלמים dissemblers, qui frontem aperiunt, mentem tegunt. After I do not come, we are to understand, to their meeting or assembly, which is very easily supplied out of the first clause. Compare Genesis 49:6.-Ver. 5. I hated the assembly of the evil-doers, and with the wicked I do not sit. The import is: "I take no part in the assemblies for the ruin of others." In ver. 4, also, the "sitting," and the "coming," do not refer to intercourse and conversation generally, but to the mak-ing common cause in some respect or other.Ver. 6. I wash mine hands in innocency, and I will compass Thine altar, O Lord. The threefold Jehovah of the section is so divided, that it opens it, and concludes it, and stands here in the first verse of the second strophe,-the strophe of the ascent from morality to piety. The hands are considered, in the first clause, as the instruments of action: innocence is the spiritualwater; compare Psalms 72:13, where the washing of the hands in innocency corresponds to cleansing the heart; Job 9:30, where instead of innocency there stands "potash;" and Deuteronomy 21:6, and Matthew 27:34, where the hands were washed in protesta-tion of innocence. The Psalmist describes himself as one inte-ger vitae scelerisque purus.-The second clause is translated by Gesenius and others: "I go round about Thy altar." But סובב never occurs in the sense of "to go round anything." And besides, there is no mention elsewhere of processions round the altar. Luther seized the true sense: "I hold fast by Thine altar, O Lord." To encompass, is used of a single individual, to denote a clinging to, or strong attachment to: compare Jeremiah 31:22; see on the passage the Christology, P. III. p. 567. The altar of the Lord, which the Psalmist approaches, is placed in opposition to the assembly of the wicked, which he shuns. The Fut. parag. may very suitably be taken in its usual sense: "I will encompass." As the Psalmist had done it hitherto, so is he determined to continue to do it in future. The changes of the Preterite, of the common Future, and of the paragogic Future, are assuredly not accidental, and must not be overlooked. De Wette does not seem to have had a correct view of the con-tents of this verse "Besides pure morality, the poet is a zealous observer of religious rites." To this it may be replied, it is not the outward worship of God, as such, that is referred to in the clause, I have trusted in God, of which the passage before us is merely the development. The verse, moreover, is connected with the one following; and from that verse it is obvious that the object which the Psalmist has in view in coming to God's altar, the thing which brings him there, is not that he may offer out-ward sacrifices (to this, as a matter of inferior moment, assuredly no allusion is made), as if they were meritorious in themselves, but that he may bless and praise God, and may express his trust in Him in the place consecrated to His service, and in the pre-sence of His Church. Thus the expression, I encompass Thine altar, is very suitable after my heart has been purified, and stands related, as is obviously designed by the Psalmist, as cause to effect, to I wash my hands in innocency. Ver. 6. I wash mine hands in innocency, and I will compass Thine altar, O Lord. The threefold Jehovah of the section is so divided, that it opens it, and concludes it, and stands here in the first verse of the second strophe,—the strophe of the ascent from morality to piety. The hands are considered, in the first clause, as the instruments of action: innocence is the spiritual water; compare Psalms 72:13, where the washing of the hands in innocency corresponds to cleansing the heart; Job 9:30, where instead of innocency there stands “potash;” and Deuteronomy 21:6, and Matthew 27:34, where the hands were washed in protestation of innocence. The Psalmist describes himself as one integer vitae scelerisque purus. The second clause is translated by Gesenius and others: “I go round about Thy altar.” But ñåáá never occurs in the sense of “to go round anything.” And besides, there is no mention elsewhere of processions round the altar. Luther seized the true sense: “I hold fast by Thine altar, O Lord.” To encompass, is used of a single individual, to denote a clinging to, or strong attachment to: compare Jeremiah 31:22; see on the passage the Christology, P. III. p. 567. The altar of the Lord, which the Psalmist approaches, is placed in opposition to the assembly of the wicked, which he shuns. The Fut. parag. may very suitably be taken in its usual sense: “I will encompass.” As the Psalmist had done it hitherto, so is he determined to continue to do it in future. The changes of the Preterite, of the common Future, and of the paragogic Future, are assuredly not accidental, and must not be overlooked. De Wette does not seem to have had a correct view of the contents of this verse “Besides pure morality, the poet is a zealous observer of religious rites.” To this it may be replied, it is not the outward worship of God, as such, that is referred to in the clause, I have trusted in God, of which the passage before us is merely the development. The verse, moreover, is connected with the one following; and from that verse it is obvious that the object which the Psalmist has in view in coming to God’s altar, the thing which brings him there, is not that he may offer outward sacrifices (to this, as a matter of inferior moment, assuredly no allusion is made), as if they were meritorious in themselves, but that he may bless and praise God, and may express his trust in Him in the place consecrated to His service, and in the presence of His Church. Thus the expression, I encompass Thine altar, is very suitable after my heart has been purified, and stands related, as is obviously designed by the Psalmist, as cause to effect, to I wash my hands in innocency. Ver. 7. That I may cause the voice of praise to be heard, and may make known all Thy wonders. There is no reason for trans-lating לשמיע, contracted for להשמיע, contrary to the usual import of the infinitive with ל, by in that I tune up. Though the con-struction of השמיע, followed by ב, cannot without difficulty admitof the sense of tuning up, there is no objection here, as inEze_27:30, to take the sense of to cause to be heard, tocause that others hear, with ב as the instr. ב. The wonders ofthe Lord, the manifestations of His glory in guiding Israel, andespecially the Psalmist, form the subject of the praise. Onlyhe whose heart is so full of these wonders, that his mouth can- not refrain from uttering them, can offer up, in a manner worthy of being heard, the prayer, judge me, O Lord, and shall be made to share in new wonders. For wonders are designed only for trust, and trust calls forth praise and thanks.Ver. 8. O Lord, I loved the place of Thine house, and the place where Thine honour dwelleth. The Psalmist proceeds to show that he has approved himself, through fulfilling the com-mandments of the first table, as one to whom the help of God belongs. The sum thereof, even in the law, is love to God; and this love is directed, not to a distant and abstract God, but to one made known to His people, and dwelling in the midst of them: just as a Christian can love God only in Christ, so, under the Old Testament, love to God was at the same time love to the place of His house. The honour of God is His glory, which is wherever He is, for He is the glorious God:-where Thou dwellest, the glorious God; compare Exodus 40:34; Exodus 40:35; Numbers 9:15; Numbers 9:16. -De Wette maintains, that the circumstance of so much importance being attached to repairing to the sanctuary, betrays the late period of the writer. But there is assuredly nothing said of repairing to the sanctuary; and the idea, that as there is but one Lord, so there is but one sanctuary, is exceedingly suitable to the time of David. It is shown in the Beitr., P. 3, p. 54, etc., that even during the period of the Judges, the ark of the covenant, which had its place at Shiloh, was considered, as it ought to be according to the law, as the heart, the spiritual centre-point of the nation, and the Lord and the ark were viewed as inseparably connected together. As a proof that in David's time the ark of the covenant, which was brought by him to Mount Zion (compare, for example, Psalms 15:1), occupied the same position, it is sufficient to refer to 2 Samuel 15:25 : "And the king said unto Zadok, Carry back the ark of the covenant into the city: if I shall find favour in the eyes of the Lord, He will bring me again, and show me both it and His habita-tion." The ark and the Lord appear here as inseparably con-nected: to see the dwelling-place of the Lord, is at the same time to see Himself. In full accordance with this, are those Psalms, manifestly of Davidic origin, in which the expression of hope of help from Mount Zion so frequently occurs: compare, for example, Psalms 14:7; Psalms 20:3. The development of I have walked in mine integrity, and trusted in the Lord, is followed by the development of judge me, and may I not slide. Ver. 8. O Lord, I loved the place of Thine house, and the place where Thine honour dwelleth. The Psalmist proceeds to show that he has approved himself, through fulfilling the commandments of the first table, as one to whom the help of God belongs. The sum thereof, even in the law, is love to God; and this love is directed, not to a distant and abstract God, but to one made known to His people, and dwelling in the midst of them: just as a Christian can love God only in Christ, so, under the Old Testament, love to God was at the same time love to the place of His house. The honour of God is His glory, which is wherever He is, for He is the glorious God:—where Thou dwellest, the glorious God; compare Exodus 40:34-35; Numbers 9:15-16. De Wette maintains, that the circumstance of so much importance being attached to repairing to the sanctuary, betrays the late period of the writer. But there is assuredly nothing said of repairing to the sanctuary; and the idea, that as there is but one Lord, so there is but one sanctuary, is exceedingly suitable to the time of David. It is shown in the Beitr., P. 3, p. 54, etc., that even during the period of the Judges, the ark of the covenant, which had its place at Shiloh, was considered, as it ought to be according to the law, as the heart, the spiritual centre-point of the nation, and the Lord and the ark were viewed as inseparably connected together. As a proof that in David’s time the ark of the covenant, which was brought by him to Mount Zion (compare, for example, Psalms 15:1), occupied the same position, it is sufficient to refer to 2 Samuel 15:25 : “And the king said unto Zadok, Carry back the ark of the covenant into the city: if I shall find favour in the eyes of the Lord, He will bring me again, and show me both it and His habitation.” The ark and the Lord appear here as inseparably connected: to see the dwelling-place of the Lord, is at the same time to see Himself. In full accordance with this, are those Psalms, manifestly of Davidic origin, in which the expression of hope of help from Mount Zion so frequently occurs: compare, for example, Psalms 14:7, Psalms 20:3. The development of I have walked in mine integrity, and trusted in the Lord, is followed by the development of judge me, and may I not slide. Ver. 9. Take not away my soul with the wicked, and my life with men of blood. עם here plainly refers to עם in vers. 4, 5. The Psalmist prays that God would not, in contradiction to His own nature, and His word grounded therein, bind him up in community of outward condition with those with whom he had always avoided having any communion in thought and action; that He would not visit one, who was already in a suffering condition, with that irremediable ruin which is the portion of the wicked-the penalty of daring sin, not the fatherly chastisement of infirmity compare Psalms 86:1; Psalms 86:2 : "Bow down Thine ear, 0 Lord, hear me; for I am poor and needy. Preserve my soul, for I am holy: O Thou my God, save Thy servant who trusteth in Thee." Calvin: "It might appear, at first sight, an absurd prayer, that God would not involve the righteous in destruction with the ungodly; but God, in the exercise of His fatherly in-dulgence, permits His people to give such free expression to their feelings, that they may, even by the exercise of prayer itself, alleviate their care. For David, in giving utterance to this wish, sets the righteous judgment of God before his eyes for the purpose of delivering himself from care and fear, inasmuch as nothing can be more strange to God than to blend together good and evil." There is an allusion to Genesis 18:23, etc.Ver. 10. In whose hand is crime, and whose right hand is full of bribery. Compare for the first clause, Psalms 7:3; and for the second, Psalms 15:5.Ver. 11. But I walk in mine integrity; redeem me, and be merciful unto me. The reason why the Psalmist, in this second part, makes mention only of duties of the second table, is because these are more tangible, because mistakes as to one's own condition or that of others are not so easy here, and be-cause the opposites are clear, and cannot be mistaken for each other. Ver. 10. In whose hand is crime, and whose right hand is full of bribery. Compare for the first clause, Psalms 7:3; and for the second, Psalms 15:5. Ver. 11. But I walk in mine integrity; redeem me, and be merciful unto me. The reason why the Psalmist, in this second part, makes mention only of duties of the second table, is because these are more tangible, because mistakes as to one’s own condition or that of others are not so easy here, and because the opposites are clear, and cannot be mistaken for each other. Ver. 12. My foot stands in an even place; in the assemblies will I praise the Lord. עמדה is the prophet. Preterite. The Psalmist in faith sees his deliverance as already present. It is clear as day that the first clause refers to this, and not to right-eousness. This is required by the connection, by the parallel-ism, by the relation in which the words stand to may I not slide, ver. 7 (whose fulfilment they announce), by the ordinary use of the term, Psalms 27:11; Psalms 143:10, and by the analogy of the Preterites in the concluding verses of those Psalms which are generally prophetic. The even place stands in opposition to a difficult territory, full of steep cliffs and precipices.-The second clause expresses, in like manner, the confident expectation of being heard and delivered:-the Lord will give me opportunity to praise Him. The assemblies are not private meetings of the faithful for edification, but assemblies for the public worship of God in the temple: compare vers. 6 and 7, and Psalms 22:26. The words, I shall praise the Lord, proclaim the fulfilment of the prayer, judge me, O Lord. The “ Jehovah” completes the threefold repetition of the word in the conclusion and introduc-tion, which, in this respect, correspond to the main body of the Psalm. At the conclusion of the exposition it is necessary to advert to the charge of self-righteousness. The older expositors had already prepared the way for the charge. Amyraldus remarks: "David speaks in such high terms of his innocence and piety, that the Psalm can be fully interpreted only by considering David as a type of Christ, and by taking it for granted that he had not so much himself as Christ before his mind when he composed it." And De Wette has openly taken notice of the subject in the way of an objection to this Psalm. The poet, he thinks, speaks with so much self-complacency and confidence, as to let it be seen that he fully considers himself entitled to a better lot than is assigned to other men. We, whose minds have been enlightened by the teaching of the New Testament on the sub-ject of the righteousness of faith without works, are reminded by such language of the prayer of the Pharisee. The ground of this error lies in the prominence given to legal observances among the Hebrews: to these there was more attention paid than to the requirements of morality. But that this whole charge is founded upon a complete mistake, is evident from what hasbeen said at Psalms 17:118:20, and in the introduction to the Psalm before us, on its didactic tendency, and its connection with Psalms 25., which, according to De Wette, “ is distinguished for the most beautiful humility, and acknowledgment of unworthi-ness.” To all this the following observations may still be added. --That the Psalmist is very far from representing himself as a spotless saint, and that the righteousness and piety of which he speaks, is as yet to be formed, and relates only to the funda-mental tendency of the soul, and does not exclude manifold sins of infirmity, is evident, irrespective of the connection of our Psalm with the preceding one (a connection, however, which must not be impossible), from the circumstance, that the Psalmist acknowledges, as a right in itself, the suffering to which he is ex-posed: it is destruction only, not chastisement, that he deprecates, -this he knows to be perfectly right in itself, and to have been fully merited by him. Righteousness in this sense is, even in the New Testament, spoken of as the indispensable prerequisite of salvation. It is thus that we read, "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God;" that is, they shall experience Him to be gracious. Our Psalm is a commentary on this statement, and, indeed, generally on the beatitudes of the Sermon on the the Mount. Let it not be said, that though this righteousness should undoubtedly be in existence, yet it must not, on any ac-count, be a matter of consciousness: false humility is really a lie, and cannot be acceptable to a God of truth. Such a con-sciousness is not incompatible with the doctrine of the right-eousness of faith, except when that doctrine is misemployed as subservient to the purposes of rationalism; ought and am are separated by an immense gulf: the righteousness of faith, in the scriptural sense, is the parent, not the enemy of integrity of life. Assuredly the Christian poet sings, that he who has washed away his sins in the blood of Christ, cannot but main-tain a holy walk.-The prayer of the Pharisee has nothing to do with our Psalm: the righteousness there is imaginary, here it is real; there it consists in the careful observance of rites and cere-monies, here it is inward piety and outward morality; there it is absolute, here it is limited.-Finally, though there were here the expression of inordinate self-complacency, it could not well be traced to the prevalence among the Hebrews of superior regard to the ceremonial over the moral law. For how can the Psalmist be conceived to refer to ceremonial observances, when his whole language has reference to his trust in God, to his love to God,and to the blamelessness of his walk as the outward expression of the purity of his heart? Instead of bringing forward such an unwarrantable charge, it would have been much more becoming to have expressed ad-miration at the high purity of the moral and religious feelings which pervade this Psalm, at its entire freedom from all false particularism, at its living insight into "Be ye holy, for I am holy," and at its decisive opposition to everything approaching to Pharisaism, whose fundamental error is the separation between religion and morality, accompanied with completely raw con-ceptions as to the former. Psalms 27. The Lord is the Psalmist's light and salvation; therefore he may not fear, though in the midst of the greatest dangers. If he only remain an inmate in the house of God, in possession of the favour of God, he is hid; for God protects His own. Therefore, though he is in the midst of the oppressions of enemies, he is sure of deliverance and victory, vers. 1-6. The Psalmist had, in the first part, risen to heaven on the wings of faith, and, looking down from thence on the trouble and danger deep below upon the earth, despised them. Now he descends again, with the power which he had there acquired, into the midst of the troubles and oppressions of earth. The tone of triumph now disappears; but there still remains so much of joy, that the Psalmist, even in the midst of his melancholy and complaint, can still pray, in the second part, with heartfelt con-fidence, vers. 7-12, that God would take pity upon his trouble, and would deliver him out of the hands of those who, through artifice and force, seek his ruin. After these two strophes,-the one, that of confidence, the other, that of prayer; the one, that of the descent from God to trouble, the other, that of the ascent (thereby rendered possible) from trouble to God,-there follows the conclusion in vers. 13 and 14, which brings together within a short compass the contents of the whole Psalm, and points out what is really its scope: if the Psalmist place not his trust in God, he must-so great is his danger-necessarily despair. Hence he exclaims to his soul, expressively and repeatedly, "Wait on the Lord," which forms the essence of the whole Psalm. It will not do to subdivide the two chief divisions of the Psalm, each into two strophes of three verses, though the 4th verse would seem, at first sight, to lead us to make such an attempt. For the 6th verse draws the conclusion which it con-tains, not only from the 4th and 5th verses, but also from the whole preceding paragraph; and in the second part there is no break in the sense at ver. 9. The Psalmist has evidently paid particular attention to numbers. The main body of the Psalm is complete in twelve, --the number of the people of the covenant: the whole Psalm contains twice seven,-the signature of the covenant. The word Jehovah is repeated six times in the first half, in manifest accordance with the six verses in each of the two chief divisions, and in reference to the twelve verses of the whole main body of the Psalm. In accordance with the doubled seven of the verses of the whole, the word Jehovah occurs seven times in the second half, the second strophe (7-12), and the conclusion together. If we count up the number of times the word Jehovah is repeated in the first strophe and the second together, we find it amounts to ten,--the signature of completeness. The names of God occur in the conclusion three times,-the signature of the blessing.-That the position of the name of Jehovah was designed, even as to most minute particulars, is evident also from the circumstance, that it begins and concludes the Psalm, and that it also marks where the first strophe ends, and the second begins. The situation referred to in the Psalm, is that of one who is completely surrounded by enemies, ver. 6, who in every way seek his ruin (which is the most earnest wish of their hearts), ver. 12; who is destitute of all human help, ver. 10; and who, unless God interpose, is utterly ruined, ver. 13. The intimation given in the title, that David is the author of the Psalm, is confirmed by internal evidence. It is impossible to refer the Psalm to a later age than that of David, because at ver. 5 the author speaks of God hiding him in His pavilion, and in His tabernacle, and in the 6th verse, of offering unto God sacrifice in His tabernacle. While it is evident that theהיכל, from the use of which in the 4th verse an argument has been drawn against the Davidic authorship of the Psalm, was applied to the holy tabernacle, as is proved by what has been said on the 5th Psalm, there cannot even be the shadow of aproof adduced to show that, under Solomon, the temple was still called a tabernacle or pavilion. And in proof that David was the author of the Psalm, it may be said, not only in general, that among the manifold kinds of troubles, there is here, in re-markable correspondence with his experience, peculiar promi-nence given to distress arising from the oppression of enemies, but also, in particular, that the Psalmist speaks like a warrior borne down by hostile armies, and that the idea uppermost in his mind is that of a battle that has been waged, and of a camp that has been pitched against him. All attempts to find out any particular event in the life of David, to which the Psalm may more especially be referred, have failed. And from the failure of these, we may draw the inference, either that David originally uttered the Psalm from the soul of the oppressed righteous man, or, that if he wrote it in reference to a particular occasion, he generalized his own experience. Ver. 1. The Lord is my light and my salvation, whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life, of whom shall I be afraid? Calvin: "David, in laying, as it were, in the balances all the power of earth and hell, considers the whole as lighter than a feather, while God alone infinitely outweighs it all." He represents misery and trouble under the figure of darkness, and the Lord, who graciously sends help, under that of light, which enlightens the darkness: compare Micah 7:8, "If I sit in darkness, the Lord is my light." What, therefore, he first expresses figuratively by "my light," he immediately expresses in proper language by "my salvation." The Psalmist re-cognises God as his light and his salvation, first, from His word -from the promises of Divine aid which are held out in the law to the righteous, directly and indirectly, under the form of history, in the experience of those who stand on the same ground with himself, particularly the patriarchs; and second, from his own personal experience-every case in which the Lord had manifested Himself as the Psalmist's salvation, has strength-ened his conviction that He is so. The question, "Whom shall I," etc., throws aside, as it were, with indignation, every cause of fear. The Psalmist calls God the strength of his life, because He protects his life, of which his enemies seek to rob him, assurely as the strong walls of a fortified town defy the assaults of an enemy, and afford protection to the inhabitants.Ver. 2. When the wicked wretches come near against me, to eat my flesh, mine opponents and my enemies against me: THEY stumble and fall. The case is, in the first instance, as it is also at ver. 3, a supposed one. But it is evident from the 6th and 12th verses, that the Psalmist really was in a situation very analogous to this supposed one. While the Psalmist rises above possible dangers, he, at the same time, rises above those also that are real, which he therefore afterwards sets before the eye in a stronger and more defined manner, because an over-hasty glance at them, which easily assume an unreasonable importance, might have disturbed the view of the real relations of things. Luther, not wholly correctly, connects this verse with the one preceding it, by the word wherefore. The verse, like the one which follows it, carries forward the thought, "Whom should I fear, of whom should I be afraid, even when, for example, the wicked?" etc. The idea of hostile approach does not lie in קרב, but in על, to come near over any one, so that one falls upon him, sets on him. The metaphor in to eat my flesh, is taken from-savage beasts of prey. ואיבי צרי is not in apposition to מרעים. In that case, לי is inexplicable. It is evident that this word can-not be "redundant." When it appears to stand thus, as it does in Psalms 144:2, it renders the my more emphatic than a simple affix could do: my deliverer to me = MY deliverer, tenderly ex-pressed. But in the case before us such an emphasis is un-suitable. It is necessary rather to supply בקרב, though my op-ponents and enemies come near to me: and there is the lessobjection to this, as קרב is elsewhere connected with ל, Job 33:22. It is not without reason that the Psalmist gives pro-minence to the word evil-doers. For he cannot expect victory over his enemies unless he stand to them in the relationship of a righteous man to the wicked: this was the case in all the con-flicts which David had to maintain. המה is a word of emphasis, -they, not I, with whom this would assuredly be the case, did not the circumstance that the Lord is my light and my salva-tion disturb their otherwise very accurate calculations. The Pre-terites and כשלו and נפלו are explained from the confidence of faith. Ver. 2. When the wicked wretches come near against me, to eat my flesh, mine opponents and my enemies against me: THEY stumble and fall. The case is, in the first instance, as it is also at Psalms 27:3, a supposed one. But it is evident from the (Psalms 27:6) 6th and (Psalms 27:12) 12th verses, that the Psalmist really was in a situation very analogous to this supposed one. While the Psalmist rises above possible dangers, he, at the same time, rises above those also that are real, which he therefore afterwards sets before the eye in a stronger and more defined manner, because an over-hasty glance at them, which easily assume an unreasonable importance, might have disturbed the view of the real relations of things. Luther, not wholly correctly, connects this verse with the one preceding it, by the word wherefore. The verse, like the one which follows it, carries forward the thought, “Whom should I fear, of whom should I be afraid, even when, for example, the wicked?” etc. The idea of hostile approach does not lie in χψα, but in ςμ, to come near over any one, so that one falls upon him, sets on him. The metaphor in to eat my flesh, is taken from savage beasts of prey. φψιεΰιαι is not in apposition to ξψςιν. In that case, μι is inexplicable. It is evident that this word cannot be “redundant.” When it appears to stand thus, as it does in Psalms 144:2, it renders the my more emphatic than a simple affix could do: my deliverer to me=MY deliverer, tenderly expressed. But in the case before us such an emphasis is unsuitable. It is necessary rather to supply αχψα, though my opponents and enemies come near to me: and there is the less objection to this, as χψα is elsewhere connected with μ, Job 33:22. It is not without reason that the Psalmist gives prominence to the word evil-doers. For he cannot expect victory over his enemies unless he stand to them in the relationship of a righteous man to the wicked: this was the case in all the conflicts which David had to maintain. δξδ is a word of emphasis,—they, not I, with whom this would assuredly be the case, did not the circumstance that the Lord is my light and my salvation disturb their otherwise very accurate calculations. The Preterites λωμε and πτμε are explained from the confidence of faith. Ver. 3. Though an host encamp against me, yet my heart is not afraid: though war rise against me, yet in this case I am full of confidence. This verse agrees remarkably with Psalms 3:6. מהנה is, in all probability, here, as at Genesis 32:9, united to a feminine for the sake of the symmetry with תקום. בזאת, "in this," is, "even in such circumstances, to all human appearance desperate;" compare Leviticus 26:27; Job 1:22. The exposition, "I trust in this, namely, that Thou, O Lord, art my light and my salvation," is unnecessary, because, though undoubtedly בטה is generally construed with the ב of the object, we do repeatedly meet with it in an absolute form, in Judges 18:7; Jeremiah 12:5; Proverbs 11:5. It is moreover opposed by the analogy of the preceding clauses, which merely expand, "I am afraid of no one," without again pointing to the cause of the fearlessness. "I am full of confidence," corresponds exactly to "my heartis not afraid.” Luther's translation depends on this exposition: "I trust in Him," being only a free rendering.Ver. 4. One thing I desired of the Lord, after that I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to meditate thereon in His holy place. The Lord is the Psalmist's light and salvation, affords him protection against all enemies and all dangers. On this account he has only one prayer, one wish,-if this be granted, happen what may,-namely, that the Lord may abide with him, in which everything else is given to him; that he may never lose His favour, or be shut out from His fellowship. For the Lord (ver. 5) protects His own in all dangers.-Thechange of tense in שאלתי, and אבקש, is to be carefully attended to: it indicates that this prayer and desire extend through-out the whole of the Psalmist's life. The Preterite denotes the action completed, concluded, but yet reaching unto the present time; Ew. Sm. Gr. 262, (Venema's semper is more correct than Schmidt's jam olim): the Future marks still more particularly the continuance of this effort in the present.--The prayer is a true one, only when it goes forth on the ground of effort and exertion, when the longing desire of the heart is directed towards its object.-The “ dwelling in the house, of the Lord,” towards which the prayer and the desire are di-rected, is here, as in all other passages (compare Psalms 23:6; Psalms 15:1), to be understood figuratively, as equivalent to, "being an inmate of God's house," "to stand towards Him in a confi-dential relation," "to enjoy His favour." The cause of this figurative language is, that the tabernacle, and afterwards the temple itself, bore a symbolical character, represented the con-nection between God and His people who dwelt with Him spiritually there; compare the proof of this in Part III. of the Beitr. p. 831, etc.-It is for this reason that the Psalmist, desires to be, and to continue to be, an inmate in God's house. To this the words point, "That I may behold," etc.; that is, "that I may in this way behold what is inseparably connected there-with," etc. When God takes any man into the number of His own people, such a one beholds also His beauty, and enjoys the opportunity of meditating upon it in His sanctuary. יהוה נעם, means always the beauty of the Lord: compare Psalms 90:17, "Let the beauty of the Lord our God be upon us," i.e. let it be made known in our experience; Zechariah 11:7:1 To behold it, is to experience it, to know God as beautiful in His dealings. The expression in the 13th verse is exactly parallel: "to see the goodness of the Lord."-The בקר means always, "to search for," Leviticus 13:36; Leviticus 27:33; Ezekiel 34:11; Ezekiel 34:12; "to meditate on," 2 Kings 16:15; Proverbs 20:25, in accordance with the Chaldaic usage, and the fundamental sense of the word, "to open," "to cleave:" compare Gesenius on the word. As the word is never followed by ב of the object, the object of the inquiry and the meditation cannot therefore be contained in the בהיכלו, but must thus be drawn from what goes before: "and meditate thereon," namely, on the beauty of the Lord manifested in the experience of the inmates of His house, in His holy place. The holy place is mentioned as the place of meditation, because there thanks are offered to the Lord for the manifestations of His beauty. This exposition is confirmed by the 6th verse, where the Psalmist expresses his hope that, being delivered by the Lord, he shall offer joyful offerings in His tabernacle: compare also Psalms 26:7, according to which the Psalmist lets the voice of praise be heard in the sanctuary, and makes known all God's wondrous works.-According to the usual interpretation, the Psalmist expresses a wish to be delivered from danger, to serve God undisturbed in the temple, and to enjoy the pleasure of, looking upon the splendour of the sanctuary. Some translate, "that I may spend my life in the house of Jehovah, for the pur-pose of beholding the splendour of Jehovah (Luther: ‘ the beautiful service of God'), and viewing His temple" (others, 1 Venema: The beauty of the Lord here denotes whatever in the Lord is sweet, pleasant, and salutary to the sinner; and therefore His virtues of goodness and grace, together with all their signs and effects.456 THE BOOK OF PSALMS. “repairing to His temple” ). This translation, in the first place is contrary to the usus loquendi in three respects. It is alto-gether arbitrary to consider "to dwell in the house of the Lord" equivalent to "to attend it carefully," "to abide in it;" compare against this at Psalms 23:6. This difficulty is not removed by Hitzig's violent supposition, that the Psalm was composed by a priest: for not even the priests dwelt in the temple. יהוה נעם is arbitrarily translated by "the splendour of the Lord;" and this is just as arbitrarily supposed to signify the splendour of His sanctuary, or His splendid service. בקר is never united with ב, and means neither "to view," nor "to repair to." If we interpret, agreeably to etymology, the clause, "to behold the beauty of the Lord," etc., we shall be compelled to abandon the idea of outward dwelling in the house of the Lord; for that which is derived from the dwelling of the Lord, cannot be regarded as the consequence of outward presence in the temple. This exposition is, moreover, opposed by the parallel passages in which dwelling in the temple is spoken of: in all these, the idea is that of spiritual presence; compare, for example, Psalms 23. The fifth verse is also opposed to it. The thought of that verse, "for He protects me," is not at all fitted to give the reason why the Psalmist wishes to be in the temple; this is clear from the fruitless attempt of De Wette to refer the "for," with which he does not know how to begin, not to our verse, but to the first paragraph of the Psalm (vers. 1-3). It is also altogether inadmissible, if we understand there the "hiding in the pavilion," and the "concealing in the tabernacle of the Lord," in a figurative sense, to interpret literally the "dwelling in His house." Lastly, only on the figur-ative view of "dwelling in the house of the Lord," can we give any explanation of "one thing I desire of the Lord," etc. The one thing which gives the Psalmist strength and courage against the whole world, is the favour of God; hence the one thing which he desires and seeks after, is not his bodily presence in the temple, with which in such a connection a man can have nothing to do, but the possession of the favour of God. In reality, "to dwell in the house of the Lord," must be similar to, "to have Him for light and salvation." This is clear, moreover, from the circumstance, that the same consequence is deduced from "the dwelling in the house of the Lord," in ver. 5, which is de-duced from "the Lord is my light and salvation" (1-5), namely,safety against all attacks of enemies; and also from the circum-stance, that in ver. 6 assurance of victory in present trouble is deduced from the two taken together, "the Lord is my light and my salvation," and, "I dwell in the house of the Lord." Ver. 4. One thing I desired of the Lord, after that I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to meditate thereon in His holy place. The Lord is the Psalmist’s light and salvation, affords him protection against all enemies and all dangers. On this account he has only one prayer, one wish,—if this be granted, happen what may,—namely, that the Lord may abide with him, in which everything else is given to him; that he may never lose His favour, or be shut out from His fellowship. For the Lord (Psalms 27:5) protects His own in all dangers. The change of tense in ωΰμϊι, and ΰαχω, is to be carefully attended to: it indicates that this prayer and desire extend throughout the whole of the Psalmist’s life. The Preterite denotes the action completed, concluded, but yet reaching unto the present time; Ew. Sm. Gr. 262, (Venema’s semper is more correct than Schmidt’s jam olim): the Future marks still more particularly the continuance of this effort in the present. The prayer is a true one, only when it goes forth on the ground of effort and exertion, when the longing desire of the heart is directed towards its object. The “dwelling in the house, of the Lord,” towards which the prayer and the desire are directed, is here, as in all other passages (compare Psalms 23:6, Psalms 15:1), to be understood figuratively, as equivalent to, “being an inmate of God’s house,” “to stand towards Him in a confidential relation,” “to enjoy His favour.” The cause of this figurative language is, that the tabernacle, and afterwards the temple itself, bore a symbolical character, represented the connection between God and His people who dwelt with Him spiritually there; compare the proof of this in Part III. of the Beitr. p. 831, etc. It is for this reason that the Psalmist, desires to be, and to continue to be, an inmate in God’s house. To this the words point, “That I may behold,” etc.; that is, “that I may in this way behold what is inseparably connected therewith,” etc. When God takes any man into the number of His own people, such a one beholds also His beauty, and enjoys the opportunity of meditating upon it in His sanctuary. πςνιδεδ, means always the beauty of the Lord: compare Psalms 90:17, “Let the beauty of the Lord our God be upon us,” i.e. let it be made known in our experience; Zechariah 11:7. [Note: Venema: The beauty of the Lord here denotes whatever in the Lord is sweet, pleasant, and salutary to the sinner; and therefore His virtues of goodness and grace, together with all their signs and effects.] To behold it, is to experience it, to know God as beautiful in His dealings. The expression in the 13th verse is exactly parallel: “to see the goodness of the Lord.” The αχψ means always, “to search for,” Leviticus 13:36, Leviticus 27:33; Ezekiel 34:11-12; “to meditate on,” 2 Kings 16:15; Proverbs 20:25, in accordance with the Chaldaic usage, and the fundamental sense of the word, “to open,” “to cleave:” compare Gesenius on the word. As the word is never followed by α of the object, the object of the inquiry and the meditation cannot therefore be contained in the αδιλμε, but must thus be drawn from what goes before: “and meditate thereon,” namely, on the beauty of the Lord manifested in the experience of the inmates of His house, in His holy place. The holy place is mentioned as the place of meditation, because there thanks are offered to the Lord for the manifestations of His beauty. This exposition is confirmed by the (Psalms 27:6) 6th verse, where the Psalmist expresses his hope that, being delivered by the Lord, he shall offer joyful offerings in His tabernacle: compare also Psalms 26:7, according to which the Psalmist lets the voice of praise be heard in the sanctuary, and makes known all God’s wondrous works. According to the usual interpretation, the Psalmist expresses a wish to be delivered from danger, to serve God undisturbed in the temple, and to enjoy the pleasure of, looking upon the splendour of the sanctuary. Some translate, “that I may spend my life in the house of Jehovah, for the purpose of beholding the splendour of Jehovah (Luther: ‘the beautiful service of God’), and viewing His temple” (others, “repairing to His temple”). This translation, in the first place is contrary to the usus loquendi in three respects. It is altogether arbitrary to consider “to dwell in the house of the Lord” equivalent to “to attend it carefully,” “to abide in it;” compare against this at Psalms 23:6. This difficulty is not removed by Hitzig’s violent supposition, that the Psalm was composed by a priest: for not even the priests dwelt in the temple. πςνιδεδ is arbitrarily translated by “the splendour of the Lord;” and this is just as arbitrarily supposed to signify the splendour of His sanctuary, or His splendid service. αχψ is never united with α, and means neither “to view,” nor “to repair to.” If we interpret, agreeably to etymology, the clause, “to behold the beauty of the Lord,” etc., we shall be compelled to abandon the idea of outward dwelling in the house of the Lord; for that which is derived from the dwelling of the Lord, cannot be regarded as the consequence of outward presence in the temple. This exposition is, moreover, opposed by the parallel passages in which dwelling in the temple is spoken of: in all these, the idea is that of spiritual presence; compare, for example, Psalms 23. The fifth verse is also opposed to it. The thought of that verse, “for He protects me,” is not at all fitted to give the reason why the Psalmist wishes to be in the temple; this is clear from the fruitless attempt of De Wette to refer the “for,” with which he does not know how to begin, not to our verse, but to the first paragraph of the Psalm (Psalms 27:1-3). It is also altogether inadmissible, if we understand there the “hiding in the pavilion,” and the “concealing in the tabernacle of the Lord,” in a figurative sense, to interpret literally the “dwelling in His house.” Lastly, only on the figurative view of “dwelling in the house of the Lord,” can we give any explanation of “one thing I desire of the Lord,” etc. The one thing which gives the Psalmist strength and courage against the whole world, is the favour of God; hence the one thing which he desires and seeks after, is not his bodily presence in the temple, with which in such a connection a man can have nothing to do, but the possession of the favour of God. In reality, “to dwell in the house of the Lord,” must be similar to, “to have Him for light and salvation.” This is clear, moreover, from the circumstance, that the same consequence is deduced from “the dwelling in the house of the Lord,” in Psalms 27:5, which is deduced from “the Lord is my light and salvation” (Psalms 27:1-5), namely, safety against all attacks of enemies; and also from the circumstance, that in Psalms 27:6 assurance of victory in present trouble is deduced from the two taken together, “the Lord is my light and my salvation,” and, “I dwell in the house of the Lord.” Ver. 5. For He hides me in His pavilion in the time of trouble, He covers me in the covering of His tent, He lifts me up upon a rock. The Psalmist here gives the ground why, in view of the oppression of his enemies, "the dwelling in the house of the Lord, the possession of His favour," is sufficient for him: whom the Lord loves, him He also protects. Corresponding to the representation of the gracious relation to the Lord, under the figure of dwelling with Him in the temple, we have, in the first two clauses of this verse, the protection which is the con-sequence of this gracious relation, represented by the figure of a sure place of refuge and concealment, which the Lord affords to His persecuted people, beside Himself in His tabernacle. These two clauses have been misunderstood in two ways. First, by those who, like the Jewish expositors and Knapp, understand the words in a coarse literal sense, and suppose that David on one occasion found shelter in the holy tabernacle, and was in this manner delivered out of the hands of his enemies. This is opposed by the last clause, which must necessarily be taken in a figurative sense. Second, by those who, with De Wette, maintain that the pavilion and the tabernacle of this passage are not at all the holy place, but are only emblems of protection, taken from the master of a house, who gives protection in his house to a stranger, from some peril to which he may be ex-posed. This is undoubtedly the origin of the figurative expres-sion; but that the friendly pavilion and the friendly tabernacle are the sanctuary of the Lord, is clear from the corresponding expression, "the house of the Lord," in ver. 4: "I have only one wish, to abide in the house of the Lord; for He hides me in His house, or His tabernacle;" and "His tabernacle" in 6th verse: "He hides me in His tabernacle; therefore shall I bring' forward thank-offerings in His tabernacle." It will not do to refer to Psalms 31:20, "Thou keepest them secretly in a pavilion;" for there it is in a pavilion, here it is in His pavilion. סכה, a pavilion, is used poetically for the holy tabernacle in Psalms 76:2. It has already been adverted to in the introduction, that the expression, "in His pavilion and in His tabernacle," involves in insuperable difficulty the supposition that the Psalmwas composed at a period posterior to that of David. Solomon's temple, especially, could not possibly be called "a pavilion." The name, "tabernacle," might have been carried forward from the earlier to the later sanctuary: there is, however, no proof even of this. Ver. 6. And now mine head shall be lifted up above all mine enemies round about, and I will offer in His tabernacle offerings of joy, I will sing and praise the Lord. This verse concludes the first strophe: in vers. 1-5, the conviction that the Lord is the Psalmist's light and salvation, and that he dwells in the house of the Lord, gives him confidence against all conceivable dangers: here, in the possession of this favour of God, he is completely sure of victory in the difficulties in which he now finds himself. ועתה is either "and now,"�nunc in presenti periculo,-or it may be considered as the particle of in-ference, "and now, since it is so (compare Psalms 2:10; Psalms 39:7), I shall triumph securely over my present enemies." On, "my-head shall be lifted up," compare Psalms 3:3. The clause, "I will offer," etc., shows that the Psalmist feels as sure of deliverance as if he had already obtained it. He is already preparing to offer thanks for it. Joy-offerings are offerings which are ac-companied with rejoicings for deliverance, and are themselves matter-of-fact rejoicings. The תרועה stands here, as in Numbers 23:31, and in all other passages, in the general sense of “shouts of joy:” comp. תודה קול in Psalms 26:7. De Wette and other expositors give, "offerings of the sound of trumpets:" "the holy trumpets were blown at the burnt and thank-offer-ings," Numbers 10:10. But this passage refers only to the public thank-offerings on holy days. We never read of trumpets being used at private offerings. At the beginning of the second strophe, the tone changes at once. Instead of triumphant confidence, we have mournful supplication. But the last verse of the first strophe softens thetransition. There the Psalmist has descended from the sereneheights of heaven to the earth: from the contemplation of pos-sible dangers, in which he conquers, through the aid of his heavenly helper, to whom in faith he rises, he has begun to turn to the consideration of those that are real. At first, the tone of triumph still continues: the danger is rather too small than too great for him. But, in proportion as he gets a nearer view of it, it becomes greater; he is terrified, and begins to sink; andretains only so much of his early confidence as to enable him to cry out, and to say, "Lord, help me." But this is in reality a very great deal; and for a man who has begun to take to heart the sufferings and the dangers of this life, it is really enough.-It is in this transition from triumphant confidence to mournful supplication, that is to be found the truth of the Psalm, and also much of its practical power. We could not have found ourselves in it, had the tone of triumph been continued to the end. The first strophe is sufficient only for painted suffering.Ver. 7. Hear, O Lord, when I cry with my voice, and be gracious to me, and answer me. In reference to אקרא קולי, com-pare what has been said on Psalms 3:4. The קולי is not redundant, it indicates a loud cry. Ver. 7. Hear, O Lord, when I cry with my voice, and be gracious to me, and answer me. In reference to χεμιΰχψΰ, compare what has been said on Psalms 3:4. The χεμι is not redundant, it indicates a loud cry. Ver. 8. My heart always holds forth to Thee Thy word, "Seek My face:" Thy face, O Lord, I do seek. As always, so particu-larly now, the heart of the Psalmist in trouble is turned towards God, expecting deliverance from Him alone; and whoever is in such a state of mind is all the more sure of being delivered by God, inasmuch as His word commands us to seek Him in trouble, and promises that those who seek shall find Him. אמר and אבקש; stand in the same relation to each other as שאלתי, and אבקש do in ver. 4: always, and particularly now. It is im-possible to translate simply: my heart says to Thee. There was no need for inserting "Thy word," which we have supplied, inasmuch as the clause, “ seek My face,” shows by its form, that what the Psalmist says to God, is only an echo of what God has said to His people. "To seek the face of any one," is to "seek to be admitted to his presence:" compare Proverbs 29:26, "Many seek the ruler's face." As admission into the presence is allowed only to those who enjoy the favour of the ruler, it is the mark and expression of this favour, and because it is so, is sought after; so, to seek the face of the Lord, is to seek to be admitted into His presence, and in reality to seek to enjoy His favour com-pare 2 Samuel 21:1, "There was a famine in the days of David, and David sought the face of the Lord;" Psalms 24:6; Psalms 105:4. In reality, "to seek the face of the Lord," is "to seek the Lord;" 2 Samuel 12:16; 2 Chronicles 20:4; 2 Chronicles 15:2. The Divine saying, to which the Psalmist here refers, occurs, though not exactly in the same terms, in Deut. 4:29, "And ye seek from thence the Lord thy God, and thou findest Him, if thou seek Him with all thy heart , and with allthy soul." The seeking of the Lord, and the finding Him, are there placed in inseparable connection with each other. Hosea v. 15 refers, like the passage before us, to the same expression: "I will go and return to My place, till they acknowledge their offence, and seek My face: in their affliction (verbatim from Deut.) they will inquire after Me:" compare the Beitr. 2 p. 61. There, as here, "to seek the face of God," is substituted for "to seek God."-Muis, De Wette, and other interpreters, translate the first words: "my heart speaks of Thee." But, in this way, the signification of the Preterite is misunderstood: אמר with לsignifies, with a few exceptions, "to speak to some one," and the sense of, "to speak of one," is unsupported. "To seek the face of the Lord," is considered as equivalent to, "to repair to the temple." But this sense is one in which the phrase is never used; and, in the case before us, it is excluded both by the reference to the fundamental passage, and by what follows in the next verse, "hide not Thy face:" the whole scope and con-nection, moreover, are altogether opposed to any reference to repairing to the temple.-After the example of the Vulgate, "de to dixit cor meum: require O facies mea," Hitzig trans-lates, "my heart speaks of Thee, Seek Him, my face." But, irrespective of all other considerations, the phrase יהוה פני בקש will not admit of such a rendering. Ver. 9. Hide not Thy face from me, drive not away Thy servant in anger, Thou who hast always been my helper; leave me not, neither forsake me, O God, my salvation. The "hiding" of the face stands opposed to the "showing" of it, which God in His word hath promised to those who seek it with all their heart. The תט אל--apoc. Fut. in Hiph.�to be translated, "turn not away," but, "drive not away:" compare הטה, in the sense of "to set aside," "to put aside," which suits very well to the hiding of the face, in Job 24:4; compare also 36:18; 2 Samuel 3:27. "Thy servant," contains in it the ground of the prayer: "Do not act towards Thy servant as Thou attest only towards the wicked." This ground is given still more distinctly in what follows: "Thou who hast always been my helper." This corresponds to the expression at the conclusion, "my salvation-God;" and must therefore denote the abiding relation in which God stands to the Psalmist, on which he grounds his prayer for special deliverance. The Preterite היית, denotes past time stretching forward to the present. Ver. 10. For my father and my mother forsook me, and the Lord takes me up. The Psalmist gives the reason why he had called upon the Lord for assistance so mournfully in the pre-ceding verse: the love of God is the only love that is sure, in heaven, or on earth: the love of men disappears on the approach of misfortune, in which they recognise a dispensation to renounce love; but the love of God is proved most gloriously in affliction: the afflicted are above all others dear to Him.-In the clause, "father and mother have forsaken me," the Psalmist speaks of something which had already happened; and the translation, "though they forsake me," is inadmissible. But there is no reason why we should feel ourselves necessitated to seek for an individual reference. Every one who is in great trouble may speak in this manner. Father and mother stand as an individu-alizing designation of those who are united to us by the closest ties, and in whom love towards us, when we are in a state of suffering, might be expected to continue the longest. Whoever has no parents, puts his friends in their room. It lies deep in human nature that suffering should cool, if it does not extinguish, love: men are only too much inclined to seek in the sufferer the cause of this. This is seen in the case of the friends and the wife of Job; compare also Psalms 88:8. The proverb, "that the unfortunate may lay their account with contempt," is verified even in the case of nearest relatives. David had, in all probability, had experience of the instability of human love in suffering under the very form to which he here refers, and made choice of this expression in reference to his own personal experience. His parents, whom, according to 1 Samuel 22:3, he took care of in misfortune, were, assuredly, on many occa-sions (from the character of human nature, it could scarcely be otherwise), ill pleased with him by whom their peace had been to often disturbed, and he must have had to bear with many hard speeches at their hand. The Lord takes me up, like one who takes a weary wanderer, or a fugitive who has lost his way, into his house, and treats him kindly: compare ver. 5; Joshua 20:4; Judges 19:5.Ver. 11. Teach me, O Lord, Thy way, and lead me in an even path, because of mine enemies. Most expositors are of opinion, that the Psalmist prays that the Lord would lead him by His Spirit and preserve him from sin. Calvin saw that this sense would not do in connection with what precedes and follows,where the whole language is about Divine assistance against enemies. The way of the Lord here is the way of salvation: this limitation flows from the person who is speaking, for the paths of God can be only paths of safety for His servants. The even path forms a contrast to the stones and rocks which rendered the Psalmist's progress through life so difficult. Psalms 25:4 is exactly parallel, where we met with the same false exposition: compare also Psalms 26:12. "Because of mine enemies," points out the cause, more fully opened up in the following verse, why the Psalmist stood so much in need of Divine guidance and help. Ver. 11. Teach me, O Lord, Thy way, and lead me in an even path, because of mine enemies. Most expositors are of opinion, that the Psalmist prays that the Lord would lead him by His Spirit and preserve him from sin. Calvin saw that this sense would not do in connection with what precedes and follows, the whole language is about Divine assistance against enemies. The way of the Lord here is the way of salvation: this limitation flows from the person who is speaking, for the paths of God can be only paths of safety for His servants. The even path forms a contrast to the stones and rocks which rendered the Psalmist’s progress through life so difficult. Psalms 25:4 is exactly parallel, where we met with the same false exposition: compare also Psalms 26:12. “Because of mine enemies,” points out the cause, more fully opened up in the following verse, why the Psalmist stood so much in need of Divine guidance and help. Ver 12. Give me not over to the will of mine enemies; for there are false witnesses risen up against me, and such as breathe violence. The soul of the enemies stands for their passions, be- cause the soul is wholly absorbed by these. By "the false witnesses," and "such as breathe violence," two classes of enemies are meant: those who seek to accomplish their ardent wish to annihilate the righteous man by cunning lies and deceit, and by false and slanderous accusations; and, second, those who employ open violence. יפה is the status constructus of the ad-jective הaפeיA. This is to be derived not from יפה, but from the Fut. Hithp. of פוה, which occurs in the same form in Hab. ii. 3: compare ברeיA from ריב. "Those who breathe violence" (not, who breathe out), are "those whose every breath is vio-lence:” compare Proverbs 6:19, "A false witness that speaketh (lit. breatheth) lies;" "breathing threatenings and slaughter," Acts 9:9; "Spirare minas" in Latin; and "ךבךὶבע ךבי ףץךן-צבםפיבע נםוי?, in Aristoph. Knights, 435. The conclusion now follows, summing up once more in nar-row compass the contents of the Psalm, trouble and distress in the world, and hope in God.Ver. 13. If I had not believed to see the goodness of God in the land of the living, . . . That this verse is not to be imme-diately connected with what goes before, but marks the be-ginning of the conclusion, is clear from the circumstance, that whereas in the former verses God is addressed, here He is spoken of, and that this verse contains the foundation for the exhortation of the last verse, to trust in God.- Had the Psalmist brought the sentence to a conclusion, he would have added, "I must have yielded to despair, or I should have been ruined." This fatal word, however, he finds it very difficult to utter; and ere he does so, a voice within is raised, exhorting him to con-tinue firmer and firmer in his trust in God, which he designated as his only ground of hope. Among all the passages which contain similar aposiopeses, there is none so exactly like the one before us as Genesis 31:42 : "Except (לולי) the God of my fathers, the God of Abraham, and the fear of Isaac, had been with me, . . . (it would have been all over with me); for Thou wouldst have sent me away empty." Compare also Genesis 1:15; Zechariah 6:15. Ewald, p. 663. In this aposiopesis the Masorites have not been able to find their feet: they put their so-called puncta extraordinaria over the לולא, which perplexed them: they are, however, just as little deserving of regard as the Keris. The old translators, with the exception of the Chaldaic, leave out לולא altogether: no conclusion, however, ought to be drawn from this against it; they may have been of the same opinion as De Wette, who remarks, "We may very easily get quit of it, seeing it yields no very suitable sense." In favour of the genu- ineness of לולא, it may be remarked, that it would certainly never occur to any one to insert it; and that, on deep reflection (such, however, as a glossarist was not likely to indulge in), it appears to be indispensably necessary to complete the sense. The bare and unconditional clause, "I believe to see," etc., is unsuit-able and incongruous, after the anxious prayer of the preced-ing verse for deliverance from false witnesses and those who breathe violence, whose look cries out to the Psalmist that he is lost; and then the exhortation of the following verse implies that weakness had come over the Psalmist, and that danger had assailed him with great violence: the weakness is here, the remedy is there. יהוה טוב is explained by several interpreters as "the good things of the Lord," "His blessings and acts of kindness." Gesenius: "optima dei munera." But יהוה טוב always signifies the "goodness of God," "the goodness of His nature:" compare Psalms 25:7; Psalms 31:19; Zechariah 9:17, where the goodness and the beauty of the Lord occur together (Chris-tology, P. 3, p. 135, 6); and this sense is especially demanded here by the corresponding clause in ver. 4, יהוה נעם. To see the goodness of the Lord, is to experience His excellence. The "land of the living" stands in opposition to "the land of the dead," or "Sheol;" compare Jeremiah 38:11; Ezekiel 26:20; Ezekiel 32:32. The reference, revived by Claus and Stier, to the "life to come," has been completely set aside by Muis. It is assuredly in this life, ere he "go whence he shall not return,to the land of darkness and the shadow of death," Job 10:21, into which his enemies are on the point of sending him, that the Psalmist hopes still to see the goodness of the Lord. The writers of the Psalms are far removed from that resignation, which gives up to the ungodly everything on this side the grave. Their faith is far too fresh and powerful for this. Ver. 13. If I had not believed to see the goodness of God in the land of the living, . . . That this verse is not to be immediately connected with what goes before, but marks the beginning of the conclusion, is clear from the circumstance, that whereas in the former verses God is addressed, here He is spoken of, and that this verse contains the foundation for the exhortation of the last verse, to trust in God. Had the Psalmist brought the sentence to a conclusion, he would have added, “I must have yielded to despair, or I should have been ruined.” This fatal word, however, he finds it very difficult to utter; and ere he does so, a voice within is raised, exhorting him to continue firmer and firmer in his trust in God, which he designated as his only ground of hope. Among all the passages which contain similar aposiopeses, there is none so exactly like the one before us as Genesis 31:42 : “Except (μεμι) the God of my fathers, the God of Abraham, and the fear of Isaac, had been with me, . . . (it would have been all over with me); for Thou wouldst have sent me away empty.” Compare also Genesis 1:15; Zechariah 6:15. Ewald, p. 663. In this aposiopesis the Masorites have not been able to find their feet: they put their so-called puncta extraordinaria over the μεμΰ, which perplexed them: they are, however, just as little deserving of regard as the Keris. The old translators, with the exception of the Chaldaic, leave out μεμΰ altogether: no conclusion, however, ought to be drawn from this against it; they may have been of the same opinion as De Wette, who remarks, “We may very easily get quit of it, seeing it yields no very suitable sense.” In favour of the genuineness of μεμΰ, it may be remarked, that it would certainly never occur to any one to insert it; and that, on deep reflection (such, however, as a glossarist was not likely to indulge in), it appears to be indispensably necessary to complete the sense. The bare and unconditional clause, “I believe to see,” etc., is unsuitable and incongruous, after the anxious prayer of the preceding verse for deliverance from false witnesses and those who breathe violence, whose look cries out to the Psalmist that he is lost; and then the exhortation of the following verse implies that weakness had come over the Psalmist, and that danger had assailed him with great violence: the weakness is here, the remedy is there. θεαιδεδ is explained by several interpreters as “the good things of the Lord,” “His blessings and acts of kindness.” Gesenius: “optima dei munera.” But θεαιδεδ always signifies the “goodness of God,” “the goodness of His nature:” compare Psalms 25:7, Psalms 31:19; Zechariah 9:17, where the goodness and the beauty of the Lord occur together (Christology, P. 3, p. 135, 6); and this sense is especially demanded here by the corresponding clause in ver. 4, πςνιδεδ. To see the goodness of the Lord, is to experience His excellence. The “land of the living” stands in opposition to “the land of the dead,” or “Sheol;” compare Jeremiah 38:11; Ezekiel 26:20, Ezekiel 32:32. The reference, revived by Claus and Stier, to the “life to come,” has been completely set aside by Muis. It is assuredly in this life, ere he “go whence he shall not return, to the land of darkness and the shadow of death,” Job 10:21, into which his enemies are on the point of sending him, that the Psalmist hopes still to see the goodness of the Lord. The writers of the Psalms are far removed from that resignation, which gives up to the ungodly everything on this side the grave. Their faith is far too fresh and powerful for this. Ver. 14. The reflection, that the grace of God is his only ground of hope, and that but for it, his own weakness, and the fury and might of his enemies, would have brought him into an irremediable condition, and left him the prey of despair, gives the Psalmist occasion to exhort himself to trust in the Lord.--Wait on the Lord: be strong, and may He strengthen thy heart; and wait upon the Lord. The strong part of the soul speaks to the weak, as is the case throughout the whole of the 42d and43d Psalms. We cannot entertain the idea, that the Psalmist is addressing the pious, and that he makes an application of his own experience to the case of those in similar circumstances. In this way, the connection with the 13th verse would be alto-gether broken. The individual who is here exhorted to trust in God, must be the same one who had there declared, that butfor his trust in God he must become the victim of despair. Instead of, "may He strengthen thy heart," most translators have, "may thy heart get strong." But we cannot give up the usual sense of the Hiph. either here or in the passage, Psalms 31:25; -these are the only two passages in which the Hiph. of אמץ occurs. And the strictly grammatical translation in the passage before us, brings out a much finer meaning. The Psalmist, after having exhorted himself to be strong, directs attention to Him who alone can give the strength to comply with this exhortation. He does not express His name, because none but He who is the fountain of all strength can be thoughtof, when we speak of being strengthened. There is something very great in the expression, "be strong." Calvin: "When trembling comes upon thee, when temptation shaketh thy faith, when the feelings of thy flesh are driven hither and thither, be not overcome, but rather rise up with indefatigable power of mind." Nature cannot accomplish this: none but He can bring it about, who giveth might to the weary and sufficient strength to the weak. He gives not only outward strength, but also that which is inward: He not only gives deliverance to those who trust in Him, but He also works trust in Him. Psalms 28. The Psalmist first sends forth the petition that he may be heard in his prayer, remarking, that unless this be done, he is given over to irremediable destruction. This forms the intro-duction (ver. 1). After repeating this petition at the beginning of the first division, he unfolds his request, viz. that God would not entangle him in that destruction which is the portion of the wicked, and would inflict upon these, specially his enemies, the punishment which they deserve, vers. 2-5. He obtains assur-ance of being heard, and praises the Lord as the Saviour of His anointed one and of His people, vers. 6-8. The conclusion, ver. 9, contains the prayer that the Lord would reveal Himself in all future time, as He had done on the present occasion, as the Saviour of His people. That ver. 1 is to be considered as the introduction, and ver. 9, which corresponds to it, as the conclusion, is obvious, not only from the contents, but also from the circumstance that the as-surance of being heard (ver. 6), which verbally is appended to the prayer, does not belong to the first but to the second verse. The main division of the Psalm thus consists of seven verses. This number is again divided, as it frequently is, into a four and a three. The strophe of confidence points to the Mosaic blessing, not only by the three verses, but also by the threefold repetition of the word Jehovah. Any further remarks on the formal arrangement we shall make in the introduction to Psalms 29., which, along with the one now before us, makes up one pair. We shall there find the arrangement, 1. 7. 1., proposed here, confirmed; and, at the same time, we shall see why Jehovah occurs here, in all, five times. The situation is that of one who is in great danger, and is utterly lost unless the Lord help (ver. 1); who prays earnestly for deliverance (vers. 2-6); and is threatened with destruction (ver. 3). The person who speaks is a righteous man (ver. 3), the Lord's anointed (ver. 8); and whose cause also is identical with that of the people (vers. 8, 9). It is here that lies the difference between this Psalm and Psalms 26. The situation and the fundamental thought in both are--that God cannot bind up together in similarity of outward fate those who inwardly aredifferent, and that the lot of the. wicked cannot be the same as that of the righteous. There, it is the oppressed righteous man in general that speaks: here, it is specially the oppressed righteous King. The contents of the Psalm throughout apply very well to David during the time of Absalom's rebellion, when, to all ap-pearance, the design of God was that the lots of the righteous and the wicked should be exchanged; the people were brought into danger on account of the king; and the enemies especially were those who "spoke peace to their neighbours, while mis-chief was in their hearts." But, in the absence of all special historical circumstances, it is in the highest degree probable, that the design of David, in composing the Psalm, was to draw out a form of prayer, grounded on his own experience at this time, for the use of his successors who should walk in the foot-steps of his righteousness: compare Psalms 18:50. If this be the case, it is manifest, at the same time, that the Psalm in reality possesses a didactic and hortatory character:-the right-eous king, in a time of severe trouble, desires to set before hiseyes the righteous judgment of God, which will not permit the righteous to be involved in the lot of the wicked, nor the wicked to go unpunished; to be calm and composed in dependence on this; and to wait with confident expectation for the help of God. This didactic tendency is particularly obvious in the 5th verse, where the form of address to God is abandoned. The assertion of Ewald and Hitzig, that the portion from the 6th to the 9th verse was first written after the danger had gone past, is based on the false idea, that the Psalm has an individual character; proceeds from mistaking the nature of the transi-tions in the Psalm; and overlooks the truth, that faith is the substance-the ὑποστασις-of things hoped for, Hebrews 11:1. Ver. 1. Unto thee, O Lord, do I cry, my rock; be not silentto me: lest, if Thou be silent to me, I become like those who go down to hell. The expression, "my rock," points to the immu- tability, the certainty, and the inviolable faithfulness of God: compare Psalms 18:1; Psalms 18:3; Psalms 19:14, p. 342. This address contains in it the ground of the prayer, "be not silent." The faithful God, who chastises His people, but does not give them over to death, cannot be silent when circumstances are such, that itmay with truth be said, that to be silent is the same as to bring destruction. The "be not silent from me" needs nothing to be supplied. The idea of "removing to a distance from" is clearly involved in that of "silence;" and, on the other hand, every answer implies the idea of an approach and a nearness of God. "Lest, if Thou be silent to me, I become like," etc.; literally, "lest Thou be silent from me, and I become like," etc., equiva-lent to, "lest, in the great danger to which I am now exposed, Iutterly perish." Calvin: nullus sum, si a me discesseris; nisi tu unus succurras, perii. בור, a pit, is used in the sense of thegrave, Isaiah 14:19; of Sheol, Isaiah 14:15 and Psalms 30:3. We are manifestly to take it always in this sense in the common phrase בור יורדי. For this phrase designates everywhere "the dead." But as we must here translate, "those who go down to the pit," not, "those who have gone down," we must think of the long journey to Sheol, and not of the short journey to the grave. Ver. 2. Hear the voice of my supplication when I cry to Thee, when I lift my hands to Thy holy oracle. The lifting of the hands was the usual attitude of prayer, not only among the Israelites,-comp. Exodus 9:29; Exodus 17:11; Exodus 17:12; 1 Kings 8:54; Psalms 63:4; Lamentations 3:41; 1 Timothy 2:8,-but also among the heathen: comp., the passages in Iken, Dissert. i. p. 220. The lifting up of the hands symbolized the lifting up of the heart. That the Psalmist lifted up his hands,--not to heaven, but to the most holy place, where was the ark of the covenant (comp. 1 Kings 6:19), is to be understood in the same sense in which we call upon God in Christ. God had, in loving condescension to the weakness of His people, who were unable to rise to that which is unseen, except through the medium of something visible, taken, as it were, a form in the midst of them, in anticipation of the incar-nation of His Son, by which this want, which lies deep in the nature of man, was satisfied in a manner infinitely more real: compare the Beitr. P. 3p. 629, and at Psalms 26:5. That by דביר is meant the most holy place in the tabernacle and temple, admits of no doubt. The derivation, however, and the import of the word, may be disputed. According to the ancient expo-sitors, the most holy place was so termed, because it was from it that God returned answers to those who consulted Him: Aquilaand Symmachus, קסחלבפיףפחסיןם; Jerome, כבכחפחסיןם. Modernexpositors again, after the example of Simon and Iken, Diss. i. p. 214, give the word the sense of "the back part:" compareparticularly Gesenius's Thes. It appears, however, that this exposition owes its introduction merely to the ground which has been assigned for considering the primary sense of כפרת to be "a covering,"-viz. awe for what is deep. Etymologically, there can be no objection to the old exposition. דביר is, pro-perly, "what is said," and secondarily, "the place where it is said;" just as אסיף is, properly, "what is gathered," and then,"the season when the fruits are gathered." The appellation given to this part-the place where God speaks to His people,or converses with them-stands in most beautiful harmony with the appellation given to the whole, מועד אהל, the taber-nacle of meeting, where God meets with His people. The most holy place is, as it were, the audience-chamber. But the proper basis of this exposition, which its opponents pass over alto-gether in silence, is given in the passages, Numbers 7:89, "Andwhen Moses was gone into the tabernacle of the congregation to speak with Him, then he heard the voice of one speaking with him from off the mercy-seat, that was upon the ark of testi-mony," and Exodus 25:22. Finally, the signification given by the old expositors answers remarkably well to the passage before us:--this passage alone is sufficient to refute the objection of Iken, that דביר is never used in a connection in which there is any reference to a speaking on the part of God. The Psalmist had prayed that God would not be silent to him-that He would hear his supplication. What, in these circumstances, could be more natural, than that he should stretch out his hands to the place whence God speaks with His people, and that he should, with full confidence, look for an answer from thence to his cry for help? Ver. 3. Draw me not away with the wicked, and with the workers of iniquity, who speak peace to their neighbours, and have mischief in their hearts. There are marks of quotation to be supplied at the beginning of this verse. There are heregiven the contents of the prayer which God has been called uponin the preceding verses to hear: "that God would not deliver the Psalmist His servant over to destruction, inasmuch as, according to His own word, that is the portion only of the wicked." ך`שמ is, "to draw," "to draw away," "to carry off:" comp. Job 24:22; Ezekiel 32:20. In the parallel passage,Psalms 26:9, the expression used is תאסף אל. The description of the character of the wicked, with whom the Psalmist desiresthat he might not be united in community of lot, is borrowed from that of his enemies. "David," says Venema, "tacitly transfers these crimes to his enemies, whose real character was what is here described." The description corresponds rather to domestic villains, who endeavour by the arts of dissimulation to gain their object, such as Absalom and his party, than to public enemies, whose weapons are those of open violence. The wicked are described as men who conduct themselves as they ought to do only as to their lips, but are hostile in their intentions and their deeds towards him, who, both by the special appointment of God and by the laws of nature, is their neighbour, united to them by that common bond by which all the members of the Church of God are united to each other, or even, in addition to this, by the ties of tenderest affection. Between רע and רעה there is a significant paronomasia.Ver. 4. Give them according to their conduct, and according to the wickedness of their actions: give them according to the work of their hands; make good to them their portion. This is the second petition of the Psalmist. The first was, "that the Lord would not punish him with the wicked;" the second, which is here, is, "that He would not let the wicked go unpunished." Them, that is, the wicked and evil-doers, particularly my enemies. The objection which has been taken against this prayer of the Psalmist, and so many others of a similar kind, is most assur-edly an ungrounded one, inasmuch as the Psalmist prays that God would do nothing more than what He necessarily must do according to His own nature. "He practises the jus talionis according to His own righteousness. Justice reverberates: the unrighteous blow which I aim at another recoils, according to the moral government of the world, back upon myself." Compare Matthew 7:2. On גמול compare at Psalms 7:4. Ver. 4. Give them according to their conduct, and according to the wickedness of their actions: give them according to the work of their hands; make good to them their portion. This is the second petition of the Psalmist. The first was, “that the Lord would not punish him with the wicked;” the second, which is here, is, “that He would not let the wicked go unpunished.” Them, that is, the wicked and evil-doers, particularly my enemies. The objection which has been taken against this prayer of the Psalmist, and so many others of a similar kind, is most assuredly an ungrounded one, inasmuch as the Psalmist prays that God would do nothing more than what He necessarily must do according to His own nature. “He practises the jus talionis according to His own righteousness. Justice reverberates: the unrighteous blow which I aim at another recoils, according to the moral government of the world, back upon myself.” Compare Matthew 7:2. On âîåì compare at Psalms 7:4. Ver. 5. Because they regard not the operation of the Lord, nor the work of His hand, therefore shall He destroy them and not build them. The Psalmist recalls to his recollection the ob- jective ground of his petitions, on which his confidence of being heard depends: "It is not without thought that I have directed this prayer to God; for, inasmuch as they regard not, etc., the Lord will destroy them and not build them up. I pray thus for that only, which the Lord will do and must do." The operation of the Lord, and the work of His hands, is the exer-cise of His righteous judgments against the ungodly. Com-pare Psalms 92:5; Isaiah 5:12. Not to regard these, is the sure way to become ourselves involved in these judgments. For he who does not fear the judgment of God, gives himself over to iniquity. That the not regarding the operation of the Lord comes here into notice, in so far as it produces wick-edness, is obvious from the manifest reference to the preced-ing verse: "The operation of the Lord, and the work of His hands," corresponds to "their conduct, and the work of their hands." The idea conveyed consequently is, "because they do not regard the judgment of the Lord, and therefore give them-selves over, without fear, to wickedness." Several interpreters give, "may He destroy them." But with the optative form, we can see no reason why the address to God should have been given up. We cannot substitute for "not to build," "not to build up again." Nothing is more common than to find what had been expressed positively, repeated, for the sake of strength-ening the impression, in a negative form. Prayer, according to the will of God, is followed now in natural order by confidence. The Psalmist obtains from the holy place the answer for which he had prayed, and makes this known in joyful expressions.Ver. 6. Blessed be the Lord, because He hath, heard the voice of my supplications. The words of the second verse are here designedly repeated, only the imperative is changed into the Preterite. The Lord be thanked, exclaims the Psalmist joyfully, I now possess what I have prayed for. Ver. 6. Blessed be the Lord, because He hath, heard the voice of my supplications. The words of the second verse are here designedly repeated, only the imperative is changed into the Preterite. The Lord be thanked, exclaims the Psalmist joyfully, I now possess what I have prayed for. Ver. 7. The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusted in Him, and I have been helped: therefore my heart re- joices; and with my song I will praise Him. The sense is: "The Lord is my Saviour: He has manifested Himself as such by the help which He has granted me: therefore," etc. משירי is properly, "out of my song;" in so far as the song is the foun-tain of the praise that goes out from it. אהודנו is the full poetic form, with the characteristic He of the Hiphil retained.Ver. 8. The Lord is their strength, and He is the saving stronghold of His anointed one. There follows here the song spoken of in the preceding verse, so that we are to read this verse as if with marks of quotation. The reason why we have "their," without any noun going before to which it might re-fer, obviously is, that the king in the preceding verses had prayed for himself, not so much as an individual, but as a king, and asthus one with his people. Compare ver. 9. The Psalmist so sunk his personality in his official position, and so identified himself with his people, that he wrote simpliciter למו instead ofלי. When the Psalmist, in the second clause, applies to himself the title of "the anointed of the Lord" (compare Psalms 50), he must thereby be understood as expressly asserting, that the help which had been vouchsafed to him as king was therefore imparted in him to the people of God. On the plu. ישועות, com-pare at Psalms 18:50. In the conclusion, the Psalmist prays that the Lord vould do eternally that which He had now done. Ver. 8. The Lord is their strength, and He is the saving stronghold of His anointed one. There follows here the song spoken of in the preceding verse, so that we are to read this verse as if with marks of quotation. The reason why we have “their,” without any noun going before to which it might refer, obviously is, that the king in the preceding verses had prayed for himself, not so much as an individual, but as a king, and as thus one with his people. Compare Psalms 28:9. The Psalmist so sunk his personality in his official position, and so identified himself with his people, that he wrote simpliciter μξε instead of μι. When the Psalmist, in the second clause, applies to himself the title of “the anointed of the Lord” (compare Psalms 50), he must thereby be understood as expressly asserting, that the help which had been vouchsafed to him as king was therefore imparted in him to the people of God. On the plu. ιωεςεϊ, compare at Psalms 18:50. In the conclusion, the Psalmist prays that the Lord would do eternally that which He had now done. Ver. 9. Help Thy people, and bless Thine inheritance, and feed them, and lift them up for ever. On the first clause, com-pare the fundamental passage, Deuteronomy 9:29 : "They are Thy people and Thine inheritance, which Thou broughtest out by Thy mighty power and Thine outstretched arm." On "feed them," compare Psalms 23:1. On "lift them up," 2 Samuel 5:12. Several expositors render "carry them," and refer to Isaiah 40:11. But נשא never signifies in Pi. "to carry," not even in Isaiah 63:9, but always "to lift up," "to lift on high," "to prop up." Psalms 29. The key to the interpretation of this Psalm is to be found in its conclusion: "The Lord sitteth enthroned as King for ever: the Lord will give strength unto His people; the Lord will bless His people through peace." From this it is obvious that the Psalm has no personal reference, but that the Psalmist has sung it from the soul of the people, the congregation of God, and for their edification. Hence also it is obvious that the situation is that of the suffering, the danger, and the hostile op-pression of the people of God, and of the fear of the little flock in view of the might of the world. Hence it is clear from what point of view we are to contemplate all that goes before. The words, "the Lord has might," which form the sum of the whole Psalm, are introduced merely as the foundation for the declara-tion, "the Lord will give might." The majesty of God in nature is described only for this reason:-that the Church may thus see that there is a shield ready prepared for her against all anxious cares. In the introduction, vers. 1 and 2, the heavenly servants of God are exhorted to give to the Lord glory and strength. In the main division, vers. 3-9, the Psalmist describes the manifesta-tion of Divine glory and strength which forms the basis of this exhortation. As the result of this manifestation-the revelation of the glory of God in a thunder-storm-the celestial servants of God comply with the exhortation given them in the 1st and 2d verses: in His temple every one says, "Glory!" The con-clusion, in vers. 10 and 11, expresses the hope and confidence which sprung up for the Church of God out of this manifesta-tion of the Divine glory and majesty: if her God is such a God, her own powerlessness need give her no further concern. There is no ground for the idea, that the Psalm was occa-sioned by the sight of a thunder-storm. "The freshness of the painting, the vigorous conceptions, and the rapid transitions of the whole," will give rise to this view only when low ideas are entertained of the power of poetry. According to the analogy of Psalms 17 :and Job 37. vers. 1-5, where, in the case of similar descriptions of nature, no one ever thought of any out-ward occasion; it was in spirit that David here also heard the "voice of God." The Psalm before us gives us a very instructive example as to how we ought to interpret the language of nature, and to turn it to our own edification. Every thunder-storm, every hurricane, should tell us that the gates of hell shall not prevail against the Church of God, or against ourselves, if we are really members of that Church and servants of God. Everything depends on our being sure of our condition. The revelations of God in nature speak a double language: they speak to every man ac-cording to his own spiritual condition. The thunder-storm, for example, is a matter-of-fact promise to the pious-to the Church of God; while to the ungodly-to the world -it is a matter-of-fact threatening. Whoever feels assured of the love of God, sees, in the manifestation of the omnipotence of God, a ground of consolation; whereas to those who are conscious of being objects of the Divine displeasure, the sentiment inspired by such appearances is that of terror. The artistic arrangement of the Psalm is seen not only in the circumstance, that both the introduction and the conclusion consist each of two verses, and that the description of the thun-der-storm occupies exactly seven verses, but also in the positionsof the names of God. In the introduction and conclusion the name Jehovah occurs in every clause, that is, eight times in all, -which can scarcely be accidental. In the main body, the "voice of the Lord" occurs seven times (Luther has introduced an eighth voice of the Lord), which, as the number of verses is exactly the same, seven, cannot be regarded as accidental. As the seven thunders of the Apocalypse (x. 3, 4) were obviously borrowed from this Psalm, it is clear that attention must have been directed very early to these appearances. In like manner, it can scarcely be considered accidental that the name Jehovah should occur, in all, in the main division, ten times. This out-ward signature of completion indicates that it is complete and concluded within itself. Kצster's idea, that the art displayed in the arrangement is too high for David, requires no further refutation, after the discoveries which we have made in the preceding Psalms. In fact, it is characteristic of David to aim at the highest possible kind of artistic arrangement. The Psalm before us is united to the 28th, and forms with it one pair. The fundamental idea in both Psalms is the same, and is expressed in both, to all appearance designedly, almost in the same words: compare "the Lord is their strength," Psalms 28:8, with "the Lord will give strength to His people," 29:11, where the relation of למו to לעמו is specially noticeable. The differences also render still more evident the design to draw attention to the connection between the two Psalms, than even an unlimited agreement, which might have been accidental. The distinction between the two Psalms is, that the Psalmist in the 28th has to do with domestic, and here with foreign enemies. Then, there is a very striking agreement in the arrangement of the two Psalms: in the one, there is an introduction and a con-clusion of one verse; in both, a main division of seven verses; and in the other, an introduction and a conclusion of two verses. Further, the nine verses of the 28th, and the eleven of the 29th Psalm, make up together two decades, the verse which is wanting in the one Psalm being supplied from the other. Finally, the five repetitions of the name Jehovah in the 28th mark it out as a half-as incomplete: compare on the number five as the signature of incompleteness, the divided ten, Bהhr. Symb. P. I. p. 183. Still more remarkable is the circumstance, that the five repetitions of the name Jehovah in the preceding Psalm) the eight repetitions of it in the introduction and con-clusion of this one, together with the seven repetitions of "the voice of God," make up the number twenty, which is exactly the number of verses in both Psalms. Those who are opposed to the idea of attaching any import-ance to the numbers in the arrangement of the Psalms, and are suspicious as to the existence of any design in the positions of the names of God, and of the juxtaposition of two Psalms as one pair, through which the same, or a similar train of thought may run (although as to this latter point none of the ancient exposi-tors felt any difficulty), and are disposed to bring forward the common objection of artificial arrangement or conceit, would do well to bestow a thorough examination on those two Psalms: those who do so, will scarcely fail of obtaining new light on the matter. Ver. 1. Give to the Lord, ye sons of God, give to the Lordglory and strength. The call addressed to the celestial servants of God, to praise His glory and strength, directs attention to the glory of the manifestations thereof set forth in what follows. If the highest creatures of God, the angels, must humble them-selves in the dust before these manifestations; and if they feel themselves, in consequence thereof, called upon to express their devout acknowledgment, and to give utterance to liveliest praise; should not the servants of God on earth be led thereby to banish from their minds all care and all fear, deeply impressed by a sense of the presence of Him "who appointeth to the clouds, to the air, and to the wind, their way, their course, their path, and who will find out a way where His people can walk?" The Bne Elim are the same as those who, in other passages, are called Bne Elohim. In both cases, the explanation of the plural seems to lie in the idea, that the Divine unity is a unity; not of poverty, but of riches. In the one true God all that fulness is concen-trated which the heathens divided among their many gods. He alone is instar multorum. Elohim and Elim are the abbreviated forms of האלהים אלהי and אלים אל: compare Deuteronomy 10:17, "ForJehovah, your God, He is the God of gods, and the Lord of lords;" Daniel 11:36; Psa_136::2; Psalms 136:3. As this use of the plural of majesty is very widely spread throughout the language (see on this subject the "Dissertation on the names of God in the Pentateuch, in the Beitr."), there is no reason for adopting theidea of Ewald, that the plural is expressed doubled in the com-pound-an idea opposed by all the parallel passages, and which it is impossible on logical-grounds to justify.- Very many of the older expositors understand by the Bne Elim the kings and the mighty men of the earth, referring to Psalms 96:7, where, instead of Bne Elim, we find "kindreds of the people" introduced. This exposition has been partially revived by Kצster. "Sons of God," he supposes, is an expression which may be applied to whatever is powerful: the angels in heaven, kings on the earth. But, that the mention of angels is peculiarly suitable here, ap-pears from comparing the really parallel passages, Psalms 103:20; Psalms 103:21 : "Bless the Lord, ye His angels that excel in strength, that do His commandments, hearkening unto the voice of His word: bless the Lord, ye His hosts, ye ministers of His that do His pleasure:" and Isa. vi., where the seraphim who stand round the throne of God, sing, Holy, holy, holy, the whole earth is full of His glory, and ascribe to the Lord glory and might. Not only is Bne Elohim, but also Bne Elim, used in other passages very decidedly of angels: see Psalms 89:6. On the other hand, neither Bne Elim, nor Bne Elohim, nor Bne Eljon, is ever used of the mighty men of the earth: for in Psalms 81:6, to which Kצster appeals, it is distinctly denied that the mighty ones of the earth are the sons of God: "I thought that ye were gods, and sons of the Highest, all of you; but ye shall die as men." Finally, the 9th verse is decisive against the reference to the mighty ones of the earth, where everything in the temple of God says, "Glory!" It is impossible here to think of the earthly temple; for the rulers of the nations assuredly are not there. Nothing but the heavenly sanctuary can be meant, in which the angels make known the praise of God. Most assuredly, how-ever, there is an indirect reference made, in the passage before us, to the potentates of earth; and it is to this that the ap-plication made in Psalms 96:7, etc., of the first and second verses, refers:-the exhortation to the angels to praise the glory and the might of God, is intended to convince the Church of God that she has very little reason to quail before the potentates of earth,-the glory and the might of her God, which even the angels devoutly praise, is a sufficient ground of confidence in the face of a whole hostile world.-Several expositors take "glory" here in the sense of praise, and עז in the sense of renown. But, that כבוד is rather to be understood of "glory," is evident fromthe clause, "Give to the Lord the glory of His name;" and, that עז signifies here, as it always does, "strength," is evident from the connection in which the expression, "the Lord will give strength to His people," in the conclusion, stands to the clause, "Give to the Lord strength," at the opening of the Psalm: He has strength, therefore He will give strength. This exposition, moreover, is refuted by the parallel passage, Psalms 96:6; Psalms 96:7 : "Strength is in His holy place; give to the Lord strength;" and by the fundamental passage, Deuteronomy 32:3 : "Ascribe ye great-ness to our God." In the fundamental passage, and in those derived from it, "to give," is "to ascribe glory, strength, great-ness to God," "to recognise these as present," "to glorify Him accordingly." The design of vers. 1-9 is to awaken the mind to a vivid perception of the truth, that the Lord possesses glory and strength: from this the inference which concludes the whole is drawn, that the Lord, will give strength to His people. Ver. 2. Give to the Lord the glory of His name; adore the Lord in holy attire. The name of the Lord is considered as the product of His deeds: the glory of His name is the glory which belongs to Him as resulting from His glorious manifestations and deeds. The expression, "in holy attire," is equivalent in sense to, "with deep reverence." As the earthly priests, beforeengaging in the service of God, must put off their usual cloth- ing, and clothe themselves in holy garments (the expression is used in this sense in 2 Chronicles 20:21 : compare also Psalms 110:3; Psalms 96:9), so must the angels, His servants in heaven, do the same. Their usual clothing is too mean to allow of their draw- ing near in it to their holy and exalted Lord, and testifying thatreverence with which the glorious manifestations of His omni-potence have filled their minds. There follows now the description of that revelation of the glory of God in a thunder-storm, which formed the basis of the preceding call to the angels to do Him homage.Ver. 3. The voice of the Lord is upon the waters; the God of glory thundereth: the Lord is upon many waters. The "Je-hovah" of the first clause, is supplemented in the second, and the "water" in the third. Thunder is "the voice of the Lord" only for believers. An ungodly Hebrew would assuredly not consider it as such. Every gentle breath of air is also the voice of the Lord: all nature proclaims His glory: God speaks in everything to men. But because our ears are dull of hear-ing, that especially is called His voice, by which He speaks in loudest tones, and proclaims to us, in spite of all unwillingness on our part to hear, His omnipotence and His majesty. The “waters” are the clouds, "the waters which are above the firmament," Genesis 1:7; "the dark waters," Psalms 18:11; "the multitude of waters," Jeremiah 10:13 : compare Psalms 17, Job 36: 28. Several interpreters apply the term to the waters of the sea and rivers. But the word "many," in the last clause, is decisive against this: it shows that the waters form a part of the storm itself; for only in this case is their multiplicity of im-portance to the object in view, inasmuch as it serves to bring forward the greatness of God in the storm. The designation of God as "the God of glory," points back to vers. 1, 2, and shows that the description which begins in our verse, serves as a basis to the exhortation which is there addressed to the angels to praise the glory of God. Ver. 3. The voice of the Lord is upon the waters; the God of glory thundereth: the Lord is upon many waters. The “Jehovah” of the first clause, is supplemented in the second, and the “water” in the third. Thunder is “the voice of the Lord” only for believers. An ungodly Hebrew would assuredly not consider it as such. Every gentle breath of air is also the voice of the Lord: all nature proclaims His glory: God speaks in everything to men. But because our ears are dull of hearing, that especially is called His voice, by which He speaks in loudest tones, and proclaims to us, in spite of all unwillingness on our part to hear, His omnipotence and His majesty. The “waters” are the clouds, “the waters which are above the firmament,” Genesis 1:7; “the dark waters,” Psalms 18:11; “the multitude of waters,” Jeremiah 10:13 : compare Psalms 17, Job 36:28. Several interpreters apply the term to the waters of the sea and rivers. But the word “many,” in the last clause, is decisive against this: it shows that the waters form a part of the storm itself; for only in this case is their multiplicity of importance to the object in view, inasmuch as it serves to bring forward the greatness of God in the storm. The designation of God as “the God of glory,” points back to Psalms 29:1-2, and shows that the description which begins in our verse, serves as a basis to the exhortation which is there addressed to the angels to praise the glory of God. Ver. 4. The voice of the Lord is power: the voice of the Lord is majesty. It is generally remarked that ב with the substan-tive supplies the place of the adjective. But in this way the article is left altogether out of sight. The ב in this passage must rather be considered as indicating that in which the being of anything consists; Ewald's Sm. Gr. p. 528. The voice of God has its essence in the power and majesty which appear in it: it is, as it were, power and majesty itself.Ver. 5. The voice of the Lord breaketh the cedars; the Lord breaketh the cedars of Lebanon. The lightning is here, as it is also at ver. 7, and Exodus 9:28, considered as an appendix to the thunder. The cedar is named, as the queen of the forest; and in the way of climax, the cedars of Lebanon are introduced in the second clause, because they are the stateliest of all. With the same omnipotence with which God breaks the cedars of Lebanon, He can also annihilate the mighty ones of earth (fre-quently represented by this emblem), who threaten to endanger His Church.Ver. 6. And He maketh them to skip like a calf; Lebanon and Sirion like a young buffalo. The "them" must be referred to the cedars. As the skipping of the trees, however, is only the consequence of the skipping of the hills, these also are men-tioned in the second clause. Sirion is, according to Deuteronomy 3:9, the Sidonian name of Hermon. Terms of rare occurrence and of antiquated character are congenial to poetry. Jo. Arndt has,with great accuracy, expressed the practical import of this verse: "Just as in great storms the hills quiver and quake before the thunder, so our beloved God is able by His word to make the proud and lofty quiver and quake." Schmid, in like manner: "sic etiam hostes Jehovae cum omni sua potentia coram ipso irato dissilient, fulminibus judiciorum ejus disjecti." Ver. 5. The voice of the Lord breaketh the cedars; the Lord breaketh the cedars of Lebanon. The lightning is here, as it is also at Psalms 29:7, and Exodus 9:28, considered as an appendix to the thunder. The cedar is named, as the queen of the forest; and in the way of climax, the cedars of Lebanon are introduced in the second clause, because they are the stateliest of all. With the same omnipotence with which God breaks the cedars of Lebanon, He can also annihilate the mighty ones of earth (frequently represented by this emblem), who threaten to endanger His Church. Ver. 6. And He maketh them to skip like a calf; Lebanon and Sirion like a young buffalo. The “them” must be referred to the cedars. As the skipping of the trees, however, is only the consequence of the skipping of the hills, these also are mentioned in the second clause. Sirion is, according to Deuteronomy 3:9, the Sidonian name of Hermon. Terms of rare occurrence and of antiquated character are congenial to poetry. Jo. Arndt has, with great accuracy, expressed the practical import of this verse: “Just as in great storms the hills quiver and quake before the thunder, so our beloved God is able by His word to make the proud and lofty quiver and quake.” Schmid, in like manner: “sic etiam hostes Jehovae cum omni sua potentia coram ipso irato dissilient, fulminibus judiciorum ejus disjecti.” Ver. 7. The voice of the Lord heweth with flames of fire. The brevity of this verse depicts the rapid motion of the lightning, which comes in here as the wounding instrument in the hands of the voice of the Lord, the weapon with which it adds de-struction to terror. The verb הצב means always to hew, never to cleave, or to scatter; so that the expositions, "He scatters," "He casts abroad," i. e. "fiery thunderbolts," are to be rejected: compare Hosea 6:5 ; Isa. where הצב is used in speaking of an avenging. God. אש להבות is in the accusative (comp. Ew. § 512), "with flames of fire." It stands related to the voice of God, as what is particular does to what is general.Ver. 8. The voice of the Lord maketh the wilderness to quiver; the voice of the Lord maketh the wilderness of Kadesh to quiver. Expositors ask why the wilderness is represented as quivering by the thunder. The only correct answer is, that the wilder-ness gives the impression of something great, immense, terrible: compare Deuteronomy 1:19, "The great and terrible wilderness;" 8:15, "Who led thee through the great and terrible wilderness, where were serpents, and scorpions, and drought;" Deuteronomy 32:10, "He found him in a desert land, and in a waste howling wilderness." The wilderness is, next to the hills, the most ap-propriate symbol of the power of the world: its quivering be-fore the voice of the Lord must convince every pious mind of the folly of giving way to fear before the might of the world. In this way we see the reason why, as an ascending climax, in the second clause the particularly horrible wilderness of Kadesh, the northern part of the Arabian desert, is introduced. It forms, as it were, one pair with Lebanon and Sirion. The symbols of the power of the world on the north and south of the Lord's land are overwhelmed with terror at His voice. This parallelism with Lebanon explains why that part of the terrible Arabian desert is mentioned which borders immediately on the land of Canaan. Ver. 8. The voice of the Lord maketh the wilderness to quiver; the voice of the Lord maketh the wilderness of Kadesh to quiver. Expositors ask why the wilderness is represented as quivering by the thunder. The only correct answer is, that the wilderness gives the impression of something great, immense, terrible: compare Deuteronomy 1:19, “The great and terrible wilderness;” Deuteronomy 8:15, “Who led thee through the great and terrible wilderness, where were serpents, and scorpions, and drought;” Deuteronomy 32:10, “He found him in a desert land, and in a waste howling wilderness.” The wilderness is, next to the hills, the most appropriate symbol of the power of the world: its quivering before the voice of the Lord must convince every pious mind of the folly of giving way to fear before the might of the world. In this way we see the reason why, as an ascending climax, in the second clause the particularly horrible wilderness of Kadesh, the northern part of the Arabian desert, is introduced. It forms, as it were, one pair with Lebanon and Sirion. The symbols of the power of the world on the north and south of the Lord’s land are overwhelmed with terror at His voice. This parallelism with Lebanon explains why that part of the terrible Arabian desert is mentioned which borders immediately on the land of Canaan. Ver. 9. The voice of the Lord maketh the hinds to cast their young, and strips the forest; and in His temple everything says: Glory. The opposition between the hinds and the forest tends to impress upon our minds, that the Lord, in a thunder-storm, makes known His power over every created thing; that which is great shall not escape Him because of its greatness, nor that which is little because of its littleness. יהולל, Pil. from הול, can only be translated, “ makes them bring forth;” i.e. "so terrifies them with the loud peals of thunder, that they cast their young before the time:" this is evident from Job 39:1; compare also 1 Samuel 4:19. According to ver. 3 of Job 39 : the hinds bring forth their young easily; so that there can be no room for the idea of Bochart and others being referred to here, that they bring forth with difficulty. "It strips the forests," is, it strips them of their attire, their branches and leaves. The Chaldee has correctly given the sense of the last words: In His upper sanctuary all His servants praise His glory before Him. A common exposition is, The whole universe, heaven, and earth, and sea, together with all that they contain, are awed by the glory of the Lord, as seen in a thunder-storm, and feel themselves called upon to praise Him. But the only correct point in this exposition, is its opposition to another, according to which, by "the temple," is meant "the temple at Jerusalem." The temple of God, however, is much rather, according to 11:4, 18:6, His heavenly dwelling-place, and those who there praise His glory are the angels. The correct-ness of this interpretation appears also from verse 1 and 2. The angels in this verse, after they have seen the Divine glory, comply with the exhortation which the Psalmist had addressed to them, grounded upon that manifestation. If they, the highest of all God's creatures, are filled with holy awe before the Divine glory, how great must that glory be, and how easily may the Church of God, which is sure of His protection, trample all danger and all fear under foot! He, whom angels praise, must impart to His people unassailable protection against alltheir enemies. The suffix in כלו, refers back to the temple,�its entirety, the entirety of that which is therein, or of thosewho are therein. לו, never occurs without a preceding noun n to which the suffix refers. כבוד, which is to be considered as a cry, "Glory!" has its commentary in the words, "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord, the Lord of hosts, the whole earth is full of His glory," of the seraphim in Isaiah; where the holiness denotes not specially moral excellence, but also the infinite superiorityof God to all created beings, His glory. Compare what has been said on Psalms 22:3. Several expositors have endeavoured to exhibit a regular progression of thought in the description of the thunder-storm: first, the storm is seen in the sky (ver. 3, 4); then it attacks the hills (5, 6); and, last of all, its influence is felt in the plains (8). But this progression is altogether forced. Verse 4th contains a description of the voice of the Lord, which is wholly gene-ral: it is impossible to see, according to this view, in what way verse 7th is brought in; and in verse 8th, it is not the plains that are mentioned, but the wilderness with its frequently lofty hills. There follows now, in vers. 19 and 11, the application: If God is the God of glory, His people need be afraid of nothing. Ver. 10. The Lord sat at the deluge, and therefore the Lord sits as King for ever. As the Lord on one occasion manifested Himself at the deluge as King and Judge, in the destruction which He prepared for the ungodly, and in the deliverance which He afforded to those who feared Him, therefore will He also,-this confidence the Psalmist had acquired from the ma-jestic sight which he had seen with the eye of his mind, and from the "glory!" of the sons of God, which had penetrated the very depths of his soul,-throughout all eternity, manifest Himself as King and Judge in the deliverance of His people, and in the destruction of all His and their enemies. Sitting is the position peculiar to a king and judge: comp. John 4:12; Revelation 18:7; see also Ges. Thes. on the word. It is more ac-curately defined by the second clause: "as king" belongs in reality also to the first. That the ל in למבול has reference to time, at the deluge-compare on this usage, Ew. Sm. Gr. 527; Ges. Thes. 730; the ל is, in such cases, as it is always, the par-ticle of proximity-appears from the corresponding לעולם, in which the usage of ל seems to have given rise to its usage in למבול. The article points to a particular flood, and directs at-tention manifestly to the deluge-an event which would occur all the more suitably to the mind of the Psalmist, that the Lord had, on that occasion, manifested His glory in the tempest. This is evident, as מבול is used only of the deluge, Genesis 6:17, vii. 6, 7, etc.-a word which, even at the time when the Penta-teuch was composed, had disappeared from the ordinary lan-guage, and had been handed down as a kind of proper nounfor that particular flood, with the memory of it, from the times of old. The Fut. with the V. conv. וישב, intimates, that what is to come, develops itself out of what has already been.-Other translations of the verse are to be rejected; such as: the Lord sits on the floods; He directs the inundations which follow a thunder-storm, and guides them; or, He is enthroned above the floods of the sky. But, in addition to the Preterite and the מבול, it may be urged, that into the conclusion of the Psalm, where an application only is appropriate, an unsuitable element is introduced.Ver. 11. The Lord shall give strength to His people; the Lord shall bless His people with peace. The second clause points to the beginning and end of the Mosaic blessing "May the Lord bless thee-and give thee peace." Jo. Arnd remarks on the first clause: "This is glorious consolation against the contempt and persecutions of poor Christians, the little flock, which has no outward protection in the world, no outward strength. But the Holy Ghost imparts consolation, and says, The world shall not give strength and power to the Church, but the Lord; as king Jehosaphat comforted himself when he said, ‘ With them is an arm of flesh, but with us is the Lord of Hosts;’ and John, ‘ He who is in us, is greater than he who is in the world.’ " Ver. 11. The Lord shall give strength to His people; the Lord shall bless His people with peace. The second clause points to the beginning and end of the Mosaic blessing “May the Lord bless thee—and give thee peace.” Jo. Arnd remarks on the first clause: “This is glorious consolation against the contempt and persecutions of poor Christians, the little flock, which has no outward protection in the world, no outward strength. But the Holy Ghost imparts consolation, and says, The world shall not give strength and power to the Church, but the Lord; as king Jehosaphat comforted himself when he said, ‘With them is an arm of flesh, but with us is the Lord of Hosts;’ and John, ‘He who is in us, is greater than he who is in the world.’” Psalms 30. This Psalm, which consists in all of twelve verses, may be naturally divided into two parts- an introduction of five, and a main body of seven verses. In the introduction, the Psalmist takes a rapid survey of the subject of his poem: the Lord has graciously delivered him out of great danger, danger which threatened him with entire destruction, vers. 1-3; then, inti-mating that he sings for the Church, he exhorts all the pious to praise the glory of God, His forgiving mercy, which had been manifested to him on this occasion, vers. 4 and 5. In the detail, he first gives an account of his misfortune: prosperity had pro-duced in him pride and false confidence; out of this sinful state he bad been roused by a judgment which God had permitted to befall him, vers. 6, 7. He next tells us what the prayer was which he had offered up to God from the depths of that miseryinto which he had been sunk by Him in punishment of his pride, vers. 8-10; narrates the deliverance which, in answer to this prayer, had been vouchsafed to him, ver. 11; and concludes with a promise of eternal gratitude for the deliverance thus wrought out, ver. 12. The occasion for which the Psalm was written is announced in the title: "A Psalm, a song of the dedication of the house of David." We cannot, with De Wette (Introd. p. 32), consider these words as designative of the tune,-as if the Psalm were to be sung to a tune which was generally sung at the dedication of houses. The words do not admit this interpretation; a song of the dedication of a house cannot possibly be a song like the song of the dedication of a house; the contents possess nothing at all similar to what would be the contents of a poem composed for such an occasion. Every attempt has failed to prove that the titles ever indicate the tune to which the Psalms are to be sung; and this idea has simply originated in the difficulty felt in en-deavouring to give a satisfactory explanation. In like manner,we must reject the explanation given by Calvin, Grotius, and others, that the house is the palace of David; and that the Psalm was composed when David consecrated his house a second time by a religious service, after it had been polluted by Absa-lom. The term הנכה is never used except as applicable to the consecration of a new building, and the contents of the Psalm do not at all accord with such an occasion. The house clearly is the house of God, the temple. And the title indicates that the Psalm was sung at the dedication by David of the site of the future temple, as recorded in 2 Samuel 24. and 1 Chronicles 25. The object of the Psalm is very correctly given by Ve-nema: "That the remembrance might be perpetuated to all posterity of the occasion on which the site of the temple to be erected by Solomon was selected, and the temple itself conse-crated by a sign from heaven." Against this view nothing of any consequence can be urged, except that the dedication of the future site of the temple, by the erection of an altar, can scarcely be called the dedication of a house. But really one does not see why it may not. That a house of God may be where there are no splendid buildings, but only a simple altar, is evident from Genesis 28:22; and that the house of the Lord was really here present, is unquestionably evident from 1 Chronicles 21:26 : "And David built there an altarunto the Lord, and offered burnt-offerings and peace-offerings, and called upon the Lord; and He answered him from heaven by fire, upon the altar of burnt-offering." The place was, in the fullest sense of the word, even in David's time, a sanctuary, yea, the sanctuary, and therefore the house of God; and in reality there was nothing added to its dignity by Solomon. The Lord had declared it to be His house; He had granted David the for-giveness of his sin on the condition of his erecting the altar; He had, at its dedication, consecrated it by fire from heaven. David recognised in this altar the sanctuary of the Lord; he sacrificed there not only once, but he used it ever afterwards as a place of sacrifice. Besides all this, we have one passage in which it is expressly said, that David gave to that place the name of the house of the Lord,-an appellation which he would regard as all the more appropriate from the circumstance, that he foresaw that the form would very soon be superadded to the reality, in that edifice which he knew would be completed by his son, and in the preparation for which he henceforth himself engaged with so much alacrity: compare 1 Chronicles 22:2, etc. The pas-sage Isaiah 1 Chronicles 22:1 : "And David said, This is the house of the Lord, and this is the altar of the burnt-offering for Israel." On the other hand, and in favour of this interpretation, we have the contents of the Psalm, in exact agreement with 2 Samuel 24. and 1 Chronicles 21. First, there is an agreement in reference to David's sin. Here, as there, it was no outward sin on the part of David that brought down the Divine judgment: it was a sin which lay concealed within the recesses of the heart. His sin here, as there, was pride, which led him to consider what had been given him by the Lord as acquired by his own might, and as a lasting possession. Here David expressly tells us this, in the 7th verse, where his sin is represented as consisting in his say-ing, in his prosperity, "I shall never be moved." Buddaeus, who remarks on the numbering of the people, "The thing itself shows that David, in the whole matter, was actuated by pride and vain-glory," takes a correct view of the matter, in opposition to that of J. D. Michaelis, who cannot understand what a sin is, which lies wholly within the heart; and by others who follow; him, such as Keil, on Chronicles, p. 351, who maintains that the numbering of the people was for military purposes, was like an enrolment for service, and proceeded from that love of conquest which David had acquired in his old age, in consequence ofhaving brought so many wars to a successful termination. It is expressly said in 2 Samuel 24:2, that David's design was "to take the number of the people;" and the remark of Joab in ver. 3 renders it evident that David, in so doing, was seeking to gratify his pride and vain-glory much in the same way that an avaricious man gratifies his avarice by counting his gold. It is clearly evident from Exodus 30:12, that the numbering of the people, which is in itself an action entirely innocent, and in some circumstances absolutely necessary, may very easily be-come a sin through pride. The punishment also shows that the essence of the sin was pride: quia David multitudine populi superbire voluit, ideo Deus eum diminutione populi punivit. Thenius, in his remarks on the passage, has shown clearly, that it is only by a false interpretation that 2 Samuel 24:5 can be made to favour the view taken by J. D. Michaelis.-Further, the calamity spoken of is one which came upon the Psalmist after a long season of peace and prosperity, vers. 6, 7. This was the case at the numbering of the people. The pride, which prompted David to that act, had been induced by prosperity. -The calamity referred to in the Psalm was very severe, but it was of short duration: the pain was quickly and suddenly changed into joy; compare ver. 2, ver. 11, and especially ver. 5: "Weeping lasts for an evening, and in the morning there is joy." Such was exactly the case at the numbering of the people. The calamity-which so rent the heart of David, that, in a state in which it might be said that he was rather dead than alive, he besought the Lord to make an end of it, at the expense of his own life-came suddenly to a close, after it had lasted less than one entire day. The calamity, according to 2 Sam. 24:15, "lasted from morning till the time of meeting." That by this, we are to understand, "the evening religious assembly," i.e. "till the time of the evening sacrifice " (1 Kings 18:36, comp. with ver. 29; 2 Kings 16:15), is clear from the context. Of the two religious assemblies of the day, the first is excluded by the expression, "from the morning." The interpretation given by many, "till the time appointed," is inadmissible, inasmuch as with the morning only a part of the same day can be contrasted, and, from the succeeding context, it is evident that the judgment did not last till the time ap-pointed by God, but was shortened in consequence of David's repentance.-The punishment, according to ver. 7 of our Psalm.was one which broke the power of the kingdom. This was the case at the numbering of the people. The enemy, the usual instrument of Divine judgments in the Psalms, especially in those that were composed by David, comes into notice, here only as rejoicing over the calamity of the Psalmist-an expres- sion which indicates simply his presence; and this is in accor-dance with 2 Samuel 24:13, where, among the three evils sub-mitted to David's choice, we find this, "that he was to flee three months before his enemies while they pursued him." -Here, as there, the deliverance followed in immediate connection with the prayer of David.-Verse 11, "Thou hast put off my sack-cloth, and girded me with gladness," may be compared with 1 Chron. 21:16, "Then David and the elders of Israel, who were clothed in sackcloth, fell upon their faces." Lastly, verse 4th indicates, in accordance with our view of the title, that the Psalm was prepared for the purpose of being used in public worship. Our Psalm affords a very remarkable proof of the correct-ness and originality of the Titles. The circumstances above adverted to, are so very far from being obvious, that the title could not possibly have been framed from a later combination thereof. The idea, arbitrarily entertained by Hitzig, that the Psalm was composed by Jeremiah, is refuted by the obvious allusions to it in the song of Hezekiah, as recorded in the 38th Chapter of Isaiah: compare vers. 18 and 19 of that chapter, with the 9th verse of this Psalm. The forgiving mercy of God towards His own people is ex-pressly pointed out in ver. 5 as the kernel of the Psalm. It is very remarkable that, previous to the laying of the material foundation of the temple, this should have been pointed out by God Himself, as the spiritual basis on which the temple was to rest. David comes forth in this Psalm, as the interpreter of this announcement,-an announcement implied in the pro-cedure adopted on the occasion by God. Ver. 1. I wilt exalt Thee, O Lord, for Thou hast exalted me, and hast not permitted my foes to rejoice over me. Muis: "I will praise thee, is followed in the second clause by the ground, why he desires to praise God; and he expands this in the two follow-ing verses, for the purpose of shoving how great is his obliga-tion to praise Him." The three verses are bound together as one whole; by the thrice-repeated address to God. The first clause, "I will exalt Thee," stands in manifest reference to the second, "because Thou hast exalted me." Calvin: "Because he was, as it were, exalted from the grave to the vital air, he pro-mises that he will exalt the name, of God. For as God exalts on high by His hand when we are sunk in the deep, so it is, on the other hand, our duty to exalt His praise with heart and lips." The term הלד, properly to draw water, is explained by the cir-cumstance, that the calamity is represented under the figure of a deep well, into which the Psalmist had sunk. That we are not to dream of a literal rendering, is manifest from the 3d verse, "Thou hast brought up my soul from the grave;" and from ver. 2, where "Thou hast drawn me up" corresponds to “Thou hast healed me.” שמה with ל designates, according to the connection, malicious pleasure. It signifies, properly, to rejoice at any one, so that the joy pertains to him, or bears re-ference to him. David's enemies, like those of every pious king, were the numerous enemies of the Lord,-the ungodly: compare 2 Samuel 12:14, "Because by this deed thou hast given great occasion to the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme, the child also that is born unto thee shall surely die." As these had hitherto contemplated with envy the previous manifestations of the grace of God towards him, so now they derived a peculiar gratification from the calamity with which he had been visited. They hoped that he would now be utterly destroyed--a con-summation which they had in vain looked for in the days of Absalom. This hope was frustrated, when they saw that God had forgiven the infirmity of His repentant servant, and that He did not destroy him along with the ungodly. Ver. 2. O Lord, my God, I cried to Thee, and Thou didst heal me. Every severe suffering appears under the figure of a sick-ness, and the Lord, who remove it, under the figure of a physician. Compare Isaiah 6:10; 2 Chronicles 36:16. "To heal," here, is explained by the "helping" of ver. 10, and the "gladdening" of ver. 11. To conclude from the expression, "Thou didst heal me," that David had been literally ill of a bodily disease, would be as absurd as to conclude from the ex-pression, "Thou hast drawn me out," of the 1st verse, that he had fallen into a well.Ver. 3. O Lord, Thou hast brought up my soul from hell;Thou hast brought me alive from among those who go down to the pit. David had been brought near death, through grief, on account of the sufferings in which his criminal conduct had in-volved his people: compare on Psalms 6:6; Psalms 6:7. He was, as it were, dead, though still literally alive: compare 2 Corinthians 10. Calvin: "He thought that he could not otherwise adequately describe the greatness of the favour of God, than by comparing the darkness of that time to that of the grave and the pit." Inreference to בור ידeר;וי, compare on Psalms 28:1. "From those,"is "taking me out of the number of those." The marginalreading ידiר;י.Aמi, �gfrom my going down,�h that is, "so that I may not go down," is to be decidedly rejected. For the infinitive of ירד, is always רדת (compare ver. 9), and the Psalmist represents himself in the first clause as one who had already sunk to Sheol. The Masorites made the change because they could not under-stand how the Psalmist reckoned himself among the dead. After this short glance at the circumstances, there follows in the 4th and 5th verses the announcement of the kernel of the doctrine which they contain, which extends far beyond the range of individual and personal experience, and is of importance to the whole community of believers. These are exhorted to con-cur in the praise of the Psalmist for the deliverance vouchsafed to him, because it gloriously illustrates the nature of God. Ver. 3. O Lord, Thou hast brought up my soul from hell; Thou hast brought me alive from among those who go down to the pit. David had been brought near death, through grief, on account of the sufferings in which his criminal conduct had involved his people: compare on Psalms 6:6-7. He was, as it were, dead, though still literally alive: compare 2 Corinthians 10. Calvin: “He thought that he could not otherwise adequately describe the greatness of the favour of God, than by comparing the darkness of that time to that of the grave and the pit.” In reference to ιεֹ ?ψְ ?γֵ ?ιαεֹ ?ψ, compare on Psalms 28:1. “From those,” is “taking me out of the number of those.” The marginal reading ξִ ?ιָּ ?ψְ ?γִ ?ι, “from my going down,” that is, “so that I may not go down,” is to be decidedly rejected. For the infinitive of ιψγ, is always ψγϊ (compare Psalms 30:9), and the Psalmist represents himself in the first clause as one who had already sunk to Sheol. The Masorites made the change because they could not understand how the Psalmist reckoned himself among the dead. After this short glance at the circumstances, there follows in the (Psalms 30:4) 4th and (Psalms 30:5) 5th verses the announcement of the kernel of the doctrine which they contain, which extends far beyond the range of individual and personal experience, and is of importance to the whole community of believers. These are exhorted to concur in the praise of the Psalmist for the deliverance vouchsafed to him, because it gloriously illustrates the nature of God. Ver. 4. Sing to the Lord, ye saints of His, and praise His holy memorial. The memorial of the Lord is what presents itself to the mind when we think of Him; therefore, everything by which He makes known His nature,-His historically mani-fested properties, His character as exhibited in His acts. "Were He the hidden God, He would have no name, no Memorial. The fundamental passage is Exodus 3:15 : "This (viz. Jehovah, the God of your fathers) is My name for ever, and My memo-rial unto all generations,"-that is, I shall always from this time make Myself known as possessed of this property, so that it shall not be possible for men to name Me except by it, or to think of Me except according to it. Compare Isaiah 26:8 ; Psalms 135:13; Psalms 97:12; Hosea 12:6. The addition קדשו presents us with the contents of the memorial. The holiness of God is, in this passage also, His infinite elevation above all created being: compare on Psalms 22:3. This the Lord manifests in the most glorious manner, in the "being compassionate, gracious, andmerciful." Compare Hosea 11:9, where, in like manner, the forbearance and the grace of God are represented as the out-going of His holiness. What is mentioned here in two words as the holy memorial of God; is set before us in a more expanded form in the 5th verse. The historical character of God, as the Holy One, rich in forgiveness, and infinitely elevated above all human passion, had been manifested in the experience of David. This furnished an opportunity for calling upon the whole Church to praise Him in this aspect. What the Lord does in the first instance to an individual, pertains for ever to the whole Church; and the people of God ought joyfully to avail them-selves of every such opportunity to grow in the knowledge and love of God.Ver. 5. For His anger brings on a moment, His favour life; weeping in the evening remaineth over the night, and in the morn- ing joy is there. This verse gives the basis of the exhortation to praise the Lord, and especially His holiness. That באפו is not to be translated, "during His anger," but, "through His anger," is obvious from the opposite term, "through His favour:" compare the ברצונך in ver. 7. The literal rendering is: "Be-cause a moment (is) through His anger, life through His favour:" the import is: "Because through His anger there comes only one sorrowful moment, and then there comes again life through His favour." The "moment" is defined by the connection and the parallelism to be a sorrowful one. The life is to be ex-plained neither as bare life, nor simpliciter as deliverance. It includes both,-life in the proper sense, and deliverance: com-pare on Psalms 17:11. It is explained, on the one hand, by ver. 3, where the Psalmist says, that the Lord had brought him back to life from the death, into which he had as good as fallen, and by the "my blood," in ver. 9th; and on the other hand, by ver. 11, and by the parallel term " joy." God delivers His people from apparent death, and bestows upon them deliver-ance. Mere life could not be called life; it would only be death in disguise.-From attempting to bring out the most exact parallelism possible, and from not at the same time observing that the רגע is defined by the connection to be a moment of sorrow, denoting suitably the opposite of היים, critics have been led into two false expositions. Several, like the Septuagint andHitzig force out of רגע a false sense: "sudden death lies in His anger." Most, however, display their ingenuity on היים. It ismade to denote the whole of life: "His anger lasts only one mo-ment; His favour, on the other hand, diffuses happiness among His people throughout their whole lifetime." But then, היים never occurs as equivalent to "all the days of life;" it is rather used throughout the Psalms in opposition to death, in the full sense of that term: compare, for example, 16:11, 34:12, 36:9. Even in the second clause, there is nothing said of the long continuance of the deliverance, of which the Psalmist could as yet know nothing, but only of the short duration of the suffer-ing and of the sudden transition to joy. The same observation may be applied to vers. 2 and 11.-In the second half of the verse, WEEPING is personified, and represented by the figure of a wanderer, who leaves in the morning the lodging into which he had entered the preceding evening. After him another guest arrives, viz. JOY. ילין can refer only to the first clause: in the second, the substantive verb must be supplied.-The con-tents of the verse are applicable to those only who are exhorted in the 4th verse to praise the glory of God therein represented, which forms the ground of their joyful hope and of their patience in affliction, viz. the pious. The Divine judgments are fre-quently annihilating in their character to the ungodly: in their case, joy never follows weeping. There follows after the introduction a more full and distinct description, on the one hand, of the distress which David by his own sin had brought upon himself; and, on the other, of the grace of God which had wrought out his deliverance. Ver. 5. For His anger brings on a moment, His favour life; weeping in the evening remaineth over the night, and in the morning joy is there. This verse gives the basis of the exhortation to praise the Lord, and especially His holiness. That αΰτε is not to be translated, “during His anger,” but, “through His anger,” is obvious from the opposite term, “through His favour:” compare the αψφεπκ in Psalms 30:7. The literal rendering is: “Because a moment (is) through His anger, life through His favour:” the import is: “Because through His anger there comes only one sorrowful moment, and then there comes again life through His favour.” The “moment” is defined by the connection and the parallelism to be a sorrowful one. The life is to be explained neither as bare life, nor simpliciter as deliverance. It includes both,—life in the proper sense, and deliverance: compare on Psalms 17:11. It is explained, on the one hand, by Psalms 30:3, where the Psalmist says, that the Lord had brought him back to life from the death, into which he had as good as fallen, and by the “my blood,” in Psalms 30:9 th; and on the other hand, by Psalms 30:11, and by the parallel term “ joy.” God delivers His people from apparent death, and bestows upon them deliverance. Mere life could not be called life; it would only be death in disguise. From attempting to bring out the most exact parallelism possible, and from not at the same time observing that the ψβς is defined by the connection to be a moment of sorrow, denoting suitably the opposite of ηιιν, critics have been led into two false expositions. Several, like the Septuagint and Hitzig force out of ψβς a false sense: “sudden death lies in His anger.” Most, however, display their ingenuity on ηιιν. It is made to denote the whole of life: “His anger lasts only one moment; His favour, on the other hand, diffuses happiness among His people throughout their whole lifetime.” But then, ηιιν never occurs as equivalent to “all the days of life;” it is rather used throughout the Psalms in opposition to death, in the full sense of that term: compare, for example, Psalms 16:11, Psalms 34:12, Psalms 36:9. Even in the second clause, there is nothing said of the long continuance of the deliverance, of which the Psalmist could as yet know nothing, but only of the short duration of the suffering and of the sudden transition to joy. The same observation may be applied to Psalms 30:2 and Psalms 30:11. In the second half of the verse, WEEPING is personified, and represented by the figure of a wanderer, who leaves in the morning the lodging into which he had entered the preceding evening. After him another guest arrives, viz. JOY. ιμιο can refer only to the first clause: in the second, the substantive verb must be supplied. The contents of the verse are applicable to those only who are exhorted in the (Psalms 30:4) 4th verse to praise the glory of God therein represented, which forms the ground of their joyful hope and of their patience in affliction, viz. the pious. The Divine judgments are frequently annihilating in their character to the ungodly: in their case, joy never follows weeping. There follows after the introduction a more full and distinct description, on the one hand, of the distress which David by his own sin had brought upon himself; and, on the other, of the grace of God which had wrought out his deliverance. Ver. 6. And I said in my security, I shall never be moved. Calvin: "An effeminate indolence had stolen over his spirit, so that he was disinclined to prayer, and had no sense of his de-pendence upon Divine grace, but trusted too much to frail tran-sitory prosperity." The "speaking" here, is the speaking of the heart. There is no necessity arising from this passage for sup-posing that there is another form of the noun שלו, instead of the usual one, שלוה: compare on the dropping of the feminine ter-mination before the suffixes, Hitzig on Hosea 13:2. The phrase itself, "in my security," may be understood either as lequivalent to "when I was prosperous" (Luther), or as indicating that carnal security of the soul which is also caused by worldly pro-sperity, as in Proverbs 1:32, "The prosperity of fools shall destroy them," and the adj. in Ezekiel 23:42. In favour of this last interpretation it may be urged, that the words, except whenconsidered in this view, are not sufficiently explicit. It is only from the spirit in which they are spoken that they have a sinful character. Considered in themselves, they might be taken as an expression of living faith.-The deepest insight into the dangers of prosperity, and the necessity which thence arises for affliction, had previously been exhibited in the law: compare, for example, Deuteronomy 32:15, "But Jeshurun waxed fat and kicked thou art waxen fat, thou art grown thick, thou art covered with fatness; then he forsook God which made him, and lightly esteemed the Rock of his salvation:" but especially Deuteronomy 8:11-18, where almost every word agrees exactly with the case before us: "Beware that thou forget not the Lord thy God, lest when thou hast eaten and art full, and thine heart be lifted up, and thou say in thine heart, My power and the might of mine hand hath gotten me this wealth; but thou shalt re-member the Lord thy God, for He it is that giveth thee power to get wealth." Besides Israel (compare Hosea 13:16, "Accord-ing to their pasture, so were they filled; they were filled, and their heart was exalted; therefore have they forgotten Me") and David, we have in the Old Testament a remarkable example of the dangers of prosperity in the case of Hezekiah, who stood so nobly when in adversity. These dangers are not only incident to worldly prosperity, but are also to be dreaded in a season of spiritual enjoyment. J. Arnd says: "Behold! we have here a very affecting warning in the example of beloved David, which should teach us to fear God during our days of prosperity, and never to be confident, or to put our dependence on earthly things. How did the prophets preach against the mighty kings and nations in their prophecies against Babylon and others! All those mighty nations, cities, and kings who depended on their own might and riches, have been broken and laid waste, andlevelled with the ground; while, on the other hand, all who acted humbly, feared God, and cherished a sense of dependence on His grace, have been maintained, and shall continue to exist for ever. The sentence also is to be understood in a spiritual sense: many a one is so strong in faith, so spiritually minded, so joyful, so full of confidence, that he bids defiance to the devil and the world, and says, with David, ‘ I will not fear though hundreds of thousands were encamped against me.’ But when our beloved God tries us a little, when He withdraws from us His grace, O then all is over with us, and we are ready to sinkinto hell, and to give up all for lost. This God does, that we may become acquainted with our own weakness, and may know that we are entirely dependent on Divine grace." The Berleb. Bib.: "A change is necessary, in order that the soul may be brought to know that its firmness is entirely dependent on the strength which God has imparted. If its beautiful day had no evening, if its sun were never darkened, the soul would infallibly ascribe all to its own power and care. But as soon as God with-draws His sensible co-operation, evening and darkness destroy its beautiful day: and it then knows that everything comes from this source and sun, and that everything proceeds from the will of God, and through the working of His grace, without any merit on our own part at all."Ver. 7. O Lord, through Thy mercy Thou hadst imparted strength to my mountain: Thou didst hide Thy face, and I was confounded. David complains of his folly, in that it was neces- sary for him to learn by misfortune that his prosperity wasnothing else than a gift of Divine grace, the continuance of which did not depend on any power in its possessor, but on its heavenly Author. The verse may be thus paraphrased: "I have learned by painful experience that the power of my king-dom had its root in Thy favour; for, when Thou didst withdraw Thy grace, I was in a miserable condition, and felt myself to be irretrievably lost." It is of importance to compare the history here. How speedily were all the foolish ideas, which led David to number the people, dissipated, when the Divine judgments broke in upon him! העמיד, with the accusative of the thing and the dative of the person, is "to appoint any-thing to any one:" compare 2 Chronicles 33:8, "The land which I have appointed for your fathers;"-in the parallel pas-sage, 2 Kings 21:8, it is נתן "gave." The "mountain" is in general a striking emblem of dominion. But there was in the case before us a particular reason why the Psalmist selected this figure. A mountain was the centre, and therefore the natural symbol, of David's kingdom: compare 2 Samuel 5:9, "And David dwelt in the fort, and called it the City of David." On the top of the high and steep eminence, in the ἄםש נןכיע, the royal city was situated (Nehemiah 3:25), which was termed the King's upper house. Its situation must have ren-dered it a place of great security. This is evident from the contemptuous language used by the Jebusites when David wasendeavouring to obtain possession of it. They insinuated that the blind and the lame were sufficient to defend it. Micah 4:8 is exactly parallel to our passage. The prophet employs the hill of the daughter of Zion, and specially the tower of the city built upon it, as an emblem of the dominion of the seed of David: compare Christol. P. III. p. 273. Those passages are analogous, in which the hill of Sion appears as the symbol of the kingdom of God, on account of the sanctuary erected upon it: Isaiah 2:3; Psalms 68:17, etc. Hence the expression, "Thou hast imparted strength to my mountain," is, "Thou hast im-parted strength to my kingdom:" compare 2 Samuel 5:12, "And David perceived that the Lord had established him king over Israel, and that He had exalted his kingdom." Those exposi-tions are to be rejected in which the mountain is consideredas symbolical either of security, of dignity and greatness. Neither security nor dignity can have strength imparted to them. According to our exposition, the passage stands in re-markable agreement with the history. The Divine judgment, which followed the numbering of the people, destroyed to a great extent the strength of the kingdom. There follows now (vers. 8-10) the prayer which David, after he had been brought to a right state of mind, offered up to God as the fruit of the Divine chastisement. Calvin: "David, who had hitherto been sound asleep, is suddenly alarmed, and begins to cry to God. For as iron, when it has become rusty through long rest, cannot again be made use of till it has passed anew through the fire, and been struck again with the hammer, so, when carnal confidence has obtained the mastery, it is impossible for any man to address himself in right earnest to prayer, until he has been struck by the cross, and made fit for the work." Ver. 7. O Lord, through Thy mercy Thou hadst imparted strength to my mountain: Thou didst hide Thy face, and I was confounded. David complains of his folly, in that it was necessary for him to learn by misfortune that his prosperity was nothing else than a gift of Divine grace, the continuance of which did not depend on any power in its possessor, but on its heavenly Author. The verse may be thus paraphrased: “I have learned by painful experience that the power of my kingdom had its root in Thy favour; for, when Thou didst withdraw Thy grace, I was in a miserable condition, and felt myself to be irretrievably lost.” It is of importance to compare the history here. How speedily were all the foolish ideas, which led David to number the people, dissipated, when the Divine judgments broke in upon him! δςξιγ, with the accusative of the thing and the dative of the person, is “to appoint anything to any one:” compare 2 Chronicles 33:8, “The land which I have appointed for your fathers;”—in the parallel passage, 2 Kings 21:8, it is πϊο “gave.” The “mountain” is in general a striking emblem of dominion. But there was in the case before us a particular reason why the Psalmist selected this figure. A mountain was the centre, and therefore the natural symbol, of David’s kingdom: compare 2 Samuel 5:9, “And David dwelt in the fort, and called it the City of David.” On the top of the high and steep eminence, in the ἀ ?́νωπόλις, the royal city was situated (Nehemiah 3:25), which was termed the King’s upper house. Its situation must have rendered it a place of great security. This is evident from the contemptuous language used by the Jebusites when David was endeavouring to obtain possession of it. They insinuated that the blind and the lame were sufficient to defend it. Micah 4:8 is exactly parallel to our passage. The prophet employs the hill of the daughter of Zion, and specially the tower of the city built upon it, as an emblem of the dominion of the seed of David: compare Christol. P. III. p. 273. Those passages are analogous, in which the hill of Sion appears as the symbol of the kingdom of God, on account of the sanctuary erected upon it: Isaiah 2:3; Psalms 68:17, etc. Hence the expression, “Thou hast imparted strength to my mountain,” is, “Thou hast imparted strength to my kingdom:” compare 2 Samuel 5:12, “And David perceived that the Lord had established him king over Israel, and that He had exalted his kingdom.” Those expositions are to be rejected in which the mountain is considered as symbolical either of security, of dignity and greatness. Neither security nor dignity can have strength imparted to them. According to our exposition, the passage stands in remarkable agreement with the history. The Divine judgment, which followed the numbering of the people, destroyed to a great extent the strength of the kingdom. There follows now (Psalms 30:8-10) the prayer which David, after he had been brought to a right state of mind, offered up to God as the fruit of the Divine chastisement. Calvin: “David, who had hitherto been sound asleep, is suddenly alarmed, and begins to cry to God. For as iron, when it has become rusty through long rest, cannot again be made use of till it has passed anew through the fire, and been struck again with the hammer, so, when carnal confidence has obtained the mastery, it is impossible for any man to address himself in right earnest to prayer, until he has been struck by the cross, and made fit for the work.” Ver. 8. To Thee, O Lord, I cried; and I supplicated the Lordfor His grace. Several expositors consider this verse as ex-pressive of future time, and consequently read it with marks ofquotation, as if it formed part of the prayer. This is the viewtaken by Luther: "I will call upon Thee, O Lord; I will sup-plicate the Lord." But in opposition to this, it may be urged,that, in the second clause, God is not addressed, but is spokenof. Hence it is better to interpret the future, as arising fromthe living realization of the events which should take place in it.Ver. 9. "What profit is there to Thee in my blood, that Ishould go down to the grave? Will dust praise Thee? will it make known Thy truth?" The two first questions (literally, "What gain is there in my blood? What gain hast Thou if Thou spill my blood, if Thou suffer me to die; or in my going down to the grave?") are answered in the two verses which fol-low. God would have very little profit. He would be deprived of the praise of the Psalmist, who, in the midst of all his weak-ness, had continued to be His servant, and whose praise conse-quently had been pleasant to Him: compare the parallel pas-sage, Psalms 6:5. אמת is neither "grace," nor "faithfulness," nor "friendship," but, as always, "truth." Prominence is here given to that attribute of God which the Psalmist will praise, if God does not give him over to death: compare the song of Hezekiah in Isaiah 38:19, "The living, he shall praise Thee, as I do this day: the father to the children shall make known Thy truth;" and ver. 18: "For the grave cannot praise Thee, death cannot celebrate Thee; they that go down into the pit cannot make known Thy truth." God would be chargeable with untruth, were He to punish His own people with irreme-diable destruction, after having declared in His word His readi-ness to forgive their infirmities on their sincere repentance.-- 1 Chronicles 2:14-17 shows how exactly these words suit the situ-ation to which we suppose them to refer. David had made an offer of his own life, for the deliverance of his people, to the angel with the drawn sword, whom he beheld with eyes which had been opened by a sense of his guilt. Even this offer shows that he looked upon himself as rather dead than alive. The sufferings of his people, of which he himself had been the cause, pierced his heart so severely, that he believed he must have died had they been prolonged.Ver. 10. "Hear, O Lord, and be gracious to me; Lord, be my helper." David, after repeating his prayer, tells us that he had been heard. Ver. 11. Thou turnedst for me my mourning into danc-ing: Thou hast put off my sackcloth, and girded me with gladness. שק is a hair garment, which mourners put on: it was, as it were, the robe of penitence in which they were led through suf-fering to self-examination, and through it to humiliation, under the mighty hand of God, to the acknowledgment of their sin, and to penitent prayer for forgiveness. The conclusion consists of promises of thanks. Ver. 9. “What profit is there to Thee in my blood, that I should go down to the grave? Will dust praise Thee? will it make known Thy truth?” The two first questions (literally, “What gain is there in my blood? What gain hast Thou if Thou spill my blood, if Thou suffer me to die; or in my going down to the grave?”) are answered in the two verses which follow. God would have very little profit. He would be deprived of the praise of the Psalmist, who, in the midst of all his weakness, had continued to be His servant, and whose praise consequently had been pleasant to Him: compare the parallel passage, Psalms 6:5. àîú is neither “grace,” nor “faithfulness,” nor “friendship,” but, as always, “truth.” Prominence is here given to that attribute of God which the Psalmist will praise, if God does not give him over to death: compare the song of Hezekiah in Isaiah 38:19, “The living, he shall praise Thee, as I do this day: the father to the children shall make known Thy truth;” and ver. 18: “For the grave cannot praise Thee, death cannot celebrate Thee; they that go down into the pit cannot make known Thy truth.” God would be chargeable with untruth, were He to punish His own people with irremediable destruction, after having declared in His word His readiness to forgive their infirmities on their sincere repentance.—1 Chronicles 2:14-17 shows how exactly these words suit the situation to which we suppose them to refer. David had made an offer of his own life, for the deliverance of his people, to the angel with the drawn sword, whom he beheld with eyes which had been opened by a sense of his guilt. Even this offer shows that he looked upon himself as rather dead than alive. The sufferings of his people, of which he himself had been the cause, pierced his heart so severely, that he believed he must have died had they been prolonged. Ver. 10. “Hear, O Lord, and be gracious to me; Lord, be my helper.” David, after repeating his prayer, tells us that he had been heard. Ver. 11. Thou turnedst for me my mourning into dancing: Thou hast put off my sackcloth, and girded me with gladness. ù÷ is a hair garment, which mourners put on: it was, as it were, the robe of penitence in which they were led through suffering to self-examination, and through it to humiliation, under the mighty hand of God, to the acknowledgment of their sin, and to penitent prayer for forgiveness. The conclusion consists of promises of thanks. Ver. 12. In order that glory may praise Thee, and not be silent; O Lord, my God, I will praise Thee for ever. Several translators give: "for this reason," etc. But למען, when joined to verbs, never signifies "for ,this reason," but always, "in order that:" and this signification, as Calvin saw, is here even more suitable than any other. As David, in ver. 9, had grounded his prayer for deliverance on the plea that otherwise he would not have it in his power to praise God, so now he sets forth the praise of God as the final aim of the deliverance which had been actually wrought out for him. And what a motive was there in this for David not to become weary in praising God! The "glory" indicates what value God puts upon the praises of the Psalmist. He is made after the image of God, there is something divine in him: compare at Psalms 7:5; Psalms 16:9. The expression, "in order that glory may praise Thee," is, "in order that my soul may praise Thee, which is glory; or, whose praise is pleasant to Thee, because it is glory." We are not to think of an elision of the suffix, which never takes place. The reference to the Psalmist, that the glory which is to praise God belongs to him, comes out from the connection. The "for ever," indicates that the Psalmist will set no limits to the praise of God. In reality, it corresponds to "all the days of our life" of Hezekiah, in the 20th verse. Psalms 31. After the Psalmist has shortly set forth his prayer, and in-dicated the basis on which it rests, in the introduction (ver. 1), he brings forward the latter of these very prominently in the first division (vers. 2-8): the Lord may, must, and will help him in his trouble, because He is his God. With confidence thus acquired from the consideration of the general relationship of God towards him, he proceeds, in the second division (vers. 9-18), more immediately to the, trouble itself, which he describes at length in the first half of this part (vers. 9-13), and then in the second half (vers. 14-18) he brings it to God. In the third division (vers. 19-21) the Psalmist obtains from God the heart-felt assurance of help, and extols loudly the goodness of God towards His own people. A conclusion (ver. 22) sums up in a few words the personal experience of the Psalmist; and anappendix (vers. 23, 24) unfolds the lesson which the Church ought to learn from this narrative:-all the pious should he led thereby to love God, and confidently to trust in Him in the time of trouble; for, as the example of the Psalmist shows, He will not fail to manifest Himself as faithful to His people. This Psalm also is distinguished by an elaborate formal arrangement. The main body is governed by the Numbers 3, 7, and 10, and is completed in two decades, if we reckon together the three verses of the third and the seven of the first part, which are intimately related to each other:-in the first, we have confidence anticipating an answer; and in the third, confidence resting on the inward response of God. The second decade is divided into two parts of five verses each. If we add the con-clusion and the introduction, it appears that the Psalm is an alphabetical one in point of numbers. There is also an evident attempt at alphabetical arrangement as regards the first letters of the verses in the paragraph from ver. 8-12. If we add the application, the verses amount to 24,-the doubled twelve,-the signature of the people of the covenant. Several abortive attempts have been made to find out; a parti-cular historical occasion for the Psalm. It represents, as Coc-ceius has well remarked, the perpetual conflict which believers and the Church have to maintain in this world, and the deliver-ance and victory by which that conflict is ever anew followed. The Psalmist does not speak in his own person, but in the person of every righteous man who finds himself engaged in severe warfare. The want of all special historical reference speaks in favour of this view. Then the language of the Psalm is exceedingly easy; while in those called forth by individual suffering, the style is more or less involved. In like, manner, there is the fact, that there are in this Psalm several, reminis-cences from other Psalms which had proceeded from a heart in a state of great emotion. Last of all, there is the alphabetical arrangement. All alphabetical Psalms have a general character. That Jeremiah found the Psalm suitable to his circumstances, and drew consolation from it, is evident, besides other facts, from chap. 20:10, where we find the very peculiar language of the first half of the 13th verse repeated word for word. Modern expositors, entirely misunderstanding the relation; subsisting between Jeremiah and the more ancient sacred writings, and particularly the Psalms, have, from the simple fact of the aboveagreement, drawn the conclusion that he was the author of the Psalm. The conclusion is just as valid as would be the infe- rence that it had been composed by our Saviour, because He made use of the language of the 5th verse on the cross. The more general reasons-such as those drawn from the sameness in point of spirit, the union of complaint and hope, the elegiac mood, etc.-do not suggest Jeremiah any more than any other believer under the Old Testament dispensation. There is, moreover, not the shadow of a reason for setting aside the superscription, which expressly announces the Psalm to have been David's. First, the Introduction in ver. 1. In Thee, O Lord, do I put my trust; let me never be ashamed: deliver me in Thy righteous- ness. The Psalmist prays for something which God must grant. His prayer rises on the firm foundation of his faith, which God may not put to shame; and of God's righteousness, which ren-ders it impossible that the lots of the righteous and the wicked should be interchanged. On "Let me never be ashamed," the Berleb. Bib. correctly remarks: "Which would be the case, wort Thou not to fulfil my desire and prayer;" and Venema "He shows that he feels himself to be in such a situation, that he must either be immediately delivered, or put to shame for ever." To be put to shame now, is the same thing as to be put to shame for ever; for matters have come to the very last ex-tremity with the Psalmist: compare vers. 9-13, particularly the words, "They devise to take away my life," with which this description of the trouble concludes, and, "Deliver me speedily," of ver. 2. Now the servants of God, notwithstanding all their weaknesses, are not put to shame for ever. God may, yea, must visit His people with transitory suffering; but He cannot be God, and give them over to destruction. This is the part only of the wicked, not of those who put their trust in God. It is utterly impossible to substitute "goodness" for "righteousness." The only question is, whether the prominent idea intended here to be conveyed is faithfulness in fulfilling promises, or justice in dispensing to each one according; to his works. In favour of the latter view, we have the mention made of the righteous in ver. 18; of them that fear God, in ver. 19; of those who trust in God, ver. 6, as the objects of the Divine assistance; and thecorresponding expression in the verse before us itself, in Thee, O Lord, do I put my trust. The righteousness of God demands that He should not give over to destruction (as is the case with the wicked scoffers) those who trust in Him-it being of course understood that it is a real, heartfelt trust that is meant, such a trust as springs from a pure conscience: compare at Psalms 18:1; Psalms 26. The first division is from ver. 2 to ver. 8. The Psalmist utters the prayer to God for deliverance, grounds it upon the inward relation in which he stands to God, and expresses his assurance of being heard.Ver. 2. Bow down Thine ear to me, deliver me speedily: be a strong rock to me, and a fortress to help me. Of the two ele-ments contained in the Introduction,-the Prayer and its Basis, -we have the first here, and the second in ver. 3. Jo. Arnd: "0 God, Thou hearest such light tones, that Thou hearest even my sigh! Ah! delay not too long! I have no temporal de- fence, no place of strength and safety; be Thou my castle and stronghold. Here we learn how the children of God ought to speak to their beloved Father, namely, as friend to friend, or as a child to his father: Ah! my beloved Father, bow down Thine ear to me. See, this is what faith, what child-like love and confidence does! It embraces the Lord, and falls upon His neck! O Lord, Thou knowest, and Thou alone art acquainted with my trouble: to Thee alone will I complain, and speak, as it were, secretly into Thy ear." It is of the nature of fervent prayer to realize the presence of God in the most lively manner; so that, in the prayers of the godly of the Old Testament, even before the incarnation of the Word, He took, as it were, flesh and blood. Hence it is that, in the Psalms, we find the strongest possible instances of what have been termed anthropomorphisms and anthropopathies. The non-existence of the anthropomor-phisms of feeling is just as objectionable, yea, more so, than the existence of the anthropomorphisms of dogma, which are met at the threshold of the Old Testament by the law forbidding images-a law which is based on the absolute spirituality of God. Aversion to anthropomorphisms of feeling, or inability to make use of them in a way consistent with inward truth, is the result of practical atheism. “ A strong rock and a fortress.”is literally a rock of security, and a house of a mountains top:compare Psalms 18:2.Ver. 3. For Thou art my rock and my fortress, and for Thy name's sake Thou wilt lead me and guide me. The Psalmist had, in the preceding verse, prayed to God that He would behis rock and fortress; and he now grounds this prayer on the fact, that the Lord is in reality his rock and fortress, because he knew Him as such, by the faith which God never puts to shame. God must, in the particular case, necessarily help him, because He stands towards him in the general relation of a helper. Hence we see how little ground Koester has for maintainingthat the "for" is illogical, and for drawing from this his con- clusion that the Psalm is a compilation. The "for" refers to both clauses of the verse. Even in the second clause, the special thing to which the Psalmist lays claim, is referred back to its necessity. Not to allow trouble to darken consciousness, is one of the highest and most difficult tasks set before sufferers. -The expression, "for Thy name's sake," is equivalent to, "forthe sake of Thy historically manifested glory," viz. "Thy right- eousness" of ver. 1 : compare at Psalms 23:3. The words תנהני and תנהלני (compare on the meaning of נהל, Psalms 22:2) are tobe considered as expressive, not of prayer (Luther: "WiltThou not lead and guide me?"), but of hope. This is evident from the connection of the verse with what precedes, and from what follows, when the Psalmist passes from hope to confidence. The prayer of the preceding verse, "that the Lord would de-liver the Psalmist," is here based on the consideration, "that the Lord will deliver him for His name's sake." Ver. 3. For Thou art my rock and my fortress, and for Thy name’s sake Thou wilt lead me and guide me. The Psalmist had, in the preceding verse, prayed to God that He would be his rock and fortress; and he now grounds this prayer on the fact, that the Lord is in reality his rock and fortress, because he knew Him as such, by the faith which God never puts to shame. God must, in the particular case, necessarily help him, because He stands towards him in the general relation of a helper. Hence we see how little ground Koester has for maintaining that the “for” is illogical, and for drawing from this his conclusion that the Psalm is a compilation. The “for” refers to both clauses of the verse. Even in the second clause, the special thing to which the Psalmist lays claim, is referred back to its necessity. Not to allow trouble to darken consciousness,is one of the highest and most difficult tasks set before sufferers. The expression, “for Thy name’s sake,” is equivalent to, “for the sake of Thy historically manifested glory,” viz. “Thy righteousness” of Psalms 31:1 : compare at Psalms 23:3. The words ϊπηπι and ϊπδμπι (compare on the meaning of πδμ , Psalms 22:2) are to be considered as expressive, not of prayer (Luther: “Wilt Thou not lead and guide me?”), but of hope. This is evident from the connection of the verse with what precedes, and from what follows, when the Psalmist passes from hope to confidence. The prayer of the preceding verse, “that the Lord would deliver the Psalmist,” is here based on the consideration, “that the Lord will deliver him for His name’s sake.” Ver. 4. Thou wilt lead me out of the net which they laid for me, for Thou art my strength. Ver. 5. Into Thine hand I com-mit my spirit: Thou redeemest me, God of truth. The Preterite, פדיתה, is to be taken in the prophetic sense, as expressive of con-fident hope, and stands like the Preterite in the 7th and 8th verses. The basis of this confidence is pointed out in the de-signation of God as the God of truth: "God of truth" corre-sponds to "my strength," in the preceding verse. That God is a God of truth, affords security for deliverance, inasmuch as He has revealed Himself in His word as the righteous rewarder; so that He would not be acting in accordance with truth, were He not to help.-Our Lord uttered on the cross the words of the first half of the verse before us; and this circumstance led many of the old expositors to apply the whole Psalm directly to the Messiah. Huss repeated frequently on the way to the stakethe words: "Into Thine hands I commend my spirit: Thou hast redeemed me, my Lord Jesus, God of truth."Ver. 6. I hate those who regard lying vanities, and I trust in the Lord. The Psalmist had in the preceding verse rested his hope of deliverance on Jehovah--the God of truth. In the verse before us he expands this thought. He does not, like the ungodly world, which he hates, put his trust in deceitful vani-ties, in idols, which cannot afford the assistance which they pro-mise to their votaries: he places his trust in the Lord, the I AM, the God of truth, who performs what He promises; and therefore he is sure of deliverance. The emphasis does not lie on the trust, but on the object of the trust. Many expositors substitute תAאנeשA, "Thou hatest," instead of יתiאנeשA; but the sense does not suit theconnection, and Psalms 16:4; Psalms 26:5 are in favour of the first person. שמר, in the sense of, "to wait upon anything," occurs in Hosea 4:10, and Zechariah 11:11. הבלים, "vanities," is applied to idols in Deuteronomy 32:21, in parallelism with אל לא: and also in Jonah 2:9; Jeremiah 10:3; Jeremiah 10:15; Jeremiah 10:19. That it refers here primarily to idols in the proper sense, is evident from compar-ing Psalms 16:2-5. The remark of Calvin, however, is substan-tially perfectly correct: "All those vain hopes which we invent for ourselves, and which withdraw our trust from God, David calls vanities, and even vanities of nothingness or of lies, be-cause they delude and deceive us, though they feed us for along while with their mighty boastings." הבלים stands in oppo-sition to יהוה of the preceding verse�AM, the pure and absolute entity, in opposition to the nonentity; and שוא, "the lie," is opposed to אמת , "the truth." They are in themselves nothing, and, on this account, they are deceitful to all those who place their hope in them. ואני, on which many have stum-bled, is to be explained by considering the words, "I hate, etc.," as equivalent to "Those whom I hate, etc." Jo. Arnd re-marks "The soul remains with that on which it depends, on which it places its hope, where it seeks comfort and rest, with which it is united. Is thy soul united with any earthly thing, has it conceived an affection for it, does it depend on it? Woe to thy poor soul, it will remain where its hope is. Therefore look well to what it is that thy soul is depending on." Ver. 6. I hate those who regard lying vanities, and I trust in the Lord. The Psalmist had in the preceding verse rested his hope of deliverance on Jehovah—the God of truth. In the verse before us he expands this thought. He does not, like the ungodly world, which he hates, put his trust in deceitful vanities, in idols, which cannot afford the assistance which they promise to their votaries: he places his trust in the Lord, the I AM, the God of truth, who performs what He promises; and therefore he is sure of deliverance. The emphasis does not lie on the trust, but on the object of the trust. Many expositors substitute ωָׂ ?πֵ ?ΰϊָ, “Thou hatest,” instead of ωָׂ ?πֵ ?ΰϊִ ?ι; but the sense does not suit the connection, and Psalms 16:4 and Psalms 26:5 are in favour of the first person. ωξψ, in the sense of, “to wait upon anything,” occurs in Hosea 4:10, and Zechariah 11:11. δαμιν, “vanities,” is applied to idols in Deuteronomy 32:21, in parallelism with μΰΰμ: and also in Jonah 2:9; Jeremiah 10:3, Jeremiah 10:15, Jeremiah 10:19. That it refers here primarily to idols in the proper sense, is evident from comparing Psalms 16:2-5. The remark of Calvin, however, is substantially perfectly correct: “All those vain hopes which we invent for ourselves, and which withdraw our trust from God, David calls vanities, and even vanities of nothingness or of lies, because they delude and deceive us, though they feed us for a long while with their mighty boastings.” δαμιν stands in opposition to ιδεδ of the preceding verse—the I AM, the pure and absolute entity, in opposition to the nonentity; and ωεΰ, “the lie,” is opposed to ΰξϊ, “the truth.” They are in themselves nothing, and, on this account, they are deceitful to all those who place their hope in them. εΰπι, on which many have stumbled, is to be explained by considering the words, “I hate, etc.,” as equivalent to “Those whom I hate, etc.” Jo. Arnd remarks “The soul remains with that on which it depends, on which it places its hope, where it seeks comfort and rest, with which it is united. Is thy soul united with any earthly thing, has it conceived an affection for it, does it depend on it? Woe to thy poor soul, it will remain where its hope is. Therefore look well to what it is that thy soul is depending on.” Ver. 7. I will be glad, and rejoice in Thy goodness, Thou who seest my trouble, who knowest the necessity of my soul. The suf-ferer sees, with the eye of faith, the deliverance for which hehopes already present,-the prayer with which the paragraph begins is based on hope, and the hope soon passes on to confi-dence,-and exhorts himself, now that God had performed His part, to render Him joyful thanks. The exposition of Michaelis and others, "Let me give thanks," "Give me, by delivering me, occasion to render thanks," is confuted by the Preterites. -The seeing is not without meaning. When God sees the misery of His people, He also helps them. ידע with ב is used of a knowledge which dwells with strong emotion (in this case, that of love) upon its object: compare Job 25:15. The exposition of Luther, "Thou knowest my soul in trouble," which has been again brought into notice by Stier, is negatived by passages such as Genesis 42:21, where נפש צרת already occurs, and Psalms 25:17.Ver. 8. And Thou dost not give me over into the hand of my enemy; Thou settest my feet in a large room. "To shut up into the hand," is to give over into the power, in such a way that there can be no deliverance. The phrase is made use of by David, 1 Samuel 23:11. Compare 26:8, 24:19. On the second clause, compare Psalms 18:19. There follows now the second division (vers. 9-18), in which the Psalmist, in the spirit of heartfelt trust in the helping grace of God, to which, after much exertion, he had attained, pro-ceeds, first, to describe at length his trouble (vers. 9-13), and, second, to pray for deliverance (14-18). "Ver. 9. Lord, be merciful unto me, for I am hard pressed; mine eye is decayed because of vexation, my soul and my body. Compare Psalms 6:7. We have already seen at this passage, and at Psalms 10:14, that כעס does not signify grief, but vexation or in-dignation, especially at the unrighteous conduct of enemies. Ver. 8. And Thou dost not give me over into the hand of my enemy; Thou settest my feet in a large room. “To shut up into the hand,” is to give over into the power, in such a way that there can be no deliverance. The phrase is made use of by David, 1 Samuel 23:11. Compare 1 Samuel 26:8, 1 Samuel 24:19. On the second clause, compare Psalms 18:19. There follows now the second division (Psalms 31:9-18), in which the Psalmist, in the spirit of heartfelt trust in the helping grace of God, to which, after much exertion, he had attained, proceeds, first, to describe at length his trouble (Psalms 31:9-13), and, second, to pray for deliverance (Psalms 31:14-18). Ver. 9. Lord, be merciful unto me, for I am hard pressed; mine eye is decayed because of vexation, my soul and my body. Compare Psalms 6:7. We have already seen at this passage, and at Psalms 10:14, that ëòñ does not signify grief, but vexation or indignation, especially at the unrighteous conduct of enemies. Ver. 10. For my life is spent with grief, and my years with sighing; my strength is broken through my iniquity, and my bones are consumed. The expressions, "in grief," and "in sighing," are to be explained from the effect being conceived as rest-ing in its cause. The sense is, "my constant pain, my continual sighing, wear me out before the time, end my life, shorten my years." כלה is "to waste away," "I to tend towards dissolution." כשל is in many places "to stumble" "to sink from weakness:" compare, for example, Psalms 109:24. It is applied here to sink-ing, broken strength. Many of the expositors are altogether at sea in their efforts to explain, "through my iniquity:" it wasnot the guilt of the Psalmist, say they, but the wickedness of his enemies, that had involved him in suffering; he appeals to the justice of God (ver. 1), and represents himself as an upright and pious man, suffering innocently. They therefore explain the term, "through my suffering." But עון is always "iniquity," and never "suffering," such as befalls an innocent man, nor even “punishment.” The wickedness of enemies, and the guilt of the Psalmist, co-exist as causes that have brought on his dis-tress: the Lord, on account of his guilt, has given power to the malice of his enemies to injure him. Neither are the guilt of the Psalmist and his own righteousness inconsistent with each other: he was a righteous man in regard to the prevailing ten-dency of his life; but this was quite compatible with the exist-ence of manifold sins of infirmity, which rendered it necessary that he should be purified by the cross. The righteousness of God may have brought on the Psalmist's suffering; but that need not prevent the Psalmist from hoping that the same right-eousness will effect his deliverance. Sins of infirmity call for punishment, not destruction; and it is that this, which the Psalmist finds to be already near, may be averted, that he ap-peals to the righteousness of God. Finally, the Psalmist might be innocent in reference to his enemies, and might, nevertheless, be given over to suffering by God on account of his guilt. It is, moreover, altogether impossible for us to keep out of view the guilt as the cause of the suffering, inasmuch as, according to the teaching of Scripture, every suffering is, and must be, a punishment, since God is just. To recognise in our sufferings a righteous retribution, is the prime condition of the hope of deliverance: he only who can say with the heart, "My strength is broken through mine iniquity," will be able to utter with inward truth the prayer, "Deliver me for Thy righteousness' sake." The case of Job affords a remarkable illustration of this. His despair of a prosperous issue to his sufferings arose solely from that lack of a knowledge of sin, which rendered it impossible for him to reconcile his experience with the right-eousness of God. The same point, which is merely hinted at here, occupies the foreground in other similar Psalms, as, for example, the 38th. The bones are mentioned as the seat of strength. Very severe pain penetrates the bones and the mar-row, and renders the whole man thoroughly feeble.Ver. 11. On account of mine enemies I have become a reproach,and even to my neighbours very much, and an object of aversion to my acquaintances; those who see me in the street flee from me.The Psalmist complains of the loss of his reputation, which, to a man who feels himself deserted by God, is altogether insupport-able, and even to those in fellowship with God, is very difficult to be borne. Calvin: "He says the multitude of his enemies have gained over almost the whole people to their side, and therefore even amongst his friends and acquaintances he has been covered with disgrace: in these circumstances, public opinion carries away our souls like. a mighty hurricane." Jo. Arnd: "It cannot be worse with us than when we are so over-whelmed with lies and slanders that we come to be utterly de-spised, so that people are ashamed of us and shun us, and it is reckoned disreputable to associate with us, and even our inti-mate friends forsake us. This was the case in a remarkable manner at the crucifixion of our Lord: His friends stood afar off; for had they come near, they would have been recognised as connected with Him. It is a piece of the curse, a portion of the poison, and one of the most murderous blows, of the devil, so to slander a man that he is looked upon as an abomination and a curse." The groundwork of this description is to be found in the painful trial which David experienced during the persecution of Saul. The מן is causal: "on account of," "the reproach arises from my enemies." The Psalmist first says in general, "I have become a reproach," and then men tions particularly those whose contempt he felt peculiarly to be painful, "and (particularly, I have become a reproach to my neighbours) very much-in a high degree." Those who see me in the street, etc. Not only will no one associate with me under the same roof, or hold confiding intercourse with me, every one flees from me as soon as I am seen in the streets. Ver. 11. On account of mine enemies I have become a reproach, and even to my neighbours very much, and an object of aversion to my acquaintances; those who see me in the street flee from me. The Psalmist complains of the loss of his reputation, which, to a man who feels himself deserted by God, is altogether insupportable, and even to those in fellowship with God, is very difficult to be borne. Calvin: “He says the multitude of his enemies have gained over almost the whole people to their side, and therefore even amongst his friends and acquaintances he has been covered with disgrace: in these circumstances, public opinion carries away our souls like. a mighty hurricane.” Jo. Arnd: “It cannot be worse with us than when we are so overwhelmed with lies and slanders that we come to be utterly despised, so that people are ashamed of us and shun us, and it is reckoned disreputable to associate with us, and even our intimate friends forsake us. This was the case in a remarkable manner at the crucifixion of our Lord: His friends stood afar off; for had they come near, they would have been recognised as connected with Him. It is a piece of the curse, a portion of the poison, and one of the most murderous blows, of the devil, so to slander a man that he is looked upon as an abomination and a curse.” The groundwork of this description is to be found in the painful trial which David experienced during the persecution of Saul. The îï is causal: “on account of,” “the reproach arises from my enemies.” The Psalmist first says in general, “I have become a reproach,” and then mentions particularly those whose contempt he felt peculiarly to be painful, “and (particularly, I have become a reproach to my neighbours) very much—in a high degree.” Those who see me in the street, etc. Not only will no one associate with me under the same roof, or hold confiding intercourse with me, every one flees from me as soon as I am seen in the streets. Ver. 12. I am forgotten in the heart like a dead man; I have become like a broken vessel. מלב is, properly, out of the heart. On "a broken vessel," the Berleb. Bib. remarks: "which is good for nothing, which can be made no use of, cannot be made whole again, for which no one cares, and the fragments of which are thrown away." That this last clause refers not only to the contempt, but also, in general, to the completely comfortless con-dition of the Psalmist, is evident from the "for" with which the next verse opens.Ver. 13. For I hear the slander of many; fear is on every side:when they take counsel together against me, they devise to take away my life. The sufferer here assigns the basis of the clause, "I am like a broken vessel." The thought of the slanderings of the enemies is naturally followed by that of their acts of per-secution: "fear is on every side," etc. In order to be able to perpetrate these without hindrance, they devised their slanders. They withdrew public sympathy from their victim by covering him with disgrace, that they might then be able to sacrifice him undisturbed and unpunished. On יהד הוסד compare Psalms 2:2. The representation of the trouble closes with intimating that the enemies were preparing to make a determined onset against the life of the sufferer. If this be the case, God, as was brought prominently forward in the first part, must, as sure as He is the Psalmist's God, put forth His helping hand without delay: delay is dangerous; not to help now, is the same thing as not to help at all. Ver. 13. For I hear the slander of many; fear is on every side: when they take counsel together against me, they devise to take away my life. The sufferer here assigns the basis of the clause, “I am like a broken vessel.” The thought of the slanderings of the enemies is naturally followed by that of their acts of persecution: “fear is on every side,” etc. In order to be able to perpetrate these without hindrance, they devised their slanders. They withdrew public sympathy from their victim by covering him with disgrace, that they might then be able to sacrifice him undisturbed and unpunished. On δεργιηγ compare Psalms 2:2. The representation of the trouble closes with intimating that the enemies were preparing to make a determined onset against the life of the sufferer. If this be the case, God, as was brought prominently forward in the first part, must, as sure as He is the Psalmist’s God, put forth His helping hand without delay: delay is dangerous; not to help now, is the same thing as not to help at all. Ver. 14. And I trust in Thee, O Lord; I say, "Thou art my God." Calvin, by the following remark, removes the appa-rent contradiction between the confidence in God expressed here, and the complaints uttered in the previous verses:-"He was indeed sunk in the darkness of sorrow and in dreadful affliction, yet the hidden light of faith still glimmered inwardly in his heart; he sighed under his heavy load of trial, yet he still had strength left to call upon God." On "Thou art my God," he remarks: "There is nothing more difficult, when we see our faith despised by the whole world, than to direct our language to God alone, and to rest on the testimony of our con-science that He is our God.'"Ver. 15. My times are in Thine hand: deliver me from the hands of my enemies, and from my persecutors. עתים never sig-nifies fate, but always times. The Psalmist affirms that the times, with their sufferings and joys (comp. 1 Chronicles 29:30), are in the hand of God, and that it requires only a nod from Him to transform the evil into good; while he rises on the wings of faith above the visible world, even after no such change ap-peared any longer possible.Ver. 16. Make Thy face to shine upon Thy servant; deliver me through Thy goodness. On the last clause, which refers to Numbers 6:25, compare at Psalms 4:6. The words, "upon Thy servant," contain the basis of the prayer. God cannot do other-wise than manifest Himself as gracious to His servant. Ver. 15. My times are in Thine hand: deliver me from the hands of my enemies, and from my persecutors. òúéí never signifies fate, but always times. The Psalmist affirms that the times, with their sufferings and joys (comp. 1 Chronicles 29:30), are in the hand of God, and that it requires only a nod from Him to transform the evil into good; while he rises on the wings of faith above the visible world, even after no such change appeared any longer possible. Ver. 16. Make Thy face to shine upon Thy servant; deliver me through Thy goodness. On the last clause, which refers to Numbers 6:25, compare at Psalms 4:6. The words, “upon Thy servant,” contain the basis of the prayer. God cannot do otherwise than manifest Himself as gracious to His servant. Ver. 17. Lord, let me not be put to shame, for I call upon Thee: may the wicked be put to shame, and be silent in shed. "For I call upon Thee," corresponds to "in Thee, O Lord, do I put my trust," at the beginning of the Psalm. The "calling" is noticed merely so far as it is an act of "trust." Jo. Arnd: "The beloved prophet puts God in remembrance of His pro-mise, that He will hear and help those who call upon Him with heartfelt confidence. 'I call upon Thee,' he says, 'therefore let me not be put to shame.' Whoever can hold fast by this hope, cannot be put to shame by God: His promises, and even He Himself, must sooner be put to shame." The contrast between the Psalmist, who calls upon God, and the wicked, shows, on the one hand, that not to call upon God is an infallible mark of the wicked; and, on the other hand, that calling upon God thrives only on the soil of a pure heart. The wicked are not the enemies of the Psalmist, the enemies only belong to the wicked; they are not wicked because they are enemies, but enemies because they are wicked:-let me not be ashamed (and in me all the righteous); may those rather, who deserve it, be ashamed, even the wicked, and among them, my enemies. The following verse renders it evident that "may they be silent," is equivalent to "may they be struck dumb," and that the expres-sion forms the contrast to the blustering noise of the wicked. Jo. Arnd: "May death and sheol stop their mouth, so that they may not have it in their power to revile and slander any more." The לשאול, properly "to sheol," indicates that their silence be-longs to sheol, that it originates from their abode in it-the noiseless kingdom of the dead.Ver. 18. May the lying lips be put to silence, which speak reck-lessly against the righteous man, in pride and contempt. Com-pare ver. 13. The lying lips are brought to silence by the destruction of the wicked slanderers. There follows now the third part, the hearing of the prayer (vers. 19-21). Ver. 18. May the lying lips be put to silence, which speak recklessly against the righteous man, in pride and contempt. Compare Psalms 31:13. The lying lips are brought to silence by the destruction of the wicked slanderers. There follows now the third part, the hearing of the prayer (Psalms 31:19-21). Ver. 19. How great is Thy goodness which Thou hast laid up for them who fear Thee, which Thou manifestest to them that trust in Thee, before the sons of men. The sufferer, after he had obtained inwardly the assurance of being heard, first praises in general (vers. 19, 20) the goodness of God towards His own people, and next sets forth (ver. 21) the personal experience which had given him occasion thus to praise God. In the firstclause, the goodness of God, which had been enjoyed by the Psalmist in rich abundance on behalf of the Lord's people, appears under the emblem of a treasure which He has laid up for them. Those interpreters who cannot see their way through the abbre-viated comparison, the force of which is, "which in rich ful-ness, like a hoarded treasure, is present for those who are Thine," are inclined to substitute "possessions" instead of“goodness.” But יהוה טוב means always the goodness of theLord (compare at Psalms 27:13); and that this signification is to be retained here, is obvious from the expression, Psalms 36:7, "How precious is Thy love!" הסדך. Jo. Arnd: "Oh! whoever heartily trusts in God with lively stedfast hope, possesses God, with all His treasures of grace, with all His goodness, and love, and friendship. God gives Himself to those as their own, who give themselves to Him and trust in Him. Whoever gives to God his whole heart, receives in return from God His whole heart, with all its goodness and felicity."-Arnd expounds cor-rectly, "before the sons of men:" "so that every one, friend and foe, must say that it is a work of God. Thus were the faith and prayer of Hezekiah made known to the whole world, when the sun went back: thus was it also with the faith and prayer of Daniel and the three men in the fiery furnace. Who would have thought that God would have had such goodness among His secret treasures to manifest to His people! Such goodness has He laid up in His treasures for you and for me, if we trust in Him." Luther and others, in violation of the accents, translate: "who trust in Thee before the people." But, in opposition to this view, there must be urged the refer-ence, as noticed by Arnd, in which "before the sons of men" stands to צפנת. Besides, the expression, "to trust in God before the sons of men," never occurs, and indeed can scarcely occur; whereas repeated and emphatic mention is made of the fact, that the grace which God manifests towards His own people is visible to the whole world, and specially to their enemies: comp. Psalms 23:5. Ver. 20. Thou hidest them in the secret of Thy presence from every man's league: Thou concealest them in a pavilion from the strife of tongues. In the first clause, the regard of God for His people, His favour appears as a place of resort, which He provides for them: compare "make Thy face to shine upon Thy servant," ver. 16. The term רכם, which occurs in no otherpassage, is from רכם, "to bind," and signifies "a bond," "aconfederation:" compare, "while they took counsel together against me," ver. 13. "The slander of many," in that verse,corresponds to "the strife of tongues," in the verse before us. The "pavilion," in which God conceals His people, is a spiri-tual one, and there is no need for supplying the ב. Arnd "This our beloved God does secretly, so that no human eyesmay or can see; and the ungodly do not know that a believer is, in God, and in the presence of God, so well protected, that no reproach or contempt, and no quarrelsome tongues can do him any harm." Psalms 27:5 is parallel.Ver. 21. Praised be God, for He bath showed me wonderful goodness in a strong city. Arnd is short and good: "The strong city is God Himself, and His powerful and gracious protection, in which we are even more secure than in a strong city:" Psalms 46. The Psalmist had already prayed (ver. 2) that God would be to him a stronghold on a high mountain. He now sees this prayer fulfilled. Ver. 22 corresponds to ver. 1, in the same way as the verse before us corresponds to ver. 2,-the last of the second decade to the first of the first. There follows in ver. 22 the conclusion, which shortly recapi-tulates the whole. And I said in my rapid flight, "I am torn away from Thine eyes;" but Thou heardest the voice of my prayer when I cried to Thee. הפן always means to hasten from fear: compare especially 1 Samuel 23:26. Here it is used figura-tively: the dejected man, who looks upon his case as lost, appears like one in a trembling haste. The word shows us how much of anxiety and despondency lies concealed under the apparently strong and unwavering faith which met us at the beginning of the Psalm. נגזר, with which נגרז evidently agrees in significa-tion (compare Psalms 88:8), always signifies to be cut off, to be rooted out, and never to be shut out. נגרזתי denotes irre-mediable destruction, death,-compare, "they think to take my life," ver. 13, and היים מארץ נגזר "he was rooted out of the land of the living," Isaiah 53:8. There can be no reason drawn from the appended words, "from Thine eyes," for forcing on נגרז a meaning foreign to the term. The man who is rooted out, who has descended to the kingdom of the dead, is at the same time removed from the eye of God, that is, is no longer the object of the delivering grace of God: compare Isa. 38:11, where Hezekiah says, "I said, I shall not see theLord in the land of the living." The voice of supplication is not "the supplicating voice;" but תהנונים are the proper objects of answer, and the "voice" is added only because it is the object of the bodily hearing: the sound, the call of my supplicatory complaint. After the Psalmist had ended matters with God, he turns round to his brethren in the faith, for the purpose of setting before them the lesson to be drawn from the great drama which had been acted before their eyes. Ver. 21. Praised be God, for He bath showed me wonderful goodness in a strong city. Arnd is short and good: “The strong city is God Himself, and His powerful and gracious protection, in which we are even more secure than in a strong city:” Psalms 46. The Psalmist had already prayed (Psalms 31:2) that God would be to him a stronghold on a high mountain. He now sees this prayer fulfilled. Psalms 31:22 corresponds to Psalms 31:1, in the same way as the verse before us corresponds to Psalms 31:2,—the last of the second decade to the first of the first. There follows in Psalms 31:22 the conclusion, which shortly recapitulates the whole. And I said in my rapid flight, “I am torn away from Thine eyes;” but Thou heardest the voice of my prayer when I cried to Thee. ητο always means to hasten from fear: compare especially 1 Samuel 23:26. Here it is used figuratively: the dejected man, who looks upon his case as lost, appears like one in a trembling haste. The word shows us how much of anxiety and despondency lies concealed under the apparently strong and unwavering faith which met us at the beginning of the Psalm. πβζψ, with which πβψο evidently agrees in signification (compare Psalms 88:8), always signifies to be cut off, to be rooted out, and never to be shut out. πβψζϊι denotes irremediable destruction, death,—compare, “they think to take my life,” Psalms 31:13, and πβζψξΰψυηιιν “he was rooted out of the land of the living,” Isaiah 53:8. There can be no reason drawn from the appended words, “from Thine eyes,” for forcing on πβψζ a meaning foreign to the term. The man who is rooted out, who has descended to the kingdom of the dead, is at the same time removed from the eye of God, that is, is no longer the object of the delivering grace of God: compare Isaiah 38:11, where Hezekiah says, “I said, I shall not see the Lord in the land of the living.” The voice of supplication is not “the supplicating voice;” but ϊηπεπιν are the proper objects of answer, and the “voice” is added only because it is the object of the bodily hearing: the sound, the call of my supplicatory complaint.      After the Psalmist had ended matters with God, he turns round to his brethren in the faith, for the purpose of setting before them the lesson to be drawn from the great drama which had been acted before their eyes. Ver. 23. Love ye the Lord, all ye His saints: the Lord keepeth faith, and plentifully rewardeth him who acteth with haughtiness. The exhortation to love the Lord is followed by the basis on which it is made to rest, "for the Lord keepeth faith." After "the Lord keepeth faith," we must supply, "towards His saints;" and this supplied clause finds its opposite in "acteth with haughtiness." There is no reason for translating, "the Lord preserveth the faithful,"- נצר does occur in the sense of "to hold," "to observe," as, for example, Exodus 34:7, and Isaiah 26:3,-and, on the other side, there is no clear proof of אמונים being used as an adjective. Compare at Psalms 12:1. יתר על is, properly, "superabundantly," "plentifully."Ver. 24. Be ye strong, and may He strengthen the heart of all of you who trust in the Lord. Compare at Psalms 27:14. Ver. 24. Be ye strong, and may He strengthen the heart of all of you who trust in the Lord. Compare at Psalms 27:14. Psalms 32. David celebrates in this Psalm the happiness of a sinner who has obtained mercy from God, the preciousness of the for-giveness of sins, and the blessing of purity and uprightness before God, which alone lead to the obtaining of forgiveness. In the introduction, vers. 1 and 2, he indicates his subject in general, by pronouncing the man to be blessed who has obtained the forgiveness of sin, and has not excluded himself from it by inward impurity. In the main body of the Psalm, he depicts; first (vers. 3 and 4), the misery which he endured, so long as the sin of which he was conscious stood like a partition wall between him and God, and he, stained with impurity, had neither repented before God, nor asked from Him the grace of forgiveness. Then he tells us that forgiveness immediately fol-lowed upon confession, ver. 5. In vers. 6 and 7, he represents,in opposition to vers. 3 and 4, the blessed consequences of for- giveness obtained through uprightness: he is now sheltered from those judgments which hang over sinners; he has God again for his friend; and in Him he has protection against every danger, and the joyful assurance of deliverance. In vers. 8 and 9, he grounds doctrine upon history: the righteous man who has fallen may seek the forgiveness of sin through the free return to God, alone worthy of him. In the conclusion, vers. 10 and 11, the Psalmist, proceeding from what is particular to what is general, pronounces the man to be happy who has placed his confidence in God: all things, even his sins, must in the end work together for good, while the ungodly is visited with severe punishment. The formal arrangement of this Psalm is very obvious. The whole is broken up into strophes of two verses, with the excep-tion that the fifth verse, which may be considered as the heart of the Psalm, representing, as it does, the inseparable connection between free confession and forgiveness, forms a strophe by itself, and thus stands apart from the general train of the Psalm-a cir-cumstance which is evidently pointed out by its disproportionate length. The introduction consists of two verses, and there is a corresponding conclusion of an equal number. The main body is complete in the number seven. The three chief divisions in the historical part are indicated by the thrice repeated selah. Most commentators suppose that David composed this Psalm when he obtained forgiveness from God after his adultery with Bathsheba, and the death of Uriah, to which that sin led. The correctness of this view can scarcely be called in question. That the case represented in ver. 3 is no fiction, but a reality, is clear as day. The Psalmist speaks in language far too definite of himself and of a particular case, to allow us to regard the matter as a fiction. Now, if the matter be a reality, no other circum-stances can be referred to, except those above mentioned. All the characteristic features agree exactly. Here, as there, it is none of the common sins of infirmity that are spoken of, but a dreadful transgression, yea, an assemblage of dreadful trans-gressions: compare the expression in the 5th verse, "I will confess my crimes to the Lord," in which respect, the transgres-sion of David with Bathsheba, and the accompanying circum-stances, are said to hold a peculiar place in the history of David, 1 Kings 15:5. Here, as there, we have a long continuance of impenitence: according to ver. 3, "the bones of the Psalmistwaxed old continually;" according to ver. 4, "the hand of the Lord was heavy upon him day and night;" and, according to the history, there elapsed nearly a whole year between the sin of David and the repentance. Here, as there, we have a suddentransition: confession of sin at once breaking out, and forgive-ness immediately following. Compare ver. 5, "I acknowledged my sin unto Thee, and I did not hide my iniquity; I said, I will confess my transgressions unto the Lord, and Thou didst take away the guilt of my sin," with 2 Samuel 12:13, "AndDavid said to Nathan, I have sinned against the Lord. And Nathan said to David, The Lord forgiveth thy sin, thou shalt not die."-The reasons which have been adduced to show that the historical account given in Samuel is not wholly in accord-ance with the Psalm, are easily set aside. David, it is said, according to that account, did not confess his sin, but had it brought before him by Nathan. But, even according to Samuel, David did confess his sin; and the circumstance, that his confes-sion was called forth by Nathan's address, did not detract from its character as a voluntary act. David must have arrived, within his own mind, even at the very threshold of repentance; otherwise the address of Nathan would not have produced the effect which it did. Nathan did not originate the confession, he only set it loose. In what other way can we explain the fact,king for such a length of time after the sin was committed,that Nathan postponed the discharge of his duty towards theexcept by assuming that he waited, according to the direction ofGod, for the crisis in David's mind? Inasmuch, therefore, as the address of Nathan occupied only a subordinate place, and was not the ground, but merely the occasion of David's confes-sion, David might very well pass it over in silence in this Psalm, in the same way in which he does in the 51st Psalm, which refers to the same circumstance. Again, stress is laid upon the circumstance, that the writer of this Psalm is joyful at having obtained deliverance from the punishment of his sin, with which he had already been visited (vers. 6 and 7); whereas in 2 Samuel 12., David obtained forgiveness previous to the infliction of the punishment. But the punishment, in deliverance from which the Psalmist rejoices, is not one with which he had been already visited, but one which he dreaded, with which he was threatened, -one, present indeed, in the view of conscience, which already saw the angel with the flaming sword approaching, but inreality yet future. In ver. 6, it is said that "the floods shall not reach to the godly who prays at the right time to God for for-giveness of sin," but not that "they shall turn away from him;" and in ver. 7, the preceding clause, "Thou preservest me from trouble," leads us to consider the "songs of deliverance," as songs called forth by deliverance from threatened danger. Now, David had been visited with anxiety in regard to future punish-ment after his adultery with Bathsheba. Nathan's words, 2 Sam. 12:10, "Now therefore the sword shall never depart from thine house, because thou hast despised Me and taken the wife of Uriah," would not have produced such a dreadful impression on his mind, had not his conscience, before this, distinctly and repeatedly made the same announcement. It has been frequently maintained that this Psalm stands in opposition to the general point of view of the Old Testament. "It teaches inward reconciliation with God through faith; whereas, according to the theocratic view and practice, recon-ciliation is outward, and obtained by sacrifice." But there cannot be produced, out of the whole Old Testament, one single passage in which the doctrine that sacrifices of themselves, and apart from the state of mind of the offerers, are well-pleasing to God, is advanced, except for the purpose of vigorously oppos-ing it. The law of Moses disowns this doctrine with complete decision. When, for example, in Leviticus 26:31, it is said in reference to the ungodly, "I will not smell the savour of your sweet odours;" and when, in Genesis 4:4; Genesis 4:5, we find that, along with an outward similarity, the offerings of Cain and Abel met with such different receptions from God, and that this difference is traced back to a difference in the persons; it is all but ex-pressly asserted, that sacrifices are regarded only as expres-sive of the mind within. Moreover, how could any such im-portance be attached to sacrifices, considered as such, when the value of all that man does is so repeatedly and so decidedly represented as dependent on his love to God? Compare Beitr. P. 3p. 611. Now, just as sacrifices do not exclude faith, but faith is rather the soul of sacrifices, so faith does not exclude sacrifices. It is not a matter of any consequence, that David should have made no reference to them in this Psalm, inasmuch as, although generally available in the case before us (compare on this Psalms 51.), they occupy in every instance a very subordi-nate place. According to Amyraldus and others, the Psalm is irrecon-cilably at variance with Ps. i. "For whoever receives pros-perity as the reward of his virtue and holiness, stands in no need of forgiveness of sin; and, on the other hand, whoever needs forgiveness of sin, cannot hope for prosperity as the re-ward of his good works." But, that the variance is altogether in appearance, is obvious from the fact, that in many Psalms (as, for example, Psalms 19.), both positions are maintained, that salvation is the reward of righteousness (comp. on Psalms 19:12), and that salvation is the consequence of forgiveness of sin, and that in many instances both occur in immediate connection with each other. As even the righteousness of the man who is in a state of grace (and it is only with such a man that both these Psalms have to do), is in every instance but a righteous-ness of aim, so the reward which is promised to diligence in good works, and to which Ps. i. refers, can be obtained only when forgiveness of manifold transgressions has been sought and obtained from the compassion of God. The Psalm is termed in the title, a Maskil of David. The most obvious explanation of this term, which occurs in the titles of thirteen Psalms, is that of Instruction-a Didactic Poem: compare השכיל, in the sense of "to make intelligent, prudent," in Proverbs 16:23; Proverbs 21:11. A very decisive circumstance in favour of this interpretation, is the occurrence of אשכילך in ver. 8, where there is as good as an express explanation of the title; and this circumstance is to be regarded as all the more impor-tant, from the fact, that the word is made use of in the very first Psalm which bears the title. Further, it may be urged in favour of this interpretation, that the Psalm has so decided a didactic character, that the author seems as if he had resolved beforehand to lose sight of all regard to everything of an in-dividual character, for the purpose of influencing the whole Church. To this it may be added, that in Psalms 53. this inter-pretation is clearly demanded by the reference to the title con-tained in ver. 2. That Poem was designed to bring to reason the unreasonable men there spoken of. Compare page 211. The current objection against this interpretation, that all the Psalms so designated do not bear a didactic character, is not to be set aside by the remark of Stier, that it is of the nature of such names that they are on these occasions used also in a vague manner. It may rather be observed, that every expres-sion of holy feeling is subservient to the purpose of instruction in righteousness; that in the Psalms which were called forth by individual occasions, the Psalmists express their feelings on behalf of the whole Church; that in the very many Psalms in which the Righteous man is the speaker, the hortatory character is obvious to all except the most superficial readers. The de-signation is indeed applicable, properly, to all the Psalms, inas-much as they all have been reckoned worthy to be made use of in the services of the sanctuary, and to be admitted as part of the sacred Scriptures: compare 2 Timothy 16, where as much is said of the whole Scriptures of the Old Testament. For this reason, after a Psalm had been placed at the head, the very form of which at once shows it to be a didactic Psalm, might this designation be prefixed especially to those Psalms in which this character is least apparent. The didactic Psalms, properly so called, did not need this N.B.-The common in-terpretations of משכיל have been refuted in the Christology, I. 1, p. 113. The exposition there adopted, "a pious poem," cannot be maintained against the positive grounds on which the exposition, "Instruction," rests.-The relation of משכיל toאשכילך in ver. 8, leaves little room for doubt as to David's having composed the title, and affords a pretty strong presump-tion in favour of the titles generally. Ver. 1. Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Ver. 2. Blessed is the man unto whom the Lord imputeth not iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no guile. The reasons why the Psalmist pronounces the man to be blessed who has obtained forgiveness of sin, are apparent in the following verses: compare Romans 4:6. He, whose sins have not been forgiven, and who has the hand of God lying heavy upon him, and is in fearful expectation of the judgment with which, at its own time, he will infallibly be visited. In this declaration of blessedness belonging to the man whose sin has been for-given, there lies an indirect exhortation not to shut ourselves out from this benefit by our own fault. Compare 1 John 1:8; 1 John 1:9. Hence is explained the stringing on of the last clause, in which mention is made of that which brings this exclusion in-fallibly in its train. The words are directed against the error of those who seek to come to terms with their sin, by expiatingit themselves, by concealing, or by not charging themselves with it. The Berleb. Bib.: "As children imagine that they are not seen when they put their hands upon their eyes, and cover them so that they themselves see no one, in like manner, men act with equal folly, in supposing that their sins and crimes, when concealed from themselves, are also concealed from the all-seeing eye of God." The three expressions ap-plied to sin (compare on פשע at Psalms 19:14), are borrowed from the fundamental passage on the forgiveness of sin, Exodus 34:7 : "Keeping mercy for thousands, and forgiving ini-quity, transgression, and sin." The form נשוי, instead of נשוא, is adopted on account of its similarity in form to כסוי. השב with ל occurs, as it does here, in 2 Samuel 19:19, where Shimei addresses David, apparently in allusion to common religious expressions, and particularly, perhaps, to this very Psalm: "Let not my lord impute iniquity to me, neither do thou remember that which thy servant did perversely." The king, who could extol so gloriously the forgiving grace of God, would not turn away the man who had fled to his forgiving grace. Compare Matthew 18:23, etc.-The succeeding context contains an ex-planation, as to where it is that the guile lies. As an outflow thereof, we find mention made of "keeping silence," of "not making known," of "hiding iniquity," and of "not confessing transgressions." The guile, the want of inward truth, which denies, extenuates, excuses, or seeks for apologies, is the cause why so few attain to the blessedness of forgiveness, here praised by David, which is bestowed only for sin acknowledged and con-fessed. The roots of this guile, which made its appearance immediately after the fall, are pride, want of confidence in God, and love of sin. Many are hereby prevented altogether from confessing sin: with Pelagian self-delusion, they take pleasure in their misery, and consider themselves as altogether excellent. Others, again, exhibit the first beginnings of true confession of sin, but they do not reach the proper point, because this guile will not allow them to recognise the whole magnitude of their guilt. But even those also who have really attained to the state of grace, embitter, in many ways, by means of this guile, the blessing of forgiveness, which they have obtained through uprightness and sincerity. What exposes them particularly to this temptation is, their stern views of sin, and of their con-demnation before God, and the consciousness of the favourobtained from God, and of their state. Nature struggles hard against that thorough humiliation of soul which brings with it for them conviction and acknowledgment of sin. Hence it is necessary for them to lay to heart the words of this verse, dic-tated for their use by David, as the result of his own peculiarly painful experience of the misery which flows from sin unfor-given, because of the prevalence of guile. In the case of David, although his transgressions were so enormous, guile found, as it generally does, when the heart is so inclined, many points on which to lay hold. The first sin was not one which he had sought for; it was one, the temptation to which presented itself before him: and a monarch, especially an Eastern one, in a case of this kind, would feel quite disposed to adopt a standard of his own. And after the first sin was committed, it is easy to see how he might look upon after circumstances, rather as the result of a sad necessity, than as involving heinous guilt. In the main body of the Psalm, the Psalmist unfolds the grounds which led him to pronounce the man to be blessed whose sin had been forgiven, and in whose spirit there was no guile. These grounds, as manifested in his own experience, were the sufferings which he had endured when, through guile, he continued shut out from the forgiveness of sin, and the peace which he enjoyed when he had unreservedly acknowledged his guilt. Upon this he founds an exhortation, addressed to the fallen, to follow him in the way of sincerity and repentance. Ver. 3. For I kept silence, then my bones wasted away, through my howling continually. The particle כי which is rendered by some expositors, "when," and by others, "because," is, as the part. rat., altogether in the right place, whether we refer it merely to the verse before us-the suffering induced by the silence, the guile with which the holding fast of sin is insepa-rably connected, lays the basis of the declaration of blessedness belonging to the man whose sin has been forgiven, because in his spirit there is no guile-or to the whole following exposition in reference to the two introductory verses. The object of the silence is defined by the context: I was silent in regard to my sin. "I made known to Thee my sin," in ver. 5, is the opposite clause. The expression, "I was silent," does not imply that David altogether refrained from prayer, but intimates that he had never once brought forward in prayer the matter in ques-tion. Even although he had spoken of it to God as a smallweakness, and asked forgiveness for it as such, he might still be said to have kept silence. In all probability, however, he care-fully avoided the mention of it in prayer altogether: his con-science must have spoken with too loud a voice to permit him to attempt even to extenuate such a matter either before himself or before God. But in very proportion to the depth of his silence, would be the loudness of his sighs and his groans. He who re-sists the confession of his sin, and gives way to guile, lays himself open to the torments of conscience, which it is beyond the reach of human power to calm. בלה, is "to grow old," "to pine away." The bones are named as the seat of strength in the human frame. When they become, as it were, corroded, the whole body is weak and powerless. Jo. Arnd: "Melancholy arising from sin con-sumes away the body, reduces it to a wretched condition, and gives rise to a secret weeping at heart, so that there is constantly a rugitus, a howling. This inward pain and melancholy con-tinues to increase, so that even the bones, says David, waste away, when a man is determined to hide his sins from God, and will not confess them from the bottom of his heart, with supplication and humble prayer. As soon, however, as a man turns with his whole heart to God, confesses to Him his sins, complains of his melancholy and sorrow, and humbly deprecates the offence which he has given Him, the pain diminishes, and conscience becomes tranquil and happy. For, previous to humble supplication, there is always fear and anxiety at heart, so that the man takes God for his enemy; as we see Adam did, who was afraid of God, and hid himself among the trees, where he was in perpetual fear, regarding God as his enemy. Wherefore, the best plan to obtain a quiet conscience is to mourn over sin before God, and humbly to deprecate His wrath." Ver. 4. For day and night Thy hand was heavy upon me: my heart was changed through the heat of summer. Selah. The "for" gives the reason why the bones of the Psalmist were wasted per-petually. How should a man not howl, upon whom the hand of God (Job 13:21) is laid! We learn from vers. 6 and 7, in what the Divine inflictions consisted; for there we find David rejoicing that, in consequence of his having received the for- giveness of his sins, he had obtained security against the judg- ments of God, protection against trouble, and the full assurance of deliverance. Conscience, according to Luther's expression, pictures the wrath of God standing as with a club over us. Hethought of the terrible threatenings of Divine judgments against sinners as they occur in the law; for example, in Deuteronomy 28:15, etc. He looked back upon the fate of Saul and of his family as prophetic of his own.--לשד is generally translated by "animal spirits." This translation is derived from the Arabic, where the verb signifies "to suck." But in the only other passage where the word occurs (Numbers 11:8), this meaning is unsuitable. There לשד signifies a "compact mass." According to that pas-sage, and Psalms 102:4, "My heart is smitten and withered like grass," it appears that it ought to be considered as a poetical expression for "the heart." The heart was changed; instead of being a strong, beating, lively heart, it had become faint and dead. The "heat of summer" is a poetical expression for the torments of conscience, anxiety in regard to threatened judg-ments-identical with " the hand of God" in the preceding clause. This is to the heart what the heat of summer is to the plants: compare Psalms 102:4.Ver. 5. I made known to Thee my sin, and mine iniquity I did not cover: I said, I will confess my transgression to the Lord, and Thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin. What is expressed here as a personal experience, is announced in Proverbs 28:13 as doctrine: "He that covereth his sins shall not prosper; but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall find mercy." The Psalmist designedly repeats the three terms applied to sin in vers. 1 and 2, for the purpose of intimating that his experience had amply confirmed the general truth there expressed. The expression, "I make known my sin to Thee," on which many expositors have refined much, is to be explained by the simple consideration, that the strength of the Psalmist's feelings made him speak of what was past as actually present: compare the corresponding term תכבד (ver. 4), properly, "is heavy." It is obvious that the Psalmist is not speaking of "a making known" by the mouth, but "of an inward confession, such as is accom-panied with painful repentance and sorrow, with begging of pardon for sin, and for the offence rendered to the Divine majesty. Mary Magdalene did not utter one word; she wept and spoke with the heart." Arnd. The confession which is here spoken of, as the subjective condition of forgiveness, is distinguished from the confession of a Cain and of a Judas, by its being the fruit of faith, which opens the heart and the mouth. The Psalmist confesses his sins freely to God, because he hasthe conviction, that God both can and will help him; while the forced confession of the ungodly is connected with despair and murmuring against God. It must have been infinitely more difficult, under the Old Testament dispensation, to rise to this confidence than it now is, under the New, where we behold the compassion of God. in Christ, and are taught to regard Christ's merits as the cause of our justification. If we hesitate to take refuge in the forgiving grace of God, we shall be much more guilty than David was.-The expression, "I covered not," forms a tacit contrast to the conduct of hypocrites, in which the Psalmist hitherto had participated. They endeavour, as far as they possibly can, to conceal and to gloss over their sins. The words bear reference, also, to the expression, "whose sin is covered," in ver. 1. He only has his sins covered, who does not himself cover them. Forgiveness of sin is in exact propor- tion to confession of sin. ידה in Hiph., with the accusative, is, "to confess;" with על, "to lay confession over." Ver. 5. I made known to Thee my sin, and mine iniquity I did not cover: I said, I will confess my transgression to the Lord, and Thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin. What is expressed here as a personal experience, is announced in Proverbs 28:13 as doctrine: “He that covereth his sins shall not prosper; but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall find mercy.” The Psalmist designedly repeats the three terms applied to sin in Psalms 32:1 and Psalms 32:2, for the purpose of intimating that his experience had amply confirmed the general truth there expressed. The expression, “I make known my sin to Thee,” on which many expositors have refined much, is to be explained by the simple consideration, that the strength of the Psalmist’s feelings made him speak of what was past as actually present: compare the corresponding term ϊλαγ (Psalms 32:4), properly, “is heavy.” It is obvious that the Psalmist is not speaking of “a making known” by the mouth, but “of an inward confession, such as is accompanied with painful repentance and sorrow, with begging of pardon for sin, and for the offence rendered to the Divine majesty. Mary Magdalene did not utter one word; she wept and spoke with the heart.” Arnd. The confession which is here spoken of, as the subjective condition of forgiveness, is distinguished from the confession of a Cain and of a Judas, by its being the fruit of faith, which opens the heart and the mouth. The Psalmist confesses his sins freely to God, because he has the conviction, that God both can and will help him; while the forced confession of the ungodly is connected with despair and murmuring against God. It must have been infinitely more difficult, under the Old Testament dispensation, to rise to this confidence than it now is, under the New, where we behold the compassion of God in Christ, and are taught to regard Christ’s merits as the cause of our justification. If we hesitate to take refuge in the forgiving grace of God, we shall be much more guilty than David was. The expression, “I covered not,” forms a tacit contrast to the conduct of hypocrites, in which the Psalmist hitherto had participated. They endeavour, as far as they possibly can, to conceal and to gloss over their sins. The words bear reference, also, to the expression, “whose sin is covered,” in Psalms 32:1. He only has his sins covered, who does not himself cover them. Forgiveness of sin is in exact proportion to confession of sin. ιγδ in Hiph., with the accusative, is, “to confess;” with ςμ, “to lay confession over.” Ver. 6. For this reason let every pious man pray to Thee at the time when Thou mayest be found: truly, when great water- floods come, they shall not reach him. Already, even in this verse, the Psalmist makes an attempt to pass from the repre-sentation of his own personal experience, to the teaching and exhortation founded upon it. Still, even in this attempt, there remains (and, indeed, substantially this strophe contains) a representation of personal experience. This is "clear from the contents of the 7th verse, and from the circumstance, that, for the first time, in the 8th verse, the Psalmist makes known his resolution, in accordance with the title משכיל, to base doctrine on history. It is as if he had said: "Because in my case for-giveness immediately followed confession, therefore may every pious man pray for the same at the right time. For my expe-rience has rendered it obvious that this is the sure means of avoiding Divine judgments: I have obtained, as the sequel of forgiveness, a joyful assurance of deliverance, and a sure refuge in God." The main idea of the strophe is contained in ver 7, which cannot be understood by those who look upon the whole strophe as having an applicatory character. זאת על is "there-fore," "for this reason,"-"on account of the close connection, proved in my case, between confession and forgiveness,"-the effect resting upon the cause, the consequence upon its basisit corresponds to the ordinary expression כן על. After the ex-ample of the Vulgate (pro hac), many expositors give, "for this thing," viz. "for the forgiveness of sin." But התפלל never occurs with על of the object. The object of the prayer, viz. the forgiveness of sin, is not specified, because the context renders it apparent. The "time of finding" is equivalent to “so long as Thou mayest be found:" compare Isaiah 55:6, "Seek ye the Lord while He may be found." The object of the find-ing, God, is also to be supplied from the context. The funda-mental passage, Deut. 4:29, directs us here: "And ye seek from thence the Lord thy God, and thou findest." The "find-ing," there, as here, stands without any object. The "seek," there, corresponds to the "pray," here. Compare also the passage, Jeremiah 29:12-14, which is based upon the one in Deuteronomy. The "finding of the Lord," is there also the opposite of "the seeking," and corresponds to the "being found," in ver. 14. The expositions, "at the time of obtaining," - and "at the time of befalling, i.e. when misfortune overtakes men," are to be rejected. The last is altogether contrary to the sense; for the exhortation of the Psalmist implies, that men may be reconciled to God before misery comes.--The time when God, according to the sure promise in the fundamental passage, may be found, is the time previous to the infliction of that punishment which invariably follows sin, unless averted by for-giveness. The expression, "at the time of finding," corresponds exactly to "ere the decree is executed," "ere the day of the wrath of the Lord comes upon you." "The time of finding," is the space between the sin and the punishment, the day of Grace, which is designed to lead the sinner to repentance. רק stands here in its usual sense of "only." The simplest view to take of the word, and one in entire accordance with its position, is to consider it as implying the assurance that only this, and no other, will be the consequence: in reality, it is equivalent to "assuredly." That the ל in לשטף is to be regarded as a note of time (at the floods of many waters, comp. Psalms 29:10), is evident from the reference, which it is impossible not to notice, to the preceding לעת: "whoever at the time of finding, during the season of grace, flies to God for forgiveness, shall at the time of judgment be exempted from it." The expression, water-flood, indicates some great Divine judgment, spreading over everything. Perhaps the Psalmist refers to the deluge, at which, though it overspread the whole earth, the pious Noahwas delivered as one who had obtained the forgiveness of sin. This reference is the more obvious, from the circumstance, that there is also a reference in Psalms 29:10 to the deluge. Ver. 7. Thou art my hiding-place, Thou preservest me from trouble, Thou surroundest me with songs of deliverance. "For" might have stood at the beginning of the verse. For it con-firms, by the experience of the Psalmist, the assertion contained in the preceding verse, that whoever has obtained from the Lord forgiveness of sin, is at the same time delivered from danger and judgment. Many expositors regard this verse, very inaptly, as containing the prayer to be addressed by the pious man to God. The object of this prayer can be nothing else than forgiveness of sin. It is, however, only of the blessed consequences of forgiveness, and not at all of forgiveness itself, that this verse speaks. Between צר and תצרני, and also betweenתצרני and רני, there is a significant alliteration. The pluralform רני occurs nowhere else. According to rule, the singular ought to be written רןo; and this form also occurs really as the infinitive of רנן in Job 38:7 : compare the infinitives of פלט and הבין used as nouns. Some, and among others, Hitzig, are inclined to elide רני. Against this, however, we have the alli-teration, the reference to a fulness and a crowd in "Thou surroundest me," הרנינו in ver. 11, and the baldness of פלט if it stands by itself. The words point to a whole host of dangers and troubles, by which the Psalmist formerly, when he had God for his enemy, saw himself in spirit surrounded. He now sees around him joyful, instead of sorrowful prospects. The Psalmist had hitherto spoken to God: now, when it is his purpose to base doctrine on history, he turns to his brethren. The circumstance, that it is here, for the first time, that such a transition occurs, is sufficient to show, that it is here for the first time that we enter the domain of application. The Psal-mist informs us, first, of his determination to give good advice to his brethren, ver. 8; and then, in ver. 9, he gives them that advice.Ver. 8. I will instruct thee, Wand teach thee the way which thou shouldst go; I will counsel thee with my eye. It is the pious man, laden with the guilt of sin, that is here addressed. The singular is used for the purpose of giving more impressiveness to the exhortation. We can speak to men most impressively when we are alone with them. In ver. 9, the plural is madeuse of instead of the singular; but at the end of the Psalm the singular again occurs, for the purpose of showing that the same persons are addressed. According to several expositors, it is God that speaks in this verse, expressing approval of the trust of David, the returning sinner, and promising him further help. But against this idea, which is not only without foundation, but which entirely destroys the connection and train of thought, there may be urged, in addition to many other reasons, the manifest reference which the clause, "I will instruct thee," bears, on the one hand, to the title, in which David announces his purpose to deliver instruction, and, on the other, to the "without understanding," ver. 9: the instruction given is de-signed to remove the want of understanding. Then, there is the parallel passage, Psalms 51:13, where David promises to the Lord, that he will teach sinners His ways, when he shall have obtained forgiveness. This promise he here fulfils.-On the words, "the way which thou shalt go," Jo. Arnd remarks, "This way means repentance and the forgiveness of sins." עיני, pro-perly, "according to my eye," is the accusative, which is often used in this way, when, besides the whole, any particular part is added, which is more especially brought into action: compare on Psalms 3:4. The tender care of the counsellor is expressed by the construction of יעץ with על,�\, "to take counsel on any one." The eye, besides, is the organ by which tender care is expressed. Hence tender forbearance is expressed by "Mine eye pities:" compare Genesis 44:21, where Joseph says, "Bring him down, and I will set mine eye upon him;" Jeremiah 24:6. Many expositors render, "I will counsel, mine eye shall be upon thee." But in this way, words evidently connected are torn asunder: after counsel, the person who receives the counsel ought to be named.-At the end of this verse, we should supply marks of quotation. For the counsel of tender and thoughtful love follows in the 9th verse. Ver. 8. I will instruct thee, and teach thee the way which thou shouldst go; I will counsel thee with my eye. It is the pious man, laden with the guilt of sin, that is here addressed. The singular is used for the purpose of giving more impressiveness to the exhortation. We can speak to men most impressively when we are alone with them. In Psalms 32:9, the plural is madeuse of instead of the singular; but at the end of the Psalm the singular again occurs, for the purpose of showing that the same persons are addressed. According to several expositors, it is God that speaks in this verse, expressing approval of the trust of David, the returning sinner, and promising him further help. But against this idea, which is not only without foundation, but which entirely destroys the connection and train of thought, there may be urged, in addition to many other reasons, the manifest reference which the clause, “I will instruct thee,” bears, on the one hand, to the title, in which David announces his purpose to deliver instruction, and, on the other, to the “without understanding,” Psalms 32:9 : the instruction given is designed to remove the want of understanding. Then, there is the parallel passage, Psalms 51:13, where David promises to the Lord, that he will teach sinners His ways, when he shall have obtained forgiveness. This promise he here fulfils. On the words, “the way which thou shalt go,” Jo. Arnd remarks, “This way means repentance and the forgiveness of sins.” ςιπι, properly, “according to my eye,” is the accusative, which is often used in this way, when, besides the whole, any particular part is added, which is more especially brought into action: compare on Psalms 3:4. The tender care of the counsellor is expressed by the construction of ιςυ with ςμ,—properly, “to take counsel on any one.” The eye, besides, is the organ by which tender care is expressed. Hence tender forbearance is expressed by “Mine eye pities:” compare Genesis 44:21, where Joseph says, “Bring him down, and I will set mine eye upon him;” Jeremiah 24:6. Many expositors render, “I will counsel, mine eye shall be upon thee.” But in this way, words evidently connected are torn asunder: after counsel, the person who receives the counsel ought to be named. At the end of this verse, we should supply marks of quotation. For the counsel of tender and thoughtful love follows in the (Psalms 32:9) 9th verse. Ver. 9. Be not like the horses and the mules, without under-standing, whose ornaments are bridle and bit, for restraint, be- cause they do not come near thee. David compares impenitent sinners to irrational beasts, which must be kept under by strong instruments of restraint. By this comparison he directs atten-tion to the disgracefulness of such obstinacy- (to man, especially in a pious man-and it is with such alone that David has to do -a free, willing, and joyful obedience is becoming; for such aone it is particularly humbling to be subjected to compulsion) -and also to the fruitlessness of it, since God knows as well how to subdue it, as man knows how to break the obstinacy of brutes. The Berleb. Bib.: "If we do not consent to serve God willingly, we must serve Him in the long run whether we will or not. He, who runs away from God's willing service, falls into His compulsory service. On this account the con-scientious Stoic prayed, 'Lead me, O God, the way which Thou hast chosen: and if I will not, nothing is better than that I be compelled.' Recourse is not had to bit and bridle, unless we will not become wise by gentler means. God employs these for the purpose of delivering us from destroying ourselves. Let us then rather follow with good-will, than be dragged along by compulsion. . . . The ungodly will make a cross of everything that has been sent them by God in punishment of their sins. But that is not worth the name. It is nothing more than a rod of punishment for an ass." Jo. Arnd: "You have received from God a reasonable soul, yea, you hear the friendly, pleas-ing voice of your Father and His dear Son. But, if you will be as stupid as the horse or the mule, God, in that case, will act well in putting upon your neck a bridle, and a bit in your mouth, for the purpose of compelling and restraining you like a senseless brute. God, for example, put a bridle and bit into Nebuchadnezzar's mouth, and tamed the proud beast. God also put a bridle and bit into Manasseh's mouth: when he lay bound in iron chains, he would gladly have bowed the knee be-fore God, if his iron fetters would have permitted him. God brought down the proud Pharaoh by means of contemptible creatures-frogs, lice, and grasshoppers, and put a wonderful bridle into the mouth of the proud horse." -עדי has always the sense of "ornament:" and this is to be retained here, and by no means to be exchanged for the arbitrary one, "harness" (on which Gesenius remarks, frigidius hoc est et otiosum), nor for "jaw" (Luther's: "into the mouth"). They answer very well as ornaments for their obstinacy, says the Psalmist: men put upon them bridle and bit, and know how to restrain them by these. ב indicates that in which the ornament consists. The infinitive בלום occupies the place of the noun, and therefore the suffix is unnecessary. David speaks here in part out of his own painful experience: bit and bridle were, if not put upon him, yet threatened to be put upon him: compare vers. 3d and 4th.-The last clause, lit.: not to come near thee, is abrupt, and implies, "because they do not come near thee, for the purpose of rendering a willing obedience." The "to thee," refers "to every one here addressed, who is exhorted not to render it necessary for God to use the same violence with him which he himself uses with his beast." Stier. There follows, in vers. 10 and 11, the Conclusion, in which David, in contrast to the miserable condition of the wicked, praises the happy state of the righteous, who put their confi-dence in God, in language called forth by the deliverance which, when he had fallen very deeply, had been vouchsafed to him by God, out of apparently irremediable destruction. The verses lead from the particular to the general; and several expositors have in vain attempted to find in them a more precise reference to the case on which the Psalm is grounded. Ver. 10. The wicked has many sorrows; but he who trusts in the Lord, He encompasseth him with mercy. We may either translate, "mercy surrounds him," or, "He surrounds him with mercy." In favour of the latter translation we have the 7th verse, where, in like manner, סובב is construed with a double accusative. "He who trusts in the Lord," is the pious man. The contrast shows that the language does not refer to a single act, but to an abiding relation. Inasmuch as David stood re-lated to God, in general, as one who trusted in Him, though God visited him with fatherly chastisement, this chastisement tended to his good. Jo. Arnd "The cross of believers is a fatherly rod applied for the best of purposes, for correction and instruction, and it has a joyful termination. But the punish- ment of the ungodly is a plague and a pain by which their pride and impudence are put to shame.Ver. 11. Be glad in the Lord, and rejoice, ye righteous; and shout for joy, all ye upright. It is very obvious here that the MEN of the Psalms are not absolutely righteous. Ver. 11. Be glad in the Lord, and rejoice, ye righteous; and shout for joy, all ye upright. It is very obvious here that the MEN of the Psalms are not absolutely righteous. Psalms 33. The design of this Psalm is to fill the little flock of Israel with comfort and courage and joy, in view of the infinitely superior might of the world: its key-note is, "Fear not thouworm Jacob, thou little nation Israel." The weapon which thePsalmist proposes that the Church should use against all the assaults and attacks that are made against her on the part of the whole world, is the Praise of God: if you know Him as He is, you may despise all trouble and all danger, and say, in the language of the 20th verse (which may be considered as the heart of the Psalm, containing a very clear exposition of its design by the author himself), "Our soul waiteth for the LordHe is our help and shield." The Psalm begins (vers. 1 and 2) with an exhortation, ad-dressed to the Church of God, to praise Him. In laying down a basis for this exhortation, the Psalmist first directs attention to the glorious attributes of God. This he does in two main divi-sions. First (vers. 4-11), the Lord is true and faithful, righteous and gracious (vers. 4, 5), and almighty (vers. 6-11). Second, (vers. 12-19), all things on earth are subject to His govern-ment and infinite influence. Hence the people whom He chooses for an inheritance are happy; for, as sure as He is Lord over all, all things must work together for their good. Nothing depends upon earthly power; hence the want of it is no reason why the Lord's people should despair: His omnipotent love and His loving omnipotence afford them the full assurance of de-liverance. In the conclusion (vers. 20-22), the Church gives utterance to that full confidence which had been called forth by this contemplation of the glory of God, and prays that she may receive according to her faith. The Introduction and the Conclusion, each of three verses, correspond to one another; and, in like manner, the two main divisions are of equal length, namely, eight verses. The num-ber of the verses of the whole Psalm corresponds to that of the letters of the alphabet. The main division occurs exactly in the middle. The Psalm, along with the one before it, forms one pair. The chief reason for adopting this view is, that the Psalm be-gins in the same strain as that with which the preceding one concludes, namely, an exhortation to rejoice in the Lord: there, Be glad in the Lord, and rejoice, ye righteous; and shout for joy, all ye that are upright in heart: here, Rejoice in the Lord, ye righteous; for praise is comely for the upright. It is impossible to explain this circumstance by the supposition, that the collector of the Psalms placed the two together on account of the acci-dental resemblance between the concluding verse of the one,and the opening verse of the other. For the transition from the particular to the general in Psalms 32 :takes place in such a striking and sudden manner, as to suggest the idea, that it was intended to prepare the way for passing on to a Psalm of a general character. Another reason is, the want of a title in our Psalm, though standing in the middle of an assemblage of Psalms which are all designated Psalms of David. This ap-pearance met us in Ps. x., where we found strong reasons for regarding it and Psalms 9. as forming one pair. A third reason is to be found in the relation which the numbers of the verses of both Psalms bear to each other. In the 33d Psalm, the num-ber of the verses corresponds to the number of the letters of the alphabet,-a circumstance which we have the less reason for considering as accidental, as the following Psalm is truly an alphabetical one. And in the 32d Psalm the number is equal to one half of the letters of the alphabet. It is at the same time to be observed, that even in the 33d Psalm, the main body is divided into two equal parts; and that the one signature of completion, namely, the twenty-two, is as frequently divided into two elevens, as the other, viz. the ten, is divided into two fives. This relation of the verses would therefore lead us to regard the 32d Psalm as introductory to the 33d. From these remarks, our view of the relation of the two Psalms to each other, will be as follows. David, inwardly and deeply moved by the proof of the glory of God, which he had obtained in the forgiveness of his dreadful offence, begins with praising it, in its present special manifestation. But his heart is so full, that he cannot be confined to this, but must take a wider range. He must unfold to Israel all that he has gene-rally in God, especially God's protection and help against a hostile world. Amyraldus has very correctly characterized the style of the Psalm. "The style is pleasing, flowing, measured, without any poetical digressions, or figures, at least of such a kind as to occasion any difficulty." These characteristics are to be ex-plained from the fact, that the Psalm has no individual refer-ence whatever, and that, both in its introduction and contents, it is in the most proper sense a Psalm for the public worship of God. Ver. 1. Rejoice, ye righteous, in the Lord; praise is comely for the upright. Ver. 2. Praise the Lord with harp; sing unto Him with the psaltery of ten strings. Ver. 3. Sing unto Him a new song; play skilfully, with shouts of joy. The "righteous" and the "upright " are the Israelites: compare "righteous," used of the people as such, in Numbers 23:10, and ver. 12 of this Psalm; as also vers. 10 and 11, vers. 16 and 17, from which it is evident that the Psalm has a national character. Inasmuch as Israel is here designated the righteous and the upright, it is clear that the address is directed towards the true Israelites only, to the exclusion of those who are Israelites in appearance-the souls who are rooted out from their people. Compare at Psalms 15:15; Psalms 15:34. The reason why the righteous and the upright should praise the Lord, is contained in the conclusion of the pre-ceding Psalm,-"He encompasseth them with mercy,"-and in the 18th verse, where "the eye of the Lord," it is said, "is upon them that fear Him." To the unrighteous, the glory of God is not the object of joy and praise, but of terror and aver-sion: the highest wish of their hearts is, that He may not be true, righteous, full of mercy towards His own people, or al-mighty. To rejoice in the Lord, is not exactly to rejoice at the Lord, but to rejoice in finding the inclination of the heart to-words God, who gives so many causes for such joy. Compare on ישר, upright, at Psalms 25:8. The word denotes a condition which is conformable to the rule and the idea, as these are represented in reference to the members of the Church in the law of God. הוAאנA is the feminine of הו,אנA, beautiful, becoming. As it is comely for God to help, so it is comely for the right-eous to praise.--עשור belongs here, not as in Psalms 92:3, toנבר. The two words stand either in the slat. construct., the lute of ten, or they stand unconnected, the lute ten, the ten-lute. The ten-stringed lute would assuredly not have been mentioned spe-cially by the Psalmist, had the number of the strings not been full of significance to him. In all probability he does not him-self invent this significance, but the instrument had with refer-ence to it been strung with ten strings. The exhortation to join musical instruments with the voice in the praise of God, is indicative of the infinite glory of God, which cannot be suffi-ciently praised by the voice alone.-A new song (compare Psalms 11:3; Psalms 96:1; Psalms 98:1; Revelation 5:9), is a song which springs up new from the heart. The glory of God is new every morning:we know it not only by hearsay and from the history of ancient times; and therefore we ought not merely to repeat the old song. It is a melancholy proof of the decline of the Church, when the exhortation to sing a new song is no longer attended to; in such a case, the greater care ought to be taken to pre-serve the old ones. 1 Samuel 16:17 agrees remarkably with the expression, "make good to play," i.e. "play beautifully." Possibly these words of Saul made a deep impression on David's mind. On בתרועה, from which some, without any foundation, would conclude that the Psalm was intended to be sung at the offering of sacrifices, compare at Psalms 27:5. In vers. 4-11, the exhortation to praise God, is grounded upon His glory. First, in ver. 4, the Psalmist speaks of His truth and faithfulness. This is placed in the foreground, be-cause the books of Moses abound with most glorious promises given by God to His Church, for the fulfilment of which, the truth and the faithfulness of God are the security.Ver. 4. For upright is the word of the Lord, and all His work is faithfulness. Luther's translation is rather free, but perfectly correct as to the sense, which is more than can be said of most of the recent translators. "For the word of the Lord is true; and what He promises, He certainly performs." Stier has very unwarrantably objected to it, that it is "a precipitate effort at specializing." According to the parallelism, "the word of the Lord" is not in general His revelation, or even "His will as made known in the creation and government of the world," but the word which He has spoken in reference to His own people. What the Psalmist here predicates in general of the word of God (comp. Psalms 19:9), is, according to the parallelism, to be considered as having special reference to the word of promise. This word is said to "be upright," inasmuch as it is in exact accordance with the idea: the speaker has promised what He is both able and willing to perform. Compare Numbers 23:19 : "God is not a man, that He should lie; nor the son of man, that He should repent: hath He said, and shall He not do it? or hath He spoken, and shall He not make it good?" Psalms 105:42. -In the second clause, the work of God stands opposed to His word: He promises nothing which He does not perform, and He does all which He has promised. באמונה can only be trans-lated, in faithfulness. אמונה, never signifies truth. After considering the Divine truth and faithfulness, thePsalmist leads the Church to contemplate the Divine righteous-ness, which must set limits to unrighteous oppression, and the Divine love, which must above all be manifested in the deliver-ance of the Lord's people.Ver. 5. He loveth righteousness and justice; the earth is full of the mercy of the Lord. The consideration of the Divine righteousness can be a source of comfort only to the righteous. For, as such, they must have right upon their side in their con-tests with their enemies. From the injustice which they suffer on earth, they lift their eyes towards heaven, and in this way attain to the confidence that justice will get justice at last. Compare Habakkuk 1:13, where the Church addresses God: "Where-fore lookest Thou upon them that deal treacherously, and holdest Thy tongue when the wicked devoureth the man that is more righteous than he?"- On the second clause the Berleb. Bib. remarks: "The earth is a good mother, which nourishes us daily, and gives us all things richly to enjoy." If natural blessings thus manifest the love of God, how gloriously will that love be developed towards His own people The faithfulness, the righteousness, and the love of God, on which the Psalmist has hitherto dwelt, and which are exhibited as linked together in the same way in Hosea 2:21; Hosea 2:22, afford se-curity to His people, when in danger, that He is willing to help them. But that the consolation may be complete, it is neces-sary to contemplate also the omnipotence of God, which secures His ability. In reference to the love of God, the Psalmist had pointed to the earth as the main seat of its manifestation; and in reference to His omnipotence, he points, as in Ps. 8., 19., 24., to the heavens with their stars, and to the sea with its waves. Has not He, who called the heavens into being by His word, and who restrains the fury of the waves, so that they do not overflow the earth, enough of power to protect you, O ye of little faith? If He is for you, who can be against you? Ver. 5. He loveth righteousness and justice; the earth is full of the mercy of the Lord. The consideration of the Divine righteousness can be a source of comfort only to the righteous. For, as such, they must have right upon their side in their contests with their enemies. From the injustice which they suffer on earth, they lift their eyes towards heaven, and in this way attain to the confidence that justice will get justice at last. Compare Habakkuk 1:13, where the Church addresses God: “Wherefore lookest Thou upon them that deal treacherously, and holdest Thy tongue when the wicked devoureth the man that is more righteous than he?” On the second clause the Berleb. Bib. remarks: “The earth is a good mother, which nourishes us daily, and gives us all things richly to enjoy.” If natural blessings thus manifest the love of God, how gloriously will that love be developed towards His own people The faithfulness, the righteousness, and the love of God, on which the Psalmist has hitherto dwelt, and which are exhibited as linked together in the same way in Hosea 2:21-22, afford security to His people, when in danger, that He is willing to help them. But that the consolation may be complete, it is necessary to contemplate also the omnipotence of God, which secures His ability. In reference to the love of God, the Psalmist had pointed to the earth as the main seat of its manifestation; and in reference to His omnipotence, he points, as in Psalms 8, Psalms 19, Psalms 24, to the heavens with their stars, and to the sea with its waves. Has not He, who called the heavens into being by His word, and who restrains the fury of the waves, so that they do not overflow the earth, enough of power to protect you, O ye of little faith? If He is for you, who can be against you? Ver. 6. Through the word of the Lord were the heavens made, and all their hosts by the breath of His mouth. The host of the heavens is the sun, moon, and stars. That the idea of the angels being referred to is out of the question, is evident from the verbal references to Genesis 2:1 : "Thus the heavens and the earth were completed, and all their host"-(in the preceding context nothing had been said of the creation of angels, but merely of the creation of the heavenly bodies),-and when wereflect that it is some tangible proof of the omnipotence of God that must be here adverted to. Moreover, the heavenly bodies are throughout predominantly designated the host of God: compare at Psalms 24:10. That רוה is not spirit, but breath, is evident from the words, "of His mouth" (compare Isaiah 11:4), and from the parallelism with "word:" a mere word corre-sponds to mere breath; both together form a contrast to the exercise of strength, to labour, to the use of means and instru-ments, without which feeble man can accomplish nothing. Then there are the parallel passages, Job 27:3, "All the while my breath is in me, and the Spirit of God is in my nostrils;" 33:4, "The Spirit of God hath made me, and the breath of the Almighty hath given me life;" Psalms 104:29; Psalms 104:30, "Thou takest away their breath, and they die and return to their dust: Thou sendest forth Thy breath, They are created." But, on the other hand, the exposition which would interpret פיו רוה without reference to the Spirit of God, cannot be cor-rect. In the history of the creation, to which the verse before us, as well as vers. 7 and 9, contain verbal allusions, the crea-tion is described as the work of the SPIRIT of God, and His WORD. First, the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters, then God said. We may thus suppose that the Spirit and the power of God are here represented by the figure of breath, because that in man is the first sign of life.Ver. 7. He gathereth the waters of the sea together as an heap; He lays up the floods in store-houses. The Psalmist brings it forward as a proof of the omnipotence of God, that the great fluid mass is brought together by the Lord like a heap of firm materials, so that it does not spread over the earth, as it did at first. The כנס is not "He gathered," but "He gathers." The wonder of Divine omnipotence here depicted is still of daily occurrence: if God did not keep back the waters, they would overflow the earth. The expression, "as a heap," stands con-cisely for, "in the way that a heap is gathered." There is as-suredly no reference here to the elevated appearance which the sea presents at a distance. To collect the waves, as if they were firm materials, must be a work of Omnipotence. Allusion is made here, as also in Psalms 68:13, and in Joshua 3:13; Joshua 3:16, to Exodus 15:8, where, in reference to the waters of the Red Sea, it is said in the song of Moses, "The waters stood as an heap,נד כמו." The expression which is there employed to describethe miraculous effect produced by the power of God, is here applied to the ordinary course of nature, for the purpose of teaching that this, when deeply considered, bears as clear a testimony to the omnipotence of God. The old expositors, whom Luther follows ("He holds the waters in the sea together as in a bag"), have confounded נדe with נאדo.�The second clause is perfectly parallel to the first. תהומות are, as usually, "the floods of the sea." These are deposited by God within the bounds set to the sea, like treasures in a place of security. The point of resemblance is the sure keeping. Several expositors refer here, as at Psalms 24:2, to the subterraneous waters. But the reasons which were there adduced against this view, hold good, partly, in the present instance; viz., the obvious reference to Gen. i., where nothing whatever is said of subterraneous waters, the necessity of some palpable proof of Divine omnipo-tence, etc.-Jo. Arnd quite correctly apprehended the prac- tical tendency of this verse: "The prophet comes down from heaven, and leads us to the sea, where we may observe the omnipotence of God, and the power of His word. The great sea is shut up by the commandment of God: how then can He not tame men upon the earth, and put a bridle in their mouth?" Ver. 7. He gathereth the waters of the sea together as an heap; He lays up the floods in store-houses. The Psalmist brings it forward as a proof of the omnipotence of God, that the great fluid mass is brought together by the Lord like a heap of firm materials, so that it does not spread over the earth, as it did at first. The λπρ is not “He gathered,” but “He gathers.” The wonder of Divine omnipotence here depicted is still of daily occurrence: if God did not keep back the waters, they would overflow the earth. The expression, “as a heap,” stands concisely for, “in the way that a heap is gathered.” There is assuredly no reference here to the elevated appearance which the sea presents at a distance. To collect the waves, as if they were firm materials, must be a work of Omnipotence. Allusion is made here, as also in Psalms 68:13, and in Joshua 3:13, Joshua 3:16, to Exodus 15:8, where, in reference to the waters of the Red Sea, it is said in the song of Moses, “The waters stood as an heap, λξεπγ.” The expression which is there employed to describe the miraculous effect produced by the power of God, is here applied to the ordinary course of nature, for the purpose of teaching that this, when deeply considered, bears as clear a testimony to the omnipotence of God. The old expositors, whom Luther follows (“He holds the waters in the sea together as in a bag”), have confounded πֵ ?γ with πֹ ?ΰγ. The second clause is perfectly parallel to the first. ϊδζξεϊ are, as usually, “the floods of the sea.” These are deposited by God within the bounds set to the sea, like treasures in a place of security. The point of resemblance is the sure keeping. Several expositors refer here, as at Psalms 24:2, to the subterraneous waters. But the reasons which were there adduced against this view, hold good, partly, in the present instance; viz., the obvious reference to Genesis 1, where nothing whatever is said of subterraneous waters, the necessity of some palpable proof of Divine omnipotence, etc. Jo. Arnd quite correctly apprehended the practical tendency of this verse: “The prophet comes down from heaven, and leads us to the sea, where we may observe the omnipotence of God, and the power of His word. The great sea is shut up by the commandment of God: how then can He not tame men upon the earth, and put a bridle in their mouth?” Ver. 8. Let all the world fear the Lord; let everything that dwells on the earth stand in awe of Him. Ver. 9. For He spake and it was done; He commanded, and it stood fast. That the Lord deserves holy fear and reverence, that therefore the ter-ror of those men who have Him on their side is foolish, is here proved from His omnipotence as seen in the creation of the world. Jo. Arnd: “ Lo! the God who has made by His word the great incomprehensible heavens, and upholds and manages them by His word, shall also be able to uphold and manage thee, a poor little worm." There is no reason for trans-lating: "He speaks, and it is done; He commands, and it stands." The use of the Pret. and the Fut. conv., the reference to Genesis, in which ויאמר and ויהי alternate, and the comparison of the 6th verse, show that the creation of the world is here spoken of as a fait accompli. Psalms 119:90 shows that עמד has here its usual sense, "to stand:" compare with ver. 91. In reality, "to stand" is "to exist:" what does not exist, "lies."Ver. 10. The Lord bringeth the counsel of the heathen to nought; He maketh the devices of the people of none effect. Ver. 11. The counsel of the Lord stancleth for ever, the thoughts of His heart to all generations. To the Lord, who has manifested His omnipotence so gloriously in creation, it is an easy matter to bring to nothing the proud plans of the nations; while His own plans are eternal, and cannot be frustrated, or their execu-tion hindered by any one. How could it be possible, then, that Israel should quail in the presence of the heathen? If their thoughts towards them are for evil, they are only thoughts of powerlessness; while, on the other hand, the thoughts of Omnipotence towards them are thoughts of peace. There follows the second main division, vers. 12-19. The proposition with which it is headed, "Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord," the Psalmist proves from the fact, that every-thing on earth stands under the unlimited control of God, vers. 13-15, who abundantly compensates, by His, the Almighty's loving providence, for what His people want in worldly power, vers. 16-19. Ver. 10. The Lord bringeth the counsel of the heathen to nought; He maketh the devices of the people of none effect. Ver. 11. The counsel of the Lord standeth for ever, the thoughts of His heart to all generations. To the Lord, who has manifested His omnipotence so gloriously in creation, it is an easy matter to bring to nothing the proud plans of the nations; while His own plans are eternal, and cannot be frustrated, or their execution hindered by any one. How could it be possible, then, that Israel should quail in the presence of the heathen? If their thoughts towards them are for evil, they are only thoughts of powerlessness; while, on the other hand, the thoughts of Omnipotence towards them are thoughts of peace. There follows the second main division, Psalms 33:12-19. The proposition with which it is headed, “Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord,” the Psalmist proves from the fact, that everything on earth stands under the unlimited control of God, Psalms 33:13-15, who abundantly compensates, by His, the Almighty’s loving providence, for what His people want in worldly power, Psalms 33:16-19. Ver. 12. Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord, the people whom He chooses for an inheritance. The whole is grouped around this position. On the one side, it is a deduc-tion from what goes before, and, on the other, it is a thesis which is proved in what follows. The Psalmist alludes, it is true, to Israel; still he expresses himself in general terms: Mich.: beatam igitur gentem, quaecunque sit.Ver. 13. The Lord looketh from heaven, He sees all the children of men. Ver. 14. From the place of His habitation He looketh upon all who dwell on the earth. Ver. 15. He who fashioneth for them all, their heart, who marketh all their works. The looking of the Lord from heaven is not an idle act; it is the act of a king and judge. The 15th verse manifestly shows this. In it, the heart and the works stand in contrast to each other. The heart comes into notice as the workshop of the thoughts: compare ver. 11. The thoughts are wholly under God's control, "for He fashioneth the heart:" so are the works, "for He observes them." Who then need be afraid on account of the plans and works of men, if he only have God for his friend? God is mentioned here, as the use of the participle shows, as the Creator of the human spirit, in reference not only to His original act of creation, but also to His constant creat-ing influence: compare Zechariah 12:1, and the Christology on the passage, P. II. p. 274. God, as the God of the spirits of allflesh, Numbers 16:22; Numbers 27:16, has all emotions and thoughts in His hands: compare Proverbs 21:1, "The king's heart is in the hand of the Lord as the rivers of water, He turneth it whither-soever He will." Ver. 16. To the king his great power affords no help; a warrior is not saved by his great strength. Ver. 17. The horse is a vain thing for safety, neither does he deliver any by his great strength. The inference from the position, "that every- thing on the earth is done by God," is, that nothing is done with our own strength. This inference was in the highest de-gree consolatory to Israel. If the issue of events depended on human strength, they must go down. The article in המלך is generic-the horse is the species: compare Proverbs 21:31, "The horse is prepared for the day of battle, but safety is of the Lord." Ver. 13. The Lord looketh from heaven, He sees all the children of men. Ver. 14. From the place of His habitation He looketh upon all who dwell on the earth. Ver. 15. He who fashioneth for them all, their heart, who marketh all their works. The looking of the Lord from heaven is not an idle act; it is the act of a king and judge. The (Psalms 33:15) 15th verse manifestly shows this. In it, the heart and the works stand in contrast to each other. The heart comes into notice as the workshop of the thoughts: compare Psalms 33:11. The thoughts are wholly under God’s control, “for He fashioneth the heart:” so are the works, “for He observes them.” Who then need be afraid on account of the plans and works of men, if he only have God for his friend? God is mentioned here, as the use of the participle shows, as the Creator of the human spirit, in reference not only to His original act of creation, but also to His constant creating influence: compare Zechariah 12:1, and the Christology on the passage, P. II. p. 274. God, as the God of the spirits of all flesh, Numbers 16:22, Numbers 27:16, has all emotions and thoughts in His hands: compare Proverbs 21:1, “The king’s heart is in the hand of the Lord as the rivers of water, He turneth it whithersoever He will.” Ver. 16. To the king his great power affords no help; a warrior is not saved by his great strength. Ver. 17. The horse is a vain thing for safety, neither does he deliver any by his great strength. The inference from the position, “that everything on the earth is done by God,” is, that nothing is done with our own strength. This inference was in the highest degree consolatory to Israel. If the issue of events depended on human strength, they must go down. The article in äîìê is generic—the horse is the species: compare Proverbs 21:31, “The horse is prepared for the day of battle, but safety is of the Lord.” Ver. 18. Behold, the eye of the Lord looks upon those who fear Him, who hope in His mercy. Ver. 19. To deliver their soul, and to keep them alive in famine. What cannot be effected by what Israel has not, worldly power, is accomplished by the loving care of his almighty God, in which he rejoices. There follows in vers. 20-22, the conclusion, in which the Church gives expression to the faith which has been produced in her by contemplating the glory of God, and prays that she may receive according to this her faith.Ver. 20. Our soul waiteth for the Lord; He is our help and shield. The first clause contains an allusion to the words of dying Jacob, in Genesis 49:18 : "I wait for Thy salvation, O Lord;" and the second to Deuteronomy 33:26. Ver. 21. For our heart rejoices in Him, because we trust in His holy name. The holiness of God is, in this place also, His glory: compare at Psalms 22:3. The holy name of God is the product of the long series of the manifestations of His holiness. Whoever trusts in this, and not in his own strength, may rejoice in the Lord, sure of safety. Ver. 22. Let Thy mercy come upon us, O Lord, as we trust in Thee. When faith, the condition of deliverance, is pre-sent, deliverance also must therefore soon appear. Ver. 20. Our soul waiteth for the Lord; He is our help and shield. The first clause contains an allusion to the words of dying Jacob, in Genesis 49:18 : “I wait for Thy salvation, O Lord;” and the second to Deuteronomy 33:26. Ver. 21. For our heart rejoices in Him, because we trust in His holy name. The holiness of God is, in this place also, His glory: compare at Psalms 22:3. The holy name of God is the product of the long series of the manifestations of His holiness. Whoever trusts in this, and not in his own strength, may rejoice in the Lord, sure of safety. Ver. 22. Let Thy mercy come upon us, O Lord, as we trust in Thee. When faith, the condition of deliverance, is present, deliverance also must therefore soon appear. Psalms 34. The Psalmist renders thanks to the Lord for a deliverance vouchsafed to him; and exhorts all the pious to join with him inthe praise of the Lord, inasmuch as the Lord always manifests Himself as equally ready to help His people as He had been on the present occasion, vers. 1-10. "In the second part, he turns to believers, addresses them, and says, that it is his design to teach them the art of leading a quiet life, and of being secure against enemies. This art consists in the fear of God, in keep-ing watch over the lips, in doing no evil, and in following after peace: the consequences of these are prayer heard, deliverance out of all danger, the gracious presence of God, communion with Him, consolation from Him, and the protection of person and life." Jo. Arnd. Both parts of this alphabetical Psalm contain an equal num-ber of verses-a circumstance which must have been designed, as that number is exactly ten. Ver. 11 is as little to be con-sidered as forming part of the second division, as the title of the Psalm is of the first: it has altogether the character of an introduction. And ver. 22 is evidently the conclusion of the whole, summing up its contents, and not more specially belong-ing to the second than to the first division. Like the concluding verse of the 25th Psalm, which resembles still further the Psalm before us in having no verse allotted to Vau, it begins with פ, stands out of the alphabetical series, which terminates at ver. 21 with the final letter of the alphabet. The first decade is divided, as it often is, into a three and a seven: vers. 1-3 contain the determination of the Psalmist to praise God, and the exhortation to the pious to take part in that praise: vers. 4-10, the basis of this determination and exhortation. The occasion on which the Psalm was written is announced in the title: Of David, when he concealed his intellect, i. e. feigned himself mad (Luther, after the example of the Septuagint and the Vulgate, has erroneously given, "his behaviour"), before Abimelech; whereupon he drove him from his presence, and he went away. The history is related in 1 Samuel 21. Being persecuted by Saul, he betook himself to the land of the Philistines. There, he who had on former occasions injured the Philistines so grievously, was recognised, and brought into the presence of king Achish. For the purpose of saving his life, which at the time was in very imminent danger, he feigned himself mad; and God blessed this expedient, which, considered by itself, was one of a very doubtful character. The 56th Psalm also refers to the same occasion: there we have the prayer which David ad-dressed to God in his extremity; and here, his thanksgivings for deliverance. It is not, however, to be imagined that David composed the Psalm when immediately threatened by danger. In opposition to any such idea, we have the quiet tone by which it is pervaded; whereas all the Psalms which were immediately called forth by a particular occasion, are of a much more stirring character. Be-sides this, we have the decided predominance of effort to draw consolation and instruction for the Church from his own personal experience. Finally, we have the alphabetical arrangement, which never occurs in those Psalms which express feelings im-mediately called forth by a particular object, but always in those, in which the prevailing design is to edify others. The fact is, that David-when, on some occasion in the subsequent part of his history, his mind became filled with lively emotions arising from the recollection of this wonderful escape, in reference to which he even here says, "I will praise the Lord at all times, His praise shall be continually in my lips,"-made it the groundwork of a treasure of edification for the use of the godly in all ages. After thus limiting the sense in which to understand the title, it becomes an easy matter to defend it against the attacks of modern criticism. It has been said: 1st, "That it cannot be David's, because the Achish of the book of Samuel is confounded with the Abimelech of the patriarchal times." But this appa-rent contradiction disappears, when we observe that Abimelech among the Philistines was the title of rank given to all their kings, just as the kings of Egypt were called Pharaoh-of Jeru-salem, Adonizedeck or Melchisedeck-of the Amalekites, Agag-of Hazor, Jabin--of Jemen, Toba, etc.: compare Beitr. P. III. p. 306, on Balaam, p. 149. In favour of this idea we have three reasons: the first is drawn from Genesis 20. as compared with Genesis 26., where both Abraham and Isaac have to do with Abimelech, king of the Philistines; the second, from comparing the title of our Psalm with 1 Samuel 21.; and the third, from the nature of the name itself. Abimelech means " father of a king;" and refers to the hereditary descent of the crown among the Philistines, in opposition to the practice of electing the sovereign, which obtained in the neighbouring nation of the Edomites. It is altogether natural that the proper name should be made use of in the books of Samuel, which bear the character throughout of very exact historical treatises; and that the genericdesignation should occur in the title of a poem, which, to a certain extent, must wear a poetical aspect. 2. "The title," it is main-tained, "is literally copied from 1 Samuel 21:14; and therefore cannot have been composed by David, or by any of his contem-poraries." But the title agrees with the passage referred to only in the single expression, "he feigned himself mad." And if it will not be granted that this may have been accidental, it may at once be urged, that the author of the books of Samuel may have borrowed that expression from the title before us, as it undoubtedly has more of a poetical than a prosaic character. 3. "In vers. 4 and 6, a deliverance from many dangers," it is said, "is referred to, and in ver. 10 the Psalmist speaks of want and privation." But that one trouble consisted of many parts; danger threatened David in many forms; and vers. 9 and 10 do not refer merely to the particular occasion, but contain a general affirmation, which points not merely to want of the necessaries of life, but also to want of whatever is good, to want of salva- tion. 4. "The language and the style," it is maintained, "are different from the real Davidic Psalms." We reply, they differ certainly from those which modern criticism has marked out as exclusively the Psalms of David, but not at all from a great number, which, from their titles, and from internal evidence, were likewise composed by him. The difference is perfectly ac-counted for by the difference as to occasion, tone, and object. We may here advert particularly to the expression, "Come to me, ye sons, listen to me; I will teach you the fear of God." David had hence to do with the poor simple people, and directed his voice to them in love, and spoke so simply, that even a child might under-stand and participate in the blessing which God had given him.In favour of the originality of the title, we have to urge, in addition to the general ground, that there is nothing in the con-tents of the Psalm to contradict it,-the more general the histo-rical references in the Psalms are, the less likely is the title to be the result of combination,-first, that the manner in which personal experiences are applied for the benefit of the entire community of the righteous, is thoroughly characteristic of David; and second, that a title referring to the occasion in question, is what might have been expected, as David appears to have aimed at perpetuating in the titles of the Psalms, the remembrance of all the most remarkable incidents of his life. First, Vers. 1-3. The Psalmist intimates his intention of praising God, and exhorts all the godly to join with him in the praise.Ver. 1. I will praise the Lord at all times; His praise shall ever be in my mouth. The assurance of ever-during praise ex-alts the greatness of the benefit, and places it in contrast to the lesser protections of God which we daily experience. Ver. 2. My soul shall make her boast of the Lord: may the meek hear thereof, and be glad. התהלל with ב is "to boast of anything." The meek (Luther, erroneously: the miserable) boast of what the Lord has done for the Psalmist, because it is prophetic of their own deliverance. Ver. 3. Magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt His name together. As the ל cannot be the sign of theaccusative, and as יהוה גדל, never occurs, but only "to make great the name of the Lord," Psalms 69:30, and as גדל is never generally, "to praise," but always, "to make great," it is necessary to supply שמו in the first clause, from the second. In vers. 4-10, we have the basis of the determination, and of the exhortation to praise God. Ver. 4. I sought the Lord, and He answered me, and delivered me out of all my fear. מגורה is the object of the fear, the thing that is feared: comp. Isaiah 66:4. Ver. 5. They look at Him and are brightened, and their counte-nance is not ashamed. The Psalmist considers himself through-out as the representative of the meek. The transition, there-fore, is easy from the singular of the preceding verse, to the plural here. He lays down a general position, which is anew confirmed by his own experience. Besides, the somewhat un-defined description of the subject has been caused by the al-phabetical character of the Psalm, which sufficiently explains the somewhat loose connection with what goes before and fol-lows. On, "they look to Him," Jo. Arnd remarks: "Just as, in great extremity, we look around for help, to see if any one will deliver us, or as a child in severe sickness looks mournfully upon its parents, and they are unable to help, so our heart in faith looks mournfully to God." Of the two significations of נהר, "to flow together," and "to brighten," or "to be bright," we cannot, with Luther, take the first, but must prefer the second: compare Isaiah 60:5, where "the being bright," is in like manner used of the restoration of serenity to the countenance. The רפeהA "to be red," viz. with shame at the refusal of the prayer, and is the opposite of "the brightening." אל, the subjectivenegative, is stronger than לא. The Psalmist is horrified at the idea of being ashamed, as something altogether abnormal. Ver. 6.This miserable man cried, and the Lord heard, and helped him out of all his troubles. As the Psalmist had made a transition from the particular to the general, as brought to view in his own case, he now returns to the particular, which was the pledge of the reality of the general. שמע is the Preterite. Ver. 7. The Angel of the Lord encamps round about those who fear Him, and delivers them. As the word Jehovah is a proper noun, and thus a definite one we can translate, "the angel of the Lord." Considered by itself, "the angel of the Lord" might be taken in a collec-tive sense; as, for example, "the horse," in Psalms 33:17. But yet there occurs no single passage in which יהוה מלאך is de-monstrably used in that sense; and it appears that this designa-tion of the angels is designedly refrained from, because יהוה מלאך was the common designation of the Angel of the Lord ךבפ. ומ.,the Angel in whom is the name of God, according to the Pen-tateuch, the Angel of the presence, Isaiah 63:9 : compare on this the treatise on the Divinity of Christ in the Old Testament, the Christology, I. 1. The reasons for excluding this sense here,-viz. the expression, "encamps round," and the parallel passages, such as Psalms 91:11; Psalms 91:12; 2 Kings 16:17, where angels are spoken of in a similar connection,-disappear when narrowly examined.The ANGEL OF THE LORD, as the Captain of the Lord's hosts(Joshua 5:14; 1 Kings 22:19), is to be thought of as attended by armies of inferior ministering angels. And הנה is applied not only to an army, but also to the commander; for example, 2 Samuel 12:28. Allusion is made to Genesis 32:2; Genesis 32:3, where Jacob, on returning from Mesopotamia, and when afraid of his brother Esau, saw with the eye of the spirit a double encamp-ment of angels, at the head of which, from comparing ch. 28:13, and 32:25, we are to suppose the Angel of the Lord to have been, and between which his own encampment would lie. These circumstances, the memory of which was per-petuated by the name Mahanaim, given to the place, contained a prophecy embodied in action for the benefit of all who fear the Lord. Ver. 8. Taste and see that the Lord is good. Blessed is the man that trusteth in Him. The "taste and see" invite, as it were, to a sumptuous feast, which has long been ready,-to a rich sight openly exposed to view. The imperatives are in reality not hortatory, but promissory: compare, "they have nowant," ver. 10. Ver. 9. Fear the Lord, ye His holy ones; for they have no want who fear Him. The emphasis lies, according to the connection, more on the consequence than on the condi-tion: "only fear," or, "if you only fear." A true and lively fear of God, which proves itself to be such by obedience to His commandments (compare vers. 13, 14), need never be afraid of losing its reward. On קדושים, as designating the true Israelites, compare at Psalms 16:3. Ver. 10. The lions are reduced to poverty, and are hungry; but they that seek the Lord have want of no one good thing. That by "the lions" here, as at Psalms 57:5; Neh. ii. 12-14; Ezekiel 38:13; Ezekiel 19:2; Ezekiel 19:3, we are to understand powerful and violent men, is evident, not only from the context, and from the "being reduced to poverty," but also from the parallel passage, Job 4:10; Job 4:11. Luther, after the Septuagint, gives, rather indefinitely, "the rich." We have here no special Old Testament truth before us. This is evident from the peti-tion dictated to us by our Lord Himself, and from the promise which that petition necessarily implies, regarding our daily bread. It is also evident from Matthew 6:32; Matthew 6:33. The 19th verse gives the necessary limitation, the reference to the manifold sufferings by which in this life the righteous are exercised. There follows the second strophe, in which the Psalmist invites all to come to the enjoyment of safety through the sin-cere fear of God, which is intended for those only who thus come, but also assuredly for those.Ver. 11. Come, ye sons; listen to me, I will teach you the fear of the Lord. In "ye sons," we find one experienced in the ways of God addressing the young: compare Proverbs 1 :x. 15. On, "I will teach you the fear of the Lord," the Berleb. Bib. re-marks: "And I will not only show you what it is, but will also, after that, give you the strongest reasons which will move you, and incite you." As the author, in what follows, manifestly directs his attention exclusively to the second point, it is obvious that the first is to be kept out of view, although it alone has occupied the attention of most commentators.Ver. 12. Who is the man that desires life, that loves days when he may see good? The Psalmist asks the question, Who desires to be happy? To him who desires this-and where is the man who does not?-he prescribes, in what follows, the only and unfailing means by which it may be obtained. The "life," according to the explanation given in the second clause,is not mere life, which frequently may be rather called death, but a happy life. Days in which we see good, are happy days.Ver. 13. Keep thy tongue from evil, and thy lips that they speak not guile. Ver. 14. Turn from evil, and do good; seekpeace, and pursue it. In giving the details of the fear of God, the duties toward our neighbour are, according to David's usual way, dwelt upon with particular care, because there hypocrisy,which is so ready to appropriate to itself promises with which it has nothing to do, finds least scope for its exercise. Ver. 13 refers to words, and ver. 14 to deeds. It is self-evident, thatby "peace" here, we are not to understand "virtue," or "good-ness." Jo. Arnd: "Hence must every man who desires to have a good life, take care not to cause disagreement. The devil and the world give many occasions of dispeace. But be thou wary, be silent rather, suffer somewhat, be patient, be gentle, be not easily provoked, be not revengeful. That thou destroy not noble peace, and God, with His blessing, depart from thee." Compare Romans 12:18; 2 Corinthians 13:11. Ver. 11. Come, ye sons; listen to me, I will teach you the fear of the Lord. In “ye sons,” we find one experienced in the ways of God addressing the young: compare Proverbs 1:8, Proverbs 10:15. On, “I will teach you the fear of the Lord,” the Berleb. Bib. remarks: “And I will not only show you what it is, but will also, after that, give you the strongest reasons which will move you, and incite you.” As the author, in what follows, manifestly directs his attention exclusively to the second point, it is obvious that the first is to be kept out of view, although it alone has occupied the attention of most commentators. Ver. 12. Who is the man that desires life, that loves days when he may see good? The Psalmist asks the question, Who desires to be happy? To him who desires this—and where is the man who does not?—he prescribes, in what follows, the only and unfailing means by which it may be obtained. The “life,” according to the explanation given in the second clause, is not mere life, which frequently may be rather called death, but a happy life. Days in which we see good, are happy days. Ver. 13. Keep thy tongue from evil, and thy lips that they speak not guile. Ver. 14. Turn from evil, and do good; seek peace, and pursue it. In giving the details of the fear of God, the duties toward our neighbour are, according to David’s usual way, dwelt upon with particular care, because there hypocrisy, which is so ready to appropriate to itself promises with which it has nothing to do, finds least scope for its exercise. Psalms 34:13 refers to words, and Psalms 34:14 to deeds. It is self-evident, that by “peace” here, we are not to understand “virtue,” or “goodness.” Jo. Arnd: “Hence must every man who desires to have a good life, take care not to cause disagreement. The devil and the world give many occasions of dispeace. But be thou wary, be silent rather, suffer somewhat, be patient, be gentle, be not easily provoked, be not revengeful. That thou destroy not noble peace, and God, with His blessing, depart from thee.” Compare Romans 12:18; 2 Corinthians 13:11. Ver. 15. The eyes of the Lord look upon the righteous, and His ears upon their cry. Ver. 16. The face of the Lord is against those that do evil, that He may root out their remembrance from the earth. Properly, it is, "the face of the Lord is in the evil- doers:" compare on ב used in the hostile sense, Ewald's Kl. Gr. p. 521.Ver. 17. They cry, and the Lord hears, and delivers them out of all their trouble. The subject, the righteous, is to be sup-plied from ver. 15. This is less harsh than might be supposed: as the author, according to the announcement in ver. 11, has to do only with those who fear God, what concerns the ungodly comes into notice only as the shade which is intended to relieve the light.. Thus in the 15th and 16th verses: "The eyes of the Lord, etc.; while His face, etc."Ver. 18. The Lord is near to those who are of a broken heart, and helps them who have a contrite spirit. Brokenness of heart, and contrition of spirit, designate the deep, yet soft and mild, sadness which is to be found only in the godly. Compare Isaiah 57:15, and the introduction to Ps. 6.Ver. 19. The righteous man must apr much, but the Lord helps him out of it all. The fact, that the righteous man must suffer much, shows how imperfect human righteousness is: for where there is still suffering, there is still sin; and where there ismuch suffering, there is much sin. That the Lord will deliver him out of it all, shows the greatness of the Divine compassion.Ver. 20. He keeps all His bones, so that not one of them is broken, viz. without His will and gracious permission. Compare Matthew 10:30, where we are told that the hairs on the head of the godly are all numbered.Ver. 21. Misfortune slays the wicked, and the haters of the righteous become guilty. The relation in which this verse stands to the 19th, does not permit us to render רעה by "wickedness," the term for which, in the Psalms, is always רע. There, the godly man is delivered out of all misfortune; here, misfortune is fatal to the wicked. To "become guilty," is to be represented, or to appear guilty.Ver. 22. The Lord delivereth the soul of His servants, and none of those who trust in Him become guilty. This is the sum of the whole Psalm. The soul is mentioned, because, as is ob-vious from the opposition to ver. 21, and from the personal ex-perience of David (compare ver. 1), the subject of which the author is treating, is danger to life. Ver. 17. They cry, and the Lord hears, and delivers them out of all their trouble. The subject, the righteous, is to be supplied from Psalms 34:15. This is less harsh than might be supposed: as the author, according to the announcement in Psalms 34:11, has to do only with those who fear God, what concerns the ungodly comes into notice only as the shade which is intended to relieve the light.. Thus in the (Psalms 34:15) 15th and (Psalms 34:16) 16th verses: “The eyes of the Lord, etc.; while His face, etc.” Ver. 18. The Lord is near to those who are of a broken heart, and helps them who have a contrite spirit. Brokenness of heart, and contrition of spirit, designate the deep, yet soft and mild, sadness which is to be found only in the godly. Compare Isaiah 57:15, and the introduction to Psalms 6. Ver. 19. The righteous man must suffer much, but the Lord helps him out of it all. The fact, that the righteous man must suffer much, shows how imperfect human righteousness is: for where there is still suffering, there is still sin; and where there is much suffering, there is much sin. That the Lord will deliver him out of it all, shows the greatness of the Divine compassion. Ver. 20. He keeps all His bones, so that not one of them is broken, viz. without His will and gracious permission. Compare Matthew 10:30, where we are told that the hairs on the head of the godly are all numbered. Ver. 21. Misfortune slays the wicked, and the haters of the righteous become guilty. The relation in which this verse stands to the (Psalms 34:19) 19th, does not permit us to render øòä by “wickedness,” the term for which, in the Psalms, is always øò. There, the godly man is delivered out of all misfortune; here, misfortune is fatal to the wicked. To “become guilty,” is to be represented, or to appear guilty. Ver. 22. The Lord delivereth the soul of His servants, and none of those who trust in Him become guilty. This is the sum of the whole Psalm. The soul is mentioned, because, as is obvious from the opposition to Psalms 34:21, and from the personal experience of David (compare Psalms 34:1), the subject of which the author is treating, is danger to life. Psalms 35. THE Psalmist vehemently complains of malicious and ungodly enemies, prays the Lord for deliverance, giving promise of thanksgivings, if his prayer was granted. The Psalm falls into three strophes, in each of which the three elements of complaint, prayer, and promise of thanksgiving, are contained, and which are especially remarkable on this account, that each of these runs out into the vow of thanksgiving, ver. 1-10; ver. 11-18; ver. 19-28. The middle strophe, surrounded on each side by two decades, in which prayer predominates, is chiefly remark-able for an extended representation of the Psalmist's distress, and of the black ingratitude of his enemies, which calls aloud for the divine retribution. The relations of David's time manifestly form the ground of this Psalm, which was composed, according to the superscription, by him. A special ground may be found for it, in 1 Samuel 24:15, where a declaration of David to Saul is recorded, "The Lord therefore be judge, and judge between me and thee, and see, and plead my cause, and deliver me out of thine hand,"-which coincides with the first verse of our Psalm in very characteristic expressions. Still, we are not to suppose, on this account, that the Psalm possesses an individual character: what at first sight appears to carry this aspect, is soon perceived, by an experiencd judgment, to be a mere individualizing. David speaks in the person of the righteous, with what view may the more easily be understood, since the truly Righteous One could appropriate this Psalm to himself, (John 15:25, comp. with ver. 19 here,) an ap-plication, which led many of the older expositors to give thePsalm a too direct and exclusive Messianic exposition, (comp. on the other hand, Introd. to Psalms 22.) An accidental synchronism between this Psalm and the immediately preceding one, is indicated by the correspondence presented by ver. 5 and 6 to the other, the more remarkable, as these two Psalms are the only ones, in which the Angel of the Lord, in a general way, occurs. But in both he appears entirely in the same character and connection. Ver. 1. Contend, O Lord, with my contenders, consume those who consume me. In the first member, the relation of the right- eous to his enemies, appears under the image of a contest for what is right, in the second, under the image of a war. What is expressed in the first member as a wish, is in Isaiah 49:25, con- verted into a promise, " I will contend with him that contend- eth with thee." But the wish here also rises on the ground of the promise. To beg any thing from God, which he had notpromised, were a piece of folly. להם, signifies, not to fight, but to eat, and את is not prepos. but marks the accus. The mean- ing of fighting first enters in Niphil, prop. to be eaten, then to be eaten by another. A destructive warfare against the enemies is not rarely represented as a consuming of these, comp. for ex- ample, Numbers 24:8, "He eats up (consumes) the heathen, and their bones will he break." Calvin: "The sum is, that, overwhelmed with calumnies, and oppressed with cruelty, and finding no help in the world, he commends his life, as well as his good name, into the hand of God." Ver. 2. Take hold of shield and buckler, and stand up as myhelp. The Lord is represented under the image of a hero, who equips himself for the deliverance of his oppressed friend. This representation has its ground in human weakness. As dangers palpable and manifest surround us, God's hidden and invisible power is not of itself fitted to keep us from all fear and anxiety. It must in a manner take to itself flesh and blood. It usually borrows its dress from the danger, which at the time is threat ened. In opposition to the acts of lying and calumny, God is set up as patron or administrator, who takes charge of the affairs of his people. If danger is threatened from rude violence, he appears as a warrior, as in Deuteronomy 32:41; Deuteronomy 32:42, who lays hold of weapons for the defence of his own. In this verse the Psalmist calls upon the Lord to take weapons of defence, in the next weapons of offence. מגן is the small shield, and צנה the great one, as appears from 1 Kings 10:16; 1 Kings 10:17. בעזרתי prop. in my help, ב is that which marks in what property any thing appears or consists, Ew. Small Gr. § 521. Help is elsewhere also not rarely used by David for helper, comp. for example, Psalms 27:9.Ver. 3. And take hold of the spear, and set a barrier against my persecutors; say to my soul: thy salvation am I. רוק inHiph. to empty, then to take out, namely, from the armoury. In the expression: set a barrier, prop. close up against my per-secutor, the figure is borrowed from a host, Which comes to the help of its confederates, when threatened with a surprisal by the enemy, and, by throwing itself between them and the enemy, cuts off from the latter a retreat. It appears, that we have here before us a military term of art, such as was quite suitable in. the mouth of the warrior David, and as has already occurred in ver. 1 and 2. We are not to supply some definite noun, such as way. Close up, rather imports as much as, make a close. לקראת, against, in military connection, for example, Deuteronomy 1:44, Joshua 8:14, is carefully to be distinguished from לפני. Against my persecutors, in that thou dost oppose a barrier to them, dost therewith meet them. Many take סגר as a noun= ףבדבסיע, a kind of battle-axe. But this exposition forsakes the Hebrew usage, in which the verb סגר has the signification of closing up, the noun סגור that of barricade; it has against it the authority of all the old translations, and is also deserving of rejection from the very form, as nouns of the kind almost with-out exception have the ו. In the second member, the Psalmist is thought by many to wish for an audible communication. But, according to the connection, the speech is rather one embodied in fact. Comp. the first member and ver. 4. God has to speak comfort to the endangered and troubled soul of the Psalmist by the communication of help. The expression: to my soul, is used, as ver. 4 shows, because his soul found itself in danger, because his enemies consulted about taking his life. Ver. 2. Take hold of shield and buckler, and stand up as my help. The Lord is represented under the image of a hero, who equips himself for the deliverance of his oppressed friend. This representation has its ground in human weakness. As dangers palpable and manifest surround us, God’s hidden and invisible power is not of itself fitted to keep us from all fear and anxiety. It must in a manner take to itself flesh and blood. It usually borrows its dress from the danger, which at the time is threat­ened. In opposition to the arts of lying and calumny, God is set up as patron or administrator, who takes charge of the affairs of his people. If danger is threatened from rude violence, he appears as a warrior, as in Deuteronomy 32:41-42, who lays hold of weapons for the defence of his own. In this verse the Psalmist calls upon the Lord to take weapons of defence, in the next weapons of offence. ξβο is the small shield, and φπδ the great one, as appears from 1 Kings 10:16-17. αςζψϊι prop. in my help, α is that which marks, in what property any thing appears or consists, Ew. Small Gr. § 521. Help is elsewhere also not rarely used by David for helper, comp. for example, Psalms 27:9. Ver. 3. And take hold of the spear, and set a barrier against my persecutors; say to my soul: thy salvation am I. ψεχ in Hiph. to empty, then to take out, namely, from the armoury. In the expression: set a barrier, prop. close up against my persecutors, the figure is borrowed from a host, which comes to the help of its confederates, when threatened with a surprisal by the enemy, and, by throwing itself between them and the enemy, blocks up the way for the latter. It appears, that we have here before us a military term of art, such as was quite suitable in the mouth of the warrior David, and as we have already met with in Psalms 35:1 and Psalms 35:2. We are not to supply some definite noun, such as way. Close up, rather imports as much as, make a close. μχψΰϊ, against, in military connection, for example, Deuteronomy 1:44, Joshua 8:14, is carefully to be distinguished from μτπι. Against my persecutors, in that thou dost oppose a barrier to them, dost therewith meet them. Many take ρβψ as a noun=σάγαρις, a species of battle-axe. But this exposition forsakes the Hebrew usage, in which the verb ρβψ has the signification of closing up, the noun ρβεψ that of barricade; it has against it the authority of all the old translations, and is also deserving of rejection from the very form, as names of species almost without exception have the ε. In the second member, the Psalmist is thought by many to wish for an audible communication. But, according to the connection, the speech is rather one embodied in fact. Comp. the first member and Psalms 35:4. God has to speak comfort to the endangered and troubled soul of the Psalmist by the communication of help. The expression: to my soul, is used, as Psalms 35:4 shows, because his soul found itself in danger, because his enemies consulted about taking his life. Ver. 4. Let them be confounded and put to shame, who seek after my soul, let them be turned back and brought to confusion, who devise my hurt. That the fut. are to be taken optatively, that the Psalmist does not express hope and confidence, but as in verse 1-3, prays, appears from the יהי, in ver. 6. Ver. 5.Let them be as chaff before the wind, and let the angel of the Lord thrust them. Comp. in regard to the angel of the Lord, Psalms 34:7. דהה signifies only to thrust, knock down, never to drive, or to drive away. On their eager flight the angel of the Lord lays hold of them and throws them to the ground so that they can never rise up again. Comp. on Psalms 36:12. We are not to supply to דהה the suffix, but the participle enters into the place of the noun; prop. let the angel of the Lord be their pusher. Ver. 6. Let their way be dark and slippery, and let the angel of the Lord persecute them. The putting of the sub-stantives darkness and slipperiness, for the adj. gives more strength. Whosoever is pursued by a powerful enemy upon a dark and slippery path, which necessarily retards the speed of his flight, he is given up to sure destruction. Ver. 7. For without cause they have hid for me their pit-net, without cause they have made a pit for my soul. The ground is here laid for the wish expressed in the preceding verse, guaranteeing the certainty of its fulfilment. The pit-net is a pit covered with a net. The image is derived from the hunting of wild beasts, which are caught in such pit-nets, covered over with twigs and earth. We are not exactly to supply שהת to הפרו, but to dig, stands for, to make a pit. Ver. 8. Let destruction come upon him unawares, and his net, which he has concealed, let it catch him, for destruction let him fall therein. The singular refers here, as in all similar cases, to the ideal person of the wicked. The expression: he knows not, stands often for, unexpectedly, suddenly. As they had surprised the righteous in the midst of his peace, so might perdition again overtake them in the midst of their security. שואה is prop. part. of the verb שאה, to rush together, and denotes, not destruction in the active sense, but the ruin. This signification is here also demanded by the last member, where בשואה marks the circumstances, under which the fall takes place. His falling into the net is a thing connected with the entire ruin, as is said in Psalms 36:12, "They fall and are not able to rise up again," Psalms 34:21, "Evil slays the wicked." The בשואה distinguishes the evil impending over the enemies from what had already befallen the Psalmist. Ver. 9. So will my soul be joyful in the Lord; it shall rejoice in his salvation. Ver. 10. All my bones shall say: Lord who is like thee, who deliverest the poor from him that is too strong for him, and the poor and needy from his spoiler. The futures are not to be taken optat. as Luther: "My soul might rejoice," etc. Neither dothey contain the expression of the Psalmist's hope; but he seeks to make the Lord inclined to grant the desired help, by declar-ing that it would not be lavished on an ungrateful person, and that, like seed, the help afforded would yield a rich harvest of praise and thanksgivings. The bones mark the innermost nature. The second strophe follows with preponderating lamentation. The design of the representation given of the malice of the enemies in ver. 11-16, discovers itself in the words in ver 17, "Lord, how long wilt thou look on, rescue my soul from their destructions, mine only one from the lions," for which a prepa-ration and a motive were provided by the representation. After the prayer there follows again, in ver. 18, the promise of a thanks-giving, implying that the granting of what he sought would tend to the glorification of the name of God.Ver. 11. Malicious witnesses rise up, what I know not of, that do they inquire of me, they wish me to express an acknowledg-ment of misdeeds of which I have been quite innocent. The verse is neither to be explained historically, nor to be taken figuratively, but contains an individualizing trait, such as very frequently occurs in the Psalms, which were sung of the person of the righteous. Ver. 12. They rewarded me evil for good, bereavement of my soul. We are not to render: Bereavement isto my soul; but the שכול is the accus. governed by: they re-warded. For according to the connection, the bereavement of the Psalmist comes here into consideration, only in so far as it was caused by his enemies. In the following verse, which is merely an expansion of this, he brings out the fact, that he had manifested as tender a love to those who were now his enemies, as is wont to be shewn to none but the nearest relatives. In testimony of their gratitude and praise for this, they transplant him into a condition, as if he were entirely alone upon the wide world. They themselves attack him with wild hatred, comp. ver. 15, 16, and deprive him also of the fellowship of all others. Ver. 13. And I, when they were sick, put on sackcloth, hurt my-self with fasting, and my prayer returned back to my own bosom. The sickness here is not figurative, but an individualizing mark of the suffering. One must, in severe sufferings, discerning therein the righteous punishment of sin, find matter for re-pentance, and practise fasting as an exercise of repentance. (The form of expression נפשו ענה, to chastise his soul, to cru-cify his flesh, comp. the profound explanation in. Isa. 58, istaken from the law, in which צום, indicating the form, is still not found.) Whoever acts thus at the sufferings of others, gives thereby a proof of the most tender fellowship and love, which destroys in a manner the distinction between I and thou, regards the suffering and the guilt of another as its own. Here also we are not to think of a figurative, but only an individualizing re-presentation. The most tender fellowship has also, in certain circumstances, been realized under this form. The last words receive explanation from what is said in 1 Kings 18:42, upon the posture of Elias in prayer. He, who prays with his head bent down, appears to bring the prayer back, as it were, to the bosom from which it proceeded. Clauss: "We must think espe-cially of the sitting or standing posture of mourners overwhelmed with great affliction; this is the natural bodily expression of a depressed state, afflictive both in itself and from its attendant pain." We reject the exposition of Luther and others: I prayed from the heart continually, prop. my prayer returned out of (?) my bosom; and also that of many Jews, revived by Sachs: My prayer might (?) turn into my bosom, receive its fulfilment in myself, so full of love was it. Ver. 14. As if he were a friend,as if he were a brother, I went along; as one who mourns for his mother, was I in dirtiness bowed down. The words: as a friend, as a brother to me, for: as I would have done to a friend, nay to a brother, is to be explained from the circumstance, that the comparison is often barely indicated. We are not to think in such cases of supplying something grammatically. The ex-pression: I went about, refers, as the context shews, to the outward appearance. לב,אE is stat. constr. of adj. לבeאA, mourn-ing. קדר, to be dirty, which is arbitrarily limited by many to the clothing, refers to the whole appearance, to the countenance also unwashed, and covered with ashes, and indicates, so far as it points to the dress, not black clothing, but dirty, (from the sitting in dust and ashes.) שהה, to bow down, is not to be understood tropically, but according to the context, which speaks throughout of the external symptoms of pain, of the bodily stooping of mourners. In the whole verse we must keep in our eye the symbolical spirit of the East, especially of ancient times; when the feelings so readily draw after them their out-ward indication, the mourner sits in sackcloth and ashes, while he, who receives a joyful message, puts on fine clothing and anoints himself. On account of this common imitation of theinternal by the external, the latter only is very often expressedin poetry, where, in point of fact, the internal is meant. This, and not the other, is the more to be regarded here, as it is nota historical, but an ideal person that speaks; as is implied alsoin the matter of this and the preceding verse. If referred to a historical person, the representation has the character of some-strained and unnatural. Ver. 11. Malicious witnesses rise up, what I know not of, that do they inquire of me, they wish me to express an acknowledgment of misdeeds of which I have been quite innocent. The verse is neither to be explained historically, nor to be taken figuratively, but contains an individualizing trait, such as very frequently occurs in the Psalms, which were sung of the person of the righteous. Ver. 12. They rewarded me evil for good, bereavement of my soul. We are not to render: Bereavement is to my soul; but the ωλεμ is the accus. governed by: they rewarded. For according to the connection, the bereavement of the Psalmist comes here into consideration, only in so far as it was caused by his enemies. In the following verse, which is merely an expansion of this, he brings out the fact, that he had manifested as tender a love to those who were now his enemies, as is wont to be shewn to none but the nearest relatives. In testimony of their gratitude and praise for this, they transplant him into a condition, as if he were entirely alone upon the wide world. They themselves attack him with wild hatred, comp. Psalms 35:15-16, and deprive him also of the fellowship of all others. Ver. 13. And I, when they were sick, put on sackcloth, pained myself with fasting, and my prayer returned back to my own bosom. The sickness here is not figurative, but an individualizing mark of the suffering. One must, in severe sufferings, discerning therein the righteous punishment of sin, find matter for repentance, and practise fasting as an exercise of repentance. (The form of expression ςπδπτωχ, to chastise his soul, to crucify his flesh, comp. the profound explanation in. Isaiah 58, is taken from the law, in which φεν, indicating the form, is still not found.) Whoever acts thus at the sufferings of others, gives thereby a proof of the most tender fellowship and love, which destroys in a manner the distinction between I and thou, regards the suffering and the guilt of another as its own. Here also we are not to think of a figurative, but only an individualizing representation. The most tender fellowship has also, in certain circumstances, been realized under this form. The last words receive explanation from what is said in 1 Kings 18:42, upon the posture of Elias in prayer. He, who prays with his head bent down, appears to bring the prayer back, as it were, to the bosom from which it proceeded. Clauss: “We must think especially of the sitting or standing posture of mourners overwhelmed with great affliction; this is the natural bodily expression of a depressed state, afflictive both in itself and from its attendant pain.” We reject the exposition of Luther and others: I prayed from the heart continually, prop. my prayer returned out of (?) my bosom; and also that of many Jews, revived by Sachs: My prayer might (?) turn into my bosom, receive its fulfilment in myself, so full of love was it. Ver. 14. As if he were a friend, as if he were a brother, I went along; as one who mourns for his mother, was I in dirtiness bowed down. The words: as a friend, as a brother to me, for: as I would have done to a friend, nay to a brother, is to be explained from the circumstance, that the comparison is often barely indicated. We are not to think in such cases of supplying something grammatically. The expression: I went about, refers, as the context shows, to the outward appearance. ΰֲ ?αֶ ?μ is stat. constr. of adj. ΰָ ?αֵ ?μ, mourning. χγψ, to be dirty, which is arbitrarily limited by many to the clothing, refers to the whole appearance, to the countenance also unwashed, and covered with ashes, and indicates, so far as it points to the dress, not black clothing, but dirty, (from the sitting in dust and ashes.) ωηδ, to bow down, is not to be understood tropically, but according to the context, which speaks throughout of the external symptoms of pain, of the bodily stooping of mourners. In the whole verse we must keep in our eye the symbolical spirit of the East, especially of ancient times; when the feelings so readily draw after them their outward indication, the mourner sits in sackcloth and ashes, while he, who receives a joyful message, puts on fine clothing and anoints himself. On account of this common imitation of the internal by the external, the latter only is very often expressed in poetry, where, in point of fact, the internal is meant. We shall see the external is not to be regarded here, whenever we perceive it is not a historical, but an ideal person that speaks. The contents of this and the preceding verse lead to the same result. If referred to a historical person, the representation has the character of some strained and unnatural. Ver. 15. And now at my trouble they rejoice, and gatherthemselves, gather themselves against me the abjects, whom I know not, they tear and are not silent. The ver. forms the expansion of the "bereavement of my soul," in ver. 12. The Psalmist hadshown to his enemies in their misfortune the most affectionatesympathy; their pain was his pain. But now, in his misfortune,his pain is their joy; they hasten in dense crowds to insult him, and throw him still deeper into misery, and this is the more sensibly felt by him, as in the company that thus assembled against him, there were found some of the most despicable of men. בצלעי, prop. in my halting. The halting, as a state of bodily restraint and weakness, stands here for a mark of wretch-edness, as in Psalms 38:17. נכים is the plural of הכ,נe smit-ten, synonymous with הכ;נA, both alike from נכה, to be smitten.The smitten are men of the lowest grade, the poorest. This also discovers itself in the very next note: and I knew not, for whom I knew not, who from their peculiarly low condition, were shut out from the circle of my acquaintance. No one could have deviated from the correct exposition, if he had only attended to the remarkably exact parallel passage in Job 30:1, ss. Job there complains, that he had become the object of attacks and insults from those, whose fathers he would have disdained to set beside the dogs of his flock, who in their want and wretchedness sought such miserable support as the wilderness could afford them, who were the very quint-essence of what was low and common. To the נכים here, corresponds there הארץ מן נכאו, they are beaten out of the land, in ver. 8. The current exposition: beating with the tongue, i. e. calumniating, comp. Jeremiah 18:18, is untenable, because against the signification of the root, (נכה first ob-tains in Hiph. an active signification,) and against the signi-fication of the analogous formations, it takes the word in an active sense, and because it does not comport with the otherpart of the description: whom I knew not. The latter ground also holds against Hitzig's exposition: fools, derived from ך`נ not occurring in Hebrew; which besides destroys the manifestlyexisting connection with the forms הכeנA, and אכeנA. We pass over other still more arbitrary expositions, as that of Luther: the halting plot against me without my fault. It may still be asked whether the beaten, those beaten with strokes, are the same who had been discoursed of in ver. 13 and 14; or more correct-ly, whether they belong to their number; or whether the Psal-mist here, as Calvin supposes, joins to his earlier acquaintances, who recompensed him evil for good, the multitude of those who, at an earlier period, were quite unknown to him, glad at having an opportunity to vent their malice on him. The first supposition is the correct one. For the latter would not come within the aim of the Psalmist, who gives here a farther exten-sion of the declaration: they recompensed me evil for good, on which he had grounded his prayer to the Lord for the punish-ment of his enemies. On the other hand, the words: whom I knew not, are not to be regarded as contradictory. For this is only a mark of the poorest condition, which would natu-rally have excluded these men from the Psalmist's circle, had not love and compassion impelled him to let himself down to them, and to act towards them a friendly and brotherly part.-קוע, to tear, most expositors, without foundation, take in the sense of reviling. The image is taken from a garment, from which any one seeks to tear away a fragment. By their not being silent, is meant their constantly raving against him with words and deeds.Ver. 16. The vile, who mock for a cake, gnash against me with the teeth. The expression, which in both members con-tains a separate clause, is very concise, the affection, which here is indignation, loving brevity. In the first member the verb is wanting, they act, or they conduct themselves; in the second member, the infin. absol. stands for the 3d pl. In the first member the Psalmist, in order to bring out more pointedly the worthlessness of his enemies, describes them as persons who only aimed, through their bitter hostilities, to ingratiate them-selves with a great personage, the centre of the whole opposi-tion, in order to obtain from him the means of allaying their hunger, of prolonging their miserable existence. With such creatures, David may have had enough to do in the timeof the Sauline persecution. בהנפי, prop. in the vile, for as the vile, comp. Ew. Small Gr. § 521. Vile persons of the mockeries of the cake, are vile persons, to whom the mock-eries of the cake belong. לעג is subst. mockery. An adj. געeלA,which most expositors suppose here, has no existence, not even in Isaiah 28:11. Mockeries of the cake are mockeries, which are so far connected with it that they are thrown out for its sake, in order to obtain it. The enemies appear, in perfect ac-cordance with the description in the preceding verse, and that in Job 30., as mean and base men, who sell their tongues to railleries for a piece of bread. Of "guests," and "parasites," and "roast-smell-flatterers," there is no mention. מעוג is not cake, as a sort of dainty bit, but the common cake of the ashes, which in the East stands in the room of bread. Neither are we to think of witty speeches which were uttered at the table, but of bitter mocking, which men indulge toward the object of their master's hatred, like hounds set on by him. This is clear, partly from the word itself, and partly from the parallel: They gnash, &c. The gnashing of the teeth, for which expositors, who mis-take the sense, substitute "showing of the teeth," is always an expression of indignation, which the persons here referred to employ with all vehemence, in order to render themselves much endeared to their master. שנימו, as to their teeth, or with the same. Comp. on Psal. 4.-Ver. 17. Lord how long wilt thou look on? rescue my soul from their desolations, from the young lions my only one. השיב stands in its common meaning. The soul is in a mournful, dangerous place, surrounded by their devastations and by lions. The Lord must bring it away fromthence. The άנ. כוד. שוא, desolations. For my only one, see on Psalms 22:20.-Ver. 18. So will I praise thee in the great congregation, and among much people will extoll thee. Comp. on ver. 9 and 10, and on Psalms 22:22; Psalms 22:25. Ver. 16. The vile, who mock for bread, gnash against me with the teeth. The expression, which in both members contains a separate clause, is very concise, —emotion, which here is indignation, loving brevity. In the first member the verb is wanting, they act, or they conduct themselves; in the second member, the infin. absol. stands for the 3d pl. In the first member the Psalmist, in order to bring out more pointedly the worthlessness of his enemies, describes them as persons who only aimed, through their bitter hostilities, to ingratiate themselves with a great personage, the centre of the whole opposition, in order to obtain from him the means of allaying their hunger, of prolonging their miserable existence. With such creatures, David may have had enough to do in the time of the Sauline persecution. αηπτι, prop. in the vile, for as the vile, comp. Ew. Small Gr. § 521. Vile persons of the mockeries of the cake, are vile persons, to whom the mockeries of the cake belong. μςβ is subst. mockery. An adj. μָ ?ςֵ ?β, which most expositors suppose here, has no existence, not even in Isaiah 28:11. Mockeries of the cake are mockeries, which are so far connected with it that they are thrown out for its sake, in order to obtain it. The enemies appear, in perfect accordance with the description in the preceding verse, and that in Job 30, as mean and base men, who sell their tongues to railleries for a piece of bread. Of “guests,” and “parasites,” and “roast-smell-flatterers,” there is no mention. ξςεβ is not cake, as a sort of dainty bit, but the common cake of the ashes, which in the East stands in the room of bread. Neither are we to think of witty speeches which were uttered at the table, but of bitter mocking, which men indulge toward the object of their master’s hatred, like hounds set on by him. This is clear, partly from the word itself, and partly from the parallel: They gnash, &c. The gnashing of the teeth, for which expositors, who mistake the sense, substitute “showing of the teeth,” is always an expression of indignation, which the persons here referred to employ with all vehemence, in order to render themselves much endeared to their master. ωπιξε, as to their teeth, or with the same. Comp. on Psalms 4. Ver. 17. Lord how long wilt thou look on? rescue my soul from their desolations, from the young lions my only one. δωια stands in its common meaning. The soul is in a mournful, dangerous situation, placed amid devastations and lions. The Lord must bring it away from thence. The ἁπλεγ. ωεֹ ?ΰ, desolations. For my only one, see on Psalms 22:20. Ver. 18. So will I praise thee in the great congregation, and among much people will extol thee. Comp. on ver. 9 and 10, and on Psalms 22:22; Psalms 22:25. We come now to the third strophe, ver. 19-28, chiefly madeup of prayer, which has been solidly founded by the representa-tion given in the second strophe of the Psalmist's relations. Ver.19. Let not them that are my enemies falsely rejoice over me, norwink with the eye, who hate me without a cause. Enemies withfalsehood or lies, are such as forge lying accusations against theobject of their malice, with the view of giving a fair colour to it.עין קרץ prop. to press the eye together, here of the winking toone another with the eye, by which the enemies, who were sworn for the Psalmist's destruction, gave each other joy concerning it. This they do even now, because they reckoned themselves quite sure of their object, comp. ver. 21, but God might embitter their joy to them.-Ver. 20. For they speak not peace, and against the quiet in the land they devise words of deceit. The expression: they speak not peace, for: they abolish it, is used by way of con-trast to what they ought to do, and points to the relations of Saul's time. Saul's distrust receives continually fresh nourish-ment from such tale-bearers. רגע quiet, peaceful.�Ver. 21. And they open their mouth wide against me, and say, there, there, our eye sees, namely, the wish of our soul, the misfortune of the righteous. Ver. 22. Yea, thou seest, Lord; keep not silence, Lord be not far from me. Ver. 20, 21, gave the reason for ver. 19. Let them not rejoice, for they, the wicked, deserve not thy help; but thy might, and their triumphing over the success of their plans, is for thee a call to interfere. And here a new prayer arises out of the reason given for the preceding prayer. The Psalmist places the seeing of God over against the malicious seeing of the enemy. Ver. 23. Stir up thyself and awake to my judgment, my God and Lord, to my cause. Ver. 24. Judge me according to thy righteousness, O Lord, my God, and let them not rejoice over me. Ver. 25. Let them not say in their hearts: there, there, so would we have it! Let them not say: We have swallowed him up. נפשנו prop. our soul, for, our wish, because their soul went entirely out into the wish. Ver. 26. Let them be ashamed and blush together, who rejoice at my hurt; let them be clothed with shame and dishonour, who magnify themselves against me. Ver. 27. Let them make jubilee and rejoice who wish my justi-fication, and say continually: Great is the Lord who wills the peace of his servant. Make jubilee, the Lord will give them oc- casion for it. צדק, in opposition to רעה, misfortune, in ver. 26, and parallel to the peace, marks not the righteous cause, but righteousness as the gift of God; q. d. they wish, that I may be actually justified by God. Ver. 28. So will my tongue speak of thy righteousness, proclaim continually thy praise. The ex-pression: thy righteousness, has respect to: my righteousness, in ver. 27. God's righteousness and the Psalmist's justification stand in the closest connection with each other. Psalms 36. IN the conflict, which is so apt to arise against the people of God from the depth and magnitude of human corruption, the Psalmist addresses himself, "Be thou at peace, and rest in the God of thy life." After a superscription, which indicates, that he speaks not from himself and for himself, but in the name and service of God, and consequently for the church, he first de-scribes in ver. 1-4, the conflict, as one that seems to prepare hopeless destruction for the righteous, and fills him with painful solicitude. He paints in strong features the intensity of human corruption. The heart of the wicked is free from all fear of God, and every thought of the avenging righteousness of God is choked. Hence, the words of his mouth are wickedness and deceit, and in his actions he gives scope to himself in every thing: nothing is too bad for him. This representation of the necessity and the danger is followed in ver. 5-9, by a repre-sentation of the consolation. God with his inexhaustible fulness of love, faithfulness, and righteousness, appears in opposition to man and his wickedness. This line of reflection is followed in ver. 10-12, by the prayer and the expression of confidence in its fulfilment: God's love and righteousness can and will unfold themselves in his dealings towards his own, in the support he administers to them, and the overthrow he brings upon the wicked. If we draw the superscription into the compass of the Psalm, which we are here peculiarly warranted to do, the meditation will complete itself in the number ten, which again falls into two fives. The prayer and confidence rising on the ground of the Mosaic blessing, is ruled by the number three. The Psalm is as to its subject nearly allied to Psalms 11:11; Psalms 11:14. with whose introduction that of this holds a close resemblance even in expression. Of any particular occasion we are not to think. The Psalmist speaks for the fearers of God, and in their name. Already does Luther remark in his summaries: this is a didactic Psalm. In the superscription: To the chief musician, of time servant of the Lord, David, the designation of "servant of the Lord" is the more deserving of notice, as it occurs only once in the superscriptions besides, in Psalms 18. where it bears a manifestreference to the subject, and as it stands in unquestionable con-nection with the beginning of the Psalm. Like the correspond-ing words in 2 Samuel 23. "The man who was raised up on high, the anointed of the God of Jacob," it points to the dignity of the person in so far as in that was given a security for the im-portance of the word: the servant of the Lord speaks not his own word, but God's, not of his own will, but as moved by the Holy Spirit, 2 Peter 1:21. “ The spirit of the Lord spake through him, and his word was upon his tongue,” 2 Samuel 23:2. The suggestion of impiety in the wicked, that God is nothing upon earth, is met by the suggestion of God in his servant, that God is every thing upon earth. Ver. 1. "The oracle of transgression to me, the wicked within my heart;" there is no fear of God before his eyes. In the first member the Psalmist introduces the wicked as speaking. He would express the thought, that the wicked listens to the sug-gestions of sin as words of God. This thought he clothes in such a manner, that, by an ironical imitation of the introductory words in the writings of the prophets, in particular Balaam's in Numbers 24:3, to which he also referred in 2 Samuel 23:1, he makes the ungodly bring in a decree of his God, of wickedness. There should properly have followed the divine sentence, according to Psalms 14:1; "There is no God;" or Psalms 10:11. "God hath for-gotten, he hideth his face, he will never see." But here the Psalmist leaves the reader to supply the substance of the speech from the second member; he seeks only to have it first distinctly impressed, that the wicked regards as oracles the suggestions of sin, what it dictates in regard to religion. נאם signifies, not a word in general, but a divine word, an oracle. פשע occupies here the place of Jehovah. The expression: to the wicked, cor-responds to: of the servant of God, as the Psalmist had just de-signated himself; or to: the hearer of the divine word, etc. in Balaam. Here, as the prophets in their introductions, as Balaam and as David both here and in 2 Samuel 18:1, the wicked speaks of himself in the third person; while presently the Psalmist speaks in the first: in the middle of my heart, as also Balaam, and David in 2 Samuel 18. But there is no difficulty in this; for: to the wicked, is in substance the same as: to me, the wicked. By this remark the quite erroneous reference of the expression: within my heart, to the Psalmist, is set aside; against which also the parallel passage in Psalms 14:1. "The foolhath said in his heart, there is no God," and the similar expres-sions in Psalms 10:6; Psalms 10:11, are decisive. We thus also cut off all temp-tation to read לבו his heart, instead of לבי, by which, indeed, nothing is gained; for there should then be no indication of the wicked being introduced here as speaking, which is still plainly needed. After the example of Luther, who renders: it is spoken from the bottom of my heart of the ungodly, the meaning of this first member is entirely misapprehended by many exposi-tors, for ex. by De Wette: A speech of the wickedness of transgression is to me in the heart. This exposition discovers itself to be false, in whatever direction we look. Its condem-nation is already pronounced in De Wette's own remark: "The first half of the verse is a kind of announcement, though only of a part of the subject, and by a deficiency in the parallelism the second half passes on immediately to the subject." The real subject of the Psalm is not, "the wickedness of transgres-sion," but, "If God is thy friend and thy cause, what can thine enemy, man, do of any consequence?" It is precisely in the first part, in which the Psalmist merely represents, what passes before his eyes, and what might easily be discerned with-out any divine revelation, that the נאם is not suitable. The parallelism is by this exposition completely destroyed, and the expression: there is no fear of God before his eyes, has a bald appearance, considered as a commencement, and sounds feeble. Further, this exposition takes פשע as the object of the speech: Speech of transgression. But the genitive, which follows the very frequently occurring נאם without exception marks always the speaker, and, indeed, for the most part, the heavenly author of the declaration, the human only in Numbers 24:3, Proverbs 30:1, and 2 Samuel 23:1, which bears respect to this. This reason of itself is perfectly decisive. In Isaiah 5:1, also, in the phraseדודי שירת, to which De Wette refers as analogous, the geni-tive is that of the author; not concerning my beloved, but of my beloved; the song, which is consecrated to the beloved, which is sung to his honour, which has himself, speaking through the mouth of his prophet, for its author. Then, the exposition ungrammatically takes לרשע as a circumlocution for the geni-tive, which can only be put in this way, when the scat. constr. is inadmissible, as it would be here, if the meaning were: a transgression of the wicked, but which would not be suitable, comp. Ew. Small Gr. § 517. The expression: in the midst ofmy heart, which is full of meaning in our exposition: in the in-most depth of the wicked, utters forth transgression its oracle, becomes by this exposition quite flat and insignificant, and is never found in such a connection. It is torn away from the already quoted parallel pass. Psalms 14:1, etc., which so ob-viously correspond, also torn from the eyes here, in ver. 1 and 2, and from the mouth in ver. 3. Finally, this exposition leaves en-tirely out of view the manifest reference to the superscription of the prophecies, and the parallel passage 2 Samuel 23:1, as also the reference to the superscription here. The oracle of sin to the wicked stands opposed to the oracle of Jehovah to the servant of Jehovah, David, as it is communicated in this Psalm. It is hoped this lengthened statement of objections against the cur-rent exposition may serve the purpose of entirely setting it aside, the more so, as the faults hitherto cleaving to the others are removed by our construction. Whenever we perceive the ground-thought of the first member, and separate that from the clothing under which it is presented, there is seen to be a per-fect parallel between the first and the second; the heart of the wicked is full of the God-denying suggestions of sin, before his eyes is no fear of God, q. d. the fear of God is not that, on which he directs his eye in his transactions, or by which he is moved in them, comp. Psalms 26:3. Ver. 2. For he flatters himself in his eyes in reference to the finding of his sin, the hating. The ground is here given, on account of which the fear of God exercises no determinate in-fluence upon the actions of the wicked. He seeks through all sorts of illusions to stifle the conviction, that God's avengingrighteousness will punish his impiety. ההליק, prop. to make smooth, elsewhere with the accus.: his tongue, or his words, to flatter, comp. on Psalms 5:9; here, as in Proverbs 29:5, in the senseof acting smoothly, blanditlis uti , with אל of the person against whom the smooth acting is directed, who is flattered, as in the passage referred to in Prov., where the injurious, destructivenature of the action was to be marked, with על. The self-flatteries, in which the wicked indulges, cannot have respect properly to his moral condition; for, as Sacks justly remarks, though with a wrong application, "it is not the wicked as he false-ly represents himself, the would-be-holy, that is here designated, but the plainly unrighteous." They have respect rather to his might and prudence, to his skill in sinning, by virtue of whichhe succeeds in every effort, and believes himself to be beyond the vengeance of an angry God. He says with the ungodly in Isaiah, chap. 28:15, "We have made a covenant with death, and with hell are we at agreement, when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, it shall not come unto us; for we have made lies our refuge, and under falsehood have we hid ourselves." The expression: in his eyes, refers to the other: before his eyes. Because he flatters himself in his eyes, through the arts of flattery and self-delusion builds himself up in a feeling of security, there is no fear of God before his eyes. The last words point to the territory, upon which the self-delusion and flattery are practised, to that in regard to which they are employed. In reference to the finding of his sin, the hating, means as much as, that God will not find his sins hateful, will not punish them. The form of expression עון מצא is to be explained from Genesis 44:16, when the sons of Jacob, after the cup was found in the mouth of Benjamin's sack, say, "God hath found out the iniquity of thy servants." According to this God finds out iniquity, when he visits and punishes it. The hating is here added to mark more definitely the quality of the finding, and so, to remove all dubiety. The correct view would not have been so often missed in expositions of this verse, if more regard had been paid to the ground-passage, Deuteronomy 29:19, where it is said of the wicked, "And it cometh to pass, when he heareth the words of this curse, that he bless himself in his heart, saying, I shall have peace, though I walk in the imagination of my heart;" and also the parallel passages in the Psalms themselves, such as Psalms 10:6. Among those who concur with us in the reference of אליו to the evil-doer, several expound: in order to accomplish his sin, in order to hate, "in order through his transgression to gratify his hatred toward God, or man." So Luther: "that they may further their evil cause, and slander others." But עון מצא never oc-curs so; with the hating we miss the object, and to hate cannot stand for, gratifying hatred. Others expound: in consideration of the finding of his guilt, and the hating, q. d. he is so entangled in self-deceit, that he has not attained to the recognition of his sinfulness, and, therefore, he cannot hate and renounce it. But it is against this, that עון מצא never signifies: to come to the knowledge of sin; and still more, that through this exposition the whole character of the wicked, as he is represented in this Psalm, is violated: We have here to do with a bold sinner, whois not concerned about finding fig leaves for his sins. Most refer the suff. in אליו to God: Koester: "for he flatters him with his eyes, hence he discovers his guilt, hates it;" Tholuck: "for they flatter God according to their opinion, in order to commit the more securely their evil deeds, and to give loose the reins to their hatred." But the character of the wicked is still by this construction grossly misconceived; with the words: in his eyes, we are by it manifestly embarrassed; Tholuck's mode of viewing the last word has already been disposed of, and that of Koester steps over into the second strophe from the first, and slaps the temptation upon the mouth before it has been put in words. In such a case we must cry out with Job, violence!Ver. 3. The words of his mouth are wickedness and deceit, he ceases to act wisely, to do good. The ceasing is to be explained from a silent contrast: instead of ceasing, as be ought, to sin,comp. הרע הדלו in Isaiah 1:16. השכיל signifies to act pru-dently, reasonably, comp. on Psalms 14:2, and להיטיב is not sub-ordinate to it, but co-ordinate, just as in ver. 2, the second inf. with the first ל. Ver. 3. The words of his mouth are wickedness and deceit, he ceases to act wisely, to do good. The ceasing is to be explained from a silent contrast: instead of ceasing, as he ought, to sin, comp. ηγμεδψς in Isaiah 1:16. δωλιμ signifies to act prudently, reasonably, comp. on Psalms 14:2, and μδιθια is not subordinate to it, but co-ordinate, just as in Psalms 36:2, the second inf. with μ to the first. Ver. 4. He thinks of mischief upon his bed, he sets himself in a way not good, he does not eschew evil. The phrase: on his bed, points to the strength of the evil inclination. The passion so rages in him, that it deprives him of sleep. How may it overreach hapless innocence? The apparently weak expres-sion: a way not good, and: he does not eschew evil, derives its strength from its silent contrast to that, which the ungodly is wont to do according to the law of God. The Psalmist now turns himself to inquire in reference to the wicked, and what the righteous has to fear from him, upon what must I hope? And in direct contrast to the former, brings forward the Lord, and what the righteous has to expect from him. Calvin: "although a gloomy and frightful confusion shelved itself, which, like a vast abyss, was ready to swallow up the pious, David was still firmly convinced that the world is full of God's goodness and righteousness, and that heaven and earth are governed by him."Ver. 5. Lord, in the heaven is thy goodness, thy faithfulness even to the clouds. בהשמים can only signify: in the heaven; and the current exposition up to the heaven, is to be rejected as arbitrary. But the expression: in the heaven, which imports:even still in heaven, comprehends and pre-supposes what is in the other, compare Psalms 57:10, "For thy mercy is great unto the heavens, and thy truth unto the clouds." In the whole re-presentation, the pillar of fire and smoke, emblem of the divine glory, rises from earth to heaven, so that the expression: in heaven, is only suitable when it comprehends: to the heaven. Quite naturally. For the Psalmist places the image of consola-tion against the image of terror on its own territory. Upon the earth rages the malice of the ungodly, the righteous are vexed; in opposition to the loftiness which strives in vain to reach to heaven, (compare Genesis 11:4, "whose top may be in hea-ven," and Psalms 73:9, "They set their mouth in heaven,") the Psalmist puts the divine glory, which, giant-like, truly reaches from earth to heaven, so that man hopeless must yield to the might of God. The love and the faithfulness of God are spe-cially named, as the properties which secure help to his people. Their greatness is regarded by the Psalmist as an impenetrable shield against all attacks even from the most intense and power-ful malice. Jo. Arnd: "In all tribulations, let them be ever so high, so deep, so broad and long, God's truth and grace are still greater and higher."Ver. 6. Thy righteousness is like mountains of God, thy judg-ments are a great flood, man and beast thou helpest, O Lord. With the love and faithfulness he here connects the righteous-ness of God. This comes here, as appears from the parallelism, not so far merely into consideration, as it involves the faithful-ness of the promise, so that צדקה would be substantially=אמונה, but as the property which disposes God to recompense to every one according to his works, to give salvation to the righteous, to suspend misery over the wicked. If God is infi-nitely righteous, the upright may be of good courage, but the wicked should tremble, and the greater their wickedness, the more certain is their destruction. The most part regard the divine righteousness as compared to the mountains, on account of their firmness. So Luther: it stands as the mountains of God. Jo. Arnd: "It stands firm as the mountains of God, i.e. immove-able, strong, invincible, as the Lord God has made the world fast with mountains, so that no potentate has power to lift up the mighty mountains, and put others in their place. Even so, it is not possible to overthrow God's righteousness, it will as-suredly exercise itself upon all men, when God judges the earthin righteousness." But, looking at the parallel members, we would rather take the point of comparison to be their greatness and height. The mountains of God are certainly the highest mountains, not such, however, simply and exclusively, but in so far as they proclaim God's creative power. Although the whole ofnature has been made by God yet that is pre-eminently attributed to him, which, elevated by its greatness and glory above all thatresembles it, directs the thoughts especially to his glory. So in Psalms 80:10, the cedars, as kings among the trees, are called cedars of God, (Genesis 13:10 does not belong to this; for the discourse there is not of a garden of God, but of the garden of Jehovah, the paradise Which had been planted by the Lord, and according to chap. 2:10, richly watered.) Here, “ as the moun- tains of God," is plainly spoken with special emphasis: the object compared contains at the same time a pledge of the truth of what is likened to it. Of the righteousness of him who madethe highest mountains, we must entertain no earthly and human thoughts. They would rise as witnesses against us, if we did so. Judgments, the rectoral transactions, by which God brings to nought the evil and assists the good, are the offspring of the divine righteousness. Jo. Arnd: "Such judgments of God are always. being exercised upon the earth, if the matter is thoughtfully considered." According to most expositors, it is the incompre- hensible and unfathomable nature of the divine judgmentswhich is indicated. But the words cannot bear this sense. Forתהום never signifies abyss, deep, but always flood, and the con-text imperatively requires the idea of immeasureableness.Against the flood of human wickedness stands the great flood,the wide ocean, (of this רבה תהום is used in Genesis 7:11, theonly other place where it occurs,) of the divine judgments. Inthe last words: man and beast thou deliverest, O Lord, thePsalmist turns back to the divine love, with the representationof which he began, and the celebration of which he continuestill ver. 9. On the "man" an unseasonable comparison is oftenmade with Matthew 5:45, and the remark made, "righteous andunrighteous." The contrasthere is the general one of man andbeast; but if the Psalmist had wished to give a closer descriptionof the men who enjoy the divine help and deliverance, he wouldhave, according to ver. 10, named them as the upright, and suchas know God. God's goodness towards the bad, which shouldmove them to repentance, is excluded by the connection. It issuch goodness only as might afford consolation in consequenceof the troubles arising out of the ascendancy of the wicked upon the earth. With what design the beast is here named may be understood from the saying of our Lord, "Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? and one of them shall not fall on the ground without your Father." Jo. Arnd: God seeks to console us by this, and to strengthen our faith, seeing he much more cares for us." The somewhat singular expression: Thou deliverest, makes it probable that the Psalmist alludes to the great proof of God's preserving love in the deluge, in which, besides Noah, the whole animal creation was delivered, an al-lusion which is the more probable, as in Psalms 29:10; Psalms 32:6, there is also reference made to the deluge, as רבה תהום points to that transaction, in which the judgments of God appeared as literally a great flood, and as another reference is found to Genesis in verse 8. Ver. 5. Lord, in the heaven reaches thy goodness, thy faithfulness even to the clouds. αδωξιν can only signify: in the heaven; and the current exposition up to the heaven, is to be rejected as arbitrary. But the expression: in the heaven, which imports: even still in heaven, comprehends and pre-supposes what is in the other, compare Psalms 57:10, “For thy mercy is great unto the heavens, and thy truth unto the clouds.” In the whole representation, the pillar of fire and smoke, emblem of the divine glory, rises from earth to heaven, so that the expression: in heaven, is only suitable when it comprehends: to the heaven. Quite naturally. For the Psalmist places the image of consolation against the image of terror on its own territory. Upon the earth rages the malice of the ungodly, the righteous are alarmed; in opposition to the loftiness which strives in vain to reach to heaven, (compare Genesis 11:4, “whose top may be in heaven,” and Psalms 73:9, “They set their mouth in heaven,”) the Psalmist puts the divine glory, which, giant-like, truly reaches from earth to heaven, so that man hopeless must yield to the might of God. The love and the faithfulness of God are specially named, as the properties which secure help to his people. Their greatness is regarded by the Psalmist as an impenetrable shield against all attacks even from the most intense and powerful malice. Jo. Arnd: “In all tribulations, let them be ever so high, so deep, so broad and long, God’s truth and grace are still greater and higher.” Ver. 6. Thy righteousness is like mountains of God, thy judgments are a great flood, man and beast thou helpest, O Lord. With the love and faithfulness he here connects the righteousness of God. This comes here, as appears from the parallelism, not properly as it involves faithfulness in promising, so that φγχδ would be substantially=ΰξεπδ, but as the property which disposes God to recompense to every one according to his works, to give salvation to the righteous, to suspend misery over the wicked. If God is infinitely righteous, the upright may be of good courage, but the wicked should tremble, and the greater their wickedness, the more certain is their destruction. Not a few regard the divine righteousness as compared to the mountains, on account of their firmness. So Luther: it stands as the mountains of God. Jo. Arnd: “It stands firm as the mountains of God, i.e. immoveable, strong, invincible, as the Lord God has made the world fast with mountains, so that no potentate has power to lift up the mighty mountains, and put others in their place. Even so, it is not possible to overthrow God’s righteousness, it will assuredly exercise itself upon all men, when God judges the earth in righteousness.” But, looking at the parallel members, we would rather take the point of comparison to be their greatness and height. The mountains of God are certainly the highest mountains, not such, however, simply and alone, but in so far as they proclaim God’s creative power. Although all nature has been made by God, yet that is pre-eminently attributed to him, which, elevated by its greatness and glory above all that resembles it, especially calls forth the thoughts of his glory. So in Psalms 80:10, the cedars, as kings among the trees, are called cedars of God, (Genesis 13:10 does not belong to this; for the discourse there is not of a garden of God, but of the garden of Jehovah, the paradise Which had been planted by the Lord, and according to Genesis 2:10, richly watered.) Here, “as the mountains of God,” is plainly spoken with special emphasis: the object compared contains at the same time a pledge of the truth of what is likened to it. Of the righteousness of him who made the highest mountains, we must entertain no earthly and human thoughts. They would rise as witnesses against us, if we did so. Judgments, the judicial transactions, by which God brings to nought the evil and assists the good, are the offspring of the divine righteousness. Jo. Arnd: “Such judgments of God are always. being exercised upon the earth, if the matter is thoughtfully considered.” According to many expositors, it is the incomprehensible and unfathomable nature of the divine judgments which is indicated. But the words cannot bear this sense. For ϊδεν never signifies abyss, deep, but always flood, and the context imperatively requires the idea of immeasureableness. Against the flood of human wickedness stands the great flood, the wide ocean, (of this ϊδενψαδ is used in Genesis 7:11, the only other place where it occurs,) of the divine judgments. In the last words: man and beast thou deliverest, O Lord, the Psalmist turns back to the divine love, with the representation of which he began, and the celebration of which he continues till Psalms 36:9. On the “man” an unseasonable comparison is often made with Matthew 5:45, with the remark, “just and unjust.” The contrast here is the general one of man and beast; but if the Psalmist had wished to give a closer description of the men who enjoy the divine help and deliverance, he would have, according to Psalms 36:10, named them as the upright, and such as know God. God’s goodness towards the bad, which should move them to repentance, is excluded by the connection. It is such goodness only as might afford consolation in consequence of the troubles arising out of the ascendancy of the wicked upon the earth. With what design the beast is here named may be understood from the saying of our Lord, “Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? and one of them shall not fall on the ground without your Father.” Jo. Arnd: God seeks to console us by this, and to strengthen our faith, seeing he much more cares for us.” The somewhat singular expression: Thou deliverest, makes it probable that the Psalmist alludes to the great proof of God’s preserving love in the deluge, in which, besides Noah, the whole animal creation was delivered, an allusion which is the more probable, as in Psalms 29:10; Psalms 32:6, there is also reference made to the deluge, as ϊδενψαδ points to that event, in which the judgments of God appeared as literally a great flood, and as another reference is found to Genesis in Psalms 36:8. Ver. 7. How glorious is thy goodness, O God, and children of men trust in the shadow of thy wings. יקר prop. precious. John Arnd: "David rejoices in the goodness and grace of God, and compares them to a noble, precious, and costly treasure." The general name of God stands here, because it is the contrast between God and man that is expressed. God and man, what a distance! How great and glorious must the divine love be; which fills up the infinite gulph between the two, and provides that the weak and wretched mortal be the object of God's protec-tion and tender care! comp. Psalms 8. The confiding trust comes here into consideration in so far as God affords ground and war-rant for it. That the children of men can confide in God, must only be brought out in a general way. The species in the genus, who are not more definitely pointed out here, are the righ-teous. הסה with ב always signifies: to trust in, to take refuge under. Because the shadow yields defence from the heat, it not unfrequently stands as a figurative description of protection. The image of wings, only indicated here, is given at length in Deuteronomy 32:11, and Matthew 23:37.Ver. 8. They drink of the fatness of thy house, and with the river of thy pleasures thou givest them drink. It is here still farther brought out, what the divine goodness provides for the servants of God, notwithstanding all the machinations of the wicked. The riches of the divine grace and beneficence are re-presented in both members under the image of a copious drink, with which it supplies them. For that this grace is not repre-sented in the first member, somewhat under the image of food, with which he satisfies them, is manifest from רוה, prop. are moistened, comp. Psalms 23:5. The fat must accordingly be taken as a figurative designation of the glorious gifts of God; Vulgate: ab ubertate domus tuae, Luther, "of the rich goods of thy house," far more correctly than our recent expositors, who quite prosaically remark, that the fat is here spoken of as fit for drinking, rather than eating. The house of God is here neither, as several absurdly expound, the world, which is never so named, nor is it, as others suppose, a mere image of a divine storehouse, but it is here, as everywhere else, the national. sanctuary, the tabernacle of the congregation, in which the ser-vants of the Lord spiritually dwell with him, and where they are tenderly cared for by him as the good householder. Comp. on Psalms 15:1; Psalms 23:6; Psalms 24:3; Psalms 27:4; Psalms 27:5; Psalms 65:4. Michaelis, correctly as to the sense: ecclesiae tuae. For the house of God was the image of the church. In the second member there seems to be a reference to Genesis 2:10, "And a river went out from Eden (delight) to water the garden," which is also alluded to in John 4:18; Ezekiel 47.; Zechariah 14:8 --passages in which the thought, the whole earth shall partake of the blessings of the kingdom of God, is represented under the image of a stream, which, issuing from Jerusalem, refreshes the dry and barren region around. Comp. Christol. P. II. p. 367. In the stream, which of old watered the garden of Eden for the good of man, the Psalmist saw the, type of that stream of bliss, with which God's love never ceases to refresh his people. Ver. 8. They drink of the fatness of thy house, and with the river of thy pleasures thou givest them drink. It is here still farther brought out, what the divine goodness provides for the servants of God, notwithstanding all the machinations of the wicked. The riches of the divine grace and beneficence are represented in both members under the image of a copious drink, with which it supplies them. For that this grace is not exhibited in the first clause of the verse, under the image of food, with which he satisfies them, is manifest from øåä, prop. are moistened, comp. Psalms 23:5. The fat must accordingly be taken as a figurative designation of the glorious gifts of God; Vulgate: ab ubertate domus tuae, Luther, “of the rich goods of thy house,” far more correctly than our recent expositors, who quite prosaically remark, that the fat is here spoken of as fit for drinking, rather than eating. The house of God is here neither, as several absurdly expound, the world, which is never so named, nor is it, as others suppose, a mere image of a divine storehouse, but it is here, as everywhere else, the national. sanctuary, the tabernacle of meeting, in which the servants of the Lord spiritually dwell with him, and where they are tenderly cared for by him as the good householder. Comp. on Psalms 15:1; Psalms 23:6; Psalms 24:3; Psalms 27:4-5; Psalms 65:4. Michaelis, correctly as to the sense: ecclesiae tuae. For the house of God was the image of the church. To it belong the treasures of salvation, of which God makes his people to partake. In the second member there seems to be a reference to Genesis 2:10, “And a river went out from Eden (delight) to water the garden,” which is also alluded to in John 4:18; Ezekiel 47; Zechariah 14:8—passages in which the thought, the whole earth shall partake of the blessings of the kingdom of God, is represented under the image of a stream, which, issuing from Jerusalem, refreshes the dry and barren region around. Comp. Christol. P. II. p. 367. In the stream, which of old watered the garden of Eden for the good of man, the Psalmist saw the type of that stream of bliss, with which God’s love never ceases to refresh his people. Ver. 9. For with thee is the fountain of life, in thy light we see light. The verse confirms the subject of the preceding one, and traces it up to its source. God is the fountain of life: in him has essential life, and whatever properly deserves this name, (comp. on the היים on Psalms 16:11,) its origin, as already in lieut. 30:20, it was said of God to Israel, "He is thy life:" whosoever does not draw it from him, the one source of life, he is destitute of it, notwithstanding all the means which he may possess for his preservation and support; on the other hand, whoever has this fountain at command, the malice of the whole world cannot take life away from him; he will be kept in life, and will drink with satisfaction in the presence of his enemies, Psalms 23:5. Light is here as commonly (comp. on Psalms 27:1,) a figurative designation of salvation; the expression, "in Psalms 36. VER. 9-11. 21 thy light we see light," simply means: through thy salvation we see salvation. Since salvation is only from God, the world can never bestow it by any means which it has at command; neither can it take this away, and in the face even of the greatest evils the righteous can say: If God is for me, it matters not who are against me. Although the words are verified also upon the spiritual territory, we must primarily, as in Job 29:3, think of an external salvation. This appears from the context, according to which, the discourse can only be of such things as were feared in consequence of human malice, also from the parallelism with the life, and the comp. with ver. 11. Those, who by the light understand the light of knowledge, violently detach the words from the connection, and destroy the structure of the Psalm. The Psalmist has hitherto considered in a general way, human malice, and what the righteous have in their God. Now he comes more closely to the distress and assault, which this gene-ral consideration had occasioned. He brings the two sides of the contrast, which till now he had simply placed over against one another, into immediate contact and conflict with each other, entreats God that he would unfold his love and righteous-ness in his dealings with his own, and especially with him, and would deliver him from the wicked. At the close, he sees, in spirit, this prayer fulfilled, the wicked annihilated.Ver. 10. Continue thy goodness to those who know thee, and thy righteousness to the upright. ך`שמ, to draw, to draw into length, to prolong. The knowledge of God has love to him, and life in him for its foundation. The true and essential know-ledge of God is to be found only in a sanctified state of mind, the gift of God. Comp. 1 Samuel 2:12; Jeremiah 22:16; Titus 1:16; 1 John 2:3; 1 John 4:8. The righteousness of God here also stands in no special reference to covenant faithfulness, but is to be understood as exercised in so far as he gives to any one what is his, comp. on ver. 5. On the upright see on Psalms 33:1.Ver. 11. Let not the foot of pride touch me, and the hand of the wicked pursue me not. The foot coming upon any one, for: he will be trodden down, violently overborne and oppressed. The proud appear as personified pride. That we must not to the words: the hand of the wicked makes me not flee, supply: out of my land-that it is rather to be regarded as meaning: let me not quit the field before him, be obliged to retire into the distance, as David had to do in the times of Saul and Ab-salon), (comp, Ps. 11:1,) is manifest from the parallelism and the contrast in ver. 12. The Psalmist sees there the enemies lying helpless, and prostrate, on the very spot where they had thought to vanquish him, and put him to flight.Ver. 12. There are the workers of iniquity fallen they are cast down and are not able to arise. The Psalmist obtains from the Lord all answer, and in spirit sees his enemies already over-thrown. שם always means there; never then, comp. on Psalms 14:5. The right view was already perceived by Calvin: "While the ungodly are puffed up by their prosperity, the world applauds them. But David, looking as from the lofty watch-tower of faith, descries from afar their destruction, and speaks of it with asmuch confidence as if it were close at hand." For the last words see on Psalms 18:88, and Prov. 24:10, "A just Man falleth seven times, and riseth up again, but the wicked aredestroyed by adversity." Ver. 10. Continue thy goodness to those who know thee, and thy righteousness to the upright. îùêְ, to draw, to draw into length, to prolong. With God there is never a new beginning, but only a continuation; if he continues to act as he has done, he helps us. The knowledge of God has love to him, and life in him, for its foundation. The true and essential knowledge of God is to be found only in a sanctified state of mind, the gift of God. Comp. 1 Samuel 2:12; Jeremiah 22:16; Titus 1:16; 1 John 2:3; 1 John 4:8. The righteousness of God here also stands in no special reference to covenant faithfulness, but is to be understood as exercised in so far as he gives to any one what is his, see on Psalms 36:5. On the upright see on Psalms 33:1. Ver. 11. Let not the foot of pride tread me, and the hand of the wicked pursue me not. The foot comes upon any one, for: he will be trodden down, violently overborne and oppressed. The proud appear as personified pride. That we must not to the words: let not the hand of the wicked make me flee, supply: out of my land—that it is rather to be regarded as meaning: let me not quit the field before him, be obliged to retire into the distance, as David had to do in the times of Saul and Absalom, (comp. Psalms 11:1,) is manifest from the parallelism and the contrast in Psalms 36:12. The Psalmist sees there the enemies lying helpless, and prostrate, on the very spot where they had thought to vanquish him, and put him to flight. Ver. 12. There are the workers of iniquity fallen, they are cast down and are not able to arise. The Psalmist obtains from the Lord all answer, and in spirit sees his enemies already overthrown. ùí always means there; never then, comp. on Psalms 14:5. The right view was already perceived by Calvin: “While the ungodly are puffed up by their prosperity, the world applauds them. But David, looking as from the lofty watch-tower of faith, descries from afar their destruction, and speaks of it with as much confidence as if it were close at hand.” For the last words see on Psalms 18:38, and Proverbs 24:10, “A just Man falleth seven times, and riseth up again, but the wicked are destroyed by adversity.” PSALM. 37. THE subject of the Psalm is collected in the two first verses: "Be not angry against the miscreants, envy not the evil-doers,for as grass they shall quickly be cut down, and as the green herb they wither." He meets the temptation to help himself, to oppose power to power, to contend against wickedness with wickedness, which often presents itself to the righteous when he sees the ungodly prospering, while he himself is in a state of depression; and, indeed, in such a way, as to shew, under the different turns and images, how the issue becomes sorted to the righteous and the wicked, how God in his own time assuredly recompenses to every one according to his works, to the wicked destruction, to the righteous salvation: so that the only, and at the same time, the sure means for tile righteous to attain to sal-vation is, that he trust in the Lord and cease not to do good. That we must not labour to hind out a connected plan for the Psalm, that the judgment of Awyrald is substantially correct: "There is scarcely an order observed in it by David, no connec-tion of parts, excepting that one and the same subject is handled in it under the most diversified applications and manifold varia-tions, which all lead to nearly one point, although every one ofthem possesses its own proper force, so that they are not other-wise connected together than as so many precious stones or pearls are strung together upon one thread to form a necklace," -this may be concluded even from the alphabetical arrangement -comp. the remarks in the introduction to Psalms 25. The unre-strained treatment of the subject leads also to the same result, justifying throughout the remark of the Berleb. Bible, "that things are therein once and again repeated and frequently in-culcated, so that the great subject might not be forgotten, and the pious might retain it always in their mouth and heart." Finally, this view is also confirmed by the fact, that the Proverbs hardly present to any Psalm so many verbal references and re-semblances in sound, as to this, which is to be explained only from an internal relationship with the sententious poetry of Solomon, the Davidic root and origin of which here stands be-fore our eyes.-The delineation is very clear, simple, and smooth, and in accordance with the alphabetic arrangement, leads us to the conclusion, that David speaks here to the "sons"-comp. on Psalms 34.-to whom milk and not strong meat must be provid-ed. We see here also, how David did not please himself in his poesy, but adapted his voice to the necessities of the church, which he served with his poetical gift. An introduction and a conclusion, which are each made up of the number seven, are distinguished from the great mass, ver. 8-33, by their prevailing hortatory character, while the rest bears the character of a calm consideration and simple represen-tation of the state of things, interrupted only by a solitary exhor-tation in ver. 27. The admonition of the introductory part, is grounded in the body of the Psalm, and that at the close grows out of this. In regard to the alphabetical arrangement, there are two verses assigned by the rule to each letter. But various irregularities occur here also, which the analogy of all the alphabetical Psalms forbids us to obliterate-comp. on Psalms 25., and still more the circumstance, that a close examination of them always forces on us the conviction of plan and design. Three letters have only one verse appropriated to them, ver. 7, 20, 34, while one letter has three verses, ver. 27, and a letter, ע, is altogether awanting The strophe, which should have begun with ת, has a ו placed before it. This state of matters is to be explained in the following manner. It is not accidental, that we so often see the numberten play an important part in the alphabetical Psalms. It is, just as the alphabet, the signature of the complete, what is comprized in itself. Now, for the number ten, the Psalmist would fain se-cure a place here. The whole, therefore, must be made to com-plete itself in four decades. For this purpose the forty-four verses, of which it had consisted, if two verses were distributed to each letter, must somehow be shortened. But the Psalmist would not proceed arbitrarily in doing this, he would only ab-breviate there, where an internal ground existed for the abbre-viation. At three points an opportunity of doing this offers it-self. For obtaining the number seven in the introduction and the close, a letter-strophe must each time be deprived of a verse; the lot for this was intentionally cast on the last verse of the in-troduction, and the first of the conclusion, so that the two im-perfect strophes might unite with each other, the second seven join itself to the first, whose subject it again resumes. A third occasion arose in ver. 20. The middle of the whole, the half of the forty, must not remain unmarked, and must not fall into the middle of a strophe. Now there was just needed, in order to obtain the number forty, the abbreviation of one strophe. But no other opening presented itself for doing this, in so far as the matter was concerned. Besides, for the letter ע no suitable commencement was found by the author, so that he sought to gain his object by dropping this letter, while he gave to the one immediately preceding, ס, three verses, in evident and intention-al contrast at the same time to the three letters with one verse, and in skilful arrangement, making two verses of common, en-close a third of uncommon length. Finally, that the ו before the strophe with ת, is not accidentally affixed to it, is improba-ble on this account alone, that this strophe is the very last; and the conjunction placed there, at once brings the strophe into connection with what precedes, and marks its subject as the re-sult of the latter, the sum and quintessence of the whole dis-course. The reasons which have been brought against the Davidic origin of this Psalm, are of no weight, and are disposed of by the remarks already made on Psalms 25. When an inclination is shown to regard Jeremiah as the originator of the alphabeti-cal arrangement, it is not considered, that both in form and sub-stance this prophet hangs upon an earlier period. The very cir-cumstance, that Jeremiah, in his Lamentations, has employed thealphabetical order, shows that he had in this respect importantprototypes in the past, and is quite fatal to the opinion of thelate origin of the alphabetical arrangement. For David's being its author, there is, besides the super-scription, the unquestionable fact, that the Psalm forms the basisof a series of declarations in the Proverbs of Solomon. Then,few in Israel could, from actual experience, speak upon the themeof this Psalm, as David could do-few were so called by theleadings of providence, to oppose a barrier to the temptation,which arose from the prosperity of the wicked. David had foundmany occasions for giving way to this temptation; he had seenthe ungodly Saul, the foolish Nabal, the corrupt faction of Ab-salom, sitting in the lap of fortune, while he languished in dis-tress. David knew the temptation itself from his own expe-rienee, although God proved to him, that he did not wholly aban-don him, and came to his help at the proper time. When hecut off the skirt of Saul, he for a moment forgot this: be notangry at the wicked; if his conscience had not smitten him, hewould have proceeded from the skirt to the heart. Still moredeeply did he underlie the temptation, when he swore he wouldcut off Nabal with his whole house. Had Abigail not gone tomeet him, and by her voice awoke his slumbering better self, hewould have experienced in himself the truth of his declarationin ver. 8, that anger toward the wicked leads to a participation intheir wicked deeds. With deep emotion of heart he says to herin 1 Samuel 25:33, "And blessed be thy understanding, and blessedbe thou, that thou hast kept me this day from coming to shedblood, and from avenging myself with mine own hand." David,finally, had from manifold experience learned the truth of thesentiment, upon which he here grounds the dissuasion from re-venge, that quietness is the sure path to victory, that he, whosimply commits his cause to God, shall certainly obtain a happyissue to it, and see the punishment of the wicked. Saul, withhis whole retinue, fell under the judgment of God, and Davidsucceeded to his place. In regard to Nabal, whose history is peculiarly illustrative of this Psalm, he could speak in 1 Samuel 25:39, "Blessed be the Lord, that bath pleaded the cause ofmy reproach from the hand of Nabal, and hath kept his servantfrom evil; for the Lord hath returned the wickedness of Nabalupon his own head." Already, Luther remarks: "Such ex-amples had David seen in Saul, Absalom, Ahitophel, and the like,who were mighty in their godless nature, and yet, ere one couldlook around him, were gone, so that one might ask and say, what has become of them?" The divine recompense, to which David directs the tempted, is here, in unison with the two other Psalms, which treat ex pro-fesso of the same theme, 49. and 73., only a temporal one, and in vain have Stier and others laboured to find references in it to a recompense after death. No ground exists for such en-deavours; we have besides the Old Testament the New, andeven on this account one-sidedness in the Old Testament is no defect; it is rather an excellence, if only the side actually broughtout is a side of truth, since even through the exclusive predo- minance of this one side, the truth may be more deeply impress ed upon the conscience. That there is here a side of truth, has often been boldly denied in recent times; the doctrine of retri-bution in temporal things has been affirmed to be a Jewish error: But we do not need to attempt the refutation of this view here, as it has already been done in our Behr. P. p. 577, ss., where it is especially shown, that the New Testament teaches the tem-poral recompense as well as the Old, (the oft-repeated principle in this Psalm, that the meek shall inherit the land, is taken up and confirmed by our Lord in his sermon on the mount), thatthis doctrine has obtained, in a remarkable manner, the consen-sus gentium, that the opposite view, however well it may-look,is nothing else than practical atheism, and that it leads to themost disastrous consequences, while the doctrine of the temporalrecompense is not only based in sound views of God, but is alsosupported by the important testimony of experience. The New Testament, while it so resumes the matter of consola-much handled in the Old, in regard to the temptationgrowing out of the prosperity of the wicked and the sufferings of the righteous,-comp., besides the statements and passages referred to above, 2 Cor. iv, 8, 9,-presents the subject in a three-fold point of view. I. It enlarges the field of recompense, mak-ing it run into the life to come. 2. It ascribes to the temporal tribulation and the temporal salvation a subordinate place, while it points to the coming glory as that, with which the sufferings and joys of this life are not worthy to be named. 3. It brings with it even during this life a great richness of internal goods, the possession of which renders the want of the external lesspainful. The feeling of the New Testament expresses itselfthus, "I have learned in whatever state I am, therewith to be content--I can do all things through Christ strengthening me."Philippians 4:11; Philippians 4:13, and "as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing, as hav-ing nothing, and yet possessing all things," 2 Corinthians 6:10. Ver. 1. Inflame not thyself against the miscreants, envy not tile evil-doers. Ver. 2. For they shall soon be cut down as grass, and as the green herb they wither. The passage first contains an admonition, then lays the ground of this. Luther: "How immediately does the prophet seize and hit upon the thoughts of the heart in this temptation, and take away all causes thereof, saying, at the first: O man, thou art choleric, and hast causefor it, as thou thinkest, for there are wicked men, who do un-justly, and commit much evil, while still they continue to pros-per, so that nature thinks it has just cause to be angry. But notso, dear child: permit grace, and not nature here to rule;break thine anger, and be at rest for a little; let them go ondoing evil and prospering; believe me, it shall do thee no harm.Then if men ask: When shall things cease to be thus? Whocan endure so long? He answers: For as the grass, &c. Thisis a beautiful similitude, terrible to hypocrites, and consoling tothe afflicted. How entirely does it raise us out of our own sight,and place us in the sight of God! In our sight, the multitudeof hypocrites flourishes and grows, and covers the world so com-pletely, that they alone seem almost to exist; as the greengrass covers and adorns the earth. But in God's sight what arethey? Hay, that must presently be made: and the higher thegrass grows, the nearer is it to the scythe and the hay-cock;just as the higher and farther the wicked spread and rise aloft,the nearer are they to destruction. Wherefore, then, shouldstthou be angry, when their wickedness and prosperity are of soshort-lived a nature?"- הרה to burn, in Hithp. which it is onlyhere and in Proverbs 24:19, to set one's self on fire, to go into apassion. The ב after this verb, always marks the person towardwhom the anger is directed. Hence we are not to translatehere with most expositors: be not angry with thyself upon, butonly against the miscreants, as such a rendering is also the onlyone in accordance with the parallel, as in the second membertoo the objects towards whom the affection is directed, are indicat-ed by a ב: קנא with a ב always to envy any one. Men wouldnot have erred from the right exposition, if they had only usedthe story of Nabal in 1 Samuel 25. as a commentary. That storyskews us very distinctly on what account it is, that such a pointed admonition is given against rage and envy toward the wicked. As it springs from an objectionable ground, from doubt in divine providence,-for so long as there is a firm faith in this, one will not greatly grudge to the ungodly his transitory success, will not be indignant at it, but rather wait, looking to the future, and bearing the sufferings which the Lord has sent as a trial,-so does it lead to the most unhappy consequences. From anger flows revenge, from envy the endeavour to attain by one's own arm the like prosperity. So will there come from indignation and envy toward miscreants, another miscreant, one who will bring force against force, and malice against malice. That it is in this respect the warning is here given against anger and envy, appears in the clearest manner from the express de-claration of the Psalmist's mind in ver. 8, and also what is said of the opposite: do good, in ver. 3, and "of the meek," in ver. 11.-References to ver. 1 occur in Proverbs 24:1; Proverbs 24:19,-literally as here, only that instead of evil-doers we have the wicked, 3:31; 23:17. That the Proverbs should present so many coin-cidences with the commencement of the Psalm, fitted, as it is, to make so deep an impression upon the mind of the reader, shows that in the other allusions of the Proverbs to our Psalm the lat-ter must be the original, and refutes the view of those who would reverse the relation. In ver. 2, ולמ.Aיi, on account of thepause, instead of ולמ.;יi, is fut. in Kal. from מלל, to be cut down,not from the uncertain root נמל. John Arnd: "When grass has stood its time, it will be cut down. So, when the ungodly have accomplished their end by their prosperity, God sends one against them, who cuts them off; as may be seen in Saul and Ahab, who, as soon as they were ripe, were swept away, by an enemy sent on purpose by God. And when flowers and green herbs have stood and bloomed their time, they fall of them-selves and wither away. So is it with all the ungodly amid their great temporal prosperity. And then they are such flowers, as when once fallen, revive no more, but for ever cor-rupt and waste, and blossom not again. Ah! why should we then be filled with anger at them, and begrudge them their short-lived good? We should rather pity their blindness." Ver. 3. Trust in the Lord and do good, inhabit the land, and feed in truth. Ver. 4. And delight thyself in the Lord, and heshall give thee the desires of thy heart. In opposition to theimproper feeling and mode of acting respecting the prosperity of the wicked, the Psalmist first places here the correct one, and then points out this as the sure means to the desired end. On the first words Luther remarks: "Here he takes away all im-patient thoughts and composes the heart to rest. As if he would say: dear child, cease from thine impatience, and curse them not, neither wish them any evil; such thoughts are human and sinful. Put thy hope in God; see what he will make of it; look thou to thyself; on no account cease to do good, as thou hast begun, where and to whom thou canst, and render not evil for evil, but good for evil." The following imperatives: inha-bit, etc. are to be taken in the sense of promises, q. d. then wiltthou inhabit, feed, delight thyself. רעה with the accus. often to bepasture, in a sort of spiritual sense, to feed on somewhat, Isaiah 44:20; Hosea 12:2; Proverbs 13:20. The truth is the truth of God, which unfolds itself in his dealings toward the righteous, so that he can rejoice therein. Most, proverbially: feed securely. To delight one's self in the Lord, is as much as to enjoy his grace and blessing, compare Isaiah 58:14; Job 22:26; Job 27:10. The fut.: and he will give thee, etc., serves to explain the preceding imperative. Many expositors take all the imperatives in the sense of exhortation, and limit the promise to the words: "And he will give thee (so will he give thee) the desires of thy heart;" others would give the imperatives, at least in ver. 3, the force of admonitions. But very important con-siderations present themselves against this view. The words: inhabit the land, have something strange in them when viewed thus. The direction has too little of an active character. We should rather have expected in that case: remain in the land, or abide therein. אמונה רעה must not be translated with Luther: support thyself uprightly, for אמונה is not used as an adverb, and to feed cannot stand for to support. Neither can we ren-der with others: feed thyself in uprightness, or even in faith;for אמווה signifies truth, faithfulness, and nothing else. Feed thyself in truth, for love, exercise it, were bearable perhaps. Still truth seems here somewhat out of place. The delighting of one's self in the Lord, is always used only as a felicity and a gift, never as an obligation and a proposal; an admonition to delight one's self in the Lord, were without all analogy. The propriety of viewing it in the light of a promise, is confirmed by Ver 11. But decidedly against the opposite view is ver. 27where the expression: dwell for evermore, after a precedingimperative of admonition unquestionably bears the import of a promise, as also the parallel passage, ver. 9-11 22, 29, 34, in which the possession of the land, and the dwelling in it is mark-ed as a reward of righteousness. With a promissory meaning stands also the expression in Proverbs 2:21, "the upright shall inherit the land," and 10:30. On the last words: he will give thee, etc. comp. Psalms 20:5; Psalms 20:21. Ver. 5. Roll thy way upon the Lord, and trust in him, he will do it. Ver. 6. And will bring forth thy righteousness as the light, and thy judgment as the noon-day. Roll thy way, likeone, who lays upon the shoulder of one stronger than himself a burden which he is not able to bear, comp. on Psalms 22:8; IPeter 5:7. That way here does not denote the walking, as well as the doing, is clear from the parallel passage, Proverbs 16:3, "Roll upon the Lord thy works;" and also from the expression he will do, namely, what is to be done, and what thou canst notdo; עשה never stands absolutely; where it appears to do so, the object is always to be borrowed from the preceding. The light is day-light, noon-day, the time when it shines most brightly. By the righteousness many understand subjective righteousness; the darkness of misfortune has brought righteousness under the cloud, but God will thereby place it in the clearest light, as he again favours the innocent sufferer. But, since the light com-monly, and often in the very same connection, an image, not ofrevelation, but of salvation, (comp. Job 11:17, "And clearer than the noon-day shall be thy life; now thou art dark, then thou shalt be like the morning," Isaiah 58:8 : Micah 7:9), the right- eousness is better taken as the gift of God, as actual justification,following on the communication of salvation. In the correspond- ing member, we are consequently to understand by right or judgment, that which is conferred by God. The promise here delivered will find its complete fulfilment in the day, when the saints of God shall shine as the sun, and as the stars of heaven for ever and ever. But vain would be the hope of this, if it were not realized also in the present state; what has no place on this side, can have none on that. There nothing will begin, every thing is only perfected. The denial of the temporal re-compense is a partial denial of God, and one that by a kind of consequence leads to a complete denial. Jo. Arnd: "See holyDavid, Saul with all his kingly might could not destroy him:God brought David forth at last as a shining light, as the sun atnoon-day; and what a bright light was David over the wholeland! How thick a darkness fell upon our Lord Christ, the Sunof Righteousness, in his holy sufferings and death; but, in his glo-rious resurrection and ascension to heaven, and proclamation ofthe blessed gospel, the true light burst forth, and illuminatedthe whole earth, so that even the heathen walk in this light, andin the brightness which has proceeded from him."Ver. 7. Be still to the Lord and wait on him, inflame not thy-self against him, who is prosperous in his way, against the man that practises devices. in this: inflame thyself not, the conclu- sion of the introduction reverts to the beginning, and thus roundsitself off. The amplification then begins again in ver. 8, withthe same thoughts, which, in our introduction, were marked asthe proper ground-tone of the whole. דמם always means tobe silent. Silence is primarily of the speech, as opposed to pas-sionate self-defence, comp. Psalms 38:13; Psalms 38:14. But if onemust help himself by speeches, so also and much more by deeds.The ל marks him, to whom this silence belongs, with respect to whom silence is kept, q. d. be silent with an eye to the Lord, who will speak better and with more effect, than thou canst do, comp. Psalms 38:15, "Thou wilt answer, O Lord my God," and the parallel here: wait upon him, which is to be consideredas an exposition of the לו. Arnd: "We have heard above, that our dear Lord would bring forth the righteousness of the pious as the light, and as the sun in clear noon-day. Now, because this dear God has such a great work in contemplation for all fearers of God, let them be still to the Lord, and not hinder him in his work, but wait on him in patience." The two members: against him who is prosperous in ins way, against the man, who practises devices, define one another, and Luther has properly brought them together, "inflame thyself not upon him, who goes on prosperously in his perverseness." Those, who do not recognize this, would take עשה in the sense of executing, bring- ing to pass, in which case an indication of wickedness should not have been awanting in the first member. Arnd: "David saw his enemy, Saul, enjoy prosperity, and that his perverseness carried him on successfully, but was still, committed it to God, and would not destroy him, though he often came into his hands."Ver. 8. Stand off from anger, and cease from wrath, inflame. thyself not, so that thou also dost evil. Ver. 9. For evil-doers shall be cut off, and they that wait upon the Lord, they shall possess the land. ך`א is to be taken in its common signification, only. Only to evil-doing, points to this, that anger could have no other consequence than this, no good, but only this mournful one. Luther: "And what avails such rage? It makes the matter no better, nay only sinks it deeper in the ditch. Thou hast prevented God, so that thou East lost his grace and favour, and art become like evil-doers, and wilt perish along with them, as follows." In the doing of evil, we must not think of mur-muring against God, nor generally of an apostasy to the manner of thinking and acting characteristic of the ungodly; it is to be viewed as specially referring to the behaviour toward the enemies. Arnd: "To do many evil things to them from impa-tience and revenge, is what would be rued in eternity." The chief purport of ver. 9 is to chew, that no ground existed for anger, rather must thou carefully restrain thyself from it, for evil-doers, into the circle of whom thou wouldst enter, when thou abandonest thyself to rage, &c. The truth of this: they shall possess the land, comp. on Psalms 25:13, David had himself experienced in a wonderful manner.Ver. 10. It is but a little, and the wicked is no more, and if thou thinkest upon his place, it will be gone. Ver. 11. But the meek shall possess the land, and delight themselves in great peace. Upon ענוים, the meek, not, as Luther, the miserable, comp. on Psalms 9:12. Because they have maintained peace, peace shall be given them as a reward after the extirpation of the wicked. See ver. 37. Ver. 5. Roll thy way upon the Lord, and trust in him, he will do it. Ver. 6. And will bring forth thy righteousness as the light, and thy judgment as the noon-day. Roll thy way, like one, who lays upon the shoulder of one stronger than himself a burden which he is not able to bear, comp. on Psalms 22:8;1 Peter 5:7. That way here does not denote the experience, as well as the doing, is clear from the parallel passage, Proverbs 16:3, “Roll upon the Lord thy works;” and also from the expression he will do, namely, what is to be done, and what thou canst not do; òùç never stands absolutely; where it appears to do so, the object is always to be borrowed from the preceding. The light is day-light, noon-day, the time when it shines most brightly. By the righteousness many understand subjective righteousness; the darkness of misfortune has brought righteousness under the cloud, but God will thereby place it in the clearest light, as he again favours the innocent sufferer. But, since the light commonly, and often in the very same connection, an image, not of revelation, but of salvation, (comp. Job 11:17, “And clearer than the noon-day shall be thy life; now thou art dark, then thou shalt be like the morning,” Isaiah 58:8 : Micah 7:9), the righteousness is better taken as the gift of God, as matter-of-fact justification, such as is obtained by the communication of salvation. In accordance with this, we are also we are also to understand by right or judgment, that which is given by God. The righteous, this is the sense, shall in his own time by splendidly and gloriously justified by God. The promise here delivered will find its complete fulfilment in the day, when the saints of God shall shine as the sun, and as the stars of heaven for ever and ever. But vain would be the hope of this, if it were not realized also in the present state; what has no place on this side, can have none on that. There nothing will begin, every thing is only perfected. The denial of the temporal recompense is a partial denial of God, and one that by a kind of consequence leads to a complete denial. Jo. Arnd: “See holy David, Saul with all his kingly might could not destroy him: God brought David forth at last as a shining light, as the sun at noon-day; and what a bright light was David over the whole land! How thick a darkness fell upon our Lord Christ, the Sun of Righteousness, in his holy sufferings and death; but, in his glorious resurrection and ascension to heaven, and proclamation of the blessed gospel, the true light burst forth, and illuminated the whole earth, so that even the heathen walk in this light, and in the brightness which has proceeded from him.” Ver. 7. Be still to the Lord and wait on him, inflame not thyself against him, who is prosperous in his way, against the man that practises devices. In this: inflame thyself not, the conclusion of the introduction reverts to the beginning, and thus rounds itself off. The amplification then begins again in Psalms 37:8, with the same thoughts, which, in our introduction, were marked as the proper ground-note of the whole. γξν always means to be silent. Silence is primarily of the speech, as opposed to passionate self-defence, comp. Psalms 38:13-14. But if one must help himself by speeches, so also and much more by deeds. The μ marks him, to whom this silence belongs, with respect to whom silence is kept, q. d. be silent with an eye to the Lord, who will speak better and with more effect, than thou canst do, comp. Psalms 38:15, “Thou wilt answer, O Lord my God,” and the parallel here: wait upon him, which is to be considered as an exposition of the με. Arnd: “We have heard above, that our dear Lord would bring forth the righteousness of the pious as the light, and as the sun in clear noon-day. Now, because this dear God has such a great work in contemplation for all fearers of God, let them be still to the Lord, and not hinder him in his work, but wait on him in patience.” The two members: against him who is prosperous in his way, against the man, who practises devices, define one another, and Luther has properly brought them together, “inflame thyself not upon him, who goes on prosperously in his perverseness.” Those, who do not recognize this, would take ςωδ in the sense of executing, bringing to pass, in which case an indication of wickedness should not have been awanting in the first member. Arnd: “David saw his enemy, Saul, enjoy prosperity, and that his perverseness carried him on successfully, but was still, committed it to God, and would not destroy him, though he often came into his hands.” Ver. 8. Abstain from anger, and cease from wrath, inflame thyself not, so that thou also dost evil. Ver. 9. For evil-doers shall be cut off, and they that wait upon the Lord, they shall possess the land. àêְ is to be taken in its common signification, only. Only to evil-doing, points to this, that anger could have no other consequence than this, no good, but only this mournful one. Luther: “And what avails such rage? It makes the matter no better, nay only sinks it deeper in the ditch. Thou hast prevented God, so that thou hast lost his grace and favour, and art become like evil-doers, and wilt perish along with them, as follows.” In the doing of evil, we must not think of murmuring against God, nor generally of a falling off to the manner of thinking and acting characteristic of the ungodly; it is to be viewed as specially referring to the behaviour toward the enemies. Arnd: “To do many evil things to them from impatience and revenge, is what would be rued in eternity.” The chief purport of Psa 37:9 is to shew, that no ground existed for anger, rather must thou carefully restrain thyself from it, for evil-doers, into the circle of whom thou wouldst enter, when thou abandonest thyself to rage, &c. The truth of this: they shall possess the land, (comp. on Psalms 25:13), David had himself experienced in a wonderful manner. Ver. 10. It is but a little, and the wicked is no more, and if thou thinkest upon his place, it will be gone. Ver. 11. But the meek shall possess the land, and delight themselves in great peace. Upon òðåéí, the meek, not, as Luther, the miserable, comp. on Psalms 9:12. Because they have maintained peace, peace shall be given them as a reward after the extirpation of the wicked. See Psalms 37:37. Ver. 12. The wicked plots against the righteous, and gnashes against him with his teeth. Ver. 13. The Lord laughs at him, for he sees that his day is coming. The day is by the connec-tion determined to be that of his misfortune. The laughing of God, who has before his eyes the impending ruin of the wicked, (Berleb. Bible: "such poor worms, who make themselves so great upon the earth, and act so loftily in their impotence, see-ing it must so soon be over with them,") is put here in contrast to the human mode of reckoning, which remains wedded to the visible. Let this divine mode of reckoning be adopted by the righteous, and instead of weeping they shall then rejoice, even before the divine interference has appeared.Ver. 14. The ungodly draw the sword and bend their bow, that they may cast down; the poor and needy, and slay the up- right. Ver. 15. Their sword will go into their heart, and their bows shall be broken. Comp. Psalms 7:15; Psalms 7:16; Psalms 9:15; Psalms 9:16; Psalms 57:6. Proverbs 26:27. Ver. 16. The little that a righteous man has, is better than the great possessions of many wicked. Ver. 17. For the arms of the wicked shall be broken, and the Lord upholds the righteous. That we must render: better is a little, which is to the righteous, appears from the parall. pass. Proverbs 15:16, "Better is a little with the fear of the Lord, than great treasure and trouble therewith," 16:8. המון never signifies exactly riches, always noise, turmoil, and that this meaning must be retained here, appears from Proverbs 15:16, where there is מהומה, and Psalms 39:6. But the noise of the wicked stands for his riches, which, in the scraping and holding together, in-volve him in noise, turmoil, and disquietude. רבים, not greatness, but many. The Psalmist places the small possession of one righteous person in opposition to the collected goods of a whole mass of the ungodly. The ground is laid in verse 17. It is, not because the wicked, even in the greatest external for-tune, feel themselves internally unhappy, as Calvin supposes, (that is only indicated by the turmoil,) but because their external fortune soon goes to wreck, and only serves the purpose of making them feel more deeply their future misery. This ground addresses itself to faith, which sees what is not, as if it were. He, whose arm is broken, the instrument of working, can no more either hurt another, or help himself. Comp. Psalms 10:15, 38: 14, 1 Samuel 2:31.Ver. 18. The Lord knows the days of the pious, and their in-heritance shall be for ever. Ver. 19. They shall not be ashamed in the time of adversity, and in the days of famine they shall be full. With the knowing of the Lord his case is necessarily bound up, comp. on Psalms 1:6. The days are not properly the fates, Arnd: "God knows what shall befal us every day and hour, and causes all things to work together for good to them that love him," comp. Psalms 31:15, but the days of life them-selves. God fulfils in them his promise, "the number of thy days will I make full," Exodus 23:26, and hears their prayer, "My God take me not away in the midst of my days," Psalms 102:24. With the preservation of their life, the holding of the in-heritance is placed in connection. The for evermore does notcarry a respect to a future life, to which the mention of the in- heritance, according to Old Testament phraseology, is unsuitable. It is to be explained in this way, that the Psalmist here pri-marily marks the inheritance of the righteous as a lasting one, notwithstanding the attacks of the ungodly; these shall not be able for ever to wrest it from them. Hence the pious is not to be thought of as a mere individual. Arnd: "Many and great goods are often scattered like the chaff by the wind, and there is no blessing and prosperity with them. On the other hand, small possessions, which are held with God and uprightness, re-main and go with God's blessing to posterity." But the Chris-tian, when he hears of the eternal inheritance, must certainly think before all of "the inheritance incorruptible, undefiled, and unfading, which is reserved in heaven," 1 Peter 1:4, the assurance of which is contained in this passage in the spirit, if not in the letter.-On ver. 19 comp. Psalms 33:19.Ver. 20. For the wicked shall perish, and the enemies of the Lord vanish away as the joy of lambs, as smoke they vanish. The for is here quite in its place. The prosperity of the wicked as a matter-of-fact testimony against the divine righteousness, appears to overthrow the truth of what has been said in the preceding context upon the prosperity of the righteous. The Psalmist here, while he removes that objection out of the way, lays the ground of his foregoing principle. But, in another point of view also, in so far as life and property are endangered to the righteous by the wicked, the destruction of the latter is neces-sarily implied in the salvation of the former, and the for in that way appears suitable. רקAי;, is stat. constr. of the adj. רקAיA. Theprecious of lambs is not their fat, nor is it their wool, but their fine grass, the beautiful green of their pasture, agreeably to a great many other passages, in which the grass is employed as an image of evanescence, and in particular of the evanescent prosperity of the wicked, comp. here ver. 2. Many expositors after Luther take כרים in the sense of pastures: the excellent of pastures, for, their excellent grass. But that meaning is not rendered certain by the two passages, in which confirmation is sought for it. In Isaiah 30:23, we are to render: the lambs spread themselves forth, and in Psalms 65:13 : the pastures clothe themselves with lambs. The expression: in smoke-a second independent image-is as to meaning the same with, as smoke, comp. Psalms 102:3. But it must be viewed as a proverbial ex-pression, comp. Ew. Small Gr. § 521. The combination of the two images, carries, perhaps, a reference to the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, the great type of all judgments upon the ungodly. Arnd: "The land was a pleasure-garden of the Lord (comp. Genesis 13:10, according to which the district was parti-cularly rich in excellent pasture,) but on account of its great wickedness, the Lord destroyed the whole region with fire and brimstone from heaven, so that a smoke rose up as from an oven," comp. Genesis 19.Ver. 21. The wicked borrows and repays not, and the righ-teous is compassionate and lends. Ver. 22. For his blessed ones inherit the land, and his cursed ones shall be cut off. The sense of ver. 21 is: the wicked, overtaken by the divine punishment, cannot even restore what he has borrowed; the righteous, on the other hand, preserved by God and blessed, has the means of shewing himself beneficent. Quite unsuitably most take the not paying of the wicked, and the lending of the righteous, in a moral point of view. This would not accord with the whole theme of the Psalm, nor even with the immediately succeeding context in ver. 22. This would not, then, as the for demands, present the ground of what is said in ver. 21. Also in the parall. pass. ver. 26, is that exposition unsuitable. And, finally, it is disproved by the original declarations in the Pent. such as Deuteronomy 15:6, "For the Lord thy God blesseth thee, as he pro-mised thee, and thou shalt lend unto many nations, but thou shalt not borrow," 28:12, 44.-The cuff. in ver. 22 refer to the Lord, of whom each was naturally thinking, so that there was no need of any further designation. Ver. 14. The ungodly draw the sword and bend their bow, that they may cast down; the poor and needy, and slay the upright. Ver. 15. Their sword will go into their heart, and their bows shall be broken. Comp. Psalms 7:15-16; Psalms 9:15-16; Psalms 57:6. Proverbs 26:27. Ver. 16. The little that a righteous man has, is better than the great possessions of many wicked. Ver. 17. For the arms of the wicked shall be broken, and the Lord upholds the righteous. That we must render: “better is a little, which is to the righteous,” appears from the parall. pass. Proverbs 15:16, “Better is a little with the fear of the Lord, than great treasure and trouble therewith,” Proverbs 16:8. δξεο never signifies exactly riches, always noise, turmoil, and that this meaning must be retained here, appears from Proverbs 15:16, where there is ξδεξδ, and Psalms 39:6. But the noise of the wicked stands for his riches, which, in the scraping and holding together, involve him in noise, turmoil, and disquietude. ψαιν, not greatness, but many. The Psalmist places the small possession of one righteous person in opposition to the collected goods of a whole mass of the ungodly. The ground is laid in Psalms 37:17. It is, not because the wicked, even in the greatest external fortune, feel themselves internally unhappy, as Calvin supposes, (by the turmoil,) but because their external fortune soon goes to wreck, and only serves the purpose of making them feel more deeply their future misery. This ground addresses itself to faith, which sees what is not, as if it were. He, whose arm is broken, the instrument of working, can no more either hurt another, or help himself. Comp. Psalms 10:15, Psalms 38:14, 1 Samuel 2:31. Ver. 18. The Lord knows the days of the pious, and their inheritance shall be for ever. Ver. 19. They shall not be ashamed in the time of adversity, and in the days of famine they shall be full. With the knowing of the Lord his care is necessarily bound up, comp. on Psalms 1:6. The days are not properly the fates, Arnd: “God knows what shall befal us every day and hour, and causes all things to work together for good to them that love him,” comp. Psalms 31:15, but the days of life themselves. God fulfils in them his promise, “the number of thy days will I make full,” Exodus 23:26, and hears their prayer, “My God take me not away in the midst of my days,” Psalms 102:24. With the preservation of their life, the holding of the inheritance is placed in connection. The for evermore does not carry a respect to a future life, to which the mention of the inheritance, according to Old Testament phraseology, is unsuitable. It is to be explained in this way, that the Psalmist here primarily marks the inheritance of the righteous as a lasting one, notwithstanding the attacks of the ungodly; these shall not be able for ever to wrest it from them. Hence the pious is not to be thought of merely as an individual. Arnd: “Many and great goods are often scattered like the chaff by the wind, and there is no blessing and prosperity with them. On the other hand, small possessions, which are held with God and uprightness, remain and go with God’s blessing to posterity.” But the Christian, when he hears of the eternal inheritance, must certainly think before all of “the inheritance incorruptible, undefiled, and unfading, which is reserved in heaven,” 1 Peter 1:4, the assurance of which is contained in this passage in the spirit, if not in the letter. On Psalms 37:19 comp. Psalms 33:19. Ver. 20. For the wicked shall perish, and the enemies of the Lord vanish away as the joy of lambs, as smoke they vanish. The for is here quite in its place. The prosperity of the wicked as a matter-of-fact testimony against the divine righteousness, appears to overthrow the truth of what has been said in the preceding context upon the prosperity of the righteous. The Psalmist here, while he removes that objection out of the way, lays the ground of his foregoing principle. But, in another point of view also, in so far as life and property are endangered to the righteous by the wicked, the destruction of the latter is necessarily implied in the salvation of the former, and the for in that way appears suitable. ιְ ?χַ ?ψ is stat. constr. of the adj. ιָ ?χָ ?ψ. The precious of lambs is not their fat, nor is it their wool, but their fine grass, the beautiful green of their pasture, agreeably to a great many other passages, in which the grass is employed as an image of evanescence, and in particular of the evanescent prosperity of the wicked, comp. here Psalms 37:2. Many expositors after Luther take λψιν in the sense of pastures: the excellent of pastures, for, their excellent grass. But that meaning is not rendered certain by the two passages, in which confirmation is sought for it. In Isaiah 30:23, we are to render: the lambs spread themselves forth, and in Psalms 65:13 : the pastures clothe themselves with flocks. The expression: in smoke—a second independent image—is as to meaning the same with, as smoke, comp. Psalms 102:3. But, grammatically, we must explain, as (spiritual) smoke, comp. Ew. Small Gr. § 521. The combination of the two images, carries, perhaps, a reference to the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, the great type of all judgments upon the ungodly. Arnd: “The land was a pleasure-garden of the Lord (comp. Genesis 13:10, according to which the district was particularly rich in excellent pasture,) but on account of its great wickedness, the Lord destroyed the whole region with fire and brimstone from heaven, so that a smoke rose up as from an oven,” comp. Genesis 19. Ver. 21. The wicked borrows and repays not, and the righteous is compassionate and lends. Ver. 22. For his blessed ones inherit the land, and his cursed ones shall be cut off. The sense of Psa 37:21 is: the wicked, overtaken by the divine punishment, cannot even restore what he has borrowed; the righteous, on the other hand, preserved by God and blessed, has the means of showing himself beneficent. Quite unsuitably most take the not paying of the wicked, and the lending of the righteous, in a moral point of view. This would not accord with the whole theme of the Psalm, nor even with the immediately succeeding context in Psalms 37:22. This would not, then, as the for demands, present the ground of what is said in Psalms 37:21. Also in the parall. pass. Psalms 37:26, is that exposition unsuitable. And, finally, it is disproved by the original declarations in the Pent. such as Deuteronomy 15:6, “For the Lord thy God blesseth thee, as he promised thee, and thou shalt lend unto many nations, but thou shalt not borrow,” Deuteronomy 28:14, Deuteronomy 28:44. The suff. in Psalms 37:22 refer to the Lord, of whom each was naturally thinking, so that there was no need of any further designation. Ver. 23. By the Lord is a man's course ordered, and he has pleasure in his way. Ver. 24. If he falls, he will not be laid prostrate, for the Lord supports his hand. Many would define more closely the גבר: such a man as had hitherto been discours-ed of, the pious. But if it had referred to the pious, the article could not possibly have been awanting; and for taking the as-sertion in a general point of view, we have the parall. pass, Proverbs 20:24, "Man's goings are of the Lord, and man under-stands not his way," and 16:9, "A man's heart deviseth his way, but the Lord directeth his steps." We shall find no need for taking refuge in this violent exposition, if we only give up the supposition, that the two members of the verse stand in synonymous parallelism: "It is in no man's power to bring hiswork to a prosperous issue, from God comes salvation and bless-ing," and God has pleasure in his, the righteous man's way, in his undertakings and concerns, so that he cannot but succeed and prosper.-The difference between falling and being pros-trated, is that of misfortune or loss, and ruin. The hand is named, because the fallen need it in order to get up again. Luther: "Thus the spirit comforts and answers the secret thoughts, which every one might have, saying with himself: I have, however, seen it happen, that the righteous is oppressed, and his cause is trodden in the dust by the wicked. Nay, he replies, dear child, let it be so, that he falls; he still cannot re-main lying thus and be cast away; he must be up again, al-though all the world doubts of it. For God catches him by the hand, and raises him again."Ver. 25. I have been young and am become old, and still have never seen the righteous forsaken, or his seed going after bread. Ver. 26. Always does he shew himself compassionate, and lends, and his seed will be blessed. That the Psalmist had composed this Psalm in advanced life, we are not to conclude from his speaking here of his having been young, and being now old. In unison with the whole character of the Psalm, throughout which the father speaks to his children, the person of the ex-perienced old man may have been assumed by a poetical figure; and that this was really the case, is rendered probable by the circumstance, that the Psalm nowhere else possesses an indivi-dual character. It is to be understood of itself, that the dis-course is here of continued desertion and destitution. David himself had often to complain that the Lord had forgotten him, he had in his poverty to beseech the rich Nabal for bread, and the object of the Psalm is precisely to meet the temptation, which grows up to the righteous from temporary desertion. Then it is not to be overlooked, that the experience which the Psalm-ist here utters, is primarily an Old Testament one. (Complete impoverishment belonged to the punishments which were threatened to the impious transgressors of the law, comp. Deuteronomy 28:38, ss.) It is not to be doubted, that God, while he withheld from the righteous of the Old Covenant, any clear in-sight into a future state of being, on that very account unfolded his righteousness the more distinctly in his dealings towards them during this life, so that they might not err concerning it. Still we must beware of carrying the distinction in this respectbetween the Old and New Covenant too far. He, who seeksfirst the kingdom of God, shall have all other things given to him.Godliness has promises not merely for the future, but also forthe present life. But what is the main point, is: the Lord hascommanded us to ask our daily bread. Every command issuedby the Lord is at the same time a promise. He enjoins us topray only for that, which he certainly and without exceptionwill grant, (i. e. without any exception, which really deservesthe name; the man, from whom he withholds the earthly bread,and feeds the more plentifully with heavenly food, so thathe is not conscious of the deficiency as a want, has notprayed in vain: Give us this day our daily bread.) But, ifon this side we are poorer than the members of the Old Covenant, we are so only because on the other side we are rich-or. What appeared to the members of the Old Covenant as acontinued desertion, presents itself to us, who can see with quiteother eyes, the end of this life, only as a passing one, and, be-sides, the Spirit of Christ can so mightily console and quickenus, that the failure in temporal things presses little upon us.But still, the more that a believer of the New Covenant placeshimself upon the footing of the Old, so much the more securelymust he confide, that God will not for a continuance abandonhim in regard also to temporal things. The Berleb. Bible:"God gives not the spiritual only, but also the bodily, and theunrighteousness is not to be borne, which one perpetrates on God,when one thinks, that he sooner abandons those, who surrenderthemselves to him, and place all their hope and confidence inhim, than others.-God has certainly no delight in this, that evena little worm should die of hunger, or a sparrow fall to theground. How can he then allow his children to perish? This is not to be believed of him; it is too dishonourable to him.- Let us then take good heed how we stand in this respect andlive before God: whether we have so much faith, that we cantrust in him only for a piece of bread, and whether we can givehim credit for so much wisdom, and power, and faithfulness,that he will assist and care for us in righteous concerns, andmaintain his work itself." Ver. 25. I have been young and am become old, and still have never seen the righteous forsaken, or his seed going after bread. Ver. 26. Always does he shew himself compassionate, and lends, and his seed will be blessed. That the Psalmist had composed this Psalm in advanced life, we are not to conclude from his speaking here of his having been young, and being now old. In unison with the whole character of the Psalm, throughout which the father speaks to his children, the person of the experienced old man may have been assumed by a poetical figure; and that this was really the case, is rendered probable by the circumstance, that the Psalm nowhere else possesses an individual character. It is the same as: a man may be old and yet never see. It is to be understood of itself, that the discourse is here of continued desertion and destitution. David himself had often to complain that the Lord had forgotten him, he had in his poverty to beseech the rich Nabal for bread, and the object of the Psalm is precisely to meet the temptation, which grows up to the righteous from temporary desertion. Then it is not to be overlooked, that the experience which the Psalmist here utters, is primarily an Old Testament one. (Complete impoverishment belonged to the punishments which were threatened to the impious transgressors of the law, comp. Deuteronomy 28:38, ss.) It is not to be doubted, that God, while he withheld from the righteous of the Old Covenant, a clear insight into a future state of being, on that very account unfolded his righteousness the more distinctly in his dealings towards them during this life, so that they might not err concerning it. Still we must beware of carrying the distinction in this respect between the Old and New Covenant too far. He, who seeks first the kingdom of God, shall have all other things given to him. Godliness has promises not merely for the future, but also for the present life. But what is the main point, is: the Lord has commanded us to ask our daily bread. Every command issued by the Lord is at the same time a promise. He enjoins us to pray only for that, which he certainly and without exception will grant, (i.e. without any exception, which really deserves the name; the man, from whom he withholds the earthly bread, and feeds the more plentifully with heavenly food, so that he is not conscious of the deficiency as a want, has not prayed in vain: Give us this day our daily bread.) But, if on this side we are poorer than the members of the Old Covenant, we are so only because on the other side we are richer. What appeared to the members of the Old Covenant as a continued desertion, presents itself to us, who can see with quite other eyes, the end of this life, only as a passing one, and, besides, the Spirit of Christ can so mightily console and quicken us, that the failure in temporal things presses little upon us. But still, the more that a believer of the New Covenant places himself upon the footing of the Old, so much the more securely must he confide, that God will not for a continuance abandon him in regard also to temporal things. The Berleb. Bible: “God gives not the spiritual only, but also the bodily, and the unrighteousness is not to be borne, which one perpetrates on God, when one thinks, that he sooner abandons those, who surrender themselves to him, and place all their hope and confidence in him, than others. God has certainly no delight in this, that even a little worm should die of hunger, or a sparrow fall to the ground. How can he then allow his children to perish? This is not to be believed of him; it is too dishonourable to him. Let us then take good heed how we stand in this respect and live before God: whether we have so much faith, that we can trust in him only for a piece of bread, and whether we can give him credit for so much wisdom, and power, and faithfulness, that he will assist and care for us in righteous concerns, and maintain his work itself.” Ver. 27. Depart from evil and do good, so shalt thou dwell forevermore. Ver. 28. For the Lord loves judgment, and forsakesnot his saints, they are preserved for ever, but the seed of the wicked shall be cut off. Ver. 29. The righteous inherit the land,and dwell therein for ever. It is evident both from the לעולם, and also from the two following verses, that the imperative dwell stands in the promissory sense, as in ver. 3 and 4, q. d. so shalt thou dwell, namely, in the land of the Lord, with allusion to the formula in the Pent., "that thy days may be long in the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee," and that we are not to explain with several commentators: remain always at rest. The unsuccessful attempts to press into the Psalm an ain-strophe, we pass over, since the foundation of them has been taken away by what has been already remarked in the introduction. On the expression; the seed of the wicked shall be cut off, the Berleb Bible remarks: "This is deeply grounded in the divine right-eousness, imprinted thence upon the hearts of men, and as with terrible griphins guarded, that no wickedness can remain un-punished, and that the ungodly shall infallibly come to a miser-able end. If such perdition does not always meet the bodily eye or sense, still every thing is only contributing to their deep-er ruin. For the destruction of their poor souls is certainly much more dreadful before God."Ver. 30. The mouth of the righteous speaks wisdom, and his tongue utters judgment. Ver. 31. The law of his God is in his heart, his steps totter not. The Psalmist had given to the right-eous very rich consolation, very beautiful promises. But now, that these might not be torn from those, to whom they properly belonged, that every one might prove himself whether he had any thing more than the name of a righteous person, he here encloses the characteristic of the righteous. The expression: his steps totter not, is, q. d. he advances steadily forward in the good path. The two verses contain again the three-fold division of the decalogue. Ver. 30 refers to the speech, the second half of ver. 31 to the actions, and in the midst of the two stands the heart.Ver. 32. The wicked lurks for the righteous and seeks to kill him. Ver. 33. The Lord leaves him not in his hand, and con-demns him not when he is judged. ירשיענו, which must not be rendered: he pronounces him guilty, shows that the discourse here is not of a human judgment, (it is rather a judgment stand-ing in contrast to this), that the matter between the pious and the ungodly is represented under the image of a controversy, in which God sits for judgment. Arnd: "The whole church of God, all Christians were, in the times of Maximin and Hadrian, putto the ban and exiled, hence Tertullian wrote an apology for the Christians to the Emperor, and comforted the Christians by saying "Si condenummur a mundo, absolvimur a deo."Ver. 34. Wait upon the Lord, and keep his way, so will he exalt thee to possess the land, the extirpation of the wicked thou, shalt see. The way of God, the way which God wills that men should go in, which he has prescribed to them in his law.Ver. 35. I saw a wicked one, who was insolent, and spread himself forth like a tree green and deep-rooted. Ver. 36. And he passed away, and lo he was no more, and I sought him and he was not found. עריץ, fearful, powerful, has commonly the related idea of violence. But this is not here the predominating one. We must translate: I saw a wicked one fearful, not a ty-rannical wicked one. For the word manifestly stands in a simi-lar relation to the: spreading himself. The indigenous is a tree, which has never been taken out of its native soil, and trans-planted. Such an one is peculiarly strong. אזרה is elsewhere also used of persons, viewed as opposed to enemies, who have no firm root of being in the land. Also we are not here to sup-ply tree in a proverbial way, but rather the never transplanted tree appears under the image of one inborn. We must render: as an indigenous one, a green one.-There is no reason for trans-lating: one passed by, for he passed by, he vanished away. The lo! is also quite suitable to the most natural construction. Berleb. Bible: "which points as with the finger of astonishment to that quick disappearance." On the expression: I sought him, it further remarks: "I could scarcely believe it, that the man, who so shortly before had made so great a figure, must al-ready come to nothing, so that I cast about for him in every direction." Though David in this Psalm speaks not so much from his person, as from his nature, yet undoubtedly in this verse he had the image of Saul swimming before his eyes.Ver. 37. Mark the perfect and behold the upright, for a futurity has the man of peace. Ver. 38. And the impious are extirpated together, the futurity of the wicked is cut off. The Psalmist confidently demands, that people would observe the fate of the righteous; for experience will only confirm his posi-tion, that it goes well with him at last. Several, after Luther: continue pious and hold thyself right; but תם and ישר never stand as abstracts, ראה cannot signify: to be diligent in a mat-ter, and: mark and see, manifestly point here to the: I saw, inthe preceding verse.-Then several expound: for posterity has the man of peace; others: for the end of such a man is peace; but the "many-meaning" אהרית has only the one signification of the end, and, in particular, never means posterity, (see on Balaam, p. 158, ss.) and לאיש, cannot possibly signify: such a man, and must hence of necessity be joined in stat. constr. withשלום (LXX. ἀםטסώנῳ וἱסחםיךῳ, Vulg. homini pacifico.) The manof peace, the meek, ver. 11, who is not inflamed against the wicked, ver. 1, has an end, a future, whilst the wicked, who are carried off in the midst of their days, (comp. on Ps. Iv. 23), are violently robbed of the end or future.Ver. 39. And the salvation of the righteous comes from the Lord, who is their security in the time of distress. Ver. 40. And the Lord helps them and delivers them, delivers them from the wicked, and saves them, for they trust in him. The ו placed be- fore the ת announces this strophe as the sum of the whole, מעוזם is appos. to Jehovah. On the words: he delivers them from the wicked, Luther remarks: "And that it might displease the ungodly he mentions them by name, and says, he will deliver them from the ungodly, whatever pain it may occasion them; and their fury can be of no avail to them, although they think, the righteous cannot escape from them, he must be extirpated." On the words: they trust in him, John Arnd: "Ah! says he, God cannot, and will not leave them, without rewarding their fidelity and confidence, else were he not faithful, not righteous, not true to his word." Luther closes his exposition of the Psalm with the words “Oh shame on our faithlessness, mistrust, and vile unbelief, that we do not believe such rich, powerful, consolatory declarations of God, and take up so readily with little grounds of offence, whenever we but hear the wicked speeches of the ungodly, Help, O God, that we may once attain to right faith. Amen.” Ver. 30. The mouth of the righteous speaks wisdom, and his tongue utters judgment. Ver. 31. The law of his God is in his heart, his steps totter not. The Psalmist had given to the righteous very rich consolation, very beautiful promises. But now, that these might not be torn from those, to whom they properly belonged, that every one might prove himself whether he had any thing more than the name of a righteous person, he here encloses the characteristic of the righteous. The expression: his steps totter not, is, q. d. he advances steadily forward in the good path. The two verses contain again the three-fold division of the decalogue. Psalms 37:30 refers to the speech, the second half of Psa 37:31 to the actions, and in the midst of the two stands the heart, as the fountain from which both streams flow. Ver. 32. The wicked lurks for the righteous and seeks to kill him. Ver. 33. The Lord leaves him not in his hand, and condemns him not when he is judged. ιψωιςπε, which must not be rendered: he pronounces him guilty, shows that the discourse here is not of a human judgment, (it is rather a judgment standing in contrast to this), that the matter between the pious and the ungodly is represented under the image of a law suit, in which God sits for judgment. Arnd: “The whole church of God, all Christians were, in the times of Maximin and Hadrian, put to the ban and exiled, hence Tertullian wrote an apology for the Christians to the Emperor, and comforted the Christians by saying “Si condemnamur a mundo, absolvimur a deo.” Ver. 34. Wait upon the Lord, and keep his way, so will he exalt thee to possess the land, the extirpation of the wicked thou shalt see. The conclusion begins with this verse, in which the hortatory character of the introduction returns. The two imperatives sum up in one the commandments of the first and second tables: be pious and be just. The way of God, the way which God wills that men should go in, which he has prescribed to them in his law. Ver. 35. I saw a wicked one, who was insolent, and spread himself forth like a tree green and deep-rooted. Ver. 36. And he passed away, and lo! he was no more, and I sought him and he was not found. ςψιυ, fearful, powerful, has commonly the related idea of violence. But this is not here the predominating one. We must translate: I saw a wicked one fearful, not a tyrannical wicked one. For the word manifestly stands in a similar relation to the: spreading himself. The indigenous is a tree, which has never been taken out of its native soil, and transplanted. Such an one is peculiarly strong. ΰζψη is elsewhere also used of persons, in contradistinction to a stranger, who have no firm root of being in the land. Also we are not here to supply the word tree, but rather the never transplanted tree appears under the image of one inborn. We must render: as an indigenous one, a green one. There is no reason for translating: one passed by, for he passed by, he vanished away. The lo! suits quite well to the most natural explanation. Berleb. Bible: “which points as with the finger of astonishment to that quick disappearance.” On the expression: I sought him, it further remarks: “I could scarcely believe it, that the man, who so shortly before had made so great a figure, must already come to nothing, so that I cast about for him in every direction.” Though David in this Psalm speaks not so much from his person, as from that of the sage, yet undoubtedly in this verse he had the image of Saul swimming before his eyes. Ver. 37. Mark the perfect and behold the upright, for a futurity has the man of peace. Ver. 38. And the impious are extirpated together, the futurity of the wicked is cut off. The Psalmist confidently demands, that people would observe the fate of the righteous; for experience will only confirm his position, that it goes well with him at last. Many, after Luther, continue pious and hold thyself right; but ϊν and ιωψ never stand as abstracts, ψΰδ cannot signify: to be diligent in a matter, and: mark and see, manifestly point here to the: I saw, in the preceding verse. Then several expound: for the man of peace has posterity; others: for the end of such a man is peace; but the “many-meaning” ΰηψιϊ has only the one signification of the end, and, in particular, never means posterity, (see on Balaam, p. 158, ss.) and μΰιω cannot possibly signify: such a man, and must hence of necessity be joined in stat. constr. with ωμεν (LXX. ἀνθρώπῳεἰρηνικῶ ?ͅ ?, Vulg. homini pacifico.) The man of peace, the meek, Psalms 37:11, who is not inflamed against the wicked, ver. 1, has an end, a future, whilst the wicked, who are carried off in the midst of their days, (comp. on Psalms 55:23), are violently robbed of the end or future. Ver. 39. And the salvation of the righteous comes from the Lord, who is their security in the time of distress. Ver. 40. And the Lord helps them and delivers them, delivers them from the wicked, and saves them, for they trust in him. The ε placed before the ϊ announces this strophe as the sum of the whole, ξςεζν is appos. to Jehovah. On the words: he delivers them from the wicked, Luther remarks: “And that it might annoy the ungodly he mentions them by name, and says, he will deliver them from the ungodly, whatever pain it may occasion them; and their fury can be of no avail to them, although they think, the righteous cannot escape from them, he must be extirpated.” On the words: they trust in him, John Arnd: “Ah! says he, God cannot, and will not leave them, without rewarding their fidelity and confidence, else were he not faithful, not righteous, not true to his word.” Luther closes his exposition of the Psalm with the words “Oh shame on our faithlessness, mistrust, and vile unbelief, that we do not believe such rich, powerful, consolatory declarations of God, and take up so readily with little grounds of offence, whenever we but hear the wicked speeches of the ungodly, Help, O God, that we may once attain to right faith. Amen.” Psalms 38. THIS Psalm discovers in its commencement a near relation to the sixth, and in its close a near relation to the twenty-second. The coincidences with these Psalms are too literal to be acci-dental, and just as little could they originate in unintentional reminiscence. The contrary is evident from their occurringprecisely at the commencement and the close, and from the entirely original and independent character which the Psalm possesses. The Psalmist begins with a prayer to the Lord, that he would not further punish him in anger, and rests this prayer on the circumstance, that it had already been carried to an extreme with him, that the time had now come, when, with the righteous, love must necessarily take the place of anger, deliverance of punishment. This delineation of the suffering of the Psalmist is given in two sections. In the first, ver. 2-8, he complains, after having spoken in the general of God's hand lying heavy upon him, in enlargement of the statement, that there is no sal-vation in his flesh, with which begins ver. 3, and with which he concludes ver. 7, upon his miserable bodily condition, and then upon the deep distress of his soul. In the second, ver. 9-12, he points, after the introductory words in ver. 9, first again to the mournful situation in which he found himself, ver. 10, and then goes more deeply into the external distress, by which he was surrounded, as being completely abandoned by his friends, and left to enemies, who were eagerly bent on compassing his destruction, ver. 12. After this representation of the greatness of his sufferings, there follows in ver. 13-15 the protestation that he possessed the indispensable condition of the divine help, -patience, the still and devoted waiting upon God; and while showing how much he had cause to wait upon God, how much he stood. in need of God's help, he here takes a new glance in ver. 16-20, at his sufferings, and gives a brief delineation of them: he has attained to the painful consciousness of his sins, and he is threatened with destruction by his numerous and power-ful enemies, who persecute him, because he strives after what is good. In the conclusion, ver. 21, 22, the prayer is raised on the ground thus laid, that God would not forsake him, but would make haste to help him. The Psalm is alphabetical as to its number, that is, the num-ber of its verses coincides with that of the letters of the alpha-bet. It is in allusion to this alphabetical character, that in the two concluding verses three members make the last letter of thealphabet follow the first, תעזבני אל, etc. Along with the al-phabet, the number ten, as very often happens, is of importance. The main subject occupies twenty verses, followed by a conclu-sion of two. (Of course this supposes the superscription to be a part of the Psalm.) Of any particular occasion there is found no trace in the Psalm. What at first sight seems to point to this, is soon discerned by the experienced sense to be a mere individualizing, and rather concludes the other way. The alphabetical arrangement already makes it probable, that the Psalmist speaks from the person of the righteous. According to many expositors, the situation must be of a sick person, according to several, that specially of a leper, who at the same time is pressed by enemies, and indeed so, that the sick-ness is the Psalmist's chief cause of suffering. But there are decisive grounds for holding, that the proper, the alone suffer-ings of the Psalmist, stood in the assaults of the wicked, and that the bodily prostration of which he complains, was only oc-casioned by these. As soon as it is perceived, that the Psalm did not originate in any particular occasion, it must from the first appear improbable, that a double and quite separate cause of suffering should exist; and this being the case, we can have no difficulty in concluding, that the sickness may very well have been the consequence of the assaults, but not the reverse; first, because in all the afflictions of the Psalms generally, and in par-ticular, of the Psalms of David, those occasioned by the assaults of the wicked come out so prominently, then, from the analogy of so many Psalms, in which the wretched bodily state appears as the result of the assaults, but especially from Psalms 6:6; Psalms 6:22 :to which the author has himself referred us,-which together shut us up to the conclusion, that the assaults were the proper and only sufferings. Further, in the resumed survey taken of the sufferings in ver. 18-20, the sickness is entirely omitted; there are first only on the one hand, the consciousness of sin, and, on the other, the malice of enemies. Finally, the prayer at the close does not plead for salvation, but only for help and assistance, according to the customary language of the Psalmist, against the enemies, clearly manifesting that neither sickness, nor the painful conviction of sin, was the original cause of his sufferings,-that these were to be considered merely as the ef-fects of hostile oppression, which should vanish along with their cause. The following view of the situation hence presents itself as the correct one. The Psalmist, or he, in whose name he speaks, towhom he offers weapons, with which he can prevail in the contest, is hard pressed by ungodly enemies. The sting of his pain in this temptation is the consideration, perpetually true in itself, and, in the Old Testament especially, distinctly announced, that there is no suffering without sin, or that all suffering is punishment, sees in his enemies so many accusers sent against him by God, and in their superior power a testimony that God was visiting for his sins, which appear to him now in a very different light from what they had done during his prosperity. What he could easily have borne otherwise, prostrates him when so con-sidered, both in body and soul. In his distress he turns himself to the Lord, with a prayer for deliverance from his enemies, which, at the same time, implies the forgiveness of his sins, and consequently his suffering was removed.A Psalm of David for remembrance. The person who is to be put in remembrance by the Psalm, is not, as is generally sup-posed, the Psalmist himself, or the whole church, but God, who seemed to have forgotten the Psalmist. Several expound: to praise the Lord, with an allusion to 1 Chronicles 16:4. But הזכיר always signifies only to mention, never to praise, comp. on Psalms 20:7, and for the same reason in the passage of Chroni-cles referred to, according to which the business of the Leviticalsingers stood in this, ולהלל ולהודות ולהזכיר, to remember, and to praise, and to extol, the הזיכר can only form the anti-thesis to the two other verbs, to which also the prefixed ו points. The Levites had partly to sing the songs of lamentation and prayer, and partly also those of praise and thanksgiving. The exposition: for remembrance, is confirmed also by the subject of the two Psalms, which have this in the superscription, where-in it is to be noted, that in Psalms 70. the superscription thus in-dicated is the more remarkable, since that Psalm contains pre-cisely the complaining and supplicating part of Psalms 40. with the exclusion of the praising and extolling part: and then by the connection with the אזכרה, remembrance-offerings, offerings through which God was brought by his people into remembrance, to which להזכיר probably alludes, comp. Psalms 141:2, Revelation 8:4, where the prayers of the saints appear as a spiritual incense andremembrance-offering. The opposite is לתודה, for praise, in Psalms 100:1. This superscription of itself contains a hortatory ele-ment. When God appears to have forgotten us, we must re-member him: the earnest prayer to God for help is the only and the sure means of attaining this. Ver. I. Lord, punish me not in thy rage, and chasten me not in thine indignation. It was already shown in Psalms 6:1, that the contrast is not that of chastisement in love against chastisement in anger, but that of the desired deliverance against chastisement, which always proceeds from the principle of anger.-In what follows, the Psalmist gives the ground, upon which his prayer for deliverance rests. The burden of his suffering is so great, that though he must bear it, yet God cannot permit his own to be destroyed.Ver. 2. For thine arrows stick in me, and over me came thy hand. נהתו, the Niph, found only here, of נהת, to go down. בי, not upon, but in me. The arrows denote the chastisements of sin, depending on God. Hitzig maintains arbitrarily, that by the arrows only a particular form of these is to be understood, sickness; the reverse of which is shown by the original passage, Deuteronomy 32:23, where "I will send all my arrows against them," stands in parallel, with, "I will heap mischiefs upon them," and where presently hunger, burning, disease, are particularly named. Then also, in the very passage upon which Hitzig rests his view, Job 6:4, "The arrows of the Almighty are in me, their poison drinketh up my spirit," the arrows denote the whole suffering which Job had already experienced, not merely his bodily sickness, but also the loss of his children and his sub-stance, the cooled love of his friends, and even of his wife.-For the second member compare Psalms 32:4; Psalms 39:10.-The gene-ral is followed by the particular; the Psalmist represents to God, in detail, the mournful condition in which lie was placed, in order to move him to compassion.Ver. 3. There is no salvation in my flesh because of thine anger, there is no peace in my bones because of my sins. Ver. 4. For my iniquities go over my head, as a heavy burden they are too heavy for me. The Psalmist begins with the mournful state of his body. מתם from תמם, without injury, soundness, does not stand as an abstr. for conc., but we must translate literally: not is soundness in my flesh. This is shown by the parallel, not is peace: to my flesh is unsoundness, (and therefore) from my bones peace is far, (the violent pain presses through marrow and bone.) The anger of God is in so far the cause of the mournful bodily condition, as it hangs the infliction of enemiesover the Psalmist, sins, in so far as they provoke that anger, q. d.because of the hostile assault, in which I recognize the expres-sion of thine anger, the punishment of my sins. What is simply indicated in the expressions: because of thy anger, because of my sins, is more fully carried out in ver, 4. The transgressions of the Psalmist bear upon him in their consequences with insup- portable weight, comp. Psalms 40:12, "for innumerable evils have compassed me about, mine iniquities have taken hold on me." In the expression: they go over my head, the image is taken from billows: they flow over me like one who is nigh to drown-ing, Psalms 124:4.Ver. 5. They are corrupt, my sores fester because of my folly. מקק in Niph. to melt, here of the sores, which dissolve into a boil. The verse is not to be taken figuratively indeed, but as an individualizing mark of the state of bodily dissolution, in which the Psalmist was placed, and which might also manifest itself in other forms under certain circumstances. Folly here indicates a bedimming of the understanding, in an ethical point of view, comp. on Psalms 14:1. It is to be considered, not as the immediate, but as the primary cause of the miserable bodily condition. The folly has called forth the punishment of hostile oppression, and through grief on account of this did the Psalmist become so much the more corporeally wretched, as he could only recognize in it the chastisement of his folly. That the im-mediate cause is the hostile oppression, appears from the com-parison of Psa 31:9; Psalms 31:10. The extraordinary agreement of Isa 1:6, with this verse must be the less accidental as מתם also occurs there, which is nowhere besides found, excepting here in ver. 3 and 7. Isaiah has employed what is here an individu-alizing description, as an image of the mournful condition into which the people had fallen by their sins. In this allusion there is found a confirmation of the superscription, as referring the Psalm to David.Ver. 6. I am beside myself, bowed down very much, continu-ally do I go in sadness. Ver. 7. For my loins are quite dried up, and there is no soundness in my flesh. The Niphil of עוה occurs in Isaiah 21:3, in parallel. with being horrified, elsewhere of moral perverseness. It is here just our: being crazy. The Psalmist's pains rob him of all recollection. The commonly re-ceived signification: to be crooked, bowed down, has no sure foundation, Upon שהותי and קדר comp. on Psalms 35:14.The first member of ver. 7, literally: for my loins are full of the dried, assigns as a reason for the distress of the Psalmist, his bodily emaciation, comp. on Psalms 22:17. The loins are espe-cially named, from being a chief seat of fat in the healthy, comp. on Job 15:27. The exposition which is now current: my bowels are full of fever-burning, deserves rejection on every account. As there are words on both sides of the expression; soundness is not in my flesh, which are designed for an expansion of its meaning, they can only refer to the external state of the body;for the loins the bowels are arbitrarily substituted; קלה signi-fies not to burn, but to roast, dry up; the burnt, or more pro-perly, the dried, cannot stand for the burning. In the expres-sion: there is not soundness, &c., the representation turns back to the commencement, and so rounds itself off.Ver. 8. I am very feeble and sore broken, I howl from the groanings of my heart. פוג to be cold, stiff, dead. נהם signi-fies not less than שאג, to roar, and instead of נהמת there might have been שאגת. The emphasis lies upon the words: of my heart. The bodily cry of the Psalmist is only a witness of the spiritual. In his inmost heart pain was raging. The re-presentation of the Psalmist has here reached its acme; he in-dulges himself in a moment's rest, and then proceeds more softly. The first section is completed in the number seven, and the seven is so divided, that two strophes, each of two verses, have before, after, and in the middle of them, a strophe of one verse. The main burden, the representation of the bodily distress, ver. 3-7, which rounds off through the resemblance of the beginning and the close, and by its having five as the number of its verses, points to a fourth addition, is hemmed in at the beginning and the close by a general subject. The second section, ver. 9-12, is comprized, if we except ver. 9, which bears entirely the character of an introduction, in the number three, and in such a way, indeed, that each verse contains a separate deline-ation of the Psalmist's suffering. If we reckon together the seven verses of the first, and the three verses of the second period, the whole representation of his sufferings will be con-tained in the number ten.Ver. 9. O Lord, all my desire is before thee, and my sighing is not hid from thee. The Psalmist had, at the close of the pre-ceding period, painted his affliction in such a manner, that if be had to do with a human friend, there would very naturallyhave been the suspicion of colouring. Hence, before he pro-ceeds farther in his lamentations, he appeals to the omniscience of God, who would bear him witness, that the strongest language he could use to express his misery, and the earnest desire of his heart after help, far from exceeding the reality, still fell short of it--q. d. Thou knowest how great my suffering is, and that I am not magnifying it to thee, in order to move thy compassion.The verse has for all sufferers the import of an impressive ad-monition, not to seek help from God for pretended or imaginary sufferings, and in their complaints not to go beyond the mea-sure which the occasion itself warrants. The help of God, the omniscient, directs itself, not according to the greatness of the lamentation, but according to the greatness of the suffering.Ver. 10. My heart beats, my strength has left me, and the light of my eyes, even that is not with me. Upon the light of the eyes, comp. on Psalms 13:3. The words are in nomin. absol. The expression: even they are not with me, instead of what we would have expected; even that is not with me, occa-sion no difficulty. If the glance of the eyes has gone, they themselves are at the same time gone too; for it is that, which makes the eye what it properly is. The lamentation upon the inward distress, that is, upon the sad condition in which he was placed as to soul and body, produced by the attacks of his ene-mies, the Psalmist now follows up by the complaint upon what was merely external, first, the faithlessness of his friends, then at the close, that, from which all the rest proceeded, the malice of his enemies. Ver. 2. For thine arrows stick in me, and over me came thy hand. πηϊε, the Niph, found only here, of πηϊ, to go down. αι, not upon, but in me. The arrows denote the chastisements of sin, depending on God. Hitzig maintains arbitrarily, that by the arrows only a particular form of these is to be understood, sickness; the reverse of which is shown by the original passage, Deuteronomy 32:23, where “I will send all my arrows against them,” stands in parallel, with, “I will heap mischiefs upon them,” and where presently hunger, burning, disease, are particularly named. Then also, in the very passage upon which Hitzig rests his view, Job 6:4, “The arrows of the Almighty are in me, their poison drinketh up my spirit,” the arrows denote the whole suffering which Job had already experienced, not merely his bodily sickness, but also the loss of his children and his substance, the cooled love of his friends, and even of his wife. For the second member compare Psalms 32:4, Psalms 39:10. The general is followed by the particular; the Psalmist represents to God, in detail, the mournful condition in which lie was placed, in order to move him to compassion. Ver. 3. There is no salvation in my flesh because of thine anger, there is no peace in my bones because of my sins. Ver. 4. For my iniquities go over my head, as a heavy burden they are too heavy for me. The Psalmist begins with the mournful state of his body. ξϊν from ϊξν, without injury, soundness, does not stand as an abstr. for conc., but we must translate literally: not is soundness in my flesh. This is shown by the parallel, “not is peace:” to my flesh is unsoundness, (and therefore) from my bones peace is far, (the violent pain presses through marrow and bone.) The anger of God is in so far the cause of the mournful bodily condition, as it hangs the infliction of enemies over the Psalmist, sins, in so far as they provoke that anger, q. d. because of the hostile assault, in which I recognize the expression of thine anger, the punishment of my sins. What is simply indicated in the expressions: because of thy anger, because of my sins, is more fully carried out in Psalms 38:4. The transgressions of the Psalmist bear upon him in their consequences with insupportable weight, comp. Psalms 40:12, “for innumerable evils have compassed me about, mine iniquities have taken hold on me.” In the expression: they go over my head, the image is taken from billows: they flow over me like one who is nigh to drowning, Psalms 124:4. Ver. 5. They are corrupt, my sores fester because of my folly. ξχχ in Niph. to melt, here of the sores, which dissolve into a boil. The verse is not to be taken figuratively indeed, but as an individualizing mark of the state of bodily dissolution, in which the Psalmist was placed, and which might also manifest itself in other forms under certain circumstances. Folly here indicates a bedimming of the understanding, in an ethical point of view, comp. on Psalms 14:1. It is to be considered, not as the immediate, but as the primary cause of the miserable bodily condition. The folly has called forth the punishment of hostile oppression, and through grief on account of this did the Psalmist become so much the more corporeally wretched, as he could only recognize in it the chastisement of his folly. That the immediate cause is the hostile oppression, appears from the comparison of Psa 31:9-10. The extraordinary agreement of Isa 1:6, with this verse must be the less accidental as ξϊν also occurs there, which is nowhere besides found, excepting here in Psalms 38:3 and Psalms 38:7. Isaiah has employed what is here an individualizing description, as an image of the mournful condition into which the people had fallen by their sins. In this allusion there is found a confirmation of the superscription, as referring the Psalm to David. Ver. 6. I am beside myself, bowed down very much, continually do I go in sadness. Ver. 7. For my loins are quite dried up, and there is no soundness in my flesh. The Niphil of ςεδ occurs in Isaiah 21:3, in parallel. with being horrified, elsewhere of moral perverseness. It is here precisely our: being crazy. The Psalmist’s pains rob him of all recollection. The commonly received signification: to be crooked, bowed down, has no sure foundation, Upon ωηεϊι and χγψ comp. on Psalms 35:14. The first member of Psa 38:7, literally: for my loins are full of the dried, assigns as a reason for the distress of the Psalmist, his bodily emaciation, comp. on Psalms 22:17. The loins are especially named, from being a chief seat of fat in the healthy, comp. on Job 15:27. The exposition which is now current: my bowels are full of fever-burning, deserves rejection on every account. As there are words on both sides of the expression; “soundness is not in my flesh,” and are designed for an expansion of its meaning, they can only refer to the external state of the body; for the loins the bowels are arbitrarily substituted; χμδ signifies not to burn, but to roast, dry up; the burnt, or more properly, the dried, cannot stand for the burning. In the expression: there is not soundness, &c., the representation turns back to the commencement, and so rounds itself off. Ver. 8. I am very feeble and sore broken, I howl from the groanings of my heart. τεβ to be cold, stiff, dead. πδν signifies not less than ωΰβ, to roar, and instead of πδξϊ there might have been ωΰβϊ. The emphasis lies upon the words: of my heart. The bodily cry of the Psalmist is only a witness of the spiritual. In his inmost heart pain was raging. The representation of the Psalmist has here reached its acme; he indulges himself in a moment’s rest, and then proceeds more softly. The first section is completed in the number seven, and the seven is so divided, that two strophes, each of two verses, have before, after, and in the middle of them, a strophe of one verse. The main burden, the representation of the bodily distress, Psalms 38:3-7, which rounds off through the resemblance of the beginning and the close, and by its having five as the number of its verses, points to a fourth addition, is hemmed in at the beginning and a close of general import. The second section, Psalms 38:9-12, is comprized, if we except Psalms 38:9, which bears entirely the character of an introduction, in the number three, and in such a way, indeed, that each verse contains a separate delineation of the Psalmist’s suffering. If we reckon together the seven verses of the first, and the three verses of the second period, the whole representation of his sufferings will be contained in the number ten. Ver. 9. O Lord, all my desire is before thee, and my sighing is not hid from thee. The Psalmist had, at the close of the preceding period, painted his affliction in such a manner, that if he had to do with a human friend, there would very naturally have been the suspicion of colouring. Hence, before he proceeds farther in his lamentations, he appeals to the omniscience of God, who would bear him witness, that the strongest language he could use to express his misery, and the earnest desire of his heart after help, far from exceeding the reality, still fell short of it—q. d. Thou knowest how great my suffering is, and that I am not magnifying it to thee, in order to move thy compassion. The verse has for all sufferers the import of an impressive admonition, not to seek help from God for pretended or imaginary sufferings, and in their complaints not to go beyond the measure which the occasion itself warrants. The help of God, the omniscient, directs itself, not according to the greatness of the lamentation, but according to the greatness of the suffering. Ver. 10. My heart beats, my strength has left me, and the light of my eyes, even that is not with me. Upon the light of the eyes, comp. on Psalms 13:3. The words are in nomin. absol. The expression: even they are not with me, instead of what we would have expected; even that is not with me, occasion no difficulty. If the glance of the eyes has gone, they themselves are at the same time gone too; for it is that, which makes the eye what it properly is. The lamentation upon the inward distress, that is, upon the sad condition in which he was placed as to soul and body, produced by the attacks of his enemies, the Psalmist now follows up by the complaint upon what was merely external, first, the faithlessness of his friends, then at the close, that, from which all the rest proceeded, the malice of his enemies. Ver. 11. My lovers and my friends stand over against my stroke, and my neighbours stand afar off: Several: they consider me as one smitten by God, and fear to join themselves in fellow-ship with me. But this is not in the words. These only bring out the deep pain, which is occasioned by those who, when the sore pressure of affliction upon us calls them to come nearer and manifest an active love, by endeavouring, through their compas-sion to alleviate our sufferings; on the contrary, remove farther away, and abandon us to our pain, after the manner of the world, where the prosperous are envied, and the unfortunate forgotten, (comp. on Psalms 27. ver. 10,) whenever there is danger in taking part with a person and acknowledging him. The stroke of the Psalmist consists in the attacks of the enemies, and the devastations in body and soul, which were thereby producedupon him. מנגר over against, so that they do not come close to him. John Arnd.: "This was fully verified in the passion, as the disciples of our Lord were horrified at the stroke, which he had to bear upon the cross. When the same is repeated in our experience, as the holy Job says: my friends are my railers, but mine eye weeps to God, we must console ourselves with the example of the Lord Christ, for the servant cannot be above his Lord; and it will avail for this purpose, if we commit ourselves to no man, nay to no creature, but to our dear Father, Creator, Redeemer, Preserver, whose faithfulness never fails." While the friends are far, the enemies are near.Ver. 12. And they lay snares for me, who pursue after my soul, and they who seek my hurt, speak mischief, and meditate upon deceit perpetually. They speak mischief; not precisely, they concert mischievous plans against me, but, as the two following verses shew, and even the last member of this, they belch out mischievous calumnies against me. In the last member, הגה is better taken in the signification of meditating, than of speaking. For then are deed, word, and thought bound with one another, and we have here a complete counterpart to the decalogue, where prohibition to injure our neighbour, proceeds from deeds to words, (thou must not speak false witness against thy neigh-bour, corresponding to this here: they speak mischief,) and from words to thoughts, (thou shalt not covet.) The greatness of the suffering, however, does not alone suffice as a ground for the servant of the Lord praying for help; the manner in which he has borne these comes also into consideration. Patience, calm surrender is an indispensable condition of deliverance. Among men at large, according as every one seeks to help him-self in passionate excitement by means of words or deeds, (the latter are here particularly pointed to, because the enemies of the Psalmist sought especially by words, by false accusations, to destroy him,) he drives away from him the divine help. Hence, the Psalmist delineates, in ver. 13-15, his patience under the assaults of the enemy, amid which, trusting in God as the judge of his cause, he abstains from every passionate justification, every attempt to maintain by violence his right from those, who can have no ear for a quiet representation of what they are unwill-ing to acknowledge. Ver. 12. And they lay snares for me, who pursue after my soul, and they who seek my hurt, speak mischief, and meditate upon deceit perpetually. They speak mischief; not precisely, they concert mischievous plans against me, but, as the two following verses shew, and even the last member of this, they belch out mischievous calumnies against me. In the last member, äâä is better taken in the signification of meditating, than of speaking. For then are deed, word, and thought bound with one another, and we have here a complete counterpart to the decalogue, where prohibition to injure our neighbour, proceeds from deeds to words, (thou must not speak false witness against thy neighbour, corresponding to this here: they speak mischief,) and from words to thoughts, (thou shalt not covet.) The greatness of the suffering, however, does not alone suffice as a ground for the servant of the Lord praying for help; the manner in which he has borne these comes also into consideration. Patience, calm surrender is an indispensable condition of deliverance. Among men at large, according as every one seeks to help himself in passionate excitement by means of words or deeds, (the latter are here particularly pointed to, because the enemies of the Psalmist sought especially by words, by false accusations, to destroy him,) he drives away from him the divine help. Hence, the Psalmist delineates, in Psalms 38:13-15, his patience under the assaults of the enemy, amid which, trusting in God as the judge of his cause, he abstains from every passionate justification, every attempt to maintain by violence his right from those, who can have no ear for a quiet representation of what they are unwilling to acknowledge. Ver. 13. And as a deaf man, hear not, and I am as a dumb man, who opens not his mouth. Ver. 14. And I am as a manthat hears not, and who has no replies in his mouth. Ver. 15.For upon thee, O Lord, do I hope; thou wilt answer, O Lord my God. John Arnd: "This was peculiarly, and in the high- est sense fulfilled in our Lord Jesus Christ, since he answered.nothing to his calumniators and accusers during his holy pas-sion, but remained silent as a lamb that is led to the slaughter,and as a sheep that is dumb before his shearers and openethnot his mouth, (comp. Matthew 26:62; Matthew 26:63. John 19:9.) Thiswe must also learn to practise: in stillness and confidence isyour strength, Isaiah 30." For the expression as a dumb man,we are to supply from the special: I hear, the general: I be-have myself. It may be explained from 1 Samuel 10:27, where itis said of Saul, when he was taunted by wicked men, "And hewas as one silent." Luther, in rendering: "but I must be as aowing deaf man and hear not," etc., missed the right sense. Accord-ing to him, ver. 13 and 14 describe, not the patience of thePsalmist, but the shamelessness of his enemies, who would notpermit him to speak. Ver. 14 is in substance not differentfrom ver. 13. The apparent tautology is justified by the endea-yours of the Psalmist to bring clearly out his unimpassionedstillness, and his renunciation of all dependance on self. Thisappears the more in its place, as we have before us here an in-direct exhortation. Ver. 15 carries back the patience of thePsalmist to its ground; it is a daughter of faith. He answersnot, because he is convinced that God will answer, whom hemust not forestall. The divine answer is a matter-of-fact one.After the Psalmist has referred back his stillness and patienceto his conviction, that God will help him, its proper ground, heshews on account of what he sets his hope in God, and betakesto him for refuge. He is afraid, that otherwise his enemies willtriumph over him, ver. 16, and while he shews how much reasonhe has for this fear, as destruction is so near him, he throws outin ver. 17-20, a new representation of his sufferings. Ver.16. For I speak, that they may not rejoice over me, who,on the slipping of my foot, lift themselves high against me.אמרתי, not, I pray, but, I think. Before פן is to be supplied,it is matter of concern, or it is to be feared, or something similar.The second half of the verse is a relative clause, which, accord- ing to Hebrew custom, is but loosely appended. We can eitherexpound: who, (now already) since my foot slips, (a mark ofmisfortune as distinguished from entire ruin) magnify themselvesagainst me; or, who, when my foot slips, (when I come entirely down), would magnify themselves against me). The first expo-sition has on its side Psalms 35:26, where the magnifying of the enemies belongs not to the feeling of terror, but to the sad ex-perience, and especially the next verse, where to the slipping of the foot the halting corresponds. Ver. 16. For I speak, that they may not rejoice over me, who, on the slipping of my foot, lift themselves high against me. ΰξψϊι, not, I pray, but, I think. Before το is to be supplied, it is matter of concern, or it is to be feared, or something similar. The second half of the verse is a relative clause, which, according to Hebrew custom, is but loosely appended. We can either expound: who, (now already) since my foot slips, (a mark of misfortune as distinguished from entire ruin) magnify themselves against me; or, who, if my foot slipped, (if I came entirely down), would magnify themselves against me). The first exposition has on its side Psalms 35:26, where the insolent behavior of the enemies is viewed not to a matter of dread, but as an occasion of distress, and especially the next verse, where the halting corresponds to the slipping of the foot. Ver. 17. For I am given over to suffering, and my pain is be-fore me continually. The Psalmist shews how his present posi-tion justified his fear of the triumph of his enemies: he finds himself in great misery. The first member is literally: for I am ready to halt. The being ready cannot just mean, being near; but is as much as: to the hand, given over, adjudged. For the halting cannot denote the full ruin, but only the misfortune, comp. Psalms 35:15, where it is used of a state, in which the Psalmist already finds himself, not which he dreads; and the misfortune was not simply near to the Psalmist, but he was al-ready in it. Elsewhere, also, for ex. Job 12:5, נכון with ל, is used of what already exists. מכאב, pain, not subjectively, but objectively, therefore entirely corresponding to the biblical halt-ing. It is before me continually, q. d. it is my inseparable com-panion, corresponding to this: I am ready. The assertion that he finds himself in great misery, the Psalmist grounds in ver. 18-20 by recounting his sufferings.Ver. 18. For my guilt must I confess, I am sorry for my sin.The for denotes the relation, not merely of this verse, but ofthe whole section ver. 18-20 to. ver. 17. The suffering of thePsalmist consists primarily in this, that he has come to theknowledge of his sins, and rues these with poignant regret.-To this sense of sin there come, besides, the assaults of numerousand mighty enemies, all the more sensibly, as the Psalmist hadformerly done them good. Ver. 19. And mine enemies live andare mighty, and many there are who hate me without cause.Ver. 20. And they that render evil for good are enemies tome, because that I follow after the good. The first member ofver. 19 is literally: and mine enemies, living, are strong.היים cannot be joined as an adj. to איבי, for it must then havethe article. It contains an entire declaration, as much as: whoare living. While the Psalmist finds himself in a state like todeath, is dead while living, they are living and powerful.היים is quite suitable, whether we refer the עצמו to the qua-lity, or to the quantity of the enemies; they are strong in num-her, in agreement with the second member; and the conjecture הנם, without cause, is to be rejected. Certainly no one would have thought of putting in place of this, the more difficult היים. To follow after the good, is not quite the same with well-doing. It rather denotes a zealous moral striving in general. This striving, however, in the Psalmist, had specially directed itself in respect to his present enemies. Comp. Psalms 35:12. The rare form of the infin. רדופי; has been changed by the Masoritesinto the common one.Ver. 21. Forsake me not, O Lord; my God be not far from me. Ver. 22. Make haste to help me, Lord, my salvation. Calvin: "In this conclusion he brings shortly together the whole sum of his wishes and his prayer, viz.: that God would take up and help him, who had been abandoned by man, and in every way most wretchedly plagued." The conclusion stands in designed verbal reference to Psalms 22:19. On the expression: Lord, my salvation, compare this: "say to my soul, I am thy salvation," in Psalms 35:3. Ver. 18. For my guilt must I confess, I am sorry for my sin. The for denotes the relation, not merely of this verse, but of the whole section Psalms 38:18-20 to Psalms 38:17. The suffering of the Psalmist consists first in this, that he has come to the knowledge of his sins, and rues these with poignant regret. To this sense of sin there come, besides, the assaults of numerous and mighty enemies, all the more sensibly, as the Psalmist had formerly done them good. Ver. 19. And mine enemies live and are mighty, and many there are who hate me without cause. Ver. 20. And they that render evil for good are enemies to me, because that I follow after the good. The first member of Psa 38:19 is literally: and mine enemies, living, are strong. ηιιν cannot be joined as an adj. to ΰιαι, for it must then have the article. It contains an entire declaration, as much as: who are living. While the Psalmist finds himself in a state like to death, is dead while living, they are living and powerful. ηιιν is quite suitable, whether we refer the ςφξε to the quality, or to the quantity of the enemies; they are strong in number, in agreement with the second member; and the conjecture ηπν, without cause, is to be rejected. Certainly no one would have thought of putting in place of this, the more difficult ηιιν. To follow after the good, is not quite the same with well-doing. It rather denotes a zealous moral striving in general. This striving, however, in the Psalmist, had specially directed itself in respect to his present enemies. Comp. Psalms 35:12. The rare form of the infin. ψְ ?γεֹ ?τִ ?ι has been changed by the Masorites into the common one. Ver. 21. Forsake me not, O Lord; my God be not far from me. Ver. 22. Make haste to help me, Lord, my salvation. Calvin: “In this conclusion he brings shortly together the whole sum of his wishes and his prayer, viz.: that God would take up and help him, who had been abandoned by man, and in every way most wretchedly plagued.” The conclusion stands in designed verbal reference to Psalms 22:19. On the expression: Lord, my salvation, compare this: “say to my soul, I am thy salvation,” in Psalms 35:3. Psalms 39. HARD pressed by the wicked, (comp. ver. 1 and 8), the Psalm-ist has finally purposed to bear his sufferings in quietness and patience, and not to transgress by murmuring against God. But the conflict exceeds his powers, and breaks asunder the cord with which he had closed his mouth. His compressed heart takes wing to itself, and he disputes with God, desires impatient-ly to learn from him the end of his life, and of his afflictions, and casts up to him the shortness and the nothingness of human life, ver. 3-6. In reference to this part of the Psalm, there is force in the remark of Calvin: "It is to be observed, that David, in this Psalm, does not proclaim his own virtue, while he ex-presses before God wishes conformable to the life of piety; but that he rather confesses the fault of his infirmity which had led him to give way to immoderate grief, and violently dragged him into disputation with God. In his own person he places before our eyes a mirror of human weakness, so that we, warned of the danger, may learn to flee with all haste under the wings of God."-But the Psalmist soon raises himself from his fall, ver.7-13. The faith which had withdrawn into the lowest depths of his heart, breaks forth when he sees his enemy, doubting despondency, thus triumphing, and throws it down with the strong hand of violence. He takes up in heart and mouth the great word: "And now, Lord, What wait I for? My hope is in thee," and now it is an easy matter for him to give up all murmurings and disputings. In the place of these comes now the affecting, but mild and submissive prayer to the Lord, that he would still deliver him, who had been deeply bowed under the sufferings, in which he could not but recognize the righteous punishment of his sins, and would grant some enlargement to him before the close of his brief sojourn. The Psalm accordingly falls into two parts. The first is treated by the Psalmist historically. He selects the situation of such an one as had just been overcome by the temptation, represents, first, ver. 1-6, what already had passed in him, and then, in ver. 7-13, what now is passing. The main portion consists of seven verses. Amyrald already notices the remarkable difference between this Psalm and such as Psalms 37., and endeavours to trace it up to its source. The thirty-seventh Psalm, says he, David wrote when in a quiet spirit he reflected on the matter as it really stands. This Psalm, on the contrary, he wrote, when in hot persecution and violent conflict. Hence is it that the former is easy, simple, polished, but in this the reverse; and while it sets before our eyes the alternating and conflicting thoughts of the Psalmist, it drags the mind of the reader here and there, and the deep commotion of spirit, out of which it proceeded, makes it difficult to be understood. It is not to be overlooked, that the Psalm possesses in part an Old Testament character. While still there was no clear insight into a future state of being, a long continued state of suffering must have sunk very deep into the heart. "When a man dies, will he live again?"-says Job, of whose speech the Psalm con-tains the germ-"all the days of my war-service will I wait, till my discharge come." With every day of his short and miser-able existence was the space narrowing for the display of the retributive justice and grace of God; and when the powers of body and of soul began to fail, then the disconsolate thought would press upon him, that he never would come to partake of the bless-ing which God had promised to his people-it would scarcely bepossible to avoid sinking into perplexity and despair. But this special Old Testament character of the Psalm, far from depriv-ing the Psalm of its edifying signification for us, rather serves the purpose of strengthening it. The declaration: My hope stands in thee, which the Psalmist uttered in circumstances when it was against all reason to hope, may well put us to shame, who are easily brought into despair by light and temporal afflictions, while we have the prospect of an exceeding weight of glory; and the more that he hoped, while there was the less to hope for, so much the more readily should our hope be set on fire by the light of his. The superscription runs: To the Song-master, Jedithun, a Psalm, of David. Jeduthun, from ידות, laudatio, with the ending from proper names ון, or Jedithun, as he is here called, and in Ps. 77, 1 Chronicles 16:38, Nehemiah 11:7, in order to avoid the double dark sound, is mentioned in 1 Chronicles 16:41; 1 Chronicles 16:42; 1 Chronicles 25:1; 1 Chronicles 25:3, 2 Chronicles 5:12, as one of the leaders of sacred music in David's time. That here after the general: to the song-master, with which the superscriptions for the most part content themselves, (comp. on Ps. iv.) there should be added the particular: Jeduthun, has certainly no practical aim; but is to be explained from the design of David to honour Jeduthun, and to hand down his name to posterity, as then the superscriptions contain nothing, which carried only a temporary signification.Many would, with an allusion to ידותון על at the commence-ment of Psa 62:62; Psalms 62:77., explain: to the chief musician of the Jeduthunite, Jeduthun marking, not the individual, but the musical chorus of Jeduthun. But הaצe.נi is never construed withל, always with על; the ל in the superscriptions is employed only to designate the author and the chief musician, and on this very account the על must have been used for avoiding the dubiety, even though the connection of נצה with ל had else-where occurred; quite analogous to לידיתון למנצה, accordingto our exposition, is לדוד יהוה לעבד, of the servant of theLord, David, in Psalms 18:36. Still more arbitrary is the ex- position of Gesenius: upon an instrument, or according to a melody, invented by Jeduthun. Ver. 1. I spake, I will keep my ways, that I do not sin with my tongue, I will keep the bridle in my mouth, while still the wicked is before me. Calvin: "He knew how many snares Satan is wont to lay; he therefore looked to the one side and to the other, and set a watch everywhere, lest some temptation, stealing in from the right or left, might reach his mind. To that the avenues were shut on all hands, unless through excess of grief his steadfastness were violently disturbed and broken down." On the expression, "I spake," Venema "that is, I firmly resolved, and prescribed to myself this law." The ways are the entire compass of the actions, within which are included also the words; the tongue was that through which the offence on this special occasion might be committed. Wherein the sin-ning with the tongue consisted, appears from ver. 4, ss., where the Psalmist, carried away by the violence of his pain, actually falls into this sin against his purpose,-not, as some suppose, by an unseasonable comparison with Psalms 37:1; Psalms 38:13; Psalms 38:14, in an intemperate outburst against the enemies, but in an impa-tient and disrespectful murmuring against God, an expression of doubt in regard to his righteousness and grace. Exactly parallel, therefore, are the passages, Job 1:22, "in all this Job sinned not, and spake nothing foolishly against God," and 2:10, "In all this sinned not Job with his lips." To keep the mouth to the bridle, is as much as to keep it carefully in check. In the words: while the wicked is still before me, the Psalmist must, according to several, declare his purpose to guard himself against unbecoming speech, especially in the presence of his enemies, in order not to afford them the double triumph of finding him in despair, which might also draw forth their rail-ing at his misfortune, and of seeing him sin against his God. But this exposition is to be rejected, even on this account, that it does not pay regard to the still, which is hence also left out for the most part by those who follow this translation. And then, one does not see how respect to the enemies could be a reason to the Psalmist for entirely refraining from murmuring against God, and maintaining the right with him, as the discourse still indeed manifestly turns on that. For why should this be done in their presence? We have also the verses beginning at ver. 3, in which the Psalmist suffers himself to be drawn into this murmuring, when certainly the enemy could not be thought of as present. The right view is, rather, that the words point to what had been able to seduce the Psalmist to sin with his tongue, what had pressed him hard with the temptation to this. The wicked, of whom it is said in Psalms 37:2. "Theyshall soon be cut down like the grass, and wither as the green herb," were still continually before him, though, according to its import, the words, "He passed away, and lo: he was not, I sought him, and he was not found," ver. 36, might have been long in receiving its fulfilment. The wicked is to be thought of according to the nature of things, and according to ver. 8, where, in praying, "make me not the reproach of the foolish," the Psalmist regards him as his enemy, so that with his con-tinued existence, the Psalmist's misery was connected. The best commentary on the expression, "while the wicked is still before me," is to be found in David's relations during the time of Saul, which here come the more into consideration, as in no other had David so much occasion for this still. Certainly David's conflict at that period stood much as it is here repre-sented. Ver. 2. I grew dumb and was still, I was silent, not for good, and my pain was stirred. The Psalmist says, he had indeed executed his purpose, declared in the preceding verse, but that ill had thereby accrued. The obstinate and constrained silence, so far from producing good, had rather made his pain rise to a frightful magnitude. In sicknesses of the soul, not less than in those of the body, whatever hinders the necessary crisis, serves only to increase the evil. In the state of mind which now be-longed to the Psalmist, the sinning with the tongue was better for him, than the merely constrained and legal silence; he could only through the fall rise again, only through a sinful speaking could he attain to a proper evangelical silence. Upon the accus. דומיה prop. I grew dumb in silence, q.d. I grew wholly and perfectly dumb-see Ew. Large Gr. p. 591, Small Gr. § 486. In ver. 9, corresponds to the דומיה added here: I opened not my mouth. The unpleasant consequences of silence are first expressed negatively, מטוב, far from good, without its having produced any good effect; then positively: and my pain wasstirred, quickened. מטוב has been subjected to many false interpretations. The most general is that which regards the expression: from good, as an abbreviation for: from good even to evil, in Genesis 31:24; Genesis 31:29 : 2 Samuel 13:22, q.d. I kept silence from all. But such an abbreviation can the less be thought of since the manner of speech was no vulgar one, as its occurring in these single places spews. The silence of the Psalmist can refer only to the evil, and the phrase, from good even to evilwould be unsuitable. In the passages referred to, there is indeed the expression, not to speak, but not, as here, to be silent, from good even to evil. Others: I was silent about prosperity, not demanding this loudly and imperiously, renouncing in a spirit of resignation my pretensions to it. But this unsuitable mean-ing is verbally quite inadmissible; the מן after the verb of silence never marks the object regarding which it is kept. Others again: I was perfectly silent of good, although my sufferings violently drove me to a loud lamentation. But the bono orbus is tame, and not suitable to the connection.Ver. 3. Warm was my heart in my bosom, in my musing the fire burned, I spake with my tongue. On the two first members comp. Jeremiah 20:9, where it is said of the scorn and enmity of the world (not, as several, of the impulse of inspiration): "And it was in my heart as a burning fire, shut up in, my bones, andwas weary with forbearing, and could not do it." The object of the musing, is the sufferings which the Psalmist had to bear from the wicked. The expression: with my tongue, refers to ver. 1 : I spake with my tongue, on which I imposed silence. So that the remark of Koester falls of itself, that we see from this passage, in which the speech with the tongue is a heartfelt speech, pro-ceeding from a deep emotion of mind, what is plainly to be un-derstood by the tongue speeches of the New Testament. Our words are related to ver. 1, precisely as those in Job 3:1, "After this Job opened his mouth, and cursed his day," to chap. 2:10, and 1:22.-The Psalmist now in ver. 4-7, which are to be re-garded as distinguished by inverted commas, communicates the words which he spake, when he sinned with his tongue.Ver. 4. "Make me to know, O Lord, my end, and when the limit of my days will come, I wish to know when I may cease." The Psalmist impatiently demands of the Lord, to let him know when his sufferings, and what in his judgment coincides with these, his life, should come to an end, and complains, as in re-gard to a great hardship, and terrible iniquity, that it was still not brought to a close. To this lamentation upon the greatness and hardship of his extraordinary sufferings, which made death appear to him as a blessing, its delay as an evil, there very suit-ably follows in ver. 5 and 6 a lamentation upon the shortness and nothingness of human life generally. In connection with this the complaint of our verse first receives its proper strength. It is frightful, if to poor man his short and fleeting existence.which of itself is punishment enough for sin, is besides so em-bittered, that he must sigh for his end. The same desire for death, upon the supposition, that the suffering shall only end with it, and in despair at the return of salvation, is often uttered by Job, for example, in chap. 6:8, ss., "Oh that I might have my request, and that God would grant me the thing I long for; even that it would please God to destroy me, that he would let loose his hand and cut me off. What is my strength, that I should hope? etc." So also does Job frequently complain of the disproportion between the greatness of sufferings and the shortness of human life, comp. for example, chap. 7:7, "Oh remember that my life is a breath, mine eye shall no more see good;" chap. 14:1, ss., "Man that is born of woman is of few days and full of trouble. He cometh forth like a flower, and is cut down; he fleeth also as a shadow and continueth not. And lost thou open thine eyes upon such an one, and bringest me before thy judgment? Seeing his days are determined, etc." chap. 16:22. From these parallel passages the relation of this verse to ver. 5 and 6 derives its proper light. By the end we can either understand the end of life, or the end of suffering. That the Psalmist combines both into one, that, despairing of the salvation of the Lord, he looks for the end of his sufferings only with the end of his life, appears from the second member; which is literally: and the extension of my day what it, for: how is it proportioned thereto, what compass has it. But that we are primarily to think of the end of the sufferings, we gather from the parallel passage, already cited from Job 6:12. In the last number also, literally: Know will I what I ceasing, for what it has with my ceasing as to circumstance, when that shall at last take place, (מה never signifies precisely when, here also it is to be explained after the preceding היא מה), the Psalmist asks not when he shall cease, cease to exist, but, as appears especially from a comparison of Job 14:6, when he shall cease to suffer-which object of the ceasing is very naturally suggested by the connection. He asks, in the middle, after the end of his day, only on this account, that he might learn the end of his suf-ferings; the ah! will come in not earlier, and to this point hisquestion is directed from the beginning to the close. הדל is never used of existence, but always in reference to a particular condition within the limits of existence. The real meaning of the verse has been for the most part missed by expositors, theoccasion of which, as connected with the matter, is this, that the Psalmist, restrained by a lingering feeling of reverence, is un-willing to speak fully out, and does not entirely let go the bit, which, according to ver. 1, he had put in his mouth, but only holds it less tightly. The canon for putting the exposition to the proof is this, that the discourse, according to its relation to ver. 1, on the one hand, (the Psalmist does here what in ver. 1 he had engaged not to do, he sins with his tongue), and to ver. 9, on the other, (the Psalmist there grows perfectly dumb, so that his discourse can only have arisen from murmuring impatience), must necessarily contain a sinful element. Now, by this canon, we must renounce the current exposition, according to which the Psalmist must entreat God for the right knowledge of his frailty, so that he might set his hope only upon him, or even with an entire abandonment of the Old Testament territory, that he, despising the temporal with its joys and sorrows, might seek after what is eternal; "Cause me, O Lord, to consider my end, and what the measure of my days, that I may know how frail I am." Besides, he, who is plunged in deep distress, has less need of nothing, than the knowledge of human frailty, and he requires no special divine instruction in order to obtain it. The Psalm-ist declares it in the next verse, of his own hand, in as strong lan-guage as it is almost possible to do. If we only read the book of Job, we shall everywhere find a superfluity of this knowledge. In no prayer, as uttered in the Psalms by the pious in affliction, can a similar petition be pointed out. Finally, this exposition cannot stand with the words. It arbitrarily substitutes: makeme consider, for: teach me, and renders הדל, which means only ceasing, by frail.-A mournful lamentation upon the oppressive-ness of his extraordinary sufferings, follows now upon the short-ness and vanity of human existence generally, which, perfectly grounded in the position occupied by the Old Testament saints, would, with the pious, as soon as they moved out of the region of quiet resignation, into that of reckoning and contending with God, be repressed and held down by faith, from the dominion of which the Psalmist here for a moment emancipates himself, in order that he might afterwards return the more unreservedly to it. This faith was, under the Old Testament, a blind one in the good sense. Were the end of this poor life the end of the way of God with his own, to whom he had given so many as-surances of his tender love, then its very shortness could not bejustified, and especially when viewed in connection with the se-vere afflictions by which this life is embittered. It is the strong-est testimony to the vitality and depth of faith under the Old Testament, that it did not go to wreck on this stumbling-stone. Whoever is at pains to disfigure or conceal the true position of matters in this respect, he does not thereby increase the edifying power of the Old Testament, but diminishes it. Ver. 3. Warm was my heart in my bosom, in my musing the fire burned, I spake with my tongue. On the two first members comp. Jeremiah 20:9, where it is said of the scorn and enmity of the world (not, as several, of the impulse of inspiration): “And it was in my heart as a burning fire, shut up in, my bones, and was weary with forbearing, and could not do it.” The object of the musing, is the sufferings which the Psalmist had to bear from the wicked. The expression: with my tongue, refers to Psalms 39:1 : I spake with my tongue, on which I imposed silence. So that the remark of Koester falls of itself, that we see from this passage, in which the speech with the tongue is a heartfelt speech, proceeding from a deep emotion of mind, what is plainly to be understood by the tongue speeches of the New Testament. Our words are related to Psalms 39:1, precisely as those in Job 3:1, “After this Job opened his mouth, and cursed his day,” to Job 2:10, and Job 1:22. The Psalmist now in Psalms 39:4-7, which are to be regarded as distinguished by inverted commas, communicates the words which he spake, when he sinned with his tongue. Ver. 4. “Make me to know, O Lord, my end, and when the limit of my days will come, I wish to know when I may cease.” The Psalmist impatiently demands of the Lord, to let him know when his sufferings, and what in his judgment coincides with these, his life, should come to an end, and complains, as in regard to a great hardship, and terrible injustice, that it was still not brought to a close. To this lamentation upon the greatness and hardship of his extraordinary sufferings, which made death appear to him as a blessing, its delay as an evil, there very suitably follows in Psalms 39:5 and Psalms 39:6 a lamentation upon the shortness and nothingness of human life generally. In connection with this the complaint of our verse first receives its proper strength. It is frightful, if to poor man his short and fleeting existence, which of itself is punishment enough for sin, is besides so embittered, that he must sigh for his end. The same desire for death, upon the supposition, that the suffering shall only end with it, and in despair at the return of salvation, is often uttered by Job, for example, in Job 6:8, ss., “Oh that I might have my request, and that God would grant me the thing I long for; even that it would please God to destroy me, that he would let loose his hand and cut me off. What is my strength, that I should hope? etc.” So also does Job frequently complain of the disproportion between the greatness of sufferings and the shortness of human life, comp. for example, Job 7:7, “Oh remember that my life is a breath, mine eye shall no more see good;” Job 14:1, ss., “Man that is born of woman is of few days and full of trouble. He cometh forth like a flower, and is cut down; he fleeth also as a shadow and continueth not. And dost thou open thine eyes upon such an one, and bringest me before thy judgment? Seeing his days are determined, etc.” Job 16:22. From these parallel passages the relation of this verse to Psalms 39:5 and Psalms 39:6 derives its proper light. By the end we can either understand the end of life, or the end of suffering. That the Psalmist combines both into one, that, despairing of the salvation of the Lord, he looks for the end of his sufferings only with the end of his life, appears from the second member; which is literally: and the extension of my day what it, for: how is it proportioned thereto, what compass has it? But that we are primarily to think of the end of the sufferings, we gather from the parallel passage, already cited from Job 6:12. In the last number also, literally: I wish to know, what I ceasing, for what is the state in regard to my ceasing, when that shall at last take place, (ξδ never signifies precisely when, here also it is to be explained after the preceding ξδδιΰ), the Psalmist asks not when he shall cease, cease to exist, but, as appears especially from a comparison of Job 14:6, when he shall cease to suffer—which object of the ceasing is very naturally suggested by the connection. He asks, in the middle, after the end of his day, only on this account, that he might learn the end of his sufferings; the ah! will come in not earlier, and to this point his question is directed from the beginning to the close. ηγμ is never used of existence, but always in reference to a particular condition within the limits of existence. The real meaning of the verse has been for the most part missed by expositors, the occasion of which, as connected with the matter, is this, that the Psalmist, restrained by a lingering feeling of reverence, is unwilling to speak fully out, and does not entirely let go the bit, which, according to Psalms 39:1, he had put in his mouth, but only holds it less tightly. The canon for putting the exposition to the proof is this, that the discourse, according to its relation to Psalms 39:1, on the one hand, (the Psalmist does here what in Psalms 39:1, on the one hand (the Psalmist there grows perfectly dumb, so that his discourse can only have arisen from murmuring impatience), must necessarily contain a sinful element. Now, by this canon, we must renounce the current exposition, according to which the Psalmist entreats God for the right knowledge of his frailty, so that he might set his hope only upon him, or even with an entire abandonment of the Old Testament territory, that he, despising the temporal with its joys and sorrows, might seek after what is eternal; “Cause me, O Lord, to consider my end, and what the measure of my days, that I may know how frail I am.” Besides, he, who is plunged in deep distress, has less need of nothing, than the knowledge of human frailty, and he requires no special divine instruction in order to obtain it. The Psalmist declares it in the next verse, of his own hand, in as strong language as it is almost possible to do. If we only read the book of Job, we shall everywhere find a superfluity of this knowledge. In no prayer, as uttered in the Psalms by the pious in affliction, can a similar petition be pointed out. Finally, this exposition cannot stand with the words. It arbitrarily substitutes: make me consider, for: teach me, and renders ηγμ, which means only ceasing, by frail. A mournful lamentation upon the oppressiveness of his extraordinary sufferings, follows now upon the shortness and vanity of human existence generally, which, perfectly grounded in the position occupied by the Old Testament saints, would, with the pious, as soon as they moved out of the region of quiet resignation, into that of reckoning and contending with God, be repressed and held down by faith, from the dominion of which the Psalmist here for a moment emancipates himself, in order that he might afterwards return the more unreservedly to it. This faith was, under the Old Testament, a blind one in the good sense. Were the end of this poor life the end of the way of God with his own, to whom he had given so many assurances of his tender love, then its very shortness could not be justified, and especially when viewed in connection with the severe afflictions by which this life is embittered. It is the strongest testimony to the vitality and depth of faith under the Old Testament, that it did not go to wreck on this stumbling stone. Whoever is at pains to disfigure or conceal the true position of matters in this respect, he does not thereby increase the edifying power of the Old Testament, but diminishes it. Ver. 5. "Behold as an handbreadth thou makest my days, and my life is as non-existence before thee, only for utter vanity was every man ordained, Selah." The first member literally: Behold spans hast thou given my days, thou hast made them for spans, my life only a span long. טפהות is just as ימי, governed in the accusative by the verb, and is to be taken in an adverbial signi-fication. אין never signifies nothing, always rather not-being. הלד prop. continuance, then life: my life, which has its name from continuance, as, lucus a non lucendo, is like non-existence, Comp. on Psalms 17:14. The expression: before thee, is not to be explained by an unseasonable comparison of Psa 90:4 : a thousand years are as one day before thee, as if the meaning were: in comparison of thee; but it brings out what was neces-sary in the connection, that the appointment proceeded from God, q. d. under thy direction and by thy disposal. To the ex-pression in the first member: thou givest, and in the second: before thee, corresponds נצב, constitutes est, in the third. This is necessary to the sense. For here the reference is not to the mere being, but to the being made (by God.) It is not suitable to render: every man, who there stands firm, as much as the firm grounded and prosperous; since here and also in ver. 9 the discourse is manifestly of the condition of man in general. The Psalmist would precisely say, that all men without exception are only an all of vanity. The Selah, which here and also in ver. 11 occurs after a representation of the nothingness of the earthly life, is intended to afford time for our brooding over this deep mournful thought, perhaps also in some sense for God, that he might lay to heart this doleful lamentation.Ver. 6. "Only as an image walks man, only in vain are they disquieted, he gathers and knows not who will enjoy it." בצלם prop. in an image, for, as an image, comp. E w. Small Gr. § 521. The image comes into view only in so far as it has no reality, no power, no life in itself, but possesses only a shadow of these. Elsewhere we find in a similar connection shadow, for ex. Ps. 144:4, "Man is like to vanity, his days are as a shadow, that passeth away." המה, to make a tumult, marks the restless striving and exertions of men. The suff. in אספם refers to the collected whole. The tone of the Psalmist now suddenly takes a different air; all at once a new David steps forth; and it becomes apparent, that the maxim, "A quarrel between lovers revives love," is true also in regard to the higher love.Ver. 7. And now, whereupon wait I, Lord? I hope in thee. The now, as in Psalms 2:10, draws the consequence from what pre-cedes. It is commonly expounded: Since every thing earthly is fugitive and transitory. But we must rather expound: Since thou showest thyself so hard. For it was God's hardness upon which the Psalmist had complained in ver. 4-6, and the tran-sitoriness of life he had thought of only in so far as it furnished an evidence of this hardness. The words: whereupon wait I, Lord? refer to the supposition, that man cannot exist without an object of hope. The answer: My hope stands upon thee comes quite unexpectedly after what had preceded. That the Psalmist still throws himself into the arms of God, of whose hardness he had so complained, is a wonder that mocks every natural explanation.Ver. 8. From all my sins deliver me, let me not be a mockery to the fool. The Psalmist would be delivered from his sins, if God removed the consequences and punishments, the assaults of the wicked. The object of the fool's scorn would the Psalmist be, if God should allow the former to bring him to the ground. These words, as also the following, "Since the wicked is still before me," in ver. 1, show clearly, that the external suf-fering of the Psalmist, his "stroke" in ver. 10, consisted not, as some imagine, in sickness, of which no trace is to be found in the Psalm, but rather in the hostile oppression of ungodly men.Ver. 9. I am dumb, open not the mouth, for thou hast done it. J. H. Michaelis remarks excellently, that the discourse here may be of a composed and evangelical silence, as above of a legal and constrained one. As the Psalmist continues still to speak in what follows, the being dumb can only mean his being so in a determinate respect, that indicated more precisely in ver. 1 and 3, according to which, it points not to speaking against the enemies, but to speaking against God. Instead of this: thou past done it, q. d. thou my God, who tenderly lovest thine own,least laid upon me this suffering, which therefore must be de-- signed, not for destruction, but only for salvation. Luther and. others falsely: thou wilt order it well. Comp. 2 Samuel 16:10.Ver. 10. Remove from me thy stroke, through the blow of thy hand I am consumed. Upon נגע, comp. on Psalms 38:11. Ver. 11. When thou chastisest one with rebukes for iniquity, thou dost consume, as by a moth, what he loves; only vanity are all men. Selah. What the Psalmist had said in the second half of the preceding verse, of himself, gives rise here to a mournful consideration of the human fate in general, a sad ex-emplification of which was to be seen in him. Through the woful representation of this miserable state, he hopes to move God to compassion, under whose hand he humbles himself. תוכהות properly marks only correction with words, and is used of punishments only in so for as they are a sermo realis, a mat-ter-of-fact, reproof, and correction. ותמס, prop. thou makest to melt, hiph. from מסה. As the moth, in Scripture, is always the image of annihilation, never the image of evanescence, we must expound, "as the moth," not, as if it were a moth, but only as the moth causes to dissolve, or brings to nothing. המור is everywhere a proper part. pass. the desired, loved, q. d. all wherein he has his joy and satisfaction; and we are not to ren-der it, his beauty, or his glory. John Arnd " Just as moths eat a woollen cloth, nay consume the most beautiful garment, so that it is no more fit for use, though formerly it was ever so fine; in like manner is it now with man's beautiful form, (taking the המוד too narrowly.) When the hand of the Almighty presses one, and God abandons one for a little, he becomes in a few days so changed to the worse by anguish of soul and sad-ness, that no one can know him, as may be seen by the example of Job, since his friends, that came to visit him in his affliction, knew him not, and began to weep, and could not for seven days speak to him, for they saw that his distress was great." Ver. 6. “Only as an image walks man, only in vain are they disquieted, he gathers and knows not who will enjoy it.” αφμν prop. in an image, for, as an image, comp. Ew. Small Gr. § 521. The image comes into view only in so far as it has no reality, no power, no life in itself, but possesses only a shadow of these. Elsewhere we find in a similar connection shadow, for ex. Psalms 144:4, “Man is like to vanity, his days are as a shadow, that passeth away.” δξδ, to make a tumult, marks the restless striving and exertions of men. The suff. in ΰρτν refers to the collected whole. The tone of the Psalmist now suddenly takes a different air; all at once a new David steps forth; and it becomes apparent, that the maxim, “A quarrel between lovers revives love,” is true also in regard to the higher love. Ver. 7. And now, whereupon wait I, Lord? I hope in thee. The now, as in Psalms 2:10, draws the consequence from what precedes. It is commonly expounded: Since every thing earthly is fugitive and transitory. But we must rather expound: Since thou showest thyself so hard. For it was God’s hardness upon which the Psalmist had complained in Psalms 39:4-6, and the transitoriness of life he had thought of only in so far as it furnished an evidence of this hardness. The words: whereupon do I wait, Lord? Rest on the supposition, that man cannot exist without an object of hope. The answer: My hope stands upon thee comes quite unexpectedly after what had preceded. That the Psalmist still throws himself into the arms of God, of whose hardness he had so complained, is a wonder that mocks every natural explanation. Ver. 8. From all my sins deliver me, let me not be a mockery to the fool. The Psalmist would be delivered from his sins, if God removed the consequences and punishments, the assaults of the wicked. The Psalmist would be the object of the fool’s scorn, if God should allow the former to bring him to the ground. These words, as also the following, “Since the wicked is still before me,” in Psalms 39:1, show clearly, that the external suffering of the Psalmist, his “stroke” in Psalms 39:10, consisted not, as some imagine, in sickness, of which no trace is to be found in the Psalm, but rather in the hostile oppression of ungodly men. Ver. 9. I am dumb, open not the mouth, for thou hast done it. J. H. Michaelis remarks excellently, that the discourse here may be of a composed and evangelical silence, as above of a legal and constrained one. As the Psalmist continues still to speak in what follows, the being dumb can only mean his being so in a determinate respect, that indicated more precisely in Psalms 39:1 and Psalms 39:3, according to which, it points not to speaking against the enemies, but to speaking against God. Instead of this: thou past done it, q. d. thou my God, who tenderly lovest thine own, hast laid upon me this suffering, which therefore must be designed, not for destruction, but only for salvation. Luther and others falsely: thou wilt order it well. Comp. 2 Samuel 16:10. Ver. 10. Remove from me thy stroke, through the blow of thy hand I am consumed. Upon πβς, comp. on Psalms 38:11. Ver. 11. When thou chastisest one with rebukes for iniquity, thou dost consume, as by a moth, what he loves; only vanity are all men. Selah. What the Psalmist had said in the second half of the preceding verse, of himself, gives rise here to a mournful consideration of the lot of man in general, a sad exemplification of which was to be seen in himself. Through the woeful representation of this miserable state, he hopes to move God to compassion, under whose hand he humbles himself. ϊεληεϊ properly marks only correction with words, and is used of punishments only in so for as they are a sermo realis, a matter-of-fact reproof, and correction. εϊξρ, prop. thou makest to melt, hiph. from ξρδ. As the moth, in Scripture, is always the image of what annihilates, never of what decays, we must expound, “as the moth,” not, “as if it were a moth,” but only “as the moth causes to perish,” or brings to nothing. ηξεγ is everywhere a proper part. pass. the desired, loved, q. d. all wherein he has his joy and satisfaction; and we are not to render it, his beauty, or his glory. John Arnd: “ Just as moths eat a woollen cloth, nay consume the most beautiful garment, so that it is no more fit for use, though formerly it was ever so fine; in like manner is it now with man’s beautiful form, (taking the ηξεγ too narrowly.) When the hand of the Almighty presses one, and God abandons one for a little, he becomes in a few days so changed to the worse by anguish of soul and sadness, that no one can know him, as may be seen by the example of Job, since his friends, that came to visit him in his affliction, knew him not, and began to weep, and could not for seven days speak to him, for they saw that his distress was great.” Ver. 12. Hear my prayer, Lord, and give ear to my cry; at my tears be not silent, for I am a stranger with thee, a pil- grim as all my fathers. First, the prayer, then the grounding of it. On the expression: at my tears be not silent, John Arnd: "This is the effect of tears, when one sees or hears any one weeping sadly, one cannot well remain silent, as the Lord Jesus said. to the woman at Nain: weep not, and to Mary Magdalene: woman, why weepest thou? This nature teaches us. Now ifa man can scarcely be silent at a person's tears, how much less the Lord God! Therefore it is said in the 56. Psalm, that God numbers the tears of believers, and in the xxvth of Isaiah, that he will wipe away all tears from our eyes." The prayer is grounded by pointing to the impotence and helplessness of the Psalmist, who, not less than all his fathers, has nothing except what the Lord administers to him, is wholly dependant upon his compassion, and must perish if this is refused him. A stranger and pilgrim, (prop. a lodger, tenant, one that dwells upon the property of another,) has nothing of his own, he is quite de-pendant upon the goodness of those with whom he lives, is everywhere on the footing of a beggar. As the fathers of the people were strangers and pilgrims with the Canaanites, (comp. Genesis 23:4, where Abraham says to the Hithites: "a stranger and pilgrim am I with you, give me a possession of a burying-place,") so after the reception of the land all Israelites were strangers and pilgrims with the Lord; comp. Leviticus 25:23, "For the land shall not be sold for ever, for the land is mine, for ye are strangers and sojourners with me." They had nothing in and for themselves, but only in their lord of the manor and patron, In remarkable agreement with this passage, David says in 1 Chronicles 29:15, "for we are strangers before thee, and sojourners, as all our fathers; our days on the earth are as a shadow, and there is no hope." This agreement supplies an important proof of David's being the author of the Psalms, and of the genuine-ness of the superscriptions generally. This proof cannot be disposed of by the supposition, that the declaration in Chroni-cles may have been derived from our Psalm. For it bears there throughout the character of independence. While here the al-lusion to the Israelitish nothingness serves as a groundwork to the prayer for divine help, there it is set against the imagina-tion, that one can give any thing to God, in order to deserve anything at his hands. The words: as all my fathers, represent the relation of the Psalmist, as not an individual, but a general, national one, (1 Kings 19:4,) and hence unalterable.Ver. 13. Leave off from me, that I may be refreshed, before I go away, and be no more. The first member, literally; look away from me, that I may brighten up, q. d. turn away from me thy angry look, so that my sorrowful one may be made cheerful. There is no reason for taking the Hiphil of שעה (the form de-rived here from שעע and of בלג, here intransitively. Weare rather to supply to the former: thy countenance, and to the latter: my countenance. All the words of this closing verse occur in different places in the book of Job, clearly proving that the author of that book was acquainted with this Psalm. Comp. vii. 19, "How long wilt thou not look away from me," 14:6, "Look away from him," 10:20, "That I may brighten up," ver. 21, "Before I go away," 7:8 and 21, "And am no more." Ver. 13. Leave off from me, that I may be refreshed, before I go away, and be no more. The first member, literally; look away from me, that I may brighten up, q. d. turn away from me thy angry look, so that my sorrowful one may be made cheerful. There is no reason for taking the Hiphil of ωςδ (the form derived here from ωςς and of αμβ, here intransitively. We are rather to supply to the former: thy countenance, and to the latter: my countenance. All the words of this closing verse occur in different places in the book of Job, clearly proving that the author of that book was acquainted with this Psalm. Comp. Job 7:19, “How long wilt thou not look away from me,” Job 14:6, “Look away from him,” Job 10:20, “That I may brighten up,” Job 10:21, “Before I go away,” Job 7:8 and Job 7:21, “And am no more.” Psalms 40. THE Psalmist announces, that the Lord had granted to him a glorious deliverance, and thereby much confirmation to his faith, ver. 1-3, and pronounces blessed, primarily on the ground of this experience, that man, who has placed his confidence upon the Lord, while for the farther grounding of this encomium of bliss, as connected with his personal experience, he rises aloft to the entire circle of the glorious manifestations of God in the history of his people, ver. 4, 5. This is what God has done to the Psalmist. How must he show his gratitude for such kind-ness? This question is answered in ver. 6-10. The first pre-sentation of thanks in ver. 6-8, is by deed. Here God has in all external gifts, as such, no pleasure, he desires only one thing, obedience, and to this he has made the heart of the Psalmist willing. Hence he comes forth ready to do the will of his Lord, which has been made known to him out of the written law of God, which with desire he fulfils, because the law does not merely stand before him as an outward letter, but is written in his heart. The second presentation of thanks in ver. 9, 10, is by word: the Psalmist is unwearied in proclaiming what the Lord has done for him.-But still, though the sufferer has been fortunately delivered from one great distress, he is al-ways encompassed by great sufferings and dangers. He there-fore turns himself in the second part, ver. 11-17, with importu-nate supplication to the Lord, that he, who, from the tenor of the first part, had evidently not lavished his gifts on an ungrateful person, would rescue him from the multiplied troubles that had come upon him in consequence of his sins, and would put his enemies to shame, expressing toward the close his con- fident hope of the fulfilment of his prayer. An artificial, formal arrangement, unquestionably presents it-self to us in this Psalm. The first part, occupying itself withthe divine aid already received, is made good in the number ten; the second, taking the new aid into consideration, in seven. The two divisions of the first part, the former representing what God has done, the other what the Psalmist will do, have each five verses, thereby appearing as two connected halves. Each of these divisions again into a subdivision of three, and one of two verses. In the second part, which takes into account the new divine help, we find likewise in accordance with the four sub-divisions of the first part four such, three of two verses, and a conclusion of one. In the position of the name of God also, there is evidently design. It is found ten times in the Psalm, (nine times Jehovah, and once Adonai) five in each of the two main divisions, which are even by this discovered to be two con-nected halves, as the two subdivisions of the first part by the number five of the verses, The situation is that of one who, on one side, set free from a heavy affliction, is still oppressed on the other. The question, whether for this an individual occasion afforded the ground, is to be answered in the negative. Especially in the second part, the not individual character of the Psalm comes clearly out. The prayers have the standing characteristic which we perceive in the not-individual Psalms. That the first part has more of a peculiar caste is to be explained from the circumstance, that itis taken up with the main thought of the Psalmist, the necessity of an active expression of thankfulness, as a foundation for ac-ceptable prayer. After he has brought out this main thoughtin striking colours, he surrenders himself to the customary path, treading very close especially on Psalms 35. By so doing he taught the lesson, that thankfulness is always the groundwork of prayer, and also brought the first part of the same Psalm into remembrance, in which that thought was not expressly uttered. But even the first part bears, with all its peculiarities, undeniable marks in another respect of a not-individual character. In the first half, the distress of the Psalmist, from which he was de-livered by God, is obviously delineated in so general a manner, that the description suits every great distress. In the second half, the hortatory tendency is but thinly veiled, and behind the words: I come, etc., the meaning: thou must come, etc., may be descried.-This manifest not-individual character of the Psalm already suffices to disprove the exposition, otherwise ex-tremely constrained and arbitrary, which Hoffmann gives of ver.6-8 in his prophecy and its fulfilment. According to it, these verses contain a meaning, which exclusively applies to David. The direct Messianic exposition, which was very wide-spread in former times, has but a weak foundation in the quotation of ver. 6-8 in Heb. x.: and affirmations such as that put forth by the author himself at the beginning of his career: "there can be no doubt, that he, who acknowledges the divine authority of the Epistle to the Hebrews, must decide for the Messianic ex-position," lose all meaning when a deeper insight has been ob-tained into the way and manner in which the New Testament, and especially the Epistle to the Hebrews, handles the decla-rations of the Old Testament. In the sacrifices, particularly the sin-offerings, a double element was contained,-what the man performed in presenting them, and what God imparted through them. Now, in this Psalm, the subjective side alone is brought into view, but what is said in reference to them, that they were not substitutionary, but only representative, that under their image the man himself, his personal obedience was de-sired by God, this holds also of the objective. How could they well be efficacious here in and through themselves, and there only indicative? As through the sacrifices the personal guiltiness of men was only figured, not contained, so was also the substitu-tion through them only represented (the necessity of it indica-ted, conscience kept alive about it), not provided. So that the author of the Epistle to the Hebrews could not produce for his assertion: "it is impossible that the blood of bulls and of goats could take away sin," a more apposite passage from the Old Testament than ver, 6-8 of this Psalm, which he puts into the mouth of Christ at his entrance into the world, and thus makes him frighten those, who placed a foolish confidence upon the shew-sacrifice. The second part of the Psalm returns again with many altera- tions, as Psalms 70 :Also here, as with Psalms 53. in relation to Psalms 14., with 2 Samuel 22. in relation to Psalms 18., everything bears the mark of intention, nothing of accident. To the design of the un-dertaking the superscription להזכיר, points, for remembrance, by which Psalms 70 :is designated as a supplicatory prayer, (comp. Psalms 38. super.) In Psalms 40. two elements were combined to-gether, thanks and prayer, which occur also thus combined in Psalms 9., comp. on the design of such connection, Vol. i. p. 138. For the good of those who had not already received any mani-fest tokens of divine grace, and for whom there was needed only a short form of prayer, the author gave independent exis-tence to the second part. But he would thereby have us to understand; that we have before us not an original whole, but only a selected part of a whole. This he accomplishes by means of the number five, the sign of incompleteness-the half. In order to effect this, the two first of the seven verses, which compose the second part, are cut away, the more striking, as these stand in immediate connection with the first part. So also he makes the names of God complete themselves in thenumber five; and changes, for the sake of doing so, the אלהי, my God, in Psalms 40:17, which could not be reckoned, because everywhere those names of God only, which are not burdened, with suffixes, are taken into account-into Jehovah. The same purpose also is aimed at in the omission of רצה, let it please thee, which gives to the beginning an abrupt character, and to the whole the nature of a fragment. Besides, there are other changes. Various words, not absolutely indispensable to the sense, are dropt, the author being disposed thereby to shew that he would abbreviate in the little, as he had done also in the great. The change here could not have occurred by accident, were it only because the relation between two texts is never a reverse one. While in Psalms 11. only Jehovah occurs, Psalms 70 :exchanges Jehovahwith Elohim, insomuch that in the first and last verses the riseis from Jehovah to Elohim; Elohim thus standing at the begin-ning, and Jehovah at the end, while in verse 4, Elohim is used, because Jehovah has just preceded. This connection of Jeho-vak and Elohim, intimating what was so consolatory for the tempted, that the God of Israel is at the same time the Godhead, is to be met with also in the speeches of David in the historical books, comp. my Beitr. Th. II. p. 312, and again in Psalms 69. at the close of ver. 32, as., to which, as we shall see by and bye, Psalms 70 :stands in a very close relation. Instead of ישמו, they are benumbed, in Psalms 40., Psalms 70. has ישובו, they shall turn back, give way, an agreeable variation which the undoubtedly originalישמו must not supplant. Instead of לי יהשב ver. 5 has לי הושה, make haste to me, obviously that the close might point back to the beginning, so that here also we cannot think of an accident. Scarcely even the semblance of an argument has been brought against David's being the author of both Psalms. The assertionof Hitzig, that "whoever the author of Psalms 11. might be, he is identical with that of Psalms 69." we admit, but deny that the latter Psalm contains any thing, which is at variance with its Davidic authorship, and find in this very internal agreement of the two Psalms, which the superscriptions attribute to the same author, an. instance corroborative of the authority of the super-scriptions. What Hitzig alleges against David, from ver. 7, that the author must have lived in a time, when people wrote with reeds and ink on parchment, which he thinks could not be be-fore Jeremiah's time, has been already set aside by the proof brought forward in my Beitr. Th. II. p. 489, etc., showing that the use of skins for writing was the original mode, and that the Pentateuch was from the first written on polished skins of beasts. Ver. 1. I waited for the Lord, and he inclined to me and heard my cry. The inf. קוה being placed first, brings the action strongly out: I waited, Ew. Gr. p. 561. This strong emphasis on the waiting has the force of an admonition; it suggests to the sufferer, that every thing depends on waiting. Berleb. Bible: "if we only wait in patience upon God, he will present-ly manifest himself." As the נמה unquestionably occurs often in the sense of inclining one's self, there is no reason for sup-posing an ellipsis: he inclined his ear. Ver. 2. And drew me out of the roaring deep and out of the mud, and set my feet upon a rock, established my goings. שאון has always the meaning of noise, roaring, even in Jeremiah 46:17, as is shown by comp. Amos 2:2, and Jeremiah 25:31; Jeremiah 51:55; and it is hence arbitrary to translate with many: pit of destruction, the more so as in Psalms 65:7, Isaiah 17:12, the word is used of the noise of great waters. It is urged against the application of this meaning here, that the water in a pit does not rage and make a noise. But that בור which even occurs of Sheol, Psalms 28:1, is here a figurative designation for a water-pit, and that we are not to think of a cistern, is clear even from שאון, also from the comparison of Psa 69:3, "I came into deep waters, and the floods overflowed me," and especially ver. 15, "Let not the water-flood overflow me, neither let the deep swallow me up;" further, from a com-parison of the parallel passages, such as Psalms 18:4; Psalms 18:16; Psalms 32:6; Psalms 144:7; 2 Samuel 22:5; finally, from the circumstance, that, the rock forms no suitable opposition to a cistern, while it does so to a deep of raging waters. Hence, by the mud also we must understand, not a muddy cistern, but the mud of a deep of waters,in agreement with Psalms 69:2, "I sink in deep mire, and cannot stand." On היון טיט comp. the lutulentum coenum of Plautus. היון, which occurs only here and in Psalms 69., appears to be the stronger; out of slimy mud. The steps are made firm, when they receive a sure foundation; comp. the: I cannot stand, in Psalms 69:2.-Ver. 3. And hast given in my mouth a new song, praise for our God; many will see it and be afraid, and trust in the Lord. The new song, (comp. on Psalms 33:3), is not pre- cisely this Psalm, which is rather to be regarded as only a par-ticular form of it. The rich new theme admits of many varia-tions; the new song may divide itself into a multitude of par-ticular songs. The expression: our God, not my God, prepares the way for the following: many shall see it, etc. The seeing goes not upon the new song, but upon the object of that, the deliverance. As to the substance, he has given me a new song, is, q. d. he has manifested toward me new acts of kindness. The fear is, as its connection with the trusting already shows, reve-rential fear: God's glorious manifestation will fill them with a holy dread of his majesty, and at the same time with confidence in him, whose help also they must be looking for. The parono-masia between יראו and ייראו points to the internal connection between seeing and fearing, and consequently to the greatness of the salvation experienced by the Psalmist. Ver. 4. Blessed is the man, who sets his hope on the Lord, and turns not himself to the proud, and such as bend aside to lies, The Psalmist himself speaks here, not the "many" of the pre- ceding verse. He draws from his experience, as exhibited in the preceding verse, the conclusion, that nothing is better and safer, than to place all his hope in the Lord. מבטה, object of trust. To turn one's self to any one, is as much as, to take up with his side, to go over to his party, to espouse his principles; comp. in Job 36:21, "turn not thyself to iniquity," and in Ezekiel 29:16, אהרי פנה. � The proud�. בהAרA only here,-come into consideration here, either as those who place their confidence upon their own strength, or as those who, in the proud imaginations of their hearts, put in the place of the eternal God the workmanship of their own thoughts and hands, and on that rest their confidence. שוט, occurring only here, is equivalent to שטה, to bend aside, deviate. They fall away from the right object of confidence to the false. Lies marks here, either everything beside the living God upon which manplaces his confidence, which belies him that rests upon it, feeds him with false hopes, his own and other men's power, (comp. Psalms 62:9, "men of low degree are vanity, men of high degree a lie,") also idols, or it must be understood specially only of the latter, comp. Jeremiah 16:19. According to the exposition given, there are placed in opposition to those, who, in the time of trouble trust in the Lord, those who, misled by high-mindedness, put their trust upon their own strength, and upon idols, or only upon the latter. According to many, the expression: to turn one's self is the same as: to seek help; the proud those, from whom help is sought, and who must be named lying, because they cannot afford the aid which they promise. But the proud manifestly stand in opposition to those, who humbly trust in the Lord; כזב שטי cannot signify, faithless of a lie, but only the turning aside of the, = to the, lie: turning aside from God, the legitimate object of confidence, who alone does not disappoint the trust placed in him, to a lie. Ver, 5. Many makest thou, O Lord my God, thy wonders, and thy thoughts toward us: nothing is to be compared to thee. I will declare and speak of them; they are not to be numbered.The ascription of blessedness to those, who place their confi- dence on the Lord, which the Psalmist derived, in the first in-stance, from his own experience, he here grounds farther by ris-ing from the particular to the general, to the larger manifesta-tions of God throughout the entire history of Israel. A pre-cisely similar transition from the particular to the general is to be found in the thanksgiving of David in 2 Sam. vii., which pre-sents so strong a resemblance generally to the first part of this Psalm: "For there is none like thee, neither is there any God besides thee, according to all that we have heard with our ears," etc. ver. 22-24. The words: and thy thoughts towards us, are in the nom. absol., and it is in reference to his thoughts toward Israel that God is designated as incomparable. The ך`רע is inf., literally: not is to be put on a footing with thee. Many expositors, after Luther: Great are thy wonders, and thy thoughts toward us. But then we have a trailing period; the parallelism is destroyed; the thoughts must be characterised more minutely than as being salutary; the last words refer im-mediately to the wonders and thoughts, which can therefore not be separated from them by a parenthesis. Ver. 5. Many makest thou, O Lord my God, thy wonders, and thy thoughts toward us: nothing is to be compared to thee. I will declare and speak of them; they are not to be numbered. The ascription of blessedness to those, who place their confidence on the Lord, which the Psalmist derived, in the first instance, from his own experience, he here grounds farther by rising from the particular to the general, to the larger manifestations of God throughout the entire history of Israel. A precisely similar transition from the particular to the general is to be found in the thanksgiving of David in 2 Samuel 7, which presents so strong a resemblance generally to the first part of this Psalm: “For there is none like thee, neither is there any God besides thee, according to all that we have heard with our ears,” etc. 2 Samuel 7:22-24. The words: and thy thoughts towards us, are in the nom. absol., and it is in reference to his thoughts toward Israel that God is designated as incomparable. The òøêְ is inf., literally: there is not to be compared with thee. Many expositors, after Luther: Great are thy wonders, and thy thoughts toward us. But then we have a trailing period; the parallelism is destroyed; the thoughts must be characterised more minutely than as being salutary; the last words refer immediately to the “wonders” and “thoughts,” which can therefore not be separated from them by a parenthesis. The Psalmist declares, in the second half of the first part, how he would show his gratitude for the goodness manifested toward him. The Psalmist declares, in the second half of the first part, how he would show his gratitude for the goodness manifested toward him.Ver. 6. Sacrifices and meat-offerings please thee not, ears hast thou dug through for me, burnt-offerings and sin-offerings thou desirest not. At the beginning and at the end, the Psalmist rejects a false way of presenting thanks, and in the middle he places the right one, acceptable to God. In what respect it is said here, that God did not wish sacrifices, since he had express-ly commanded them, appears from the contrast. The presenta-tion of offerings is set over against obedience, the willing per-formance of the divine command. Offerings, therefore, are thrown away in so far as they form a compensation for this, in so far as they would, in a manner satisfy, put off God. It is not such offerings that are demanded in the law. It is rather the caricature, which the natural man makes of them, always seek-ing to get rid of the most difficult of all sacrifices. Comp. on Ps. L. Those have quite erred from the right view, who have supposed, that offerings are here not absolutely rejected, but only placed in subordination to obedience. Offerings are either of no worth, or exactly the same as obedience. Not a mere de-preciation, but rather an unconditional rejection of offerings is also to be found in 1 Samuel 15:22, to which the expositors in question refer: "behold to obey is better than sacrifices, (which indeed are nothing worth,) and to hearken than the fat of lambs." With perfect justice does the Berleb. Bible add besides: "And so also, in regard to words and prayers, and all outward services, without the obedience of faith." Offerings come into consideration only as a species in the genus, comp. Isa. where, along with this, many other kinds are expressly named. As to the particulars, the sacrifice זבה, here as often =שלמים, peace-offerings, united into a pair with the unbloody offering, מנהה, the symbolical representation of good works, (comp. Beitr. P. p. 649, 650,) because both belong to those, who are already justified and pardoned; sin-offerings and burnt-offerings are placed together because they have this in common, that the offerer partook of no part of them.-We turn now to the middle member. Several commentators explain: ears hast thou dug to me, supporting themselves by this, that אזנים has not the article, and that כרה signifies to dig, and not to dig through. But the want of the article in poetry is very common,comp. for ex, in אזן itself, Isaiah 1:5, and so small a modification ofThe meaning may very readily obtain, especially in the poeticstyle. We might, however, say: thou hast dug to me the ears, fordug through. But it is to be urged against this, that the supposi-tion that אזנים marks here precisely spiritual ears, in opposition to bodily ones, runs counter to all analogy, and that in the re-lated modes of expression אזן פתה, אזן גלה, the discourse is always of the ear. We can then understand the expressionthou hast dug through the ears to me, in a twofold manner, Many take it thus thou makest me to understand, to discern, thou givest me an internal revelation on the point, that sacrifices are not well pleasing in thy sight. But, according to others, the Psalmist must in these words, place the obedience, to which he was internally drawn by God, in contrast to sacrifices, q. d. thou hast made me hearing, obedient. Against the first exposi-tion, and for the second, the following reasons are decisive: 1 The subsequent context requires, that in this verse it should be contained, not merely what God does not desire, but also what he does desire. 2. The doctrine that sacrifices, as opus opera-tum, are of no value, cannot be indicated as the object of a special revelation. It is, as Stier justly remarks, "a truth, from the first openly declared to Israel, although certainly not received by many." No Israelite of real piety was in doubt upon this subject. 3. Precisely the same contrast between obe-dience and sacrifices exists in the parallel, probably ground pas-sage, 1 Samuel 15:22 : "And Samuel said, Hath the Lord delight in burnt-offerings and sacrifices, as that one should hearken to the voice of the Lord? Behold, to hearken is better than sacrifice, and to attend than the fat of lambs." The exposition of obe-dience is likewise confirmed by the parallel passage, Jeremiah 7:22; Jeremiah 7:33 : "For I spake not unto your fathers, nor commanded them; in the day that I brought them out of the land of Egypt, a word of burnt-offerings and sacrifices, but this word did I command them, obey my voice, . . . and walk ye in all the ways which I have commanded you," compare ver. 24 "but they hearken- ed not, nor inclined their ear." See also a similar contrast inHosea 6, Psalms, 16, 17.-The 70. have rendered the wordsby ףשלב הו ךבפחספיףש לןי, but a body hast thou prepared for me, and the author of the Epistle to the Hebrews has adopted them, because the thought is not altered by this translation. The contrast there also is the presentation of thanks through thewhole life and conduct, in opposition to single and merely external offerings: thou hast given me a body, so that I will-ingly serve thee in the execution of thy will. Compare the words: Lo, I come, in ver. 7.Ver. 7. Then I said: Lo, I come, in the volume of the book it is prescribed to me. Then, under these circumstances, since thou dost not desire offerings, but obedience, and hast made me internally willing to perform what is desired, I come, in orderto do what is well pleasing to thee. The second member points to this, that the Psalmist, in his readiness to do the will of God, has the means furnished him, through which he can recognise this will with security, and in its whole compass, through which he is taken out of the region of his own imaginings in this re-spect; in the written law of God, it is told him, what is good, and what his God desires of him, so that he has no need to speculate and make curious inquiries, but can proceed straight to action. As God has given him the inclination to obedience, so has he also given him a law for that. The volume, or roll-book, is the Pentateuch, which from the first was written on parchment. The ground which some have found against the reference to the Pent., from the want of the article, is of no force, since the article is more rare in poetry, which is fond of brief and ornate expressions, than in prose, and might the more readily be dispensed with here, since, in the time of David, when no other sacred book existed, every one would at once under-stand what was meant by the roll-book. כתב with על prop. to write over any one, therefore to write, that the thing written lies upon him, occurs in 2 Kings 13 in a quite similar con-nection in the sense of prescribing: "Because our fathers have not hearkened to the words of this book, to do according to allthat is written upon us," עלינו הכתוב ככל. Parall. pass. are Joshua 1:7, "That thou mayest observe to do according to all this law, which Moses, my servant, commanded thee," and 1 Kings 2:3, where the dying David says to Solomon, "That thou walk in his ways, and keep his commandments . . . . as it is written in the law of Moses." These parallel passages, as also the connection, decide against the exposition of the Messianic interpreters: it is written of me. The exposition of De Wette: I come with the book-roll written to me in the heart, destroys the parallelism, leaves the parallel passage without considera-tion, and is contrary to all analogy, since it is often said of thelaw itself, that it is written in the heart or interior, but not of the law-book, that it is written upon men. The exposition of Gesenius: "Lo, I come with the book's roll, which has been prescribed to me," likewise destroys the parallelism, and leaves the parallel passages unnoticed; then it refers what is written to the book, instead of making it refer, as it should, according to this view, to the roll; finally, it cannot be said of the book, that it has been prescribed, at least no parallel passage is anywhere to be found. Ver. 7. Then I said: Lo, I come, in the volume of the book it is prescribed to me. Then, under these circumstances, since thou dost not desire offerings, but obedience, and hast made me internally willing to perform what is desired, I come, in order to do what is well pleasing to thee. The second member indicates, that the Psalmist, in his readiness to do the will of God, has the means furnished him, through which he can recognise this will with certainty, and in its whole compass, through which he is taken out of the region of his own imaginings in this respect; in the written law of God, it is told him, what is good, and what his God desires of him, so that he has no need to speculate and make curious inquiries, but can proceed straight to action. As God has given him the inclination to obedience, so has he also given him a law for that. The volume, or rollbook, is the Pentateuch, which from the first was written on parchment. The ground which some have found against the reference to the Pent., from the want of the article, is of no force, since the article is more rare in poetry, which is fond of brief and ornate expressions, than in prose, and might the more readily be dispensed with here, since, in the time of David, when no other sacred book existed, every one would at once understand what was meant by the roll-book. λϊα with ςμ prop. to write over any one, therefore to write, that the thing written lies upon him, occurs in 2 Kings 13 in a quite similar connection in the sense of prescribing: “Because our fathers have not hearkened to the words of this book, to do according to all that is written upon us,” λλμδλϊεαςμιπε. Parall. pass. are Joshua 1:7, “That thou mayest observe to do according to all this law, which Moses, my servant, commanded thee,” and 1 Kings 2:3, where the dying David says to Solomon, “That thou walk in his ways, and keep his commandments . . . . as it is written in the law of Moses.” These parallel passages, as also the connection, decide against the exposition of the Messianic interpreters: it is written of me. The exposition of De Wette: I come with the book-roll written to me in the heart, destroys the parallelism, leaves the parallel passage without consideration, and is contrary to all analogy, since it is often said of the law itself, that it is written in the heart or interior, but not of the law-book, that it is written upon men. The exposition of Gesenius: “Lo, I come with the book’s roll, which has been prescribed to me,” likewise destroys the parallelism, and leaves the parallel passages unnoticed; then it refers what is written to the book, instead of making it refer, as it should, according to this view, to the roll; finally, it cannot be said of the book, that it has been prescribed, at least no parallel passage is anywhere to be found. Ver. 8. To do thy will, my God, I delight, and thy law is in my inner part, prop. within my bowels. But these denote the innermost, in opposition to the exterior. To be convinced howgroundless the opinion of Hoffmann is, that ל in לעשות could not be dependent on הפצתי, which would have ב with it, we have only to cast a glance at Psalms 143:10, and the places cited by Gesenius, in his Thes. p. 507. The law in the in-wards of the Psalmist forms the contrast to that which had been externally prescribed to him. Where matters are as they should be, there the law is not merely prescribed, but also in-scribed. The Messianic expositors have maintained, that the substance of the verse is not applicable to David, who presently complains, that his sins are more numerous than the hairs of his head: and Jeremiah, in chap. 31:33, disclaims the writing of the law in the heart as belonging to the old covenant, and speaks of it as peculiar to the new. Tholuck still thinks, that the Spirit of God had, in a hallowed hour, put words into the Psalmist's mouth, which, in the full sense, could be used by no one but the Son of God. But to have the law of God in the heart, and to sin is no contrast, else would the promise respect-ing the new covenant in Jeremiah not have been fulfilled. That the distinction between the old and the new covenants in this respect was only a relative one, has been shown in my Chris-tology, P. p. 577, ss. But we cannot rob the old covenant of the writing of the law in the heart, without making its mem-bers destitute of all true and living piety; and consequently being put to the blush by such persons as David and many others. Already in Deuteronomy 6:6, it is said: "And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be upon thy heart," (not merely upon the stones, Deuteronomy 27:3, and upon the book-roll.) David describes, in Psalms 37:31, the righteous as one, in whose heartthe law of his God is. Solomon directs in Proverbs 3:3; Proverbs 7:3 :"Write them (the commandments) upon the table of thy heart." In Isaiah 51:7, God addresses the people, in whose heart is his law. With the giving of thanks by deeds must also be coupled the doing of it by words. Ver. 9. I preach righteousness in the great congregation; lo, I will not close my lips, O Lord, thou knowest. Ver. 10. Thy righteousness I conceal not in my heart, of thy faithfulness and thy salvation I speak, I conceal not thy loving-kindness and thy truth from the great congregation. It may seem, on a superficial consideration, as if David used here too many words. But they will judge quite otherwise, who understand the natural coldness of the human heart, its luke-warmness in the praise of God, its forgetfulness and unthank-fulness, and the inclination of the lazy mouth to silence. For such every word here will be as a sharp arrow in the heart. צדק, in ver. 9, is to be distinguished from צדקה in ver. 10, thus, that the first marks the merely being righteous, showing one's self righteous, as that was here brought in, while the lat-ter marks righteousness as a fixed property, compare Ew. Large Gr. p. 313. The: O Lord, thou knowest, points to the fact, how easily one can deceive himself and others, by the imagina-tion and the appearance as to his readiness for the praise of God. Let each consider, whether he can, with a good con-science, appeal in this respect to the testimony of God. The second part begins now, in which the building of the prayer raises itself upon the foundation laid in the first part. Ver. 11. Do Thou, O Lord, withhold not from me thy tender mercies, let thy loving-kindness and thy truth continually pre- serve me. Ver. 12. For innumerable evils compass me about, my transgressions have taken hold upon me, so that I cannot see, they are more than the hairs of my head, and my heart has fail-ed me. In the relation of the "withhold not," to the "I will not withhold," in ver. 9, there is expressed the doctrine, that the measure of the further salvation proceeds according to the measure of thankfulness for the earlier. This internal reference of the second part to the first, serves also for a proof against those who think that the second part was appended by another hand. The second part is properly that, to which the other points. The didactic aim of the whole is to shew, how we may pray acceptably in the time of distress. This can only be done by the prayer having thankfulness for its foundation, first mani-festing itself in the walk, and then in acknowledgment. As the expression, "withhold not," refers to "I will not withhold,"so the words: "let thy loving-kindness and thy truth continu-ally preserve me," point back to: “ I will not conceal thy lov-ing kindness and thy truth,” with which the Psalmist had closedhis promise of thanksgiving. That we will not conceal God'sloving-kindness and truth, is the sure means, but also the indis- pensable condition of its further manifestation in our experience.אפף with על is stronger than אפפוני in Psalms 18:4, as has al-ready been remarked by Calvin: "he says, that he is not only surrounded on all sides, but that a mass of evils lay upon his head." עונות signifies here, as always, not punishments, but transgressions, which, however, overtake the sinner in theirconsequences, so that in substance: my transgressions, etc., is as much as: the punishments for my transgressions; comp. Deut. 28:15, "all these curses shall come upon thee and overtake thee," 1 Samuel 28:10. That the Psalmist speaks here of his numerous offences, and treats of his suffering as the righteous punishment of these, forms an irrefragable proof against the di-rect Messianic exposition. This cannot derive support from Isa. liii. For here there is no word to indicate, that the offences, which the sufferer describes as his, were only those of others laid to his charge. And of such we can the less think, on ac-count of the many almost literally agreeing parallel passages in the Psalms, where personal sins alone can be thought of, and especially on account of the repetition in Psalms 70. The expres-sion: I cannot see, many expound: I cannot survey them. But against this there is the want of the suffix, and the circumstance that to see cannot mean to look over, or survey. The argument, which is derived from the assumed parallel: they are more than the hairs of my head, is nothing; for this corresponds to the expression: without number; as: I cannot see; to: my heart has failed me. The right view was already given by Luther in his gloss: "that my sight gives way under great sorrow." The expression elsewhere always marks the failure of the eyesight, comp. 1 Samuel 3:2, "his eyes began to be dim, and he could not see," 4:15; 1 Kings 14:4. Such a darkening of the visage takes place under deep pain, which exhausts all the powers, comp. Job 16:16, "lighten mine eyes," Psalms 38:10, "the light of mine eyes is gone from me." The heart is here not exact-ly the feeling, spirit, but is rather considered as the seat of thepowers of life. "My strength faileth me," in Psalms 38:10, is parallel. With the giving of thanks by deeds must also be coupled the doing of it by words. Ver. 9. I preach righteousness in the great congregation; lo, I will not close my lips, O Lord, thou knowest. Ver. 10. Thy righteousness I conceal not in my heart, of thy faithfulness and thy salvation I speak, I conceal not thy loving-kindness and thy truth from the great congregation. It may seem, on a superficial consideration, as if David used here too many words. But they will judge quite otherwise, who understand the natural coldness of the human heart, its lukewarmness in the praise of God, its forgetfulness and unthankfulness, and the inclination of the lazy mouth to silence. For such every word here will be as a sharp arrow in the heart. φγχ, in Psalms 40:9, is to be distinguished from φγχδ in Psalms 40:10, thus, that the first marks the merely being righteous, showing one’s self righteous, as that was here brought in, while the latter marks righteousness as a fixed property, compare Ew. Large Gr. p. 313. The: O Lord, thou knowest, points to the fact, how easily one can deceive himself and others, by the imagination and the appearance as to his readiness for the praise of God. Let each consider, whether he can, with a good conscience, appeal in this respect to the testimony of God. The second part begins now, in which the building of the prayer raises itself upon the foundation laid in the first part. Ver. 11. Do Thou, O Lord, withhold not from me thy tender mercies, let thy loving-kindness and thy truth continually preserve me. Ver. 12. For innumerable evils compass me about, my transgressions have taken hold upon me, so that I cannot see, they are more than the hairs of my head, and my heart has failed me. In the relation of the “withhold not,” to the “I will not withhold,” in Psalms 40:9, there is expressed the doctrine, that the measure of the further salvation proceeds according to the measure of thankfulness for the earlier. This internal reference of the second part to the first, serves also for a proof against those who think that the second part was appended by another hand. The second part is properly that, to which the other points. The didactic aim of the whole is to shew, how we may pray acceptably in the time of distress. This can only be done by the prayer having thankfulness for its foundation, first manifesting itself in the walk, and then in acknowledgment. As the expression, “withhold not,” refers to “I will not withhold,” so the words: “let thy loving-kindness and thy truth continually preserve me,” point back to: “I will not conceal thy loving kindness and thy truth,” with which the Psalmist had closed his promise of thanksgiving. That we will not conceal God’s loving-kindness and truth, is the sure means, but also the indispensable condition of its further manifestation in our experience. ΰτσ with ςμ is stronger than ΰττεπι in Psalms 18:4, as has already been remarked by Calvin: “he says, that he is not only surrounded on all sides, but that a mass of evils lay upon his head.” ςεπεϊ signifies here, as always, not punishments, but transgressions, which, however, overtake the sinner in their consequences, so that in substance: my transgressions, etc., is as much as: the punishments for my transgressions; comp. Deuteronomy 28:15, “all these curses shall come upon thee and overtake thee,” 1 Samuel 28:10. That the Psalmist speaks here of his numerous offences, and treats of his suffering as the righteous punishment of these, forms an irrefragable proof against the direct Messianic exposition. This cannot derive support from Isaiah 53. For here there is no word to indicate, that the offences, which the sufferer describes as his, were only those of others laid to his charge. And of such we can the less think, on account of the many almost literally agreeing parallel passages in the Psalms, where personal sins alone can be thought of, and especially on account of the repetition in Psalms 70. The expression: I cannot see, many expound: I cannot survey them. But against this there is the want of the suffix, and the circumstance that to see cannot mean to look over, or survey. The argument, which is derived from the assumed parallel: they are more than the hairs of my head, is nothing; for this corresponds to the expression: without number; as: I cannot see; to: my heart has failed me. The right view was already given by Luther in his gloss: “that my sight gives way under great sorrow.” The expression elsewhere always marks the failure of the eyesight, comp. 1 Samuel 3:2, “his eyes began to be dim, and he could not see,” 1 Samuel 4:15; 1 Kings 14:4. Such a darkening of the visage takes place under deep pain, which exhausts all the powers, comp. Job 16:16, “lighten mine eyes,” Psalms 38:10, “the light of mine eyes is gone from me.” The heart is here not exactly the feeling, spirit, but is rather considered as the seat of the powers of life. “My strength faileth me,” in Psalms 38:10, is parallel. Ver. 13. Be pleased, O Lord, to deliver me, Lord hasten to me for help. Ver. 14. Let them be ashamed and abashed to-gether, who seek after my soul to destroy it; let them recoil back- wards and be put to shame, who have pleasure in my misfortune. Ver. 15. Let them be confounded for their shame, who say to me: there, there. Ver. 16. Let all those rejoice and be glad in thee, who seek thee: let them say continually: great is the Lord, who love thy salvation. As ver. 13 and 14, so also these two form a pair. The petitions stand in the two pairs of verses in reverse order; the first: deliver me, then: put to shame my enemies; here first: put to shame my enemies, then: give to me and to all those, who in heart sigh after thee and thy favour, occasion of joy through thy salvation. These two pairs form the kernel of the second part. They are shut in by the introduction inver. 11 and 12, and the conclusion in ver. 17. Upon עקב על,on account of, comp. the lex. and on the words: who say to me, there, there, Psalms 22:7; Psalms 35:21; Psalms 35:25. On ver. 16, see Psalms 35:27.Ver. 17. And I am poor and needy, the Lord will care for me, my help and my deliverer art thou: my God tarry not. John Arnd: "Thou art my help in heaven, because I have no helper and deliverer on earth. Therefore delay not. I know, thou wilt choose the right time, and not neglect me. For this our faith certainly concludes: God cares for thee, hence hechoose the right time, and will not unduly delay." Ver. 17. And I am poor and needy, the Lord will care for me, my help and my deliverer art thou: my God tarry not. John Arnd: “Thou art my help in heaven, because I have no helper and deliverer on earth. Therefore delay not. I know, thou wilt choose the right time, and not neglect me. For this our faith certainly concludes: God cares for thee, hence he choose the right time, and will not unduly delay.” Psalms 41. HE, who shows tender compassion to the unfortunate, wins for himself thereby the divine blessing, deliverance, when mis-fortune overtakes him, preservation from the rage of his enemies, restoration when he has been brought by grief to the bed of sickness, ver. 1-3. The Psalmist, who always has a heart full of compassion, finds himself in a position, which occasions and justifies him in laying claim to the reward appointed to the love of compassion. He finds himself in misfortune, and malicious enemies surround him, who anxiously wish for his destruction, and seek with all their powers to accomplish it, ver. 4-9. Sothat he turns himself to the Lord with a prayer for help, and, consoled by the assurance thereof, gives utterance at the close to his joyful expectations concerning it, ver. 10-12. The formal arrangement is the same as in Ps. 2The whole is completed in the number twelve, and falls into four strophes, each of three verses. According to the current supposition, the sufferer in the Psalm must have been in violent sickness. But there is no reason for supposing sickness here to be an independent thing, or even the chief trouble of the Psalmist; it rather comes into consideration, as in the Psalms generally, as the attendant merely of the as- saults of the wicked, The expression in ver. 3, "the Lord will strengthen him on the bed of languishing," is preceded, in ver. 2, by "give him not into the will of his enemies." The ene-mies appear in ver. 5-9, not simply as malicious spectators of the suffering, which, independently of them, the Psalmist was enduring, but they take pleasure in their own work, and seek by further machinations to accomplish it: they gather materials for mischievous slanders, ver. 6, meditate evil against the Psalm-ist, ver. 7, rejoice in the knavish trick, from which they confi-dently expected his entire destruction, ver. 8, and lifted up the heel against him, ver. 9. In the prayer, vet. 10, and the ex-pression of confidence, that it would be heard, ver. 11, mention is only made of victory over the enemies, which would at once put an end to the whole suffering of the Psalmist. The kernel of our Psalm is contained in Psalms 35:13; Psalms 35:14, which is the more deserving of consideration, as the second part of the preceding Psalm bears throughout a reference to that Psalm. The ground-thought is this, that he who is compassion-ate, will receive compassion, that he who has the consciousness of having wept with the weeping, may console himself with the assurance, that his own weeping shall be turned by God into laughing. The Psalm has therefore a very individual aspect, it opens up to the suffering a remote and hidden source of con-solation. The penmanship of David is testified by the superscription, and he certainly speaks here from his own experience. Assur-edly his tender and loving heart was often impelled to embrace the wretched; assuredly was his confidence, in the time of his own wretchedness, often awakened thereby in the divine com-passion, and often had this confidence verified itself in hisexperience. But the Psalm nowhere contains any individual traits, which might justify the supposition, that he had an eye to some particular period of his life: it rather bears, if we look away from the form, the character of a didactic Psalm, and the "I" of the Psalm is not the Psalmist, but the righteous sufferer. The more readily, therefore, might the Lord appropriate to himself in John 13:18, and elsewhere, the ninth verse of this Psalm so expressly and unconditionally-he, in whom the idea of the righteous one realized itself, who could first say, with perfect truth, "Blessed is he that considereth the poor," in whom the two factors of the divine deliverance, viz. divine com-passion guaranteeing divine help, and the rage of enemies jus-tifying the sufferer in laying claim to it, existed in a strength, which they did never before or since, and in whose case espe-cially, the trait contained in ver. 9 was most strikingly realised. The direct and exclusive Messianic exposition, to which many of the older expositors were drawn by these considerations, is al-ready refuted by ver. 4, where the righteous recognizes in his sufferings a just punishment for his sins. Ver. 1. Blessed is the man, who acts wisely toward the poor; in the day of distress the Lord will deliver him. Ver. 2. The Lord will keep him, and keep him in life; he will be blessed in the land, and thou wilt not give him to the will of his enemies. Ver. 3. The Lord will assist him on the bed of sickness; all his couch dost thou change in his sickness. According to the com-mon view, the Psalmist must be regarded as beginning with eulogizing the blessed state of the compassionate, "because he had experienced the precisely opposite treatment, malice and scorn." We, on the contrary, would rather supply to his firstwho here points out his right to the divine help in the time of distress, shews ver. 4-9, that such a time now existed, and. words: as I have done, and refer every thing to the Psalmist,in ver. 10-12, first lays claim to the help, and then expresses his confidence in obtaining it. In the current exposition, the three first verses appear as a pure hors d'oeuvre, which might be cut off without prejudice to the main thought, as a moral re-flexion standing irrespective of that, and as such, most unsuit-ably placed at the commencement; the individual character of the Psalm, which according to our view, presents itself to us in this very commencing verse, is thereby completely destroyed: in the ground-passage Ps. 35:13, 14, the Psalmist is himselfthe merciful and compassionate one; the affecting passage: thou wilt not give him to the will of his enemies, is then only in its proper place, when the seemingly general declaration refers to the Psalmist. John Arnd remarks on the sentiment in ver. 1:“A gracious, compassionate, and beneficent heart wishes and wills, that it may go well with all men, as God himself cordially grants such to us. On this account also, does the Lord so re-compense again all good people with such blessings, that it may also go well with them, for what a man sows, that will he reap, and what he seeks, that will he find. Strive and labour after compassion, and so wilt thou find it; if thou wilt sow the reverse, thou shalt certainly reap the same. Such also is the case with the inner man of the heart, for if in faith thou lost exercise goodness and compassion, the heart is united in peace and quietness with God and in God.”השכיל expositors take for the most part in the sense of attend-ing to, but the more common meaning, and that which lies near-er the radical one, of acting prudently, wisely, (comp. for ex-ample, Psalms 2:10; 1 Samuel 18:14; Jeremiah 20:11; Jeremiah 23:5), is heremore suitable and also recommended by the אל. Wherein the acting prudently consists, in the manifestations of a tender fel-low-feeling, Psalms 35:13; Psalms 35:14 shows us, and in an opposite line of conduct to that pursued by the enemies of the Psalmist, as described in ver. 5-9. דל signifies properly, thin, lean, slender, and then designates him, who finds himself in a depressed situa-tion, with whom matters go ill and hard.-Instead of יאשר, the marginal form is רשaאuו;, the pref. with the cop. One feels of-fended at, the want of connection. That אל cannot stand for לא, is self-evident. But on this account the preceding and fol- lowing fut. are not to be regarded in the light of opta. The Psalmist turns himself suddenly to the Lord, and entreats him to grant that, which he does according to what precedes and follows, Upon בנפש נתן see on Psalms 27:12.-- משכב is never the act of lying, the lying down, but always signifies a couch or bed; the couch stands here for the state of the sick; God changes his couch of pain and sickness into one of convalescence and joy, and that entirely; Berleb. Bible: "let it be as afflicted and miserable as it may." It is further remarked there, in suitable reference to ver. 5, ss.: "Thou wilt not permit it to go accord-ing to the wish of the spectators, who come to see, whether hewill soon die, and what will happen after his death, but wilt help him up again, contrary to all expectation." The Psalmist, who with perfect right could appropriate to himself the words: "Blessed is he who acts wisely towards the poor," goes on to mention, in two strophes, that now it was the day of distress for him, now the rage of his enemies was boiling against him, now he was prostrated in pain, so that it was time for him to receive the fulfilment of the promise: he will deliver him, etc.Ver. 4. I spake: Lord be gracious to me, heal my soul; for I have sinned against thee. Ver. 5. My enemies speak evil of me; when will he die, and his name perish? Ver. 6. And when he comes to behold, he speaks deceit, his heart-he gathers mischief to himself he goes out and speaks. The Psalmist says: I spake, not: I spake, because he here appropriated that to himself, which, in the preceding context, had been ascribed in the gene-ral to the merciful, q. d. I find myself now in a situation for lay-ing claim to the salvation appointed to the merciful. That the Psalmist desires salvation for his (much oppressed) soul, shews, that the state of bodily distress only proceeded from sorrow and grief. If the soul was healed through the appoint-ment of salvation, deliverance from the enemies, the body would presently again become sound. In the words: for I have sinned against thee, the Psalmist announces the cause, on account of which he needed healing. The connection between sin and suffering is so intimate, according to the scriptural mode of contemplation, that the expression: I have sinned, is sufficient to convey the thought: I have in consequence of my sins be-come miserable. This misery is next described more particularly in what follows.-The לי, in reference to me, as concerns me. רע not simply evil, as רעה in ver. 7, but evil in the moral sense: in malice they speak so, as follows. The Psalmist, in consequence of their assaults upon his body and soul, is miserable and broken, so that they are in hopes of his speedy dissolution, which they could hardly have expected otherwise, and accord-inc, to what follows, seek to hasten forward through the con-tinued manifestation of their malice. In ver. 6 the subject is the ideal person of the wicked. To behold, namely, how it goes with me. He speaks deceit, hypocritical assurances of love and sympathy. We must not expound: his heart gathers, but: his heart, what concerns his heart, in opposition to the friendlymouth, he gathers mischief to himself. For the gathering can- not be fitly attributed to the heart, and it is, even beforehand, probable, that the wicked is the subject of the expression: he gathers, as he is in the three remaining members of the verse. Mischief, i. q. matter for malicious calumnies. He goes out, speaks, scattering things among the people, when he has left me, and using also his tongue against me. Ver. 4. I spake: Lord be gracious to me, heal my soul; for I have sinned against thee. Ver. 5. My enemies speak evil of me; when will he die, and his name perish? Ver. 6. And when he comes to behold, he speaks deceit, his heart—he gathers mischief to himself he goes out and speaks. The Psalmist says: I spake, not: I spake, because he here appropriated that to himself, which, in the preceding context, had been ascribed in the general to the merciful, q. d. I find myself now in a situation for laying claim to the salvation appointed to the merciful. That the Psalmist desires salvation for his (much oppressed) soul, shows, that the state of bodily distress only proceeded from sorrow and grief. If the soul was healed through the appointment of salvation, deliverance from the enemies, the body would presently again become sound. In the words: for I have sinned against thee, the Psalmist announces the cause, on account of which he needed healing. The connection between sin and suffering is so intimate, according to the scriptural mode of contemplation, that the expression: I have sinned, is sufficient to convey the thought: I have in consequence of my sins become miserable. This misery is next described more particularly in what follows. The μι, in reference to me, as concerns me. ψς not simply evil, as ψςδ in Psalms 41:7, but evil in the moral sense: in malice they speak so, as follows. The Psalmist, in consequence of their assaults upon his body and soul, is miserable and broken, so that they are in hopes of his speedy dissolution, which they could scarcely venture to expect, and according to what follows, seek to hasten forward through the continued manifestation of their malice. In Psalms 41:6 the subject is the ideal person of the wicked. To behold, namely, how it goes with me. He speaks deceit, hypocritical assurances of love and sympathy. We must not expound: his heart gathers, but: his heart, what concerns his heart, in opposition to the friendlymouth, he gathers mischief to himself. For the gathering can- not be fitly attributed to the heart, and it is, even beforehand, probable, that the wicked is the subject of the expression: he gathers, as he is in the three remaining members of the verse. Mischief, i. q. matter for malicious calumnies. He goes out, speaks, scattering things among the people, when he has left me, and using also his tongue against me. Ver. 7. All who hate we, whisper with each other against me, meditate evil against me. Ver.8. A knavish device over-hangs him, and he who lies down, will not rise up again. Ver. 9. Also my friend, whom I trusted, who ate my bread, liftsagainst me the heel. לי רעה, evil to me, q. d. evil, which is destined for me, which they would bring upon me. The eighthverse contains the words, with which the enemies betray their joy at the plan, which they hatched against the sufferer, and through which they confidently hope to give him, already pro-strate in distress,the last push. Compare Psalms 64:6. The first member, literally: a matter of mischief is poured upon him. בליעל always signifies unprofitableness, in the moral sense, worthlessness, compare on Psalms 18:4, and consequently the discourse here can only be of a knavish device, not of any thing directly pernicious. That the enemies themselves call the mat-ter by the right name, is quite accordant with their moral posi-tion. The expression: poured on him, for, hanging close on him, so that he can by no possibility get free of it, receiveslustration from Job 41:15; Job 41:16. The lying down refers to the condition in which the Psalmist was already placed. That he should not again rise up, they hoped to accomplish by the knavish trick--My friend, prop. my peace-man. Ven.: "he who, on visiting me, continually saluted me with the kiss of loveand veneration, and the usual address: peace be to thee." The saying, "Hail Rabbi, and kissing him," Matthew 26:49, may fitlybe compared here. The peculiar expression: the peace-man, Jeremiah has appropriated to himself, from his predilection for expressions of the kind, chap. 20:10, 38:22, whence Hitzig,by inverting the relation, concludes that Jeremiah had composedthis Psalm. The deduction added: in whom I trusted, (which our Lord omits, as not suitable in his case, thereby furnishingan evidence against the direct Messianic interpretation,) who ate my bread, denotes the friend as one, who lived on a footing of confidence with the Psalmist, to whom the latter had givenmany proofs of his love, who owed everything to him, and con-sequently serves to show the greatness of the heart distress, thedelineation of which reaches the highest point immediately be-fore the prayer is entered on. The eating of the bread may beillustrated from 2 Samuel 9:11, "As for Mephibosheth, he shall eat at my table as one of the king's sons," compare ver. 13, 19:29, 1 Kings 18:19. It is falsely referred by most to the in-terchange of hospitality, so that it might have been: whose bread I ate. The participle besides points to something con-tinued. In Judas the expression: who ate my bread, receives its full, its frightful truth, while he participated in the feast of the Supper. He lifts up the heel against me, as a horse that kicks at his master.-The personal relations of David, as toward Ahitophel, 2 Samuel 15:12; 2 Samuel 15:31, clearly form the ground of the representation in the verse, though we are not therefore to think of an individual reference. There follows now in the last strophe, the prayer growing out of the position of matters as described in the preceding con-text, ver. 10, and the confidence of its fulfilment, ver. 11, 12.Ver. 10. And thou, Lord, be gracious to me, and help me up, so will I requite them. Ver. 11. By this I know, that thou hast delight in me, that my enemy shall not exult over me. Ver. 12. And I-because of my blamelessness thou dost uphold me, and dost place me before thy countenance ever. The expression: "be gracious to me," is taken again from ver. 4, after a foundation has been laid for it in the pre-ceding verses. The "help me up," has respect to "he that lies down, will not rise up again," in ver. 8. In the words: so will I requite them, (falsely several: in order that I may requite them,) many expositors have failed to discover the meaning, The purpose of requiting his enemies, which the Psalmist here declares, appears to clash with Matthew 5:39, 40, with David's own fundamental principle, Psalms 7:4, and practice,-he frankly forgave a Shimei, 2 Sam. 19:24-with Proverbs 20:22, "Say not thou, I will recompense evil," and with many other declarations in the Old and New Testaments. Various expedients have been resorted to for the occasion: many of the older expositors, as Calvin, conclude from these words, that it is not David that speaks here, but Christ, to whom vengeance belongs: others call to mind David's kingly office, not considering that an exclusive reference to David is inconsistent with the entire character ofthe Psalm: according to Stier the author speaks here in the "friendly-ironical style," and the recompense he meditates, must consist in shewing forgiveness and favour. But the pas-sage will at once be harmonized with those apparently opposed to it, if we distinguish between recompense from revenge, which the injured individual as such, seeks and exercises, and recom-pense in the service of God, in vindication of the goods and rights confided to us by him, Only the first is reprobated in both Testaments, while the last is every where recommended. It not merely belongs to one in whose person a high office conferred by God has been insulted, as with David respecting Shimei, to whom, for reasons extraneous to the matter, he granted a tempo-rary impunity, but delivers to his successor for punishment, 1 Kings 2:9, as also the Lord in the parable, Luke 19:27, de-clares how he would execute vengeance on his enemies, and has fearfully done so;-but the private individual also often comes into relations, in which he is not merely warranted, but also bound to requite. No one would be so unreasonable as to adduce against the father, who chastises his froward son, when guilty of flagrant disobedience, Matthew 5:39, 40, when only he does not abandon his just right from personal fondness. Just as little should he be blamed who drags into judgment, or even casts into prison, the malicious defamer of his honour, which every man is bound sacredly to preserve, because without it he can-not fulfil the purposes of his life, the less so, as such conduct is the true manifestation of love also to the calumniator himself, so that the maxim: viri boni est prodesse quibus potest, nocere nemini, quanquam lacessiti injuria, sustains no damage thereby. To offer to the person who gives us a stroke upon the right cheek the other also, may, so soon as it is done, not merely with, the heart, but in outward act too, in certain circumstances, be the most unkind hardness. Between ver. 10 and 11 lies the great fact of the assurance of being heard. Through the cer-tainty of victory, which the Lord imparts to the Psalmist, when every thing appears to him to be lost, he is strengthened in the conviction of God's gracious satisfaction in him, "which the enemies would dispute with me," (Berkb. Bible.) That my enemy shall not exult over me, namely, as thou hast given me in-ternal assurance thereof.-The expression: and I, is used in contrast to the enemies devoted to destruction. תם never signifies well-being, but always in a moral sense, blamelessness.This is here the cause, in which the divine administration of help rests, compare Psalms 18:20. The contrast between, "in my blamelessness," and "I have sinned against thee," in ver. 4, is only an apparent one. This very blamelessness is burdened with much weakness. On account of this he is visited with manifold, and often very severe sufferings, but the blamelessness prevents entire destruction. The person, whom God "places before himself," is an object of his protection and watchfulness; compare Psalms 7:15, "I will behold thy face in righteousness."Ver. 13. Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, from eternity to eternity, Amen. Amen is no component part of the Psalm, but the doxology, which forms the close of the first book. Com-pare 1 Chron. 16:36. Ver. 10. And thou, Lord, be gracious to me, and help me up, so will I requite them. Ver. 11. By this I know, that thou hast delight in me, that my enemy shall not exult over me. Ver. 12. And I—because of my blamelessness thou dost uphold me, and dost place me before thy countenance ever. The expression: “be gracious to me,” is taken again from Psalms 41:4, after a foundation has been laid for it in the preceding verses. The “help me up,” has respect to “he that lies down, will not rise up again,” in Psalms 41:8. In the words: so will I requite them, (falsely several: in order that I may requite them,) many expositors have failed to discover the meaning, The purpose of requiting his enemies, which the Psalmist here declares, appears to clash with Matthew 5:39, Matthew 5:40, with David’s own fundamental principle, Psalms 7:4, and practice,—he frankly forgave a Shimei, 2 Samuel 19:24—with Proverbs 20:22, “Say not thou, I will recompense evil,” and with many other declarations in the Old and New Testaments. Various expedients have been resorted to for the occasion: many of the older expositors, as Calvin, conclude from these words, that it is not David that speaks here, but Christ, to whom vengeance belongs: others call to mind David’s kingly office, not considering that an exclusive reference to David is inconsistent with the entire character of the Psalm: according to Stier the author speaks here in the “friendly-ironical style,” and the recompense he meditates, must consist in showing forgiveness and favour. But the passage will at once be harmonized with those apparently opposed to it, if we distinguish between recompense from revenge, which the injured individual as such, seeks and exercises, and recompense in the service of God, in vindication of the goods and rights confided to us by him, Only the first is reprobated in both Testaments, while the last is every where recommended. It not merely belongs to one in whose person a high office conferred by God has been insulted, as with David respecting Shimei, to whom, for reasons extraneous to the matter, he granted a temporary impunity, but delivers to his successor for punishment, 1 Kings 2:9, as also the Lord in the parable, Luke 19:27, declares how he would execute vengeance on his enemies, and has fearfully done so;—but the private individual also often comes into relations, in which he is not merely warranted, but also bound to requite. No one would be so unreasonable as to adduce against the father, who chastises his froward son, when guilty of flagrant disobedience, Matthew 5:39, Matthew 5:40, when only he does not abandon his just right from personal fondness. Just as little should he be blamed who drags into judgment, or even casts into prison, the malicious defamer of his honour, which every man is bound sacredly to preserve, because without it he cannot fulfil the purposes of his life, the less so, as such conduct is the true manifestation of love also to the calumniator himself, so that the maxim: viri boni est prodesse quibus potest, nocere nemini, quanquam lacessiti injuria, sustains no damage thereby. To offer to the person who gives us a stroke upon the right cheek the other also, may, so soon as it is done, not merely with, the heart, but in outward act too, in certain circumstances, be the most unkind hardness. Between Psalms 41:10 and Psalms 41:11 lies the great fact of the assurance of being heard. Through the certainty of victory, which the Lord imparts to the Psalmist, when every thing appears to him to be lost, he is strengthened in the conviction of God’s gracious satisfaction in him, “which the enemies would dispute with me,” (Berleb. Bible.) That my enemy shall not exult over me, namely, as thou hast given me internal assurance thereof. The expression: and I, is used in contrast to the enemies devoted to destruction. úí never signifies well-being, but always in a moral sense, blamelessness. This is here the cause, in which the divine administration of help rests, compare Psalms 18:20. The contrast between, “in my blamelessness,” and “I have sinned against thee,” in Psalms 41:4, is only an apparent one. This very blamelessness is burdened with much weakness. On account of this he is visited with manifold, and often very severe sufferings, but the blamelessness prevents entire destruction. The person, whom God “places before himself,” is an object of his protection and watchfulness; compare Psalms 7:15, “I will behold thy face in righteousness.” Ver. 13. Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, from eternity to eternity, Amen. Amen is no component part of the Psalm, but the doxology, which forms the close of the first book. Compare 1 Chronicles 16:36. Psalms 42. from the sanctuary, in circumstances which con-strain him to recognize therein the mark of God's desertion, the Psalmist expresses his lively desire, that access to the sanctuary, and through that to the grace of God, might be again thrown open to him, His pain is still further increased by the scorn of his enemies, who, from his misery, and especially from his exile from the sanctuary, infer the want of any true relation on his part to the Lord; and increased also by the remembrance of his earlier prosperity, his participation in the delightful service of the Lord, (ver. 3, 4.) But amidst the uproar of a disturbed soul, faith calls him to "wait on the Lord," and promises that the Psalmist will still have occasion to thank him for his salvation, ver. 5. The power of the temptation is broken by this address, but still it is not quite vanquished. The pain revives again, but the Psalmist, recurring to the "wait on the Lord," bears it immediate-ly to him. The substance of the second strophe is briefly summed up, in ver. 6, in the words: "My God, my soul is troubled with-in me, therefore remember I thee," which is then expanded farther in what follows. First the words: "my soul is troubled within me," in ver. 7, which speaks of all the floods of distress going over him; then: "I remember thee," in ver. 8-11, which skew, that the Lord gives him grace, so that amid these un-speakable sufferings he can praise the Lord, cheerfully pray tohim, and lay before him his distress. What still remained in his soul of trouble and disheartening, is removed at the close by the repeated call upon his spirit to wait upon the Lord, and the Psalm concludes with the full triumph of faith. In Psalm the Psalmist prays the Lord, that he, as his God, would support him against his malicious enemies, and bring him back again to his loved sanctuary. At the close the Spirit silences the soul with the same address which had already proved so effectual. The formal arrangement is very easily perceived. Psalms 42 :falls into two strophes, each of five verses; ver. 6 is not reckon-ed with the second, because it has merely the character of a prelude. Psalms 43. has also five verses, and thereby discovers itself, precisely as Psalms 70. in relation to Psalms 40., as a kind of half, incomplete, which has respect to a larger whole. That the two Psalms stand in very close relation to each other,is manifest from this very circumstance, the number five in 43. pointing to the number ten in 42; then, from the agreementof the closing verse in 43. with 42:5, 11, as also, from the re-petition 42:9 in 43:2; farther, from the agreement of thesituation, which is clear as day; and, finally, from the want of asuperscription in Psalms 43. But we must not therefore think,according to the idea now prevalent, of throwing both Psalmsinto one. The more their agreement lies upon the surface, theless can it be supposed that the division into two Psalms hadfirst taken place at a later period. No one would have thoughtof this, if it had not been met with abroad. Besides, the analogy is against it. Where we find elsewhere a marked cor-respondence between two Psalms standing beside each other,there they always appear, not as parts of an original whole ar- bitrarily separated from each other, but as a pair of Psalms, comp. particularly P. i. and ii., 9. and x., 32. and 33.,which have also this in common with those before us, that thesecond Psalm wants the superscription. Then, the suppositionof an actual oneness destroys the organism. The second stropheof Psalms 42. carries an internal reference to the first. The words: my God, my soul is troubled within me, with which it com- mences, have for their foundation the close of the first: whytroublest thou thyself; and what is still more important than this formal connection, the second part starts from the consola-tion already described in the first, and an orderly advance maybe clearly perceived. On the other hand, in Psalms 43. a quite new commencement meets us: it bears the character, not of a third strophe and stage, but of a compend of the whole. To which we may add, the far lighter and simpler style of Psalms 43. to be explained in this way, that here the lamentation and the consolation are given in their simplest ground-lines; the refe-rence of, "the salvation of my countenance," in Psalms 42:11, to"the salvation of my countenance," in Psalms 5, which is dark-ened the moment we attach the latter to the same Psalm with the former; and, finally, the formal arrangement, the supposi-tion of the two Psalms forming properly but one, leaving un-noticed the number ten in Psalms 42. as an indication of what is complete in itself, and the number five in Ps. xliii, as the broken ten, and presenting to us, instead of the significant ten and five, the number fifteen, which signifies nothing. The Psalm bears in the superscription the name of משכיל, instruction, comp. on Psalms 32. The character of a Psalm of this description meets us in the very form. The spirit appears in 42:5, 11, and 43:5, as a teacher of the soul, and makes it, the foolish, wise. Since, according to the superscription, the Psalm was given up to the chief musician for being used in pub-lic, the maskil cannot be referred merely to the immediate, in-dividual occasion of the Psalmist: it indicates an appointment to teach the pious in general, how they must keep themselves under the cross. Then, in the superscription the Psalm is described as belong-ing to the sons of Korah, as Psa_44-49, 84, 85, 87, 88. These were, according to 1 Chronicles 6:16, ss., 9. 19, 26:1, 2; 2 Chronicles 20:19, a Levitical family of singers. Their musical gifts they probably owed to one of their members, the Heman who lived in David's time. According to the view of many, the Korahites must be named, not as the authors of the Psalms marked with their names, but as the persons who had charge of their performance in public. Against this, however, there are the following grounds. 1. When a song is marked in the superscription as belonging to any one, every one imme-diately conceives from this, that it belongs to him, as its author. hence, where the name of the author is not given besides in the superscription there the delivering of the Psalm for musicalperformance cannot be indicated by ל without any thing fur-ther, and in all the superscriptions of the Psalms there is to befound no case, where this might seem probable. 2. Among all Korahite Psalms there is not so much as one, in which David or any other not a Korahite, is named as author. 3. In one par-ticular Psalm, which bears at its head, besides the "Sons of Korah," the name of the author, that author is himself a Kora-hite, Heman-in Psalms 88:4. In by far the greater number of the Korahite Psalms there is a common predilection for the name Elohim, which has had the effect of the mass of such Psalms being assigned to the commencement of the second book, which contains the Psalms that make predominating use of Elo-him. Such a peculiarity is hardly explicable on the supposition, that the Korahites were only the singers.--With the certainty besides, that the Psalms marked with the name of the Korahites proceeded from the bosom of this family, still nothing is deter-mined as to the time of their composition. For as this family continued to exist for a long time as a singing family, and no doubt did so as long as Psalms were being made, (comp. 2 Chronicles 20:19, where the Korahites are mentioned in the time of Je-hoshaphat), there is nothing against the supposition, that these Psalms belonged to very different times. While the superscription attributes this Psalm to the sons of Korah, internal grounds not less strong favour the conclusion, that the person speaking in it is no other than David. To this, first of all, point the special references to personal relations of the speaker, such as are very rarely found elsewhere; comp. especially the following: "Therefore will I remember thee from the land of Jordan, and Mount Hermon, from the small mountains." Such references are to be found elsewhere only in the Psalms, which have respect to persons who occupied a position of importance for the whole community, above all to David, and from the nature of things can only be found in these, as the Psalms were certainly intended for the public worship of God. Then, the situation remarkably agrees with a similar one in the life of David, the period of his flight from Absalom. David was then deprived of access to the sanctuary under the same circumstances as the speaker here, so that he saw therein a mark of the divine displeasure, regarded his exclusion from the sanctuary as at the same time exclusion from God, and the return of the favour of God and return to the sanctuary as inse-parably united; comp. in the latter respect 2 Samuel 15:25; 2 Samuel 15:26 : "And the king said unto Zadok, carry back the ark of God intothe city; if I shall find favour in the eyes of the Lord he will bring me again, and shew me himself and his habitation. But if he thus say, I have no delight in thee, behold here am I, let him do to me as seemeth good unto him." Already this coincidence is a very individual one: similar relations certainly occur most rarely. David, further, betook himself at that time to Mahanaim on the other side of Jordan; in the land beyond Jordan does the speaker here call God to remembrance. The coincidence re-garding the situation is strengthened as to its present bearing, by the circumstance, that this Psalm agrees in an extraordinary manner with Psalm which, according to the superscription, was composed by David when he was fleeing before Absalom in the wilderness of Judah. To tear asunder this Psalm and Psalms 63. were as improper as to do so in regard to Psalms 44:44; Psalms 44:60. Finally, we find a proof against the Korahite, and for David as the object, in ver. 4, where the speaker painfully reminds him-self of the blessed time when he went at the head of the wor-shipping multitude, as their leader, to the house of God. This trait points either to one of the leading priests, or to the king. It does not suit the Korahites; for these, as mere Levites, could not have been quire-leaders. But we find David exercising a quite similar function at the introduction of the ark of the cove-nant, 2 Samuel 6:14, "and David danced with all his might before the Lord, and David was clothed with a linen ephod," because he found himself as it were in the priest's function, comp. ver. 18, whence David blessed the people in the name of the Lord. The superscription, which names the children of Korah as author, and the internal grounds, which point to David as the object of the Psalm, have equal justice done to them, if it is sup-posed, that one of the sons of Korah had sung this Psalm as from the soul of David. This supposition has certainly nothing improbable in itself. There is nothing more natural, than that David, who so often sinks himself in song, that he might dis-pense consolation to others, should now experience the same good office at the bands of one of the people; nothing more natural, than that, beside the love which was eager to impart bodily refreshment to David, there should also have been in active exercise, that love which breaks to the hungry the bread of life. It was a time, in which the love of the faithful proves itself just as lively as the hatred of the rebellious, and that among the first were all those who stood in nearest relation tothe sanctuary, arises from the nature of things, and is shown tohave been the case by 2 Samuel 15:24. Besides, we have a per-analogy in Psalms 84. which, according to the super-scription, was in like manner composed by the sons of Korah,but who, according to ver. 9, speak from the soul of the king,when in a state of exile.-By the view now given, we can ex-plain the relation of this Psalm to Psalms 63. The latter, com-posed by David himself when on his flight in the wilderness ofJudah, formed the natural point of contact for ours, which be-longs to the time of sojourn in the land beyond Jordan. The reasons which have been brought against the referenceto David, are of no force. The enemies are missed in Mahanaimwho taunted the Psalmist on account of his faith, ver. 3 and 10.But the raillery does not proceed upon faith in Jehovah gene-rally, but on Jehovah as the God of the speaker, and is quiteanalogous to that in Psalms 3:2; Psalms 22:8. The objection, thatMahanaim did not lie in Hermon itself, arises from a false viewof ver. 6, where the Psalmist, by "the land of Jordan and ofHermon," describes the whole of the region beyond Jordan, As for those who are inclined to transpose the Psalm to avery late time, that of the Babylonish captivity, or who, asHitzig, to that of the Maccabees, besides the grounds alreadygiven for the reference to David, there is against it the circum-stance, that already Joel, in chap. 1:20, had the first verse ofthe Psalm before his eyes, and that, in Jonah 2:4, there isan undeniable reference to ver. 7. Koester's idea, that thePsalm is a lamentation of the children of Israel on their exile,is already exploded by the fifth characteristic exhibited byVenema, "that this man was merely deprived by his banish-ment of the worship of God, while the seat of religion and itsexercise was not destroyed, but still remained." Opinions suchas those, which would make Jehoiakin, when carried into exile,the author, may safely be left to their fate. The following words of Luther furnish the best preparationfor a deep insight into the current of thought pervading thePsalm: "God is of a twofold manner. At times he is a con-coaled and hidden God; as, when the conscience in temptationfeels sin, feels other injuries, whether bodily or spiritual, it clingsto these with heart and thought, and cannot find consolation inthe grace and goodness of God. Those who judge of God aftersuch a concealed form, fall without remedy into despair andruin.-That there is still another and manifested form of God, or a disclosed and not concealed God, viz. the real form of the good, gracious, compassionate, reconciled God. As also the sun is of two sorts, though there is in reality but one sun, just as there is but one God; for it may be named another sun, when it appears dark and covered with clouds, compared with what it is when shining bright and clear from the heavens. And if one were to judge when the sun is dark and veiled in clouds, he would conclude that there would never more be clear day, but only eternal night. Now, however, is this an art, and in truth a golden art, to be able to hold, that though the sun, when covered with clouds and fog, cannot give a clear light, yet it will break forth through the clouds and fog, and again beam upon the world with a bright lustre. So does the prophet act here, when under temptation, comforting himself, and desiring to see the sun when it should break forth through the clouds. He thinks in his heart upon another image than he at present sees before his eyes. And though his conscience is affrighted, though all evil threatens, and he is ready to sink amid doubts, he yet elevates himself in faith, holds fast by hope, and consoles himself that God will help him, and again appoint him to see the service of God in the only place, which God had chosen for it on the surface of the earth." To the chief musician, an instruction of the sons of torah. Ver. 1. As a hart which pants after the water-brooks, so pants my soul after thee, O God. איל is a common noun, comp. Ew. § 367, although it generally denotes the male hart, the hind being designated by אילה. That it must here be taken as a designation of the hind, appears from the verb being in the fem. The Psalmist chose the hind that תערג might correspond to תערג, perhaps also, because with the hind, as the weaker party, the desire for water is particularly strong. Since כ always mean as = like, never = so as, the relat. is to be supplied after כאיל. ערג to pant, with על, in so far as the desire hangs over its object, rests upon it, with אל, in so far as it is directedupon that. Upon אפיקים brooks, comp. on Psalms 18:15. That in the hind's panting after water, we are to think, not of ex-haustion caused by pursuit, but of the prevailing draught, is clear from a comp. of Psalms 63:1, "My soul thirsteth for thee in a dry land," and Joe 1:20, "The beasts of the field long after thee, for the rivers of water are dried up, and fire hathdevoured the pastures of the wilderness.” The latter passage manifestly depends on this; the peculiar expression: they long after thee, naturally suggests the thought, that there is here an allusion to an older passage; excepting in these two placesערג does not occur again, and the ך~ילא תערג literally agree. The prophet has there attributed to beasts what is here said of the soul, in a connection with beasts, which naturally suggested such an application. The words: after thee, O God, refer, as appears from the following context, not alone to the wish of the Psalmist, of his internally participating in the grace of God. But as little, on the other hand, must we substitute: after thy temple, for: after thee. The longing of the Psalmist is de-scribed as going upon God himself, not upon the place of his worship. The temptation to turn aside into one of these by-paths, will be removed by the following remarks. Under the Old Testament, it was of great importance that one possessed access to the place where God had promised, as God of Israel, to be present. The outward nearness was the medium of se-curing the inward, (in this respect Calvin remarks, that as the godly of the Old Testament knew, that wings for flying failed them, they availed themselves of ladders wherewith to mount up to God; and we heed these helps to weakness no longer, simply because they have been furnished us in Christ in a far more real form,) and then the Israelitish church-life con-centrated itself there, and contemplation and love were in the individual mightily roused and called forth by the public fellowship. If, because God is to his people a God of salva-tion, there is contained in every withdrawment of salvation, in every severe affliction, a testimony against our sins, a matter-of-fact declaration of God, that he has driven us from his presence, it is impossible that so long as such an affliction continues, we can come to the full consciousness of fellowship with God and his grace. Hence, as certainly as under the Old Testament, it was the greatest evil to be separated from the sanctuary of God, so certainly must such a separation, effected by God, have carried the import more than any other evil could of a matter-of-fact excommunication. And though in such a case the consolations of God might have internally re-freshed the soul, still the return to full peace and blessedness, could only take place with the return to the sanctuary. From what has been said, it is obvious that the tribulation, in whichthe Psalmist was involved, was peculiar to him only as con-cerned its form, and that we are brought into a similar situa-tion to his, as to what is properly essential, in every heavy affliction, Most closely analogous are the circumstances in which the Lord withdraws from us his felt nearness-the states of internal drought and darkness, amid which his form fades in our souls. Ver. 2. My soul thirsts after God, after the living God. When shall I come and appear before God's face? The ad-dition: after the living God, draws attention to what the Psalmist had lost in this God, and indicates the ground of his lively desire and his painful longing after him. His God is not a phantom, which, itself dead, is also incapable of imparting life; he is the living, and consequently the life giving; comp. the corresponding phrase, "The God of my life," in ver. 8, rich in salvation for his people. The question: When, etc. q. d. when at length, O si rumpatur mora, etc., even the short period of separation from such a God, extending, in his apprehension, to eternity. That in the appearing before God's face we must think primarily of a re-opened access to the sanctuary, not of a purely internal access, is evident from the words; when shall I come, also from the comparison of ver. 4 with Psalms 43:3; Psalms 43:4, and, finally, from the usage, according to which the expression: to appear before the face of the Lord, is regularly employed of the appearance before God in his sanctuary. But according to what has been remarked, the opening of the approach into the sanctuary is to be regarded as the actual manifestation of God's restored favour, and so the question: when shall I appear before the face of God, incloses in itself also this: when shall I behold the countenance of God? Psalms 17:15, when wilt thou place me before thy countenance ? Psalms 41:12, q. d. when shall I enjoy again thy favour? To appear before God's presence is elsewhere יהוה פני אל נראה Exodus 23:17, but here the proposition fails, as in Deuteronomy 31:11. Isaiah 1:12. Exodus 23:15. Several have found such difficulty in this, that they would substitute the Kal for the Niphal, הא,ר;א,, Luther: that Imay behold God's face. But the construction is either to be explained by this, that the appearing here has the nature of a verb of motion, or by this, that פני here takes the character of a particle, in presence of, for which latter exposition only Deuteronomy 31:11 occasions difficulty.Ver. 3. My, tears are my food day and night, while they con-tinually say to me, where is thy God? On the first words J. Arnd. "When one is in great sadness, he cannot eat, his tears become in a manner his food, he drinks and eats, as it were, more tears than bread or other food, as David says in Ps. 80: thou feedest them with bread of tears, and givest them tears to drink in great measure." That we must expound thus, not with Calvin: “ he finds in nothing more consolation, than in tears, they are his refreshment, as others enjoy themselves with food;” nor yet with Stier: "they are my daily bread, and mingle them-selves with my daily bread;" that the sense simply is: instead of eating, I drink, appears from the parallel pass. Job 3:24, "for my sighing cometh before I eat," 1 Samuel 1:7, where it is said of Hannah, "she wept and ate not," Psalms 102:4, "I forget to eat my bread." While they say; the speakers, David's enemies, are not more definitely marked, because the allusion bears not upon their person, but only upon their discourse, which found in the Psalmist's feeling so mournful an echo. On the continually (היום כל signifies here, as always, the whole day, not every day,) Stier remarks: "For although the millers may not incessantly cause such things to be heard, yet the oppressed soul continually hears their raillery clanging in itself." On the words: where is thy God, Calvin: "What wilt thou? Seest thou not, that thou art rejected by God? For assuredly will prayer be made to him in the holy tabernacle, from access to which thou art cut off." But the separation from the sanctuary comes here into consideration only as the pinnacle of the mis-chief impending over the Psalmist, which the enemies turned to account as a matter-of-fact proof, that he had been cast off by God-comp. Shimei's words in 2 Samuel 16:7; 2 Samuel 16:8, Psalms 71:11; Psalms 115:2. Ver. 3. My, tears are my food day and night, while they continually say to me, where is thy God? On the first words J. Arnd. “When one is in great sadness, he cannot eat, his tears become in a manner his food, he drinks and eats, as it were, more tears than bread or other food, as David says in Psalms 80 : thou feedest them with bread of tears, and givest them tears to drink in great measure.” That we must expound thus, not with Calvin: “he finds in nothing more consolation, than in tears, they are his refreshment, as others enjoy themselves with food;” nor yet with Stier: “they are my daily bread, and mingle themselves with my daily bread;” that the sense simply is: instead of eating, I drink, appears from the parallel pass. Job 3:24, “for my sighing cometh before I eat,” 1 Samuel 1:7, where it is said of Hannah, “she wept and ate not,” Psalms 102:4, “I forget to eat my bread.” While they say; the speakers, David’s enemies, are not more definitely marked, because the allusion bears not upon their person, but only upon their discourse, which found in the Psalmist’s feeling so mournful an echo. On the continually (λμδιεν signifies here, as always, the whole day, not every day,) Stier remarks: “For although the millers may not incessantly cause such things to be heard, yet the oppressed soul continually hears their raillery clanging in itself.” On the words: where is thy God, Calvin: “What wilt thou? Seest thou not, that thou art rejected by God? For assuredly will prayer be made to him in the holy tabernacle, from access to which thou art cut off.” But the separation from the sanctuary comes here into consideration only as the pinnacle of the mischief impending over the Psalmist, which the enemies turned to account as a matter-of-fact proof, that he had been cast off by God—comp. Shimei’s words in 2 Samuel 16:7-8, Psalms 71:11, Psalms 115:2. Ver. 4. Thereon will I think, and pour out my soul in me, that I drew with the multitude, proceeded before them to the house of God with the voice of joy and praise, among the multi-tude keeping holiday. Many, and last Stier, refer the אלה to the preceding, the scorn of the enemies, and take the fut. אעבר and אדדם in the meaning of the fut. Luther: When I think on this, I pour out my heart in myself, for I would indeed go; Stier: I consume myself, pour out my soul in longing after this, that I (once more again) might go away. But in thus re-ferring the this to the "mournful question, which David cannotanswer, but of which he must constantly think," we get en-tangled in the difficulty, that the question of the enemies: where is now thy God, or the position of the Psalmist, which gives oc-casion to this question, and the going with the multitude and proceeding to the house of God, form no proper and fitting con-trast. It were somewhat different, if the discourse here were only generally of the coming to the sanctuary, to its again open-ed way of approach. To this belongs the comp. of ver. 6, where the object of the thinking is, not the scorn of enemies, but God and his earlier salvation, and the comp. of the quite parall. Ps. Leviticus 14. We would, therefore, with the overwhelming majority of expositors refer the this to what follows, and must take the fut. as indicative of the frequently repeated action in the past, precisely as they occur in Psalms 55:14. The pain of the Psalmist is increased, when he brings into view his earlier blessedness, and places it beside his present misery. There is no propriety in taking, with many expositors, the two fut. with the ה of striving, at the commencement, in the meaning of the common future: thereon think I and pour out; nor with Ewald, of substituting for, I will, I shall, or must think and pour out. The common import of this fut., according to which it denotes "the striving of the mind, the direction of the will upon a determinate aim," is quite suitable here. The Psalmist will purposely aggravate his pain. He will recall his earlier prosperity to mind, in order thereby the more sensibly to feel his present misery, his separation from the sanc-tuary. It is peculiar to deep sorrow, that it seeks out what tends to feed it, in particular, purposely loses itself in the mourn-ful remembrance of the happier past. That the common im-port of the fut. pang. is to be retained, is decisively proved also by the comp. of Psalms 77:3, which place further shows, that the object of the thinking is not the scorn of the enemies, but the vanished prosperity, as is also confirmed by ver. 6 and 11. The heart pours itself forth, or melts in any one, who is in a manner dissolved by grief and pain,-comp. Job 30:16, "and now my soul is poured out upon me," Psalms 22:14, "My heart has become like water, melts in my inwards," and the passages there referred to. Most improperly supply: in sighing andtears. עלי unquestionably signifies in a large number of places with me, and Gesenius, in his Thes. p. 1027, justly notices other places, which, though if considered by themselves, another ex-position might be possible, yet are so similar to these, that theycannot be dissevered from them. However, it is carefully to beremarked, that על occurs in the sense of with only in a certainconnection, "in speeches which refer to the heart, the soul, themind, with their concerns and changes." This fact shews, thatwe must not drop from our view the radical meaning of the pre-position. The עלי in such passages signifies with me, alludingto this, that the soul is the honour, the better part. Quite cor-rectly Koester: "everywhere (besides here ver. 5, 6, 11; 43:5,) our poet uses על of the soul, whereby the soul is indicatedas the ruling principle in man.-ך`ס multitude, here of thecompanies of worshippers, of their solemn processions to thetemple. אדדם is hithp. of דדה, to go slowly along, whichelsewhere occurs only in Isaiah 38:15, in the song of Heze-kiah: "I will go slowly all my days in the bitterness of mysoul," as one, who was at once freed from death, and appointedto death. Here it refers to the measured, solemn step of theprocession. The suffix appended to it, referring to the collect.ך`ס, requires a modification of the verbal idea, since the supposi-tion, that the suffix accus. stands here for the dative, is unten-able. The Hithp. standing properly as reflexive without anobject, often receives such an one, if the language in reflexivegradually insinuates a possibly active application of the idea, Ew.§ 243. So here the idea of the moving one's self slowly, goesover into that of the leading slowly, which the verb, however,contains only by its construction with the accus. The expres-sion: I proceeded them, could not be used.-The mention ofjoy and praise shows, that it was customary to go to the sane-tuary with songs of praise to the Lord, such as are found in the“Pilgrim-songs,” Psa_120:-134. The use of music in theprocessions is clear from 2 Samuel 6:5; 2 Samuel 6:6. The ב is placed atevery secondary matter, which accompanies the transaction,comp. Ew. § 521. Before the last words it is better to supplythen, from the immediately preceding, with a multitude keep-ing holiday, or to suppose, that they stand formally as quiteindependent: a holiday-keeping multitude, then to considerthem as appos. to the stiff. in אדדם, which would make a trail-period. המון prop. tumult, is used also of the festival-hold-ing multitude in 2 Samuel 6:19. The verse gives us a deepinsight into the nature of the true service of God under theOld Testament, shows how the minds of the assembly wereseized by a mighty impulse, and the fire of devotion and ado-ration was fanned into a bright flame.Ver. 5. Why art thou troubled, my soul, and art so disquieted within me? Hope in God, for I shall still praise him, the salva- tion of his countenance. Calvin: "David represents himself here to us as divided into two parts. In so far as he rests through faith in God's promises, he raises himself, equipped with the spirit of an invincible valour, against the feelings of the flesh, and at the same time blames his weakness." It is the mighty Spirit in God, which here meets the trembling soul, that in the book of Job appears personified as Job's wife. The weakness of the Psalmist manifests itself in a twofold manner, first, through deep dejection, (שהה, in Hithp. to bow one's self, to be troubled,) then through noisy restlessness,- המה, fre-quently of the roaring of the waves of the sea, comp. Psalms 46:3, Jeremiah 4:19; Jeremiah 5:22. The means of help for his weakness, is hope in God, and the ground of hope his believing confidence, that the Lord, who is still always his God, will by his deliver-ance give him occasion for thanks. The expression: the salva-tion of his countenance, is appos. to the suffix of the verb. The salvation is attributed to the countenance of God, with reference to the Mosaic blessing, where the being gracious, and the peace go forth from the countenance of the Lord, which is turned to-ward the blessed, compare Psalms 31:16; Psalms 44:3; Psalms 16:10; Psalms 17:15. On the plural ישועות compare on Psalms 18:50. Many exposi-tors, after the example of the LXX, Vulgate, Syriac, read: ואלהי פני ישועת, the salvation of my countenance and my God, while they draw the אלהי of the following verse to this. They rest on the circumstance, that it is required in order to maintain uniformity between this, and the two terminating verses, 11, and 43:5. But that the Israelitish poets were accustomed, for the sake of shunning sameness of sound, such as might carry the appearance of want of feeling, to introduce into their reite-rations small changes, is shewn by Psalms 24:7; Psalms 24:9; Psalms 49:12; Psalms 49:20; lvi. 1, 11, 59:9, 17. In our religious poetry, also, this is to be met with. In the song: "wer weirs wie nape mix mein ende," for ex. the regular form of reiteration is: "mein Gott ich bitt' durch Christi Mut, mach's nur mit meinem Ende gut," while in the last ver. it runs: "durch deine Gnad and Christi Blut machst du mein letztes Ende gut." The reading of the text,besides having the external proof on its side, is supported by the following reasons:--1. In the other passages which agree with each other in these Psalms, the coincidence is never a literal one, but is always attended with some slight variation. If men would change here, they must also, to be consistent, change theהי אל of ver. 2, into the ייה אל of ver. 8, the רמאב of ver. 3, into the באמרם of ver. 10, as also conform to each other 42:9, and 43:2. 2. The "my God" cannot be wanted in the fol-lowing verse. The address to God: I remember thee, comes in too abruptly, if it is cut off. 3. There manifestly exists between "his countenance" here, and "my countenance" in ver. 11, a very perceptible connection. The salvation goes forth from the friendly countenance of God, and upon the afflicted countenance of the Psalmist. The light of the countenance of God illumi-nates the darkness of his countenance. Ver. 5. Why art thou troubled, my soul, and art so disquieted within me? Hope in God, for I shall still praise him, the salvation of his countenance. Calvin: “David represents himself here to us as divided into two parts. In so far as he rests through faith in God’s promises, he raises himself, equipped with the spirit of an invincible valour, against the feelings of the flesh, and at the same time blames his weakness.” It is the spirit mighty in God, which here meets the trembling soul, that in the book of Job appears personified as Job’s wife. The weakness of the Psalmist manifests itself in a twofold manner, first, through deep dejection, (ωηη, in hithp. to bow one’s self, to be troubled,) then through noisy restlessness,—ηξδ, frequently of the roaring of the waves of the sea, comp. Psalms 46:3, Jeremiah 4:19, Jeremiah 5:22. The means of help for his weakness, is hope in God, and the ground of hope his believing confidence, that the Lord, who is still always his God, will by his deliverance give him occasion for thanks. The expression: the salvation of his countenance, is appos. to the suffix of the verb. The salvation is attributed to the countenance of God, with reference to the Mosaic blessing, in which the bestowal of grace and peace goes forth from the countenance of the Lord, which is turned toward the blessed, compare Psalms 31:16, Psalms 44:3, Psalms 16:10, Psalms 17:15. On the plural ιωεςεϊ compare on Psalms 18:50. Some expositors, after the example of the LXX, Vulgate, Syriac, read: ιωεςϊτπιεΰμδι, the salvation of my countenance and my God, while they draw the ΰμδι of the following verse to this. They rest on the circumstance, that it is required in order to maintain uniformity between this, and the two terminating verses, Psalms 42:11, and Psalms 43:5. But that the Israelitish poets were accustomed, for the sake of shunning sameness of sound, such as might carry the appearance of want of feeling, to introduce into their reiterations small changes, is shown by Psalms 24:7, Psalms 24:9; Psalms 49:12, Psalms 49:20; Psalms 56:1, Psalms 56:11, Psalms 59:9, Psalms 59:17. In our religious poetry, also, this is to be met with. In the song: “wer weiss wie nahe mix mein ende,” for ex. the regular form of reiteration is: “mein Gott ich bitt’ durch Christi Blut, mach’s nur mit meinem Ende gut,” while in the last ver. it runs: “durch deine Gnad and Christi Blut machst du mein letztes Ende gut.” The reading of the text, besides having the external proof on its side, is supported by the following reasons:—1. In the other passages which agree with each other in these Psalms, the coincidence is never a literal one, but is always attended with some slight variation. If men would change here, they must also, to be consistent, change the ΰμηι of Psalms 42:2, into the ΰμδιι of Psalms 42:8, the αΰξψ of Psalms 42:3, into the αΰξψν of Psalms 42:10, as also conform to each other Psalms 42:9, and Psalms 43:2. 2. The “my God” cannot be wanted in the following verse. The address to God: I remember thee, comes in too abruptly, if it is cut off. 3. There manifestly exists between “his countenance” here, and “my countenance” in Psalms 42:11, a very perceptible connection. The salvation goes forth from the friendly countenance of God, and upon the afflicted countenance of the Psalmist. The light of the countenance of God illuminates the darkness of his countenance. Ver. 6. My God, my soul is troubled in me, therefore do I re-member thee from the land of Jordan, and of the Hermons, from the small mountain. The Psalmist, following out the admoni- tion to wait on God, seeks, amid the deep pain, which his sepa-ration from the sanctuary had occasioned him, consolation in this, that he thinks of God, and vividly realizes his grace and compassion, of which at an earlier period he had received so many proofs. Calvin: "For how can it be possible, if God withholds his grace from us, that we should overmaster so many evil thoughts, as every moment press in upon us? For man's soul is as a workshop of Satan to produce in a thousand ways despair." Many expositors have not been able to lay hold of the thoughts of the verse. Thus, Stier remarks: "This otherwise just sense does not fit itself well into the internal or-ganism of the song, rising as it does, at this time, from lamenta-tion into consolation. It is not for consolation, but primarily for doleful longing, that the Psalmist here thinks of God, who once was his God, and appeared now to have forgotten him in his removal and banishment." Hence many of such expositors seek to extort the sense wished for by them, just at the expense of the ascertained meaning of the words: they explain כן על, which never signifies anything else than therefore, by because, and thus exchange what, in the text, appears as the symptom of the affliction into its ground. Others who cannot consent to this, expound: because the Psalmist feels himself so unfortunate he thinks with painful longing of his country's God. But thereason derived from the organism of the Psalm against the right exposition, amounts to nothing. According to it, also, does the Psalmist ascend from lamentation to consolation; but that the lamentation here does not stretch so broadly as in the first strophe, that the consolation so immediately meets it, must appear highly natural, when the exhortation to "wait on God" had just preceded. It is impossible that this could be spoken without some effect. But that the thinking is of a consolatory, not of a painful sort, is clear from the following considerations--1. The verse evidently gives in rapid outline, what in verses 7-10 is more fully delineated. The formal arrangement already speaks in favour of this. According to it, there must necessarily have existed an intercalated verse in the second strophe, and none excepting this can be found. Now, ver. 7 is an expansion of the thought: my soul is troubled, ver. 8-10, an expansion of this: I remember thee. But in this ver. the Psalmist repre- sents his consolation and his help as being in God, who quickens him through the manifestations of his grace, who gives him joy-fulness for his praise-joyfulness to pour out his heart before him in childlike confidence, and unfold to him all his necessity and his pain. 2. The prayer of Jonah, which manifestly leans throughout on passages of the Psalms, presents in ver. 8 the oldest commentary on this verse: "Then was my spirit troubled in me, I remembered the Lord, and my prayer came to thee into thy holy temple"-where, it is clear as day, that the remembering is of a consolatory nature, the antidote to the affliction. The expression: "my soul is troubled in me," the Lord has appropriated to himself in Matthew 26:38, John 12:27, not without profound reason borrowing the words, which indicated his sorrow, from a Psalm rich in consolation, so that, whosoever should take these words from him, might with him also look into the back-ground. It is remarkable, that the two Greek forms of the declaration in the Gospels are found in the LXX; in ver. 5 they have נוסיכץנןע וἶἡ צץקח לןץ,comp. Matt., and in this ver. ἡ רץקח לןץ ἐפבסבקטח, comp. John. The phrase: I remember, think of thee, has respect to that in ver. 4: I think on this. The thought of the Lord forms the coun-terpoise to the thought of the lost salvation. The land of Jor-dan of itself may mean the Cisjordanic, as well as the Transjor-danic land. We must not regard this designation as separate, but must view it in connection with the following: and of theHermons. Hermon represents also in Psalms 89:12, the Trans-jordanic region, as Tabor the Cisjordanic: "Tabor and Her-mon rejoice in thy name." That the Psalmist was situated, not precisely on Hermon, but only generally in the Transjordanic region-that we are hence perfectly justified in thinking here of David's sojourn at Mahanaim, on the further side of Jordan, to the north of Jabbok, upon the boundaries of the tribes Gad and Manasseh, comp. 2 Samuel 17:24; 2 Samuel 17:27, 1 Kings 2:8, is clear, not only from the mention of the Jordan, but also from the plural: the Hermons. As this nowhere else occurs, we cannot go along with the current supposition, that it is not a single mountain, but an entire mountain-range, just as we say now: the Alps, the Appennines; for it is not probable, that a geographical de-signation should find a place only here. We would rather un-derstand the plural according to the analogy of Lev 17:7, where "the bucks" denotes the buck-god and others of his brotherhood-comp. Beitr. P. IL p. 120,-and 1 Kings 18:18, where the Baalim stand for, Baal and his companions; the Hermons = Hermon and the other mountains of the Transjor-danic region. The plural points to this, that Hermon comes into consideration only as a representative of the species. Finally, the special mention of Hermon would be quite unsuit-able here, since the Psalmist manifestly did not wish to deter-mine exactly his place of sojourn in a geographical point of view, but only to indicate this in so far as to make it clear, how much reason on that account he had to think of the Lord. But this reason was not specially connected with Hermon; it belonged generally to his retreat beyond Jordan. The Cisjordanic land. was the land. of Canaan in the proper sense, comp. Joshua 22:11. The transaction related in that chapter between the Cis-jordanic and Transjordanic tribes abundantly explain the pain-ful emotions, with which the Psalmist mentions here "the land of Jordan and the Hermons." The people on the further side of Jordan betray their fear, that their brethren might come to say, the Jordan separates between those who are, and those who are not the people of the covenant. The people on the other side say to them, ver. 19, "And if the land of your possession be unclean, then pass ye over into the land of the possession of the Lord, wherein the Lord's tabernacle is." To be driven out into this land, and thereby cut off from all access to the sanctuary of the Lord, the Psalmist must have felt to be a heavy affliction. From what has been said, it is at the same time clear, thatthough we should take Mizhar as nom. propr. of a mountain, on which the Psalmist stood, still a reference must even then lie at bottom to its appellative signification, the small mountain, as it cannot be designed to give a geographically exact description of the Psalmist's place of retreat. The name of the hill is to the Psalmist an omen of the condition of the whole land, in which he is located. Comp. Psalms 68:16, Isaiah 2:2. Ver. 7. Contains a farther expansion of the thought: My soul is troubled. Flood calls to flood through the noise of thy water-torrents, all thy waves and thy billows go over me. The floods are the roaring sea-billows of suffering and pain. Flood calls to flood, one invites, as it were, another to pour itself forth upon thePsalmist. In צנוריך לקול, through the voice of thy channels, the Psalmist points to the origin of these floods: a new opening again of the windows of heaven, Genesis 7:11, has brought this new deluge upon him, by which he is already well nigh drowned, For the reference throughout here, as in 29: 10, 32:6, is tothe deluge. The ל in לקול is that of the cause and the au- thor, comp. לקולם in Numbers 16:34, Gesen. Thos. 729, Ew. �˜ 520. The expression: through the voice, points to the patter- ing of the rain, perhaps also to the accompanying thunders. The expression: of thy channels, (Berieb. Bible: "through which thou purest forth great rain of tribulation,") for, thy water torrents, has an exact corresponding parallel in Job 38:25; Job 38:26 : "who hath divided the water-flood channels, and a way for the lightning, to rain upon a land uninhabited, the wil-derness without man." We present the current exposition in the words of Stier: "Lebanon is full of springs, water-falls, and lakes, and this scenery, surrounding the Psalmist, (that is according to the false exposition of ver. 6,) supplies him with an image for the overwhelming waves of sorrow and distress, which pass over his soul" It is fatal to this view, that תהום is throughout commonly used of sea-floods, גלים and משברים always. Peculiarly significant is the reference to the sea by a comparison of Jon 2:8, which unquestionably has reference to this: "all thy waves and thy billows have gone over me"-compare also: the floods compassed me about in ver. 5. Finally, by this exposition צנור has, without any reason, the sense of water-fall pressed upon it: at the noise of thy water-falls. The signification of water-channel, canal, is ascertained by the only passage in which the word is found besides, 2 Sam. v. 8, and by the related צנתר in Zechariah 4:12. In regard tothe main subject, rightly, John Arnd: "This language is de-scriptive of a great temptation. For just as on the sea, when there is storm and tempest, when wind and sea roar, and the waves and billows mount now high aloft, now open a great deep, so that one sees on all sides nothing but one abyss call-ing, in a manner, to another, and one thinks the abyss will swallow all up, and the mighty waves will fall upon the ship and cover her; so happens it invariably with the heart in heavy trials. But God has the floods in his hand and power, can soon alter and assuage them, and by his word still them, as the LordChrist commands the wind and sea and it becomes a great. calm." There follows now the further expansion of the idea: “ I think upon him.”Ver. 8. By day the Lord appoints his goodness, and by night his song is with me, prayer to the God my life. For the sense, a but must be supplied at the beginning. As the words: day and night, stand for an indication of continuance, and as an evident reference is found in them to the day and night in ver. 3,-to the day and night of the Psalmist's continued pain, there are here opposed the day and night of the abiding con-solations of God-we must not with Jarchi, Venema, and others, understand by the day, the time of prosperity, by the night the time of adversity. It is a mere merismos, when the favour is attributed to the day, the song to the night, q. d. by day and by night the Lord sends his grace, and gives me to sing and pray to him, compare Psalms 92 :"to shew forth thy loving-kindness in the morning and thy faithfulness in the nights." The "goodness" or favour of God consists in the inward consola- tions which are granted to the Psalmist in the midst of his out-ward misery. In and along with the favour the song is also atthe same time given. For the person, who is comforted throughGod's favour, is enabled to sing praise to him. An example ofa song in the midst of distress we have in Psalms 40:1-10. Therealso upon the song and out of it follows the prayer. Thenwith the words, "by night his song is with me," we are tocompare Job 35:10, (the miserable cry over their mis-fortunes,) "and he does not say, where is God my maker, whogiveth songs in the night." Of the grace of prayer, granted tohim, the Psalmist makes use in ver. 9, 10. According to thecurrent exposition, the Psalmist must speak in this verse of his former prosperity, and in the following one of his present dis-tress: "at one time did the Lord impart to me of his goodness by day, and by night his song was with me, and my prayer flowed out in thankfulness to the God of my life; but now must I say to this same God my rock, wherefore hast thou for-gotten me?" But this view is disproved by the following rea-sons: 1. If the Psalmist might have left out the formerly and the now, upon which in this connection every thing turns, he must, at least, by the use of the pres. and fut. in some measure have distinguished the two spheres. Indeed not in itself, but in such a connection as this, the designation of the absolute past by the future is quite inadmissible. 2. The תפלה is by this exposition understood of thanksgiving. But the reading of two MSS. תהלה is not, as De Wette thinks, a good one, but a bad gloss. תפלה always means prayer, supplication, even in Hab. iii. 1, and Psalms 72:19, where the description, as one such, is to be taken a potiori. In this signification also it is always used in the superscriptions of the Psalms, Ps. xvii, 86, xc, 102. Never is it found before songs of praise and thanksgiving. Comp. besides, Jonah 2:7. It forms here the opposite to שיר, which of itself, indeed, has the common signification of song, but is pre-dominantly used of songs of praise, Ps. xviii, xlvi, lxvi, lxvii,- an opposite quite naturally, as hymns of lamentation and prayer with their depressed tone do not rise to the full height of the Song of Solomon 3. Then manifestly follows in ver. 9 and 10, the תפלה of which the discourse is here, or rather a particular specimen of the same. How could the Psalmist have well assigned theתפלה to the fortunate past, and then presently made a תפלה to follow out of the unfortunate present. How little the future paragraph is tolerable with the current exposition, is clear from the translation: I must speak, to which its advocates are driven. The ground for the current view, which is derived from the connection, has already by the remarks on ver. 6 been com-pletely set aside. The Psalmist calls the Lord the God of his life, because to him his life belonged, because he preserved and supported it, and must awaken him out of the death to which he seemed now appointed. Ver. 8. By day the Lord appoints his goodness, and by night his song is with me, prayer to the God my life. For the sense, a but must be supplied at the beginning. As the words: “day and night,” stand for an indication of continuance, and as an evident reference is found in them to the day and night in Psalms 42:3, (to the day and night of the Psalmist’s continued pain, there are here opposed the day and night of the abiding consolations of God), we must not with Jarchi, Venema, and others, understand by the day, the time of prosperity, by the night the time of adversity. It is a mere merismos, when the favour is attributed to the day, the song to the night, q. d. by day and by night the Lord sends his grace, and gives me to sing and pray to him, compare Psalms 92 “to shew forth thy loving-kindness in the morning and thy faithfulness in the nights.” The “goodness” or favour of God consists in the inward consolations which are granted to the Psalmist in the midst of his outward misery. In and along with the favour the song is also at the same time given. For the person, who is comforted through God’s favour, is enabled to sing praise to him. An example of a song in the midst of distress we have in Psalms 40:1-10. There also upon the song and out of it follows the prayer. Then with the words, “by night his song is with me,” we are to compare Job 35:10, (the miserable cry over their misfortunes,) “and he does not say, where is God my maker, who giveth songs in the night.” Of the grace of prayer, granted to him, the Psalmist makes use in Psalms 42:9-10. According to the current exposition, the Psalmist must speak in this verse of his former prosperity, and in the following one of his present distress: “at one time did the Lord impart to me of his goodness by day, and by night his song was with me, and my prayer flowed out in thankfulness to the God of my life; but now must I say to this same God my rock, wherefore hast thou forgotten me?” But this view is disproved by the following reasons: 1. If the Psalmist might have left out the formerly and the now, upon which in this connection every thing turns, he must, at least, by the use of the pres. and fut. in some measure have distinguished the two spheres. Indeed not in itself, but in such a connection as this, the designation of the absolute past by the future is quite inadmissible. 2. The ϊτμδ is by this exposition understood of thanksgiving. But the reading of two MSS. ϊδμδ is not, as De Wette thinks, a good one, but a bad gloss. ϊτμδ always means prayer, supplication, even in Habakkuk 3:1, and Psalms 72:19, where the description, as one such, is to be taken a potiori. In this signification also it is always used in the superscriptions of the Psalms, Psalms 17, Psalms 86, 90, Psalms 102. Never is it found before songs of praise and thanksgiving. Comp. besides, Jonah 2:7. It forms here the opposite to ωιψ, which of itself, indeed, has the common signification of song, but is predominantly used of songs of praise, Psalms 18, Psalms 46, Psalms 66, Psalms 67,—an opposite quite naturally, as hymns of lamentation and prayer with their depressed tone do not rise to the full height of the Song of Solomon 3. Then manifestly follows in Psalms 42:9 and Psalms 42:10, the ϊτμδ of which the discourse is here, or rather a particular specimen of the same. How could the Psalmist have well assigned the ϊτμδ to the fortunate past, and then presently made a ϊτμδ to follow out of the unfortunate present. How little the future parag. is tolerable with the current exposition, is clear from the translation: I must speak, to which its advocates are driven. The ground for the current view, which is derived from the connection, has already by the remarks on Psalms 42:6 been completely set aside. The Psalmist calls the Lord the God of his life, because to him his life belonged, because he preserved and supported it, and must awaken him out of the death to which he seemed now appointed. Ver. 9. I will say to God, my rock: why dost thou forget me? Why go I mourning under the oppression of the enemy? Ver. 10. It is as a murder in my bones, that my enemies reproach me, when they continually say to me: Where now is thy God? Under the consolations of God, the Psalmist had at last, in ver. 8, brought out the fact, that the grace of supplication had beengranted to him. The future paragraph stands at the beginning, and here in its usual signification: I will say. The figurative expression: my rock, is in Psalms 18:2, explained by the proper one: my deliverer. The why is in this connection, in a prayer, which the Psalmist has announced as the manifestation of a pre-gift imparted to him in the midst of his sufferings, directedto God, only in appearance expressive of murmuring impatience, or of hopeless despondency, but in reality opposes this, comp.on Psalms 22 :I. The why forgettest thou, etc., is in substance,q. d.: thou canst not possibly forget me longer, or allow me to go on still mourning. The expression: thou forgettest me, thePsalmist uses from the feeling of the flesh, which contends that God's grace has quite gone, if that should still not visibly appear,while he was assured by the Spirit of the grace of God, and could magnify and praise him. In ver. 10, the sense requires that why should be supplied, comp. Psalms 43:2. The Psalmist continues to represent the contrast between his relation to God, and God's procedure toward him, which contained the ground of a speedy change in the latter. His rock cannot longer give him up to the heavy affliction, which comes upon him from the taunting language of his enemies, saying: Where is thy God?The first member literally: in murder in my bones reproach memy enemies. The ב serves not rarely to indicate, of what na-ture anything consists, comp. Ew. § 521, so that: in murder, is as much as: as murder; it is like a murder, has that character. The verb רצה always means in Kal to murder, as also in Piel in Psalms 62:3. The noun has the signification murder in the only other place where it occurs, Ezekiel 21:27. It is only by lookingto the connection, that many expositors have here ascribed to it the meaning of shattering, bruising. The temptation to this rendering, is set aside by the remark, that the murder here is used figuratively for designating a deadly anguish of soul: thereproaches are to the soul of the Psalmist, what murder is to the body. Comp, Luke 2:35, "A sword shall pierce through thine own soul also." That the murder is represented as having its seat in the bones of the Psalmist, is designed to mark the pain as going through the marrow and bones, wounding theheart. The bones are the inmost part, the soul, comp. the ex-pression: I have no consolation in my marrow and bones. What rendered the reproaches of the enemies so very sharp to the Psalmist, appears from the nearer indication of their subject in the second member. They mocked at his pretension to a close relation to God, as one that was sufficiently refuted by his pre-sent situation: and this taunt received its sting from the fact, that in the Psalmist himself it found an echo, since he was at the time doubtful of his interest in the grace and election of God, and through that doubt had sunk into the deepest abyss of misery. The enemies had been right in their mockery, if the misery of the Psalmist had been a lasting one. That it might not be such, that God might soon remove the ground of offence, which it occasioned to his faith, is the reason of his here praying in faith. At the close, what still remained of trembling in the "weaker vessel" of the soul is put away by the call on the spirit of joy. Ver. 11. Why troublest thou thyself, my soul, and why art thou disquieted within me? Hope in God, for I will still praise him, the salvation of my countenance and my God. My countenance never stands as a mere circumlocution for the person. The pain occasioned by the distress, and the joy by the salvation discover themselves pre-eminently in the countenance. The Psalmist's countenance, formerly blanched by pain, and reddened by shame, deprived of its bright glance, should now become fresh and clear. The expression: my God, stands opposed to the ques-tion; where is now thy God, in ver. 3 and 10; and the Psalmist therefore closes with the most complete victory over the tribu-lation, into which the reproaches of the enemies had thrown him. At the close, what still remained of trembling in the “weaker vessel” of the soul is put away by the call on the spirit of joy. Ver. 11. Why troublest thou thyself, my soul, and why art thou disquieted within me? Hope in God, for I will still praise him, the salvation of my countenance and my God. My countenance never stands as a mere circumlocution for the person. The pain occasioned by the distress, and the joy by the salvation discover themselves pre-eminently in the countenance. The Psalmist’s countenance, formerly blanched by pain, and reddened by shame, deprived of its bright glance, should now become fresh and clear. The expression: my God, stands opposed to the question; where is now thy God, in Psalms 42:3 and Psalms 42:10; and the Psalmist therefore closes with the most complete victory over the tribulation, into which the reproaches of the enemies had thrown him. Psalms 43 Ver. 1. Judge me, O God, and plead my quarrel against a people without love, from the man of deceit and unrighteousness deliver me. The constr. of ריב with ב is to be explained by the circumstance, that the idea of deliverance lies enclosed in the words: plead my cause. In the גוי is contained the idea, not of the profane, but of the multitude. That it can by no means serve as a proof, that the Psalmist was oppressed by the heathen, is shown, for example, by Isaiah 1:4. The negative description of the enemies of the Psalmist: people not loving, is to be explain-ed from the contrast it presents to what they should have been, and what the Psalmist actually was. הסיד denotes such anone, as has love toward God and his brother, comp. on Psalms 4:3. The man of deceit is an ideal person. The mention of deceit suits better to domestic, than to foreign enemies.Ver. 2. For thou art my guardian God, wherefore dost thou cast me off ? why go I mourning under the oppression of the enemy? In laying the ground for his prayer, the Psalmist draws the Lord's attention to an opposition between his relation to the Psalmist and the treatment the latter was experiencing, in case this did not soon come to an end. Instead of my guardian God, prop. my fortification-God, there was the corresponding: my rock, in Psalms 42:9, comp. Psalms 27:1; Psalms 31:4; Psalms 37:39.Ver. 3. Send thy light and thy truth, let them lead me, bring me to thy holy hill and to thy dwelling. The light of the Lord is a figurative description of his help-affording favour, הסד, which elsewhere is commonly formed into a pair, with his truth, his fidelity in fulfilling his promises, the preservation of his covenant, comp. Psalms 57:3, "God will send forth his mercy and his truth," and the primary passage in Exodus 15:13, "thou in thy favour hast led the people, which thou hast redeemed, to thy holy habitation." This must be fulfilled anew in the experience of the Psalmist. The favour of God is described as light, be-cause it serves to enlighten for his people the darkness of their misery, comp. Psalms 36:9. That the Psalmist speaks of the holy hill of the Lord, Mount Zion, which was first made by David the seat of the sanctuary, shews that we are not with some expositors to refer this, and the preceding Psalm, to the times of Saul. The centre of all the Psalmist's wishes is his re-turn to the sanctuary, because the exclusion from that was, of all the marks of the divine displeasure under which he suffered, the most palpable. In his return to the sanctuary he would find a matter-of-fact justification, a pledge of the return of God's grace. Hence it appears, that this prayer is as to its form merely peculiar to the Psalmist, but in substance common to all those who are involved in distress.Ver. 4. And I will come to the altar of God, to the God, who is my joy and delight, and praise thee upon the harp, God, my God. The words: And come will I, q. d. I wish, that thou wilt give me the opportunity to come. Instead of: my joy and de-light, prop. my jubilee-joy, q. d. my God, in whom I rejoice making jubilee, even now in my distress, comp. 42:8, and stillmore, when the clouds are dispersed, which now hide from me thy gracious countenance. Ver. 2. For thou art my guardian-God, wherefore dost thou cast me off ? why go I mourning under the oppression of the enemy? In laying the ground for his prayer, the Psalmist draws the Lord’s attention to an opposition between his relation to the Psalmist and the treatment the latter was experiencing, in case this did not soon come to an end. In place of my guardian-God, prop. my fortification-God, there was the corresponding: my rock, in Psalms 42:9, comp. Psalms 27:1, Psalms 31:4, Psalms 37:39. Ver. 3. Send thy light and thy truth, let them lead me, bring me to thy holy hill and to thy dwelling. The light of the Lord is a figurative description of his help-affording favour, çñã, which elsewhere is commonly formed into a pair, with his truth, his fidelity in fulfilling his promises, the preservation of his covenant, comp. Psalms 57:3, “God will send forth his mercy and his truth,” and the primary passage in Exodus 15:13, “thou in thy favour hast led the people, which thou hast redeemed, to thy holy habitation,” which must be fulfilled anew in the experience of the Psalmist. The favour of God is described as light, because it serves to enlighten for his people the darkness of their misery, comp. Psalms 36:9. That the Psalmist speaks of the holy hill of the Lord, Mount Zion, which was first made by David the seat of the sanctuary, shows that we are not with some expositors to refer this, and the preceding Psalm, to the times of Saul. The centre of all the Psalmist’s wishes is his return to the sanctuary, because the exclusion from that was, of all the marks of the divine displeasure under which he suffered, the most palpable. In his return to the sanctuary he would find a matter-of-fact justification, a pledge of the return of God’s grace. Hence it appears, that this prayer is as to its form merely peculiar to the Psalmist, but in substance common to all those who are involved in distress. Ver. 4. And I will come to the altar of God, to the God, who is my joy and delight, and praise thee upon the harp, God, my God. The words: And come will I, q. d. I wish, that thou wilt give me the opportunity to come. Instead of: my joy and delight, prop. my jubilee-joy, q. d. my God, in whom I rejoice making jubilee, even now in my distress, comp. Psalms 42:8, and still more, when the clouds are dispersed, which now hide from me thy gracious countenance. Ver. 5. Why art thou troubled, my soul, and why art thou disquieted within me? Hope in God, for I shall yet praise him, the salvation of my countenance and my God. The words: I shall praise him, here refer back to: I will praise him in ver. 4. What the soul hopingly wished for, that has his spirit in faith already apprehended, so that the poor and bowed down can comfort himself and stand upright. Psalms 44. THE Psalm contains the prayer of an oppressed church for help against foreign enemies. It begins with the praise of the earlier benefactions of God; by his help were the heathen driven out of the land, and the possession of that brought to their hand, ver. 1-3. Upon the foundation of these earlier glorious mani-festations of God, arises to the church a firm confidence in his aid during the present emergency, with which for the future she can triumph over all imaginable dangers, ver. 4-8. But while she comes forth with this believing confidence in the reality, she finds the actual state of things in fearful contrast with it: God has given up his people into the hands of mighty enemies, who have put his host to flight, laid waste the land, which the Lord had given to Israel for an inheritance, and carried away its in-habitants into exile, ver. 9-16. This contrast between the reality on the one hand, and the matter-of-fact idea, on the other, attested as real, can so much the less be an abiding one, as the people had not occasioned the evil by their infidelity, had not made void God's covenant and promise through their rebellious-ness, but rather had suffered it for the sake of God, on account of their steadfastness toward him, ver. 17-22. Now the prayer for the restored salvation has been completely prepared for, and with it the Psalmist concludes in ver. 23-26. The train of thought comes very clearly out: Thou hast helped us, thou must help us, but thou hast not helped us, yet have we not by any guilt on our part cut ourselves off from thy help, do thou, therefore, help us. We are furnished with a secure starting point for the histori-cal exposition here in Psalms 60., which presents so many remark-able coincidences with this, both as to the general situation and in expression, comp. ver. 9 and 10 with Psalms 60:1; Psalms 60:2; Psalms 60:3; Psalms 60:10, ver. 5, ss. with Psalms 60:11, ver. 20 with Psalms 60:11, that the one cannot be separated from the other. Now, in Psalms 60. the historical oc-casion is announced in the superscription: "Of David, when he beat Aram of the two floods, and Aram Zobab, and Joab return-ed and smote Edom in the valley of Salt, 12,000 men." The relations, to which allusion is made in this superscription, were the following. While David carried on war in Arabia, and on the Euphrates with the Syrians, probably at a time when he had suffered a heavy loss in battle from them, (comp. Michaelis Hist. Belli Nesibeni, in the comment. p. 82, ss.) the Edomites, always intent upon turning the calamitous situations of Israel to account for the satisfaction of their hatred, made an irruption into the land. The small forces left behind in the land were not able to resist them. The greatness of the danger, in which Israel was plunged, and the injuries it had sustained, appears, though no-thing is said of it in the books of Samuel beside communicating the last result of the battle, from the incidental notice in 1 Kings 11:15, according to which Joab buried the Israelites, who had been slain by the Edomites, and who had lain till his arrival un-buried; it appears also from the frightfulness of the revenge, which, according to 2 Kings 11:15; 2 Kings 11:16, David inflicted upon Edom,-it was turned into a war of extermination against all the males in Edom-and from Psalms 60:1-3. But before the Edo-mites could plunder the capital, which they had threatened, things took a prosperous turn. The Syrians were completely beaten by David, and he could now send his general Joab against the Edomites. Joab overtook them in the valley of Salt, on the south of the Dead Sea, whither they had in all probability retreated on hearing of the return of the Israelitish army, after they had penetrated much farther, slew them in a body, and took possession of their land, comp. 2 Samuel 8:13; 2 Samuel 8:14 : "And David gat him a name, when he returned from smiting of the Syrians, (in that he slew) 18,000 men in the valley of Salt. And he put garrisons in Edom." Through these circumstances was Psalms 60. first called forth. Then the sons of Korah followed the example of the royal bard, just as they received the impulse from Psalms 63. for Psalms 42:42; Psalms 42:43., whether it were now that they sang with a special reference to those circumstances, or that these only served as a sort of ground-work to them for a general song suited to times of hostile oppression. The Psalm contains no-thing which may not be explained of that historical occasion. The words: "thou hast scattered us among the heathen," in ver. 11, by which so many have been misled, contains nothing against this. For the other parts of the Psalm do not permit us to think of a great carrying away; but carrying away of a smaller sort occurred even in the most flourishing times of the state, nay, to some extent in every hostile invasion, comp. 1 Kings 8:46, ss., where Solomon expressly notices the case of Israel being carried away into the enemies' land, farther or nearer, John 4:4, Amos 1:6-9 : and here, where express men-tion is made of the killed, we might confidently reckon on others carried away, the more so, as from the passage of Amos the burning desire of the Edomites for Israelitish slaves comes out, -the possession of whom was of importance as a matter-of-fact counter-proof to the fatal declaration, "the elder shall serve the younger," which was so often thrown up against them by Israel.The supposition of the Psalm's composition in the times of David derives very important support from ver. 17-22. The consciousness of fidelity toward the Lord thus uttered, was scarcely possible at any other period than that. Hence the joy-ful hope of victory in ver. 4-8 in particular, the expression: "in thee will we push down our adversaries, in thy name tread down our enemies," as also this: "thou goest not forth with our armies," in ver. 9, and the prayer in ver. 23-26, which rests upon the supposition, that the distress could be removedby a stroke-all point to the relations of David's time, in which, behind the foreground of misery and distress, there always lay concealed a rich background of salvation, strength, and joyful hope. If, notwithstanding all that has been remarked, the lamenta-tion should appear too deep for the times of David, we would bring to remembrance the fact, that Israel's loss in battle from the heathen was estimated by a different measure from what is common. The people were so fully persuaded of their divine election, and of the necessity of salvation arising out of that, that very small losses in themselves went much to their heart, and occasioned painful questions and supplications. How small,for example, was the loss before Ai; and yet, warlike as the people then were, "their hearts melted and became as water. And Joshua rent his clothes and fell to the earth upon his face before the ark of the Lord, until the eventide, he and the elders of Israel, and put dust upon their heads. A series of expositors from Calvin to Hitzig, have referred this Psalm to the times of the Maccabees. The only thing that gives the least countenance to this hypothesis is derived from the words in ver. 22: "for thy sake are we killed continually," it being "Antiochus Epiphanes, who first hated and persecuted the Israelites on account of their religion." It would certainly, however, be wonderful if this were the case. The fact is in-comprehensible in the same proportion that it must be re-garded as an isolated one. According to the right view, the heathenish enmity to Israel as a people only culminated in Antiochus, which beginning at the time of their elevation to that dignity, continued to operate through their whole history. The election in question, that entire isolation of them, which might naturally be regarded by the heathen mind as an odium generis humani, was all along an incitement to the bitterest hatred among the people, with whom Israel came into contact. Comp. Christol. Part III. p. 198, ss. Where could we find such rooted enmity, continuing with such violence through centuries, between two neighbouring people? How entirely different, for example, was the position of Edom, which could the less attain to Israel's prerogative, as it had with the latter the same bodily origin, toward Moab, from what it was toward Israel. Amalek,so early as the sojourn in the wilderness, attacked Israel on the ground of its pretension to be the people of God, so that the war, then waged, was essentially a religious war, comp. Exodus 17:16, "Amalek lays hold of the throne of the Lord, there-fore is there war to the Lord against Amalek through all gene-rations." According to Psalms 68:16, the high hills, emblems of worldly kingdoms, envy the mountain which the Lord had chosen for his dwelling. The predictions of the prophets-against the heathen nations proceed throughout on the sup-position, that the ground of their hatred toward Israel was a religious one. It is only on this supposition that we can explain how the guilt, which they drew upon themselves by their enmity to Israel, came to be regarded as so peculiarly heavy. The special grounds speak so decidedly against the referenceto the times of the Maccabees, that we do not need to apply the general grounds against the existence of any Maccabee Psalms, which are supplied by the history of the canon. This alone is of itself sufficient, that the people here appeal in the presence of God to their covenant-faithfulness, and on the ground. of this, lay claim to divine aid, ver. 17-22. In all the three sources of the history of Epiphanes's oppression, this is uniformly designated as a consequence of the abhorrence, which was caused by the covenant people themselves, as a righteous retribution, see the proof in Christol. P. II. p. 501, ss. The supposition that the Chasideans speak here, does not help the difficulty. For here it is the whole people who speak, Jacob in ver. 4, and of an internal contrast, no trace is to be found. Then, it deter-mines against this supposition, what we have made availing as proof, that the misery over which the Psalmist mourns, has as yet only assumed a superficial form, in particular, the words: "thou goest not forth with our enemies." Finally, it is contra-dicted by the style and mode of representation, which is through-out of a pure, noble, and classical character. The hypothesis of Koester, who refers the Psalm "to the mournful times of the return from the Babylonish captivity," and of Ewald, who ascribes it to the fourth century, towards the end of the Persian supremacy, deserve no further notice, as they are alike disproved by the words: "thou goest not forth with our armies." Several decide for the times shortly before the exile, either under Jehoiakim or under Jehoiachin. But let men only read what Michaelis has written in his Praef. in Jerem. of those times, and see whether they can be brought to accord with ver. 17-22: "impiety and senseless idolatry had so taken possession of the minds of the people, that, notwithstanding what Josiah had done, they soon returned again with the greatest levity to their old behaviour, Jeremiah 3:4; Jeremiah 5:10, and proceeded not in the course of righteousness, but with a hypocritical return to God, they continued alienated from him in fixed aversion, ch. 8:5, 6, satisfied with the outward worship of God, and the ceremonies, ch. 6:20, and foolishly confiding therein, ch. 7:4, as if these could cover their manifold misdeeds, and especially their ido-latry." What Tholuck brings forward as proof, that the Psalm may with propriety be referred to the times of Jehoiachin, is notsufficient proof. It is indeed related of him, he says, in 2 Chron. 36: 9, that he did what was displeasing to the Lord; but it is clear from Jeremiah 22:10, ss., that the youthful king, mourned for by many, only suffered on account of the unalterable destiny of God and the sins of the people. Already with Jehoiakim did idolatry cease to be practised. It is declared, in 2 Kings 24:3; 2 Kings 24:4, that, on account of the sins of the idolatrous Ma-nasseh, the people should be given up to their enemies. How much more could a godly man among the people, under the "blameless Jechoniah" say, that such oppression was come upon them not for their apostacy. But, on the other hand, it is to be remarked, that the "blameless Jechoniah" is not only condemned in the Chronicles, but not less decidedly also in the book of Kings, 2 Kings 24:9 : "and he did evil in the sight of the Lord, according to all that his father had done." In Jeremiah 13:18, misery is announced to him as a deserved punish-ment; in 23:1 he is reproved under the shepherds, "who destroy and scatter the Lord's sheep;" in Ezekiel 19:5, ss., he appears as a dreadful young lion, comp. J. D. Michaelis Bib: Hebr. in loco. In Jer. ch. 22. there is nothing in praise of Jeho-iachin. The passage, 2 Kings 24., which speaks of the rejection of Judah under Jehoiakim on account of the sins of Manasseh, affirms nothing either of Judah, or of Jehoiakim being guiltless. Manasseh and Jehoiakim form no contrast: Jehoiakim the re-volting tyrant, the decided enemy of the truth, the persecutor of the servants of God, Jeremiah 22:18; Jeremiah 22:19; Jeremiah 26:20, ss. 36:13-17, 23, ss., walked in the ways of Manasseh, his existence was a continuation of that of Manasseh, and hence were Manasseh's sins punished in him. Besides, what would be gained, if there were obtained a blameless Jehoiachin? Here not the king merely, but the whole people protests its fidelity to the Lord, and that in-deed, of a kind reaching to the inclinations of the mind; comp. the words: our heart is not turned back. Could Jehoiachin have accomplished during his three months reign a total regenera-tion of the people? Other reasons against the reference of the Psalm to the times shortly before the exile, naturally suggest themselves from what has been already remarked. After the superscription, to the chief musician, of the sons of Korah, an instruction, follows the first strophe, ver. 1-3, in which the church reminds the Lord, of what he had done for her in former times. Ver. 1. God, with our ears we have heard, our fathers have told us the deed, which thou didst in their days, the days of old. What the Lord had done to his people in the past, that forms a pledge for the salvation to be imparted by him through all times, causes the want of salvation to appear as an anomaly, and lays an excellent foundation for the prayer for relief. Comp. the re-markably corresponding passage, Judges 6:13, “ And Gideon said to him, Oh my Lord, if the Lord be with us, why then is all this befallen us? And where are all thy wonders, which our fathers told us of, saying: Did not the Lord bring us up from Egypt? And now the Lord hath forsaken us, and given us into the hand of Midian,” 2 Chronicles 20:7, Habakkuk 3:2, where the church of the Lord, which had done so gloriously in the past, prays, that he would revive his work in the midst of the years. The expression, "we have heard with our ears," forms the con-trast to what they at present see with their eyes; comp.. Psalms 48:7, "as we have heard, so have we seen." On: our fa-thers have told us, comp. Exodus 10:2. The deed (not deeds are here spoken of, but one great deed) is not the work Of deliver, ante from the land of Egypt, but, as the following context shows, the driving out of the Canaanites. It is precisely in regard to this, that the present condition of the Israelites forms the great-est contrast. The: in their days, the days of old, stands op-posed to: in our days, the days of the present time.Ver. 2. Thou hast with thy hand driven out the heathen, and planted them, hast destroyed peoples, and spread them abroad. The emphatic thou, and the addition: with thy hand, prop. as to thy hand, comp. on Psalms 3:4, in opposition to their sword and their arm in ver. 3, both serve the same purpose, viz., to ascribe that great work to a divine cause. Only in so far as it was of such a nature was it a pledge of salvation for the future, and constituted a sure foundation for the prayer of the Church for deliverance from their distress. The image of the planting al-ready occurs in Exodus 15:17, "Thou wilt bring them and plant them on the mountain of thine inheritance," and is enlarged upon in Psalms 80:8, "Thou broughtest a vine out of Egypt, thou didst cast out the heathen and plant it." The image is conti-nued in the expression: thou hast spread them abroad, prop. hast sent them forth, the twigs of that tree, or the shoots of that vine; comp. the paral. pass. alluding to this ver. Psalms 80:11, "it sent out its boughs to the sea, and its branches to theriver," Ezekiel 17:6; Ezekiel 17:7. In the general sig. of extending, spread-ing forth, שלה cannot be taken. It is always used only of branches, twigs, or roots, Jeremiah 17:8.Ver. 3. For not by their sword got they the land, and their arm helped them not, but thy right hand, and thy arm, and the light of thy countenance, for thou wast favourable to them. The first clause with כי grounds the declaration: thou alone hast planted them, sent them forth, of the preceding verse, while it excludes the other possible cause of the fortunate result. The second clause with כי grounds this exclusion, by setting forth the real cause. The third clause with כי carries back the operation of this cause to to its source, to God's free and undeserved love,- comp. the enlargement in Deuteronomy 9:9; Deuteronomy 9:10. On the first clause comp. Joshua 24:12, "not by thy sword nor by thy bow." The light of God's countenance is the favour with which his countenance beams, like a clear sun, and which illuminated the darkness of his people, comp. Psalms 43:3. Ver. 2. Thou hast with thy hand driven out the heathen, and planted them, hast destroyed peoples, and spread them abroad. The emphatic thou, and the addition: with thy hand, prop. as to thy hand, comp. on Psalms 3:4, in opposition to their sword and their arm in Psalms 44:3, both serve the same purpose, viz., to ascribe that great work to a divine cause. Only in so far as it was of such a nature was it a pledge of salvation for the future, and constituted a sure foundation for the prayer of the Church for deliverance from their distress. The image of the planting already occurs in Exodus 15:17, “Thou wilt bring them and plant them on the mountain of thine inheritance,” and is enlarged upon in Psalms 80:8, “Thou broughtest a vine out of Egypt, thou didst cast out the heathen and plant it.” The image is continued in the expression: thou hast spread them abroad, prop. hast sent them forth, the twigs of that tree, or the shoots of that vine; comp. the paral. pass. alluding to this ver. Psalms 80:11, “it sent out its boughs to the sea, and its branches to the river,” Ezekiel 17:6-7. In the general sig. of extending, spreading forth, ùìç cannot be taken. It is always used only of branches, twigs, or roots, Jeremiah 17:8. Ver. 3. For not by their sword got they the land, and their arm helped them not, but thy right hand, and thy arm, and the light of thy countenance, for thou wast favourable to them. The first clause with λι grounds the declaration: thou alone hast planted them, sent them forth, of the preceding verse, while it excludes the other possible cause of the fortunate result. The second clause with λι grounds this exclusion, by setting forth the real cause. The third clause with λι carries back the operation of this cause to its source, to God’s free and undeserved love,—comp. the enlargement in Deuteronomy 9 and Deuteronomy 10. On the first clause comp. Joshua 24:12, “not by thy sword nor by thy bow.” The light of God’s countenance is the favour with which his countenance beams, like a clear sun, and which illuminated the darkness of his people, comp. Psalms 43:3. Now follows the second strophe, Psalms 44:4-8 : what thou hast done in the past, that do also in the present; for this we, pray, for this we hope in faith. Now follows the second strophe, ver. 4-8: what thou hast done in the past, that do also in the present; for this we, pray, for this we hope in faith.Ver. 4. Thou art he that is my king, O God, command the salvation of Jacob. Ai certainly as the God of Israel is king-this his past deeds plainly testify-so certainly must these deeds again revive, he must again for the present dispense salvation to his people. Against the supposition of Gesenius and Ewald, (§ 548,) the הוא represents the place of the copula, even with a difference of person, comp. the remarks of Straus on Zephaniah 72, ss. Here, as in 2 Samuel 7:28, the relative is to be Sup-plied, which, in a similar connection, is expressly written in 1 Chronicles 21:17, thou he my king; for, thou art he that is my king, thou art so certainly, and thou alone. Command is a con-fident expression for, thou wilt command. Michaelis: "Be-cause he had named God his king, he makes use of a word which points to kingly authority and irresistible power."Ver. 5. In thee will we push down our enemies, in thy name tread down our adversaries. Many expositors refer this and the following verse to the past, supposing the people in them to be still praising the earlier deeds of God. This view has been oc-casioned by their not knowing how to reconcile the joyful hope here expressed, with the lamentation contained in verse 9, not perceiving that here faith speaks, which leans upon the divineelection historically evinced, while in ver. 9, the visible state of things standing in plain contrast to this faith, draws upon it the attention of the church, and causes her to pray to the Lord, that he would remove this contrast. Against our understanding it in the past, speaks the imperative in ver. 4, the constant use of the first person, while the forefathers are always spoken of in the third, the use of the fut., while the Psalmist had always. spoken of the past in the praet., the relation of ver. 6 and 7 to ver. 3, etc.-That we must not take the fut. optatively, that they express not petitions, but confidence, appears from ver. 8. -The first member refers to Deuteronomy 33:17, where it is said by Moses in the blessing on Joseph, "his horns are buffalo-horns, with them will he push peoples," comp. 1 Kings 22:11, where the false prophet Zedekiah embodies the image of this passage in a symbolical action. The name of God denotes God in so far as he shews himself to be such in a completeness of deeds, comp. Psalms 20:1; Psalms 23:3. On קם comp. on Psalms 18:39.Ver. 6. For I do not trust to my bow, and my sword will not help me. Ver. 7. But thou helpest us from our enemies, and dost put to shame those who hate us. Just as in reference to the past, the salvation was ascribed wholly to God, so here in refe-rence to the future.Ver. 8. God we extol continually, and thy name we praise for ever. Selah. By the ב God is marked as the object, in whom the extolling terminates, comp. Ewald, § 521. On the second clause, Psalms 71:6, "in thee is my praise perpetual." The ex-position: Of God we boast ourselves, is to be rejected. הלל never signifies to boast one's self, comp. on Psalms 10:3. Ver. 5. In thee will we push down our enemies, in thy name tread down our adversaries. Some expositors refer this and the following verse to the past, supposing the people in them to be still praising the earlier deeds of God. This view has been occasioned by their not knowing how to reconcile the joyful hope here expressed, with the lamentation contained in Psalms 44:9, not perceiving that here faith speaks, which leans upon the divine election historically evinced, while in Psalms 44:9, the visible state of things standing in plain contrast to this faith, draws upon it the attention of the church, and causes her to pray to the Lord, that he would remove this contrast. Against our understanding it of the past, we have the imperative in Psalms 44:4, the constant use of the first person, while the forefathers are always spoken of in the third, the use of the fut., while the Psalmist had always spoken of the past in the praet., the relation of Psa 44:6 and Psalms 44:7 to Psalms 44:3, etc. That we must not take the fut. optatively, that they express not petitions, but confidence, appears from Psalms 44:8. The first member refers to Deuteronomy 33:17, where it is said by Moses in the blessing on Joseph, “his horns are buffalo-horns, with them will he push peoples,” comp. 1 Kings 22:11, where the false prophet Zedekiah embodies the image of this passage in a symbolical action. The name of God denotes God in so far as he shews himself to be such in a completeness of deeds, comp. Psalms 20:1; Psalms 23:3. On ÷í comp. on Psalms 18:39. Ver. 6. For I do not trust to my bow, and my sword will not help me. Ver. 7. But thou helpest us from our enemies, and dost put to shame those who hate us. Just as in reference to the past, the salvation was ascribed wholly to God, so here in reference to the future. Ver. 8. God we extol continually, and thy name we praise for ever. Selah. By the á God is marked as the object, in whom the extolling terminates, comp. Ewald, § 521. On the second clause, Psalms 71:6, “in thee is my praise perpetual.” The exposition: Of God we boast ourselves, is to be rejected. äìì never signifies to boast one’s self, comp. on Psalms 10:3. The third strophe begins now, Psalms 44:9-16, the representation of the contrast, which the reality carries to the confidence of the people, as stated in the preceding verses, or rather appears to carry. The third strophe begins now, ver. 9-16, the representation of the contrast, which the reality carries to the confidence of the people, as stated in the preceding verses, or rather appears to carry.Ver. 9. And now thou dost cast us off, and puttest us to shame, and goest not forth with our armies. The אף is here, as in Job 14:3, Psalms 58:2, in meaning as much as, however, though it preserves its original and common signification also, (Ew. § 622.) It points to an addition of a very rare and incom-prehensible kind, which the experience of the present has brought to that of the past, the reality to the historically con- ceived idea. Those who take אף as a part of ascension, mustresort to arbitrary supplies.-How much the words: thou goestnot forth with our armies, (comp. the contrast in 2 Samuel 5:24,where the Urim and Thummim say to David: "the Lord goes out before thee, to smite the host of the Philistines,") carry usback to the noon-day of Israelitish glory, discountenancing thesupposition of our Psalm having had a later origin, is evidentfrom the fact alone of Koester and others substituting: thouwentest, as also in the following verse. Ver. 10. Thou turnestus back before the enemy, and our haters spoil for themselves. The למו, indicates, as was already remarked by Calvin, that the enemies had plundered according to their heart's desire, and without any effective restraint. Comp. besides 1 Samuel 14:48; 1 Samuel 23:1.-Ver. 11. Thou makest us like sheep for slaughter, andamong the heathen thou dost scatter us. The giving is not rarelyq. d. to put into a condition. But we can also expound thougivest us away, comp. Micah 5:2.-Ver. 12. Thou sellest thypeople for nothing, and receivest nothing for it. The sense is: Thou hast given thy people into the power of their enemies Without trouble, without causing the victory even to be dearly bought, as one who parts with a good for any price, which he despises and hates, desiring merely to get rid of it; so that there is an abbreviated comparison. Parallel is Jeremiah 15:13, "thy substance and thy treasures will I give to the spoil with-out price." Isaiah 52:3 does not belong to this class. The firstmember literally: thou sellest thy people for not riches, i. e.for a trifling sum. The phrase is to be explained by the silentcontrast between the reality and the idea. The oft-repeated affirmation, that such collocations are properly of an ascending character, is groundless. The second member literally: andthou dost not increase (the riches) by their price. רבה, ac-cording to the common usage of the Pi., and according to theonly passage where it occurs besides, Judges 9:29, can only mean increase. Consequently, the supplying of הון from thefirst member must be justified as necessary.-Ver. 13. Thoumakest us a reproach to our neighbours, a scorn and a derision to those round about us.-Ver. 14. Thou makest us for a simili- tude among, the heathen, and that the peoples shake the head over us. משל stands here, as in the original passage, Deuteronomy 28:37, in the common signification similitude-comp. myBalaam, p. 77, ss. The misery of Israel is so great, that peoplewould figuratively call a miserable man a Jew, just as liars werecalled Cretans, wretched slaves, Sardians. So far are the people from being now "the blessed of the Lord," in whom, according to the promise, all the heathen are to be blessed. דונמ object of the shaking of the head, comp. Psalms 22:7.-Ver. 15. Continu-ally is my confusion before me, and the shame of my countenance covers me. Ver. 16. On account of the voice of the slanderer and blasphemer, on account of the enemy and avenger. The re-proach is continually before the church, so that she must inces-santly see it with pain, and can by no means get it out of the way, Psalms 38:17. The shaming is ascribed to the counte-nance, because it always betrays itself, especially there. Comp. Psalms 69:7; Jeremiah 25.-Ver. 16 points to the cause of the re-proach and shame. The fourth strophe, ver. 17-22, shows that on the part of the people no cause existed, why the contrast between the re-ality and the idea should be a lasting one.Ver. 17. All this has come upon us, and yet have we not for gotten thee, nor dealt falsely with thy covenant. שקר not tolie, but to deceive, with ב of the object, on which the deceit has been practised, or to which it refers, comp: Psalms 89:33.--Ver. 18. Our heart has not turned back, nor our steps declined from thy way. Ver. 19. That thou hast bruised us in the place of jackals, and covered us with death-darkness. Upon the כי in the sig. of quod, that, q. d. that thou wert thereby led to bruise us, comp. Ew. § 454. The jackals appear often as inhabitants of waste and desert places, comp. Jeremiah 9:11, "I will make Je-rusalem heaps, a dwelling of jackals, and the cities of Judah a wilderness without inhabitant." Isaiah 13:22; Isaiah 34:13; Isaiah 43:20. Here, as the parallel, "with death-darkness," shows, we are th think of a spiritual desert, a miserable condition, and of a desolation produced by enemies, there is no mention. Who-soever finds himself in the place of jackals, is even thereby bruised by God, and we must not regard the bruising as a kind of second thing, a suffering additional to the other.-Ver. 20. If we have forgotten the name of our God, and stretched out our hands to a strange God! According to the common supposi- tion, this verse must contain the promise, the next the conclu-sion; if we, etc. would not God require it? But אם is more correctly taken here as an oath-particle, with a failing of the curse-formula, comp. Ew. § 625: Joshua 22:22 : "The Lord God of gods, he knoweth, and Israel he shall know, if we haverieted in rebellion, and if in unfaithfulness against the Lord, let him not save us this day." So also throughout Job 31., to which this verse forms the key, אם is used in the express pro-testation of innocence. Ver. 21. Would not God require this? For he knows the secrets of the heart. The oath is only of im-portance, as recognising in a vivid manner the divine omnis-cience, and implies, that sin falsely abjured is nevertheless openbefore God, and the object of his vengeance. This convictionthe church here expresses. The this denotes the apostacy, from which we have protested our freedom.-Ver. 22. For thy sake we are killed continually, we are counted as sheep for slaughter.The כי announces a reason for the chief matter of ver. 17-21,the assertion that the church had not fallen away from God.The best proof of that is, that they are persecuted for the verysake of God. ך`ילע prop. upon thee, then, on thy account, theeffect rests upon the cause, comp. Psalms 69:7; Psa_69:-9.-The verse isin Romans 8:36 referred to the church of the New Testament asa continuation of that of the Old. Many expositors have failed to understand aright the subjectof ver. 17-22. The church appears here at first sight to benot properly mindful of the admonition, that "no one shouldthink more highly of himself than he ought to think." Most ofthe older expositors suffered themselves to be drawn by thisinto the idea, that the church does not speak of her conduct be- fore the present sufferings, but seeks to make the Lord inclinedto help her by the protestation, that she had withstood the greattemptations to fall away from him, which her sufferings them-presented, and had continued faithful to him,-againstwhich ver. 19 is alone decisive. It is in itself improbable, thatthe church would come before the Lord with prayer for help,without distinguishing to some extent what the law taught re-garding the condition of such prayer, whether it consisted in aprotestation of adherence to the covenant, or in imploring sup-plication for the pardon of sins, through which it deserved chas-tisement. Tholuck accuses the Psalmist of a superficial view ofsin, (comp. on the other hand, the impressive reference to theheart, ver. 18-21), whereby he was led to charge God withbreach of fidelity, instead of seeking the blame in the church.The following remarks, it is hoped, will remove the difficulty.1. When the church here maintains, that she had not brokenGod's covenant, this manifestly refers only to fidelity in themain, as to the chief matter, and manifold smaller infidelities and weaknesses are not thereby excluded. These smaller devi-ations justify the chastisements of God, faithfulness in the main excludes a total rejection. 2. When the church regards the suf-fering, that had come upon her, as an anomaly, she does so only in so far as this appears to carry the aspect of continuance,-comp. the words: cast us not off for ever, in ver. 23. The whole of the last strophe shews, that the temptation will be at an end, the moment God has in point of fact removed this ap-pearance. But this would not have been the case, if the suffer-ing had formed in itself a stone of stumbling for the church. 3. It is not to be overlooked, that we have here before us a di-dactic Psalm. What is declared in the form of history, forms at the same time indirectly an impressive admonition. 4. We must not expect, that every Psalm shall fully exhibit all particular points of interest, and so, render all misapprehension impossible. They rather, on the contrary, require somewhat to be supplied.There follows now, in the fifth strophe, the prayer that God would turn again the misery of his people. Ver. 23. Awake, why wilt thou sleep, O Lord? wake up, cast not of for ever. Comp. Psalms 121:4. Matthew 8:25. Ver. 24. Why wilt thou hide thy countenance? forget our misery and oppression? Ver. 25. For our soul is bowed down in the dust, our body cleaves to the earth. We are as to body and soul smitten and thrown down, glued as it were to the ground, so that we cannot raise ourselves up. Ver. 26. Arise for our help, and redeem us for thy mercies' sake. התרזע is nomin. as help, comp. Psalms 63:7; Psalms 94:17. On the ה see on Psalms 3:2. There follows now, in the fifth strophe, the prayer that God would turn again the misery of his people. Ver. 23. Awake, why wilt thou sleep, O Lord? wake up, cast not of for ever. Comp. Psalms 121:4. Matthew 8:25. Ver. 24. Why wilt thou hide thy countenance? forget our misery and oppression? Ver. 25. For our soul is bowed down in the dust, our body cleaves to the earth. We are as to body and soul smitten and thrown down, glued as it were to the ground, so that we cannot raise ourselves up. Ver. 26. Arise for our help, and redeem us for thy mercies’ sake. ςζψϊδ is nomin. as help, comp. Psalms 63:7; Psalms 94:17. On the δ see on Psalms 3:2. Psalms 45. IN the introduction, ver. 1, the Psalmist announces the praise of a glorious king to be the object of his song. He praises this person on account of his beauty, and the grace poured especially upon his lips, ver. 2, on account of his heroic might and glory, through which he was to perform great deeds, and achieve blessed results in the conflict for truth and righteousness, and would annihilate his enemies, ver. 3-5, on account of the eter-nity of his dominion founded on his divine nature, and going hand in hand with absolute righteousness, ver. 6. Because ofhis righteousness this divine king is endowed by God with greater joy than all other kings: he is clothed in wedding ap-parel, on the very point of celebrating his marriage with a band of noble virgins, daughters of kings in palaces of ivory, of whom one is peculiarly distinguished, shining in gold of Ophir on his right hand, intended for a consort of ,the first rank, ver. 7-9. To her the Psalmist now turns, while till now he had constantly directed his address to the king, which is also again resumed toward the close. He urgently admonishes her in ver. 10-12, to forget her people and her father's house, and also, through an unconditional surrender to her husband and Lord, to make herself worthy of his love, promising her, as the reward of this surrender, the reverential homage of the most flourishing nations. This address is directed to the king's daughter in her father's house, to which the king has come to conduct her home. The procession from the paternal roof into the palace of the king is described in ver. 13-15; with the king's daughter are brought forth at the same time to the king other maidens, closely con-nected with her. The Psalmist promises to the king, in ver. 16, a brilliant posterity, which, under his auspices, should reign over the whole earth. He concludes, in ver. 17, with vowing to give perpetual praise to this glorious king, which should be followed by a loud response from the people. The question has been started, whether this Psalm is a nuptial song, or a song for the glorification of a king; and in the an-swer to this question, expositors are of different opinions. But the question is ill put, for the Psalm is both a nuptial song, and a song of praise. For the former decides already the expres-sion: "up on lilies," i. e. upon lovely brides, and: "a song of the beloved," in the superscription. In praise of the king the Psalmist begins at once with his beauty, which, in a general song of praise would certainly not have been done. From ver. 7 to the very close every thing refers to the relation of the king to his brides. If this relation came into consideration only as a parti-cular element in the praise of the king, it certainly occupies an undue place. That the song is to be regarded as sung on the wedding-day, with which the supposition of a general song of praise does not well accord, is clear from the mention of the fragrant garments of the king, and of the queen on his right hand in gold of Ophir, from the exhortation to the queen to for-get her people and the house of her father, from the descrip-tion of the wedding procession from the father's house to the palace of the prince, and from the reference to the blessing of children. The allegation that the mention of the warlike quali-ties of the king is not suitable in a nuptial song, is, according to the literal interpretation, of the greatest weight. But in the allegorical, the heroic virtue of the king and his imposing ma-jesty, by which he subdues the world to himself, is quite to the point. How suitable the king's praise, as found in ver. 1-5, is to a nuptial song, appears from ver. 10-12, where, as its practi-cal design, an admonition comes out to the king's daughter, "to forget her father's house and her own people;" for which the other had laid the foundation. But, on the other hand, it is not to be denied, that the Psalm is also a song of praise upon a king. The purpose of praising the king is declared at the be-ginning and the close. To the king the whole is addressed. What is said in commendation of the brides, is manifestly not for them, but for the king, who has such brides: so that views, such as De Wette's: "I hold the Psalm to be a poem in honourof the king beside his consort," entirely miss the right point of view. We must therefore conclude, that the Psalm is a eulo-gistic song upon a king on the occasion of his marriage. We come now to investigate the subject of the Psalm. Nearly all the older Christian expositors understand it of the Messiah. The wedding is in their view a spiritual one, the queen Israel, "the virgins behind her, her companions," the heathen nations. On the other hand, a great number of modern expositors have defended the non-Messianic exposition. But they have not succeeded in determining the application so as to agree upon the person of the king. The greater part think of Solomon and his union with an Egyptian princess; others, after the example of Hitzig, of Ahab of Israel, and his union with Jezebel; Bleek (Br. on the Hebr. P. II. p. 154,) of one of the later kings of Judah, considering any more exact determination impossibleand others again of a Persian king. The Messianic exposition is supported, first, by the fact of this Psalm's admission into the number of the Psalms, and the canon of Scripture, which can be explained only on the suppo-sition, that the allegorical interpretation at that time was uni-versally admitted. And this can the less justly be denied, as the Messianic exposition is also found in the Chaldee paraphrase, and in numerous passages of the old Jewish writings, (comp. theColl. in Schoettgen, de Mess. p. 234,) and the currency of which among the Jews, is implied in the citation in Revelation 1:8; Revelation 1:9. The farther proof that the Psalm could have been admitted into the Psalter and Canon, only on the ground of its allegorical meaning, we might leave untouched, as the recent opponents of the allegorical exposition see themselves necessitated to allow this. Ewald admits, that the Psalm, interpretated literally, has no analogy in the whole Psalter: "there is elsewhere no exam-ple of art so expressly consecrated to a king. Not properly God, but rather the king, is here the object and the aim of the praise. And in this praise are not merely included things pro-perly divine. “ The song is alone in the Psalter, and resembles more the poetry of the world.” Koester says: "when we con-sider the Psalm as having a place in the Psalter of the Syna-gogue, the fact can only be explained from an allegorical view of the union of Messiah with the church of Israel. The LXX. shew themselves to have been already well acquainted with this view, as they render in ver. 6 and 7: O God! as an address." Hitzig: "though a worldly song, contributing to sensual joys and pleasures, did not perish, yet its place was not in a collec-tion of this sort, and it is to be regarded as an exception, if one of that kind has received a higher honour." The predilection in favour of the Messianic exposition of this Psalm, which we have derived from the fact of its reception into the canon, fully approves itself to us if we more narrowly inves-tigate its contents. Even the superscription, which is distin-guished from all the other Psalms by its multiplied designations, indicating by the very circumstance, that there is something un-common, extraordinary, treated of in it, presents a fourfold argument for the view in question. 1. The expression: "to the chief musician," shews, that the Psalm was destined for use in the public service of God, that it was sung in the temple at the holy assemblies, that it was a church- Song of Solomon 2. The sons of Korah are named as the authors of the Psalm. The histori-cal books mention these to us as servants of the sanctuary; all the other Psalms of theirs, which have been preserved, bear a spiritual character, and this Psalm stands amid a circle of spi-ritual songs of the Korahites. 3. The Psalm is described as aמשכיל, instruction, as a song of an edifying character, comp. on 32:4. Already does the superscription contain in the phrases: "upon lilies," and: "a song of the beloved ones,"a double allusion to a number of brides of the king, and this afterwards comes very distinctly out in the Psalm itself. Ac-cording to ver. 7, a greater joy is experienced by the Psalmist in this respect, than by his fellows; according to ver. 8, he is made glad out of ivory palaces; according to ver. 9, king's daugh-ters are among his honourable ones; according to ver. 14, 15, there are along with the king's daughter also other virgins, her companions, brought to the king, and introduced into his pa-lace. Hence arises to the defender of the non-Messianic expo-sition an invincible difficulty, as it has never been moral to take more than one wife at the same time. The attempts, which have been made to get rid of this difficulty, only show how great it is. The reference to the number of the brides, which lies in the words: "on the lilies," and: "a song of the beloved ones," has been attempted to be set aside by arbitrary exposi-tions, as we shall see, when we come to the superscription. The king's daughters in ver. 9, according to Bleek, must not be brides, but the discharged mistresses of the king-which is suf-ficiently refuted by the words: "out of the ivory palaces," and "they make thee glad," in ver. 8, and also: "he has anointed thee with the oil of joy above thy fellows," in ver. 7. The maidens in ver. 14, 15, are, according to Bleek, mere handmaids of the bride, who were given her on the part of her father's house, and who now, in the train of their mistress, were brought along with her to the king. But the separation of the young women from the king's daughters, is manifestly but an evidence of the difficulty; the designation, "their companions," implies a footing of equality, and does not suit "mere handmaids;" the expressions: "they are brought to thee," and: "they are con-cluded," points to the circumstance, that these young women, as well as the bride, must unite themselves with the king in love; the handmaids remain with the queen, and have nothing to do with the king; the very fact, that the companions of the bride are named virgins, virgines illibatae, indicates that they must enter into a closer connection with the king, and the great number of sons also in ver. 16 points to a marriage connection with the virgins.-If we follow the Messianic interpretation, the whole difficulty vanishes. The companions of the queen, who are inferior to her indeed in rank, but still are substantially like her, and, not less than she, must be united with the king in love, are then the heathen nations, the daughter of Tyre, the daugh-ter of Babel, etc., before whom Israel, as the old covenant-peo-ple, has a certain outward precedence, but who, notwithstand-according to the uniform announcements in the prophetsand Psalms regarding the Messiah's kingdom, are made partak-ers along with them. So already the Chaldee and Kimchi filiae regum sunt gentes, quae omnes ad obsequium regis Messiae redigentur. A quite similar figurative representation is found in the Son 6:8; Son 6:9 : "There are threescore queens, and fourscore concubines, and virgins without number; but one is my wife, mypious one, etc." There is here therefore declared in a figurativeform the very same thing, which in plain terms is stated in theother Messianic Psalms, such for example, as 2:8, that the Mes-siah would receive for a possession all people from one end ofthe earth to the other; Psalms 72:8, that he should reign from sea to sea, from Euphrates to the ends of the earth, etc. Hoff-mann thinks, that what is uncommon in the lower relations, which form the ground of the figurative representation, that appears also unsuitable in reference to the higher. But what poet could have satisfied himself with such a canon! It would certainly be a very tame poetry, which should bind itself so slavishly to the common reality. What is uncommon in earthly love, the num-ber of brides, this in the spiritual marriage is precisely accord-ing to the truth of things. The confidence, with which such Palpably false positions are set forth, may well fill us with as, tonishment. The strongest proofs for the Messianic exposition present themselves in ver. 6 and 7, where the king is named God, and his dominion is described as eternal. The words: Thou lovest righteousness and hatest wickedness, therefore has God anointed thee with the oil of joy above thy fellows, i.e. greater marriage blessings are conferred on thee, than on them, is not to be comprehended, if we regard the brides as real, and not ideal persons. An allegorical representation is also implied in the circumstance, that "the ivory palaces," out of which the king's daughters were brought to the king, stood so near to the palace of the king, that it required only a marriage procession to bring them from these to him. In a matter of real life it must have been quite otherwise. The non-Messianic interpreters are embarrassed by ver. 12, where the queen is assured of the ho-mage of the Tyrians, as these never stood in a relation to Israel, which could have led to such a thing being so much as thoughtof. Then, by this interpretation, it remains incomprehensible, how this homage should be promised to the queen as a reward for the entire surrender of her heart to the king, and is made to depend upon this. In ver. 16 it is said that the king will set his sons for princes over the whole earth. Against the reference to Solomon, there is still the special objection, that the king in ver. 3-5, is addressed as a hero,-not as a person, who, in fitting circumstances, might be this, as Hoffmann supposes, for the sake of that interpretation, but one who assuredly will be so,-compare especially ver. 5. So also ver. 16, which implies that the king should have an entire series of royal ancestors. Neither does it consist with any later Jewish king, that "kings' daughters should be among the hon-ourable women," or that there should be such kingly state and glory as meets us throughout the whole Psalm, and which gave occasion to Venema's just remark, that "no other can possibly be thought of here than Messiah or Solomon." The reference to Ahab, whose father first seized the throne for himself, has ver. 16 as an insuperable obstacle in the way; and at any rate we cannot think of a love song on an Israelitish king in the Jewish canon, composed by ministers of the temple in Jerusalem, and for employment in the divine service of that temple. The re-ference to a Persian king is now, at last, generally abandoned. Beside other grounds which at once present themselves, its close relation to Psalms 72. is decisive against the idea. In such a state of matters, we can only ascribe it to the power which a prejudice, having once obtained a firm footing for itself at the beginning of rationalism, even now exerts over the minds of men, when a more impartial view of things is wont to be taken, that the Messianic exposition still finds so little favour. We see, at least, that the dislike to it appears without founda-tion. That the doctrinal matter of the Psalm stands entirely upon the ground of the old covenant, is clear as day. For every single figurative trait of the Messiah contained in it we can bring exactly corresponding parallel passages. Compare with ver. 3-5, Psalms 72. and Isaiah 11. with ver. 6 and 7, where the king is addressed as God, Isaiah 9:5, Psalms 110. Micah 5:1, Daniel 7:13; Daniel 7:14, Zechariah 12:10; Zechariah 13:7, and the Christology there. The ad-mission of the heathen into the kingdom of God in the times of Messiah is the uniform doctrine of the Psalms and prophecies, compare, for example, Psalms 2 l, 22. Isaiah 11:10 : "the root ofJesse, which stands for an ensign of the peoples, which the Gen-tiles shall seek." In like manner also, there are analogies that may be brought for the mode of representation in all its parts. That the personification of people as women, and spe-cially as maidens, is a very common one in the Hebrew poetry, is well known, compare Isaiah 47:54:1, ss., Jeremiah 46:11, Gesell. Thes. p. 320. In this very Psalm the city of Tyre appears as the daughter of Tyre. The representation of the higher love under the image of the lower is of frequent occurrence in the poetry of the East. Kistemaker, Cantic. Cant. ex hierographia orient. illustr. p. 28, ss., gives examples from Persian literature. From the Arabic comp. the poem Bordah, pub. by Uri, and by Von Rosenzweig under the title: Sparkling planets in praise of the best of creatures, (Mohammed) Vienna, 1824, and Ebn Faredh in De, Sacy's Christom. and the Journ. As. The Turkish poem: G�lg�l and B�lb�l, that is, Rose and Nightingale, pub. and trans. by Von Hammer, Leipzig, 1834, concludes with "an ex-planation of the secret sense, which is contained in this sad his-tory and lamentable narrative for the mystic," beginning with the words: "Thou who seest these leaves, take not as a fable that which then proceeded from the fable; the instruction (moral) at length follows the fable." In the territory of Scripture, the re-presentation of the relation of God or Christ to the people of the Old and New Testament under this image, is very common. The germ of the representation is found already in the Penta-teuch, comp. my Beitr. P. II. p. 48, ss. It meets us in the most extended form in the Song, comp. the proof for the correctness of the general exposition of that book in the.Ev. K. Z. 1827, p. 177, ss. General agreements are found in Isaiah 54:5; Isaiah 62:4; Isaiah 62:5. Jeremiah 3:1. Hos. i.-iii. Ezekiel 16, 23. Matthew 9:15; 22. 25. John 3:29. Romans 7:4. 2 Corinthians 11:2. Ephesians 5:27; Ephesians 5:32. Revelation 19:7; Revelation 21:2; Revelation 22:17. Finally, for the representation of Israel under the image of a wife of the first rank, and the heathen nations under the image of wives of an inferior stand-ing, the relations of Solomon's time, as appears especially from 1 Kings, chap. 3.and 11. presented the substratum. Besides the wife of the first rank, the daughter of the king of Egypt, Solomon had also a great multitude of outlandish women, in whom the poetic vision could easily decern the types of the nations to be some time reigned over by Solomon's great suc-cessor, as in him also it discerned the type of this successor. By such wives were these nations first represented in Jerusa-lem. The arguments against the Messianic exposition have already been refuted in Christol. I. p. 123, ss. Nothing new since then has been advanced. For the composition of the Psalm in the time of Solomon there is the fact, that the relations of that time form the basis of the representation, and then, the near relationship it holds to Psalms 72. which appears to have been the forerunner and occasion of this, as Psalms 63. of Psalms 42:42; Psalms 42:43.; Psalms 60. of Psalms 44.: also its relation in another respect to the Canticles.To the chief musician, upon lilies, of the sons of Korah, an instruction, a song of the beloved, (Pl.) It being inscribed to the chief musician, indicates that the Psalm was designed for employment in God's service; and hence, that it possesses a sacred character- opposing at the very threshold, every profane interpretation, and demanding that we penetrate from the shell into the kernel of the Psalm. Then follow four designations which make two pairs, each pointing at once to the form and to the nature, the one rising from the form to the nature, the other descending from the nature to the form. The Psalm employs itself on lilies, beautiful virgins, lovely brides, but it is composed by the sons of Korah, ministers of the sanctuary, whose song can have, not an earthly, but a heavenly love for its object. The song is an instruction; it bears a didactic character, pre-scribes for the spiritual life, so that the loved ones of whom it sings, could be those only of a heavenly bridegroom.--As ןשוש and ןשוש, elsewhere occurs in the sense of lilies, so we can onlytranslate ששנים על, upon lilies. The current exposition; After the manner of a song, or upon an instrument named lilies, are manifestly but indications of difficulty. That we must here, and in the analogous superscriptions of Psa 60:60; Psalms 69:69; Psalms 69:80., strike out an entirely new way of explanation, is clear already from the remark of Ewald, Poet. B. I. p. 174; "evidently dark words, if people ask for anything like a tolerable sense." We take the lilies as a figurative description of the lovely virgins, whose marriage with the king the Psalmist celebrates. 1. In a large number of Psalms the object of the Psalm is introduced in the superscription by על or אל, and indeed for the most partin figurative enigmatical terms; and the reference to the object, in designations of the kind almost uniformly approves itself as the correct one, where a reference has been supposed to lie to the melody, or to some instrument. So Psalms 22., liii., and 88., (comp. introd. to Psalms 14.) lvi., v.; comp. also Hab. iii. 1, (see introd. to Psalm vii.) 2. This exposition is supported by the תודידי, the beloved, which corresponds to "the lilies," according to this exposition, and is to be regarded as its expla-nation, precisely as in Ps. the figurative lilies is explained by the literal statement that follows. In like manner in the Psalm itself, "the king's daughters," and "the honourable" in ver. 9, "the virgins" in ver. 14. 3. The lilies appear in the Canticles, the character of which is so nearly related to our Psalm, not only in general as an image of what is lovely, chap, 5:13: "his lips are lilies," 4:5; 6:2, 3; 7:3; comp. Hosea 14:5, but the bride is specially designated by this name. She calls herself in chap. 2:1, "a lily of the valley," and the lover says of her in chap. 2:2, "as a lily among the thorns, so is my love among the daughters." 4. In the other Psalms, the super-scriptions of which make mention of lilies, the reference to the loveliness of the object sung of, everywhere approves itself as theright one. Comp. on Psalm etc.-As משכיל, instruction, comp. on Psalms 32. our Psalm gives itself to be formally re-cognized in ver. 10-12. The exhortation: "forget thy peo-ple and thy father's house:"-"O man, how dost thou not un-derstand and go to meet thy king, who humbles himself so much to come to thee, and so faithfully interests himself in thee! Do but receive him now with joy, provide for him an access to thy heart, that he may enter into thy mind, and that thou may-est enjoy his goodness,"-this discovers itself to be the proper kernel of the Psalm, and all besides serves merely a preparatory part. The words: תודידי שיר can only be rendered: a song of the beloved ones, a song, whose object are the loved,-comp.. שיר with the object following in Psalms 30. The loved are the lilies, the king's daughters, and honourable in ver. 9, the virgins, who according to ver. 14, were brought to the king. The designation corresponds to our Braut-lied (nuptial song), only that it alludes to the number of the brides; a song for a simple marriage would be הדידי שיר. This allusion at the very threshold to a number of brides, which presents an insuperable barrier in the way of a literal interpretation, is so fatal to the advocates of this, thatthey seek by sacrifices to get rid of it. The greater part, among the last Hoffmann, would explain תודידי: lovely things. On the other hand, Clauss has already pressed the objection, that no analogy is to be found in the superscriptions of so ambitious a description of excellency, and Ewald, that such a combination of words, song of lovely things, for lovely song, may be sought for in prose. We remark, besides, that by this exposition the already produced parallel places in the Psalm itself are left with-out attention, that ידיד is always, used in the sense of beloved, never in that of lovely, not even in the passage Psalms 84:1, (that we must there keep the common signification of beloved, is clear from the very next verse.) Ewald (Poet. B. I. p. 29), and others expound: love song, a song of the love kind. But ידיד is never, as its form also might lead us to expect, used as a sub-stantive. Even תודידי in Jeremiah 12:7, signifies only love in thesense of, the beloved.--It is still to be remarked, that ידיד and הדידי, after the example, and on the ground of Deu 33:12, is put for a designation of those, who are loved of the Lord; Solomon, according to 2 Samuel 12:25, bore the name of Jedi-diah: "and he called his name Jedidiah, because of the Lord," comp. in ver. 24, "the Lord loved him;" Jedidiah, the loved (of the Lord), was the name of the mother of Josiah, according to 2 Kings 22:1, see Gesen. Thes. If the word, therefore, was commonly used of holy love, the right understanding was not far to seek. Ver. 1. My heart boils with good words, I speak: my works to the king, my tongue a style of a quick writer. This is the in-troduction. The expression: my works to the king, forms the centre. A consequence of this is the goodness of the word, which is directed upon the glory of the object, and that the tongue must resemble the style of a quick writer. The exalted subject fills the Psalmist with animation, so that he has no need to seek for words, but they flow in upon him of themselves and flow out again. שהר, to boil, points to the internal excitement and fulness. It belongs to verbs of fulness, and on this account has the accusative with it, Ew. § 484. John Arnd: "Now mark and learn here the new heart of the faithful, in which Christ dwells through faith, and which is so full of Christ the Lord that it runs over like a fountain, and cannot be silent, it must break forth." The expression: my works to the king, is to be taken as an exclamation, as also the third member, comp. Ew.§ 585. The מלך in prose would have the article,�the want of the article in poetry, Ew. § 533. We must not explain: my works, by: my poem. For this signification is entirely without proof, the plural is then extraordinary, and the common signification is proved by this, that the works ac-cording to the common trilogy, stand here beside the heart and the tongue. Hence the meaning can only be: to the ser-vice of the king must all my doing be consecrated. But this, from the connection, is certainly said with special respect to the work, which the Psalmist had now in hand. ריהמ is always hastening. The sig. active, expert, is not proved by any of the passages brought in support of it. Ezra derived his name: the quick writer, Ezekiel 7:6, after the Jewish custom, from this pas-sage. The view of most of the older expositors, according to which the writer must be the Holy Spirit, the words an explan-ation upon the inspiration, has been fruitlessly revived by Stier. Ezra already understood by writer, a scribe, otherwise he would never have supposed himself at liberty to appropriate the name.Ver. 2. The praise of the king begins. Thou art the most beautiful among the children of men; grace was poured upon thy lips, therefore God blesses thee for ever. Against the supposi- tion, that תיפיפי is a form with reduplication of the two first radicals, it is to be objected, that such forms elsewhere do not occur. The easiest method is, with Schultens, to take the formas standing for תAיפiיA יפiיI, prop. thou art beautifulness beautiful,for, thou art perfectly beautiful. For this explanation, which is far more natural, than that struck out by ENV. § 256, many ana-logies can be produced, comp. Ew. § 486. The beauty here, since it is described, in what follows, as the ground of the divine blessing, must be no merely material thing, but only the expres-sion and image of spiritual perfection, which the poet, like the painter, sees so exactly in this mirror, comp. what is said in the poem Bordah, v. 39, of Mohammed, with Rosenzweig's remarks. Here the extolling of the beauty was favoured by the particular design of the Psalm. That the beauty is throughout beauty of expression, is implied in the second member. The grace, which is here specially ascribed to the lips, is manifestly but a reflec-tion of the loveliness of the speech, which streams from the lips, and parallel are I. Kings 10:8, where the Queen of Sheba says to Solomon: "Happy are thy men, happy these thy servants, whostand continually before thee and hear thy wisdom," and Luke iv. 22: "And all bare him witness, and wondered at the gra-cious words (ἐני פןיע כןדןיע פחע קבסיפןע) which proceeded out of hismouth,"-in which passage there is a very pointed reference to this verse. The כן על, various expositors, because they cannot comprehend how the beauty should be the reason of the bless-ing, take in the sig. of because; but it means always, without exception, therefore, comp, Winer, S. V., and unquestionably oc-curs in that signification in ver. 7 and 17. Then, with the ren-dering because, the for ever appears also unsuitable. By com-paring ver. 7 and 17, we shall have to refer the blessing, which God imparts to the king, specially to the enlargement of his dominion. Thus also ver. 3-5 join fitly in.Ver. 3. Gird thy sword on thy thigh, O hero, thy majesty and thy glory. Ver. 4. And in this thy glory ride on victoriously, because of truth and meekness-righteousness, and thy right hand will teach thee terribleness. Ver. 5. Thine arrows are sharp, peoples fall under thee, they pierce the heart of the ene- mies of the king. It is here represented how the king appro- priates to himself the blessing, which God imparts to him on ac-count of his grace, by his heroic virtue, glory, and majesty. The imperatives have prophetic import. The Psalmist calls upon the king to do that, which he will surely perform. This is clear from the connection, as in what precedes and follows, it is not wishes that are contained, but declarations on the glory of the king, also from the circumstance, that the discourse, after having begun with imper. proceeds with fut.: will teach thee, will fall. Gird thy sword upon thy thigh, as one does in the prospect of warlike undertakings, comp. 1 Samuel 25:13. Thy majesty and thy glory stand in opposition to: thy sword. Many expositors render: thy ornament and thy comely dress. But the usage decides against this rendering. הוד (from הודה to praise, prop. praise ; the signification turgor, vigor, which Gesen. in many places adopts, and on the ground of which he rejects this so natural derivation, and prefers another much more re-mote, is in no place well founded), and הדר, glory, so united, are put for a designation of the divine glory, Psalms 96:6, 104:1, 111:3, Job 10, and of the reflection of the same in earthly things, comp. on Psalms 8:6, and Psalms 21:5, where it is said of the Davidic stem, "his glory is great through thy salvation, honour and majesty hast thou laid upon him." הוד also alone, is com-moldy used of the divine and kingly majesty, comp. 1 Chronicles 29:25 : "And the Lord magnified Solomon exceedingly in the sight of all Israel, and bestowed upon him royal majesty, הוד תוכלמ, which had not been on any king before him in Israel," Daniel 11:21. On account of this very apposition, we might take the sword figuratively: the glory and majesty, the spiritual sword of the hero, with which he subdues the peoples. But the analogy of the arrows in ver. 5 is against this. It only re-mains, therefore, for us to suppose that the sword of the hero-king is, indeed, a proper sword, but that the Psalmist, viewing it with the eyes of the Spirit, sees in it a symbol of his glory and majesty, so that he is girded with these, just as with the sword, which they use, and by which they manifest themselves. The sword, spiritually considered, is everywhere as the man is, who bears it. The subject presently offers to the spiritual mind a quite different contemplation. The subject of the Psalm stands forth as a concentrated representation of the name El Gibbor, God-hero, which Isaiah 9:5, ascribes to the Messiah; the glory and the majesty corresponds to the El. Under the image of a mighty hero bringing the peoples under him, the Messiah also appears in Psalms 110:5, ss. Of New Testament scripture we are to compare, not Revelation 1:16, where the sword is that of the teacher, but Revelation 19:15, "And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he might smite the nations, and he shall rule them with a rod of iron," comp. ver. 21, 2:12. In ver. 4, the term: thy glory, is expressly repeated, in order to indicate, that this is what provides the sure pledge of a prosperous issue. We can take the word either as nomin. absol.: and thy glory-may it be prosperous, proceed onwards; or as accus.: and in respect tothy glory, comp. Ew. 483. צלה, not to penetrates not to break up, not to fall over, not to spring up, not to impose; of its ascertained meanings, there is only one: to have suc-cess, to be prosperous, comp. Isa. line 10, which is appli-cable here. צלה is to be closely connected with רכב: may be prosperous, go forward, for, proceed prosperously, victo-riously onward, comp. Ew. § 539. of the king, who goes to battle in a chariot, also 1 Kings 22:34; 1 Kings 22:35, is used as here absolutely, without naming the chariot, for ex. 2 Kings 9:16. The דבר על in this connection signifies constantly on account of, and for this reason alone we cannot suppose, that על marks the seat, which the king ascends. אמת always means truth,never faithfulness. Upon ענוה, humility, then the meekness and gentleness springing from humility, comp. on Psalms 18:35. צדק-ענוה cannot be regarded as asynd.: meekness and right-eousness. Against this there is the Makkeph and the formהוAנ;עa, instead of the more common הוAנAעE, according to Stier's just remark, a middle formation between stat. constr. and absol. The two words form rather a kind of nom. compos. But meek-ness-righteousness is not righteousness coupled with meekness, or tempered by it-such a contrast between righteousness and meekness is quite foreign to the Old Testament usage-but righteousness, which primarily and chiefly manifests itself in meekness. Meekness is the kernel of righteousness. Comp. Zephaniah 2:3 : "Seek ye the Lord, all ye meek of the land, who do his judgment, seek righteousness, seek meekness," where the meek are those, who do the judgment of the Lord, and where the striving after righteousness manifests itself first of all in a striving after meekness. The expression: on account of truth, etc. cannot indicate the properties of the king, on account of which he deserves victory, for then צלה must have stood after רכב. It rather means as much as, for the truth, which stands opposed to deceit and lies, comp. Hosea 4:1, Isaiah 59:14; Isaiah 59:15, for the good of him who possesses it, for the support and salvation of the truthful, the meek, the righteous; Luther right in the main: to maintain the truth aright, and the poor in their cause. Exactly parallel are Psalms 62:4, "He shall judge the poor of the people, save the sons of the needy, and break in pieces the op- pressor," comp. 5:12, Isaiah 11:4, "And he judges with righteous-ness the poor, and performs equity and justice for the meek of the land, and smites the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips he slays the wicked. In ver. 5 we must supply to, under thee: thou who comest with thine arrows upon them. Since then: under thee, is as much as under thine arrows, we can have no difficulty in supplying arrows in the last member, and there is no reason for so constrained an interpre-tation as that of De Wette (thy sharp arrows-peoples sink at thy feet-pierce the heart of the enemies of the king,) and of Hitzig: thy strong arrows, thou, under whom the peoples fall, stick in the heart of the enemies of the king-against which, besides the want of the article in םינונש, (comp. Ew. �˜ 537, who here, however, grants more than ought to be granted,) there is the circumstance, that so trailing a period is intolerable in asong of such raciness. "The enemies of the king," is a digni-fied expression for thy enemies. The idea in the verse is: the glory of the king, who secures for himself glorious results in the conflict for truth and righteousness, provides for him an easy conquest over his enemies. Arnd: "In this we have the glo-rious consolation, that our king fights for us, pierces the hearts of his enemies with arrows, so that they must be frightened and appalled, but the heart of faith he governs softly, gently, and affectionately." Ver. 2. The praise of the king begins. Thou art the most beautiful among the children of men; grace was poured upon thy lips, therefore God blesses thee for ever. Against the supposition, that ιτιτιϊ is a form with reduplication of the two first radicals, it is to be objected, that such forms elsewhere do not occur. The easiest method is, with Schultens, to take the form as standing for ιֳ ?τִ ?ιιָ ?τִ ?ιϊָ, prop. thou art beautifulness beautiful, for, thou art perfectly beautiful. For this explanation, which is far more natural, than that struck out by Ew. § 256, many analogies can be produced, comp. Ew. § 486. The beauty here, since it is described, in what follows, as the ground of the divine blessing, cannot be simply outward beauty, but only the expression and image of spiritual perfection, which the poet, like the painter, sees so exactly in this mirror, comp. what is said in the poem Bordah, v. 39, of Mohammed, with Rosenzweig’s remarks. Here the extolling of the beauty was favoured by the particular design of the Psalm. That the beauty is throughout beauty of expression, is implied in the second member. The grace, which is here specially ascribed to the lips, is manifestly but a reflection of the loveliness of the speech, which streams from the lips, and parallel are 1 Kings 10:8, where the Queen of Sheba says to Solomon: “Happy are thy men, happy these thy servants, who stand continually before thee and hear thy wisdom,” and Luke 4:22 : “And all bare him witness, and wondered at the gracious words (ἐπὶτοῖςλόγοιςτῆςχάριτος) which proceeded out of his mouth,”—in which passage there is a very pointed reference to this verse. The ςμλο, various expositors, because they cannot comprehend how the beauty should be the reason of the blessing, take in the sig. of because; but it means always, without exception, therefore, comp, Winer, s. v., and unquestionably occurs in that signification in Psalms 45:7 and Psalms 45:17. Then, with the rendering because, the for ever appears also unsuitable. By comparing Psalms 45:7 and Psalms 45:17, we shall have to refer the blessing, which God imparts to the king, specially to the enlargement of his dominion. Thus also Psalms 45:3-5 join fitly in. Ver. 3. Gird thy sword on thy thigh, O hero, thy majesty and thy glory. Ver. 4. And in this thy glory ride on victoriously, because of truth and meekness-righteousness, and thy right hand will teach thee terribleness. Ver. 5. Thine arrows are sharp, peoples fall under thee, they pierce the heart of the enemies of the king. It is here represented how the king appropriates to himself the blessing, which God imparts to him on account of his grace, by his heroic virtue, glory, and majesty. The imperatives have prophetic import. The Psalmist calls upon the king to do that, which he will surely perform. This is clear from the connection, as in what precedes and follows, it is not wishes that are contained, but declarations on the glory of the king, also from the circumstance, that the discourse, after having begun with imper. proceeds with fut.: shall teach thee, shall fall. Gird thy sword upon thy thigh, as one does in the prospect of warlike undertakings, comp. 1 Samuel 25:13. Thy majesty and thy glory stand in opposition to: thy sword. Many expositors render: thy ornament and thy comely dress. But the usage decides against this rendering. δεγ (from δεγδ to praise, prop. praise; the signification turgor, vigor, which Gesen. in many places adopts, and on the ground of which he rejects this so natural derivation, and prefers another much more remote, is in no place well founded), and δγψ, glory, so united, are put for a designation of the divine glory, Psalms 96:6, Psalms 104:1, Psalms 111:3, Job 10, and of the reflection of the same in earthly things, comp. on Psalms 8:6, and Psalms 21:5, where it is said of the Davidic race, “his glory is great through thy salvation, honour and majesty hast thou laid upon him.” δεγ also alone, is frequently used of the divine and kingly majesty, comp. 1 Chronicles 29:25 : “And the Lord magnified Solomon exceedingly in the sight of all Israel, and bestowed upon him royal majesty, ξμλεϊδεγ, which had not been on any king before him in Israel,” Daniel 11:21. On account of this very apposition, we might take the sword figuratively: the glory and majesty, the spiritual sword of the hero, with which he subdues the peoples. But the analogy of the arrows in Psalms 45:5 is against this. It only remains, therefore, for us to suppose that the sword of the hero-king is, indeed, a proper sword, but that the Psalmist, viewing it with the eyes of the Spirit, sees in it a symbol of his glory and majesty, so that he is girded with these, just as with the sword, which they use and manifest themselves thereby. The sword, spiritually considered, is everywhere as the man is, who bears it. That which is materially alike, assumes to the spiritual eye a quite different aspect. The subject of the Psalm becomes concentrated in the name El Gibbor, God-hero, which Isaiah 9:5, ascribes to the Messiah; the glory and the majesty corresponds to the El. Under the image of a mighty hero bringing the peoples under him, the Messiah also appears in Psalms 110:5, ss. Of New Testament scripture we are to compare, not Revelation 1:16, where the sword is that of the teacher, but Revelation 19:15, “And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he might smite the nations, and he shall rule them with a rod of iron,” comp. Revelation 19:21, Revelation 2:12. In Psalms 45:4, the term: thy glory, is emphatically repeated, in order to indicate, that this is what provides the sure pledge of a prosperous issue. We can take the word either as nomin. absol.: and thy glory—may it be prosperous, proceed onwards; or as accus.: and in respect to thy glory, comp. Ew. 483. φμη, not to penetrates not to break up, not to fall over, not to spring up, not to impose; of its ascertained meanings there is only one: to have success, to be prosperous, comp. Isaiah 53:10, which is applicable here. φμη is to be closely connected with ψλα: may be prosperous, go forward, for, proceed prosperously, victoriously, comp. Ew. § 539. ψλα, of the king, who goes to battle in a chariot, also 1 Kings 22:34-35, is used as here absolutely, without naming the chariot, for ex. 2 Kings 9:16. The ςμγαψ in this connection signifies constantly on account of, and for this reason alone we cannot suppose, that ςμ marks the seat, which the king ascends. ΰξϊ always means truth, never faithfulness. Upon ςπεδ, humility, then the meekness and gentleness springing from humility, comp. on Psalms 18:35. ςπεδΞφγχ cannot be regarded as asynd.: meekness and righteousness. Against this there is the Makkeph and the form ςַ ?πְ ?εָ ?δ, instead of the more common ςֲ ?πָ ?εָ ?δ, according to Stier’s just remark, a middle formation between stat. constr. and absol. The two words form rather a kind of nom. compos. But meekness-righteousness is not righteousness coupled with meekness, or tempered by it—such a contrast between righteousness and meekness is quite foreign to the Old Testament usage—but righteousness, which primarily and chiefly manifests itself in meekness. Meekness is the kernel of righteousness. Comp. Zephaniah 2:3 : “Seek ye the Lord, all ye meek of the land, who do his judgment, seek righteousness, seek meekness,” where the meek are those, who do the judgment of the Lord, and where the striving after righteousness manifests itself first of all in a striving after meekness. The expression: on account of truth, etc. cannot indicate the properties of the king, on account of which he deserves victory, for then φμη must have stood after ψλα. It rather means as much as, for the truth, which stands opposed to deceit and lies, comp. Hosea 4:1, Isaiah 59:14-15, for the good of him who possesses it, for the support and salvation of the truthful, the meek, the righteous; Luther right in the main: to maintain the truth aright, and the poor in their cause. Exactly parallel are Psalms 62:4, “He shall judge the poor of the people, save the sons of the needy, and break in pieces the oppressor,” comp. Psalms 5:12, Isaiah 11:4, “And he judges with righteousness the poor, and performs equity and justice for the meek of the land, and smites the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips he slays the wicked.” In Psalms 45:5 we must supply to, under thee: thou who comest with thine arrows upon them. Since then: under thee, is as much as under thine arrows, we can have no difficulty in supplying arrows in the last member, and there is no reason for so constrained an interpretation as that of De Wette (thy sharp arrows—peoples sink at thy feet—pierce the heart of the enemies of the king,) and of Hitzig: thy strong arrows, thou, under whom the peoples fall, stick in the heart of the enemies of the king—against which, besides the want of the article in ωπιπιν, (comp. Ew. § 537, who here, however, grants more than ought to be granted,) there is the circumstance, that so trailing a period is intolerable in a song of such raciness. “The enemies of the king,” is a dignified expression for thy enemies. The idea in the verse is: the glory of the king, who secures for himself glorious results in the conflict for truth and righteousness, provides for him an easy conquest over his enemies. Arnd: “In this we have the glorious consolation, that our king fights for us, pierces the hearts of his enemies with arrows, so that they must be frightened and appalled, but the heart of faith he governs softly, gently, and affectionately.” Ver. 6. Thy throne, O God, remains for ever and ever, a sceptre of justice is the sceptre of thy kingdom. The perpetual continuance of the dominion in the first member, and its inter-nal character in the second, stand in the closest connection with each other. They are related to one another as cause to effect, comp. Isaiah 9:7 : "that he (the Messiah may establish and set-tle it by judgment and righteousness, from henceforth even for ever." The Elohim Messianic expositors take as the vocative, 0 God, in unison with: O hero, in ver. 4. That this exposition must be one that lies nearest, the most natural, appears already from the fact, that all the old translators, with whom also con-curs the Ep. to the Hebrews, express the vocative. The non-Messianic expositors at first adopted this view likewise, and al-leged, that the name Elohim might be used of judges, kings, etc. But since this opinion has been found untenable, (comp. against it, for example, Gesen. on Isaiah 9:5, and in the Thes. I. p. 98, Christol. p. 118,, ss.) they have felt it necessary to resort to another mode of exposition. But they have not been able to bring forward any thing grammatically tenable. The greater part render: thy God-throne, i.e. thy throne committed to thee by God, stands for ever, while they suppose a stat. constr. inter-rupted by a suff. The only passage in which such a stat. constr. really appears to have place, is Leviticus 26:42, where בקעי יתירב, my Jacob's covenant, stands for, my covenant with Jacob. But this passage, even apart from the circumstance, that the exposi-tion is not quite certain, (Ewald, § 406, takes the י not as suff., but as the ancient external mark of the stat. constr.) presents on this account no suitable analogy, because in it the violation of the general rule, according to which, the suff. in the stat. constr. can only be appended to the second noun, is justified by this, that there that is a proper name, and hence is capable of no suff., while here the second noun bears an appellative character,and therefore both can and must receive the suff. Hoffmann, in-deed, maintains, that the Elohim in this Psalm, as also elsewhere in those of the Korahites, has the nature of a proper name, and stands precisely for Jehovah, and therefore could receive no suff.; but, on the other hand, we have only to cast a glance atthe אלהיך in the immediately following verse. Elohim is everywhere used in the Korahite Psalms in no other way, than it is throughout the whole of the Old Testament. The alleged analogies, which Maurer still brings forward, vanish at once onnearer inspection. In Psalms 71:7, עזo יסiהaמa. is not: my refuge of strength, but the עז is loosely appended to מהסי, my refuge, strength, which is strength, or strong. The same holds of 2 Sam. 22:33, comp. vol. i. p. 313, Ezekiel 27, Lamentations 4:17 - Others expound: thy throne is God's throne. So Ew. § 547, and Gesenius, who, however, vacillates in uncertainty between this and the first rendering, and prefers sometimes the one, and, sometimes the other, (comp. besides Thes. p. 1036,) which itself is no mark of a satisfied exegetical conscience. But there has not been produced a single well established example, where the just named subject in stat. constr. repeats itself in thought at the same time as part of the predicate. For the עץ קירותיו (Ew.) is not a case in point. It is not to be translated: his walls are walls of wood, but: his walls are wood. According to this analogy, we must, taking the Elohim as predicate, translate here: thy throne is (wholly) God, which gives no sense. Only to this also does the analogy of ver. 8 conduct. (Ew.) There it does not indeed mean: myrrh, etc. are of thy garments, but are thy garments, they consist, as it were, entirely of these, are simply myrrh. In the Son 1:15, (Gesen.) we are to translate: thine eyes are doves, what doves are as to their eyes, not (eyes) of doves. So that the construction of Elohim as vocat. is the only one which can be grammatically justified. For removing the objection raised against it by Ewald, that the "for ever and ever" is always a mere accompaniment, never itself a predicate, Psalms 89:36; Psalms 89:37, is alone sufficient.-With the expression: "thy throne remains for ever and ever, is to be compared the original passage, 2 Samuel 7:13, "I establish the throne of his kingdom even to eternity," and ver. 16, "And thy house and thy kingdom shall be established for ever before thee, thy throne shall be established for ever," and the parallel passage of the whole house of David, of the ideal son of David, Psalms 89.4, 36, 37, "his seed shall endure for ever, and his throne as the sun before me; as the moon it shall be established for ever," Psalms 21:4; Psalms 18:50; Psalms 61:6; Psalms 61:7; Psalms 132:12; and of the Messiah, in whom the stem of David was to culminate, Psalms 72:5, "They shall fear thee as long as the sun and moon endure, throughout all generations," Psalms 110:4, and Isaiah 9:6. By comparing these original and parallel passages, from which it is impossible to separate this, it follows: 1. That the reference is inadmissible to a heathen, or to an Israelitish king, or any refe-rence to a particular human individual of the royal house of Judah, as they chew, that the "for ever and ever" must be taken in a strong sense. 2. That the אלהים is vocative. In both the original passage and the parallel passages, the subject of dis-course is the eternity of the throne, or of the dominion in itself, not of the precise constitution of this.-On the second member, the parallel passage, Isaiah 11:4, is to be compared. רושימ, prop. ivory, is found, besides there and here; only in Psalms 67:4, in a moral sense. From the praise of the glorious king, the Psalmist now passes on to the theme of the royal marriage, for the celebration of which that praise was only to serve as introductory and prepa-ratory.Ver. 7. Thou lovest righteousness and hatest wickedness, there-fore, O God, has thy God anointed thee with the oil of joy above thy companions. By means of the words: Thou lovest right- eousness, etc., the beginning of the second part joins itself close-ly to the termination of the first, in which the righteousness of the kingly government was celebrated. This connection also, particularly the therefore, shows that the first part does not stand independent of the first, but serves as its foundation. Grammatically the rendering: God, thy God, has anointed thee, would have nothing opposed to it, comp. Psalms 43:4, etc. But if we compare ver. 6, where the Elohim is in the vocat., we must so construe also here, the more so, as the Elohim at the beginning of the second part corresponds with visible intention to the Elohim at the close of the first. By this significant posi-tion of the Elohim, we are made to see, that it governs the whole. It was customary to anoint with oil on joyful occasions, hence to anoint any one with oil, is for, to impart to him joy. The further designation of the oil as oil of joy, has respect to this, that the Psalmist, among the different kinds of anointing,has that specially in his eye, in which the oil of joy stands op-posed to mourning, comp. Isaiah 61:1. That here the discourse is not of the joy in general, which God gave to the king, but, in particular, of the joy which accrued to him from the great num-ber of the glorious brides that God brought to him,-of his joyin the day of his espousals, in the day of the gladness of his heart," Son 3:11, appears from the next verse, in the first member of which it is represented, how the joy of the king ma-nifests itself, and, in the second, whence it springs: it comes from the palaces of ivory, in which are the king's daughters. The expression: above thy companions, i. e. all other kings, is to be explained from 1 Kings 3:11-13, where God says to Solo-mon: "I give thee a wise and an understanding heart, so that there was none like thee, before thee, neither after thee shall any arise like unto thee.-And also I give thee riches and hon-our, so that there shall not be any among the kings like unto thee all thy days," comp. 2 Chronicles 12.-If it is certain, that the joy of the king is no other, than what arises from his possession of the brides, the non-Messianic interpretation necessarily comes into a great strait. The possession of a numerous harem is a rare recompense for the love of righteousness and the hatred of wickedness. On the other hand, the therefore appears deeply grounded, according to the Messianic exposition, in which the brides represent peoples, comp. Psalms 72:12, ss., "for he delivers the poor that cries," etc., with ver. 8-11, where the extension of Messiah's dominion over all nations is set forth. Ver. 7. Thou lovest righteousness and hatest wickedness, therefore, O God, has thy God anointed thee with the oil of joy above thy companions. By means of the words: Thou lovest righteousness, etc., the beginning of the second part joins itself closely to the termination of the first, in which the righteousness of the kingly government was celebrated. This connection also, particularly the therefore, shows that the first part does not stand independent of the first, but serves as its foundation. Grammatically the rendering: God, thy God, has anointed thee, would have nothing opposed to it, comp. Psalms 43:4, etc. But if we compare Psalms 45:6, where the Elohim is in the vocat., we must so construe also here, the more so, as the Elohim at the beginning of the second part corresponds with visible intention to the Elohim at the close of the first. By this significant position of the Elohim, we are made to see, that it governs the whole. It was customary to anoint with oil on joyful occasions, hence to anoint any one with oil, is for, to impart to him joy. The further designation of the oil as oil of joy, has respect to this, that the Psalmist, among the different kinds of anointing, has that specially in his eye, in which the oil of joy stands opposed to mourning, comp. Isaiah 61:1. That here the discourse is not of the joy in general, which God gave to the king, but, in particular, of the joy which accrued to him from the great number of the glorious brides that God brought to him,—of his joy “in the day of his espousals, in the day of the gladness of his heart,” Son 3:11, appears from the next verse, in the first member of which it is represented, how the joy of the king manifests itself, and, in the second, whence it springs: it comes from the palaces of ivory, in which are the king’s daughters. The expression: above thy companions, i.e. all other kings, is to be explained from 1 Kings 3:11-13, where God says to Solomon: “I give thee a wise and an understanding heart, so that there was none like thee, before thee, neither after thee shall any arise like unto thee. And also I give thee riches and honour, so that there shall not be any among the kings like unto thee all thy days,” comp. 2 Chronicles 12. If it is certain, that the joy of the king is no other, than what arises from his possession of the brides, the non-Messianic interpretation necessarily comes into a great strait. The possession of a numerous harem is a rare recompense for the love of righteousness and the hatred of wickedness. On the other hand, the therefore appears deeply grounded, according to the Messianic exposition, in which the brides represent peoples, comp. Psalms 72:12, ss., “for he delivers the poor that cries,” etc., with Psalms 45:8-11, where the extension of Messiah’s dominion over all nations is set forth. Ver. 8. Myrrh, aloes, and cassia, are all thy garments, out of palaces of ivory, from which they rejoice thee. The garments of the king are simple myrrh, etc., they smell as sweetly of the precious spices, as if they were wholly made of these. It is self-evident, that the discourse here is of the king's garments in the day of the joy of his heart. The connection shews this in-contestably, and the possession of fine smelling-clothes was in itself too unimportant to be here particularly mentioned; every kingdom could provide that for itself. Palaces of ivory, i. e. such as had their chambers ornamented with ivory, appear to have been the common dwellings of kings and great men, comp. be- sides 1 Kings 22:39, according to which Ahab is said to dwell in such a palace, Amos 3:15, "houses of ivory shall perish," vi. 4, Son 7:4, "Thy neck is as a tower of ivory." We may see from these passages, with what right Hitzig would find inthe mention of the palaces of ivory, an undoubted proof of the reference of the Psalm to Ahab. This appears so much the more arbitrary, as here it is not one palace of ivory, but palaces, that are spoken of. The passage, Amos 3:15, Hitzig endea-vours to get rid of by the remark, that Amos spoke at Bethel, and knew Samaria probably by mere hearsay!-The ivory pala-ces are here the dwelling-places of the king's daughters, ver. 9. -As מני so often occurs in the Psalms as the prep. מן with the so-called י parag. comp. 44:10, 18; 68:31, etc., Ewald �˜ 406, we must take it so here also, if it should be found suitable. We obtain a very natural and fitting sense, if we consider it asan expressive repetition of מן before היכלי, which is properly to be supplied again after the מני: out of the ivory palaces, therefrom they rejoice thee, etc.: the joy, of which I speak, comp. ver. 7, comes to thee from other places, etc. Exactlyanalogous is Isaiah 59:18 : ישלם כעל גמלת כעל according to their gifts, accordingly he will recompense. Hoffmann, taking the same grammatical view of מני translates: more than the ivory palaces, yea more than these do they (the garments) re-joice thee. But thereby the reference of the expression: they rejoice thee, to the oil of joy in ver. 7, is left without notice, an undue importance is attached to the clothing, the whole verse is torn from its connection, etc. The now current exposition is: out of ivory palaces rejoice thee stringed instruments. מנים in this sense, Ps. el. 4. But this is liable to the following ob-jections. 1. The Hebrew language does not know a plural end-ing in י. The examples, which, according still to Ew. �˜ 359, must "certainly belong to such," all vanish on a nearer inspec-tion.The עמי in 2 Samuel 22:44, signifies, not peoples, but my people, comp. vol. i. p. 320. So also in Lain. 3:14. In 1 Samuel 20:38, the Ketib is not to be pointed with Ewald יצ.iהi, but יצiהe comp. ver. 36 and 37. שלישי in 2 Samuel 23:8, is sing., as רגלי, foot-goer, for, foot-people. Ewald himself at an earlier period denied this ending, Small Gr. § 296. 2. The reference, which: they rejoice thee, has to the oil of joy in ver. 8, is also against this rendering. It destroys the intermediate member between the oil of joy, and the king's daughters. Then, by this construction we must, instead of: from palaces, rather have expected: in palaces. Finally, if we understand the words generally of the musical joy, which the king partook of, then the sense is a truly childish one.- ך~והמ;.שi is best taken inde- terminately: one rejoices thee, thou art rejoiced. The nearer description of those, from whom the joy comes, follows in the next verse: they are the daughters of kings, whom the king takes home from the ivory palaces.Ver. 9. Daughters of kings are among thy honourables, the consort stands at thy right hand in gold of Ophir. What is said here figuratively is repeated in plain terms in Psalms 72:8-11, the sum of which is declared at the close in the words: "all kings shall fall down before him, all nations shall serve him." Comp. also Psalms 47:8; Psalms 47:9, according to which the nobles of all the heathen gather themselves to the people of the God of Jacob. ך~ית,ורק;.יבi, an Aramaic form for ך~ית,ורק;.יiב; compareEwald, § 464, with Dag. Euphon., is not: among thy dear ones, in the sense of beloved, but in the sense of: among thy glori-ous ones. For יקר, signifies only dear = precious, glorious, compare Proverbs 3:15; Proverbs 6:26. This signification also is, accord- ing to the whole context, to be adhered to in the only passage beside this, which Gesenius brings forward for the meaning, beloved, Lamentations 4:2. To the idea of pomp and glory points also the second member: splendid are all the consorts, the most splendid is the consort of first rank. Against the meaning we adopt, Stier objects: "who then were the others, that belonged to the wedding party, since all have been named?" But theב denotes the class to which the brides belonged: if there were no more of them, more at least might be thought of. Quite analogous, for example, is this: "the Lord is among my help-ers," in Psalms 118:7, comp. 54:4, Judges 11:35. Many, after Luther, expound: daughters of kings are in thy ornaments, in thy jewels clothed therein, יקרות being probably taken in this signification in Zechariah 14:6, comp. Christol. in loc. But it is not to be supposed, that the king's daughters, whom the king for the first time, leads away from the palaces of ivory, would be clothed by him even before the marriage, as that would be against the custom of all nations, and especially of the orientals.שגל, used in Dan. v, 2, 3, and Nehemiah 2:6, of the Chaldee and Persian queens, is the rare and unusual designation of a consort of the first rank, which, as being such, poetry peculiarly appro-priates to itself. The familiar appellation, גבירה, was still in common use in the age of Jeremiah, compare Jeremiah 29:2; Jeremiah 13:18. She is here named consort, who ought to be so. The place on the right hand is the place of honour. The royalbride is admitted to this place in the house of her father, com-pare ver. 10, his ivory palace, ver. 8, whence the king, according to the oriental custom, (1 Macc. 9:37, ss.), has come to conduct her away, and where even the festive procession is arranged. The Psalmist then delivers to her in ver. 10-12, a kind of mournful address, admonishing her, while she is going to leave outwardly her father's house, to do so also inwardly, with her inclination, and then begins the procession to the palace of the king. Gold of Ophir was already in David's time known inJerusalem, compare against Hitzig, 1 Chronicles 29:4, underSolomon it came thence in great abundance. Ver. 9. Daughters of kings are among thy honourables, the consort stands at thy right hand in gold of Ophir. What is said here figuratively is repeated in plain terms in Psalms 72:8-11, the sum of which is declared at the close in the words: “all kings shall fall down before him, all nations shall serve him.” Comp. also Psalms 47:8-9, according to which the nobles of all the heathen gather themselves to the people of the God of Jacob. αִ ?ιχְּ ?ψεֹ ?ϊֵ ?ϊκָ, an Aramaic form for αְ ?ιִ ?χְּ ?ψεֹ ?ϊֵ ?ικָ, compare Ewald, § 464, with Dag. Euphon., is not: among thy dear ones, in the sense of beloved, but in the sense of: among thy glorious ones. For ιχψ signifies only dear=precious, glorious, compare Proverbs 3:15, Proverbs 6:26. This signification also is, according to the whole context, to be adhered to in the only passage beside this, which Gesenius brings forward for the meaning, beloved, Lamentations 4:2. To the idea of pomp and glory points also the second member: splendid are all the consorts, the most splendid is the consort of first rank. Against the meaning we adopt, Stier objects: “who then were the others, that belonged to the wedding party, since all have been named?” But the α denotes the class to which the brides belonged: if there were no more of them, more at least might be thought of. Quite analogous, for example, is this: “the Lord is among my helpers,” in Psalms 118:7, comp. Psalms 54:4, Judges 11:35. Many, after Luther, expound: daughters of kings are in thy ornaments, in thy jewels clothed therein, ιχψεϊ being probably taken in this signification in Zechariah 14:6, comp. Christol. in loc. But it is not to be supposed, that the king’s daughters, whom the king for the first time, leads away from the palaces of ivory, would be clothed by him even before the marriage, as that would be against the custom of all nations, and especially of the orientals. ωβμ, used in Daniel 5:2-3, and Nehemiah 2:6, of the Chaldee and Persian queens, is the rare and unusual designation of a consort of the first rank, which, as being such, poetry peculiarly appropriates to itself. The familiar appellation, βαιψδ, was still in common use in the age of Jeremiah, compare Jeremiah 29:2, Jeremiah 13:18. She is here named consort, who ought to be so. The place on the right hand is the place of honour. The royal bride is admitted to this place in the house of her father, compare Psalms 45:10, his ivory palace, Psalms 45:8, whence the king, according to the oriental custom, (1Ma 9:37, ss.), has come to conduct her away, and where even the festive procession is arranged. The Psalmist then delivers to her in Psalms 45:10-12, a kind of mournful address, admonishing her, while she is going to leave outwardly her father’s house, to do so also inwardly, with her inclination, and then begins the procession to the palace of the king. Gold of Ophir was already in David’s time known in Jerusalem, compare against Hitzig, 1 Chronicles 29:4, under Solomon it came thence in great abundance. Ver. 10, Hear daughter, and see, and incline thine ear, and forget thy people, and thy father's house. The Psalmist now addresses the bride, of whom he had hitherto spoken. What is said immediately to the bride, is substantially spoken also to the other brides. According to the current exposition, the Psalmist must address the bride as his daughter. So understood, this address serves for confirmation of the figurative interpretation of the Psalm. Hoffmann indeed thinks, that this address is un-suitable in the figurative, not less than in the literal interpreta-tion. But he overlooks, that in an ideal relation a descriptioncorresponding to the nature of things may be perfectly appro-priate, which is shut out as improper by the laws establishedfor the relations of common reality. But we can also convenient-ly suppose, that the daughter stands here for king's daughter,or that the Psalmist so addresses the royal daughter, becauseshe must now pass from the relation of a daughter into that of a consort. For this speaks the "king's daughters," in ver. 9, the "king's-daughter," in ver. 13, and especially "the house of thy father," here. What the daughter must hear, see, (ראה also of spiritual seeing,) and to which she must incline her ear, is the exhortation of the Psalmist: however, as the ו before שכהי shews, primarily this only in the general: hear what I shall say, and forget. The repeated calls for attention imply that the Psalm-ist has something important and difficult to ask of the queen. Solo-mon's wives plainly violated the demand pressed also upon them, to forget their people and their father's house; of them it is said in 1 Kings 11:4, "it came to pass, when Solomon was old, that his wives turned away his heart after other gods."-The word: forget, etc. carries a very significant reference to Genesis 12:1, where God said to Abraham, "Get thee out of thy countryand from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land that I will show thee." This call, which was then addressed to the father of the race, is given anew to the people. Berleb. Bible: "If we could only sail away over these projections, we would soon come in sight of the city of God." There is per-haps a reference besides to Genesis 2:24.Ver. 11. And cause that the king shall have desire toward thy beauty, he is thy Lord, and thou must worship him. Various expound: and so will the king desire; others: he desires not-withstanding. But by this exposition justice is done neither to the fut. apoc., nor to the for. We must rather expound: let the king sigh after thy beauty, give him occasion to do this by forgetting thy people and thy father's house,-throw no hin-drance in his way regarding it, by not fulfilling this indispen-sable condition of his love to thee. The for, etc., points to the ground of obligation for the required conduct. She must entire- ly live for the satisfaction of her Lord, who desires of her the forgetting of her people and her father's house. On the words: for he is thy Lord, comp. Genesis 3:16; Genesis 18:12; 1 Peter 3:5; 1 Peter 3:6; and on: worship thou him, 1 Samuel 25:41; 1 Kings 1:16; 1 Kings 1:31.Ver. 12. So will the daughter of Tyre implore thee with gifts, the rich among the people. Luther: "Hold thy bridegroom in honour, and thou shalt be in honour among all people, for he is so very powerful." The "daughter Tyre," for the city of Tyre, with a reference not to be mistaken to the daughter in verse 10, contains a clear indication, that under the latter, an ideal person, a personification, is to be understood. That we must not explain: the daughter of Tyre, but: the daughter Tyre, is evident from what was formerly remarked on Psalms 9:14. We are especially to compare: the virgin daughter Sidon, Isaiah 23:12. The construction בת with the plural presents no difficultyas to the sense. The verb הלה always signifies to be weak, sick, in Pi., to make weak, sick, in Pu., to be made feeble, sick. Therefore פנים הלה can only mean, to make weak, to soften the countenance, to entreat so beseechingly, that the other cannot reject the suppliant, and cannot shew himself hard. The exposition of Gesenius, verbally incorrect: to stroke the countenance, has this also against it, that it commonly occurs of Jehovah. The object of the earnest entreaty is reception into the community of the people of God, comp. Isaiah 44:5, Psalms 47:9. That Tyre should seek to gain the favour ofthe queen with fervent supplication and presents, and to make her inclined to fulfil her desire, is inexplicable on the literal in-terpretation. The proud island-city never stood in a relation of dependance to Israel, always holds it to be beneath its dignity to make a humble suit for their favour, Israel's king and queen had nothing which it could have sought to obtain from them with imploring earnestness. In this view also, one does not see how the humble solicitations could be made dependant on the place the queen had in the heart of the king. On the other hand, every difficulty vanishes with the figurative interpretation. Only when the church of God really occupies the position of the church of God, can prayer be directed to her for reception into her society. The church exercises a drawing power toward those that are without, in exact proportion to her own internal connection with the Lord. Her surrender to the Lord forms the ground of the heathen's surrender to her. According to other places also, the church of God, in Messianic times, is the object of earnest desire, as generally of the whole heathen world, which brings its riches to her, comp. Psalms 72:10, Isaiah 60:6, ss., Haggai 2:7; Haggai 2:8, so in particular of proud Tyre; in the like-wise Korahite Psalms 87. Tyre, ver. 4, is expressly named among other powerful nations for reception into the kingdom of God, and according to Isaiah 23:18, the gain of Tyre shall one day become holy to the Lord.- עם עשירי, as opposition to צר בת, not the rich of the peoples, but of the people, or among the people, q. d. the richest persons, indicates why it is, that precisely Tyre's solicitations for favour are promised to the queen, viz. that this is singled out of the mass of the other hea-then nations, whose homage is promised to the queen in and with hers, only as being the richest city of the old world, comp. in regard to the riches of Tyre, Isaiah 23., Ezekiel 27.-The ex-position of Hitzig is quite different from the one now given: And, O daughter of Tyre, with presents the rich of the people flatter thee. It has already been objected by others, that there is great harshness in taking צר בת with the prefixed copula as vocative, that the queen's (Jezabel) much richer marriage is thus brought to remembrance with special emphasis in the most unsuitable place, and that צר בת is too prevailing a designation of the city itself, for our understanding by it a Tyrian princess. We add further, that the reference presupposed in this exposi-tion, to the marriage of Ahab and Jezabel, has against it thename of the Korahites in the superscription, since these had no connection with the kingdom of the ten tribes; that in one verse, in which the discourse is of rich gifts and rich people, that ex-position has the presumption in its favour, by which the bringers of the rich gifts, and the rich people, are the Tyrians, whose riches were proverbial; and finally, that the produced parallel passages are in favour of the exposition we have given. Hence, that view of Hitzig may be regarded as entirely exploded. After the Psalmist has finished his address, which found a full response in the heart of the bride, the procession advances from the house of the bride's father, into the palace of the king. Ver. 11. And cause that the king shall have desire toward thy beauty, he is thy Lord, and thou must worship him. Many expound: and so will the king desire; others: he desires notwithstanding. But by this exposition justice is done neither to the fut. apoc., nor to the for. We must rather expound: let the king sigh after thy beauty, give him occasion to do this by forgetting thy people and thy father’s house,—throw no hindrance in his way regarding it, by not fulfilling this indispensable condition of his love to thee. The for, etc., points to the ground of obligation for the required conduct. She must entirely live for the satisfaction of her Lord, who desires of her the forgetting of her people and her father’s house. On the words: for he is thy Lord, comp. Genesis 3:16, Genesis 18:12; 1 Peter 3:5-6; and on: worship thou him, 1 Samuel 25:41; 1 Kings 1:16, 1 Kings 1:31. Ver. 12. So will the daughter of Tyre implore thee with gifts, the rich among the people. Luther: “Hold thy bridegroom in honour, and thou shalt be in honour among all people, for he is so very powerful.” The “daughter Tyre,” for the city of Tyre, with a reference not to be mistaken to the daughter in Psalms 45:10, contains a clear indication, that under the latter, an ideal person, a personification, is to be understood. That we must not explain: the daughter of Tyre, but: the daughter Tyre, is evident from what was formerly remarked on Psalms 9:14. We are especially to compare: the virgin daughter Sidon, Isaiah 23:12. The construction αϊ with the plural presents no difficulty as to the sense. The verb ημδ always signifies to be weak, sick, in Pi., to make weak, sick, in Pu., to be made feeble, sick. Therefore ημδτπιν can only mean, to make weak, to soften the countenance, to entreat so beseechingly, that the other cannot reject the suppliant, and cannot shew himself hard. The exposition of Gesenius, verbally incorrect: to stroke the countenance, has this also against it, that it commonly occurs of Jehovah. The object of the earnest entreaty is reception into the community of the people of God, comp. Isaiah 44:5, Psalms 47:9. That Tyre should seek to gain the favour of the queen with fervent supplication and presents, and to make her inclined to fulfil her desire, is inexplicable on the literal interpretation. The proud island-city never stood in a relation of dependance to Israel, always holds it to be beneath its dignity to make a humble suit for their favour, Israel’s king and queen had nothing which it could have sought to obtain from them with imploring earnestness. In this view also, one does not see how the humble solicitations could be made dependant on the place the queen had in the heart of the king. On the other hand, every difficulty vanishes with the figurative interpretation. Only when the church of God really occupies the position of the church of God, can prayer be directed to her for reception into her society. The church exercises a drawing power toward those that are without, in exact proportion to her own internal connection with the Lord. Her surrender to the Lord forms the ground of the heathen’s surrender to her. According to other places also, the church of God, in Messianic times, is the object of earnest desire, as generally of the whole heathen world, which brings its riches to her, comp. Psalms 72:10, Isaiah 60:6, ss., Haggai 2:7-8, so in particular of proud Tyre; in the likewise Korahite Psalms 87. Tyre, Psalms 87:4, is expressly named among other powerful nations for reception into the kingdom of God, and according to Isaiah 23:18, the gain of Tyre shall one day become holy to the Lord.—ςωιψιςν, as opposition to αϊφψ, not the rich of the peoples, but of the people, or among the people, q. d. the richest persons, indicates why it is, that precisely Tyre’s solicitations for favour are promised to the queen, viz. that this is singled out of the mass of the other heathen nations, whose homage is promised to the queen in and with hers, only as being the richest city of the old world, comp. in regard to the riches of Tyre, Isaiah 23, Ezekiel 27. The exposition of Hitzig is quite different from the one now given: And, O daughter of Tyre, with presents the rich of the people flatter thee. It has already been objected by others, that there is great harshness in taking αϊφψ with the prefixed copula as vocative, that the queen’s (Jezabel) much richer marriage is thus brought to remembrance with special emphasis in the most unsuitable place, and that αϊφψ is too prevailing a designation of the city itself, for our understanding by it a Tyrian princess. We add further, that the reference presupposed in this exposition, to the marriage of Ahab and Jezabel, has against it the name of the Korahites in the superscription, since these had no connection with the kingdom of the ten tribes; that in one verse, in which the discourse is of rich gifts and rich people, that exposition has the presumption in its favour, by which the bringers of the rich gifts, and the rich people, are the Tyrians, whose riches were proverbial; and finally, that the produced parallel passages are in favour of the exposition we have given. Hence, that view of Hitzig may be regarded as entirely exploded. After the Psalmist has finished his address, which found a full response in the heart of the bride, the procession advances from the house of the bride’s father, into the palace of the king. Ver. 13. All splendour is the king's daughter within, her cloth- ing of gold fabric. פנימה always means inwards, in respect to the within, in the interior, comp. Leviticus 10:18, 1 Kings 6:18; 1 Kings 6:2 Kings 7:11, never into, (Ew.), nor also in any other than a local sense, (against Kohlbrugge and Stier, who think, that the glory of the queen is thereby indicated as a hidden, spiritual one.) It can only mean: in the interior of the palace, where the king stands on her right hand, ver. 9, parallel to: out of the ivory palaces, in ver. 8, and forming the contrast to: she is brought to the king, in ver. 14, they come into the palace of the king, in ver. 15.Ver. 14. In variously wrought garments she is brought to the king, virgins behind her, her companions are brought to thee. The ל in לרקמות marks the kind, to which the garments of the queen belong, to variegated, hence that they belong to the variegated. Somewhat differently Ew. § 520. As the clothing was already described in the preceding verse, many expositors would render: upon variegated coverings, or carpets, with re-ference to Matthew 21:8, and what interpreters, for ex. Kuinoel, have there collected. However, the beginning of our verse can very fitly be taken as the resumption of the close of the preced-ing one, serving the purpose of making it manifest, that the splendour of the queen is that of a wedding. The march of the king was described in ver. 8, on the occasion of his coming to the bride, the march of the queen is described here, on the oc-casion of her coming to the king. As the king conducts away the bride, comp. verse 9, the expression: she is brought to the king, can only signify as much as: she is brought into the pa-lace of the king, comp. verse 15. The exposition: behind herpoints to the precedence held by the bride over the brides; the designation: her companions, to the essential similarity, so that she still appears, as also in the N. T., as the first among equals.Ver. 15. They are brought in joy and gladness, they come in-to the palace of the king. Then follows now, in verses 16 and 17, the closing address to the king.Ver. 16. Instead of thy fathers shall be thy sons, thou wilt set them as princes over the whole earth. This verse rests upon the custom of wishing to the married pair a numerous and mighty offspring, comp. Genesis 24:60, Rth 4:11; Rth 4:12. What in com-mon relations can appear merely as a wish, that assumes here the character of a prophecy. The sense of the first clause: thy glorious forefathers, David, Solomon, and their successors, shall be cast into the shade by thy still more glorious sons, and re-tire into the back-ground before them, comp. Isaiah 60:17. Of what sort these sons are to be, is determined by the nature of the connection, from which they are produced: they are spiri-tual sons. In the second clause, the relations of the Psalmist's time appear to form the ground of the representation. Solo-mon had divided his land, according to 1 Kings 4:7, into twelve departments, and, according to 2 Samuel 8:18, David appointed his sons as sub-regents. A similar plan was adopted by Reho-boam, 2 Chronicles 11:23. As the fathers of the king did with their limited territory, so will this king do with the whole earth. The naked idea is expressed in Psalms 72:11 : all kings will do ho-mage to thee.-In order to meet the Messianic exposition, Hoff-mann would again revive the rendering of הארץ בכל by: in the whole land. "The poet had nothing farther in his mind, than that the king will have sons enough, so as merely to dis-pose them everywhere in the land, in which he holds the high-est office." Already has De Wette described this exposition as prosaic, and, indeed, the conclusion would form a rare contrast to the whole elevated subject of the Psalm, so rare, that we might more truly call such an exposition ridiculous. The refe-rence to the king's glorious march of victory, ver. 3-5, is thereby left entirely out of view, so also verse 12, according to which Tyre stands in a relation of subservience to the king, and verse 17, according to which the peoples praise him. There is no choice, therefore, but between the Messianic exposition, and that of De Wette, "hyperbolical flattery."Ver. 17. I will proclaim thy name among all generations,therefore will peoples praise thee for ever and ever. The expres-sion: I will proclaim, is spoken by the Psalmist, not as an indi-vidual, but as a representative of the evangelists. He carries the praise no farther, than simply announcing the name of the Lord, his glorious attributes. By these remarks, and only by these, is the therefore capable of explanation. Ver. 14. In variously wrought garments she is brought to the king, virgins behind her, her companions are brought to thee. The μ in μψχξεϊ marks the kind, to which the garments of the queen belong, to variegated, hence that they belong to the variegated. Somewhat differently Ew. § 520. As the clothing was already described in the preceding verse, many expositors would render: upon variegated coverings, or carpets, with reference to Matthew 21:8, and what interpreters, for ex. Kuinoel, have there collected. However, the beginning of our verse can very fitly be taken as the resumption of the close of the preceding one, serving the purpose of making it manifest, that the splendour of the queen is that of a wedding. The march of the king was described in Psalms 45:8, on the occasion of his coming to the bride, the march of the queen is described here, on the occasion of her coming to the king. As the king conducts away the bride, comp. Psalms 45:9, the expression: she is brought to the king, can only signify as much as: she is brought into the palace of the king, comp. Psalms 45:15. The exposition: behind her points to the precedence held by the bride over the brides; the designation: her companions, to the essential similarity, so that she still appears, as also in the N. T., as the first among equals. Ver. 15. They are brought in joy and gladness, they come into the palace of the king. Then follows now, in Psalms 45:16 and Psalms 45:17, the closing address to the king. Ver. 16. Instead of thy fathers shall be thy sons, thou wilt set them as princes over the whole earth. This verse rests upon the custom of wishing to the married pair a numerous and mighty offspring, comp. Genesis 24:60, Rth 4:11-12. What in common relations can appear merely as a wish, assumes here the character of a prophecy. The sense of the first clause: thy glorious forefathers, David, Solomon, and their successors, shall be cast into the shade by thy still more glorious sons, and retire into the back-ground before them, comp. Isaiah 60:17. Of what sort these sons are to be, is determined by the nature of the connection, from which they are produced: they are spiritual sons. In the second clause, the relations of the Psalmist’s time appear to form the ground of the representation. Solomon had divided his land, according to 1 Kings 4:7, into twelve departments, and, according to 2 Samuel 8:18, David appointed his sons as sub-regents. A similar plan was adopted by Rehoboam, 2 Chronicles 11:23. As the fathers of the king did with their limited territory, so will this king do with the whole earth. The naked idea is expressed in Psalms 72:11 : all kings will do homage to thee. In order to meet the Messianic exposition, Hoffmann would again revive the rendering of αλμδΰψυ by: in the whole land. “The poet had nothing farther in his mind, than that the king will have sons enough, so as merely to dispose them everywhere in the land, in which he holds the highest office.” Already has De Wette described this exposition as prosaic, and, indeed, the conclusion would form a rare contrast to the whole elevated subject of the Psalm, so rare, that we might more truly call such an exposition ridiculous. The reference to the king’s glorious march of victory, Psalms 45:3-5, is thereby left entirely out of view, so also Psalms 45:12, according to which Tyre stands in a relation of subservience to the king, and Psalms 45:17, according to which the peoples praise him. There is no choice, therefore, but between the Messianic exposition, and that of De Wette, “hyperbolical flattery.” Ver. 17. I will proclaim thy name among all generations, therefore will peoples praise thee for ever and ever. The expression: I will proclaim, is spoken by the Psalmist, not as an individual, but as a representative of the evangelists. He carries the praise no farther, than simply announcing the name of the Lord, his glorious attributes. By these remarks, and only by these, is the therefore capable of explanation. Psalms 46. THIS is "a fine consolatory Psalm, wherein God's marvellous working is praised, as he protects his little flock of believers, and preserves them through such great necessities of war and persecutions, that it might seem as if the world was going to wreck," Arnd. The theme, the security of the kingdom of God in the midst of those storms, which shake the world, is distri-buted into three strophes, which are also externally separated by the thrice repeated Selah, ver. 1-3, 4-7, 8-11. The ground-thought uttered at the commencement: God is our re-fuge and strength, returns, with only a slight change of form, at the end of the second and the third strophe, and consequent-ly of the whole Psalm, so that the close refers back to the be-ginning. From the last strophe: "Come, behold the works of the Lord, who effects desolation on the earth," it is clear, that the fundamental idea of the Psalm had been made living to the Psalmist by some particular historical occasion, which he ex-pressly refers to in the third strophe, after he had in the two first confined himself alone to the everlasting idea, rising up thereto from its particular developement. The historical occasion of the Psalms cannot with certainty be determined. It was called forth by a catastrophe, which befel the kingdom of Judah, (comp. in verse 8: come, behold the works of the Lord;) and has for its immediate object Judah's deliverance. Otherwise, the particular in the last strophe would not serve as a foundation for the general in the two first strophes; especially this: "God helps her at the break of morning," would not be comprehensible, as it pre-supposes a strong oppression on Judah. The admonition also in verse 10:“Leave off and know, that I am God,” has only then a motive laid for it, when the desolation effected upon the earth, verse 8,and the cessation of war in ver. 9, could be recognised by all as done in behalf of Israel's salvation; for only then was the fact a dissuasive for the heathen against fighting with Israel, a demonstrative proof of the godhead of his God. In like man-ner, it is then only that verse 11 appears as grounded. But, at the same time, if this catastrophe was of world-historical import, the annihilation of the power of a world-conqueror: then with Judah is the whole circle of the earth also delivered, in so far as it could be surveyed from Palestine, verse 9, and the Lord has thereby glorified himself through all the earth, verse 10. By observing these distinctive marks, hypotheses, such as those of De Wette, who thinks the Psalm refers to foreign kings, whom God had brought to quiescence, and of Hitzig, who refers it to a sudden scaring of the Syrians and Ephraimites from the Jewish territory, are completely set aside. In the whole Israel- itish history, there is only one event, of which we can here think, the destruction of Sennacherib's army before the gates of Jeru-Isaiah 37:36. That whole chapter and the 36. must be read, if we would come to the full understanding and enjoy-ment of the Psalm. After the exodus from Egypt, there was no occasion more appropriate than this for bringing vividly out the leading idea in this Psalm. The entire might of the present world, which, as formerly in Egypt, so then was concentrated in Assyria, the most powerful of kingdoms, up till that time resist-less in its march of conquest, came against Jerusalem. To the words: "Let not Hezekiah deceive you, saying, the Lord will deliver us. Hath any of the gods of the nations delivered his land out of the hand of the king of Assyria?"-there was an equally impressive answer given then, as formerly to the question of Pharaoh: Who is Jehovah? When all seemed al-ready to be lost, the holy city was by an immediate exercise ofdivine omnipotence delivered, without any co-operation on the part of its feeble inhabitants, without even any interruption to, the undertaking of the Assyrians from their chief enemies, the Egyptians. Then, when real greatness was great also in ap- pearance, when the power of the world had assumed a dazzling splendour, at such a time it was, that it was said to the posses-sors thereof, as is done here in verse 10, "cease and know, that I am God." In expression also there occur allusions to what was spoken and written at that time. The Immanuel, which Isaiah, in. ch. 8:10, calls out to a blustering heathen world, while,lifting itself up against the people of God, forms here the essen- tial element, comp. ver. 7 and 10. As Hezekiah, in Isaiah 37:20, entreats God: "And now, O Lord, our God, deliver us out of his hand, so that all the kingdoms of the earth may know, that thou alone art the Lord," so here the Psalmist calls aloud to the heathen, after the prayer had been granted, "Know that I am God, exalted among the heathen, exalted upon earth," It is perhaps also not unworthy of notice, that the discourse here is only of the city of God, comp. ver. 4, 5. It was this, which was then at stake. All the other strong places had Sennacherib already taken away, Isaiah 36:1, and Jerusalem alone remain-ed, as a lodge in a garden of cucumbers. Besides, it is self-evident that the subject of the Psalm, upon which Luther's "Eine feste Burg ist unser Gott," rests, is no Old Testament idea. There is only one church of God through all ages, and to this it belongs. When Christ supports his Church, the gates of hell may rage; this is only the New Testament form for the general fundamental truth. After Venema, Hitzig maintains Isaiah to be the author of the Psalm, on the ground, that it contains much in common with the prophecies of Isaiah in respect to the Assyrian times. But there might be still more of this, than there really is, (only the Immanuel is of any moment,) without perhaps invalidating the authority of the superscription, which expressly testifies against this hypothesis. A certain dependance of the sacred bards upon the prophets, whether direct, or indirect, is from the first probable. If we include the superscription, the Psalm completes itself in the number twelve, which, as in the disposition of the camp in the wilderness, is distributed into three and four: three strophes of four verses. In the superscription: To the chief musician of the sons ofKorah, after the virgin-manner, a song, the עלמות על is accord- ing to 1 Chronicles 15:20, unquestionably to be taken as markingthe kind of tone; Gousset: vox clara et acuta, quasi virginum. Such musical designations occur very rarely in the superscrip-tions, comp. Psalms 6:4 :8. Ver. 1. God is our refuge and strength, a help in necessities is he found most truly. Ver. 2. Therefore we are not afraid; though the earth is changed, and the mountains shake in the heart of the sea, Ver. 3. roar, foam its waters, mountains tremblethrough its loftiness. The church of the Lord is secure with his protection, in the midst of the stormy commotions, by which what is most glorious in the world is brought down. In sub-stance, it is parallel with what Hezekiah, according to 2 Chronicles 32:7, said to the captains of war, "Be strong and courageous, be not afraid nor dismayed for the king of Assyria, nor for all the multitude that is with him, for with us is a greater than with him. With him is an arm of flesh, but with us is the Lord our God, to help us, and to fight our battles." נמצא not: he was, but he is found to us, he shows or proves himself to us, comp. on the use of the pret. Ew. § 262. Calvin remarks, that ver. 1 refers not to all persons, but to all times; the Psalmist teaches how God must conduct himself toward his own, places God's chosen people in opposition to the profane world, which is left destitute of any such support. In ver. 2, המיר, not to be changed, still less to shake, but it is used in its common sig-nification, to change. The infinitive stands impers., as in Psalms 42:3, Ezekiel 23:44, Job 20:4, Exodus 9:16; though one changes, for, though is changed. This use of the infin. lay so much the nearer, as מור can be used only in this conjugation. The change of the earth, which comes into consideration here, ac-cording to ver. 6, as the seat of the earthly kingdom, marks great revolutions, through which its form is altered, what is uppermost is turned into the lowermost. The immediate cause of the change are the nations in search of conquest, according to ver. 3, "through its loftiness," and ver. 6, "the peoples rage;" but, according to the words, "he utters his voice, the earth melts," the last and highest cause is the Lord, comp. Hag. ii. 21, 22, "Speak to Zerubbabel, governor of Judah: I shake the heavens and the earth, and overthrow the throne of king-doms, and destroy the strength of the kingdoms of the heathen." Such a change of the earth had found place in the recent past, when Assyria, the rod of his anger and the staff of his indigna-tion, "removed the bounds of the people, and robbed their treasures, and put down the inhabitants like a valiant man," Isaiah 10:13. That the sea and the mountains are to be taken figuratively, shows already the form of expression, (the natural mountains are not in the heart, i. e. in the innermost of the sea; the exposition and the mountains sink into the middle of the sea, is verbally inadmissible; for בוט signifies only to shake, and must be taken in its common signification, were it only forver. 5 and 6); shows further, ver. 3, the suffixes in which refer-ring to the sea cannot otherwise be explained, the contrast be-tween the still flood and the roaring sea in ver. 4, and the words the peoples rage, the kingdoms shake, in ver. 6, by which an explanation is given of "the mountains shaking in the heart of the sea." Now what is to be understood by the moun-tains, admits of no doubt., They are a figurative description of empires, comp. on Psalms 30:7, Revelation 8:8, and Isaiah 37:24, where the king of Assyria, "I ascend the height of the moun-tains, the sides of Lebanon;" comp. the enumeration of the conquered kingdoms = the ascended mountains, in ver. 11-13, x. 9. Seas and overflowing floods are not rarely an image of hostile masses of people, which take delight in making con-quest over the face of the earth, comp. Isaiah 17:12; Isaiah 8:7; Isaiah 8:8, Jeremiah 47:2; Jeremiah 46:7. But the image cannot have this import here. For here the mountains, the conquered kingdoms, are in the heart of the sea. Here the sea is rather the symbol of the world, the masses of people generally, which are kept in con-stant motion by their principle-pride, ambition, comp. Isaiah 57:20 : "the wicked are like a troubled sea." The proper paral-lels here are Isaiah 27:1, according to which Babylon is a mon-ster in the sea, Daniel 7:2; Daniel 7:3, "the four winds strove with each other on the great sea, and four great beasts came up from the sea," Revelation 8:8; Revelation 17:15, where in explanation of the sym-bol of the whore, who sits upon many waters, i. e. rules over many nations, it is said: "The waters, which thou sawest, where the whore sitteth, are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues." The mountains in the heart of the sea denote the mightiest kingdoms of the world. The suffixes in ver. 3, are to be referred to the sea, which only as to form is plural, comp. Ew. § 569. In regard to the transition of the inf. with ב into the verb fin. comp. Ew. § 621. The sea is apprehended as in constant motion. Even mountains are not able to withstand its raging. But the city of God must not be afraid. גאה stands here in its usual signification, pride, haughtiness, comp. גאותe הים Psalms 89:9. The raging of the sea is here described the more fitly as high-mindedness, since the discourse is of the spi-ritual sea, the world, which is kept in perpetual agitation by the prevalence of that spirit; comp. the delineation of the haughtiness of the king of Assyria in Isaiah 10:12, ss.Ver. 4. The River-its streams rejoice the city of God, holy through the dwellings of the Most High. Ver. 5. God is in the midst of her, therefore will she not move, God helps her at the break of morning. Ver. 6. The peoples roar, kingdoms shake, he makes his voice to resound, the earth melts. Ver. 7. The Lord, the Lord of hosts is with us, our strong fortress the God of Jacob. Selah. In opposition to the raging and destroying sea stands the quiet and soft-flowing, refreshing and quickening flood. The contrast between the figurative sea, and the fact, that Jerusalem possesses no river, (in vain would the literally histori-cal expositors perpetually think here anew of the brook Siloah, which at the most could only have suggested the image, comp. Isaiah 8:6), shows, that the discourse here is of a spiritual flood. The blessings of the kingdom of God, its gifts of grace, appear under the image of a river, resting upon Genesis 2:10, comp. on Psalms 36:8, in a whole series of passages, Psalms 36:8, John 4:18, Ezekiel 47., Zechariah 14:8, Revelation 22:1, "And he shewed me a pure river of water of life, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb." נהר, the nom. absol. The Psalmist first sets forth the whole, because this forms a suitable contrast to the sea. He then mentions the particular streams, in order to draw attention to the manifold ways, in which God makes his grace flow out to the church. In Zechariah 4. the number of pipes to the candlestick, seven for each of the seven lamps, points in like manner to the variety of ways, in which the grace of God flows out to his church, as also to its richness, comp. Christol. II. p. 57. Here the kingdom's grace is primarily thought of in re-ference to the dangers, to which the city of God was exposed on the part of an ambitious world, although we must not confine its application entirely to that. The dwellings of God are, accord-ing to the standing usage, the temple. But the holy of the dwellings of the Most High, from being in apposition to the city of God, and from the following verse, can only be the holy city. We must either expound: the place, which is holy through the dwellings of the Most High, or the holy place, where the dwel-lings of the Most High are, comp. Ew. § 503. קדוש, the holy = the holy place, (comp. Exodus 29:31, Leviticus 6:9; Leviticus 6:19, also Psalms 65:4, and perhaps Isaiah 57:15.) Calvin: “ The sentiment of Horace on the just man: si fractus illabatur orbis, impavidum ferient ruinae, appears excellent at first sight. But as such a person as he draws has never been found, he merely trifles,This greatness of soul, therefore, is based solely in the protec-tion of God, so that they who rest upon God can truly affirm, that they are not only without fear, but also safe and secure, though the whole world should be involved in ruin." Happy those, who have passed out of the territory of the sea into that of the river!-The expression: God is in the midst of her, in ver. 5, holds true of the church of the New Testament, unspeakably more than of the Old, as God is present with her in the fullest sense in Christ. בקד לפנות, lit.: about the turning of the morning, comp. upon the ל in denoting periods of time, Ew. �˜ 520; the פנה here, to turn one's self, for the purpose of com-ing. That we are not to expound with Hitzig: as often as the morning breaks, but rather: as soon as the morning breaks, ap-pears from the original passage in Exodus 14:27 : "And Moses stretched forth his hand over the sea, and the sea returned to his strength when the morning appeared," comp. Judges 19:26, and the exact paral. Psalms 30:5, "weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning," Psalms 49:14; Psalms 143:8. Distress with the Lord's people can have only, as it were, a night's quarters. Whenever the morning breaks, the Lord drives it from its resting-place, and sends another, an abiding guest, salvation. There is unquestionably an allusion to the overthrow of the Assyrians. Then, in reality, did there stand but one night between the highest pitch of distress and the most complete deliverance, comp. Isl. 17:14: "And behold at evening-tide trouble, before the morning comes, it is no more," 37:36: "And they arose in the morning, and lo! they were all dead corpses."-Ver. 6 and 7 form a contrast. Ver. 6 represents the dissolving of the world, ver. 7, the security of the kingdom of God, The whole earth is in uproar and confusion, peoples rage, kingdoms reel; but that God, who suspends over them a spiritual earthquake, is the protection and help of his people, so that they stand firm and secure amid the general desolation. That the pret. המו and מטו are to be taken in the pres. sense, appears from the fut. תמנג, and the whole context, in which the discourse is not of a single event, but of what is constantly taking place. On: the peoples roar, comp. Isaiah 17:12, "Hear, a roaring of many peoples, as the roaring of the sea they roar," Jeremiah 5:22. In the second half of ver. 6, according to the cur-rent exposition, the stilling of the peoples' uproar must be ex-pressed: De Wette: "Jehovah commands quiet, and manobeys;" Tholuck "Let the God of Jacob utter his voice, and however fiercely the peoples roar, they must be dumb." But this exposition is quite inadmissible. מוג does not signify to be afraid, (De Wette,) nor to be dumb, but to melt, and the melt-ing of the earth everywhere else denotes the dissolving effect of the divine judgments, comp. Psalms 75:3, "The earth and all its inhabitants are dissolved," Amos 9:5. Immediately be-fore goes the expression: they shake, not: they roar; the voice, therefore, cannot be a silencing, but a frightening, dissolving, destroying one, The whole verse is rather parallel to verse 2 and 3, and the contrast is not contained in it, but first appears in verse 7. In its second part the idea suggested is, that the Lord is the ultimate cause of the roaring of the peoples, as of the shaking of the kingdoms, and the ground is, consequently, prepared for the reception of the seed of promise in verse 7. Though the Lord should let the people roar, his people must not tremble before them, as it stands unalterably fast, that he can help them. Comp., besides, Haggai 2:21; Haggai 2:22. בקולו נתן, prop.: he gives with his voice, is to be explained in this way, that the giving, according to the connection, is as much as, giving a sound, edere sonum. So also in Psalms 63:33.-The names of God, in verse 7, indicate, at once, his almightiness, and his relation to his covenant people. Calvin: "That our faith may stand fast in God, these two things must be considered, namely, the infinite power with which he is provided for sub-jecting the whole world, then his fatherly love, which he has disclosed in his word." On the Selah the Berleb. Bible: "Lay this once more deeply to heart in quiet, that it may be firmly rooted." Arnd: "Because of the sins of the people earthly kingdoms are changed, as experience teaches, therefore the mighty kingdoms of the world, the four empires, are passed away, while Christ has, at the same time, preserved his word and kingdom." Ver. 4. The River—its streams rejoice the city of God, holy through the dwellings of the Most High. Ver. 5. God is in the midst of her, therefore will she not move, God helps her at the break of morning. Ver. 6. The peoples roar, kingdoms shake, he makes his voice to resound, the earth melts. Ver. 7. The Lord, the Lord of hosts is with us, our strong fortress the God of Jacob. Selah. In opposition to the raging and destroying sea stands the quiet and soft-flowing, refreshing and quickening river. The contrast to the figurative sea, and the fact, that Jerusalem possesses no river, (in vain would the literally historical expositors perpetually think here anew of the brook Siloah, which at the most could only have suggested the image, comp. Isaiah 8:6), shows, that the discourse here is of a spiritual river. The blessings of the kingdom of God, his royal graces, appear under the image of a river, resting upon Genesis 2:10, (comp. on Psalms 36:8), in a whole series of passages, Psalms 36:8, John 4:18, Ezekiel 47, Zechariah 14:8, Revelation 22:1, “And he shewed me a pure river of water of life, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb.” πδψ, the nom. absol. The Psalmist first sets forth the whole, because this forms a suitable contrast to the sea. He then mentions the particular streams, in order to draw attention to the manifold ways, in which God makes his grace flow out to the church. In Zechariah 4 the number of pipes to the candlestick, seven for each of the seven lamps, points in like manner to the variety of ways, in which the grace of God flows out to his church, as also to its richness, comp. Christol. II. p. 57. Here the royal graces is primarily thought of in reference to the dangers, to which the city of God was exposed on the part of an ambitious world, although we must not confine its application entirely to these. The dwellings of God are, according to the standing usage, the temple. But the holy of the dwellings of the Most High, from being in apposition to the city of God, and from the following verse, can only be the holy city. We must either expound: the place, which is holy through the dwellings of the Most High, or the holy place, where the dwellings of the Most High are. χγεω, the holy=the holy place, (comp. Exodus 29:31, Leviticus 6:9, Leviticus 6:19), occurs also at Psalms 65:4, and perhaps Isaiah 57:15. Calvin: “The sentiment of Horace on the just man: si fractus illabatur orbis, impavidum ferient ruinae, appears excellent at first sight. But as such a person as he draws has never been found, he merely trifles. This greatness of soul, On the other hand, is based solely in the protection of God, and on the promises which he has made to his own people, and in this way easily overcomes the terror which threatens destruction to all creatures. Happy those, who have passed out of the territory of the sea into that of the river! The expression: God is in the midst of her, in Psalms 46:5, holds true of the church of the New Testament, unspeakably more than of the Old, as God is present with her in the fullest sense in Christ. μτπεϊαχψ, lit.: about the turning of the morning; the τπδ here, to turn one’s self, for the purpose of coming. That we are not to expound with Hitzig: as often as the morning breaks, but rather: as soon as the morning breaks, appears from the original passage in Exodus 14:27 : “And Moses stretched forth his hand over the sea, and the sea returned to his strength when the morning appeared,” comp. Judges 19:26, and the exact paral. Psalms 30:5, “weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning,” Psalms 49:14, Psalms 143:8. Distress with the Lord’s people can have only, as it were, a night’s quarters. Whenever the morning breaks, the Lord drives it from its resting-place, and sends another, an abiding guest, salvation. There is unquestionably an allusion to the overthrow of the Assyrians. Then, in reality, did there stand but one night between the highest pitch of distress and the most complete deliverance, comp. Isaiah 17:14 : “And behold at evening-tide trouble, before the morning comes, it is no more,” Isaiah 37:36 : “And they arose in the morning, and lo! they were all dead corpses.” Psalms 46:6 and Psalms 46:7 form a contrast. Psalms 46:6 represents the dissolving of the world, Psalms 46:7, the security of the kingdom of God, The whole earth is in uproar and confusion, peoples rage, kingdoms reel; but that God, who suspends over them a spiritual earthquake, is the protection and help of his people, so that they stand firm and secure amid the general desolation. That the pret. δξε and ξθε are to be taken in the pres. sense, appears from the fut. ϊξεβ, and the whole context, in which the discourse is not of a single event, but of what is constantly taking place. On: the peoples roar, comp. Isaiah 17:12, “Hear, a roaring of many peoples, as the roaring of the sea they roar,” Jeremiah 5:22. In the second half of Psa 46:6, according to the current exposition, the stilling of the peoples’ uproar must be expressed: De Wette: “Jehovah commands quiet, and man obeys;” Tholuck “Let the God of Jacob utter his voice, and however fiercely the peoples roar, they must be dumb.” But this exposition is quite inadmissible. ξεβ does not signify to be afraid, (De Wette,) nor to be dumb, but to melt, and the melting of the earth everywhere else denotes the dissolving effect of the divine judgments, comp. Psalms 75:3, “The earth and all its inhabitants are dissolved,” Amos 9:5. Immediately before goes the expression: they shake, not: they roar; the voice, therefore, cannot be a silencing, but a frightening, dissolving, destroying one, The whole verse is rather parallel to Psalms 46:2 and Psalms 46:3, and the contrast is not contained in it, but first appears in Psalms 46:7. In its second part the idea suggested is, that the Lord is the ultimate cause of the roaring of the peoples, as of the shaking of the kingdoms, and the ground is, consequently, prepared for the reception of the seed of promise in Psalms 46:7. Though the Lord should let the people roar, his people must not tremble before them, as it stands unalterably fast, that he can help them. Comp., besides, Haggai 2:21-22. πϊοαχεμε. prop.: he gives with his voice, is to be explained in this way, that the giving, according to the connection, is as much as, giving a sound, edere sonum. So also in Ps. 63:33. The names of God, in Psalms 46:7, indicate, at once, his almightiness, and his relation to his covenant people. Calvin: “That our faith may stand fast in God, these two things must be considered, namely, the infinite power with which he is provided for subjecting the whole world, then his fatherly love, which he has disclosed in his word.” On the Selah the Berleb. Bible: “Lay this once more deeply to heart in quiet, that it may be firmly rooted.” Arnd: “Because of the sins of the people earthly kingdoms are changed, as experience teaches, therefore the mighty kingdoms of the world, the four empires, are passed away, while Christ has, at the same time, preserved his word and kingdom.” The Psalm turns now, in the last strophe, from unlimited con-fidence in God's protection and help, to the event of the recent past, which laid so glorious a foundation for this confidence. Ver. 8. Come, behold the works of the Lord, who makes desola-tion on the. earth. Ver. 9. Who makes wars to cease to the ends of the earth, bow breaks, and spear cuts asunder, chariot with fire burns. Ver. 10. Cease and know, that I am God, exalted among the heathen, exalted in the earth. Ver. 11. The Lord,the Lord of hosts is with us, our fortress the God of Jacob, Selah. In the, come, behold, in verse 8, the Psalmist calls to all without distinction. בארץ, not in the land, but, as the follow-ing context shows, on the earth. On the earth, because the de- solation concerns the powers of the world, which bold under their sway the orbis terrarum, comp. "to the end of the earth," in ver. 9, and "the whole earth is at rest and quiet," in Isaiah 14:7. We might also conceive by the expression a reference to the fact, that the God of Israel does not conceal himself, shut himself up in the heavens, but makes known his almightiness on the earth, by the overthrow of mighty peoples, so that all can behold in his works the proofs of his alone godhead. For שמה the sense of desolation is established by Isaiah 5:9; Isaiah 13:9, xxiv, 12, comp. Jeremiah 25:12. The sig. adopted by Ewald, stupenda, rests on no ground. That the desolation must have for its ob-ject those, who had raised themselves against the people of God, and threatened to swallow them up, has been already remarked.For יהוה in many critical helps is found אלהים. But the former has by far the preponderance on its side of critical au-thorities, and the Elohim, not justified also by Psalms 66:5, in the smaller number of these, is capable of explanation on the same grounds, which makes our modern critics so much inclined to that reading, the fact of the Elohim being so common in the Korahite Psalms. Jehovah is here far more suitable, as every thing has respect precisely to the point, that the works here mentioned belong to the God of Israel, and as here the experi-mental proof is brought in support of the immediately preceding declaration: Jehovah, the God of Jacob, is with us. From what Jehovah has done, the proof is brought in ver. 10, that he is God, Elohim.-The means, by which God makes war to cease to the end of the earth, ver. 9, is the overthrow of the wild conquerors and tyrannical lords, comp. the triumphal song, raised on the same grounds as existed here in reference to Assyria, over the pride of the king of Babylon in Isaiah 14. where, among other things, it is said: "How does the oppressor rest, cease from his oppression! The Lord has broken the staff of the wicked, the sceptre of the rulers. The whole earth rests and is quiet, breaks forth into singing." The bows, arrows, chariots, are those of the plunderers. These are rendered as incapable of prosecuting their devastations, or even of preserving what they had won, as if their implements of war were destroyed. The active opera-tion, which the Lord here unfolds, is an earnest of that which he will manifest at the end of time, comp. Isaiah 2:4, Micah 4:3. That the destruction of the conqueror, who is here spoken of, must necessarily have taken place under such circumstances as those of Assyria, so that the hand of Jehovah could not be over-looked, we shewed before, comp. 2 Chronicles 32:23, "And many brought gifts to the Lord to Jerusalem, and presents to Hezekiah, king of Judah, and he was magnified in the eyes of all heathen henceforth."-In ver. 10 the Lord directs his speech to the peoples of the earth. Cease, not in regard to war at large--for then the ground does not suit-but from war against my people, which, as the foregoing fact shews, is a contest of feebleness against omnipotence, ruinous to those who undertake it. On the last words John Arnd "How, then, could we have a stronger support? If only our support does not depart from us, we may say, as Joshua and Caleb did of the heathen, fear ye not, they are as bread to us, for their support has departed from them. If God remains our support, what then can men do with all their might!" Psalms 47. ALL the nations of the earth are called upon to unite in joyful praise to the Lord, ver. 1, because he is terrible, and the al-mighty ruler of the whole earth, ver. 2, according to the clear testimony of the events that had just taken place, the victory which he had accomplished for his people over many enemies, the protection which he afforded to his endangered land, ver. 3, 4. The Lord returns, after he had successfully managed the affairs of his people, to his heavenly habitation: the Psalmist exhorts to the singing of praises to him on his ascent, as to the king of the whole earth, who had manifested himself as such, ver. 5-7. God reigns over the heathen, God sits upon his holy throne, this the occurrent transactions teach, and thereby impart a prophetic sense to the Psalmist: he sees how the princes of the peoples gather themselves, in order to acknowledge God, as their God, and to have themselves received into his church, ver. 8 and 9. The Psalm falls into two equal strophes (including the super-scription), which are separated by a Selah, ver. 1-4, and 5-9. Both contain a call to praise the Lord, with its grounding. In the first, this call is addressed to the heathen, in the second, to Israel. In the second, there is appended, besides, a general conclusion. The whole is completed in the number ten. The name Elohim occurs seven times. The occasion of the Psalm was, according to verse 3, an over-throw of many heathen peoples, accomplished by the visible in-terposition of God, who had leagued themselves against Israel, and who, according to verse 4, had set out with the purpose of expelling Israel from his land. If we keep in view this distinc-tive mark, we shall easily be convinced of the untenableness of the hypothesis of Ewald, according to which the Psalm belongs to the time after the return from the exile, and must represent Jehovah's sovereignty going out of Zion to the conversion of the heathen, (verse 3 manifestly speaks of a constrained subjection, to which also the terrible points in verse 2), as also that of Hitzig, who refers it to the victory of Hezekiah over the Philistines, 2 Kings 18:8,-to say nothing of older hypotheses, which refer-red the Psalm to the occasion of removing the ark of the cove-nant, in the time of David or Solomon, or even to the ascension of Christ. The only thing that suggests itself as a fit reference is the victory of Jehosaphat over the combined Moabites, Am-monites, Edomites, and Arabians, in 2 Chronicles 20. Many na-tions were thus united against Israel; they were set upon no-thing less than driving Israel wholly out of his land, comp. 2 Chron. 20:11; the overthrow of the enemies followed under circumstances, which caused the hand of God to be clearly dis-cerned. Surprised by an attack in the rear from a host of free-booting sons of the wilderness, the enemies fled in a panic, and as the spirit of mistrust fell upon them, and each people thought itself betrayed by the other, they turned their arms one against another. So Israel obtained a victory without a battle. The reference to that event is favoured by the circumstance that then, according to 2 Chronicles 20:19, the Korahites are expressly mentioned as having been present in the army, that the imme-diately following Psalm refers to the same event, as also Psalms 83. (these three Psalms perfectly suffice for a defence of 2 Chron, 20. against the attacks of modern criticism), finally, that on this supposition we obtain a suitable situation for verse 5, from 2 Chronicles 20:26, "On the fourth day they assembled themselves together, in the valley of praise, for there they praised the Lord." Before the people left the field of slaughter, to re-turn back to Jerusalem, they held a solemn service in that val-ley of praise: from there God made as it were, his ascent to heaven, after having achieved redemption for his people. As the army into the holy city, so the leader of the host returned to heaven. In the valley of praise was this Psalm sung, as the following one in the service of the temple.-The objection a-gainst the reference to the victory of Jehoshaphat, that then the ark of the covenant was not in the field, as here according to verse 5, would have some force, if verse 5 really presupposed the presence of the ark. For notwithstanding all that Movers says upon the Chron. p. 289, there is not a single passage that certainly bespeaks the presence of the ark with the host, after the time of David. But verse 5, rightly understood, says no-thing of the ark of the covenant. To the chief musician, of the sons of Korah, a Psalm. Ver. 1. Exult with hands all peoples, shout to God with jubilee-voice. Ver. 2. For the Lord, the Most High, is terrible, a great King over all the earth. Ver. 3. He constrains peoples under us, and nations under our feet. Ver. 4. He chooses our inheritance for us, the pride of Jacob, whom he loves. Selah. The clapping of the hands in verse 1 is a gesture of joy, Nahum 3:19, comp. Psalms 98:8, Isaiah 55:12. They must exult to the Lord with heart, mouth, and hands. Of homage there is no trace; this is only dragged in by Stier. The ground of joy to the heathen is an-nounced in ver. 2-4. In the victory which Israel had just gained, the glory of the Lord manifested itself, and since he is the God of the whole earth, this glory belongs also to the hea-then. What was done primarily for Israel, must be a just occa-sion of living joy for the whole world. For even those, to whom immediately it brings no salvation, have still therein a matter-of-fact promise of this, a pledge of their obtaining it in the time to come. While it shews the greatness of God, it shews also what they may expect from this God in the future. The call of the Psalmist could certainly not be responded to by the heathen at that time, just because they were still heathen. But while he declares what they properly ought to do, he stirsup all the more powerfully the heart of Israel to praise. Simi-lar calls to the heathen, to praise the Lord on account of his wonderful doings for Israel, are found also in Psalms 66 :anPsalms 117. The original passage is Deuteronomy 32:43 : "Rejoice ye nations, rejoice his people, for he avenges the blood of his servants," comp. on Psalms 18:49. In ver. 2, the Psalmist points to the attributes of the Lord, which justify the call to the hea-then to praise him. Then in ver. 3 and 4 he brings forward the proof of these attributes from his doings. Terrible-so has God shewn himself in the destruction of the enemies of his peo-ple, comp. Psalms 68:35. He has proved himself to be a great king over the whole earth, as opposed merely to being king of Israel, by the victory over huge masses of people, who threaten-ed to devour Israel.-Ver. 3 and 4 might of themselves be re-ferred to the active operation of God, as appearing in the whole history, in conquering the enemies of his people, and preserv-ing his inheritance. But ver. 5 shews, that the question is about a particular act of God, and indeed one that had recently occurred, in which the truth declared in ver. 2, furnishing an oc-casion for triumphant joy to the heathen, had just brilliantly shone forth. "The mild, friendly sense," maintained by Stier in 3, is excluded by הדביר, to drive, to force one's self, which imports a violent subjugation; by a comp. of the parall. pass. Psalms 18:47 : "The God, that avengeth me, and subdueth, the peoples under me," (comp. on, "under our feet" of the second member, "they fall under my feet," in Psalms 18:38,) and by the terrible in ver. 2, the proving of which is furnished by this verse. Calvin's objection, repeated by Stier, against the exposition we have given, that we cannot suppose persons, who had been con-strained to serve by fear and violence, would exult with joy, is removed by the remark, that the peoples here are different from those in ver. 1,-there the whole heathen world, here the par-ticular peoples, whom Israel conquered,-and that a bitter shell can very easily conceal a sweet kernel. How far the victory over Israel should be the object of joy to the peoples, is express-ly declared in ver. 2. It is not the particular in itself-this was either a matter of indifference to the peoples, or the occasion of ruin-but the general unfolded in the particular, the proof for the being of God in the large sense, which that furnished for joy to every human heart longing for help, consolation, and sal-vation. If in ver. 4 the discourse is simply of the inheritance of Jacob, we can only understand by that the holy land, which is frequently so described, comp. Isaiah 58:14, Deuteronomy 4:38; Deuteronomy 15:4, etc.; and it is arbitrary, with Stier and others, upon the groundof a false meaning of ver. 3, to think of the promised fulness of the gentiles," which can just as little, without any thing fur-ther, be designated as the pride of Jacob. This can only mark a preference, which Israel already enjoyed. Against this exposi- tion also is the בהר, which, according to it, must mean, he will give us. The sense of the first member is simply this: God has by his conduct distinctly shown, that the holy land, the inheri-tance of his people, lies near to his heart, just because it is the inheritance of his people. The expression: he chooses, is to be explained by considering the inheritance to be chosen, as it were, anew, when a signal proof is given of the choice. לנו denotes those, out of love to whom the choice of the inheritance is made. In the second member, the inheritance of the Lord is epexegetically described as the pride of Jacob, that for which Jacob might be proud, comp. Nahum 2:3, Amos 6:8, because it had been rendered glorious by so many proofs of the might and grace of his God, which Amos himself, in ch. 8:7, designates the pride of Israel, his glorious possession. The expression: whom he loves, indicates, what was merely implied in the us of the first member, that the preference the Lord gives to the land, has its ground in love to the people. If this were not parall., we could still refer the אשר to the pride, by comp. Amos 6:8, and Psalms 78:68. But so, Malachi 1:2 is rather to be comp. The verse stands in close connection with the preceding one. The vanquishing of the peoples, which Israel would drive out of his inheritance, comp. 2 Chronicles 20:11, is that which forms the con-dition of the choosing = the delivering of the inheritance. Ver. 5. God goes up with rejoicing, the Lord with the sound of a trumpet. Ver. 6. Sing praise to God, sing praise, sing praise to our king, sing praise. Ver. 7. For king of the whole earth is God, sing a song with edification. Ver. 8. God reigns over the heathen, God sits upon his holy throne. Ver. 9. The princes of the peoples are gathered together to the people of the God of Abraham, for the shields of the earth are God's, he is greatly exalted. That in ver. 5, the going up of God to heaven, is his return to his heavenly throne, his invisible procession to heaven, which takes place after he had displayed on earth by outward deeds his almightiness and love, and carried there the interests of his people, as a prelude to the ascension of Christ, appears from ver. 8, and the comparison of all other passages, in which the going up of God is mentioned, Genesis 17:22, Judges 13:20, Psalms 7:7, and especially Psalms 68:18, which, having a typical reference to the ascension of Christ in the New Testa-ment, has at the same time an important bearing on our verse. The call to praise the Lord on his ascension to heaven is based in ver. 7 on the circumstance, that he, the king of Israel, has, by the very deeds of his almightiness, shown himself to be king overall the earth. On משכיל comp. on Psalms 32. super. Every song in praise of God, on account of his glorious deeds, con-tains a rich treasure of instruction and improvement. Here the instruction, which shall be drawn out of the foregoing deeds, has been expressly declared. It is this, that God is king over the whole earth, that he reigns over the heathen, that these shall also sometime own his sovereignty. This great truth is particularly set forth in the two closing verses, as the special lesson of the particular transactions. The holy throne of God is as much as, "the throne high and lifted up," in Isaiah 6:1, comp. on the idea of holiness in Psalms 22:3. The consequence of God's sitting on the throne of his holiness, is his universal sovereignty, comp. Psalms 103:19, "The Lord has prepared his throne in the heavens, and his kingdom ruleth over all," Isaiah 66:1. In ver. 9 the עם, is to be taken as accus., as it is commonly with verbs of gesture and motion, comp. Ew. § 477. This idea is con-tained in the expression: they gather themselves. To gather themselves = to come gathered. With a poet, we certainly can-not regard this accusative as "somewhat hard." We are not, with others, to explain: the princes of the people are gatheredas a people of God. For אברהם אלהי עם, cannot mean one, but only the people of the God of Abraham, comp. Ew. § 510, neither can the princes be called a people, and after the con-version of the heathen there is not properly many peoples of God, but there is everywhere only one people, into which theconverted heathen are received. The Psalmist beholds thefuture as the present, which many expositors failing to perceive,have erred. lie prepares for himself from the manifestation ofthe true godhead of Israel, which he has before his eyes, a lad- der by which he first rises up to this true godhead, and thenproceeds to its recognition over the whole earth. He sees, how the heathen princes hasten, that they may be received amongthe people of the Lord, comp. in the Korahite Psalms 87:4, Zechariah 9:7, and the Christol. there. The designation of God as the God of Abraham, points, as appears, to the promise of blessing on all peoples.-The words: for the shields, etc., resume the subject of ver. 8. God is the rightful Lord of all the mighty ones, and this his right, which has been impaired by their rebellion, must be again re-established. Nature must force for itself a way through what is against nature, comp. on Psalms 22:28. The Princes are called the shields of the earth, as protec-tors of their peoples, comp. Hosea 4:18. Psalms 48. WE have here also a song of praise to the Lord after the de-liverance of the people of God from great danger. Before the Psalmist condescends on the particular proof of the divine fa-vour, he points to the general relation to Israel, out of which the favour sprung. He celebrates in ver. 1-3, the dignity and elevation of Jerusalem as the city of God. Then he turns him-self in ver. 4-8 to the transaction, in which this dignity and ele-vation had presently discovered itself. Hostile kings had assem-bled against Jerusalem, but scarcely had they looked at the city, when they hastened away from it in anxious flight. This fact, in which the history of the olden time again revived, connects the present state of God's people with the past. The second part of the Psalm, separated from the first by a Selah, begins, in ver. 9-11, with joyful thanks for this deliverance. Then in ver. 12-14 is addressed the call to proclaim the matter to pos-terity. For this purpose the city must be exactly surveyed in all its parts, so that it may be understood how the enemies were so utterly powerless against it, how not a hair of it, in a manner, was turned. Expositors take as the historical occasion of the Psalm, either the victory of Jehoshaphat, (so in particular Movers on the Chron. p. 111, ss.) or the deliverance from the Assyrians under Hezekiah. To the latter hypothesis, it is to be objected, 1. That the discourse here is of many independent kings, who had leagued themselves in a common undertaking against Jerusalem. It is nothing to allege, on the other hand, the saying of the king of Assyria, in Isaiah 10:8, "Are not all my princes kings?" For that here the discourse is not of such, as possibly once were called kings, appears from נועדו ver. 4, as also from the fact,that here it is always kings that are spoken of, never a king of kings. We never find it thus in the numerous passages which refer to the Assyrians. 2. That here the discourse is of troubled flight, not of utter destruction. On the other hand, every thing is in perfect accordance with the victory of Jehoshaphat. Then in reality, many kings were gathered together against Jerusa-lem. They came into the immediate neighbourhood of the city, into the wilderness of Tekoa, which is certainly not further than a journey of three hours from Jerusalem, which commands an extensive prospect, and in particular of the environs of Jerusa-lem,-comp. Robinson, P. II. p. 407; (upon the march of the Moabites and Ammonites, comp. ib. p. 426.) Their anxious and troubled flight is described quite similarly in the Chronicles. With: "We think, O Lord, on thy loving-kindness in the midst of thy temple," in ver. 9 here, which bespeaks the Psalm to have been sung as a song of praise in the temple, as the preceding one on the field of slaughter, comp. 2 Chronicles 20:27, "All Judah and Jerusalem returned, and Jehoshaphat in the fore front of them, back to Jerusalem with joy; and they came to Jerusalem with harps, and cytharas, and trumpets to the house of the Lord." A special reference to Jehoshaphat's time is also found in ver. 7. The omnipotence with which the Lord destroys the enemies, is there placed beside that, with which he breaks the ships of Tarshish. The occasion that gave rise to this comparison is re-corded in 1 Kings 22:49, 2 Chronicles 20:36; 2 Chronicles 20:37. Jehoshaphat had united with Ahaziah in getting ships of merchandize, but the ships were wrecked, נשברו. The internal connection be-tween the two events was the greater, as in that annihilation of the ships of Tarshish, there was discerned, according to 2 Chron-icles, a judgment of God. In the superscription: A Psalm-song of the children of Korah, (comp. 2 Chronicles 20:19,) the שיר, which is predominantly used of songs of praise, comp. on Psalms 42:8, is the particular, and מזמור the general. Ver. 1. Great is the Lord, and exceedingly glorious in the city of our God, upon his holy mountain. Ver. 2. Beautiful by its elevation, the joy of the whole earth is Mount Zion, in the ex- treme north, the city of the great king. Ver. 3. God is in her palaces known as a refuge. On ver. 1, Calvin remarks: "As-suredly there is no corner so concealed but that God's wisdom, righteousness, and goodness, and his other attributes, penetrateinto it. But because he desires that they should be especially visible to his church, so the Psalmist does not in vain hold this mirror before our eyes, in which God more vividly presents hisimage." Upon מהלל, prop. praised, then glorious, comp. onPsa_18:3. The words: his holy mountain, stand in appos. to: in the city of our God. The holy mountain was the centre of the city of God, and, viewed spiritually, this stood wholly upon Zion. In the following verse, the city, for the same rea-son, is appos. to the mountain.-The key for the exposition of ver. 2, is found in the remark, that the Psalmist describes not the external but the internal glory of Jerusalem, views it not with fleshly eyes, but with the eye of faith, speaks not as a geographer, but as a divine. That the בנ. כוד. גוף signifies height, elevation, is generally admitted now, (Against Luther's: Mount Zion is like a beautiful little twig, after the Chal., where ך`יג is taken for a twig, decides already the scat. constr.) Beautiful of the height, is q.d. beautiful in respect to height, or through its height. In the external height, the Psalmist discerns the image of the spiritual, and only in so far is it of any importance to him, comp. Psalms 68:16, where the outward-ly high earthly mountains envy the spiritually high Zion on ac-count of its elevation, Isaiah 2:2, Ezekiel 40:2, Revelation 21:10, Matthew 5:14. The joy of the whole earth is Jerusalem also called in Lam. 2:15, probably with reference to this Psalm. Jerusalem is so dear, especially when considered with the eye of the Spirit, that it may justly be reckoned the object of joy to the whole earth, comp. Ezekiel 16:14.-צפון ירכתי, prop. the extreme of the north, is to be taken as appos. to ציון הר. The only legitimate exposition is that which proceeds from a comp. of Isaiah 14:13; Isaiah 14:14. There the mountain of the gods is described as situated in the fur-thest north, which, according to a representation far spread in the East, must rise out of the earth up to heaven, forming a sort ofintermediate link between heaven and earth: comp. in: "I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God,” and this: "I will ascend above the heights of the clouds, I will be like the Most High," which will by no means permit us to regard the mountain of the gods as belonging merely to the earth, but rather proceeds on the supposition, that it rises from earth up to the highest heavens. What the hea-then dreamed of such a mountain, that Mount Zion was in reality. Its foundation was on earth, its top in heaven. Thatwe cannot here think of a geographical delineation, is clear from Ezekiel 38:6; Ezekiel 38:15; Ezekiel 39:2, where the furthest north pre-sents the contrast to the mountains of Israel. It is only figura-tively that Zion is called the extreme north, precisely as in Ez. 5:5, "This is Jerusalem, in the midst of the earth have I set her, and round about her are the lands,"-according to the connection we can only think of a spiritual centre of the earth. That the heathenish representation of the mountain of the gods, in the extreme north, could not yet have been known in Israel under Jehoshaphat, is maintained without any solid reason. The exposition of Luther: On the side toward midnight lies the city of the great king, is, along with a number like it, disposed of by the remark, that ירכתים always denotes the inmost and furthest of a thing, and specially צפון ירכתי is everywhere: the extremity of the north. Against the exposition of De Wette and Gesenius: (the joy) of the whole earth,a we oppose the fact, that such a resumption of the stat. constr. is without ex-ample, not occurring even in Job 26:10, which Ew. § 509, quotes for it. The special naming of the extreme north after the whole earth would be unsuitable.-The words appended in apposition: the city of the great king, points to that on account of which all the glorious predicates rest, which had been ascribed to Mount Zion in the preceding context. God is named the great king in opposition to the kings in ver. 4. In ver. 3, נודע is to be taken in its common signification, known, comp. Psalms 76:1. God is known in the palaces of Jerusalem as a fortress, because he has proved himself in them to be as a fortress, comp. ver. 13.Ver. 4. For, lo, the kings were assembled, they vanished alto-gether. Ver. 5. They saw, so they were astonished, were fright-ened, fled away. Ver. 6. Trembling took hold on them there, anguish as a woman with child. Ver. 7. With the east wind thou breakest the ships of Tarshish. Ver. 8. As we heard, so we saw in the city of the Lord of Hosts, in the city of our God: God establishes it for ever. Selah. The commentary on נודע, prop. are appointed, then are come together, especially on the ground of an agreement, is given in Psalms 83:4-6. עבר most would a There seems to be some mistake in the original here, and I presume it should be, not: (the joy) of the whole earth, but: (the joy) of the extreme north. At the same time, this is not the rendering adopted by De Wette in that edition of his work on the Psalms (the iii.) which is in my possession.- Trans.expound by approaching, but the impressive brevity is in favour of the sig. of vanishing away.-Upon the כן without the pre-ceding כאשר in ver. 5, see Ew. �˜ 628. The object of the see- ing is without doubt the holy city. For, its dignity and eleva-tion must certainly be pointed out. The veni, vidi, vici of Caesar is to be compared, and scarcely any expositor overlooks it. Upon הפז, to hasten for fear, in Niph. to be hastened, hastily and an-xiously to flee, comp. on Psalms 31:22. In ver. 7, from the live-liness of the affection the address is directed to God, as after-wards in ver. 9-11 throughout. The breaking of the ships of Tarshish is introduced here only as an individualizing descrip-tion of the almighty working of God, q. d. thine omnipotence, which the present event has proved to us, nothing can with-stand, not even what is most lofty and glorious,-the ships of Tarshish are used as an individualizing example of this also in Isaiah 2:16. Against Koester, who, with a wrong historical in-terpretation, would refer the verse to the destruction of a fleet, which the operations of the hostile sovereign had supported, decides the fut. alone, the pret. being always used of the his-torical events in the preceding and subsequent context,-as also against Hitzig, according to whom the ships of Tar-shish must be regarded as a proper description of the warlike force of the enemy. That by ships of Tarshish are always meant great ships of burden, has been maintained without foundation.-In ver. 7 there is opposed to the hearing, the knowledge of God's grace and power from the tradition of past times, the seeing, the personal experience. Comp. Job 42:5, "I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear, but now mine eye seeth thee," and the complaint regarding the contrast between the hearing and the seeing in Psalms 44. That we must not expound: at, but only: in the city, appears from ver. 1 and 3. The last member-not: he will establish it, but, he establishes it-points to that which was borne witness to both by the past and by the present. The expression: unto eternity, for ever, is only ap-parently contradicted by experience. The Jerusalem that has been laid in ruins, is not that which the Psalmist means. It is only its lifeless corpse. Matthew 5:18 furnishes the canon, accord-ing to which all such declarations are to be judged. Ver. 4. For, lo, the kings were assembled, they vanished altogether. Ver. 5. They saw, so they were astonished, were frightened, fled away. Ver. 6. Trembling took hold on them there, anguish as a woman with child. Ver. 7. By the east wind thou breakest the ships of Tarshish. Ver. 8. As we heard, so we saw in the city of the Lord of Hosts, in the city of our God: God establishes it for ever. Selah. The commentary on πεςγε, prop. to be appointed, then to come together, especially on the ground of an agreement, is given in Psalms 83:4-6. ςαψ most would expound by approaching, but the impressive brevity is in favour of the sig. of vanishing away. Upon the λο without the precedingλΰωψ in Psalms 48:5, see Ew. § 628. The object of the seeing is without doubt the holy city. For, its dignity and elevation must certainly be pointed out. The veni, vidi, vici of Caesar is to be compared, and scarcely any expositor overlooks it. Upon ητζ, to hasten for fear, in Niph. to be hastened, hastily and anxiously to flee, comp. on Psalms 31:22. In Psalms 48:7, from the liveliness of the affection the address is directed to God, as afterwards in Psalms 48:9-11 throughout. The breaking of the ships of Tarshish is introduced here only as an individualizing description of the almighty working of God, q. d. thine omnipotence, this the present event shows us, nothing can withstand, not even what is most lofty and glorious,—the ships of Tarshish are used as an individualizing example of this also in Isaiah 2:16. Against Koester, who, with a miserable historising interpretation, would refer the verse to the destruction of a fleet, which had supported the operations of the hostile sovereign, the fut. alone is decisive, the pret. being always used of the historical events in the preceding and subsequent context:—the same remark applies to Hitzig, according to whom the ships of Tarshish must be regarded as a proper description of the warlike force of the enemy. That great ships of burden generally are denoted by “ships of Tarshish,”, has been maintained without foundation. In Psalms 48:7, the seeing i.e. the personal experience, is opposed to the hearing, i.e. to the knowledge of God’s grace and power from the tradition of past times. Comp. Job 42:5, “I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear, but now mine eye seeth thee,” and the complaint regarding the contrast between the hearing and the seeing in Psalms 44. In the church of God the seeing is at all times bound up with the hearing which, every century, receives fresh materials. That we must not expound: at, but only: in the city, appears from Psalms 48:1 and Psalms 48:3. The last member—not: he shall establish it, but, he establishes it—points to that which was borne witness to both by the past and by the present. The expression: unto eternity, for ever, is only apparently contradicted by experience. The Jerusalem that has been laid in ruins, is not that which the Psalmist means. It is only its lifeless corpse. Matthew 5:18 furnishes the canon, according to which all such declarations are to be judged. Ver. 9. We remember, O God, thy grace in the midst of thy temple. Ver. 10. As thy name, God, so is thy praise even to the ends of the earth, of righteousness thy right hand is full. Ver. 11.Mount Zion rejoices, the daughters of Judah exult on account of thy judgments. From ver. 9 it is evident that the Psalm was sung as a song of praise in the temple. In ver. 10 it is usually expounded: Wherever thy name is but known upon the whole earth, there also thy praise is known, thou art not like the idol-gods, which are mere names without deeds; but since, in Scrip-ture phraseology, the name of God never stands for the mere name, but rather for the name only as the product of the deeds, comp. on Psalms 23:3, so we must understand by the praise of God, the praise which he has now won for himself, q. d. as in former times thou hast by thy deeds obtained for thyself, and spread abroad far and wide, a glorious name, so hast thou now again filled the whole earth with thy praise. Exactly corre-sponding are the words: “ As we heard, so we saw," in ver. 8. Comp. 2 Chron. xx, 29, "And the terror of God was on all the kingdoms of the countries, when they heard that the Lord fought against the enemies of Israel." The righteousness of which, as experience has just shewn, the right hand of God is full, is the matter-of-fact justification, which he imparts to his own, comp. Psalms 35:28. The daughters of Judah in ver. 11, are, ac-cording to the connection, the other cities of Judah, a phraseo-logy which had become so common, that it occurs even in the plainest prose, comp. Joshua 15:45.Ver. 12. Walk about Zion, and go round about her, number her towers. Ver. 13. Attend to her bulwarks, consider her pa-laces, that you may tell it to the generation following. Ver. 14. For this God is our God for ever and ever, he guides us in-the dying. On the design of the call in ver. 12 and 13, comp. the introd. Such stability and glory after such means, as had been levelled at their prostration! How must this survey tend to the glorifying of the God of Israel, and to the strengthening of faith! סבב and הקיף occur in connection as in ver. 12, so also in Joshua 6:3; Joshua 6:11, הילe, the outermost circumference of thecity, forms the contrast to the palaces in the interior. In theה, which is beyond doubt the suff., the Mappik is awanting. The בנ. כוד. פסג Chal. to divide, divides, according to the con-nection: in the consideration, attention. Against the parall. several: range through. In ver. 14 the call, given in ver. 12 and 13, is referred back to its ground. The deeds of such a God as the God of Israel, one must attentively consider and carefully hand down to posterity, which has in them pledges of similardeliverances. This God, who has now done so great things for us, comp. upon the זה Ew. �˜ 537. The על is not to be taken in the somewhat uncertain signification above, but in the sig.with, comp. Gesen. Thes. p. 1027: with dying, i. q. if it comes to dying. Parallel are Psalms 68:20, "God is to us a God of deliverances, and the Lord frees us from death," Habakkuk 1:12,My God and my Holy one, leave us not to die," Psalms 49:15; Psalms 85:7. The discourse here is not of a blessed immortality, but only of deliverance from the dangers of death, circumstances threatening the people of God with destruction. For changes in the text there is also no occasion. Luther's trans.: he guides us as the youth, rests upon the reading already indicated by theChal. עלמות, with the arbitrarily supplied כ. Ver. 12. Walk about Zion, and go round about her, number her towers. Ver. 13. Attend to her bulwarks, consider her palaces, that you may tell it to the generation following. Ver. 14. For this God is our God for ever and ever, he guides us in dying. On the design of the call in Psalms 48:12 and Psalms 48:13, comp. the introd. Such stability and glory after such means, as had been levelled at their destruction! How must this survey tend to the glorifying of the God of Israel, and to the strengthening of faith! ραα and δχισ occur in connection as in Psalms 48:12, so also in Joshua 6:3, Joshua 6:11. ηֵ ?ιμ, the outermost circumference of the city, forms the contrast to the palaces in the interior. In the δ, which is beyond doubt the suff., the Mappik is awanting. The ἀπλεγ. τρβ Chal. to divide, divides, according to the connection: in the consideration, attention. Against the parall. several: range through. In Psalms 48:14 the call, given in Psalms 48:12 and Psalms 48:13, is referred back to its ground. The deeds of such a God as the God of Israel, one must attentively consider and carefully hand down to posterity, which has in them pledges of similar deliverances. This God, who has now done so great things for us. The ςμ is not to be taken in the somewhat unascertained signification above, but in the sig. at, comp. Gesen. Thes. p. 1027: at dying, i. q. when it comes to dying. Parallel are Psalms 68:20, “God is to us a God of deliverances, and the Lord frees us from death,” Habakkuk 1:12, My God and my Holy one, leave us not to die,” Psalms 49:15, Psalms 85:7. The discourse here is not of a blessed immortality, but only of deliverance from the dangers of death, circumstances threatening the people of God with destruction. For changes in the text there is also no occasion. Luther’s trans.: he guides us as the youth, rests upon the reading already indicated by the Chal. ςַ ?μְ ?ξεּ ?ϊ, with the arbitrarily supplied α. Psalms 49 The Psalm meets the temptation, which comes upon the righteous from the prosperity of the wicked, whose persecutions it sets forth, and indeed with the consolation, which is presented for it throughout the Old Testament, (comp. the introd. on Ps. 37. nearly related to it, as also to Psalms 83.), that the issue divides between the righteous and the wicked, that the glory and the ascendancy of the latter is only a temporary one, that it ends in terrors, while the righteous is delivered by God. The Psalm consists of an introduction in ver. 1-4, the chief portion in ver. 5-15, and a conclusion in ver. 16-20. In the chief portion the thesis is first set forth, ver. 5, 6, then follows the grounding of it in ver. 7-15, which falls into three strophes, each of three verses. The whole has twenty verses. The introduction: let all the world hear, for the Psalmist speaks wisdom. Ver. 1. Hear this, all peoples, give ear, all ye inhabitants of the world. Ver. 2. Both common men and lords, both rich and poor together. Ver. 3. My mouth shall speak; wisdom, and the meditation of my heart is understanding. Ver. 4. I will incline my ear to a similitude, open to the cythara my riddle. The call upon all men to attention with-out distinction of land, situation, or means, must, as the fol- lowing context shews, be designed to indicate the high import-ance of the instructions, which the Psalmist has to convey. If the problem here handled was falsely solved, all fear of God mustbe overthrown. On the ground of Deu 32:1, it has been very common, at important announcements to call the whole world to listen, comp. Psalms 50:1, Micah 1:1, 1 Kings 22:28. Uponהלד prop. continuance, then world, comp. on Psalms 17:14. On איש בני, prop. sons of man, on Psalms 4:2. אדם בני, children of men, is limited by the contrast to the great mass. Against De Wette, who denies the distinction between the designations, comp. Gesell. in Thes. on אדם. Here this is favoured, not only by the גם-גם as well, as also, comp. Ew. �˜ 628, but also by the following: rich and poor. What the Psalmist has delivered, serves to the rich for warning, comp. 5:5, 6, 16, to the poor for consolation. Ver. 3 and 4 lay the ground for the call that is contained in ver. 1 and 2. The Psalmist must utter wisdom without reserve, for he gives only what he has received. The plur. in הכמות and תבונות is used for the purpose of giving force to the idea. In the Proverbs the use of הכמות is quite similar, as indicating wisdom, ךבפ᾽ἐמןקחם, sapientia hypostatica, in which all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge lie conceal-ed. Of a plural in the common sense הכמה in particular is not capable. Comp. my Beitr. P. II. p. 258. In the words: I will incline my ear to a similitude, it is plainly implied, that the wis-dom, which the Psalmist could communicate, is no self-sprung possession, but one that has been acquired by him; comp. Isa. v. 1, where the song, which the prophet sings to his beloved, is at the same time a song of his beloved, 2 Samuel 23:2. Calvin: "It certainly becomes all the prophets of God to be so affected, as to take God willingly for their master in common with the rest of the people, and first of all to receive his word, which they are to declare to others from their own mouth. But the prophet's design was, to gain authority and reverence for his instruction, since he did not prate about his own notions, but only broughtforth what he had learned in the school of God." Upon משל, similitude, see Balaam, p. 78. הידה, riddle, a discourse of dif-ficult comprehension, deep sense. Both, as here, connected in Psalms 78:2. Open, as in Amos 8:5, for openly to bring forth the treasure-chambers of the heart or the mouth. There follows now the thesis; ver. 5. Wherefore should I fear in the days of adversity, when the iniquity of my treaders-down compasses me about. Ver. 6. Those there confide in their wealth and boast themselves in the multitude of their riches. Calvin: "The prophet now enters upon the instruction itself, namely,that the sons of God should not be above measure disturbed by adversity, although the wicked may wantonly oppress them, and according to their pleasure, hold them enclosed on every side,because the Lord, though he may dissemble and be at rest, still does not sleep in heaven." Before the second member of ver. 5, we are not to supply some word like בימי, but it contains the closer description of the days of misfortune; the iniquity of my persecutor surrounds me, abrupt, for: in which surrounds me. There follows now the thesis; Ver. 5. Wherefore should I fear in the days of adversity, when the iniquity of my treaders-down compasses me about. Ver. 6. Those there confide in their wealth and boast themselves in the multitude of their riches. Calvin: “The prophet now enters upon the instruction itself, namely, that the sons of God should not be above measure disturbed by adversity, although the wicked may wantonly oppress them, and according to their pleasure, hold them enclosed on every side, because the Lord, though he may dissemble and be at rest, still does not sleep in heaven.” Before the second member of Psa 49:5, we are not to supply some word like áéîé, but it contains the closer description of the days of misfortune; the iniquity of my persecutor surrounds me, abrupt, for: in which surrounds me. Ver. 7-9. The righteous has no reason to be troubled on ac-count of the might and riches of the wicked, or the wicked to boast himself over him. This would only then be the case, if the wicked could assure himself of an eternal life through his riches, an eternal possession of his riches. But since he can by his riches deliver neither himself nor another from death, the king of which is quite inaccessible to him, he must therefore hang in constant dread of the destruction which inevitably a-waits him, and it is for him, not for the righteous, to be afraid.Ver. 7. His brother can no one redeem, nor give to God his atonement. Ver. 8. And precious is the ransom of their souls, and he must put it off for ever. Ver. 9. That he may continual-ly live and not see the grave. In ver. 7, the איש, any one, namely among the ungodly rich, is the subject, the אה is accus., the object placed before, in order to bring out distinctly the contrast in regard to the rich. The suff. כפרו refers to the rich ungodly ones: He cannot, with all his riches, once redeem ano- ther, to say nothing of himself. Many expositors render: a brother can redeem no one, no other the ungodly rich. But as the nothingness of the riches of the wicked must be indicated, the brother is not the person who redeems, but the person to be redeemed. The brother is also to be thought of as such in ungodliness, who in consequence of that has to fear destruction, comp. Genesis 49:5. The prefixed inf. פדה brings strongly out the idea of redemption, marks it as that, to which ultimately every thing belongs. Whatsoever is unable to redeem, to free others or one's self from death, that is of no value, such as that one should boast himself of it, or that others should be afraid of him on account of it. The discourse here is not of death generally, but of untimely, violent death, from which God de-fends his own, comp. ver. 15. The words: he cannot give God his atonement, is said in reference to Exodus 21:30, according to which one might transact with men in certain circumstances re-garding ransom-money: There, just as here, כפר and פריון are united. The plural suffix in ver. 8: their soul, refers to the brother of the ungodly rich man, and this man himself. This pl. suffix also shews, that the rich person, who redeems, and that the suf. in כפרו, must be referred not to the brother, but to him. In ver. 9 the Psalmist lets the brother drop, and con-fines himself only to him, whom it here especially concerns, the rich man himself. It is arbitrary to maintain, that this verse. stands connected with verse 7 and not with verse 8. The ex-pression it ceases for ever, at the close of verse 8, substantially means, he never brings it thither, he never comes therewith to a conclusion; and with this fitly joins on the following: that he may live. Comp. on the vau of the fol. before the abbrev. fut., corresponding to the Latin ut with the conj. Ew. § 618. Ver. 10-12. The ungodly lives in presence of the universal sovereignty of death, which shews him that God may call him away every moment, immediately, as if he had no longer to so-journ on the earth. The dream of immortality possesses his whole being. But the Lord arouses him in a very rough manner from his dreams. Like the irrational beast, which formerly had no suspicion of its death, so he now is compelled suddenly to think of it. Ver. 10. When he sees, that wise men die, altogether fools and senseless ones perish, and must leave their substance to others: Ver. 11. This is their heart, that their houses last for ever, their dwellings remain for ever and ever, and they call their names upon their lands. Ver. 12. But man remains not in honour, is like the beast, shall be extirpated. When even wise men die, what dominion must death then have over the human race; how carefully should we reflect, that we cannot lay hold of his do-minion; how foolish is it then to think, that one shall escape an untimely death, in case one has deserved it ! When the wise and good die old and full of days, this is for the foolish and wicked a matter-of-fact announcement, that he shall be taken away in the midst of his days. But if he will shut his ears on this indi-rect announcement, the direct one must still force itself on him, which reaches him through the untimely and violent destruction of his companions in folly, (of this אבד, while of the מות,The expression in ver. 11: their inward is their house for ever, q. d. so is the whole heart full of thoughts, wishes, and endea-vours, that their houses continue for ever, etc, comp. קרבv. 9. The LXX., whom the Vulgate follows, have in their ne-gligence interchanged קרבם with קברם. The בשם קרא, to call, since one rests somewhat in the name, partly to call upon with feeling, partly to call out with feeling, with reverence and admiration, here the latter, comp. Isaiah 44:5. In ver. 12 there is the contrast to this their foolish, counter-experience course. A man, q. d. the ungodly, because with all his glory he still is only a man, and as such is liable to death, the avenging judg-ment of God. The לין, several take in the general sense of re-maining, but it is better to regard it as possessing the special sig. of passing the night, in reference to the quick and sudden destruction, comp. in ver. 14: and the righteous lord it over them in the morning, and Psalms 46:5, where in like manner the speedy deliverance of the righteous is described. They are like the beast, which without any apprehension is overtaken by death, "which sports in pleasure and joy, and feels not approaching death." For נדמו, we conceive, more emphatically than the beast, the ungodly to be the subject. Ver. 13. This is their way, fools are they, and still men have pleasure, in their mouths after them. Selah. Ver. 14. Like sheep are they laid in hell, death feeds on them, and the righteous have dominion over them in the morning, and their form must pass away, hell is a habitation to them. Ver. 15. But God will redeem my soul from the power of hell, for he takes me. Selah. Since in what immediately precedes the discourse is of what befals the ungodly, the expression: this is their way, is q. d. this is their fate. Because it happens thus to them, so is there to those, who were quite full of the thought of their immortality, folly-כסל in this sig. Ecclesiastes 7:25, comp. Psalms 85:8. Against the sig.: hope, there is the כסיל in verse 10, the chastisement of their folly in ver. 11, and the suitableness of the contrast: they are fools, and yet. The Psalmist, then, declares his astonish- ment, that although the fate of the wicked so manifestly beto-kens their folly, there are still always found persons, who adopt their principles, and thereby procure for themselves like de-struction. רצה with ב is always to have pleasure in something. One has pleasure is = there are always found such, who etc. Their mouth, q. d. their discourse, principles. The Selah admon-ishes, that we should not belong to the number of fools, who will not be frightened by the result of their principles.--שתו ver. 14, from שתת = שות, comp. Psalms 73:9, they lay, for, one lays them, they are laid. Like sheep, Calvin: "For proudman the whole world is hardly sufficient. From that towering elevation in which they stretch themselves far and wide, the Psalmist crowds them together and gives them up to death for food." רעה various expositors take falsely in the sense of feed-ing on; Luther: death gnaws them. Instead of: the righteous have dominion over them, most modern expositors: they tread in upon them. But the sig. of treading for רדה, is quite uncer-tain in the only other passage which is brought in support of it, John 4:13, and with ב it is currently used in the sig. of reigning over, comp. particularly, Isaiah 14:2. This sense is here also quite suitable. Saul, for example, after his death, was reigned over by David in his family and dependents, in the overthrow of the arrangements fixed by him, etc. It is said to be in the morning, because the destruction of the ungodly takes place in the night, by which its suddenness and unexpectedness is ex-pressed,-comp. "the tempest steals him away in the night," Job 27:20; or perhaps, just in the next morning, for, in a brief moment, comp. ver. 12, Psalms 46:5. The words צירם לבלות, prop. their figure is for annihilation, their beauty is consumed. The last member literally: Sheol is to him of a dwelling away, q. d. a dwelling which is no dwelling. מן simi-larly as in 1 Samuel 15:23, Jeremiah 48:2, Isaiah 14.-In ver. 15, the fate of the righteous, at present oppressed, is placed in con-trast to that of the triumphing wicked. ך`א, only, in opposition to ver. 7, q. d. God, who alone can do it, will do it. According to the connection and the contrast, the redemption of the soul of the righteous from hell, can primarily mean nothing but de-liverance from immediate danger. But what accomplishes this, at the same time pledges redemption from actually approaching death. As לקה neither means to receive nor to demean one's self, we must, in the second member, supply from the first: out of the hand of sheol. While the wicked are laid down in sheol, the righteous are withdrawn from it. The conclusion follows in ver. 16-20. Ver. 16. Be not thou afraid, when one is made rich, when the honour of his house is great. Ver. 17. For he will not in his death take with him all, his honour will not go after him. Ver. 18. For he blessed his soul in his life, and one praises thee, because thou dost treat thy- self well. Ver. 19. He will come to the generation of his fathers, never more do they see the light. Ver. 20. A man in honour without understanding, is like the beast, to be rooted out. Theexpression: be not afraid, resumes, after the proof has been given, the question: wherefore should I fear? in ver. 5. כבוד denotes riches, not in itself, but only in so far as these surround their possessor with honour and glory. Death, which accord-ing to ver. 17, deprives the ungodly of all his glorious privileges, is to be thought of according to the preceding context, as near at hand. In ver. 18, the reason is given why God does not per-mit the glory of the wicked to follow him, why it comes to so sudden and complete an end. His whole life was set on enjoy-ment, he has already enjoyed enough, already has he treated himself luxuriously enough, and he cannot trouble himself if he should now come to want. We may compare Luke 16:25, a passage resting upon ours, and serving as a commentary to it, "But Abraham said, Son, remember, that thou in thy life-time, receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things, but now he is comforted, and thou art tormented." On this: for he blesses his soul in his life, is to be compared the address of the rich man to his soul, Luke 12:19. In the second member, the ungodly rich man is addressed, and the irony thereby made more cutting: thou dost indeed treat thyself so kindly, that men generally praise thee as a virtuoso, as a hero in wine-bibbing, etc., comp. Isaiah 5:22. At the beginning of ver. 19, the address is still continued: thou wilt come, but then it just as suddenly ceases again, as it had commenced, of his fathers; in which many cannot find their way, and hence take תבא as 3 fem., and refer it to the soul of the rich man. Under the generation of the fathers are here to be understood, not so much the corpo-real ancestors of the ungodly, as his predecessors in wickedness, (although both often coincide,) with reference to the common expression: is gathered to his fathers.-In ver. 20 there is a re-petition, with a slight variation, as is quite customary in such cases, (comp. on Psalms 42:5,) so that there is no need of attempt-ing, like Ewald, to correct the one passage by the other, of ver. 12, in order to close the whole with the emphatic and pregnant declaration: the ungodly dies as an irrational beast. Luther excellently: in short, when a man, etc. The object of יבין, which is never placed absolutely, is to be supplied from the con-nection: the nothingness of riches, which are obtained and held without God. Psalms 50. THE Psalm contains a rebuke to the hypocrites, who thought to satisfy God by going through the round of outward services, and keeping the law on their lips. As formerly, at the giving of the law on Sinai, so now God appears on Zion for the expla-nation of it, and for judgment against its transgressors, ver. 1-6. He discovers first, after an introduction in ver. 7, in ver. 8-15, the reigning errors in reference to the first table of the law, and shews wherein the true service of God consists. We have not to do with him about the external sacrifices as such. For were he to be served with these, since he is the Lord of all that lives, they are at his command in infinite fulness, so that he does not need to apply to men for them, ver. 8-12; and how, indeed, could he be served therewith, since he is a spirit? ver. 13. Just because he is this, it is only spiritual sacrifices that could be acceptable to him, a heart full of gratitude and love, ver. 14, 15. From the first table of the law, the discourse turns in ver. 16-21, to the second. It reproves those who have the law of God constantly in their mouth, and, at the same time, wickedly transgresses it in their behaviour towards their neigh-bour. In an impressive conclusion, ver. 22 and 23, the subject of God's discourse is briefly resumed. Asaph is named in the superscription as author. The most natural supposition, that this Asaph is identical with him, who in 1 Chronicles 15:17; 1 Chronicles 15:19, is named as one of the first master-musi-cians of David, and in 2 Chronicles 29:30, (comp. 25:1,) along with David as a composer of Psalms, has nothing against it in the contents. The fundamental thought, that the sacrifice of the heart is alone well pleasing to God, is also declared in the fol-lowing Psalm composed by David, which, on account of this very agreement, has been placed immediately after it. The times of David presented very peculiar occasion for giving em-phatic announcement to this thought-comp. the introd. to Psalms 15. and to Psalms 24. It is remarkable, that the voice against the false estimate of the external worship of God, proceeded from the quarter which was expressly charged with its obligation. Asaph, according to 1 Chronicles 6:24, was of the tribe of Levi. We have still some remarks to make on the doctrinal matterof the Psalm. The less that sinful man is able to conceal from himself, that God has demands to make upon him, the more im-portant does he feel it to have God for a friend, and also the more difficult to present what alone is truly well-pleasing to him. Hence, in order to silence the voice of conscience, he makes all sorts of efforts to be quit of him on easier terms through somewhat external. Now, under the Old Covenant, this feeling ran out upon the sacrifices and the other holy services. The opposition between the moral and the ceremonial law is not properly that of the internal and the external; it is rather of the naked, and of the veiled internal. Every ceremonial law is moral; the external action is always commanded simply for the sake of the internal, which it expresses, represents. There is never body without spirit. But the fleshly sense savours not the spirit, and cleaves simply to the body, which thus isolated be-comes a corpse. Now, if the revelation under the Old Cove-nant had been confined to the law of Moses, there had been room for the complaint, that in it this error had not been more decidedly testified against. There are found in it in this respect only some scattered indications, comp. for example, Genesis 4:3-5, where with an external similarity the sacrifices of Cain and Abel are different in their results with God, and this difference is carried back to the diversities belonging to their personal state, which amounts to an explicit declaration, that the sacri-fice derived its significance only as an expression of the inter-nal condition, Leviticus 26:31. But Moses himself points to the continuation of the revelation, when he announces the sending of the prophets as divinely called expositors of the law. And these executed their commission in this respect, in so powerful a manner, that only the most settled waywardness could con-tinue in error, comp. for example Isaiah 66.; Jeremiah 7:22; Micah 6:7. With them the Psalmists also unite, especially the author of this Psalm, who, with the view of again disclosing the misappre-hended import of the law, makes God appear in the same ma-jesty on Zion, in which he formerly appeared at the first giving of the law on Mount Sinai. The Psalm has been in many ways misunderstood. The entire rejection of the Mosaic sacrificial worship has been sup-posed to lie here. Hence the older expositors refer it to the times of the New Testament, and to the abolition of the Mosaic worship through Christ; while the later would findtraces of an opposition between the Mosaic law and an en-lightened, that is, naturalistic manner of thinking, comp. the re-futation of the latter view in the Ev. K. Z. A. D. 1835, p. 641, ss. As well might one conclude from the words of H. Müller, in his Epistolical Schlusskette, p. 858: "Also has existing Chris-tianity four dumb church-idols, after which it follows, the bap-tismal font, the pulpit, the confessional, the altar," that he wished to abolish baptism, preaching, confession, and the com-munion. Ver. 1. God, the almighty, the Lord speaks, and calls the earth, from the rising of the sun even unto its going down. Ver. 2. From Zion, the perfection of beauty, shines forth God. Ver. 3. Come will our God, and he does not keep silence, fire devours before him, and round about him it is very tempestuous. Ver. 4. He calls to the heavens above, and the earth, that he judges his people. Ver. 5. "Gather to me my saints, who close with my covenant on sacrifice." Ver. 6. And then declare the heavens his righteousness, for God judgeth. Selah. First, in ver. 1, the whole manifestation is brought out in a brief outline, and then it is delineated more in detail. The ex-pression: he speaks, so early as in the outline, points to this, that the discourse of the Lord, as afterwards recorded in ver. 7-23, is that to which all the rest is subservient. The three names of God stand in apposition according to the accents, comp. against the exposition: of the God of gods, my Beitr. P. II. p. 261. The heaping up of names must fill the hypocrites with terror, as these bring before their eyes the majesty of him, whose judgment they underlie. In the relation of these de-signations there is a gradation. Elohim is more than El., to which its singular Eloah is equivalent. The plural marks the fulness and the richness of the divine nature. Jehovah is the highest name according to its derivation-it marks God as the only real being-and, according to the usage also, which as-cribes to Jehovah the most glorious manifestations of God to and in behalf of his people, comp. Beitr, as above. That the earth is called upon not properly to be itself judged, but only to be present at the judgment upon his covenant-people, is ex-pressly declared in ver. 4, and is abundantly apparent from the whole contents of the Psalm. That the earth and the heavens (ver. 4,) come into view not properly as productions and ser-vants of God in judgment, (Stier) but only as witnesses-thatthey are merely called upon to be present in order to make the scene more solemn, in order to shew, that the transac-tion which is here taking place, and the discourse that sets it forth, is of the greatest moment, justly handled by the highest of all authorities, and belonging to him, appears from the comp. of all the parallel passages of the Old Testament. Particularly decisive is here Deuteronomy 4:26, "I take to witness against you this day heaven and earth, that ye shall soon utterly perish," where the calling upon heaven and earth cannot pos-sibly have any other signification, than that of giving solemnity to the scene. Comp. besides, Deuteronomy 32:1, which is properly to be regarded as the original passage, Isaiah 2.- הופיע in ver. 2, prop. to make, to glitter, or shine, then to appear shining, to shine, is here, as in Psalms 80:1, borrowed from Deuteronomy 33:2. That the Lord appears not from heaven, but from Zion, shews that the judgment to be held is a theocratic one. From this al-ready it is evident, that the Psalmist, throughout, proceeds on theocratic ground, and that its design cannot be to abolish the sacrificial worship, which stood in closest connection with the theocracy, and especially with the presence of the Lord on Mount Zion. In what sense Zion is named the perfection of beauty, (which Luther, after the LXX. falsely refers to God,) is clear from what has been remarked on Psalms 48:2.-The ex-pression: our God, in ver. 3, points to the ground of the appear-ance of the Lord. As Israel's God, who having given much, also requires much, he could no longer overlook the great mis-apprehension of his law. Instead of: he does not keep silence, several have: he is not silent. But there is no ground for this ungrammatical rendering, (the אל always denies subjectively.) That he does not keep silence, has for its foundation: he is not silent, and, besides, implies, that what God is going to do, is in accordance with the wishes of the Psalmist. This indication of being well pleased with the doing of the Lord is very common with the prophets and the Psalmists. The discourse in the pro-per sense, as it follows in ver. 7-23, forms primarily the con-trast to the keeping silence. But on that immediately follows, if this first step in the way of chastisement has no effect, the mat-ter-of-fact discourse, comp. ver. 21. On the words: fire eats out of his mouth, for, out of his mouth goes devouring fire, comp. Psalms 18:8. נשערה, it storms, comp. Ew. �˜ 552. Fire and storm, as symbols of the anger of God, his punitive right-eousness, as here combined in the often misunderstood passage 1 Kings 19:11; 1 Kings 19:12. The fire alone already meets us in this quality in the pillar of fire and cloud, comp. especially Exodus 24:17. In Deuteronomy 32:22, the divine indignation, by which Israel is consumed, appears under the image of a great fire, comp. 2 Thess. 1:8. In Deuteronomy 4:24; Deuteronomy 9:3, pleb. 12:29, God himself is described as consuming fire, on account of his punitive right-eousness, his indignation against sin. The Psalmist manifestly alludes here to the frightful manifestations at the giving of the law, Exodus 19:16; Exodus 20:15. The appearances mentioned here have, in common with those there, the object spoken of in Exodus 20:17, "that his fear may be upon you, that you sin not." They must fill the heart with holy fear before the heavenly judge, while they place behind the foreground of chastising words, a back-ground of avenging deeds. The judging mentioned in verse 4, is, according to the remarks made on ver. 1, not to be explain-ed of others: that they may judge, but that he may judge, for behoof of the judgment to be held by him upon his people. After the Lord has appeared in the place of judgment, and all the witnesses are already assembled there, he gives in ver. 5 the command to bring the accused before him. The call is address-ed to the (ideal) servants of the divine judgment. If the Psalm-ist had spoken more definitely, he would have named the angels, comp. Matthew 24:31. It is at first sight strange, that those, whom the Lord will judge as transgressors of his cove-nant, should be described as his saints. But the allusion to the height of their standing and destiny is particularly fitted tocause shame, on account of their present actual condition. Quite analogous is Deuteronomy 32:15, where Israel, in the very midst of the representation of his shameful revolt, is called Je-shurun-comp. the Jesharim of the whole people, in Numbers 23:10; analogous is Isaiah 42:19, "Who is blind, if not my servant, and deaf as the messenger, whom I send? who is blind as thedevotee of God, and blind as the servant of the Lord?" זבה עלי is commonly expounded: under sacrifices, q. d. under sanction of sacrifices, comp. Exodus 24:4-8. But as the words, when so understood, are almost unnecessary, and as justice is scarcely done thereby to the preposition, it is better to explain: who think of making a covenant upon sacrifice, upon the foundation, or under the condition of the sacrifice presented by them.Comp. על of the foundation, upon which any thing rests, Gen.27:40, Deuteronomy 3. The misunderstanding of the stipulated sacrifice, in the presentation of which, when spiritually consi-dered, the whole obligation of the people of God consisted, is set forth and censured in what follows, so that the words, thus understood, very fitly designate the theme of the succeed-ing context. Now, when beside the witnesses the accused are also gathered, the judgment begins: and then the heavens de-clare, etc., ver. 6. The heavens declare the righteousness of God in so far as the judicial voice of God, manifesting his righteous-ness, sounds forth from thence, comp. Exodus 20:19, to which the expression: for God judges, of course with words, makes express allusion. Through the partic. שפט "the action is treated as a firm, abiding image before the eyes," q. d. he is in the judging, comp. Ew. § 350. הוא is the copula, Ew. �˜ 548. Ver. 7. Hear, my people, and let me speak, Israel, let me con-jure thee: God, thy God am I. Ver. 8. Not on account of thy sacrifices will I chastise thee, and thy burnt-offerings are contin- ually before me. Ver. 9. I will not take out of thy house bullocks, nor he-goats out of thy flocks. Ver. 10. For mine are all the beasts of the forest, the cattle upon the hills, where they go by thousands. Ver. 11. I know all the fowls of the mountains, and what moves upon the field is known to me. Ver. 12. Were I hungry, I would not tell thee, for mine is the world and what fills it. Ver.13. Will I eat the flesh of bulls, and drink the blood of goats. Ver.14. Offer to God praise, and so pay to the highest thy vows. Ver.15. Then call on me in the day of trouble, and I will deliver thee, and thou wilt praise me. With ver. 7 begins the speech of God, as judge introduced in the preceding verse. Upon the impera-tive with the vau of consequence, comp. Ew. § 618. העיד with 2 signifies here, as not rarely, to protest, imploringly and with the solemnity of an oath to warn. The commencement: God, thy God am I, serves the same purpose, as the preface at the giving of the law in Exodus 20:2. It is intended to prepare the way for the following discourse. The same design serve also the descriptions of the persons addressed. On the one side, my people and Israel, the people of God and of the covenant, on the other side God, the God of heaven and of earth, thy God, the God, who had bound Israel to himself by so many benefits, had purchased his obedience so dearly. The sense of ver. 8, not the outward sacrifices, which ye regularly bring, but some-thing much greater is the object of my accusation. In this verseit is clear, that if the outward sacrifices had not been offered,this would also have been a ground of complaint. There followin ver. 9, ss. the grounds on account of which, God concernedhimself so little about the outward sacrifices as such-first inver. 9-12, if he needed the sacrifices, still he would not requireto seek them from men, as his whole creation stood at his com-mand; then in ver. 13 his spirituality, from which the outwardsacrifices, as such, could yield him no satisfaction. On the ו inהיתו, ver. 10, borrowed from Genesis 1:24, see Ew. § 507. Thehills of the thousand, the hills where thousands of beasts arefound. As the expression: I know, so also the with me in ver.11 is to be referred to the knowledge. Knowledge and posses-sion are here inseparable from one another, just as omnisciencecannot exist without omnipotence, and universal dominion. Inver. 14 and 15, the true sacrifices are set forth in the place of thefalse, and a rich blessing promised to their presentation, the ob-ligation in verse 14, the reward in verse 15. Praise (תודה hasonly this meaning) is here mentioned merely for the sake of in-dividualizing, as one species of the inward worship, performedby the heart, in opposition to the purely external. But muchaccount is made of thanksgiving. John Arnd: "The giving ofthanks comprehends many virtues in itself-acknowledgment ofGod as the fountain of all good; fear of God, namely the child-like fear, which receives all benefits from God as a child fromthe father; humility, confessing that we have nothing of our-selves, but obtain all from God," etc. The expression: And pay,is q. d. so wilt thou pay, comp. on the imperative fut. Ew. § 618.Vows consisted in great part of thank-offerings, comp. Lev. vii.11, 16, Psalms 116:17; Psalms 116:18. He only who has rendered the substanceof this thank-offering, thanks, has truly paid his vow. The com-mon import put upon: and pay, as conveying an admonition, isinadmissible, because it takes the expression, of paying the vowswithout farther explanation, in a spiritual sense. The whole15th verse is of a promissory nature. It announces the rewardwhich is appointed for the spiritual worship of God. Whoeverthanks God in the right manner for deliverance obtained, hemay console himself in the time of distress with the assuredhope of a new deliverance. Then call upon me, is q. d. if thoudost then call upon me, comp, Ew. § 618. Thou wilt praise me,thou wilt have occasion to do this. The: call upon me, cannotbe taken as a command to trust in God in the time of trouble. Hypocrites also call on God in their way. Ver. 16. And to the wicked God says: what hast thou to do to declare my laws, and to take my covenant into thy mouth? Ver. 17. Since thou still hatest correction, and castest my words behind thee. Ver. 18. When, thou seest a thief, then thou dost consent to him, and with adulterers is thy part. Ver. 19. Thou givest thy mouth to the wicked, and thy tongue frames deceit. Ver. 20. Thou sittest, speakest against thy brother, against the son of thy mother thou speakest calumny. Ver. 21. That didst thou, and I kept silence, then thoughtest thou, I was as thyself. But I will chastise thee, and will set in order before thine eyes. From the first table the Psalmist here turns to the second. רשע in ver. 16 is, as very commonly, the wicked in the narrower sense, the evil-doer against his neighbour. The commonly un-derstood contrast of the properly wicked against the erring members of God's people, is an untenable one, and the Psalmist has here to do with the same individuals as in ver. 7, ss. To offer to God outward, in place of spiritual sacrifices, is an error springing from heavy moral guilt, and they, who do it, always appear in scripture as evil-doers. In Isaiah 1:15, for example, the hands of the merely external worshippers are at the same time full of blood, comp. 66:3, 4. According to the parall. and the connection, by the covenant must be meant the law of God espe-cially in so far as it requires love toward our neighbour. This usage is found already in the law itself, comp. for example, Ex. 24:7, 34:28. The wicked takes the law into the mouth, prop. upon the mouth. for upon the lips, Exodus 23:13, 2 Samuel 13:32, in order to display his knowledge of the will of God, to teach others, and to judge others, Romans 2:18-24. That such have no right to take the law of God into their mouth the Psalmist shews in ver. 17, from the fact of their not endeavouring to reprove themselves by it, and not correcting their deficiences, for which the law was given to them, being there not for being spoken about, but for being done, comp. Romans 2:13. John Arnd: "Such a person was Ahab, who could appear so pious, but when Elias rebukes him, he curses, and persecutes the pro-phets to death, which shews he was a hypocrite, and would be taken for a pious man. But those are truly pious people, who are without hypocrisy, and to whom God's word is a reality, who could suffer themselves to be reproved, and confess theirsins, as David, when reproved by Nathan, was not indignant, but said: I have sinned against the Lord; they who act so are no hypocrites." The Psalmist refers in ver. 18-20, to the three commands of the decalogue: thou shalt not commit adultery, thou shalt not steal, thou shalt not speak false witness against thy neighbour. He shews the sinner how little right he had to take the commands of God into his mouth, since he violated them in succession. רצה with עם in ver. 18, not: to have pleasure in any one, but to be satisfied with any one, to be of one mind with him, comp. Job 34:9, Romans 1:32, and what is related of the inhabitants of Sodom and Gibeah. Luther has, after the LXX. and Chald., derived the form falsely from רוץ. The שלה with ב in ver. 19, immittere. Without foundation in the words themselves, most: thou lettest loose in thy mouth the reins to the wicked. The expression in ver. 20: thou sittest, is a delineation to the life of babbling companies, comp. on Psalms 1:1. The expression דפי נתן (דפי only here) from the general con-nection,-in ver, 19 and 20 the discourse is only of sins of the tongue-from the parallelism, and from the obvious reference to the command, thou shalt not speak false witness against thy neighbour, can be understood only of evil backbitings and ca-lumnies. נתן is best taken in the common sig. of giving, דפי in that of blow = words, through which he, or his honour, is struck down. Against the son of thy mother, is an ascending clause, since אה, not rarely marks brother in a larger sense, q. d. even against thy dear brother. The keeping silence, in ver. 21, formsthe contrast to a matter-of-fact discourse. I kept silence, in my long-suffering, which should have led thee to repentance, Rom. ii. 4, but thou, falsely interpreting my silence, thoughtest, that I was (the inf. constr.) wholly as thyself, equally well inclined to-wards sin. Since to this silence, the expression: I will chastise thee, and thereby give convincing proof of the opposite, forms the contrast, it must refer, not to the preceding rebuke of God in words, but only to his matter-of-fact speech, the actual chas-tisement, comp. ver. 22. The words: I will set in order before thine eyes, (comp. on the ך`רע on Psalms 5:4,) is excellently ex-pounded by Calvin: "He declares, that they will soon be drawn into open light, that they shall be compelled to see with their eyes the shameful deeds, which they had imagined they could conceal from the eyes of God. For so I understand the setting in order, that God will lay before them in exact order a fullcatalogue of their misdeeds, which they must read and own, whether they will or not. Ver. 22, 23, contain the impressive conclusion of the speech of God. First, in ver. 22, the threatening against stiff-necked sinners, then in verse 23, the promise to those, who suffer them-selves to be led into the right way. Ver. 22. Mark now this, ye forgetters of God, lest I tear you in pieces without deliverer. Ver. 23. Whosoever offers praise will glorify me, and whosoever prepares a way, to him will I shew the salvation of God. This, every thing that has been said in the preceding context for the unmasking and terrifying of imaginary saints, but, in particular, the threatening at the close of the preceding verse. Under the name of the forgetters of God are thrown together the friends of the merely outward service, and the wicked. On the words: lest I tear thee, etc., Arnd: "Just as a ravenous beast permits no one to take his prey from him, so can no one deliver from the anger of God, when it burns; it is a frightful thing to fall into the hands of the living God, and to be dragged away to punishment." The expression: he will glorify me, in ver. 23, can, according to ver. 15 and the parallel: I will show him my salvation, only mean, he will have occasion to glorify me. ך`רד שום, occurs in Exodus 21:25, Isaiah 43:19, comp. 49:11, in the sig. of making or preparing a way. Hence expositions such as: who considers upon the way, or: orders his way, etc., are to be set aside. The greater part now of those, who cor-rectly apprehend the nature of the expression, expound, after the example of the LXX. and Vulgate: he treads the way, which I will cause him to see, agreeing as to the sense with Luther, who followed the false reading שם there. But then would the speech of God in the conclusion of the second part, in ver 16-21, have been allowed entirely to drop. We can arrive at a sa-tisfactory sense only when we render: whosoever prepares a way, q. d. whosoever regulates his life by sure principles-the opposite in Psalms 125:5; "who turn aside upon their crooked way." Thus have we in each of the two members a condition and a consequence. The first is a compend of ver. 14 and 15, To the promise of salvation for those, who truly fulfil the obliga-tion toward God, there is added the promise of salvation for those, who occupy a position toward their neighbour, the reverse of that condemned in ver. 16, ss. The salvation of God, for my salvation, in order to indicate what it imports, to be partakers of the salvation of God. Psalms 51. DAVID, after his adultery with Bathsheba, aroused from his sleep in sin by the admonition of the prophet Nathan, humbled himself before God, and gave utterance in this Psalm to his in- ward desire for forgiveness and renewal. It falls into two main divisions, of which the first completes itself in the number twelve, the second in the number seven. In the first, ver. 1-12, the Psalmist asks for that, which the Lord must grant him, in ver. 13-19, he represents how he will spew his gratitude to the Lord for the love conferred on him. The first division falls again into two halves. In the first, ver. 1-6, the Psalmist gives, after a short and rapidly uttered prayer, ver. 1 and 2, the grounding of it, he acknowledges his sin, ver. 3 and 4; and: to man conceived and born in sin can divine truth and wisdom come only from God, ver. 5 and 6. In the second, ver. 7-12, there is raised out of the thus laid foundation the enlarged pray-er, first, for forgiveness of sin, ver. 7-9, then for the restoration of the gift of the Spirit, ver. 10-12. In the thanksgiving por-tion, the Psalmist first declares, how he will personally show himself grateful, when the Lord hears his prayer, by inviting all sinners on the ground of his own experience to repent, he praises. God's righteousness and celebrates his glory, as that has been manifested in his reception to favour, ver. 13-15; then pro-claims this, and the broken heart, which is the source of such a celebration of God's praise, to be the true thank-offering, while the external sacrifices, as such, are not acceptable to God, ver. 16 and 17. Then he promises the thanksgivings of the whole church, to be displayed in a fulness of hearty sacrifices, when God had shewed himself gracious to them in their head, and further took them as the object of his supporting and sustaining agency, ver. 18 and 19. That the Psalm was composed by David on the occasion in question, shews, besides the superscription, the authenticity of which is evidenced both by its own internal character, and also, perhaps, by the circumstance, that, by including it, the Psalm falls into three decades, also the wonderful agreement of the subject with 2 Samuel 11 and 12. That we have to do here as there with a sinner of high rank, is already probable from ver. 13-15, according to which, the compassion to be shown to the Psalmist should operate beneficially through an extensive circle,but certainly from the conclusion, ver. 18 and 19. That the Psalmist there passes on to pray for the salvation of the whole people, pre-supposes, that this salvation was personally connect- ed with himself, that the people stood and fell with him, as was rendered palpable by the history of the numbering of the peo-ple. That the Psalmist was a king, Ewald also concludes from these verses, although he denies the composition of it by David. In ver. 14, the Psalmist prays for deliverance from blood-guilti-ness. Such guilt David had incurred through the death of Urias, occasioned by him, and of those who fell with him, and Nathan had threatened him in the name of God with the divine vengeance for it; comp. 2 Samuel 12:9; 2 Samuel 12:10. This is the more remarkable, the more singular the case is in its kind. Of a true worshipper of God, the whole history of the Old Testament contains nothing similar. It is a poor shift to maintain, that blood might also be taken generally for guilt and punishment. That in the passage Isaiah 4:4, upon which alone stress is laid, the discourse is of blood in the pro-per sense, appears from the comp. of chap. 1:15, 21.-Ver. 4 is quite replete with references to 2 Samuel 12. As David there says: I have sinned against the Lord, so here: against thee only have I sinned. The words: "This evil have I done in thy sight," is seen at once to be an echo of the address of Nathan in 2 Samuel 12:9, "Wherefore hast thou despised the word of the Lord, to do this evil in his sight?" Finally, in the words: "that thou mightest be justified in thy speech, pure in thy judgment," respect is had to a sentence which the Lord had passed in the case of the Psalmist, of a judgment which he had exercised upon him. We swim in mid-air so long as we do not perceive the reference to the discourse of Nathan. Besides, the correctness of the superscription is still fartherevidenced by the relation of our Psalm to Psalms 32. whichrefers to the same matter, and which is only distinguished fromthis by the circumstance, that while here the Psalmist prays for the pardon of sin and strives for it, there he has respect to the already finished conflict, and invites all his companions of faith to enter into the participation of the like salvation through an unfeigned confession of their sins. What the Psalmist theredoes after the received forgiveness, that he here promises to do in case he received it, ver. 13-15, comp. especially ver. 13 with Psalms 32:8. With the other Psalms of David also the Psalm presents close resemblances. Thus the relation of the first part to the second here is quite similar to that in Psalms 22.; and Psalms 40:6-10, presents an extraordinary agreement with ver. 13-17. The grounds which many have brought forward against the correctness of the superscription, and for the assumption, that the Psalm was composed during the Babylonish captivity, (De Wette, Hitzig,) or shortly before it, (Ewald,) may be very easily disposed of. It is said, 1. That the Psalm is not worthy of Da-vid; its "melting language" indicates a later age. But the Psalm must still carry in it somewhat of concealed glory, which they only can recognize who read it with the heart, out of which it issued, comp. 17. How, otherwise, were the fact explicable, to which already Luther alludes? "This Psalm has been named by every one a Psalm of penitence, and there is no other in the Psalter which is oftener sung and prayed in the church." The "melting language" is perfectly natural to a broken and bruised heart. 2. "The Psalm does not quite suit the situation indicated in the superscription. According to the narrative in 2 Samuel 12. David had announced to him immediately the par-don of his sin; here he first implores this most earnestly." But that David was enabled instantly to appropriate to himself the pardon, of which Nathan assured him, is not so much as hinted in 2 Samuel 12. This must have been so much the more difficult to him, the deeper his fall had been in proportion to the grace already conferred on him. It was certainly a great deal, if, through the external announcement, he was kept from utter despair, and only received as much confidence as was needed for striving after the internal assurance of pardon. With justice does Calvin already remark: "Although God, through the pro-mise of forgiveness, freely invites us to peace, we are still to lay to heart our guilt, that deeper pain may penetrate our hearts. Hence it comes to pass, that with the small measure of our faith, we cannot at once take in the entire fulness of the divine grace, which has been brought to us." 3. "Here the discourse is not of one, but of many sins, (ver. 1 to 3,) and prayer is made for improvement generally," (ver. 6 to 10, ss.) But David had then actually committed more than one sin. Besides his adultery with Bathsheba, which again comprehended many particular acts of sin, upon him rested the death of Urias, and the death of those who perished with him. And then, in how many respectsdid these acts represent themselves as sinful, so that each might appear as a sort of assemblage of sins, for ex. it is urged. on Da-vid in the books of Samuel, that he had given occasion to the enemies of God to blaspheme. The impenitence and hypocrisy of David also, continued through a whole year, is to be taken into consideration. But that he "sought for improvement in general," is a necessary consequence of this, that David, like every one who seriously grapples with sin, did not stand at the mere outward appearance of sin, but pressed into its secret workshop, to its troubled fountain. Whenever the knowledge of sin extends so far, the prayer for forgiveness and sanctifica-tion must necessarily be more comprehensive. Luther: "Inthis sin, as in a mirror, David sees his whole impure and corrupt nature, so that he arrives at this thought: Lo! I, who have go-verned so well after God's command, I, who have so finely or-dered the church and service of God, how have I fallen into such an abomination, into so many great and horrid sins! Therefore was David led, from knowledge of one sin, to the knowledge of his whole, sinful nature. As if he would say: Be- cause I, so great a man, endowed with so much grace, have fallen at once as from heaven into hell, must not so grievous a fall be to me and to all others a palpable sign, that there is no good thing in my flesh." 4. "In ver. 4, the Psalmist says, Against thee alone, O Lord, have I sinned! These words aredifficult, if we hold to the correctness of the superscription. David's adultery and murder were crimes against men." But that we must not conclude from these words, that the Psalmist had committed sins only against the first table of the law, ap-pears from ver. 14, where the Psalmist prays for deliverance from blood-guiltiness. The difficulty vanishes as soon as it is perceived, that what makes an offence against a neighbour a sin, is his relation to God, that is, his bearing God's image, and having God for his redeemer, so that in him God is offended. The more lively and faithful the conviction of sin is, the more readily will the soul penetrate through the shell in these trans-gressions against the neighbour into this kernel. Besides, Da-vid speaks substantially the same in the books of Samuel. For there also he continues to stand only at the transgression against God, and the "alone" is merely awanting in form. 5. It is alleged, that ver. 18 and 19 could only be written when Jerusalem had already been prostrated. For the prayer, "buildthe walls of Jerusalem," presupposes that they were laid down; and, "then wilt thou have pleasure in sacrifices of righteous-ness," implies that then, without a temple, and far from the holy land, sacrifices to God could not be acceptable. But the Psalmist does not pray that God would build up again the walls of Jerusalem, but simply that he would build them. We would only then have to think of a rebuilding, if, in the preced-ing context, mention had been made of a prostration, from which בנה might derive the restricted sense of rebuilding. But that we are to take the expression figuratively, in the sense of pro-tecting, is clear from the entire context, from the parallel "do good," and the analogy of that, which the Psalmist sought for himself. On the words: "then wilt thou have pleasure in sacrifices of righteousness," to gloss: "Now with a prostrat-ed temple are sacrifices to God unacceptable," is quite ar-bitrary. The sense is simply this: then, when thou grantest our prayer, will we shew our gratitude to thee by sacrifices. That in the time of the Psalmist, no external hindrance existed to the presentation of sacrifices, appears from ver. 16, "else would I give it thee,"-which has no meaning, if at that time the offering of sacrifice was rendered impossible by the over-throw of the temple. To offer elsewhere than in the temple, was a thought that could have occurred to no Israelite.-Several, latterly Maurer and Tholuck, have unjustly surrendered ver. 18 and 19 for the removal of this objection, and declared them to he a later addition. It is a groundless assumption, that these verses stand in opposition to verses 16 and 17. It rests upon this, that one overlooks the word צדק in ver. 19. In ver. 16 it is not sacrifices generally, but heartless sacrifices that are rejected, and in ver. 19, hearty ones are promised. The reason suggested by Tholuck for the addition of the two verses, that as sacrifices ap-peared to be too much depreciated in ver. 16 and 17, it was at-tempted to re-establish, as it were, their importance by this ad-dition, is untenable, because it is not supported by a single ana-logy from the whole of the Old Testament. Besides, what could any one think of making by any such rectification, so long as Psalms 50. existed, and so many other strong declarations againstsacrifices! Positive grounds for the genuineness of both verses are also to be found in the consideration, that ver. 17 forms a quite unsatisfactory conclusion, and that the retrospect taken in these verses of the general weal, is precisely characteristic of Da-vid, and has already had preparation made for it by ver. 13-15.--6. "The idea of an original corruption in man" is later than David. But allusions to the doctrine of a hereditary corruption are to be found even in the oldest portions of revelation. The account of Adam's fall can be understood in its full compass only if in it the whole human race fell, which can no otherwise be conceived than on the supposition of the propagation of sin by generation. That Adam's fall is the fall of the human family, is implied in the punishment, which affects not the individual, but the entire race. Everything which stands immediately con-nected with the account of the fall, the narrative of Cain's fra-tricide, etc., is inexplicable, if we limit the fall merely to the in-dividual Adam, and there is a breaking down of the bridge formed in the generation between him and his posterity, to which express allusion is made in Genesis 5:3, "And Adam begot like him and after his image," (in every respect, and hence also in reference to sin, which had now become a property of his nature.) The whole subsequent relation is designed to shew, how fruitfully the principle of sin, implanted in nature through Adam, developed itself. According to Genesis 8:21, the thoughts and imaginations of the human heart are only evil from his youth. This Psalm owes its position beside Psalms 50. to the circum-stance of their both alike expressly declaring the worthlessness of merely external sacrifices,-a fact from which Hitzig has rashly concluded, that they were composed by one hand. Some passages from Luther's very extended exposition will best prepare for its deeper understanding. "But that we may lay hold of the Psalm, we must know, that we have here set be-fore us the doctrine of a true repentance. Now, to true repen-tance there belong two parts: first, that we acknowledge sin, then grace. That is, we must, on the one hand, have a real fear of God, and terror on account of our sin, and on the other, must also know and believe, that God will be gracious and com-passionate to all who believe in Christ. These two parts of re-pentance has David here most strikingly delineated to us in this prayer. For he first, in a masterly manner, presents sin before our eyes, and thereafter the grace and compassion of God, without the knowledge of which men must sink into despair. But this knowledge of sin is no speculation or fine imagination, but an earnest feeling, true experience, and a great conflict ofthe heart with sin. As his conviction then is, so he speaks: for I confess my transgression, that is, I feel it so, that my con-science trembles for God's indignation, and faints at the thought of death. For this is what the Hebrew word properly signifies: not that one thinks and considers with himself alone, what hehas done or not done, but feels the great load and burden of the wrath of God upon his heart, and the knowledge of sin is nothing else than to feel and experience sin. And he is a sin-ner, who is so pressed and disquieted by his conscience, that he knows not where to turn himself. So that when one feels and experiences thus, he must obtain the further knowledge, and that also not as a poetical fancy, but as a matter of true and solid experience, whereby he learns, hears, and sees what is the grace, what the righteousness, what the will of God toward him is, who has not given him the knowledge of his sin to sink him to hell, there for ever to remain, but to raise him up again through Christ, his own dear Son. These are the two kinds of know-ledge with which theology and Scripture has to do, and which David teaches us in this Psalm, so that the sum and substance of the Psalm is, that man must learn to know himself accordig to theology and holy Scripture. Likewise, that he must learn to know and regard God according to Scripture: not in his majesty, that he is eternal and almighty, for to a poor sinner such knowledge is terrifying and not comforting; but that he is willing to make the sinner holy, righteous, and blessed. This is the sum of all Scripture, and whosoever thinks or teaches in another manner of God and man, he errs. . . But now that such an excellent exalted man, full of the Holy Spirit, replenish-ed and adorned with all high and great works of divine wisdom, and endowed above all others with the gift of prophecy, should make so grievous a fall, this happens to us for an example, that when at times we have been overtaken in a fault or in sin, or when our consciences frighten us with God's wrath and judg-ment, we may have consolation. For in his great example ap-pears manifestly the goodness and compassion of God, which is ready and prepared to forgive sin, and to make us holy and righteous. And in order to prevent us from resorting to the pretext, that we have not sinned, we behold this man, though he has sinned against the command of God, yet finding pardon for such sins as he did not seek himself to justify." First for the superscription: To the chief musician, a Psalmof David, when Nathan the prophet came to him, as he came to Bathsheba. On the: chief musician, the Berleb. Bible remarks: "See there a public penance by a king of Israel! For David wrote this Psalm not for himself alone to be used as a prayer, but for those also who had charge of the temple music, that he might again edify, by his repentance, the people of God, whom he had offended by his sin: and till then he had no rest in his bosom, as he confesses in Psalms 32:2." This publicity in the confession of sin was just as great a work of God's grace in Da-vid, as the depth of his knowledge in regard to it. Nature must have struggled hard against it. But the design of the publicity he gives us in ver. 13. He would, through his repent-ance, lead others to the same. With justice does Luther always come back to this, that every thing in our Psalm is an indirect instruction, that David when confessing teaches, and when teaching confesses, that he only reads the Psalm in the right spirit, who in the words: be gracious to me, etc., thinks pre-eminently of himself, and of David merely as his prototype. The כאשר cannot fitly be taken as a particle of time. When so used it stands like our "as" only in actions, which were quite or nearly contemporaneous to those previously mentioned, comp. for example, Genesis 20:13; 2 Samuel 12:21, But Nathan's coming to David was certainly a, year distant from his adultery with Bathsheba. The use of אל בוא also in both members shews, that the author was desirous of indicating the internal reference, which had place between the coming of Nathan and the coming of David. Nathan came to David, just as David came to Bath-sheba. Where sin has found an entrance, there inevitably fol-lows, especially with the faithful, who, more than all others, are the object of God's avenging and delivering righteousness, comp. Leviticus 10:3; Amos 3:2; 1 Peter 4:17, the divine punishment first, that of the word, and then, when that has failed, by deed. Precisely so stands כאשר in Micah 3:4, "Then shall they cry to the Lord, but he will not hear them, he will even hide his face from them at that time, as they have made their actions bad," where Michaelis: causalis significatio includitur, magis tames justitia talionis in relations poenae ad culpam consimilem innuitur.-In reference to the relation between David's sin and the coining of Nathan to him, Calvin makes the following pro-found psychological remark: "We are not to suppose, that he was so devoid of all feeling, as not in general to acknowledgeGod as the judge of the world, to pray daily to him, and not only to exercise himself in his worship, but also to endeavour to have his life and behaviour conformed to the prescriptions of the Law. Let us therefore understand that he was not wholly destitute of all fear of God, but only blinded in one respect, so that he lulled to sleep his sense of God's anger by perverse flat-teries. Thus his piety, which had sent forth many bright ema-nations, was in this department quenched." It is only in this point of view, that David's conduct, after the reproof of Nathan, admits of explanation. It pre-supposes, that in him along with the evil, the good principle had also been in existence, which, though long overborne, now at length immediately started into vigorous operation, as also appears from the prayer in ver. 11: take not thy Holy Spirit from me. For this implies, that the Holy Spirit had not wholly left him, as it had previously done Saul. It was with David, therefore, precisely as with Peter, in whom, notwithstanding his previous fall, still faith did not ut-terly fail, as it did in Judas, (Luke 22:32.) The two first verses contain the preliminary prayer: Be gra-cious to me, O God, according to thy goodness, according to the greatness of thy compassion blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin. David still does not venture again to call God his God, but in the simple word "God" there yet is for him a rich fulness of consolation and confidence. "The heathen (says Luther) speak with God after the thoughts of their heart, without and away from his word and promises; but the prophets speak with God, as clothed with his word and promises, and revealed through these, This God, if he is attired in the corporeal and beautiful form of his promises, can be known and apprehended by us, and can be seen by us with the joy of faith. But the mere God, without the word, is like an iron wall, which the more we strike at and storm it, we shall but hurt ourselves the more. There-fore Satan never dares to, ply us, that we would run against the mere God, and so do ourselves hurt. Hence David does not speak with God merely as such, but with his fathers' God, that is, with the God, whose promise he knows and regards, and whose compassion and grace he has tasted. Now, if on this ac-count a Turk, a false worshipper, or a Monk should say: God be gracious to me according to thy goodness, it were just as good as if he remained silent and said nothing. For he missesGod, not apprehending him in such a form as that, in which he can be apprehended by us, and properly understood, but he re-gards God in his high majesty; from which nothing can happen but despair and the fall of Lucifer from heaven into the abyss of hell." On the words: be gracious to me, according to thy goodness, comp. on Psalms 6:4. In regard to the plural: my transgressions, Stier thinks, that it is quite wrong to take into account, how often David may have sinned in the matter of Uriah. We have here to think of the entire impurity and apo-stacy of heart in general, now become evident to him. But against this speaks פשע, which always denotes a particular sin-ful act, and indeed a sin of such a heinous stamp, that excepting in this case David did nothing like it, in which he acted wicked-ly toward his neighbour's wife and life, comp. on Psalms 19:14. Then it is also opposed by the "blood-guiltiness," in ver. 14, and the great stress laid on the particular transgression in the re-buke of Nathan. It is also by no means a sound state, it would rather be an irregularity, if the particular here at once fell back behind the general. This then acquires too readily an attenuat-ed character. Then, according to Stier, in the "blot out," prop. "wash off or out," must not merely forgiveness be prayed for, which makes the done become as undone, but "at the same time the removal of the reproach, 2 Kings 21:13, or the purifi-cation, which only comes prominently out in 2." But, that the prayer: blot out my transgressions, which raises itself on the ground of Nathan's: the Lord hath made to pass away, העביר, thy sin, refers simply and alone to forgiveness is evident from the nature of the thing, as the transgressions or misdeeds, (im-purity and apostacy of heart in general is not the subject dis-coursed of here, as was shewn already), can only be the object of pardoning mercy; and from ver. 9, where we have, parallel to the "blot out my transgressions," "hide thy face from my sins," as also from the parallel passage, Isaiah 43:25; Isaiah 44:22. Ver. 2 also refers only to the forgiving grace. This ver. 7 shews, which resumes the subject, so that in the preliminary prayer the discourse is only of the chief, and fundamental blessing, forgive-ness. The extended prayer also employs itself first of all exclu-sively with this, ver. 7-9. Then in ver. 10-12 it turns to the second, which necessarily follows from the reception of the first, the experience of the sanctifying grace of God. By the words: according to the greatness of thy compassion, David shews, thathe recognizes the entire compass of his guilt. For it presents a silent contrast to the greatness of his sins. If he had felt him-self to be a sinner only in a small degree, he would have satisfied himself with: according to thy compassion. But he feels, that he has need of the entire riches of the divine compassion, if he is not to be hopelessly lost. Jo. Arnd: "This is the property of true repentance, that one rightly apprehends God's grace and God's word, and indeed does not make God's compassion smaller than our sin, or our sin greater than God's compassion. For that is no right knowledge of God, and gives rise to despair, as Cain said: my sin is greater, than that it can be forgiven me. Thou liest Cain, says St. Augustine, for God's grace is greater than all man's misery. The holy Sirach says in the 2d chap. that God's grace is as great as he himself is, but God himself is infinite, immeasureable, therefore is his grace also infinite; Isa. iv. there is much compassion with him; Psalms 130. there is much redemption with him; therefore will he redeem Israel from all his sins. Now, because David fully apprehends the richness of God's grace, therefore he says, blot out my sins according to thy great compassion. As if he would say: great sins require great compassion, I have great sins, and so thou must shew toward me great compassion." In ver. 2, the reading of the text הרבה is to be taken as inf. absol. in Hiph. from רבה. In the rule the verb, which stands impersonally, indicating only a subordinate circumstance, is placed after the chief verb, comp. Ew. § 539. But here the Psalmist has placed it before, because it is upon the much, that the emphasis must rest. This occurs the earlier, that the inf. הרבה might come the more freely and entirely to occupy the position of an adverb. The Masorites, who could not find themselves at home here, would read בר,ה, as imper.apoc. in Hiph., a conjecture, which is to be unscrupulously re-jected.-As כבס, in accordance with its primary meaning, comp. Gesen. in Thes., is always used only of clothes, and never of per-sons, comp. especially Numbers 19:8, where the כבס of clothes, and רהץ of persons, are united, so we must suppose, that here and in ver. 7, an abbreviated comp. is found: cleanse me, as one washes a stained garment, comp. Isaiah 64:5. In both members sin is considered, in explanation of the Mosaic washings, as stain-ing and impurity, and the sin-extirpating grace of God as puri-fying water. Upon the prayer follows the grounding of it, first in ver. 3, 4:the Psalmist acknowledges his sin, and is therefore in the con-dition in which the compassion of God can unfold itself. Ver. 3. For I acknowledge my transgressions, and my sin is always before me. Ver. 4. Against thee only have I sinned, and done what is evil in thine eyes, so that thou mayest be righteous in thy speech, pure in thy judgment. According to many, the Psalmist must here mention what impelled him to seek for pardon: he can no longer endure without this. So Jo. Arnd: "This is a conclusion of the following sort: whosoever is properly alive to the vileness of his sins, and has the horribleness of these always before his eyes, he is most anxious and concerned to be set free from the evil. I acknowledge my iniquity. Therefore purify my conscience from this abomination." According to others again, the Psalmist must point to a reason for the granting of his petition: forgive me my sin, for the indispensable condition of forgiveness is now found in me. If we take into account the high importance which is attached to the confession of sin, in reference to the same event in Psalm xxxii, the inseparable con-nection in which forgiveness is there placed with it, (comp. es-pecially ver. 5,) as also in the history, 2 Samuel 12:13, and in other declarations of holy writ, for ex. Proverbs 28:13,"who covers his sin shall not prosper, and he who confesses and forsakes it, finds mercy,"-we shall be inclined to give the pre-ference to the latter exposition. But those, who follow it, with one voice draw attention to the point, that the acknowledg-ment of sin is not to be considered as the efficient cause of for-giveness-as such David had already mentioned the divine grace and compassion-but only as its indispensable condition. So Luther: "That little word for must be understood so, as not to imply that his sins must be forgiven him because he had confessed them; for sin, is always sin, and deserving of punish-ment, whether it is confessed or not; still confession of sin is of importance on this account, that God will be gracious to no one but to those who confess their sin; while to those who do not confess their sin, he will shew no favour."-On the words: my sin is always before me, Luther remarks: "That is, my sin plagues me, gives me no rest, no peace; whether I eat, or drink, sleep, or wake, I am always in terror of God's wrath and judg-ment." Jo. Arnd: "Sin and iniquity, where the conscience is evil, stand always before the eyes; one cannot lose sight of it and forget it-as the historians of the Gothic king, Theodoricof Verona, describe how having in Italy caused the two valiant men, Symmachus and Boethius, to be killed, and a large fish- head being soon afterwards set before him at a banquet, he could not get rid of the conviction, that it was the head of Sym-machus, and was so shocked at the thought, that he soon died. So did the images of the people, whom Nero had murdered, come before him."-How well grounded and deep his know-ledge of sin is, the Psalmist shews in ver. 4, while he elevates himself from his fellow-creatures, whom he had primarily of-fended, to God, who had been offended in them, and indeed so, that he only views him in them, that his whole sin changes it-self, in his view, into a sin against God. This manner of con-sidering sin, which everywhere discovers itself, where there is true knowledge of sin, must immediately heighten the pain con-nected with it. How must David have trembled, how must he have been seized with shame and grief, when he referred every thing up to God, in Urias saw only the image of God, the Holy One, who deeply resented that injury, the gracious and com-passionate One, to whom he owed such infinitely rich benefits, who had lifted him up from the dust of humiliation, had so of-ten delivered him, and had also given him the promise of so glorious a future! The same manner of considering obligation and sin already appears in the books of Moses, so that it is in-comprehensible how expositors should have so often stumbled here. The arrangement of the Decalogue proceeds on it: thou must honour and love God in himself, in those who represent him on earth, ver. 12, in all who bear his image, ver. 13 and 14, comp. my Beitr. P. III. p. 604. The love of God appears con-stantly in Deuteronomy as the ἕם ךבὶ נᾶם, as the one thing, which of necessity carries along with it the fulfilment of the whole law, for ex. x, 12:In Genesis 9:6, the punishment of murder is grounded on this, that man bears God's image. When in other passages of Scripture, the command of brotherly love is made co-ordinate with that of the love of God, this is done only for the sake of hypocrites. What, besides, immediately serves to deepen the pain connected with sin, has also, at the same time, a consolatory aspect. If David had sinned against God alone, it is with him also alone that he has to do in regard to forgive- ness, and therefore he must not consume himself in inconsolable grief, that he can make no restitution to Urias, who has been long sleeping in his grave, and cannot seek forgiveness fromhim.-Those, who have missed the right sense, have taken upwith many erroneous modes of explanation. Thus many ex-pound: before thee have I sinned, though הטא with ל alwaysmeans: to sin towards, or against any one, comp. 1 Samuel 19:4,ii. 25. After the example of Arnobius, Cassiodorus, Nic. of Lyra, and others, Koester remarks: "So could only a king pro-perly speak, who was raised above all responsibility towardman, and could easily make compensation for any injustice doneto his subjects." But before the judgment-seat of God theking is not less responsible for offences done to a neighbour, thanthe meanest of his subjects, and of this responsibility alone is the discourse here. De Wette endeavours to help himself in the matter, by alleging that the "thee only" expresses the in-wardness of the feeling, not a contrast to the understanding.-In the words also: that thou mightest be righteous in thy speech, pure in thy judgment, the greater number of expositors have lost themselves. It appears to them incredible, that Da-vid's sin here must be applied to the purpose of bringing to light God's righteousness. Many, latterly Stier, have sought to get rid of this oppressive feeling by supposing that the למען standsekbatically: so that thou mayest be righteous, for: so that Imust thus perceive thy judgment, as it has been pronouncedupon me by Nathan, to be a perfectly righteous one. Butלמען, never signifies so that, always as a particle of aim, inorder that, comp. Winer, and Gesen. in Thes. In the pass. Isaiah 44:9, Deuteronomy 29:18, the sig. that, in order that, is quite inplace, as soon as we do not overlook the allusion to the secretefficacy of God. Others refer the declaration here, not to thesin, but to the confession of it, through which David gave Godthe honour of it, and vindicated his judgment from all unright-eousness: I make declaration, that I have sinned against theealone, only that, etc. But it is hard and arbitrary to supply: Iconfess, especially as in ver. 3, the discourse was not of the con-fession but only of the knowledge of sin. But, if we will onlygrant to the declarations of Scripture, and the facts of expe-rience, their due weight, we shall be obliged to lay aside the aversion of imputing to God some kind of participation in sin, which had also in many other passages given rise to manifestlyfalse expositions-comp. the investigation regarding the harden-ing of Pharaoh's heart, in P. III. of my Beitr. p. 462, ss. The sin, indeed, belongs to man. In this point of view he can onlyescape from it by repentance. But if he does not repent, the forms in which it is to appear are no longer in his power, they are subject to God's disposal, and God determines them as it,pleases him, as it suits the plan of his government of the world, for his own glory, and at the same time also, so long as the sin-ner is not absolutely hopeless, with a view to his salvation. He transfers the sinner to situations, in which he shall be assaulted by this or that particular temptation; he binds the thoughts to some determinate object of sinful desire, and secures, that they continue wedded to this, and do not start off to some other. It is from the consideration of sin in this point of view, that David proceeds, when, in 1 Samuel 26:19, he derives the hatred of Saul from the Lord's having stirred him up, and when, in 2 Samuel 16:10, ss. he says of Shimei, "the Lord has said to him, Curse David, and who will say, Wherefore hast thou done so? Let him curse, for the Lord has bidden him." So also elsewhere was such a concealed influence maintained upon David, as link-ed the sinful inclination already existing in him to a determi-nate object, comp. 2 Samuel 24:1, "And the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel, and he moved David against them to say, Go, number Israel and Judah." In the matter here referred to such a co-operation of God is quite unde-niable. That David, through his own guilt, filled with sinful lust, must see precisely Bathsheba, that she became preg-nant, that Urias did not comply with the wishes of David, who, that believes in a providence generally, can overlook such a co-operation in the circumstances? Pointing now to this co-opera-tion of God, David says here, that he must have committed so heinous a sin, that in the judgment, which God primarily held upon him through Nathan (it is only of this, not of an internal word of judgment, that we must think; for the result, which alone is spoken of here, could only be called forth by means of a public and generally known act), his righteousness, purity, and holiness were disclosed, and hence his name glorified land his honour increased; Gesell. in Thes. p. 1052: eum in finem pee-cari, ut illustretur justitia tua. It might be objected, that this allusion to the co-operation of God in the matter does not suit with this connection, because it softens the guilt of David, which must here be represented in the strongest light. But this cir- cumstance could only appear of a mitigating character when superficially considered. There can be no stronger accusationagainst the sinner, no stronger testimony against the depth of his sinfulness, than his being used by God as an unconscious in-strument for the glorification of his righteousness. For this is only done with those, of whom nothing can be made by kind-ness. Besides, the Apostle in Romans 3:4, has already followed the exposition now given, whose commonly misunderstood words are first made clear by it. He must have taken the passage in a sense, which appeared to yield the result, that human unright-eousness was not punishable, because it brought to light God's righteousness, so that one must sin for the honour of God-alle-gations, which he partly refutes in the following context, (ver. 6), and partly rejects with abhorrence. Upon the prayer follows the grounding of it, first in Psalms 51:3-4 : the Psalmist acknowledges his sin, and is therefore in the condition in which the compassion of God can unfold itself. Ver. 3. For I acknowledge my transgressions, and my sin is always before me. Ver. 4. Against thee only have I sinned, and done what is evil in thine eyes, so that thou mayest be righteous in thy speech, pure in thy judgment. According to many, the Psalmist must here mention what impelled him to seek for pardon: he can no longer endure without this. So Jo. Arnd: “This is a conclusion of the following sort: whosoever is properly alive to the vileness of his sins, and has the horribleness of these always before his eyes, he is most anxious and concerned to be set free from the evil. I acknowledge my iniquity. Therefore purify my conscience from this abomination.” According to others again, the Psalmist must point to a reason for the granting of his petition: forgive me my sin, for the indispensable condition of forgiveness is now found in me. If we take into account the high importance which is attached to the confession of sin, in reference to the same event in Psalms 32, the inseparable connection in which forgiveness is there placed with it, (comp. especially Psalms 32:5) as also in the history, 2 Samuel 12:13, and in other declarations of holy writ, for ex. Proverbs 28:13,” who covers his sin shall not prosper, and he who confesses and forsakes it, finds mercy,”—we shall be inclined to give the preference to the latter exposition. But those, who follow it, with one voice draw attention to the point, that the acknowledgment of sin is not to be considered as the efficient cause of forgiveness—as such David had already  mentioned the divine grace and compassion—but only as its indispensable condition. So Luther: “That little word for must be understood so, as not to imply that his sins must be forgiven him because he had confessed them; for sin, is always sin, and deserving of punishment, whether it is confessed or not; still confession of sin is of importance on this account, that God will be gracious to no one but to those who confess their sin; while to those who do not confess their sin, he will show no favour.” On the words: my sin is always before me, Luther remarks: “That is, my sin plagues me, gives me no rest, no peace; whether I eat, or drink, sleep, or wake, I am always in terror of God’s wrath and judgment.” Jo. Arnd: “Sin and iniquity, where the conscience is evil, stand always before the eyes; one cannot lose sight of it and forget it—as the historians of the Gothic king, Theodoric of Verona, describe how having in Italy caused the two valiant men, Symmachus and Boethius, to be killed, and a large fish- head being soon afterwards set before him at a banquet, he could not get rid of the conviction, that it was the head of Symmachus, and was so shocked at the thought, that he soon died. So did the images of the people, whom Nero had murdered, come before him.” How well grounded and deep his knowledge of sin is, the Psalmist shows in Psalms 51:4, while he elevates himself from his fellow-creatures, whom he had primarily offended, to God, who had been offended in them, and indeed so, that he only views him in them, that his whole sin changes itself, in his view, into a sin against God. This manner of considering sin, which everywhere discovers itself, where there is true knowledge of sin, must immediately heighten the pain connected with it. How must David have trembled, how must he have been seized with shame and grief, when he referred every thing up to God, in Uriah saw only the image of God, the Holy One, who deeply resented that injury, the gracious and compassionate One, to whom he owed such infinitely rich benefits, who had lifted him up from the dust of humiliation, had so often delivered him, and had also given him the promise of so glorious a future! The same manner of considering obligation and sin already appears in the books of Moses, so that it is incomprehensible how expositors should have so often stumbled here. The arrangement of the Decalogue proceeds on it: thou must honour and love God in himself, in those who represent him on earth, ver. 12, in all who bear his image, Psalms 51:13 and Psalms 51:14, comp. my Beitr. P. III. p. 604. The love of God appears constantly in Deuteronomy as the ἑ ?́νκαὶπᾶν, as the one thing, which of necessity carries along with it the fulfilment of the whole law, for ex. Deuteronomy 10, Deuteronomy 12. In Genesis 9:6, the punishment of murder is grounded on this, that man bears God’s image. When in other passages of Scripture, the command of brotherly love is made co-ordinate with that of the love of God, this is done only for the sake of hypocrites. What, besides, immediately serves to deepen the pain connected with sin, has also, at the same time, a consolatory aspect. If David had sinned against God alone, it is with him also alone that he has to do in regard to forgiveness, and therefore he must not consume himself in inconsolable grief, that he can make no restitution to Uriah, who has been long sleeping in his grave, and cannot seek forgiveness from him. Those, who have missed the right sense, have taken up with many erroneous modes of explanation. Thus many expound: before thee have I sinned, though ηθΰ with μ always means: to sin towards, or against any one, comp. 1 Samuel 19:4, 1 Samuel 2:25. After the example of Arnobius, Cassiodorus, Nic. of Lyra, and others, Koester remarks: “So could only a king properly speak, who was raised above all responsibility toward man, and could easily make compensation for any injustice done to his subjects.” But before the judgment-seat of God the king is not less responsible for offences done to a neighbour, than the meanest of his subjects, and of this responsibility alone is the discourse here. De Wette endeavours to help himself in the matter, by alleging that the “thee only” expresses the inwardness of the feeling, not a contrast to the understanding. In the words also: that thou mightest be righteous in thy speech, pure in thy judgment, the greater number of expositors have lost themselves. It appears to them incredible, that David’s sin here must be applied to the purpose of bringing to light God’s righteousness. Many, latterly Stier, have sought to get rid of this oppressive feeling by supposing that the μξςο stands ekbatically: so that thou mayest be righteous, for: so that I must thus perceive thy judgment, as it has been pronounced upon me by Nathan, to be a perfectly righteous one. But μξςο never signifies so that, always as a particle of aim, in order that, comp. Winer, and Gesen. in Thes. In the pass. Isaiah 44:9, Deuteronomy 29:18, the sig. that, in order that, is quite in place, as soon as we do not overlook the allusion to the secret efficacy of God. Others refer the declaration here, not to the sin, but to the confession of it, through which David gave God the honour of it, and vindicated his judgment from all unrighteousness: I make declaration, that I have sinned against thee alone, only that, etc. But it is hard and arbitrary to supply: I confess, especially as in Psalms 51:3, the discourse was not of the confession but only of the knowledge of sin. But, if we will only grant to the declarations of Scripture, and the facts of experience, their due weight, we shall be obliged to lay aside the aversion of imputing to God some kind of participation in sin, which had also in many other passages given rise to manifestly false expositions—comp. the investigation regarding the hardening of Pharaoh’s heart, in P. III. of my Beitr. p. 462, ss. The sin, indeed, belongs to man. In this point of view he can only escape from it by repentance. But if he does not repent, the forms in which it is to appear are no longer in his power, they are subject to God’s disposal, and God determines them as it, pleases him, as it suits the plan of his government of the world, for his own glory, and at the same time also, so long as the sinner is not absolutely hopeless, with a view to his salvation. He appoints the sinner to situations, in which he shall be assaulted by this or that particular temptation; he binds the thoughts to some determinate object of sinful desire, and secures, that they continue wedded to this, and do not start off to some other. It is from the consideration of sin in this point of view, that David proceeds, when, in 1 Samuel 26:19, he derives the hatred of Saul from the Lord’s having stirred him up, and when, in 2 Samuel 16:10, ss. he says of Shimei, “the Lord has said to him, Curse David, and who will say, Wherefore hast thou done so? Let him curse, for the Lord has bidden him.” So also elsewhere was such a concealed influence maintained upon David, as linked the sinful inclination already existing in him to a determinate object, comp. 2 Samuel 24:1, “And the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel, and he moved David against them to say, Go, number Israel and Judah.” In the matter here referred to such a co-operation of God is quite undeniable. That David, through his own guilt, filled with sinful lust, must see precisely Bathsheba, that she became pregnant, that Uriah did not comply with the wishes of David, who, that believes in a providence generally, can overlook such a cooperation in the circumstances? Pointing now to this co-operation of God, David says here, that he must have committed so heinous a sin, that in the judgment, which God primarily held upon him through Nathan (it is only of this, not of “an internal word of judgment,” that we must think; for the result, which alone is spoken of here, could only be called forth by means of a public and generally known act), his righteousness, purity, and holiness were disclosed, and hence his name glorified land his honour increased; Gesen. in Thes. p. 1052: eum in finem peecari, ut illustretur justitia tua. It might be objected, that this allusion to the co-operation of God in the matter does not suit with this connection, because it softens the guilt of David, which must here be represented in the strongest light. But this circumstance could only appear of a mitigating character when superficially considered. There can be no stronger accusation against the sinner, no stronger testimony against the depth of his sinfulness, than his being used by God as an unconscious instrument for the glorification of his righteousness. For this is only done with those, of whom nothing can be made by kindness. Besides, the Apostle in Romans 3:4, has already followed the exposition now given, whose commonly misunderstood words are first made clear by it. He must have taken the passage in a sense, which appeared to yield the result, that human unrighteousness was not punishable, because it brought to light God’s righteousness, so that one must sin for the honour of God—allegations, which he partly refutes in the following context, (Romans 3:6), and partly rejects with abhorrence. There follows in ver. 5 and 6 the second grounding of the prayer: sin is deeply implanted in human nature, "man is even in his first existence poisoned: but God desires true and inter-nal righteousness, true and internal wisdom. What remains, therefore, but that he impart these imperishable goods to man, and that he first of all communicate to the Psalmist their foun-dation, the forgiveness of sin? Ver. 5. Behold in iniquity was I born, and in sin did my mother conceive me. Ver. 6. Behold, thou desirest truth in the inwards, and in the hidden do thou teach me wisdom. The double behold manifestly points to the circumstance of there being an internal connection between the two verses, and such an one has place only according to the ex-position we have given. In reference to ver, 5 Luther remarks:"If one would speak and teach rightly of sin, it is necessary to consider sin more deeply, and to discover out of what root it and every thing ungodly proceeds, and not simply to stand at sin already committed. For from the error of not knowing, or un-derstanding what sin is, there necessarily arises another error, that people cannot know or understand, what grace is.-There-fore is it a great part of wisdom, for one to know, that there isnothing good in us, but vain sin, that we do not think and speak so triflingly of sin as those, who say, that it is nothing else than the thoughts, words, and deeds, which are contrary to the law of God. But if thou wilt rightly point out according to this Psalm, what sin is, thou must say, that all is sin, which is born of father and mother, even before the time that man is of age to know what to do, speak, or think." Calvin: "Now he does not confess himself guilty merely of some one or more sins, as formerly, but he rises higher, that from his mother's womb hehas brought forth nothing but sin, and by nature is wholly cor-rupt, and, as it were, immersed in sin. And certainly we have no solid convictions of sin unless we are led to accuse our whole nature of corruption. Nay each single transgression ought to lead us to this general knowledge, that nothing but corruption reigns in all parts of our soul." The expression: in sin, refers, as the parallel: in iniquity was I born, shews, not in such a manner to the mother, as that the sinfulness of the Psalmist was derived from sinful lust in the parent at his conception-it is impossible to assign a place to sin in the birth. If we refer the, "in iniquity," "in sin," generally to the mother, we must ex-plain: of a mother, who was a sinner, have I been conceived and born. Parallel is then Job 14:4, "who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean? not one." But in this exposition it is strange, that the mother only is named, and not the father. Then, according to this view, no account can be given, why the rise is made from the birth to the conception. Finally, it is hard to explain: in iniquity was I born, of a mother laden with sin, as the mother in this first member is not, as in the second, ex-pressly named. We must rather refer the expressions: "in iniquity," "in sin," to the Psalmist himself, q. d. I was even in my birth, nay in my very conception, laden with sin; in which case we are then to comp. Psalms 58:3, "the wicked are estranged from the womb, the liars go astray from their mother's belly," and Genesis 8:21, "the heart of man is evil from his youth." According to this view, the doctrine of original sin, for which the church has always considered this verse as a peculiarly locus classicus, is not directly contained in it, as in Job 14:4, but still it is so indirectly, and that so plainly, that nothing but the most confused mind can deny it. For when David confesses, that even before the developement of his consciousness, before the time of his distinguishing between good and evil, that even at his birth, nay at his very conception, sin dwelt in him, and had so poisoned his nature, that he was quite incapable of at-taining to true righteousness and wisdom; he places himself in direct collision with those who consider sin merely as a product of the abused freedom of each individual, and leaves room for no other derivation of sinfulness, than this, that it goes down from parents to their children, according to the word, "what is born of the flesh, is flesh." But that David considers the sin, which we bring with us into the world, not as a sort of blame-less, overwhelming evil, that he considers it as guilt, in agree-ment with the testimony of our conscience, is evident from the עוון, which is never used otherwise, than of a delictum imputa-bile. In ver. 6, in the expression: thou hast desire, there lies indirectly enclosed the prayer, which is expressly uttered in the second member, since, according to ver. 5, man with a heart cor-rupt from its first origin cannot impart to himself the truth, q. d. so give thou me, therefore, the truth, in which thou delightest, and make known to me wisdom. In the exposition: thou hast delight in truth, and hence teach me wisdom, an improper dis-tinction is made between truth and wisdom, and, at the same time, the synonymous parallelism is destroyed, which from the analogy of the whole context we would have expected. The truth in contrast to lies, show, hypocrisy, is the true, upright, in-ternal and sincere righteousness. So the truth is often found in the current language of Scripture, for example in Joshua 24:14, "And now, fear the Lord and serve him in righteousness and truth," 1 Kings 2:4, "If thy children take heed to their way, to walk before me in truth with all their heart, and with all their soul;" 1 Kings 3:6; "Thou hast shewed unto thy servant David my father great kindness, according as he walked before thee in truth and righteousness," comp. 2 Kings 20:3; Psalms 145:18; John 3:21; 3 John 1:3. תVהט, prop. the covered, drawn over, denotes according to the parallel with סתם, the concealed, and according to the passage in Job 38:36, "who hath put wisdom in the inwards? or who gave to the under-standing judgment?" the inward in opposition to the outward. The sig. adopted by many, reins, is without any foundation. The truth, which has its seat in the inwards, stands opposed to the appearance, which strikes out for itself a seat in the exterior. --בסתם, in the concealed, in the secret depth of the heart, which in the natural man is always pre-occupied by folly, how-ever much he may outwardly glitter with wisdom, (comp. Rom.ii. 29, where פן ךסץנפןם stands connected with ἡ ךבסהיב), must, fromthe accents and its position, be connected, not with Stier, with הכמה, the concealed heart-wisdom, but rather with the verb. In this way the parallelism with בטהות is not destroyed, which belongs to wisdom. For the region, where the instruction must take place,-that the ב is to be taken locally, is evident even from the parall. with בטהות is at the same time that in which wis-dom has its proper seat. Wisdom in connection with truth cannot200 THE BOOK OF PSALMS. be the theoretical, as many here very unseasonably think, of a spiritual understanding of the types of the Old Testament, but only practical wisdom for the life. The making known or teaching cannot refer to an external method of instruction, which might not reach to the heart, but it is internally wrought by the Spirit of God.-The Psalmist points here immediately to the last end, to which God might help him, as it was unat-tainable by him with his own powers, the possession of wisdom and truth. In what follows, the way is more closely determined, by which he is to arrive at that, the method by which God is to conduct him thereto, viz. through pardon of sin and the commu-nication of his Spirit.-Many expositors, recently Tholuck, ex-plain: Behold, Thou lovest truth in the concealed, in the inner-most Thou teachest Me wisdom. By truth and wisdom they un-derstand the thorough knowledge of sin, as the Psalmist had re-presented it in the preceding context. "So manifestly does the Psalmist feel the resistance of his sinful nature, to yield itself un-reservedly up under such a confession, that he owns himself in-debted for his discernment to divine illumination." But it appears doubtful the propriety of taking truth and wisdom in so straiten-ed a sense, without any special intimation of this in the text, still more doubtful the taking of the fut. in the sense of the pre-sent, since all the following fut. are to be taken optatively. The latter doubt is removed if we expound: truth (q. d. a tho-rough apprehension of sin,) desirest thou, and as this exists, so dost thou also teach me wisdom. But still the first doubt re-mains, so far as it respects the truth, the synonymous parallelism is destroyed, the wisdom appears strangely isolated, the: in the inward, and in the concealed, does not properly correspond, etc. After the grounding of the prayer, it breaks forth more at large, and, indeed, in ver. 7 to ver. 9, which carry an immediate re-spect to ver. 1 and 2, the Psalmist again primarily prays for that, on which all the rest depends,for the forgiveness of his sins. Ver. 7. Purify me with, hyssop; that I shall be clean, wash me, that I shall be whiter than the snow. Ver. 8. Cause me to hear joy and gladness, the bones to rejoice, which thou hast broken. Ver. 9. Hide thy face from my sins, and blot out all my iniquities. That the fut. are to be taken optatively, shews the imper. in ver. 9. Ver. 7. has respect to the symbolical nature of the Mosaic law. He, who had rendered himself Levitically unclean bytouching a corpse, was, according to Numbers 19:18, purified by a branch of hyssop, dipt into the water, which had the ashes of the red heifer. According to ver. 4, the hyssop was significant of the divine condescension, ענוה, comp. on Psalms 18:35, which manifests itself in the pardon of sin, an ingredient of that puri-fication water itself, and so also according to Leviticus 14:4, ss. of the blood with which the lepers were cleansed. The hyssop and the cedar, inseparably connected with it, stand opposite to each other in these laws, as in 1 Kings 4:33. The most ex- treme contrasts in the kingdom of the created image forth those in that of the Creator, which meet in the work of re-conciliation, the highest exaltation and the deepest humi-liation, Isaiah 66:1; Isaiah 66:2, compare the illustration in "Egypt and the Books of Moses," p. 183, which has not been over-thrown by the objections of Kurtz, in his Mos. Opfer. p. 317. This author has not properly considered the inseparable con-nection, in which hyssop and the cedar stand with each other, and has treated too lightly the passage, 1 Kings 4:33, which points to the ground of this connection, nor has he reflected how invariably in Scripture the cedar is spoken of with reference. to its greatness and loftiness. The allusion of the Psalmist to the Levitical purifications appears so much the more suitable, when it is considered, that the law regards external impurity as the image of sin, and that everything, which was done in it, was a symbolical action, representing what must be done in refe-rence to sin. This the Psalmist understood. When he speaks of purification through hyssop, he only changes, as the prophets often do, comp. for example, Isaiah 1:18, the symbol into figure. The declaration in Numbers 19:20, "and the man that is unclean and does not purify himself, that soul shall be cut off from the congregation," rung with fearful emphasis in his soul. He per-ceived, that it applied far more truly to him, than to the person of whom it was primarily spoken. It is false to speak in such cases of allegorizing the law. The Psalmist does not allegorize, but he discloses the great real allegory of the law.-The joy and gladness, for which the Psalmist prays in ver. 8, are to come to him from that very purification, for the internal sealing of which, through the testimony of God's Spirit, he only sought the more fervently, after he had received the external assurance of par-don through Nathan. Luther: "As if he would say: sprinkle and cleanse me so, that I may be joyful; that is, that through the word of grace I may have a peaceful, joyful heart, whichshall not tremble for sin and thy wrath. I have hitherto heard long enough the law and Moses, who has a hard speech and an unpliant tongue, ill to be understood, of a very ungracious ad-dress. Deliver me now from hearing him; for nothing can be heard of him but only the anger of God. Therefore beg I of thee, dear Lord, to make me henceforth hear joy and gladness, which comes through the word of grace and forgiveness of sin, so that my bones, which thou hast broken, shall be gladdened,-the bones which were broken through the sense and terror of sin, that the law had produced in the heart." Berleb. Bible: "When God deals with us regarding a word of life, the poor soul is brought up from the prostrate condition into which it had been plunged. That word consoles it, lifts it out of the grave, and redeems it from all its sufferings and distresses, as to it, then, this deliverance is an unspeakable word of joy. It would be very difficult to describe the joy of such a soul, which, like another Lazarus, sees itself at once drawn by means of the living word from the grave." In regard to the words: that the bones might rejoice, which thou hast broken, see on Psalms 6:2. Luther: "The bones, however, are not alone spiritually, but also corporeally broken under such terror of the law, and anger of God, that is, all power and strength are thereby taken from the body, so that it becomes very much enfeebled." Jo. Arnd: "What these broken bones are, no one can tell, but he who feels, in great temptations, the wrath of God, the curse of the law, the sting of death which is sin, and the power of sin which is the law. Then one experiences what the office and strength of the law is." In reference to ver. 10-12, Luther excellently remarks: "Hitherto we have handled and set forth that admirable portion of this Psalm, in which we have heard the highest articles of the Christian faith, namely, what repentance, what sin, what grace, what Christian righteousness, is, and how one may become blessed. What now remains to be considered in this Psalm, methinks, has respect to the gifts of the Holy Spirit, which fol-low upon forgiveness of sin. Of such gifts the three next verses speak, as in the whole three the name of the Spirit is repeated, being called in the first a sure Spirit, then the Holy Spirit, and in the third the joyful Spirit."Ver. 10. A clean heart make me, O God, and a fixed Spirit do thou renew in my inwards. Ver. 11. Cast me not away from thypresence, and take not from me thy Holy Spirit. Ver. 12. Re-store to me the joy of thy salvation, and with a joyful Spirit do thou support me. In reference to the make in ver. 10, Jo. Arnd: "He confesses in this, that such purification and renewal ofheart is the work of God, and that no one could do it but God,being beyond the ability of any man. For just as forgivenessof sin, and justification, is God's work alone, therefore also re-newal and sanctification, and because it is God's work and gift,we must therefore pray to God, for we cannot have it by anypower of our own." Calvin: "By the word making he ac-knowledges, that if we are born again to God at first, or afterhaving fallen are restored, what is good in us is the gift of God.For he does not pray that his weak heart might be supportedby some measure of help, but he confesses, that there is nothinggood and right in his heart, until it has come to him from with-out." Parallel are Jeremiah 24:7, "I give to them a heart, thatthey may know me," Ezekiel 36:26, "And I give to you a new heart," etc. 1 Samuel 10:9. The clean heart, besides here, in Psalms 24:4; Psalms 73:1, Matthew 5:8, Acts 15:9. נכון, when it is usedin connection with the spirit or heart, always means fixed, sothat the exposition: a prepared, willing spirit, is to be rejected. A fixed spirit may either be such an one as is fearless from con-fidence in the Lord, comp. Psalms 112:7, "he is not afraid of evil tidings, his heart is fixed, trusting in the Lord," 57:7, or a true, constant one, ready for every assault, as contrasted with the spirit of the natural man, to which every temptation is a plaything, compare Psalms 78:37, "and their heart was not steadfast with him, neither were they faithful to his covenant." According to the connection and parallelism, we must here pre-fer the latter. Because the Psalmist had formerly possessed this fixed spirit, he prays that the Lord would renew him to the same. In the expression: cast me not away from thy sight, David seriously considers the mournful example of Saul, comp. 1 Samuel 16:1-7. John Arnd: "Here he first of all confesses, what he had deserved for his sins, namely, that God might have cast him off, and perpetually rejected him according to his righteousness, as it is written in Ezekiel 33. where it is declared, that if the righteous turn from his righteousness, and do evil, he cannot live; when he sins, his righteousness shall not be ac-counted of, but he shall die in his wickedness, which he has done." How the Holy Spirit came upon David, is recorded in1 Samuel 16:13, "And Samuel took the horn of oil, and anointed him in the midst of his brethren, and the Spirit of the Lord came upon David from that day forward,"-a passage, which has often been erroneously understood of peculiar and exclu-sively kingly gifts, and hence it has been inferred even here, that David's prayer has respect only to such gifts, in opposition to ver. 10, where he prays for a fixed, and ver. 12, where he prays for a willing spirit: gifts which are common to him with all the faithful. The contrary, indeed, is shown in the very next verse of Samuel, "And the Spirit of the Lord departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the Lord terrified him,"-we can as little think of the loss of kingly gifts in the one place, as of their be-stowal in the other,-and the same also appears from the parall. pass. 1 Samuel 10:6; 1 Samuel 10:10, according to which Saul prophesies, when the Spirit of the Lord came upon him, and Isaiah 11:2, according to which, the Spirit of the Lord, which rests upon the branch of David, is not merely a spirit of counsel and strength, but also a spirit of discernment and of the fear of the Lord. This Spirit of the Lord David had indeed grieved, comp. Ephesians 4:30, and in consequence thereof, he had been deprived of the greatest part of his gifts, as his prayer in the following verse shows, that God would make in him a new heart, would begin anew the work, that had been as good as completely destroyed in him. But that he was conscious of having not wholly, and to the last residue, lost him, is evident from his prayer here, "take not thy Holy Spirit from me," into which it has been vainly attempted to shove in a for ever, (Kimchi: ne auferas in perpetuam, sed reddas,) or again, ("he speaks as now converted, after having received the Spirit through true repentance and faith," against the whole context, in which David prays for the pardon of sin and the gifts of the Spirit, as for gifts which he had still not re-ceived.) If David had entirely lost the Spirit, he could not have received him again. For the person who has altogether fallen from grace, cannot according to the doctrine of Scripture regarding the sin against the Holy Ghost, comp. Hebrews 6:4, ss. again come to the possession of the Spirit. However deplorable David's sin was, it was still predominantly a sin of weakness, (comp. upon the difference between malicious, intentional, and presumptuous sinning, and sinning from weakness,aa David's sin, however, was not an occasion for the presentation of sin-of- ferings. These belonged only to such sins as had not the punishment of cut-ss.) which did not comprehend in itself an entire apostacy, but could only lead to this by degrees through a process of harden-ing, nay, must have done so, if mercy had not been again ex-tended to him.- The joy of God's salvation in ver. 12, is the joy upon his salvation, which had been experienced, of the par-don of his sins and of the Holy Spirit, which he had received. ך`מס here, as in Genesis 27:37, with double accus., because to support, is q. d. benevolently to present with, comp. Ew. § 479. With Luther and others, to raise the Spirit into the subject: and let the joyful Spirit uphold me, is not suitable, as the like forms in the preceding context are given as an address to God. נדיב prop. a driven one, such a person as has in himself a living impulse to good, an internal constraint thereto, therefore רוה נדיבה, a free, noble, inspirited sense. Liberal the word never signifies, and the gradation of meanings adopted by Gesenius must be abandoned. Arnd: "Because we are naturally disin-clined and averse to all good, we must pray for a joyful and willing spirit. Accordingly, the works are here thrown away, which are done under constraint of law, for these proceed not from faith. Faith does nothing by constraint, but willingly from pure love and thankfulness. Such works are well-pleasing to God, though it were only the giving of a drink of cold water." It is on purpose that the Psalmist brings in at the end the joy-ful spirit. For the spiritual thank-offerings must proceed from that which he promises to yield to God, comp. Psalms 54:7. In reference to the second chief division of the Psalm, begin-ning with ver. 13, Luther very justly remarks: "Here the pro-phet first begins to speak of his good works, after he has al-ready been justified by faith, and through the Holy Spirit has-again been born anew. For the tree must be made good before the fruit, as Christ says in Matthew 12:33. Therefore has David hitherto kept silence about his good works, and prayed only for the treasure which God was to put in him by his word and Spi-rit. But the works of which David speaks here, are, that thanks be given to the good and compassionate God for his gifts, that these should be much esteemed, and that through means of them also, other people might be taught, and induced to come for such grace and gifts of the Holy Spirit. As pious persons in ting off appointed to them. But in the actual application of this principle, the law could maintain only an objective duration, on account of the short-sight-edness of those who were called to administer it.the gospels did when they were made whole by Christ. For although Christ charged them to be silent, yet they could not but declare and celebrate the goodness of Christ, so that others might be drawn also to him. Those are the most excellent works, which shew that the unfruitful tree has been turned into a fruitful one." The division falls into three parts; first, the Psalmist says positively how he will display his gratitude, ver. 13-15, then he abjures false thanksgivings, and sets over against them the true, ver. 16, 17, finally, he passes from per-sonal expressions of thanks to those of Zion, ver. 18, 19. In reference to Psalms 51:10-12, Luther excellently remarks: “Hitherto we have handled and set forth that admirable portion of this Psalm, in which we have heard the highest articles of the Christian faith, namely, what repentance, what sin, what grace, what Christian righteousness, is, and how one may become blessed. What now remains to be considered in this Psalm, methinks, has respect to the gifts of the Holy Spirit, which follow upon forgiveness of sin. Of such gifts the three next verses speak, as in the whole three the name of the Spirit is repeated, being called in the first a sure Spirit, then the Holy Spirit, and in the third the joyful Spirit.” Ver. 10. A clean heart make me, O God, and a fixed Spirit do thou renew in my inwards. Ver. 11. Cast me not away from thy presence, and take not from me thy Holy Spirit. Ver. 12. Restore to me the joy of thy salvation, and with a joyful Spirit do thou support me. In reference to the make in Psalms 51:10, Jo. Arnd: “He confesses in this, that such purification and renewal of heart is the work of God, and that no one could do it but God, being beyond the ability of any man. For just as forgiveness of sin, and justification, is God’s work alone, therefore also renewal and sanctification, and because it is God’s work and gift, we must therefore pray to God, for we cannot have it by any power of our own.” Calvin: “By the word making he acknowledges, that if we are born again to God at first, or after having fallen are restored, what is good in us is the gift of God. For he does not pray that his weak heart might be supported by some measure of help, but he confesses, that there is nothing good and right in his heart, until it has come to him from without.” Parallel are Jeremiah 24:7, “I give to them a heart, that they may know me,” Ezekiel 36:26, “And I give to you a new heart,” etc. 1 Samuel 10:9. The clean heart, besides here, in Psalms 24:4, Psalms 73:1, Matthew 5:8, Acts 15:9. πλεο, when it is used in connection with the spirit or heart, always means fixed, so that the exposition: a prepared, willing spirit, is to be rejected. A fixed spirit may either be such an one as is fearless from confidence in the Lord, comp. Psalms 112:7, “he is not afraid of evil tidings, his heart is fixed, trusting in the Lord,” Psalms 57:7, or a true, constant one, ready for every assault, as contrasted with the spirit of the natural man, to which every temptation is a play-thing, compare Psalms 78:37, “and their heart was not steadfast with him, neither were they faithful to his covenant.” According to the connection and parallelism, we must here prefer the latter. Because the Psalmist had formerly possessed this fixed spirit, he prays that the Lord would renew him to the same. In the expression: cast me not away from thy sight, David seriously considers the mournful example of Saul, comp. 1 Samuel 16:1-7. John Arnd: “Here he first of all confesses, what he had deserved for his sins, namely, that God might have cast him off, and perpetually rejected him according to his righteousness, as it is written in Ezekiel 33 where it is declared, that if the righteous turn from his righteousness, and do evil, he cannot live; when he sins, his righteousness shall not be accounted of, but he shall die in his wickedness, which he has done.” How the Holy Spirit came upon David, is recorded in 1 Samuel 16:13, “And Samuel took the horn of oil, and anointed him in the midst of his brethren, and the Spirit of the Lord came upon David from that day forward,”—a passage, which has often been erroneously understood of peculiar and exclusively kingly gifts, and hence it has been inferred even here, that David’s prayer has respect only to such gifts, in opposition to Psalms 51:10, where he prays for a fixed, and Psalms 51:12, where he prays for a willing spirit: gifts which are common to him with all the faithful. The contrary, indeed, is shown in the very next verse of Samuel, “And the Spirit of the Lord departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the Lord terrified him,”—we can as little think of the loss of kingly gifts in the one place, as of their bestowal in the other,—and the same also appears from the parall. pass. 1 Samuel 10:6; 1 Samuel 10:10, according to which Saul prophesies, when the Spirit of the Lord came upon him, and Isaiah 11:2, according to which, the Spirit of the Lord, which rests upon the branch of David, is not merely a spirit of counsel and strength, but also a spirit of discernment and of the fear of the Lord. This Spirit of the Lord David had indeed grieved, comp. Ephesians 4:30, and in consequence thereof, he had been deprived of the greatest part of his gifts, as his prayer in the following verse shows, that God would make in him a new heart, would begin anew the work, that had been as good as completely destroyed in him. But that he was conscious of having not wholly, and to the last residue, lost him, is evident from his prayer here, “take not thy Holy Spirit from me,” into which it has been vainly attempted to shove in a for ever, (Kimchi: ne auferas in perpetuam, sed reddas,) or again, (“he speaks as now converted, after having received the Spirit through true repentance and faith,” against the whole context, in which David prays for the pardon of sin and the gifts of the Spirit, as for gifts which he had still not received.) If David had entirely lost the Spirit, he could not have received him again. For the person who has altogether fallen from grace, cannot according to the doctrine of Scripture regarding the sin against the Holy Ghost, comp. Hebrews 6:4, ss. again come to the possession of the Spirit. However deplorable David’s sin was, it was still predominantly a sin of weakness, (comp. upon the difference between malicious, intentional, and presumptuous sinning, and sinning from weakness, [Note: David’s sin, however, was not an occasion for the presentation of sin-offerings. These belonged only to such sins as had not the punishment of cutting off appointed to them. But in the actual application of this principle, the law could maintain only an objective duration, on account of the short-sightedness of those who were called to administer it.] Vol. p. 341. ss.) which did not comprehend in itself an entire apostacy, but could only lead to this by degrees through a process of hardening, nay, must have done so, if mercy had not been again extended to him. The joy of God’s salvation in Psalms 51:12, is the joy over his salvation, which had been experienced, of the pardon of his sins and (over) the Holy Spirit, which he had received. ρξκְ here, as in Genesis 27:37, with double accus., because to support, is q. d. benevolently to present with, comp. Ew. § 479. With Luther and others, to raise the Spirit into the subject: and let the joyful Spirit uphold me, is not suitable, as the like forms in the preceding context are given as an address to God. πγια prop. a driven one, such a person as has in himself a living impulse to good, an internal constraint thereto, therefore πγιαδψεδ, a free, noble, inspirited sense. Liberal the word never signifies, and the gradation of meanings adopted by Gesenius must be abandoned. Arnd: “Because we are naturally disinclined and averse to all good, we must pray for a joyful and willing spirit. Accordingly, the works are here thrown away, which are done under constraint of law, for these proceed not from faith. Faith does nothing by constraint, but willingly from pure love and thankfulness. Such works are well-pleasing to God, though it were only the giving of a drink of cold water.” It is on purpose that the Psalmist brings in at the end the joyful spirit. For the spiritual thank-offerings must proceed from that which he promises to yield to God, comp. Psalms 54:7. Ver. 13-15. I will teach transgressors thy ways, and sinners shall be converted unto thee. Ver. 14. Deliver me from blood-guiltiness, thou God my Saviour, so will my tongue joyfully extol thy righteousness. Ver. 15. Lord open my lips, so will my mouth show forth thy praise. To the words: I will teach, in ver. 13, a then is to be supplied. The Psalmist declares what he will do, when his prayer, uttered in the preceding verses, has been fulfilled. But that this is already to some extent un-consciously done, appears even from the purpose, which he here announces. For the wish to bring others to salvation, and thereby to promote the honour of God, cannot arise in a heart, which itself is quite alienated from the experience of sal-vation and from the glory of God. The expansion of the pur-pose, which the Psalmist here declares, of the vow which he here takes upon himself, is given in Psalms 32. comp. espe-cially ver. 8, "I will teach thee the way, which thou shalt go: be not as the horse and mule," etc. The ways of God may be the ways which he himself goes, his course, his actions, here his conduct toward repentant sinners, which David from his own experience would teach, and thereby lead others to repent, comp. Psalms 18:30, and the pass. in Gesell. Thes. Then would this: thy righteousness in ver 14, and: thy praise, in ver. 15, correspond; also at the close of Psalms 32. would God's way be celebrated in this sense. Or, the ways of God may mean those which God wills that men should go in, the course of life which is well-pleasing to him, Psalms 18:21, here specially, that the sinner repents. The latter view is supported by Psalms 32. in which, what the sinner has to do, is through-out the predominant sentiment, comp. especially ver. 8, then also here the second member: and sinners shall, (through my endeavours,) return to thee, where the way of God for the sin-ner appears to be more closely defined as the way of return to God.-The first member of ver. 14, since the Psalmist, through the whole section, occupies himself exclusively with the ques-tion, how he will express his gratitude, is consequently to be viewed as in close connection with the second. The prayer for deliverance from blood-guiltiness has to do here only in so far as it is the condition of that influence which the Psalmist was to exercise upon others; therefore, q. d. if thou deliverest me, my tongue shall show forth thy righteousness. The blood comes here into consideration, according to the "deliver me," comp. on Psalms 39:8, only in so far as it cries for revenge, as it pursues, like a ferocious enemy, him who shed it, Psalms 7:1, therefore, q. d. deliver me from the punishment of death, comp. with Genesis 4:10, "The voice of the blood of thy brother cries to me from the earth," 9:5, "Your blood, wherein is your soul, will I avenge," ver. 6, "Whosoever sheddeth man's blood, by man shall his blood be shed,"-which passages fell heavily upon the soul of the Psalmist, and incessantly plagued him, 2 Samuel 9:10, "Urias the Hittite hast thou slain with the sword . . . . And now shall the sword not depart from thine house for ever." רנן, to exult, stands here, as in Psalms 59:16, poetically with a double accus., to praise with rejoicing. The righteousness of God is here also the property, according to which he gives to every one his own-to those who penitently return to him, the forgiveness of their sins, which he must grant to them accord-ing to his compassion, and which he promises to them in his word, comp. 1 John 1:9, "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all un-righteousness." Falsely many: the righteousness which thou extendest to sinners. This is already refuted by the corre-sponding: thy praise, in ver. 15.-The two members of ver. 15 are related to each other just as those of ver. 14, q. d. if thou openest my lips to me, I shall, etc. God opens the lips of the sinner by imparting forgiveness of sin, in consequence of which he breaks forth into rejoicing. The proclamation of the praise of God, of his glory, which he has unfolded in the bestowal of pardon, appears here as the best thank-offering which man can present to God. Luther: "Therefore, if we have through faith in Christ received the righteousness and grace of God, we can do no greater work than speak and declare the truth of Christ. For what concerns external works, not only could any otherpersons, but even irrational beasts do, such as fasting, working, watching. It is also said, that in one respect Turks bear a very hard and laborious life. But when one is brought to confess Christ and his word, he is conscious of the joyful spirit of which David has spoken above." The relation of ver. 16 and 17, to the preceding, has Luther already quite correctly indicated: "In the following context he shews the cause, wherefore he, after having now received God's righteousness, could not refrain from praising God through the proclamation of his righteousness, and giving thanks to him." Ver. 16. For thou desirest not sacrifice, else would I give it thee, and burnt-offerings please thee not. Ver. 17. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, a broken and a contrite heart wilt thou, God, not despise. The for indicates the reason, why the Psalmist, in what precedes, offers to God spiritual thank-offerings, not be-cause the corporeal are too good for him to give to God, but be-cause they are too bad. In what respect it is said, that God did not wish sacrifices, is evident here, just as in the remarkably corresponding passage, Psalms 6. from the contrast with an actual rendering of thanks, in which the Psalmist was to take part with his mind and spirit. In this connection, the external sacrifices must have been regarded only as by themselves, and without respect to the mind of the offerer. Arnd: "Wherefore then? God himself has ordered it so. Do his own works, then, please him not? Nothing, we reply, pleases God, but what is done in faith, and from sincere love and thankfulness. Now, what God has appointed, that has he appointed for this end, that it be done in faith, in love and thankfulness. For God regards the heart, not the works." Those who have failed to take this, the only correct view, divide themselves into various classes. Against the position, that sacrifices are not here abso-lutely rejected, but that a subordinate place merely is assigned to them, see what has been already said in Psalms 40:6. Against those who, following Abenezra, in an arbitrary limitation of what is said generally, make David say, that his sin was so great as to place him beyond the reach of the sin-offerings appointed in the law, it is a sufficient objection, that here, according to the connection, the discourse cannot be of sin-offerings,--the whole section is taken up with the kind of thanks the Psalmist is to offer-and in point of fact is not. The Psalmist does not speak particularly of sin-offerings, nor even of offerings in general, sothat the former might have been comprehended in these, but only of the offerings, which the already justified presented, sacrifices and burnt-offerings. For that we must not render זבהים, as is too commonly done, by offerings, but rather by sacrifices, through the presentation of which the Lord was thanked for his goodness, connecting with them the burnt-offer-ing, in which the offerer devoted himself anew to the Lord and his service, is clear as day. Gousset, who has the merit of hav-ing gone deeper into this investigation than the recent lexico-graphers, must admit, that the sin-offering and the burnt-offer-ing, are never expressly named זבה, and his position, that they are sometimes comprehended under the word, proves itself to be quite groundless in the passages brought forward in support of it, among which this here is included. Finally, the meaning of De Wette, who expounds: thou hast now, while the temple lies prostrate, no pleasure, has against it the com-plete arbitrariness of this insertion, the violence of tearing asunder the parallel passage, and the expression: I would give them, which presupposes the possibility of presenting them. On the ואתנה, and I would give them, if they were acceptable to thee, comp. Psalms 55:12. In ver. 17 are the sacrifices of God, which are well pleasing to him, as appears from the contrast presented by this to ver. 16, compare the ways of God in ver. 13. The plural is used to indicate more distinctly, that the sacrifice of repentance alone suffices instead of every other. The broken spirit, the contrite heart, denotes deep, but soft and mild distress, compare on Psalms 34:19, 147:3, the occasion of which here is the offence done to God by previous sinning. It may be perceived, at the first glance, that the Psalmist de-lineates such a heart as forms the God-pleasing sacrifice and thank-offering. It might have appeared, according to ver. 8 and 12, that the disquietude reaches its end with the ex-perience of the forgiveness of sin. But the joy on account of received grace, which is there spoken of, does not ex-clude pain on account of sin. This must, especially after so grievous a fall, continue permanent. Its measure is at the same time the measure of thankfulness for the pardon of sin, of praise for the divine grace and righteousness, to which the Psalmist pledges himself in ver. 13-15, so that substantially he promises here the same thing he does there. He, to whom much is given,loves much, and the consciousness, that much has been forgiven him, can only be preserved by him, who constantly mourns over his sins. From the promise of personal thanksgiving the Psalmist turns himself, at the close, to that of thanksgiving on the part of the whole church, so that God might the more readily grant to him, what would be gratefully acknowledged by so many. Ver. 18. Do good according to thy good pleasure to Zion, build up the walls of Jerusalem. Ver. 19. Then wilt thou have pleasure in sacrifices of righteousness, in burnt-offerings and whole offerings, then will bullocks ascend thine altar. To the prayer, that God would build the walls of Zion, and do good to it, David was led by the conviction, that his sin, in case it should not be forgiven, in case the sword should really be drawn, which, according to 2 Samuel 12:10, was not to depart from his house, must bring de-struction upon the whole. The certainty of his prayer being heard for the whole, he received, when the word was addressed to him personally: "be of good cheer, my son, thy sins be for-given thee," and it is properly but this, for which he prays here. Then, in ver. 19, when thou hearest this prayer, when thou, in shewing favour to me, at the same time givest the assur-ance that thou wilt not throw down the walls of Zion,-this mode of speech figuratively in Psalms 89:40 -but farther build thou up. "Thou wilt have pleasure," is, according to the connection, which shews that the verse must have a promissory character, and according to the parallelism, q. d. thou shalt delight thyself in them. Sacrifices of righteousness are such, as are presented by a righteous man, or upon the foundation of his righteousness, comp. on Psalms 4:5. Such sacrifices the soul could never be without, and only formally are they different from those that are purely spiritual. Only with them is God delighted, in the law itself declaring to the ungodly, that he "would not smell thesavour of their sweet odours," Leviticus 26:31. כליל, a perfect offering, is such an one as was entirely burnt. As this was done even in the burnt-offerings, of which the offerers had no part,as in the Schelamim and Sebachim, so כליל denotes the same class of offerings, as עולה does. But it is not therefore em-ployed in vain; for it indicates on account of what in particular burnt-offerings were promised, namely, just because they were whole offerings, in which alone the grateful mind found thecorresponding expression of its feelings, the resolution of its complete and undivided surrender to God, its Saviour, of whom it was full. Berleb. Bible: "In the New Testament, such are brought, when the soul, as it were, burns with love to God, and spends itself wholly in his service." Against the se-paration of עלוה and כליל from each other, speaks, beside the last words and verse, which still manifestly refer to the Olot, --יעלו also 1 Samuel 7:9 : and he offered it as olah wholly,כליל, to the Lord. The relation of Psa 51:16 and Psalms 51:17, to the preceding, has Luther already quite correctly indicated: “In the following context he shows the cause, wherefore he, after having now received God’s righteousness, could not refrain from praising God through the proclamation of his righteousness, and giving thanks to him.” Ver. 16. For thou desirest not sacrifice, else would I give it thee, and burnt-offerings please thee not. Ver. 17. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, a broken and a contrite heart wilt thou, God, not despise. The for indicates the reason, why the Psalmist, in what precedes, offers to God spiritual thank-offerings, not because the corporeal are too good for him to give to God, but because they are too bad. In what respect it is said, that God did not wish sacrifices, is evident here, just as in the remarkably corresponding passage, Psalms 40:6, from the contrast with an actual rendering of thanks, in which the Psalmist was to take part with his mind and spirit. In this connection, the external sacrifices must have been regarded only as by themselves, and without respect to the mind of the offerer. Arnd: “Wherefore then? God himself has ordered it so. Do his own works, then, please him not? Nothing, we reply, pleases God, but what is done in faith, and from sincere love and thankfulness. Now, what God has appointed, that has he appointed for this end, that it be done in faith, in love and thankfulness. For God regards the heart, not the works.” Those who have failed to take this, the only correct view, divide themselves into various classes. Against the position, that sacrifices are not here absolutely rejected, but that a subordinate place merely is assigned to them, see what has been already said in Psalms 40:6. Against those who, following Abenezra, in an arbitrary limitation of what is said generally, make David say, that his sin was so great as to place him beyond the reach of the sin-offerings appointed in the law, it is a sufficient objection, that here, according to the connection, the discourse cannot be of sin-offerings,—the whole section is taken up with the kind of thanks the Psalmist is to offer—and in point of fact is not. The Psalmist does not speak particularly of sin-offerings, nor even of offerings in general, so that the former might have been comprehended in these, but only of the offerings, which the already justified presented, sacrifices and burnt-offerings. For that we must not render ζαηιν, as is too commonly done, by offerings, but rather by sacrifices, through the presentation of which the Lord was thanked for his goodness, bringing along with these the burnt-offerings, in which the man who had obtained deliverance devoted himself anew to the Lord and his service, is. Gousset, who has the merit of having gone deeper into this investigation than the recent lexicographers, must admit, that the sin-offering and the burnt-offering, are never expressly named ζαη, and his position, that they are sometimes comprehended under the word, proves itself to be quite groundless in the passages brought forward in support of it, among which this here is included. Finally, the opinion of De Wette, who expounds: “thou hast now, while the temple lies prostrate, no pleasure,” has against it the complete arbitrariness of this insertion, the violence of tearing asunder the parallel passage, and the expression: I would give them, which presupposes the possibility of presenting them. On the εΰϊπδ, and I would give them, if they were acceptable to thee, comp. Psalms 55:12. In Psalms 51:17 are the sacrifices of God, which are well pleasing to him, as appears from the contrast presented by this to ver. 16, compare the ways of God in Psalms 51:13. The plural is used to indicate more distinctly, that the sacrifice of repentance alone suffices instead of every other. The broken spirit, the contrite heart, denotes deep, but soft and mild distress, compare on Psalms 34:19, Psalms 143:3, the object of which here is the offence done to God by heinous sinning. It may be perceived, at the first glance, that the Psalmist delineates such a heart as forms the God-pleasing sacrifice and thank-offering. It might have appeared, according to Psalms 51:8 and Psalms 51:12, that the disquietude reaches its end with the experience of the forgiveness of sin. But the joy on account of received grace, which is there spoken of, does not exclude pain on account of sin. This must, especially after so grievous a fall, continue to remain. Its measure is at the same time the measure of thankfulness for the pardon of sin, of praise for the divine grace and righteousness, to which the Psalmist pledges himself in Psalms 51:13-15, so that substantially he promises here the same thing he does there. He, to whom much is given, loves much, and the consciousness, that much has been forgiven him, can only be preserved by him, who constantly mourns over his sins. From the promise of personal thanksgiving the Psalmist turns himself, at the close, to that of thanksgiving on the part of the whole church, in order that God might the more readily grant to him, what would be gratefully acknowledged by so many. Ver. 18. Do good according to thy good pleasure to Zion, build up the walls of Jerusalem. Ver. 19. Then shalt thou have pleasure in sacrifices of righteousness, in burnt-offerings and whole offerings, then will bullocks ascend thine altar. To the prayer, that God would build the walls of Zion, and do good to it, David was led by the conviction, that his sin, in case it should not be forgiven, in case the sword should really be drawn, which, according to 2 Samuel 12:10, was not to depart from his house, must bring destruction upon the whole. The certainty of his prayer being heard for the whole, he received, when the word was addressed to him personally: “be of good cheer, my son, thy sins be forgiven thee,” and it is properly but this, for which he prays here. Then, in Psalms 51:19, when thou hearest this prayer, when thou, in showing favour to me, at the same time givest the assurance that thou wilt not throw down the walls of Zion,—this mode of speech figuratively in Psalms 89:40—but farther build them up. “Thou wilt have pleasure,” is, according to the connection, which shows that the verse must have a promissory character, and according to the parallelism, q. d. thou shalt delight thyself in them. Sacrifices of righteousness are such, as are presented by a righteous man, or upon the foundation of his righteousness, comp. on Psalms 4:5. Such sacrifices could never be without the soul, and only formally are they different from those that are purely spiritual. Only with them is God delighted, in the law itself declaring to the ungodly, that he “would not smell the savour of their sweet odours,” Leviticus 26:31. λμιμ, a perfect offering, is such an one as was entirely burnt. As this was done even in the burnt-offerings, of which the offerers had no part, as in the Schelamim and Sebachim, so λμιμ denotes the same class of offerings, as ςζμδ does. But it is not therefore employed in vain; for it indicates on account of what in particular burnt-offerings were promised, namely, just because they were whole offerings, in which alone the grateful mind found the corresponding expression of its feelings, the resolution of its complete and undivided surrender to God, its Saviour, of whom it was full. Berleb. Bible: “In the New Testament, such are brought, when the soul, as it were, burns with love to God, and spends itself wholly in his service.” Besides, the last words and verse, which still manifestly refer to the Olot,—ιςμε—1 Samuel 7:9 : “and he offered it as olah wholly, λμιμ, to the Lord,” is against the separation of ςμεδ and λμιμ. Psalms 52. THE words in ver. 1: "Why boastest thou thyself of mischief, thou hero? the favour of God endureth for ever," contain the theme, which is then more fully handled in four strophes, each of three verses, the first and second of which is also externally bounded by a Selah. First the wickedness of the hero is deli-neated in ver. 1 and 2, then it is shewn how little reason he had for boasting himself, in that God, in his loving kindness toward his people, has appointed him to merited destruction, ver. 4 and 5, to the lively joy and edification of the righteous, ver. 6 and 7, while, on the other hand, the Psalmist attains to salvation, of which inwardly he is as confident as if he already had it, ver. 8 and 9. According to the superscription, David composed this Psalm after he had heard the report, how Saul, on the information of Doeg regarding what had passed between David and the high-priest Ahimelech, caused eighty-five priests to be killed. With this the situation entirely agrees. It must have filled David with grief and terror, when he received the tidings of this mali-cious freak. In the conflict with an enemy capable of using such weapons, he must certainly fall. He must have despaired of his own life, when, in spirit, he looked upon the corpses of eighty-five priests, who, solely for his sake, had been killed, to inspire all with dread of sharing the same fate, and upon Saul, as it were, beside them, asking him in triumph, how he was furnished for such a conflict. Then, if ever, had he occasion for uttering the words: Why boastest thou thyself of mischief, thou hero? the favour of God endureth for ever. The superscrip-tion has often been misunderstood to intimate that the Psalm-was directed against Doeg. It does not say that, but only that the Psalm was composed on the occasion of Saul's receiving in-formation from Doeg, and of what thereupon followed. It men-tions Saul along with Doeg, and that the former name appears to be written large, not the latter, is already probable from the circumstance, that David commonly has to do with Saul himself in the Psalms composed during the Sauline period of his history, and not with his subordinate instruments, whose agency was considered as embodied in that of the ideal person of the wicked one, who, in Saul, had become concrete. The subject fully jus-tifies this view of it. The enemy appears throughout the Psalm as one who threatens destruction to the Psalmist, and what he has already done to others comes only so far into con-sideration, as it shows what the Psalmist had to expect from him. So at the outset: why boastest thou thyself of mischief, q. d. why boastest thou, that with the mischief, the frightful effects of which lie before the eyes, thou wilt soon get away with me? But history knows nothing of Doeg's having undertaken to remove David out of the way. It knows nothing of the en-mity of Doeg to David, who had kept silence regarding what had taken place between David and the high-priest, till the so-lemn charge of Saul to his servants appeared to render further silence inconsistent with his duty of service. Quite otherwise must he have acted if he had been the sworn enemy of David, which the hypothesis in question would make him.-The ad-dress: thou hero, suits much better to Saul, whom David, in his lamentation, 2 Samuel 1:19, still repeatedly calls a hero, who had even in his crimes displayed the energy of the hero, than to Doeg, the chief herdsman of the royal flocks, of whom history records no heroic deed, but the massacring of the hapless priests, which none of Saul's warriors would undertake to do. In order to make the reproach of lying, in ver. 1-3, of calum-nious and deceitful words suit Doeg, it is necessary to enrich the history with imaginary circumstances. In the whole history of the transaction with the priests, there is no indication of Doeg's having been guilty of lying and deceit. He simply re-ports the fact; the hateful interpretation is added by Saul, comp. 1 Samuel 22:9; 1 Samuel 22:10; 1 Samuel 22:22. On the other hand, this reproach is perfectly suited to Saul. He accused David without any foundation, of high-treason, in order to have him taken out ofthe way with some show of right, and brought the same accusa-tion against the innocent priests, comp. 1 Samuel 22:17, without paying the least regard to the simple eloquence of a good con-science, with which the high-priest defended himself because he had resolved to make an example for the destruction of David. The words: "he trusted in the abundance of his riches," in ver. 7, suit Saul better, who understood how to employ his riches for the establishment of his throne, comp. his own declaration in 1 Samuel 22:7, than Doeg, who, though as the chief of the herds-men, and as such, the foremost among the servants of Saul, comp. 1 Samuel 22:9, certainly possessed considerable means, yet made no use of these to procure for himself servants and abettors to persecute David and the righteous in general. Final-ly, it is scarcely conceivable that David, in the presence of Saul, should have been fired with such zeal against a merely common instrument of his, which Doeg manifestly was, and should have laid claim to help from above against him.-With this rejection of the reference of the Psalm to Doeg, the attacks. of De Wette and others are at the same time set aside against the superscription, which proceed altogether and alone upon the misunderstanding, that it was directed against him.To the chief musician, an instruction of David. When Doeg the Edomite came, and informed Saul, and spake to him: David is come to the house of Ahimelech. It is not without reason, that the expression: an instruction, comp. on Psalms 32. is immediately connected with that of, to the chief musician. The Psalm was only then appropriated to be, sung in the sanctuary, when it had something more than merely historical import, when it contained a kernel of eternal and general instruction. To the designation in the superscription of an instruction, cor-responds, in the Psalm itself, the regard to the righteous in ver. 6 and 7, and in ver. 9. At the end of the superscription is an etc. to be supplied. The history is supposed to be generally known, and hence it is simply pointed to. The Psalm could not be composed before David had heard the report of the murder of the priests. Ver. 1. Why boastest thou thyself of mischief, thou hero? the favour of God endures for ever. There is here represented, beforehand, the essential matter of the whole Psalm, in brief, striking features. In presence of the malice of his enemy, the frightful operations of which David had inst seen, he must havebeen the more alarmed, as the bearer of this malice was a man of rare energy, of manly and heroic vigour. But a glance to-ward the favour of God, which he enjoyed, gave him unlimited confidence in regard to this powerful malice, and enabled him to laugh at its proud assurance. This favour must provide for his enemy, in spite of all his malice and strength, destruction, but for himself salvation. To the words here, "thou boastest thyself of mischief," corresponds, in ver. 7, "he is strong through his wickedness." גבור hero. The sig. tyrant, mad-man, which many expositors adopt, is entirely unsupported-Gesenius adduces only this verse for it-and has this against it, that God, in the second member, with especial reference to the strength of the enemy, assumes the name of אל, of strength, whereby also is rejected the irony supposed by many; then, too, that in ver. 7, as here, the heroic virtue, so there the abun-dance of riches, is coupled with malice. Not the malice alone, but that in connection with the power, was what could fill Da-vid with trouble. היום-כל, not all days, but the whole day, for, continually.-In the enlargement the malice of the enemy comes first, in ver. 2, 3.Ver. 2. Upon mischief thinks thy tongue as a sharp razor, thou working deceit. Ver. 3. Thou lovest evil more than good, lying more than to speak righteousness. That we must take הוה, not, with Luther, in the sig. of misfortune, loss, hurt, but in that of mischief, shews ver. 7. The tongue here com-prehends also the spiritual part, whose organ it is. The compa-rison with the sharp razor is here the more suitable, as the calumnious accusation of high-treason, which Saul brought against David and the high-priest, his charge, "Ye have con-spired against me thou and the son of Jesse," was indeed the cutting-point of his malice. For the measures he adopted against them, were only the consequences of this. The last words of ver. 2, Luther has falsely referred to the tongue, in-stead of taking them as an address to the enemy. Ver. 3 de-rives its strength from its contrast to that which the wicked should do according to the prescription of the Divine law, comp. for the second half, Deuteronomy 16:20, "Righteousness, righteousness, thou must follow after it, that thou mayest live and possess the land which the Lord, thy God, giveth thee." Righteousness here is not = truth, but it has respect to this, that the enemy, while he speaks lies, violates righteousness. In the second strophe, we have now the grounding of the position, that the enemy unjustly boasts himself of his wicked-ness, while God's favour toward the Psalmist will shew itself in destroying him. Ver. 4. Thou lovest all words of destruction, tongue of deceit. Ver. 5. Therefore will God destroy thee for ever, take thee away as a coal, and pluck thee out of the tent, and root thee out of the land of the living. That ver. 4 is a mere re- sumption of ver. 2, 3-q. d. because thou so lovest, etc. God will, in righteous recompense to thee, etc.-shews, be-sides the Selah and the fact, that the other strophes of the Psalm are divided into two verses, the subject, which only re-peats in other words what has been already said. The design of the resumption is to point to the internal and inseparable connection of guilt and punishment. The same design is served by the גם, also, in ver. 4, which marks the punishment as the necessary complement of the guilt, comp. Psalms 95:9, Ezekiel 16:43, Malachi 3:9. Our two verses, therefore, represent the revenge, as the two preceding ones the wickedness. עלaבA, pausalf. ofעלaב,, prop. devouring. The verb התה in ver. 5 everywhereelse signifies: to take away the coals, and this sig. is here the less to be abandoned, as also in the words: he will destroy thee for ever-make thee a monument of perpetual ruin, there is an abbreviated comparison at bottom, as also in the words: he will root thee out, nay also in these: he will pluck thee out of the tent, q. d. he will snatch thee forth, as one who is dragged with strong gripe out of a tent. How this prophecy found its fulfil-ment in Saul, is recorded in 1 Samuel 31. Ver. 2. Upon mischief thinks thy tongue as a sharp razor, thou working deceit. Ver. 3. Thou lovest evil more than good, lying more than to speak righteousness. That we must take äåä, not, with Luther, in the sig. of misfortune, loss, hurt, but in that of mischief, appears from Psalms 52:7. The tongue here comprehends also the spiritual part, whose organ it is. The comparison with the sharp razor is here the more suitable, as the calumnious accusation of high-treason, which Saul brought against David and the high-priest, his charge, “Ye have conspired against me thou and the son of Jesse,” was indeed the cutting-point of his malice. For the measures he adopted against them, were only the consequences of this. The last words of Psa 52:2, Luther has falsely referred to the tongue, instead of taking them as an address to the enemy. Psalms 52:3 derives its strength from its contrast to that which the wicked should do according to the prescription of the Divine law, comp. for the second half, Deuteronomy 16:20, “Righteousness, righteousness, thou must follow after it, that thou mayest live and possess the land which the Lord, thy God, giveth thee.” Righteousness here is not=truth, but it has respect to this, that the enemy, while he speaks lies, violates righteousness. In the second strophe, we have now the grounding of the position, that the enemy unjustly boasts himself of his wickedness, while God’s favour toward the Psalmist will show itself in destroying him. Ver. 4. Thou lovest all words of destruction, tongue of deceit. Ver. 5. Therefore will God destroy thee for ever, take thee away as a coal, and pluck thee out of the tent, and root thee out of the land of the living. That ver. 4 is a mere resumption of Psa 52:2-3—q. d. because thou so lovest, etc. God will, in righteous recompense to thee, etc.—appears besides the Selah and the fact, that the other strophes of the Psalm are divided into two verses from the contents, which only repeat in other words what had been already said. The design of the resumption is to point to the internal and inseparable connection of guilt and punishment. The same design is served by the βν, also, in Psalms 52:4, which marks the punishment as the necessary complement of the guilt, comp. Psalms 95:9, Ezekiel 16:43, Malachi 3:9. Our two verses, therefore, represent the revenge, as the two preceding ones the wickedness. αָ ?μַ ?ς, pausalf. of αֶ ?μַ ?ς, prop. devouring. The verb ηϊδ in Psalms 52:5 everywhere else signifies: to take away the coals, and this sig. is here the less to be abandoned, as also in the words: he shall destroy thee for ever—make thee a monument of eternal ruin, there is an abbreviated comparison at bottom, as also in the words: he will root thee out, nay also in these: he will pluck thee out of the tent, q. d. he will snatch thee forth, as one who is dragged with strong gripe out of a tent. How this prophecy found its fulfilment in Saul, is recorded in 1 Samuel 31. The third strophe, ver. 6 and 7, describes the joy of the righ-teous at the manifestation of the glory of God in his judgment upon the wicked. Ver. 6. The righteous shall see it and be afraid, and laugh over him. Ver. 7. "See there the man, who does not make God his portion, and trusts in the abundance of his riches, is strong through his wickedness." The fear is not a slavish, but a childish one, such as always arises in the minds of believers, when God manifests himself in his glory. The ex-pression: they will laugh over him, forms no contradiction to that in Proverbs 24:17, "Rejoice not when thine enemy falleth, and let not thine heart be glad when he stumbleth," Job 31:29, where it is characterised as a heinous sin to rejoice at the misfortune of an enemy, or 2 Samuel 1:19, ss., where David ex-presses the acutest pain on account of Saul's overthrow. John Arnd: "There is a twofold laughter. One, when a man, out of an evil spirit of revenge, laughs at his enemy. This no Christian virtuous mind does, but it exercises compassion to-ward an enemy. But the other sort of laughing arises from a consideration of the wonderful judgment and righteous-ness of God, as when a man sins so presumptuously, that he cares neither for God nor man, and will contend with God, as Pharaoh says: “ I ask nothing after the Lord, nor will I let Is-rael go, and soon thereafter was made to sink in the Red Sea, Is it not a matter of ridicule for a man to fight against God, and God gives him a fillip in the ear, so as to make him fall, or God commands the vermin to plague such great kings as Pharaoh? Herod would himself be God, and was eaten up of worms-is not this a great God? Should one not laugh at this, and adore God's judgment? Is it not laughable, that the king of Assyria threatens Hezekiah, that he would send so many horses and footmen into his land, as would be sufficient with the soles of their feet to drink up Jordan, and there would not be enough of dust in the land for every one to fill his hands withal, while yet in one night they were all slain in the camp by the angel of the Lord?" On ver. 7, which contains the words with which the righteous mock the wicked, John Arnd remarks: "A rich man full of wickedness is like a bear, while he still walks at large in the forest; every one must take care of meeting him; but when he is caught, then a ring is put into his nose, a chain is thrown over him, his teeth broken out, and his claws cut off; and then one laughs at him and says: Thou poor rogue, it is done with thee at last." For the being strong through his wickedness, we must not substitute: holds himself for strong. The thought: God's favour endures for ever, has hitherto been but imperfectly brought out. It must be shown not merely in the destruction of the enemies of the Psalmist, but also in the salvation which is imparted to him; it must not simply bring down and destroy, but also raise up and edify. And this is what the last strophe unfolds. Ver. 8. And I am as a green olive-tree in the house of God, I trust in the favour of God for ever and ever. Ver. 9. I will praise thee for ever, because thou hast done it, and hope in thy name, because it is good, before thy saints. The house of God, in ver. 8, is the temple "where God dwells with his grace, blessing, protection, help, and consola-tion," (Arnd,) and where the righteous spiritually dwell along with him, comp. on Psalms 15:1; Psalms 23:23; Psalms 23:6; Psalms 27:4; Psalms 27:5; Psalms 36:8. The Psalmist not merely expresses here, as elsewhere, the hope that he would dwell or abide in this corporeal place, but that he would there joyfully prosper. The green olive-tree as an image of joyful prosperity, also in Jeremiah 11:16, as in Psalms 92:12, the cedar and the palm. The position of De Wette, that the house of God is here to be taken spiritually, is to be rejected, (comp. on the other hand what has been said on the passages referred to,) equally with the exposition, which here, where a much higher thing is spoken of, finds the expression of David's hope of an external return to the sanctuary, though this could cer-tainly not be left out. The trusting in the favour of the Lord, has, according to the words: sees confisa deo nunquam con-fusa recedit, the manifestation of that favour for its inseparable accompaniment; so that we may supply: and hence shall never be put to shame. According to ver. 9, the Psalmist will con-tinually praise the Lord for the deliverance already internally obtained, (comp. the עשית,) and for the future continually dur-ing his troubles wait in believing hope upon his trustworthy helper. The object is awanting for עשית. That in cases like this עשה never stands absolutely, the object being always to be supplied from the preceding context, was already shewn in Psalms 22:31,37:5. On the name of God, q. d. his glory, as that has been actually displayed, comp. on Psalms 20:1; Psalms 23:3. The expression; before thy saints, points to this, that the faith of the Psalmist, acquired through his present deliverance, will prove advan-tageous to the whole church, he will thereby build up this. That we must connect "before thy saints," with "I will hope," and must not translate with Luther: and will hope on thy name, for thy saints have joy, therein, is clear from a comp. of the parall. pass. Psalms 54:6. That Psalm agrees so remarkably with this, that the supposition of their being composed by the same author is rendered certain, and the superscriptions are conse- quently confirmed, which ascribe them to the same. The thought: God’s favour endures for ever, has hitherto been but imperfectly brought out. It must be shown not merely in the destruction of the enemies of the Psalmist, but also in the salvation which is imparted to him; it must not simply bring down and destroy, but also raise up and edify. And this is what the last strophe unfolds. Ver. 8. And I am as a green olive tree in the house of God, I trust in the favour of God for ever and ever. Ver. 9. I will praise thee for ever, because thou hast done it, and hope in thy name, because it is good, before thy saints. The house of God, in ver. 8, is the temple “where God dwells with his grace, blessing, protection, help, and consolation,” (Arnd,) and where the righteous spiritually dwell along with him, comp. on Psalms 15:1, Psalms 23:6, Psalms 27:4-5, Psalms 36:8. The Psalmist not merely expresses here, as elsewhere, the hope that he would dwell or abide in this corporeal place, but that he would there joyfully prosper. The green olive-tree as an image of joyful prosperity, also in Jeremiah 11:16, as in Psalms 92:12, the cedar and the palm. The position of De Wette, that the house of God is here to be taken spiritually, is to be rejected, (comp. on the other hand what has been said on the passages referred to,) equally with the exposition, which here, where a much higher thing is spoken of, finds the expression of David’s hope of an external return to the sanctuary, though this could certainly not be left out. The trusting in the favour of the Lord, has, according to the words: “spes confisa deo nunquam confusa recedit,” the manifestation of that favour for its inseparable accompaniment; so that we may supply: and hence shall never be put to shame. According to Psalms 52:9, the Psalmist will continually praise the Lord for the deliverance already internally obtained, (comp. the ςωιϊ,) and for the future continually during his troubles wait in believing hope upon his trustworthy helper. The object is awanting for ςωιϊ: That which I hope. That in cases like this ςωδ never stands absolutely, the object being always to be supplied from the preceding context, was already shown in Psalms 22:31, Psalms 37:5. On the name of God, q. d. his glory, as that has been actually displayed, comp. on Psalms 20:1, Psalms 23:3. The expression; before thy saints, points to this, that the faith of the Psalmist, acquired through his present deliverance, will prove advantageous to the whole church, he will thereby build up this. That we must connect “before thy saints,” with “I will hope,” and must not translate with Luther: and will hope on thy name, for thy saints have joy, therein, is clear from a comp. of the parall. pass. Psalms 54:6. That Psalm agrees so remarkably with this, that the supposition of their being composed by the same author is rendered certain, and the superscriptions are consequently confirmed, which ascribe them to the same. PSALM LIII. Compare on Psalms 14. Psalms 53. Compare on Psalms 14. Psalms 54. THIS Psalm is distinguished both in its form and its subject by great simplicity. The whole is completed in the number seven, which, as so often happens, is divided into the numbers three and four. First, in ver. 1-3, the prayer for deliverance from malignant and God-forgetting enemies, then in ver. 4-7, the confidence united with a promise of thanksgiving, for the deliverance, which the Psalmist sees with the eye of faith as al-ready present. According to the superscription, David composed the Psalm When the Ziphites informed Saul, that David concealed himself in their country. Such information was conveyed twice, 1 Samuel 23:23; 1 Samuel 23:26. But that we are here to think of the first, is probable from the literal agreement of the words of the Ziphites here with those in 1 Samuel 23:19. Against the correctness of the superscription, it has been objected, 1. That the enemies are named strangers in ver. 3, whereas David was then menaced by his countrymen, Saul and his associates, comp. our remarks there; and, 2. That the superscription is partly borrowed from 1 Samuel 23:19 -which, however, can prove nothing, since the agreement solely refers to the words of the Ziphites.To the chief musician, for music on a stringed instrument, an instruction of David, when the Ziphites came and spake to Saul: Does not David hide himself with, us? On the expression: for music on a stringed instrument, comp. on Psalms 4. Delitzsch on Hab. p. 203, has proved, that נגינה denotes not any particular stringed instrument, but the music on such instruments, the plu-ral indicating music formed by numerous notes running into one another, not various instruments. On the "instruction," (comp. on Psalms 32.) the Berleb. Bible: "We should learn from the ex-ample of David, that even in the greatest danger we should re- sort to no forbidden means, nor grow faint, but should call upon the name of God, and commit to him all our concerns as to theSupreme Judge." The participle מסתתר marks the action continuing in the same state, and we must neither translate: has not then David concealed himself, nor with Hitzig: conceals himself not then David commonly with us? The form in which the Ziphites gave the information, had something striking in it, and for this reason it was, that their words had sunk so deepinto the memory. It pre-supposed Saul's earnest seeking after David. The Ziphites, surprizing Saul, express their wonder at this, that having such an object in view, he should still be igno-rant of the notorious secret, that David lay concealed among them. Ver. 1. God, through thy name deliver me, and through thy power judge me. Ver. 2. God, hear my prayer, attend to the words of my mouth. Ver. 3. For strangers are risen up against me, and oppressors seek after my soul, they have not God before their eyes. From the earth which presents to him nothing but de- spair, the Psalmist turns himself to the heavens,-from men who are against him, to God who is his helper; hence the general name of God is used quite appropriately. The name and the power of God he sets against the usual human means of help, of which he is wholly abandoned. The connection of the name of God, (comp. on Psalms 52:10), with his strength, shows quite clear-ly how false the position is, that the name of God is, q. d. God himself. The judge me is not quite synonymous with the deliver me. It points to the righteousness of David's cause, which leads him to call in the divine help against his enemies as a work of divine righteousness, comp. Psalms 7:8; Psalms 26:1. John Arnd: "From these words we learn, if we would pray rightly, and in-deed would make a strong powerful prayer, we must have a good cause, so that our conscience may not condemn us, and render our prayer impotent." Besides, the delivering is not properly contained in the judging, it only is so, because the person praying for the judgment is righteous.-In ver. 3, the Chaldee, instead of זרים, strangers, reads זדים, proud, which Luther also follows. This reading has partly proceeded from an unseasonable comparison of the parallel passage, Psalms 86:14, in which זרים is intentionally changed into זדים, and part-ly from the difficulty, which strangers presents, when compared with the superscription, according to which the enemies are do- mestic ones. This difficulty is legitimately removed by the re-mark, that David here figuratively designates his countrymen as strangers, because they, who were united with him by so many ties, his "friends," and his "brethren," according to the law of God, in their behaviour toward him were not different from strangers. Precisely the same figurative representation occurs also in Psalms 120:5, where the Psalmist, heavily oppressed by his countrymen, complains, that he dwelt in Mesech and Kedar,heathenish tribes, q. d. among heathens and Turks. Analogous also are the numerous passages, in which Israelites either in general are described as aliens or heathens, or are coupled with the name of a particular outlandish people, in order to mark their degeneracy and ungodliness. The transition to the figu-rative use of זרים, was the more easy, as it almost invariably carries the related idea of hostile, comp. Gesen. Thes., who is so candid as to admit here this figurative use. Upon אריץ, power-ful, with the subordinate idea of violence, comp. on Psalms 37:35. On: "they have not God before their eyes," corresponding to the: "they fear not God," in Psalms 55:19, Arnd remarks: "Not to have God before the eyes, means to speak and act without dread, whatever one pleases, nay what is contrary to God and his holy word, as if God did not see and hear it; nor to be afraid of God's anger, or of his judgment, and to have no remembrance of God in the heart. This is a great and horrible blinding of wicked Satan, growing out of pride and the abuse of power."Ver. 4. Lo, God helps me, the Lord is among those, who up-hold my soul. Ver. 5. He will return the evil upon my adver-saries, according to his truth annihilate them. Ver. 6. With free-will gift will I sacrifice to thee, praise thy name, O Lord, for it is good. Ver. 7. For he has delivered me from all trouble, and my eye sees its desire upon my enemies. The lo is a note of great power of faith. The Psalmist sees with his eyes, how God helps him, although the visible presents nothing to him but cer-tain destruction. John Arnd: "This is a fruit of prayer and of the holy Spirit; that the heart is comforted and rejoiced after prayer, and it is a sure indication of being heard, for so does the Lord answer us, when we pray from the heart. When prayer goes from the heart, the heart assuredly receives the consolation of God." Soul is according to ver. 3,--the upholders of the soul here, stand opposed to those there, who seek the soul-as much as, life. The ב in בסמכי is not the so called Beth es-sentiae, for then the singular must have been used, but it means simply among. The Psalmist makes two parties, the opponents and the helpers, and is full of triumphing confidence, as he sees the Lord upon the side of the latter. That the Psalmist must have had other helpers besides the Lord, we must not conclude from the plural. The plurality is an ideal circumstance; the plural denotes the class, the party, which in reality might have been embodied in an individual. Quite analogous is Psalms 118.7; Judges 11:35. In ver. 5 the reading of the text is the fut. in Kal. ישובA, comp. 7:16. The marginal reading ישיב he,God, will recompense, which in many MSS. is pressed into the text, and is also expressed by many of the old translators, owes its origin merely to the endeavour to bring the two members into conformity. The evil is that, which the adversaries wished to inflict on the Psalmist. In the second member the confident expectation of what the Lord will do, takes the character of a demand upon the Lord from the liveliness of the affection. This imperative, which arises out of confidence, is carefully to be dis-tinguished from those of the first part, which contain prayersimply. אמת always signifies truth, never faithfulness, comp. Psalms 30:9. The truth of God must work the annihilation of the ungodly enemies, because in his word he has given to his people the promise of his protection, and still more, because his whole being contains a matter-of-fact declaration of the same promise. John Arnd: “ There are two strong grounds from which, it may be concluded, that punishment shall certainly overtake the per-secutors of the church. For the righteous God, who can only for a little exercise long-suffering and patience, will at length repay wickedness. Besides, God's faithfulness and truth are also certain, and must at last manifest and disclose themselves.” In ver. 6, הבAדAנ;בi is expounded by many; with free will, volun-tarily. But that the signification generally recognized as the common one, free-will gift, such an one, namely, as the heart impels one to bring, Exodus 25:2; Exodus 35:29, is the only one, ap-pears from a closer examination of the passages brought in sup- port of the sig. willingness, or animus promptus ad aliquid.a Ac-cordingly we must also translate here: in free-will offering, so that the gift has the character of one freely bestowed. Now, in the law the free will gift stands in regular contrast to the vow, by which a person was bound, whenever he had uttered it in a time of trouble. This contrast the Psalmist would here also in-dicate; of his ready mind he would be impelled to present his a That in Numbers 15:3, where sacrifices stand opposed to each other, those which were offered after a vow, and those הבAדAנ;בi, we must expound: as afree-will offering, shows the comp. of the parallel passages, Leviticus 7:16; Leviticus 22:23. In Deuteronomy 23:24, the rendering: "What thou hast vowed to the Lord as a free-will gift," presents no contradiction, nor Hosea 14:5 : I will love them with a freewill gift, comp. Ew. § 483.thank-offering, to pay his vow, which in many cases was nothing more than a preservative against one's own lukewarmness, dis-inclination, and unthankfulness. Still we might, referring to Deuteronomy 23:24, where also the vow is marked as a free-will of-fering-though certainly but an isolated passage-suppose, that the free-will offering stands opposed to such as was legally com-manded. That significance is ascribed to sacrifices here, only in so far as the mind takes an active part in their presenta-tion, appears from the parallel second member, from which many of the older expositors have erroneously concluded that by the sacrifices purely spiritual ones are to be under-stood-comp. on this second member, Psalms 52:9. - The expression in ver. 7: he has delivered me, is to be ex-plained from the circumstance, that David, in the exercise of that faith, which builds upon the internally received assurance, sees what is not as if it were, what, indeed, he was already, in ver. 6, prepared to do, when speaking of praising and giving thanks to God, which pre-supposes the deliverance as already obtained. On the words: and my eye sees its desire on my enemies, Calvin remarks: "If any one asks, whether it is per-mitted to the children of God, when God takes vengeance on crimes, to feast himself on such a spectacle, the answer is easy -only let his eyes be pure, and he can piously and holily re-fresh himself with the manifestations of God's justice; but when they are infected with any evil desire, all is then drawn to a wrong and perverse end." John Arnd: "This is not a fleshly lust, a private revenge, an exultation over another's misfortune, all which is unchristian, but it is an admiration of the righteous-ness of God, an acknowledgment of God's judgment, a satisfac-tion, that God's honour and God's name are vindicated, where- by all may fear, praise, honour, and glorify him in all his works." Ver. 4. Lo, God helps me, the Lord is among those, who uphold my soul. Ver. 5. He will return the evil upon my adversaries, according to his truth annihilate them. Ver. 6. With free-will gift will I sacrifice to thee, praise thy name, O Lord, for it is good. Ver. 7. For he has delivered me from all trouble, and my eye sees its desire upon my enemies. The lo is a note of great strength of faith. The Psalmist sees with his eyes, how God helps him, although the visible presents nothing to him but certain destruction. John Arnd: “This is a fruit of prayer and of the holy Spirit; that the heart is comforted and rejoiced after prayer, and it is a sure indication of being heard, for so does the Lord answer us, when we pray from the heart. When prayer goes from the heart, the heart assuredly receives the consolation of God.” Soul is according to Psalms 54:3,—the upholders of the soul here, stand opposed to those there, who seek the soul—as much as, life. The α in ξρξλι is not the so called Beth essentiae, for then the singular must have been used, but it means simply among. The Psalmist makes two parties, the opponents and the helpers, and is full of triumphing confidence, as he sees the Lord upon the side of the latter. That the Psalmist must have had other helpers besides the Lord, we must not conclude from the plural. The plurality is an ideal circumstance; the plural denotes the class, the party, which in reality might have been embodied in an individual. Quite analogous is Psalms 118:7; Judges 11:35. In Psalms 54:5 the reading of the text is the fut. in Kal. ιָ ?ωׁ ?εּ ?α, comp. Psalms 7:16. The marginal reading ιωׁ ?ια he, God, will recompense, which in many MSS. is pressed into the text, and is also expressed by many of the old translators, owes its origin merely to the endeavour to bring the two members into conformity. The evil is that, which the adversaries wished to inflict on the Psalmist. In the second member the confident expectation of what the Lord shall do, in the strength of feeling, takes the character of a demand upon the Lord. This imperative, which arises out of confidence, is carefully to be distinguished from those of the first part, which contain prayer simply. ΰξϊ always signifies truth, never faithfulness, comp. Psalms 30:9. The truth of God must work the annihilation of the ungodly enemies, because in his word he has given to his people the promise of his protection, and still more, because his whole being contains a matter-of-fact declaration of the same promise. John Arnd: “There are two strong grounds from which, it may be concluded, that punishment shall certainly overtake the persecutors of the church. For the righteous God, who can only for a little exercise long-suffering and patience, will at length repay wickedness. Besides, God’s faithfulness and truth are also certain, and must at last manifest and disclose themselves.” In Psalms 54:6, αִ ?πְ ?γָ ?αָ ?δ is expounded by many; with free will, voluntarily. But that the signification generally recognized as the common one, free-will gift, such an one, namely, as the heart impels one to bring, Exodus 25:2; Exodus 35:29, is the only one, appears from a closer examination of the passages brought in support of the sig. willingness, or animus promptus ad aliquid. [Note: That in Numbers 15:3, where sacrifices stand opposed to each other, those which were offered after a vow, and those αְ ?πָ ?γαָ ?δ, we must expound: as a free-will offering, shows the comp. of the parallel passages, Leviticus 7:16; Leviticus 22:23. In Deuteronomy 23:24, the rendering: “What thou hast vowed to the Lord as a free-will gift,” presents no contradiction, nor Hosea 14:5 : I will love them with a freewill gift, comp. Ew. § 483. Accordingly we must also translate here: “in free-will offering,” so that the gift has the character of one freely bestowed; now with it, in the law the free-will gift stands in regular contrast to the vow, by which a person was bound, whenever he had uttered it in a time of trouble. This contrast the Psalmist would here also indicate; of his ready mind he would be impelled to present his thank-offering, to pay his vow, which in many cases was nothing more than a preservative against one’s own lukewarmness, disinclination, and unthankfulness. Still we might, referring to Deuteronomy 23:24, where also the vow is marked as a free-will offering—though certainly but an isolated passage—suppose, that the free-will offering stands opposed to such as was legally commanded. That significance is ascribed to sacrifices here, only in so far as the mind takes an active part in their presentation, appears from the parallel second member, from which many of the older expositors have erroneously concluded that by the sacrifices purely spiritual ones are to be understood—comp. on this second member, Psalms 52:9. The expression in Psalms 54:7 : he has delivered me, is to be explained from the circumstance, that David, in the exercise of that faith, which builds upon the internally received assurance, sees what is not as if it were, what, indeed, he was already, in Psalms 54:6, prepared to do, when speaking of praising and giving thanks to God, which pre-supposes the deliverance as already obtained. On the words: and my eye sees its desire on my enemies, Calvin remarks: “If any one asks, whether it is permitted to the children of God, when God takes vengeance on crimes, to feast himself on such a spectacle, the answer is easy—only let his eyes be pure, and he can piously and holily refresh himself with the manifestations of God’s justice; but when they are infected with any evil desire, all is then drawn to a wrong and perverse end.” John Arnd: “This is not a fleshly lust, a private revenge, an exultation over another’s misfortune, all which is unchristian, but it is an admiration of the righteousness of God, an acknowledgment of God’s judgment, a satisfaction, that God’s honour and God’s name are vindicated, whereby all may fear, praise, honour, and glorify him in all his works.” Psalms 55. THE Psalm contains three parts. The first, ver. 1-8, de-lineates the desperate condition of the Psalmist, and prays for deliverance. The second, ver. 9-15, describes the prevailing wickedness and ungodliness, as a symptom of which it is men-tioned that the Psalmist has one of his nearest friends for hisbitterest opponent, and calls upon God to execute judgment upon the wicked. The third, ver. 16-23, contains the expres-sion of confidence, which raises itself from the same foundation, on which also was raised in the preceding context the prayer: God is called upon at once by his love and his righteousness to interpose.-If we regard, as we are perfectly justified by the mat- ter, ver. 1 as an introduction indicating the prayer as by the way, and ver. 23 as the conclusion, recapitulating the confidence in short and striking lines, we have three strophes, each of seven verses.-The internal character of the Psalm is indicated by the "making a noise," in ver. 2, and the "crying aloud," in ver. 17. It is that of a great excitement. Berleb. Bible: "David is here very depressed, and thinks of no leaps over the walls as else-where." The Psalmist wishes to shew (the Psalm is designated in the superscription an instruction) how in such a situation of excitement, a person should conduct himself, how he should carry up what has occasioned it to God, and compose himself to rest again through the consideration of God's love and right-eousness. The superscription ascribes the composition to David. For a particular occasion, and against the view already propounded by Luther, that we have here a general prayer prescribed for the godly when assaulted by the wicked, decides even at the first glance, ver. 12-14, and ver. 20 and 21, where the person of a faithless friend meets us. But this faithless friend is a standing figure in poetry, as in love. Precisely in the same form in which it occurs here, has it already appeared in the earlier non-indi-vidual Psalms, in Psalms 35:11, ss., and especially in the passage which remarkably agrees with this, of Psalms 9. David was desirous of employing for the good of the Church the painful experiences, which he had found on this territory, particularly in connection with Ahitophel, 2 Samuel 15:12; was anxious to comfort others with the consolation with which he had himself been comforted in the trial he met with from "false brethren," (the predominating reference to this, forms, in regard to the matter of the Psalm, its individual physiognomy.) Against the supposition of a particular occasion, it is enough to awaken in us misgivings, that those who maintain that, cannot agree among themselves regarding it. A presumptive counter-ground, on the other hand, is the general character of the references, the inten-tional nature of which comes especially out in ver. 9, where, by"the city," every one must obviously think of that particular city, to which he himself belongs. (It is against the Sauline persecutions in particular, that in them we can point to no ori-ginal of the faithless friend, and against the revolt of Absalom, that not the smallest reference is to be found here to the royal dignity of the Psalmist, which is, however, a characteristic trait of the individual Psalms of that time, nay, in ver. 13, where the Psalmist describes the faithless friend as his associate and com-panion, a datum is given which excludes that idea. Then the defenders of the reference to Absalom's time are involved in difficulty on this account, that they are unable to point out in the history the combination of circumstances which appear here: on the one hand the Psalmist is still in the city,-he expresses his wish, in ver. 6-8, to be able to flee into the wilderness: as also in ver. 9, he sees violence and strife in the city. On the other hand, the wickedness has already come to a full outbreak, the Psalmist is already hard pressed by his enemies, faithless-ness has already become openly manifest. Tholuck, who sup-poses the Psalm to have been composed when David was flying before Absalom in the wilderness of Jordan, must get rid of one half of the circumstances, and Stier, who places its composition in the period that preceded the revolt of Absalom, overlooks the other.) The allegation of Ewald and others, that the Psalm be-longs to the last century before the destruction of Jerusalem, can bring no probable argument for its rejection of the super- scription. For such delineations as it contains of prevailing de-moralization, in ver. 9-11, David had abundant occasion in his own experience during the times of Saul (compare especially 1 Sam. 22:2) and Absalom. It is absurd to take such descrip-tions as the starting point for the historical exposition, and then perhaps to complain with Ewald: "the circumstances of the position of this poet can scarcely be more exactly determined." To the chief musician, upon stringed instrument music, an in-struction of David; Ver. 1. Attend to my prayer, O God, and hide thyself not from my supplication. התעלם, prop. to hide one's self from any thing, purposely not to notice, to be igno-rant of it, compare Deuteronomy 22:1-4, Isaiah 58:7, and on Psalms 10:1. John Arnd: "In great straits, it seems as if God hides himself from us, as the prophet Jeremiah speaks in chap. 3.of his La-mentations: Thou hast covered thyself with a cloud that our prayer should not pass through. But our gracious God cannothide himself from our prayer, the prayer does still press through-the clouds and find him. God's fatherly heart does not permit him to hear us cry and beg, without turning to us, as a father, when he hears his children cry." There follows now the development of the prayer uttered in a general way in the introduction, in two strophes. First, the Psalmist prays for deliverance from the very great distress, in which he was plunged, ver. 2-8. In ver. 3, he describes this distress, in ver. 4 and 5 he unfolds the sad internal condition, in which he was situated, having troubles without and fears within, and heaves, in ver 6-8, the wish that he might rather dwell in the wilderness, than, in such circumstances, continue longer in human society-such vexation had they caused him. Ver. 2. Attend to me and hear me, I give free course to my sor-row, and will cry aloud. Ver. 3. Because of the voice of the enemy, because of the oppression of the wicked, for they bend mis- chief over me, and in wrath hate me. Ver. 4. My heart moves about in my inwards, and the terrors of death are fallen upon me. Ver. 5. Fear and trembling have come upon me, and horror covers me. Ver. 6. And I said: Oh! had I wings as a dove, then would I fly away and abide. Ver. 7. Lo! I would fly far off, I would lodge in the wilderness. Selah. Ver. 8. I would make haste to a refuge, from the strong wind, from the tempest. בשיהי אריד in ver. 2, signifies literally: I let (my thoughts) swim, or move themselves about in my reflections, for, I give my sad thoughts free course, that God may be the more moved to compassion since pain in its full strength presents itself be-fore him. רוד occurs in Kal. in the sense of moving, one's self, Jeremiah 2:31, Hosea 12:1, and in Hiphil in the sense of moving, shaking, Genesis 27:40, compare my Beitr. III. p. 296. As the supposition, that the Hiphil here stands in the signification of Kal, is an arbitrary one, the object: my troubled thoughts, must be supplied from בשיהי. The שיה thought, reflection, is often used especially of the reflection one has over misfortune, of sorrow, because nothing more powerfully draws the thoughts around it, than pain, nothing invites one more to sink down into it, to brood over it. But the word in such cases maintains still its common signification. הום to throw into confusion, to bring into disquiet, in Hiphil to make disquiet, noise, comp. Micah 2:12, and the corresponding "to make a noise," in ver. 17. There is just as little reason here as in Psalms 42:4, to take the ה ofstriving in any other than its common sig., against which also decides the, "I will think and cry aloud," in ver. 17. The Psalmist, or the righteous, in whose name he speaks, will com-plain very loudly, because this is the surest means of making God to hear, comp. in ver. 17: so does he hear my voice. By the voice of the enemy in ver. 3, we have to think of re-proaches, (ver. 12,) threatenings, and curses. מוט to shake, in Hiphil to make to shake, to throw down, Psalms 140:11. און never signifies misfortune, always wickedness, comp. on Psalms 10:1. Delitzsch on Hab. p. 158, who maintains the opposite, has too little considered, that, for the sig. misfortune, at least one passage was indispensably necessary, in which that sense alone could be, admitted. But no such passage exists. Luther: they would shew toward me a malicious disposition, is hence to be preferred to De Wette: they pour upon me hurt. The wickedness in the form of a mischievous device, Psalms 41:8, in which it embodies itself, is thrown upon the Psalmist.-On ver. 4 Calvin: "When it goes well with us, every one appears as an invincible warrior, but as soon as we come into the real conflict, then does our weakness discover itself." היל a cognate form of the Kal הול, sig. to circle, which is there figuratively used for the feeling of deep pain, sore anguish. The sig. to tremble, is not sufficiently proved. The terrors of death seize the Psalmist, because the enemies threaten his life.-Ver. 6 has been imitated by Jerem. in ch. 9:2: "0 that I had in the wilderness a lodging place of wayfaring men, that I might leave my people and go from them! for they, are all adulterers, an assembly of treacherous men." That the Psalmist names the dove, not merely on account of its speed of flight, but also on account of its defenceless innocence, is clear from Psalms 56. supers. In the imitation in Revelation 12:14, the eagle has been substituted for the dove, with reference to Exodus 19:4. To the words: and would abide, we must supply: in the place, whither I fled, rather than continue longer among my tormentors. The wilderness, in ver. 7, stands opposed to human society. As every one naturally has the wish to continue in it, it must have become sadly degenerate, if one desires to flee from it into the desert. After the word of heavy import: in the wilderness-what must be for "friends" and "brethren," from whom it is sought to be away into the wilderness!-the Selah stands quite suitably.-The Psalmist had, in ver. 6, uttered in a general way the wish, that he might escape from the evilwhich pressed hard upon him, thereby indicating the heaviness of his temptation, and seeking to move God to compassion and help. In ver. 7 he has defined this wish more exact; in that he desired to go far away into the wilderness, and in ver. 8 he still further adds, that he would hasten his escape. Precisely as the relation of ver. 7 and 8 to ver. 6, is that of ver. 10 and 11 to ver. 9. אהישה is fut. in Kal of היש=הוש, comp. 71:12. The Hiphil also occurs in the sig. of hastening, Judges 20:37. מפלט, place of refuge, is accus., as it stands with verbs of mo-tion. The לי is used as in ver. 18. Against the sig. of the forms with מ various expositors: I would hasten to me the flight. The מן in מרוה and מסער most take as that in מקול in ver. 3, from strong wind, from tempest = as the dove flies from the storm and tempest to her place of refuge, so the Psalmist from the storm of his enemies. But that we must rather take the מן as not. comp. after the example of Drusius, shews the: from hastening, strong (סעה according to the Arab. to run, hasten) wind, the more so, as סעה connects itself with היש in the first member. It is also very common elsewhere, to have respect to haste in mentioning wind and storm, comp. Habakkuk 1:11; Habakkuk 3:14. Jeremiah 4:13, Job 30:15. There follows now the development of the prayer uttered in a general way in the introduction, in two strophes. First, the Psalmist prays for deliverance from the very great distress, in which he was plunged, Psalms 55:2-8. In Psalms 55:3, he describes this distress, in Psalms 55:4 and Psalms 55:5 he unfolds the sad internal condition, in which he was situated, having troubles without and fears within, and heaves, in Psalms 55:6-8, the wish that he might rather dwell in the wilderness, than, in such circumstances, continue longer in human society—such vexation had they caused him. Ver. 2. Attend to me and hear me, I give free course to my sorrow, and will cry aloud. Ver. 3. Because of the voice of the enemy, because of the oppression of the wicked, for they bend mischief over me, and in wrath they persecute me. Ver. 4. My heart moves about in my inwards, and the terrors of death are fallen upon me. Ver. 5. Fear and trembling have come upon me, and horror covers me. Ver. 6. And I said: Oh! had I wings as a dove, then would I fly away and abide. Ver. 7. Lo! I would fly far off, I would lodge in the wilderness. Selah. Ver. 8. I would make haste to a refuge, from the strong wind, from the tempest. ΰψιγαωιηι in Psalms 55:2, signifies literally: I let (my thoughts) swim, or move themselves about in my reflections, for, I give my sad thoughts free course, that God may be the more moved to compassion since pain in its full strength presents itself before him. ψεγ occurs in Kal. in the sense of moving, one’s self, Jeremiah 2:31, Hosea 12:1, and in Hiphil in the sense of moving, shaking, Genesis 27:40, compare my Beitr. III. p. 296. As the supposition, that the Hiphil here stands in the signification of Kal, is an arbitrary one, the object: my troubled thoughts, must be supplied from αωιηι. The ωιη thought, reflection, is often used especially of the reflection one has over misfortune, of sorrow, because nothing more powerfully draws the thoughts around it, than pain, nothing invites one more to sink down into it, to brood over it. But the word in such cases maintains still its common signification. δεν to throw into confusion, to bring into disquiet, in Hiphil to make disquiet, noise, comp. Micah 2:12, and the corresponding “to make a noise,” in Psalms 55:17. There is just as little reason here as in Psalms 42:4, to take the δ of striving in any other than its common sig., against which also the, “I will think and cry aloud,” in Psalms 55:17 is decisive. The Psalmist, or the righteous, in whose name he speaks, will complain very loudly, because this is the surest means of making God to hear, comp. in Psalms 55:17 : so does he hear my voice. By the voice of the enemy in Psalms 55:3, we have to think of reproaches, (Psalms 55:12,) threatenings, and curses. ξεθ to shake, in Hiphil to make to shake, to throw down, Psalms 140:11. ΰεο never signifies misfortune, always wickedness, comp. on Psalms 10:1. Delitzsch on Hab. p. 158, who maintains the opposite, has too little considered, that, for the sig. misfortune, at least one passage was indispensably necessary, in which that sense alone could be, admitted. But no such passage exists. Luther: they would shew toward me a malicious disposition, is hence to be preferred to De Wette: they pour upon me hurt. The wickedness in the form of a mischievous device, Psalms 41:8, in which it embodies itself, is thrown upon the Psalmist. On Psalms 55:4 Calvin: “When it goes well with us, every one appears as an invincible warrior, but as soon as we come into the real conflict, then does our weakness discover itself.” διμ is a cognate form of the Kal ηεμ, sig. to circle, which is figuratively used for the feeling of deep pain, sore anguish. The sig. to tremble, is not sufficiently proved. The terrors of death seize the Psalmist, because the enemies threaten his life. Psalms 55:6 has been imitated by Jerem. in Jeremiah 9:2 : “O that I had in the wilderness a lodging place of wayfaring men, that I might leave my people and go from them! for they, are all adulterers, an assembly of treacherous men.” That the Psalmist names the dove, not merely on account of its speed of flight, but also on account of its defenceless innocence, is clear from Psalms 56 supers. In the imitation in Revelation 12:14, the eagle has been substituted for the dove, with reference to Exodus 19:4. To the words: and would abide, we must supply: in the place, whither I fled, rather than continue longer among my tormentors. The wilderness, in Psalms 55:7, stands opposed to human society. As every one naturally has the wish to continue in it, it must have become sadly degenerate, if one desires to flee from it into the desert. After the word of heavy import: in the wilderness—what must be for “friends” and “brethren,” from whom it is sought to be away into the wilderness!—the Selah stands quite suitably. The Psalmist had, in Psalms 55:6, uttered in a general way the wish, that he might escape from the evil which pressed hard upon him, thereby indicating the heaviness of his temptation, and seeking to move God to compassion and help. In Psalms 55:7 he has defined this wish more exact; in that he desired to go far away into the wilderness, and in Psalms 55:8 he still further adds, that he would hasten his escape. Precisely as the relation of Psa 55:7 and Psalms 55:8 to Psalms 55:6, is that of Psa 55:10 and Psalms 55:11 to Psalms 55:9. ΰηιωδ is fut. in Kal of ηιω=ηεω, comp. 71:12. The Hiphil also occurs in the sig. of hastening, Judges 20:37. ξτμθ, place of refuge, is accus., as it stands with verbs of motion. The μι is used as in Psalms 55:18. Against the sig. of the forms with ξ various expositors: I would hasten to me the flight. The ξο in ξψεη and ξρςψ most take as that in ξχεμ in Psalms 55:3, from strong wind, from tempest=as the dove flies from the storm and tempest to her place of refuge, so the Psalmist from the storm of his enemies. But that we must rather take the ξο as not. comp. after the example of Drusius, appears from the expression: “from the hastening wind,” (ρςδ according to the Arab. to run, hasten) the more so, as ρςδ connects itself with ηιω in the first member. It is also very common elsewhere, to have respect to haste in mentioning wind and storm, comp. Habakkuk 1:11, Habakkuk 3:14. Jeremiah 4:13, Job 30:15. There follows in ver. 9-15 the second part of the prayer: Let God judge, for the reigning wickedness cries aloud to heaven. The prayer for the destruction of the wicked is announced brief-ly at the beginning, at the end it comes out more at length in ver. 15. In the middle part the grounding is given, while first, in a general way, the reigning wickedness is described, ver. 9-11, then allusion is made to the faithlessness of the friend, as to a frightful symptom of prevailing corruption. The numbers three and seven, which govern the arrangement of the whole, return again also in the arrangement of the particular strophes. As the first strophe falls into three parts 2. 2. 3, so also the second, 3. 3. 1.-Ver. 9. Devour, Lord, divide their tongue for I see violence and strife in the city. Ver. 10. They compass it day and night upon its walls, and mischief and sorrow are in the midst of it. Ver. 11. Iniquity is in the midst of it, and there depart not from its market oppression and deceit. Ver. 12. For it is not an enemy that reproaches me, else would I bear it, not my hater that magnifies himself against me, else would I conceal myself him. Ver.13. But thou art my companion, my friend, and the man of my confidence. Ver. 14. We who took sweet counsel together,walked into the house of God in the tumult. Ver. 15. Desola-tion upon them, let them go down alive to hell, for evil is in their dwelling, in their midst. According to the current ex- position בלע devour, must, as well as the divide, refer to the tongues; but that we must rather supply the enemies as the object, is clear from: let them go down alive into hell, in ver. 15, the more so, as there the first part of this verse is manifestly re-sumed again and expanded. If the reference there to the de-struction of the company of Korah is generally recognised, it is here also not to be overlooked, the less so as in Numbers 16:32, our very בלע is used. Devour, is q. d. annihilate them, as for-merly at thy command, the earth swallowed up the impious rebels of another time, comp. ver. 19, where the Psalmist, upon what God had done since the days of old, grounds his confidence of a present interference. John Arnd: "It was a frightful thing for the earth to open and swallow up those wicked men, but it is a great consolation to the persecuted church, when she reflects upon the preceding examples of vengeance and of righteous judgment, as God by his word and appointments has always ordered it, and will certainly carry on matters to the end, if we betake to him for refuge." The relation of the expression: divide their tongues, to the devouring, has Luther already discerned quite correctly, who by transposition of the sentence renders: make their tongue divided, Lord, and cause them to go down. The division of their tongue was one of the chief means, which the destroying agency of God should employ, q. d. precipitate them into destruction, especially in this way, by making them dis-united among themselves, and so driving into collision with one another those, who were leagued together for the destruction of the righteous. A tongue is here attributed in figurative lan-guage to the ungodly, as in Genesis 11. a lip to the whole earth, This tongue is divided by the Lord, q. d. he effects, that their discourse becomes full of discord. The allusion here to Gen. xi, cannot be mistaken, comp. especially ver. 7: "let us confound their lip, that they may not understand one another's lip;" ver. 9: "then did the Lord confound there the lip of the whole earth;" then also ch. 10:25, where the verb פלב, occurs. This allusion to what God had already done in the days of old, gives a peculiar emphasis to the prayer. John Arnd: "This history is an image and figure of great pride and presumption, which im-pels man to undertake projects, which they cannot execute, andwhich are contrary to God, only for the sake of making to themselves a great name in the earth. Hence comes our blessed God and confounds such peoples thoughts and counsels, so that they devise plans only for their own destruction." The for is to be explained thus, that the grounding of the prayer for judg-ment carries a reference to guilt: where the carcase is, there the eagles will be gathered together. The article in בעיר manifestly stands generically, precisely as in במדבר in the wilderness, in ver. 7. Every righteous man suffering assaults from the wicked, must think of his city. In ver. 10 and 11, "the city" is further expanded. In order to express, that the city was wholly and utterly filled with wickedness, we have first in ver. 10, the walls and the interior contrasted, then in ver. 11, in the reverse order, proceeding from the interior to the ex-terior, the middle part and the market place lying before the gates, comp. Gesen. S. V. As the wickedness engrossed all the space, so did it also all time, comp. "day and night" in ver. 10, and "there depart not," in ver. 11. סובב in ver. 10, sig. not pro-perly to go about, but to compass, comp. on Psalms 26:6 : the compassing about and the interior form a very suitable contrast. That violence and strife--these are the subject to יסובבה ap-pear under the image of warriors, who environ the city round about its walls, appears from ver. 19. But the point of compari-son is altogether and alone the compassing about, the forming of a circle, and the supposition of an ironical representation, as to how matters now went in the city of God: "0 happy city, in which such watchmen are placed," is to be rejected as far-fetched, and not supported by the connection. By און we are not here to understand, with many expositors, suffering, (De Wette: and evil and distress are in the midst of it,) not even though this meaning were generally established, which is not the case. For violence and strife upon the walls require for the interior a correspond-ing mark of wickedness. This is also demanded by ver. 9, the expansion of which we have here before us, and by ver. 11, where in like manner wickedness is described in both members. In reference to the הוות, wickedness, in ver. 11, comp on Psalms 5:9. The mention of the market place is the more suitable, as there, in the place of justice, iniquity was concentrated.-The for in ver. 12 is for the most part misunderstood by expositors; according to De Wette, "it is scarcely to be ex-pressed:" the supposition of others, that it is co-ordinatewith the distant for in ver. 9, is also nothing more than a shift for the occasion. The Psalmist grounds the representation of the reigning wickedness given in the preceding context by means of his own experience, which in him, a Psalmist, and not a prophet, whose part it is to lay to heart the general state of things as such, had given rise to it. Where poisonous herbs exist, such as are described by him in what follows, there also must be found a poisonous soil; where such things occur to the in-dividual, the inference is not far to seek regarding the rampant moral dissipation. To the words: for not my enemy reproaches me, we are not to supply: in the case, which I have at present be-fore my eyes. The Psalmist has enemies also at a distance. Such the אויב marks here according to the connection�he looks away from that, which he has to suffer from them, because it was not so great as the suffering, which faithless friends caused him, and which bespoke the magnitude and depth of the reigning corruption. On the words: else would I bear it, the Berleb. Bible remarks: "for from such one would expect nothing better, and might still find consolation respecting it from one's friends." ך`רע in ver. 13 signifies valuation, not precisely worth; for the former sig. also holds in the passages, Leviticus 27:3, Job 28:13. The valuing of any one, is partly the valuing, which has been taken of any one, Leviticus 5:15, etc., and partly that, which con-cerns any one. By the first we shall have: thou art a man, whom I value, but the כ appears strange, and elsewhere valuing does not stand, without something farther, for valuing highly. If we follow the latter, we must not render, with many exposi-tors: whom I straightway value for me. For then the Psalmist must have been described more particularly than as the valuator. We must rather expound: according to my valuing, that is: of like value with myself, as already the Chaldee, Syriac, and Luther: my fellow. Friendship, according to the rule, "binds only equals," and these, wherever it actually obtains, with pe-culiarly intimate bonds.-In ver. 14, we are also in the second member to supply the together. First, as the internal friendship manifested itself in the parlour, then as it came forth into public life, in the fellowship of devotion, which entwines the hearts of men with the most tender cords, such as only the rough hand of wickedness can rend asunder. In reference to סוד, confidence, comp. on Psalms 26:14; to make confidence sweet, for, to hold sweet confidence. The opposite to סוד forms רגש prop. shouting, then of the tumult of the multitude moving up and down in the outer courts of the temple, comp. המון, noise, then the holy-day keeping multitude in Psalms 42:4. In Psalms 64:2, סוד and רגשה are in like manner united together.--In ver.15 the Psalmist resumes the prayer for the judgment of God against the wicked, after having assigned his motives for doing so. The reading of the text is תומישiי;, desolations, (let them come) uponthem, as formerly upon the hardened sinners in Sodom and Gomorrah. The marginal reading, which in many MSS. and editions has pressed itself into the text, and which also the older translators for the most part express, is תו,מA ישi.יa, letdeath deceive upon them, ישי for ישיא, Hiphil from נשא to deceive. This reading is merely a bad conjecture, produced through a false endeavour to make the first member entirely con-formed to the second: to scheol must correspond death, to the living ישי. It is the case also in ver. 9, that the two members are not a synon. parallelism, but in each is allusion made to a particular judgment of bygone days, and its repetition desired;the construction of נשא with על is intolerably hard, and with-out example. The second member refers to the destruction of Korah and his company, comp. on ver. 9, which easily explains the living, alive. An abbreviated comparison has place, q. d. let them be hurried away by death in the fulness of life and strength, comp ver. 23, as once the transgressors of a bygone age went alive into hell. On the words: for evil is in their dwelling, Muis: "Because they are so wicked, that wherever they set down their feet, they leave traces of their wickedness, and defile all places with their impurities." The dwelling and the heart do not stand in an ascending relation (Stier: in their dwelling, nay still more in their heart,) but rather of simple juxta-position, comp. ver. 10 and 11, and ver. 14. It is a part of the individual physiognomy of this Psalm that it loves such heapings together-a peculiarity, which is an expression of its, funda-mental character, of the excitement which pervades it. The third strophe, ver. 16-21, is that of hope and confidence, which grows upon the Psalmist from the consideration of the im-portant grounds, upon which he had built his prayer. As the two first strophes, so this also falls into three divisions, and indeed, into such as exactly correspond with those of the second, 3. 3. 1. In the first, ver, 16-18, the Psalmist expresses his confidence in thegeneral, and then grounds this upon the greatness of his distress (comp. ver. 2-8, where the prayer is built upon the same foundation:) in the second, ver. 19-21, the confidence supports itself by the corruption of the enemies, (comp. ver. 9-15;) in the third, ver. 22, out of the confidence grows the admoni-tion of the Psalmist to himself, to commit his cause to the Lord. -Ver. 16. I will call upon God, and the Lord will deliver me. Ver. 17. Evening, morning, and mid-day, will I meditate and cry aloud, so he shall hear my voice. Ver. 18. He redeems with peace my soul out of the war against me; for there were many with me. Ver. 19. God will hear and answer them, he who is throned of old, Selah; them, to whom there is no redemption, and who fear not God. Ver. 20. He lays his hand upon them, who live with him in peace, profanes his covenant. Ver. 21. Smooth as milch-diet is he in regard to his mouth, and war is his heart, its words are softer than oil, and yet are mere swords. Ver. 22. Cast upon the Lord thy salvation, and he will take care of thee, he will never suffer the righteous to be moved. In ver. 17 many have found the three times of prayer among the Jews already indicated, comp. Daniel 6:11, Acts 10:9, Beitr. P. I. p. 143. Others again think, that the beginning, middle, and close of the day, serve only for a designation of it in its entire compass. Even in this latter view, however, we have here at least the foundation upon which the custom of the several seasons of prayer arose, and most probably in the time of the Psalmist had already arisen-even- ing and morning prayers, we have already often met with in the Psalms, and they must at any rate have been as old as the even-ing and morning sacrifice. For when the whole day is here described by evening (this stands first, because the Hebrews with it began the day,) morning, and mid-day, these are thereby recognised as the chief turning-points of the day, the natural con-sequence of which is, that on these periods prayer to the Lord of life concentrated itself. If we follow the first view, then evening, morning, and mid-day, are simply to be regarded as the most pro-minent points on the territory of prayer. For the Psalmist mani-festly wished to say, that he would pray without ceasing, Luke 18:1, 1 Thessalonians 5:17. In וישמע the ו is used in its full sig., as ו of consequence: so hears he. Prayer and hearing are re-lated to each other as cause and effect. In ver. 18, the pre-terite פדה is to be explained from the confidence of faith. בשלום, in peace, with peace, bringing or giving peace. Theexpression: my soul, q. d. my life, comp. the terrors of death in ver. 4, and the retributive punishment longed for on the ene-mies in ver. 15. Out of the war to me, q. d. in which I am en- gaged. That קרב is a noun and not the inf., as many regard it: that they do not near me, Luther: of those, who would up-on me, appears from ver. 21, and the contrast of peace. The for rests upon the general principle, that God is necessitated to administer help by the distress of his people, that upon which also the prayer in the first strophe was raised. In reference to the ברבים, in many, comp. Ew. ˜ 521. עמדי sig. here, as al-ways, with me. The hostile lies not in the preposition, but is only grounded in the subjects.-In ver. 19 יענם is to be taken as fut. in Kal.: he will answer them, namely, for their threat-enings and curses, which they pour forth upon the Psalmist, comp. ver. 3, 12. Just as the Lord hears the voice of the Psalm-ist, comp. ver. 17, and answers him, comp. ver. 2, so he hears also the rough voice of the wicked, and gives to them thereupon a sharp answer. If people would compare parallel passages, such as Psalms 38:15 : thou wilt answer, O Lord my God, they would not think of expounding with Luther and most modern expositors: and he will humble or plague them, the less so, as the sig. plague, which the Piel of ענה has, is quite uncertain for the Hiphil. 1 Kings 8:35 is manifestly to be rendered: for thou wilt hear them. Now, the following context contains the grounding of the confidence here expressed in the introduc-tion. This is primarily derived from the consideration of God: and he that is throned of old (will answer.) The sitting is pecu-liar to judges and kings, comp. Psalms 29:10. The sitting of the olden time = he who from of old is enthroned, comp. Deuteronomy 33:27 : "and dwelling is the God of the old time," Habakkuk 1:12, "art thou not he from of old, Jehovah, my God, my Holy One, so shall we not (even now) die," Psalms 74:12, "and God is my king from of old." The deeds, by which God had already shewed himself from of old as the righteous king and judge, the judgments, for example, upon the wicked in the land of Shinar, ver. 9, the company of Korah, ver. 9 and 15, the cities of the plain, ver. 15, pledge his still ready interposition. He who had already so long held the throne, must now also shew himself as king and judge, he cannot now at so late a period be another. John Arnd: "The Holy Spirit here looks upon the examples, in which the Almighty God has through all ages delivered thefaithful and punished the persecutors; and concludes thereup-on, that as the same righteous God still lives, he will assuredly also still reign and govern, as from the beginning. Therefore is it a great consolation when one is in trouble and persecution to think, how God still lives and has always proved himself to be a gracious God against those, who fear him, as is declared in Psalms 119.: "when I consider, how thou from the first has judged, so shall I be comforted." The Selah does not at all stand "quite unsuitably,'' but points to the deep subject of the few words, the rich fulness of consolation, which they present, and invites the mind to stand still by them.-The grounding of the confidence is then further derived from the character of the enemies, and indeed so, that what is contained in ver. 19 forms a compendium of ver. 9-11, ver. 20 and 21 of that, which had been said in ver. 12-14 of the faithless friend. By אשר etc. those are described, who must participate in the answer of him who has been throned from of old: he will answer them, to whom; prop. they, to whom. If the relation of these words to ver. 9-11 is first rightly perceived, then light of itself falls uponthe manifoldly significant הליפות. The word is used in Job x. 17, 14:14, in a military sense, in the sig. of discharges, re-lief-troops, and this sig. appears quite suitable, as in ver. 10 violence and contention are mentioned under the image of war-riors, who day and night go about the city on its walls, comp. also in ver. 11: "depart not from its market-place;" they, to whom there are no discharges, and who fear not God, q. d. who incessantly and constantly serve sin and fear not God. The most general exposition is: to them, for whom there is no im-provement, q. d. delay would here be out of place, because no repentance is to be expected for those, who are hardened in their wickedness. But it is matter for serious consideration on the other hand, that neither the noun nor the verb, ever occur in a moral sense, and also that the plural is not easily explained on this view. Ewald's arbitrary exposition by mutual fidelity, friend-fidelity, oath-fidelity, has already been disposed of by Maurer,through the remark, that הליפה (prop. the changed), denotes not alternate reciprocation, but alternate changing. In ver. 20 and 21, the Psalmist turns from the ground of hope for divine interference, which he derived from the moral condition of the ungodly in general, to that, which was furnished by the special conduct of the unfaithful friend. The constancy, with whichthe author here and in ver. 12-14 uses the singular, when speaking of this person, does not admit of our substituting with Luther and many others the plural for it. The situation must be that of a person, who has been violently hated by one false friend, as indeed in real life one does not commonly meet withmany such experiences at the same time. The sub. שלום, sup-plies here, as in Psalms 69:22, poetically the place of the adj., the peace, for, who lives with one in perfect peace. That we must not with many invert the relation, and take שלום, for an origi-nal adjective, shews its extremely rare and only poetical use in the adj. sense. That the suff. must not, with Luther and others, be referred to God: they lay their hands on his peaceful ones, is clear from a comparison of ver. 12-14, also from what is said in continuation in ver. 21, comp. especially there: war is in his heart, and finally from the parallels: my peace-man, in Psalms 41:9, my peaceable one, in Psalms 7:4. The suff. also in בריתו refers not to God, but to the friend. The expression of profaning the covenant, which constantly occurs in a religious sense, ap-pears quite suitable to this construction, if we only think of a covenant like that, which was made between David and Jonathan, which proceeded from the Lord, and hence was a holy one, 1 Samuel 18:3; 1 Samuel 20:16; 1 Samuel 20:42; 1 Samuel 23:18.-The first mem-ber of ver. 21 means literally: smooth is cream-food as to his mouth, for, what concerns his mouth, so are hypocritical flatteries often named, comp. on Psalms 5:9; Psalms 36:2, Hosea 10:2. The ex-pression: smooth are, renders prominent at the outset the point of comparison between the cream-food and the words, the reason why his words are named spiritual cream-food. מהמאה signi-fies something made out of cream. As תואמAהEמe is the statabsol., we are not to expound: the cream-food of his mouth, but only: his mouth, for, as to his mouth, in opposition to his heart, by which we obtain also a more suitable meaning: not his cream-food is smooth, but he has perfectly smooth cream-food. The conjecture תואמAהEמe is indeed very old (it is adopted bythe Chald. and Symm., and Luther: their mouth is smoother than butter,") but still utterly to be rejected. It is against such a translation as Luther's, that a plural from המאה, cream, is not elsewhere to be found, nor indeed could it properly exist,and that the connection of the sing. פיו with the הלקו is insuf-ferably hard. If we translate with De Wette and others: theyare smoother than butter as to their mouth, we still avoid only the latter difficulty, and receive in addition the new one, that here the discourse would be of false friends in the multitude, while the Psalmist throughout knows but of one false friend.-ver. 22 the strong part of the soul speaks to the weak, comp. Psalms 27:14, Psalms 42:42; Psalms 42:43. The supposition, that the Psalm-ist addresses all oppressed saints, rests on a misunderstanding. The relation is thereby quite destroyed of this ver. to ver. 16-21, from which here the result is derived-so therefore throw. The Psalmist has to do throughout only with himself, or rather with the suffering righteous, in whose name he speaks. בהAי; asברAק;) or בהAיA, from בהaיA to give, ἁנ. כוד. the gift, the portion.That we must here think specially of the portion of nourish-ment, through which is figuratively marked the communication of every good gift, comp. on Psalms 23:5, appears from: he will cherish or care for thee, comp. Genesis 45:11; Genesis 47:12; Genesis 50:21. Gesenius would, indeed, expound: he will protect thee, butכלכל never has this meaning. One throws his part on the Lord, when, according to the word "The Lord is my portion and my cup," one expects from him provision, as the child from the father, when one lays it on him to furnish what is needed, when one says in faith: Give us this day our daily bread. The ex-positions thy solicitude, thy complaint, thy burden, are all not only without grammatical support, but also unsuitable, on account of the clause: he will care for thee. Parallel passages, such as Psalms 37:5, 1 Peter 5:7, are not to be too closely pressed. That we must not expound: he will not let the righteous be moved for ever, but only: he will for ever not let, etc., is shewn by the parall. pas-sages, Psalms 69:2; Psalms 121:3. There follows now the conclusion, in ver. 23. And thou, O God, wilt precipitate them into the well-pit. The men of blood and of deceit shall not bring their days to the half, but I confide in, thee. The well-pit is scheol, comp. on ver. 15; הצה to halve, poet. to bring to the half, comp. Psalms 102:23. In the expression: I confide in thee, there is enclosed the idea: and shall be de-livered, comp. on Psalms 52:8. Psalms 56. THE Psalmist, hard pressed by men, raises himself in faith to God, and implores his help, ver. 1 and. 2. He expresses the firmest confidence in God, whose word and promise he has for himself, ver. 3 and 4. He paints the malice of his enemies, who continually annoy him, and pursue after him, with the design of taking away his life, ver. 5 and 6. He begs of God the overthrow of these malicious ones, and for himself deliverance, which he cannot but confidently expect, because God watches with tender love over his people, ver. 7 and 8. He receives the assurance of being heard, loudly celebrates this precious word of God, in which he had found an interest, de- dares anew his confidence in God as mightily strengthened thereby, and already in spirit sees his enemies giving way, ver. 9-11. He concludes with the promise of joyful thanks for the glorious deliverance, which faith contemplates as already pro-vided.-The whole Psalm runs its regular course in strophes of two members. Only in the representation of the certainty of being heard the strophe extends itself into three verses. The triumphant joy bursts the vessel, which was too narrow for it. That ver. 10 and. 11 only on this account run into each other, appears from their relation to ver. 4. In the superscription, To the chief musician of the dumb dove among strangers, a secret of David, when the Philistines seized him in Gath," the occasion of the Psalm is first given figu- ratively and then in plain terms. The על denotes, as so often in the superscriptions of the Psalms of David, comp. on Psalms 22 :the object of the Psalm. The dove is an image of defenceless innocence. That by it we must think only of the Psalmist, is clear from a comparison of the immediately preceding Psalm, ver. 6 and 7: "Oh that I had wings like a dove, then would I fly away and dwell, far away would I fly," אדהיק, etc. comp. also Psalms 74:19, where Israel is described as the turtle-dove of the Lord. אלם occurs also in Psalms 58:11, in the sense of becoming dumb. In what sense the Psalmist calls himself a dove of dumbness, a dumb dove, is evident from Psalms 38:13, where he marks his passive and resistless innocence under suffering by the words: "And I as a deaf man hear not, I am as a dumb man, who opensnot his mouth." רהפים is a second gen. governed by יונת. The dumb dove is described as one that dwells afar-so, and not of the distant place, is רהפים to be explained, comp. Psalms 65:5,� because the Psalmist finds himself far from home among enemies. The designation מכתם, secret, for, song of secret, mystical subject, comp. on Ps. xvi, is especially justified by ver. 9-11, where the Psalmist boasts of a divine revelation, which had come to him in the secret depths of his inner man. This emblemati-cal part of the superscription, any other signification of which (several: after the "dove of the far terebinth," with the arbitrarychange of אלם into םלiאe) is disproved by the paral. passagesalready referred to, contains the proof of its composition by David, since only from the poet himself could such a poetical superscription be expected, since it was precisely David whom it became to prefix such emblematical superscriptions to his Psalms, and since every one of the very peculiar words is found again in the Davidic Psalms-the dove in Psalms, 55. which certainly not by accident, our Psalm immediately follows-the superscription was to derive its explanation from it-the being dumb in Psalms 58 :the far dwelling in Psalms 65. the secret in Psalms 16.-The second part of the superscription is to be regarded as an explanation of the first part. The Philistines are the far dwelling, David seized by them the dumb dove. The history is given in 1 Samuel 21 :David fled, as he no longer found security in his fatherland, to the Philistines. Alone there he waited for his new danger. He, the conqueror of Goliath, was conducted as a formidable enemy before the king, and only by an artifice delivered his life. In vain does de Wette attempt to bring the superscription into con-flict with the narrative in 1 Samuel. There, he alleges, it is not stated that the Philistines laid hold of David. But he has in this overlooked the certainly but small בידם in 1 Samuel 20:14, in their hand, q. d. where they held him.-The subject of the Psalm is in perfect accordance with the superscription. In the highest degree characteristic is ver. 8: "thou numberest my flight." The Psalmist accordingly found himself on the flight, and indeed in a wearisome, highly peculiar, very rarely occurring situation. The trait is the more significant, as the re-ference to the people and its sojourn in exile, which has been defended by many, is refuted by ver. 12, which implies the ex-istence of the worship and temple. The exile must thereforehave been a mere personal one. That the Psalm was composed when death was threatening, appears from ver. 6 and 13. The expression in ver. 5: they wrest my words, receives an ad-mirable comment from the history of David, who, in the face of his protestations of innocence, was declared by Saul and his re-tainers to be a traitor. So also the expression in ver. 7: in wickedness they seek deliverance, applies well to the circum-stances of David, since the wickedness, which Saul and his com-pany exercised toward David, was nothing more than an attempt to avert the judgment suspended over him and his house.--The ascription of the Psalm to David, and the correctness of thesuperscription, is confirmed by the agreement it presents with the following Psalm, likewise composed by David, according to the superscription, during the Sauline persecutions, which is so great, that even Hitzig and Ewald conclude from it, that they had one and the same author. Both Psalms begin with the entreaty: be gracious to me, and the peculiar word שאף is common to them, 56:1, 2, 57:3; common also is the lively motion, the brisk and fresh style which we meet with in so many songs of David, especially of the Sauline period.-The reasons are very unimportant, which have been alleged against the correctness of the superscription. De Wette thinks, that it is of itself suspicious, that this Psalm and Psalms 34. had, ac-cording to the superscription, the same occasion. But the situ-ation in the two Psalms is throughout different; here David prays for help in the midst of danger, there he gives thanks for it as already obtained. Then, it is maintained, that in the re-presentation which the Psalmist gives of his enemies, one could not recognize the inhabitants of Gath. But who would say, that the representation has respect to these alone? The Psalmist has rather, as this lay in the nature of the thing, Saul and his company pre-eminently before his eyes, to whom also belonged what he had to suffer from the people of Gath. Ewald would conclude from ver. 4, 5, 10, 11, that the author was a prophet; but only the latter passage belongs to that head, as it alone treats of an internal revelation of God; and also from this the supposition of Ewald would by no means follow; else all the Psalms must have been composed by prophets, for it is a rule, that their authors glory in internal revelations from God, through which they obtain the assurance of being heard. Nay, the passage is conclusive against the prophetic origin of thePsalm. For where the prophets receive such revelations, there these have in the rule a general reference; but here the word of the Lord comes to the Psalmist in regard to his private af-fairs; it belongs entirely to the category of the words of which P. Gerhard speaks: His spirit utters to my spirit many a sweet word of consolation, how God administers help, etc.-Besides, the superscription is not to be understood so, as if David had composed the Psalm at the time indicated precisely as it exists here. We are to refer to that only the substance, comp. on Psalms 34. etc. Ver. 1. Be gracious to me, God, for there snuffs after me man, always oppresses me the eater. Ver. 2. My adversaries snuff after me continually, for many eaters have I proud. שאף, to snuff up, in the manner of a wild beast, which greedily hunts after its prey to devour it, with the accus. of that upon which the greed goes, discovering itself in the snuffing. אנוש man with the subordinate idea of weakness, comp. on Psalms 8:5, points to the circumstance, how perverse it is, that the impotent should proudly and impiously lift himself up against those, who are under the protection of the Almighty, and how necessary it is for God to put down this perverseness. The sing. is used for the sake of giving prominence to this contrast between man and God, the impotent and the almighty, the opposition between the being and the doing of man, which God can by no means tolerate. להם, sig. not to contend, but to eat, comp. on Psalms 35:1, (the very peculiar expression occurs both times in Psalms which bear the signature of David,) and this the only certain meaning is here also specially recommended by the par-allel snuffing. Calvin: "David, when he was brought to the king of Gath, was like a solitary sheep in the midst of two bands of wolves, since he was mortally hated by the Philistines, and his own countrymen raged against him." The two expressions of snuffing and eating appear to the Psalmist as so singularly fitted to move God to compassion regarding his desperate con-dition, that he repeats them in ver. 2. להם stands, as in ver. 1, in the sig. of the noun, not: many eat me, but: many eaters are to me. מרום, prop. height, then here adverbially, loftily (Luther), comp. in Psalms 73:8 : "out of the height, ממרום, they speak," and Micah 2:3, where רומה likewise occurs ad-verbially; it forms the contrast to רומה man. When the man of the earth, Psalms 10:18, comp. 9:19, who has his name fromweakness, haughtily attacks God in his people, this is a predic-tion of his overthrow, and a strong call upon God to bring him down. John Arnd: "This is the way of all enemies, who, con-fiding in human strength, in external force and earthly might, are full of pride and insolence; but they, who commit them-selves to God's grace, are humble, confide in God, boast them-selves not, for they know, that every thing belongs to God's grace, in which all believers are included, are secure against the rage and swelling of the enemies, overcome at last by patience, and see their high-minded adversaries overthrown." Ver. 3. When I am afraid, then trust I in thee. Ver. 4. God boast I, his word, upon God I trust, I am not afraid, what should flesh do to me? יום is not the accus. but nom.: day, then am I afraid. When the relation of itself is clear, it is often not dis- tinctly expressed in the words. With אירא the יום stands in stat. constr. Ew. § 507. Hitzig's artificial translation: at the time, that I should be afraid, is already refuted by verse 4. The אירא must still be used here not otherwise than there. How little reason there is for it, is shewn by the remark of Cal-vin: "Fear and hope, indeed, appear to be opposite affections, which cannot dwell in the same bosom, but experience shews, that hope first truly gains the ascendant there, where fear holds possession of one part of the heart. For hope is not exercised when the mind is in a quiescent state, but is, as it were asleep; then, however, does it begin to put forth its strength, when it elevates the mind dejected by cares, soothes it when disquieted with trouble, sustains and fortifies it when seized with terror." That the Psalmist was actually afraid, is clear especially from ver. 1 and 2, where he vehemently cries to God for help. The fear which discovers itself there, is here supplanted by confi-dence. To boast in God, in ver. 4, is q. d. to extol God, comp. Psalms 44:8, which parall. passage refutes the exposition of Ewald: through God praise I his word. The exposition: ofGod I boast myself, takes הלל in an uncertain signification. For דברו we must not supply ב from באלהים; we are ratherto consider it as the common construction of הלל with the ac-cusative. The word of God is by the context more exactly de-termined as the word of promise, comp. on Psalms 33:4. We are not here to think of an internal communication, assuring the Psalmist of divine help. For this, the holy Psalmist would not have received at the beginning; it everywhere forms rather theclose, and with it the internal emotion reaches its end. Then ver. 9-11 are especially conclusive against this supposition. It is there that the Psalmist first receives the divine communica-tion. Just as little must we think particularly and exclusively of the promise of royal dignity, which had been conveyed to David by Samuel. So special a reference must not without urgent reason, be admitted into a song, which was destined for use in public worship, and the expression is also by much too general for such an allusion. We must hence understand by the word of God, all his promises, which had hitherto been given to the Psalmist, through the law, (comp. Psalms 119:25), through Samuel, through internal communications during his earlier history. This word of God, and God himself, who had therein promised to be his God, the Psalmist glories in as his firm shield, who is sufficient to protect him against the whole world. John Arnd: "As Saul and the potentates of this world boast of their hosts of war, their thousands of men, and their munition, I will glory in God's word and promise, which are my warlike force, Thy for-tress, and support; let them trust in their chariots and wag-gons, we shall think of the name of the Lord." The Psalmist calls man flesh by way of contempt, because where there is cor- poreity there is no real strength, comp. Isaiah 31:3. "The Egyptians are men and not God, their horses are flesh and not spirit," 40:6. John Arnd: "He sets against each other the mighty God, and impotent flesh, which is as grass and as the flower of the field."Ver. 5. Always do they wrest my words, all their thoughts are, that they do me evil. Ver. 6. They gather themselves together, they lie in wait, they mark my heels, as they hope for my soul. בצ..eעi, vex, wrest, here and in Isaiah 63:10. When the Psalmist solemnly protests his innocence, as in Psalms 7:3; Psalms 7:4, his enemies accuse him of hypocritical insincerity; Saul with his company, still constantly cry out against him, notwithstanding his protes-tations, as a traitor, and endeavour to make away with his life. Falsely many: they vex my affairs. The vexing can be poeti-cally referred to the words, because they are in a sense inspirit-ed, but not to the circumstances. יגורו in ver. 6, many ex-pound: they are afraid; but that we must take it in the sense of gathering together, as it is unquestionably used in Isaiah 54:15, and Psalms 59:3, "for they lie in wait for my soul, they gather themselves together against me the strong," appearsfrom this last perfectly correspondent passage, comp. also Psalms 31:13. צפן elsewhere sig. to hide, Exodus 2:3, Job 14:13. We can either from the context supply the object: the snares, as indeed also in the Kal, in which it appears to have the meaning of waylaying, such an object must properly be supplied, comp. on Psalms 10:8,-or, we may also give to the Hiphil here the sig. of acting in covert, concealed, secretly to ensnare. The Masorites have, according to their custom, substituted for the Hiphil, themore common Kal. To watch the heels of any one, is q. d. towait on him in all his steps and movements. In the last mem-ber literally: so as they hope my soul,-the soul the object of their hopes, q. d. as they hope to take my life from me, comp. Psalms 119:95, "the wicked have waited for me to destroy me,"-the Psalmist points to the ground of the waylayings of the ene-my, to what gave life and zeal to their persecuting disposition; the watching runs exactly parallel to their hope of my entire ruin. כאשר as in Psalms 51. supers., Numbers 32:14. Many ex-pound: because they waylay my life. But קוה never signifies with the accus.: to waylay, always: to expect, hope for something. Besides the expression as they hope, etc., refers only to the immediately preceding member. This appears from the other-wise inexplicable המה. They gather themselves together, lurk, and indeed these perverse men have no other object in their zealous machinations, than to deprive the Psalmist of his life. On the representation of the malice of the enemies, who have nothing less in view than the extinction of the Psalmist's life, follows the prayer to the Lord, that he would judge them, and help the Psalmist in his great distress, combined with the un-doubting hope, that he will do this. Ver. 7. From their wick-edness they hope for deliverance, in anger throw the peoples down, God. Ver. 8. My fight thou numberest, put my tears in thy bot-tle, stand they not in thy book? The על in ver. 7, indicates that, on which to them the hope of deliverance rests, its foundation. פלט is here as in Psalms 32:6, infin. nominasc. The objection, that if the discourse were of this hope, this would not have been so modestly represented, rests upon the false supposition, that the object of the hope was deliverance from the power of the Psalm-ist, instead of the impending divine judgments, comp. Isaiah 28:15, where the wicked say, "We have made a covenant with death, and with hell are we at agreement, for we have madelies our refuge, and under falsehood have we hid ourselves." Saul's entire conduct against David proceeded on the endeavour to avert through his wickedness, trampling under foot all divine and human rights, the divine judgment, which threatened him with destruction. The exposition: in their wickedness shall they find deliverance? is to be rejected, as a question without any word of interrogation can only be introduced, when there is no doubt respecting it. In the second member, the Psalmist prays the Lord to disappoint the wicked of this conceit regard-ing their deliverance. His prayer properly directs itself only for judgment upon his enemies. But since the special agency of God in judging, is only an exercise of his general and all-comprehending agency, and faith in the former must have its root in the latter, therefore the Psalmist prays God to come forth as the Governor of the world, and to bring down all peo-ples opposed to him, and his enemies beneath his feet.-Comp. Psalms 7:7, from which parallel passage it is abundantly clear how unjustly it has been concluded from these words, that the Psalmist had here to do with the heathen, Ps, lix, 5. The prayer of the Psalmist over his enemies is followed in ver. 8, by one for his own deliverance, This takes the forth of confi-dence in the first and last member, which many have in vain sought to dispose of in regard to the first by an ungrammatical construction of the preterite in the sense of the optative; in the middle member it presents itself also after the form as a prayer, so that it is recognized even there, where it conceals it-self behind the confidence. נוד sig. not to move about, but to fly, Psalms 11:1. Ewald, against the usage and the sig. of ספד, to number, would understand נוד of internal disquietude. There is no ground for this in the parallel tears. The flight and the tears stand related to each other as cause and effect, so that there is the closest connection between them. Such an one is certainly demanded by the play on the words נדי and נאדך. Nothing similar is ever found without deep meaning. Quite correctly was this connection perceived by John Arnd: "It cannot but happen, that such persecutions should make weeping eyes, for it is a sad thing to be counted as a sheep for the slaughter, as a curse and offscouring of the whole world, and a prey to the enemies, as matters go in the Turkish dominions, and to wander up and down in misery with women and children. But here lies a powerful consolation, that God gathers up suchtears, and puts them into his bottle, just as one would pour precious wine into a flaggon, so precious and dear are such tears before God, and God lays them up as a treasure in the heavens; and if we think that all such tears are lost, lo! God hath pre-served them for us as a treasure in the heavens, with which we shall be richly consoled in that day, Psalms 126:5." On the last words: are they not, for, certainly they are in thy book, comp. Malachi 3:16. Ver. 5. Always do they wrest my words, all their thoughts are, that they do me evil. Ver. 6. They gather themselves together, they lie in wait, they mark my heels, as they hope for my soul. ςִ ?φֵּ ?α, vex, wrest, here and in Isaiah 63:10. When the Psalmist solemnly protests his innocence, as in Psalms 7:3-4, his enemies accuse him of hypocritical insincerity; Saul with his company, still constantly cry out against him, notwithstanding his protestations, as a traitor, and endeavour to make away with his life. Falsely many: they vex my affairs. The vexing can be poetically referred to the words, because they are in a sense inspirited, but not to the circumstances.—ιβεψε in Psalms 56:6, many expound: they are afraid; but that we must take it in the sense of gathering together, as it is unquestionably used in Isaiah 54:15, and Psalms 59:3, “for they lie in wait for my soul, they gather themselves together against me the strong,” appears from this last perfectly correspondent passage, comp. also Psalms 31:13. φτο elsewhere sig. to hide, Exodus 2:3, Job 14:13. We can either from the context supply the object: the snares, as indeed also in the Kal, in which it appears to have the meaning of waylaying, such an object must properly be supplied, comp. on Psalms 10:8,—or, we may also give to the Hiphil here the sig. of acting in covert, concealed, secretly to ensnare. The Masorites have, according to their custom, substituted for the Hiphil, the more common Kal. To watch the heels of any one, is q. d. to wait on him in all his steps and movements. In the last member literally: so as they hope my soul,—the soul the object of their hopes, q. d. as they hope to take my life from me, comp. Psalms 119:95, “the wicked have waited for me to destroy me,”—the Psalmist points to the ground of the waylayings of the enemy, to what gave life and zeal to their persecuting disposition; the watching runs exactly parallel to their hope of my entire ruin. λΰωψ, as in Psalms 51 supers., Numbers 32:14. Many expound: because they waylay my life. But χεδ never signifies with the accus.: to waylay, always: to expect, hope for something. Besides the expression as they hope, etc., refers only to the immediately preceding member. This appears from the otherwise inexplicable δξδ. They gather themselves together, lurk, and indeed these perverse men have no other object in their zealous machinations, than to deprive the Psalmist of his life. On the representation of the malice of the enemies, who have nothing less in view than the extinction of the Psalmist’s life, follows the prayer to the Lord, that he would judge them, and help the Psalmist in his great distress, combined with the undoubting hope, that he will do this. Ver. 7. From their wickedness they hope for deliverance, in anger throw the peoples down, God. Ver. 8. My fight thou numberest, put my tears in thy bottle, stand they not in thy book? The ςμ in Psalms 56:7, indicates that, on which to them the hope of deliverance rests, its foundation. τμθ is here as in Psalms 32:6, infin. nominasc. The objection, that if the discourse were of this hope, this would not have been so modestly represented, rests upon the false supposition, that the object of the hope was deliverance from the power of the Psalmist, instead of the impending divine judgments, comp. Isaiah 28:15, where the wicked say, “We have made a covenant with death, and with hell are we at agreement, for we have made lies our refuge, and under falsehood have we hid ourselves.” Saul’s entire conduct against David proceeded on the endeavour to avert through his wickedness, trampling under foot all divine and human rights, the divine judgment, which threatened him with destruction. The exposition: in their wickedness shall they find deliverance? is to be rejected, as a question without any word of interrogation can only be introduced, when there is no doubt respecting it. In the second member, the Psalmist prays the Lord to disappoint the wicked of this conceit regarding their deliverance. His prayer properly directs itself only for judgment upon his enemies. But since the special agency of God in judging, is only an exercise of his general and all-comprehending agency, and faith in the former must have its root in the latter, therefore the Psalmist prays God to come forth as the Judge of the world, and to bring down all peoples opposed to him, and his enemies beneath his feet. Comp. Psalms 7:7, from which parallel passage it is abundantly clear how unjustly it has been concluded from these words, that the Psalmist had here to do with the heathen, Psalms 59:5. The prayer of the Psalmist over his enemies is followed in Psalms 56:8, by one for his own deliverance. This takes the forth of confidence in the first and last member, which many have in vain sought to dispose of in regard to the first by an ungrammatical construction of the preterite in the sense of the optative; in the middle member it presents itself also after the form as a prayer, so that it is recognized even there, where it conceals itself behind the confidence. πεγ sig. not to move about, but to fly, Psalms 11:1. Ewald, against the usage and the sig. of ρτψ, to number, would understand πεγ of internal disquietude. There is no ground for this in the parallel tears. The flight and the tears stand related to each other as cause and effect, so that there is the closest connection between them. Such an one is certainly demanded by the play on the words πγι and πΰγκ. Nothing similar is ever found without deep meaning. Quite correctly was this connection perceived by John Arnd: “It cannot but happen, that such persecutions should make weeping eyes, for it is a sad thing to be counted as a sheep for the slaughter, as a curse and offscouring of the whole world, and a prey to the enemies, as matters go in the Turkish dominions, and to wander up and down in misery with women and children. But here lies a powerful consolation, that God gathers up such tears, and puts them into his bottle, just as one would pour precious wine into a flaggon, so precious and dear are such tears before God, and God lays them up as a treasure in the heavens; and if we think that all such tears are lost, lo! God hath preserved them for us as a treasure in the heavens, with which we shall be richly consoled in that day, Psalms 126:5.” On the last words: are they not, for, certainly they are in thy book, comp. Malachi 3:16. The great turning-point now appears; the Psalmist, well pre-pared for it as the form of his prayer in ver. 8 shews, receives the assurance of being heard. Ver. 9. Then must my enemies turn back, when I call; this I know, that God is to me. Ver. 10. God I praise, a word, the Lord I praise, a word. Ver. 11. On God I trust, I am not afraid, what man can do. The then in verse 9 refers to the expression: in the day when I call, q. d. then, when as now I call on the Lord, my enemies must give way, as I now see to be the case with joyful astonishment before my eyes, (those of the spirit.) That God to me, q. d. that I have him, comp. Psalms 124:1; Psalms 124:2; Psalms 73:25, and consequently a helper and redeemer, shield and reward, Genesis 15 :I. Falsely many: for me. In ver. 10 the repetition marks the triumphing joy of the Psalmist, in regard to the assurance of being heard. There lies, however, in the "Jehovah" an ascent. The expression: a word, in distinction from: his word, in ver. 4, is carefully to be observed. There the discourse is of the promises of the Lord in general, here of the word of promise, which sounded as it were, in the interior of the Psalmist. The conclusion in verse 12 and 13, contains the promise of thanks. The Psalmist is so certain of his deliverance, that he considers every thing, which God has to do, as already done, and himself alone, as the one who is in arrear. Ver 12. My vows, O God, I owe to thee, I will pay thee thank-offerings. Ver. 13. For thou deliverest my soul from death, my feet from sliding,that I may walk before God in the light of the living. The על in ver. 12, marks, as very commonly, obligation. The vows con-sist of offerings. To the kind, the vows, the Psalmist, however, adds the species, thankofferings. Before God, q. d. under his gracious observation, comp. Genesis 17:18. The light of the living is the clear day-light, which illuminates the earth, comp. Job 33:30. Elsewhere: in the land of the living, Ps. 27:13. The conclusion in Psalms 56:12 and Psalms 56:13, contains the promise of thanks. The Psalmist is so certain of his deliverance, that he considers every thing, which God has to do, as already done, and himself alone, as the one who is in arrear. Ver 12. My vows, O God, I owe to thee, I will pay thee thank-offerings. Ver. 13. For thou deliverest my soul from death, my feet from sliding, that I may walk before God in the light of the living. The òì in Psalms 56:12, marks, as very commonly, obligation. The vows consist of offerings. To the kind, the vows, the Psalmist, however, adds the species, thankofferings. Before God, q. d. under his gracious observation, comp. Genesis 17:18. The light of the living is the clear day-light, which illuminates the earth, comp. Job 33:30. Elsewhere: in the land of the living, Psalms 27:13. Psalms 57. THE Psalmist puts forth the prayer, that God would be gracious to him, and is thence in good expectation, that he would hear him, and would complete the begun good work in him, in spite of the greatness of the necessity and the danger, which sur-round him, ver. 1-4. Thus prepared, the Psalmist receives the internal assurance of being heard, views himself as already free from the danger, and his enemies as overtaken thereby, and declares his purpose of giving thanks to the Lord for his great grace, ver. 5-11. We have two strophes, the one of four and the other of seven verses. The seven verses of the second are again divided into 4, the praise of God for the assurance of being heard, ver. 5 and 6, the promise of thanks, ver. 7 and 8, and 9, 10, the return to the praise of the Lord, ver. 11,-thus 2. 2 . 2. 1. The expression of hope and confidence meets us here at the very commencement, and it does not here, as elsewhere, cost the Psalmist a severe conflict, before he attains to it. There is only needed a, "be gracious to me, God be gracious to me," and the cloud, which prevents him from seeing God, vanishes. The superscription runs: To the chief musician, destroy not, of David a secret, when he fled from Saul in the cave, q. d. when he stayed himself in his flight from Saul in the cave. The ex-pression: destroy not, which is found besides here in the super- scriptions of Psa 58:58; Psalms 58:75. has been differently explain-ed. According to many, it must denote either the melody, after the manner of the song: destroy not, or the key. According to others it must be a maxim, which David at that time continually revolved in his heart, and must indicate the quintessence of the Psalm. So already the Chaldee, which paraphrases de angus-tia, quando dixit David: ne destruas; Cocceius: "These words David, no doubt, in his great distress, constantly repeated, and afterwards, when he composed this Psalm, committed them to the church and to believers of all ages, that they might make use of them in times of opposition and persecution." A prepos-session in favour of the latter view, is already awakened by the circumstance, that similar dark words in the superscriptions arefound to refer, on nearer investigation, not to the musical exe-cution, but to the subject, and especially that no single undoubt-ed case of the commencing words of another song being quoted is to be found. But there are also the following particular rea-sons for it. 1. If the words had indicated the melody or the key, we would have expected the preposition על to have preced-ed them. Ewald, Poet. B. p. 173, attempts to account for the want of it, because it could not so readily stand before a verbal, as before a nominal term. But it must still be matter of wonder, that the על regularly, and without exception, fails, and nothing short of the extremest necessity would warrant an exposition, which everywhere finds itself obliged to supply the omission. 2. The expression: destroy not, viewed as a watchword of David, has its foundation in Deut. 9:26, where Moses says: "and I prayed the Lord and said, O Lord destroy not, תשהת אל thy people and thy inheritance, which thou hast redeemed through thy greatness, which thou hast brought forth from Egypt with a strong hand." The pre-existence of such an old foundation explains at the same time the fact, that the expression: de-stroy not, occurs not only in three of the Psalms of David, but also in one of Asaph, which otherwise might have been pressed as an objection against the view, which refers it to the matter.3. All the Psalms, in which the expression occurs, rise up to God, amid the vexation which the oppression of the world pre-pares for the children of the kingdom, Psalms 75. indeed, in the form of praise, behind which, however, the prayer is concealed.4. The fact also, that the three successive Psalms, in which the: destroy not, occurs, refers to the times of Saul. What can be more natural than the supposition, that it was the maxim, which David revolved in his heart during precisely that period? If viewed as a musical term, one does not see, why it should not have been prefixed to those Psalms of David, which originated on other occasions. We might, perhaps, consider as an echo of this, "destroy not," which was spoken to God, what David, ac-cording to 1 Samuel 26:9, (comp. 5:15, 2 Samuel 1:14,) said to Abishai, when he was going to kill Saul: destroy him not, אל תשהיתהי. David understood, that he could with success say to God: destroy not, only so long as he restrained himself from taking the matter of relief into his own hand, and destroying the anointed of the Lord. The designation of the Psalm as a secret (comp. on Psalms 16.)is especially justified by the wonderful fact, which impelled the Psalmist to break forth at once into the praise of God, a fact in reference to which it might be said, that "flesh and blood had not revealed it to him, but his father in heaven." The Psalm was composed when David found himself in the cave, while he fled from Saul. As David during that period not once merely betook himself to a cave, as the history expressly makes mention of his sojourn in two different caves, 1 Samuel 22:1; 1 Samuel 24:1, the article here and in Psalms 142:1, cannot point to a definite cave, which the reader might well know how to supply; it must rather be taken generically, the cave, as oppos-ed to any other place; so that: in the cave, is substantially much the same as: in a cave. It has reference to this, that the Psalm contains thoughts appropriate to a cave. In the cave all is darkness, no sun nor moon shines in it; to abide in such a place is for a poor, persecuted man the symbol of his whole con-dition, comp. Hebrews 11:38, where among the sufferings of the prophets, it is brought out with special reference to David, that they were compelled to dwell in caves; but amidst the cave-darkness there appears for the righteous a light from the Lord, which conducts them to the hope of salvation. In unison with the description of the occasion, which is of a general kind, is the circumstance, that the Psalm does not any-where refer to some particular danger, by which David was en-compassed in the cave, but the relations are rather to be regard-ed as common to the whole Sauline period. If we would more closely determine what the superscription has left indetermi-nate, there is at least one important reason for the cave Adullam in 1 Samuel 22. Into this cave David withdrew immediately on his escaping the danger with Achish, the king of the Philistines. To that danger the Psalm immediately preceding refers, and this one must the rather be contemporaneous with it, as it stands in close relation to it. The circumstances of both Psalms are in the general the same, the prayer, the confidence, the ex-ultation at the assurance of being heard, the promise of thanks. Both Psalms begin with the words, "Be gracious to me," and in both is the enemy marked out by the peculiar designation of one snuffing after. There are, besides the superscription, other positive grounds for ascribing the Psalm to David, and in the situation indicated. The close contact into which it comes with Psalms 56. suits ad-mirably to the twofold superscription. Then there is an entire series of remarkably agreeing parallel passages in other Psalms of David, especially those belonging to the times of Saul, such as Psalm vii., comp. the exposition. So also the fact, that the conclusion of this Psalm recurs as the commencement of Psalms 108. which bears on it the name of David. The stress laid on reproaches in ver. 3 and 4 accords with the history, as David had to suffer much in that way during the time of Saul, and is generally to be met with in the Psalms of that period. The lively and spirited nature of the matter Koester regards as also accrediting the superscription.-The reasons which have been alleged against this are of no weight. The assertion, that in such situations one does not write poetry, is easily disposed of, as David continued a long time in the cave of Adullam, and even if he had not, still the objection would be of no moment, comp. on Psalms 56. The argument derived from ver. 4 against the superscription rests upon the coarse literal interpretation of the verse. Hitzig's allegation, that the intermingling of the root גמר and גמל, points, to an author later than Jeremiah, as also the use of the fut. parag. in ver. 4, without the optative sense, is a conclusion from facts arbitrarily made.-That the Psalm is a song for the night, has been improperly inferred from ver. 8. Ver. 1. Be gracious to me, God, be gracious to me, for on thee my soul trusts, and under the shadow of thy wings I confide, until the mischief is past. The repetition of הנני shews the fervour of the prayer, and consequently the greatness of the danger. The prayer is grounded upon this, that the Psalmist, partly assailed and partly abandoned by all the world, places his confidence on God as his only Saviour. God, "who has compassion upon all that fear him, that hope in his name," can-not possibly leave such an one without help. Psalms 1 is to be compared, where that, which impelled the Psalmist to throw himself into the arms of God as his only remaining hope, is expressly named the hatred and persecution of the world.The contrast there implied between אלהים and אנוש at the same time shews why the Psalmist here makes use of the name Elohim: from the earth he turns to the heaven, against man he seeks protection in God. Wherever such a contrast occurs, the general name of God is in its right place. The soul is mention-ed, because it is endangered by the enemies, comp. 1 Samuel 24.Psalms 12, "Thou huntest my soul to take it," Psalms 54:4; Psalms 56:6, andhere, ver. 4. On the expression: to trust under the shadow ofthe wings of God, see on Psalms 36:7. The shadow whichprovides shelter against the heat of a burning sun, comp. Psalms 121:5; Psalms 121:6, is generally taken in the Bible in the sense of protec-tion or shelter. הוות is better taken, according to Psalms 52:2; Psalms 52:7, in the sense of mischief, than that of misfortune. The plural points to the fulness of malicious action. The verb in the masc. sing. is to be explained in this way, that the mischief presents itself to the Psalmist as a ravenous wild beast, before which he flees for shelter under the protecting wings of God. Ver. 2. I call to God, to the Most High, to the God, who ac-complishes for me. The calling corresponds to the trusting in the preceding verse. Calvin: "He makes the calling upon to follow the confiding, for it cannot fail, but that those, who trust in God, should direct their prayer to him." The calling upon God rests on a double foundation, or it is a double considera-tion, which invites the Psalmist to it. First, that God is the Most High, = because he is the Most High, against whom even the greatest multitude of enemies upon earth, however vast their might, and high their position, can prevail nothing. Now that he takes in view the Most High, the giants of the earth become changed into pitiful dwarfs, comp. in Psalms 56:4; Psalms 56:11, "In God I trust, I am not afraid for what flesh can do to me," and the address of David to Saul, after he had gone out of the cave, in 1 Samuel 24:13; 1 Samuel 24:16. Then, when he turns from the power to the will, he sees that God, the true and faithful, who had already given him so many proofs of his grace, had imparted to him such glorious promises, could not fail to com-plete his begun work in him. With God the beginning always delivers a pledge for the finishing, the word for the deed. גמר, in the sense of completing, (elsewhere: of being complet-ed,) also in Psalms 138:8, and in the proper name גמריה. The על marks the substratum of the divine action. The ex-pression in ver. 4: God sends his truth, is to be compared, and in Psalms 56:4 : God I praise, his word. On the principle, that the beginning is a pledge for the completion, the word for the deed, proceeds what Saul said to David in 1 Samuel 24:21, "And now, behold, I know that thou shalt reign, and the house of Israel comes into thy hand," comp. 1 Samuel 23:17; 1 Samuel 26:21. That God did not finish the work begun in him, is the per- petual complaint of Job, see for Exodus 10:8. In Psalms 22:11, arises out of what the Lord had already done for the Psalmist, (ver. 9 and 10,) the prayer: Be not far from me. But the most exact parallel is the already quoted passage, Psalms 138:8 : "The Lord will accomplish for me, O Lord, thy grace is ever-lasting, the work of thy hands do not forsake," comp. besides, Philippians 1:6. Through these parallel pass. we reject Luther's ex-position: who makes an end of my complaint. The sig. of גמל to do good, must be the less assigned with many to גמר, which never elsewhere interchanges with it, as גמל properly has not that meaning, but only that of giving, and the other is entirely a derived one, comp. on Psalms 7:4. Ver. 3. He sends from heaven and delivers me, reproaches he that snuffs after me; Selah. Send will God his mercy and his truth. In the expression: he sends from heaven, the object is awanting. We are not to supply it from the second half of the verse, so that the second: he sends, would be a mere repe-tition; the word: he delivers me, standing between, is against that. There is no necessity, perhaps, for supplying another de-finite word, his hand, as in Psalms 144:7, or his help, as in Psalms 20:2. The that is sufficient for a beginning to the Psalmist. If this first stands firm, it will soon make good way with the what. From heaven, which here is opposed to the earth, that on all hands presents only despair, the Psalmist can expect nothing but good. The expression: my snuffer reproaches, for, since or when my snuffer reproaches, comp. in Ezekiel 3:6 : I send thee, for, when I send thee, Ew. § 626, points to the neces-sity and the danger, against which the Psalmist expects help from heaven. Reproach and calumnies were the most frightful weapons, which Saul and his party plied against David. Many expound: he (God) reproaches. But that the reproach-ing belongs to the enemy, to whom points already the change in the mode, appears from the parallel passages, Psalms 55:12; Psalms 55:21; lvi. 5; 59:7; 42:10; 44:16. Of the reproaches of the ene-my more is said in ver. 4. הרף is never used of God, always only of men, who revile God or their brethren. The exposition of De Wette and others: he, whom my persecutor reproaches, gives an unnatural sense, and is against the passages referred to. Finally, to connect the words with the following: he who snuffs after me mocks, so, etc., does not suit on account of the accus. The Selah shows how much the reproaches of the ene-my went to the heart of the Psalmist. On the last member, comp. on Psalms 43:2, "Send thy light and thy truth," where the light corresponds to the mercy. Ver. 4. My soul is among lions, I will lie upon those that are on fire, children of men, whose teeth are spears and arrows, and whose tongue a drawn sword. The verse is an expansion of what had just been said of the reproaching. On this account already we must not take it as a mere complaint and represen-tation of danger, which would also suit ill in this connection, after the Psalmist had raised himself to confidence, and the con-fidence and assurance, which must immediately bound one an-other, would be improperly separated from each other. These observations accord well with the fut. and the ה of striving, אשכבה, which we are not warranted to take in the sense of the common one. The Psalmist, full of faith, makes offer to lie upon those in flames, and hence the words: my soul is among lions, must be taken as substantially meaning; although my soul is among lions. In reference to the figurative designation of the enemies as lions, (not lionesses), which Ewald in vain at-tempts to set aside, comp. Psalms 17:12; Psalms 22. etc. שכב with the accus. of the couch, on which the Psalmist was to lie. An abbreviated comparison is made, q. d. my intercourse with my raged-inflamed enemies is as deeply felt by me, as if I were laid down upon fire-brands. The image of the flaming, of the spiritual fire-brands, suits excellently to that of lions; for the point of comparison in both is the dreadful fury. On the ex-pression: whose teeth spears and arrows, comp. Proverbs 30:14, "There is a generation whose teeth are swords, and their jaw-teeth knives, to devour the poor from off the earth, and the needy from among men." On: and whose tongues a drawn sword, comp. Psalms 55:21; Psalms 59:7; Psalms 64:3; it points to this, that the enemies by their horrible deeds and by their malicious words, seek to destroy the innocent, as indeed with Saul and his com-pany both constantly go hand in hand. In ver. 5 and 6, the Psalmist receives the assurance of being heard. Ver. 5. Praise to thee in heaven, O God, upon the whole earth let there be honour to thee! Ver. 6. A net prepared they for my steps, bowed down my soul, dug before me a pit-they themselves fell in. Ver. 5. The deliverance, of which the Psalm- ist has just been internally assured, is so glorious, that God must be praised on account of it in heaven and on earth. Uponרומה, be exalted, comp. on Psalms 21:13. The על in both mem-bers marks the place, where the Lord is to be praised in conse-quence of the manifestation of his glory. On the expression: in the heaven, comp. the exclamation of the Seraphim in Isaiah: "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of Hosts, all lands are full of his glory;" also in Psalms 103:20; Psalms 103:21 : "Praise the Lord, ye his angels, ye mighty heroes, ye who fulfil his word; praise the Lord, all his hosts, ye his ministers, who do his will;" and especially Psalms 29:1, "Give to the Lord, ye sons of God, give to the Lord. glory and power," where David, by calling upon the angels to praise God's glory and power, indicates how illustrious the mani-festations of these are as represented in what follows; also ver. 9, "and in his temple every one says: Glory!" where the an-gels, after the manifestations of the divine glory have been given, do that to which the Psalmist had previously called them, and in consideration of what he had pointed to. According to the customary view, the verse must not be a call to the praise of God on account of the hearing obtained, but must contain a prayer: high above all heavens must God display his majesty, and far above the whole earth his glory. But in this way the רומה is taken, against the usage in the sense of: shew thyself exalted; the על must be understood alike in both members, and hence cannot signify in the first: above; that God should shew himself exalted above the heavens, sounds strange, and has no parallel for itself; in ver. 11, where the same words re-turn, the call upon God is quite unsuitable: the Psalmist has already received the help in spirit, and no more thinks on any thing else, than praising and extolling God; the exposition for the first half is given by the Psalm itself in ver. 9: I will praise thee among the peoples, O Lord, that for the first half in ver. 10: for great to the heavens is thy goodness, and to the clouds thy truth: because in its glorious manifestation it rises far above the earth into heaven; it must be praised in the heavens.-In ver. 6, we have the great fact, upon the ground of which the Psalmist calls for the recognition of the glory of God in the whole world, the holy, holy, holy of angels and men. The real blow is in this: they are fallen in, the rest is only preparation. Parallel is Psalms 7:15. We must not expound: my soul is bowed down; for כפף is always transitive, and throughout the whole verse the enemies are the subject. The interchange of the singularand the plural is very common, especially in respect to the ene-mies; the wicked are the subject. The image is derived from wild beasts, who, entangled in the net, sink down helpless. The expression: my soul, is not all one with me, but the endangered life appears under the image of an overwhelmed wild beast. There follows in the two strophes, ver. 7, 8, and 9, 10, the promise of thanks. Ver. 7. Fixed is my heart, O God, fixed is my heart, I will sing and give praise. Ver. 8. Wake up my honour, wake up harp and psaltery, I will stir up the morning- dawn. A fixed heart is such an one as in confidence on the Lord is fearless, comp. on Psalms 56:11. On the expression: my honour, as an emphatical designation of the soul, comp. on Ps. vii. 5; 16:8, and especially Psalms 30:13. נבל and כנור give together the idea of music, and are hence to be regarded as a kind of compound noun; the article belongs to both in common. Psaltery and harp have in a manner slept, keeping silence till the Psalmist received the promise of divine aid. On the words:will stir up the morning dawn, the Berleb. Bible: "that is, an-ticipate it with praise; it shall not awake me to this, but shall find me already occupied with it." In like manner with Ovid does the cock wake up at the break of day: non vigil ales ibi cristati cantibus oris evocat auroram. Metam. 11. 597. Many expositors, who could not enter into the bold, poetical expres-sion, have expounded: I will be up at the time of the morning-dawn. But the Hiphil cannot fitly be taken intransitively im-mediately beside the Kal; the word: awake, and: I will stir up, stand in manifest connection; שהר is never found with the omission of the preposition or adverb in the sig. of early morn-ing. Without foundation Ewald concludes from this verse, that the Psalm was an evening song. It is not on some one occasion merely, but always, that the Psalmist will awaken himself up with his thanksgiving and praise. The thought is that of great zeal in the praise of God. Arnd: "The little word early is not to be understood merely of the morning season, but of great diligence, activity, desire and love in the praising of God."Ver. 9. I will praise thee among the peoples, O Lord, sing praise to thee among the nations. Ver. 10. For great to the heavens is thy goodness, and to the clouds thy truth. The proof here exhibited of the glory of the Lord is so great, that only the peoples of the whole earth are a sufficient auditory for its praise.Michaelis: "But that has even been done by this Psalm, pre-served for all nations and the latest posterity." On ver. 9 comp. Psalms 18:49. On ver. 10 Psalms 35:5. The sum of the whole is given in ver. 11: Praise to thee, O God, in heaven, upon the whole earth, glory to thee! to be given, because for his acting God was to be praised throughout the whole world. The conclusion of the joy for deliverance reverts to its commencement, ver. 5. Ver. 9. I will praise thee among the peoples, O Lord, sing praise to thee among the nations. Ver. 10. For great to the heavens is thy goodness, and to the clouds thy truth. The proof here exhibited of the glory of the Lord is so great, that only the peoples of the whole earth are a sufficient auditory for its praise. Michaelis: “But that has even been done by this Psalm, preserved for all nations and the latest posterity.” On Psalms 57:9 comp. Psalms 18:49. On Psalms 57:10 Psalms 35:5. The sum of the whole is given in Psalms 57:11 : Praise to thee, O God, in heaven, upon the whole earth, glory to thee! to be given, because for his acting God was to be praised throughout the whole world. The conclusion of the joy for deliverance reverts to its commencement, Psalms 57:5. Psalms 58. THE Psalmist describes his enemies in the first strophe, ver. 1- 5 as unrighteous, mischievous, utterly corrupt, hardened and seared, and in the second strophe first builds upon this their condition his prayer to the Lord, that he would overthrow them, ver. 6, then elevates himself, ver. 7-11, to the joyful hope, that this shall be done, to the joy of all the righteous, and to the glory of God. The Psalm is of similar character and contents to those of the preceding and following, which have respect to David's relations in the Sauline period; already the תשהת אל of the superscription shews, that we must not separate it from them; the manner, in which the Psalmist here expresses him-self, entirely agrees with the expressions of David during the pe-riod in question, recorded in history; comp. for ex. 1 Samuel 26:10; 1 Samuel 24:13; characteristic in this point of view is the promi-nence giving to the speaking of lies, by the enemies, in ver. 3. Against the authorship of David, and in the time specified, andin favour of the hypothesis, that the Psalm contains "the com-plaint of a Jew over unrighteous judges," whether foreign or domestic, at the time of the exile, stress has been laid on the circumstance of "unrighteous judges" being spoken of in ver. 1. As if David had not, during the Sauline period, been made to underlie an unrighteous judgment-as if even then his judges had not been his persecutors, and every thing had not been or-dered so, as to conceal the persecution behind the appearance of a righteous judgment. But that the unrighteous judges meant are not of the common stamp, appears from this, that they are spoken of as at the same time the personal enemies of the Psalmist, who persecute him for the purposes of their ownhatred, whereas it is a standing trait in regard to common un-righteous judges, that through bribery they pervert judgment, comp. for ex. Isaiah 5:23, and therefore are not impelled by hat-red, but by self-interest. To the Chief musician, destroy not, of David, a secret. Ver.1. Are ye then indeed dumb, that ye will not speak, what is righteous, and judge what is upright, ye children of men? Ver.2. Even in the heart ye commit iniquities, in the land your hands weigh out unrighteousness. Ver. 3. The wicked go astray from the mother's lap, err from the mother's womb the speakers of lies. Ver. 4. Poison have they like serpent's poison, like a deaf adder he stops his ear. Ver. 5. Which hears not the voice of the char-mer, of the conjurer, who can conjure well. The Psalm begins with an address to the wicked, ver. 1 and 2, but he presently perceives, that he can make nothing of them, that they are per-fectly hardened, and deaf to all admonition, and so, in what follows, he speaks of them, and brings out this distinctive mark of their condition. The expression: Are ye then indeed, in ver. 1, points to the unheard of and incredible nature of the fact, that judges should be dumb in regard to righteous judgment-which is a contradiction, especially in respect to Deuteronomy 1:16; Deuteronomy 1:17 - and admonishes, that they might still bethink themselves. אלם occurs only once besides, in Psalms 56. supers., and indeed in the sense of being dumb. That this is here also to be retained, ap-pears from the mention of deafness, in ver. 4, 5: they are dumb when they should speak, deaf when they should hear, comp. Ps.38:14, where אלם and הרש likewise occur united. The abstract stands emphatically in place of the adj. dumbness, for quite dumb. In the following words the sphere is indicated, in which the dumbness operates: that ye speak, etc., in reference to the speaking. מישרים, uprightness, which is never used ad-verbially, comp. on Psalms 17:2, is q. d. and upright judgment, comp. Ew. § 486. The first member is expounded by many: speak you actually dumb judgment. But the paraphrase of Stier: "Would ye (not at length, as always in duty bound) bring to utterance the (alas! long enough) dumb judgment," shows what the Psalmist must have said, if he had wished to express this mean-ing. The not must then have been here, the indeed must have been awanting, as Gesen. would, for the sake of this interpreta-tion, thrust it out of the text. The doubting question: speak ye then in reality dumb judgment, would imply that there was atleast the appearance of a return to the righteousness, that had been renounced, which, however, we cannot imagine. The ex-position of Maurer, who presses upon אלם the sig. of pactum, faedus, and the conjecture of Ewald, who would read אלים, your gods, are to be rejected on the ground alone of the corre-spondence here between dumbness and deafness in ver. 4 and 5. The expression: Ye children of men, reminds the high ones of the earth of the higher, to whom they must give an account, and has therefore the import of a grounding to the call to righteous judgment: if the children of men are dumb when they should speak, God will then speak with them, comp. the Elohim in ver. 6 and and the contrast between Jehovah and the child-ren of men in 1 Samuel 26:19, as also the children of men, who oppose the Psalmist, and Elohim, who helps him, in Psalms 57:4. Arnd: "From this we see and learn that the persecuted Christ-ians have no audience and no help with worldly and spiritual jurisdictions when false doctrine is in vogue; though men should there declare and speak, still they are dumb; though the cause also be ever so good, yet no one will open his mouth, and lend. a good word in its behalf. Hence the Holy Spirit asks them, through the mouth of David, whether there is right, namely, in speaking against righteousness and truth." In ver. 2 the posi-tive is added to the negative. אף is not a particle of grada-tion, but is used in its common sig. of also, comp. on Psalms 18:48; Psalms 44:9 : Ye omit what ye ought to do, also ye do what ye ought to omit. The opposite of the: in heart, consists, not of: in the land, but of: your hands. The expression: ye do wick-edness in the heart, instead of meditating evil in the heart, points here, as in Micah 2:1, to there being also actions of the heart, which God will bring into judgment. The words: ye weigh out the unrighteousness of your hands, contains an abbreviated comparison: instead of the righteousness, which, as the judges appointed by God, ye ought to weigh out, (comp. the mention of the balance of righteousness, in Job 31:6,) ye practise in-justice זרו in ver. 3 is pret. Kal. To "the wicked" we must supply: in the number of whom are my enemies. What makes the human corruption so dreadful is the fact of its growing out of original sin, comp. on Psalms 51:6, and consequently it has its root in the inmost depths of the heart. Those, with whom na-ture is allowed free scope to develope itself, as it will, and. who shut out grace from access to their heart, must attain to a ripe-ness in sinning, which would be incredible if nature were origi-nally, and still predominantly good. The opposite are not such as have been corrupt from their mother's womb, such indeed as do not exist, but those in whom the corruption common to all has uninterruptedly developed itself, and those in whom the de-velopement has been hemmed in and broken through. That the inborn depravity is quite a general one, extending over the whole family of man, appears from Genesis 8:21, the confession of David himself in Psalms 51:6, and Job 14:4. Arnd: "The god-less are wayward from their mother's womb, from their childhood upwards there is nothing good in them; the godly, although they also are conceived and born in sin, yet live in the new birth, in daily repentance." In ver. 4 המת stands in stat. cons. before the preposition, on account of the close connection. The second half of verse 4 and verse 5 describes, by way of grada-tion, their poisonousness: the serpents, on whom the charmers can make no impression, (comp. on the charming of serpents my Egypt and Books of Moses, p. 97, ss.) are the most poisonous--- instead of נהש there is here פתן. What the ineffectual charms are in reference to the excessively poisonous serpent, that are with the venomous and wicked man the prayers and entreaties of those, who suffer injury from him and his friends, as an exam-ple of which we have only to think of David's representations to Saul, and Jonathan's intercessions, both so persuasive, that their fruitlessness presents to our view the wickedness of Saul, which is a reflection of man's generally, as a deep abyss. Not only, however, does the resemblance hold in regard to such prayers and entreaties, but also to the admonitions of the ser-vants of God, and last of all, to the reproofs and warnings, which God himself brings to bear on men through their con-science. How powerfully these resounded in the dark soul of Saul, may be seen in the conviction often uttered by him, that David, upheld by God, would escape his persecutions and gain the day. But although his conscience called to him aloud, that his striving was wrong and to no purpose, the strength of wick-edness in him was so great, that he could not desist from it. The subject יאטם is not the adder, (commonly: which stops its ear,) but the wicked. The stopping requires hands, and what is already deaf by nature has no need to stop. It is just by means of stopping, that the wicked make themselves like the deaf adder. Arnd: "As we see in the history of the holymartyr Stephen. When he made his confession before the ec-clesiastical council at Jerusalem, and said: ‘ Lo I see the hea-vens opened, and the Son of Man standing on the right hand of God,’ to the Jewish prelates that was so insufferable a testimony, that in order to retain their poison, they stopt their ears, and cried aloud." There follows in ver. 6-11 the prayer and the confidence. Ver. 6. God, break their teeth in their mouth, the tusks of the young lions break in pieces, O Lord. Ver. 7. They shall dis-solve as waters, flow away: he takes aim with his arrows, as if they were cut in pieces. Ver. 8. As a snail which melts away, he vanishes, as an abortion they behold not the sun. Ver. 9. Before your pots feel the thorn, will he, raw or sodden, over- throw him. Ver. 10. The righteous will rejoice, because he sees vengeance, his steps bathe in the blood of the wicked. Ver. 11. And men will say: truly fruit hath the righteous, truly God judges in the earth. At the beginning of ver. 6 Elohim is used, because the Psalmist raises himself up from the children of men to God. On the expression: break their teeth, Arnd: "There is here de-scribed the great hatred and wrath of the enemies toward the church of God. They are as the hungry and ravenous lions. So vehement is their feeling toward us, that if God had permittedthem, they would have swallowed us up bodily." מלתעות is ety-mologically the correct, but unusual form for מתלעות.�That the fut. in ver. 7, ss. are to be taken as expressive of hope and confidence, appears from the praetor. proph. הזו in ver. 8.� ימאסו from מאס, for מסס. The subject in יתהלכו is not the waters, but the wicked. This appears from למו an ironical dat. comm.; they shall have this thereby, that they flow away. ך`רד, to bend, for, to fit in a bent form. The arrows are, as to the effect to be shot off, as if they were cut, deprived of their heads and blunt-ed. Such hope could spring up in David only from a living faith. If he viewed the matter without this, the thought which pressed upon him must have been: "his arrows are sharp, theypierce the heart of the enemies of the king."-- תב ver. 8 is the 3d fem. of the abbreviated fut. of מסה=מסס. The sub-ject in ך`להי, is the wicked. Instead of: as the snail, which melts away, dissolves, he vanishes, many: as the snail which meltingly vanishes, properly, which walks dissolution. But שבלול can hardly be masc., there is no such noun as תבס, to walk dissolution is very hard, and so also is that which must besupplied by this rendering: they shall be. Before נפל we are not precisely to supply as, but it is to be explained: as (spirit-ual) abortion. The subject in הזו is not the singular נפל (many: beholds not the sun), but those, who are the subject both before and after, the wicked. The preterite is to be ex- plained from the confidence of faith. The wicked are so far like an abortion, as they, like it, are hurried away by an untime-ly and violent death, do not see the sun. Job 3:16 rests upon this passage. Job, the righteous there wishes for himself the fate of an abortion, which is here predicted of the wicked as a punishment; so God appears to exchange with each other the fates of the righteous and the wicked.-In ver. 9 the discourse at first addresses the ungodly, as in ver. 1 and 2, but soon it be-comes more placid again, and speaks of them: he will overthrow him, whereas from the commencement we would have expect-ed: you. On the words: before your pots feel the thorn, the Berleb Bible: "that is, before the fire thereof, which quick-ly burn and heat, has got fairly within, before the flesh in your pots has become warm or ready, that is, your plans shall at an early period be destroyed or executed." כמו-כמו as well�\ הי and הרון, prop. glow, then glowing heat, refers to the con-tents of the pots, the flesh, which is boiled in them. As here in poetry, הי and הרון, so in 1 Sam. ii 15 are הי, living or raw, and מבשל, boiled. To the raw flesh correspond the unripe plans, to the sodden the ripe. The expression: be it raw, be it sodden or ready, is, q. d. without taking any account of this, whether ye have finished your cooking, and not good-humour-edly granting the necessary time for your executing your pro-jects against the righteous. It means without any thing farther at once: away with you,-and however painful it will also be to you, to find all your preparations in vain, however hard to eat what you have boiled, God makes no account of it, as Saul must do before he carries his designs against David into execu-tion. The subject in ישערנו is the Lord, and the suffix refers to the wicked; this is evident from Job 27:21, referring to our passage: "The east wind carrieth him away, and he de-parteth, and as a storm hurleth him out of his place." It is not the flesh-pot that is torn away from the wicked, but the wicked from his flesh-pot, his projects, on which the history of Saul de-livers the best commentary. The other expositions are to be rejected. Against Luther's: Before your thorns are ripe in thethorn-bush, besides many other grounds, it is decisive that thorns are always סירים, never סירות; excepting Amos 4:2, where it is used of an instrument like a thorn, it always signifies pots. Against the exposition: "before your pots perceive the thorn, as green as burning, they are pluct away," it is to be objected, amongst other grounds, that הי is never used of green thorns, nor in any similar import.-On the expression: because he sees vengeance, in ver. 10, comp. 1 Samuel 24:12, where David says to Saul, "The Lord judge between me and thee, and the Lord avenge me of thee; but my hand shall not be upon thee: How the vengeance should be an object of joy to the righteous, viz. because of the manifestation given in it of the judgment and righteousness of God, of the nourishment which his knowledge and fear of God draws from it, appears from ver. 11. On the second member, Arnd: "That he shall bathe his feet in the blood of the wicked, is not to be understood literally, as if the fearers of God must avenge themselves by the shedding of blood, or have pleasure therein; but so, that if they entreat vengeance of God, God wonderfully vindicates their cause. When Saul fell upon his sword, sore pressed by the Philistines, that was God's vengeance, and David bathed his feet in the blood of the wicked, and incurred no guilt by Saul's destruction. When Ahab was shot in the battle, so that his blood ran through the chariot, and the dogs licked it, that also was God's vengeance, and the prophet Elias bathed his feet in the blood of the wicked."- ך`א in ver. 11, stands as a particle of assurance: only, it is not otherwise, than so. The plural in שפטים, springs with that in אלהים from one root, comp. on Psalms 11:6. The general name of God stands in opposition to אדם: men recognize God as judge, but at the same time also in contrast to the sons of men at the beginning, to which the close refers back: God exercises on earth the righteous judgment; which they with-hold. Psalms 59. THE Psalm falls, like so many others, into two chief divisions, the one of 10 verses, and the other of 7. The ten, as usual, are divided into two fives, the seven fall into three and four. Thefirst strophe in both parts contains a prayer for the overthrow of the ungodly enemies, and the deliverance of the Psalmist, ver. 1-5, and ver. 11-13; the second, the hope of this over-throw and this deliverance; and the confident expectation of the same, ver. 6-10, and 14-17. At the conclusion of the prayer-strophes, which are already distinguished from the two others by the use of the imperatives, the Selah is both times used, externally also bounding them off. Hence the main divi-sions do not lie loosely beside each other; in the second hope-strophe the first is again resumed. The first verses of both take up the beginning of the first and expand it, their last ones the conclusion. It is not accidental that in the second main divi-sion the confidence externally predominates over the prayer, (4 to 3), while in the first the hope occupies the same space with the prayer, (5 and 5). It is in perfect accordance with this, that in the second hope-strophe, the hope has received a firm foundation in the internal assurance of being heard, and has thereby risen to confidence, which discovers itself especially in the two concluding verses. The occasion of the Psalm is given in the superscription: to the chief musician, destroy not, (Psalms 57.) of David, a secret, (Ps. xvi, lvi, lvii,) when Saul sent, and caused his house to be watched, that he might kill him. The history is contained in 1 Sam. 19:11, ss. Saul caused the house of David to be sur-rounded, with orders to kill him, whenever he might come out. David was delivered through the artifice of his wife Michal, which was blessed by God, but this transaction formed the com-mencement of his long-continued flight, during which he had to encounter unheard-of dangers, and to endure nameless suffer-ings. The fact being of such importance, we are prepared to expect, that David would perpetuate its remembrance by a Psalm, the superscription of which would expressly make men-tion of it, (comp. on Psalms 34.) Such a superscription was the more necessary, since, according to David's manner, the refe-rences to the event in the Psalm itself, which was naturally com-posed immediately after the danger had been surmounted, are very general-the special references to it, which have been sought in ver. 6 and in ver. 14 and 15, are not found in these. So much only is clear from the Psalm, that it was called forth by some plot upon the life of the Psalmist; for the rest, the relations are the general ones belonging to the Sauline period. Many modern expositors have rejected the announcements of the superscription, and denied the composition by David. But their reasons are any thing but convincing. The description of the enemies as mighty or powerful in ver. 3, it is maintained, suits better heathenish oppressors, tyrants, than the messengers of Saul. As if David had not, in all the Psalms of this period, primarily and chiefly before his eyes Saul himself, and his in-struments merely as such, merely as members of that body of wickedness of which he was the head! The idea that the hea-then being once and again mentioned, ver. 5 and 8, indicates that the Psalm refers to foreign enemies, rests upon a false ex-position, as we shall see. As to the multiplication of titles of God in ver. 5 proving, as is alleged, that the Psalm belongs to a later age, this is disproved by a single glance at the prayer of David in 2 Sam. vii, which is distinguished by a heaping toge-ther of the names of God, and where, particularly in ver. 27, "for thou Jehovah, the Lord of Hosts, God of Israel," the ad-dress here is literally repeated, with the omission merely of Elohim. The positive grounds for referring this Psalm to David, and at the period in question, are, besides the superscription, to which the Psalm itself appears to contain a reference in ver. 9, and the enigmatical character of which (indicated by: destroy not, and: the secret,) bespeaks David for its author-the use, characte-ristic of David, of military expressions, ver. 4, 9, 16, the strong asseveration of innocence, ver. 3 and 4, and the lively conviction, also so characteristic of David, of the reality of a divine recom-pense, of the connection between a venomous slandering, and violent deeds, which meets us in all the Psalms of the Sauline period; to which may be added the circumstance, that all the strikingly agreeing parallel passages belong to the Psalms of David, and especially to such as were composed in the times of Saul. Those, who reject the superscription, wander hither and thither, and each one excogitates his own hypothesis and satis-fies himself. According to De Wette it is a plaint of the peo-ple, and has reference to the relations which arose in the time of the exile. According to Ewald, the poet is one of the last kings of Judah, who was besieged in Jerusalem by a multitude of heathenish enemies, the surrounding tribes in league with the Chaldeans-of such a combination history says nothing.Koester refers the Psalm to "the nocturnal assaults of the Samaritans in the time of Nehemiah," but himself also discreetly adds, that "there is no absolute certainty on the subject." Hitzig pleads for the times of the Maccabees. It is to be objected to these hypotheses, that the assaulted is throughout only one, in the presence of a great number of mighty adversaries, no hint being ever given that a multitude lay concealed in this oneness, the Psalmist rather expressly distinguishing himself, in ver. 14, from "his people;" that the reproach particularly discovering itself in the Psalm of veno-mous slandering, and malicious lying, comp. ver. 7 and 12, does not at all suit heathenish enemies, nor also the epithet of "men of blood," in ver. 2, which is never used of heathenish national enemies; that the heathen are excluded by ver. 14, 15, according to which Israel has the spectacle of the humiliation of the wicked constantly before his eyes, sees them wandering about in misery and want; that the threatening of a hungry and wretched existence in ver. 6 and 15 is suitable only to indivi-duals, not to nations; finally, that the overthrow of the wicked could afford a proof that "God rules in Jacob," ver. 18, only if the Psalm refers to domestic enemies, to conflicts among the people of God, upon whom he exercises judment. The Psalmist prays for deliverance from his enemies, ver. 1 and 2, grounds this prayer by alluding to the powerful malice of the enemies, and his own innocence, ver. 3 and 4, and reminds God, that he, as the Almighty and the Covenant-God of Israel, cannot let wickedness rage with impunity among his own peo-ple. Ver. 1. Deliver me from my enemies, my God, and defend me from those who raise themselves against me. Ver. 2. Deliver me from the evil-doers, and from the men of blood redeem me. Ver. 3. For lo! they lay wait for my-soul, gather themselves against me the strong, without my crime and my sin, O Lord. Ver. 4. Without my fault they run and establish themselves; awake and meet me, and see here. Ver. 5. And thou, Lord, God of Hosts, God of Israel, wake up, visit all the heathen, be not gracious to all wicked men of perfidy. On ver. 1 and 2, Arnd: "Although these words are in themselves simple and mean, yet we must look mainly upon the heart and the spirit of David, how firmly he held by his faith and confidence in God." Upon שגב, to lift up, in the sense of "deliver," comp. on Psalms 20:1.-On the expression: they lay wait for my soul, in ver. 8,he comp. 1 Samuel 19:11, "And Michal his wife said to David, If thou deliver not thy soul this night, to-morrow thou shalt be slain," Psalms 7:2; Psalms 7:5. That עז, strong, (not, rash, Ew.) is used in its common signification, appears from עזו in ver, 9, ך~זע inver. 16, עזי in ver. 17, and Psalms 18:17. Arnd: "The stronggather themselves against me, as if he would say: But I amweak, be thou, however, my strength, and vindicate my inno-cence." גור, as in Psalms 56:6, in the sense of gathering them-selves; the exact agreement with that passage implies, since both bear the mark of originality, the identity of the writers of both Psalms. The words: not my crime, and not my sin, is aconcise form for, not on account of my sins. Where the relation in itself is clear, there not rarely the word expressive of the re-lation is omitted. Most render: not is my crime. But the supplying of the is is not enough, and then instead of לא there would rather have been אין. The crime, comp. on Psalms 19., is the particular, the sin the general. It were, for example, a crime to project a plan for murdering the king; while under sin, all disobedience and unfaithfulness is comprehended. WhenDavid here denies, that sin is the cause of his suffering, he thinks of the human cause. He was deeply penetrated by the conviction, that before the divine judgment-seat, an entirely different standard is to be taken; he recognized there in those sufferings a painful indication of deserved punishment. We are to compare the similar protestations of the innocence of David in 1 Samuel 24:10, and in Psalms 7:3-5. On the "O Lord,"Kimchi: "Thou Lord knowest it." David can appeal to the knowledge of the Omniscient for his innocence in respect to Saul.-How necessary this freedom from guilt is to the assault, if this is to be an occasion for God to step in, is indicated by the Psalmist, while in ver. 4, he rises from the innocence to the as-sault, as in ver. 3 he had risen from the assault to the innocence. Only the assault of the innocent comes under the idea of perfi-diousness, which the Psalmist in ver. 5 describes as the object ofdivine judgment. Upon בלי, without, comp. Ewald, �˜ 506. To this: without fault, naturally suggests itself to be supplied: on my part. The: run, is used, as in Psalms 18:29, in a war- like sense. יכוננו, fut. Hithp. from כון, with compensation of the ת charact. by Dag., which is common with this verb, is for the most part expounded: they prepare themselves. But we have the less reason for renouncing here the elsewhere commonsig. of the Hithp.: to be settled, established, as the preparing of themselves for the tempestuous onset, does not follow, but goes before. It is beyond doubt a military expression: to fix one's self, to get firm footing, from the attacking host, which, planting its firm foot in the walls of the beleaguered city, is ready to rush in over them, or rather through them, as being al-ready broken through, into the city, comp. Job 30:14. Onעורה, not with Ewald, stir thyself, but: awake, comp. Psalms 7:6; Psalms 44:23. Meet me, as a true member of the covenant for my relief. At the: see, the object is awanting: their wickedness and my danger. Calvin: "When he says: see, he mingles the feeling of the flesh with the teaching of faith. For as if God, with shut eyes, had overlooked till then all unrighteousness, he prays, that he would now begin to see; this after the weakness of the human mind. Meanwhile he confesses, while he attri-butes seeing to God, that nothing is concealed from his inspec-tion. Yet it is to be noticed, that David, while he so stammers after the manner of a man, at the same time is satisfied, that his sufferings, as well as his own innocence, and the wickedness of his enemies, are known to God. But he gives over in these words the whole cause to the judgment of God for trial."-On ver. 5, Geier: "He here resumes more fully the address al-ready begun in the preceding verse, while he describes Him more narrowly, whose awaking he wishes. But the names con-tain at the same time, the reasons for the divine help being im-mediately extended to him." The "Jehovah" is the deepest and most comprehensive name of God. The following names divide its import into the particular parts. Jehovah is first Elohim, God in the full sense, (God) of Hosts, (comp. on Sabaoth at Psalms 24:10,) the Almighty; he therefore cannot want power to restrain the mighty ones of the earth, whose strength is sheer impotence against him; he cannot find, should the right not prevail, the justification that is so often sought for human judges. Then, Jehovah is the God of Israel; Arnd: "that is, who has taken the church, with all the believing mem-bers, under his powerful support." Has he, as God and as Sa-baoth, the power, he must as the God of Israel have the will to punish and deliver. The God of Israel (comp. ver. 13) mustestablish right and righteousness without which Israel comesto nothing. We may compared Jeremiah 35:17, where the God of Israel is called God as judge of the wicked in it; there, and inchap. 38:17, the Jehovah, the God of Hosts, the God of Is- rael, are taken from this verse, only with the putting of אלהיinstead of אלהים here. The proper wish and the proper prayer of the Psalmist here is contained in the words: be not gracious to all wicked perfidious persons, prop. all perfidious persons of wickedness; perfidiousness in Israel, the people who are all friends and brethren, is every violation of neigh-bourly love not called forth by the commission of any miscon-duct, comp. on Psalms 25:2; wickedness (comp. the און פעלי in ver. 2, through which the opinion of Koester, in itself of no weight, that און here denotes idolatry, is disproved,) is that, through which the perfidiousness has been committed: toward brothers and friends to be wicked is perfidiousness. That these words alone could contain the proper prayer of the Psalmist, is clear simply from this, that they alone admit a reference to enemies from amongst the covenant people: only in Israel was wickedness at the same time perfidiousness. Now, since the enemies could not be of a twofold kind, at once heathens and Jews, the preceding supplication: "awake and visit all hea-then," can only have the force of a preliminary step to the pro-per prayer, and that so much the more, as the wicked perfidious persons are manifestly those of whose unprovoked attacks the Psalmist had complained in ver. 3 and 4-comp. in Psalms 25:3 : those who without cause are perfidious. In substance: a-waken to visit all heathen, is q. d. thou, who judgest all heathen. Because every special judgment of God is a consequence of this, that he is judge of the whole world, as already Abraham calls him, so the holy Psalmists very often place him as such before their eyes, ere they call upon him to judge in their own cause, comp. on Psalms 7:7; Psalms 7:8; Psalms 56:7. The right view is given already by Calvin: "He reasons from the greater to the less, since not even the profane and aliens can escape the hand and vengeance of God, a more sure and severe judgment must impend the do-mestic enemies, who, under the name of brethren, are inimical to the pious, and disturb the order divinely settled in the church. At the same time also, he wrestles with a temptation, with which it is probable he was much disquieted. For he was not pressed by four or five wicked persons, but by a great multitude. On the other hand, however, he elevates his mind, considering it to be the proper office of God not only to bring a few into order, but to inflict punishment on the crimes of the whole world. Foras God's judgment extends to the farthest bounds of the earth, he ought not to be frightened by that multitude, which was still but a small portion of the human race." That the point brought out last by Calvin is to be kept most prominently in view; that the Psalmist on this account especially places God here before his eyes as the judge of all the heathen, so that he might be no more disturbed by the great number and might of his ene-mies, is manifest from ver 8. In the second strophe of the first main division, the prayer is followed by the hope. Ver. 6. They return back at even, howl like a dog, and run through the city. Ver. 7. Behold they belch with their mouth, swords are on their lips; for who hears? Ver. 8. And thou, O Lord, laughest at them, thou mockest all the hea-then. Ver. 9. His strength will I preserve to thee, for God is my fortress. Ver. 10. My God will with his favour surprise me, God makes me see my desire upon my adversaries. The Psalmist in ver. 6 sees his enemies, the strong, ver. 3, brought down, wan-dering about in hunger and sorrow. Because in their conduct they resembled hounds, with hound-like fury had attacked him, comp. on Psalms 22:16; Psalms 22:20, they must now also experience a hound-like fate; in regard to which we must consider, that the dogs in the east run about without any master, and seek their food wherever they can find it. Ver. 11 gives the commentary on this passage: "Make them wander about through thy power, and overthrow them," the more so as in ver. 15 there is a re-sumption and farther expansion of what is said here. Whence it is clear, that our passage must not be referred, with many, to the want of success of the plan against David, that it rather con-tains the hope of the overthrow of the wicked themselves. They return back at even, namely, after they have in vain sought the whole day for food. The dog cries or howls for hunger. They also run through the city at even, in order, perhaps, to ob-tain somewhat of nourishment. Various expositors find here, not the hope, but the wish of the overthrow of the wicked: might they return. But this is refuted by all the other contents of the strophe, which throughout expresses, not a wish, but a hope, and the resumption in ver. 14 and 15, comp. especially the se-cond half of the latter verse. Then, according to some, the verse must refer, not to the fate of the wicked, but, as ver. 7, to their procedure, (Ewald, Maur.) But ver. 14 is opposed to this view. When there is such a similarity in the words, a differ-ence in the sense is not to be supposed; this would certainlyhave been indicated by some change in the expression. Then,by this exposition, we cannot explain why precisely the evening is thought of, unless one should take refuge in Some far-fetchedsupposition. The Psalmist, in ver. 7, casts a glance back onthe malice of his enemies, only in order to give opportunity forexercising hope in God, that it may break forth the more vigo-rously. The consideration of the need is only a preliminarystep to him, on which he can raise himself to the contemplationof the helper for the time of need. Behold, they belch, &c. is inmeaning, q. d. let them belch, &c., thou, O Lord, mockestthem. On הביע, to make, to belch forth, comp. on Ps. xis. 12.What they belch or bubble forth, is not expressly mentionedhere, as it is in Proverbs 15:2; Proverbs 15:28, comp. Psalms 94:4. It may beeasily understood from the character of the persons; accordingto that, we can only think of a torrent of lies and calumnies,which instrumentally serve the purpose of their actual persecu-tion. Arnd: "Just as smoke proceeds from the fire, so do liesand slanders from open persecutions." The verb retains itscommon meaning. The Psalmist says only, that there was anentire flood of what they bring forth. On the expression:swords are on their lips, Calvin: "they vomit forth as manyswords for the murder of the poor as they utter words." Arnd:"Just as a naked sword inflicts wounds, so do such lies and ca-lumnies cut in pieces upright hearts," comp. Psalms 55:21, "hiswords are smoother than oil, and they are drawn swords," Psalms 52:2, "upon evil thinks thy tongue, as a sharp razor, thou worker of deceit," Psalms 57:4, "whose tongue a sharp sword." These parallel passages especially preclude us from thinking ofinsults, and oblige us to understand only false charges and ca-lumnies. This trait is only applicable to internal enemies; heathenish ones wield not the sword of the word. Who hears? is commonly regarded as a speech of the wicked: for, say they, who hears and judges. "God certainly hears it not, he will neither hear, nor punish," (Arnd,) comp. a similar speech of the wicked in Psalms 10:11; Psalms 10:13. But we can also conveniently take the words as a sad lamentation of the Psalmist, that God through his past inaction, had strengthened the wicked in their wicked-ness, comp. a similar lamentation in Psalms 10:5. Hitherto God had actually not heard, comp. the see in verse 4. The malice of the enemies does not distress the Psalmist, it only leads him toraise his mind with the loftier elevation to God, and since he sees God laugh at it, he will also treat it as a mockery, verse 8. On the expression: thou laughest, comp. Psalms 2:4, "he who is throned in heaven laughs, the Lord holds them in derision," Psalms 37:13. Thou mockest all the heathen, q. d. how should-est thou not mock them, how should it not be a light thing for thee, to annihilate all their malicious projects, since all the hea-then, with their far greater might, can do nothing against thee, comp. verse 5. In verse 9 the suffix in עזו refers to the strong, עזים, in verse 3. The singular goes, as so often happens, upon the ideal person of the wicked. Since in the other Psalms of the Sauline period, the singular constantly interchanges with the plural, it can only be regarded as purely accidental, that in this Psalm the enemy is nowhere else mentioned in the singu-lar. The ך~ילא, to thee, so that thou keepest it, and in refe-rence to it doest what is necessary. שמר, to keep, to secure, as in Exodus 22:6, and here in the supers. The Psalmist, con-scious of his own impotence, will have nothing to do himself with the strength of his enemies; he rolls it wholly upon God, who will already know what he has to make of it. The expression: his strength, is here used in a thoughtful refe-rence to "thy power" in verse 16, my strength in verse 17, similar to that between: his countenance, in Psalms 42:5, and my countenance, in ver. 11: the enemies' strength he delivers over to the Lord, he celebrates God's strength, and for his own strength he gives thanks to him. This thoughtful reference is destroyed, if we read with many here עזי: my defence, upon whom I wait, (Ew.) Ver. 17 speaks against, not for this change; for deviations do occur in the reiterations, comp. on Psalms 42:5, and עזי would, if it had been original, have been preserved by ver. 17; nowhere does it call for more consideration to change the reading, than precisely where the reiterating verses deviate from each other. Those, who abide by the common text, usually expound: what concerns their strength, I have thee in my eye. But עזי would then probably have stood by itself; that it is the accusative, which is governed by the verb, appears from the analogy between ver. 16 and 17. In the first member of ver. 10, the reading of the text should be ודס;הa יהaלoא<. Where thedistinction stood merely in the vowels, as here in the אלהי, there the Masorites wrote no Kri on the margin, but where, as here, the context of itself led to the conclusion, that the vowelscould not belong to the reading of the text, they gave to the Chetib exactly the vowels of the Kri, or, where that was not the case, they gave to the word a double punctuation, comp. on Psalms 7:6. We can either expound: my God, his favour will surprise me comp. Psalms 79:79; Psalms 79:8; or: my God will with his fa-vour surprise me, comp. Psalms 21:3, where the קדם occurs with a double accus. The latter mode is recommended by the par-allel. That of the Masorites: my favour-God, is a bad con-jecture from ver. 17. On the second member, comp. Psalms 54:8; Psalms 54:6, where all the words have already occurred. Calvin: "The sum is, whensoever God may withhold, or delay his aid, at that very time he will be present." There follows now the second main division, first the prayer, in ver. 11-13. Ver. 11. Slay them not, lest my people forget, make them wander up and down through thy power, and over- throw them, thou our shield, O God. Ver. 12. Sin of their mouth is the word of their lips, and let them be taken through their pride, and on account of the cursing and lies, which they speak. Ver. 13. Consume in anger, consume, that they may be no more, and that it may be known that God is ruler in Jacob, even to the ends of the earth. That the: slay them not, in ver. 11, re- fers not to the individuals hostile to the Psalmist, as such, but to their race, appears from ver. 13, where he seeks for the same persons their destruction, as constantly, indeed, in the Psalms belonging to the Sauline period. The enemies must serve for monuments of the divine righteousness, not less in the abiding wretchedness of their race, than by their own sudden destruc-tion. Parallel to this verse, and to ver. 6, 14, is the curse which David utters upon Joab, in 2 Samuel 3:29, "let there never fail from the house of Joab one that hath an issue, and a leper, and that leaneth on a staff, and that lacketh bread;" then, the threat-ening of the man of God to Eli, in 1 Samuel 2:36, where, after announcing the violent death of the evil-doers themselves, cor-responding to ver. 13 here, it is said, "and it shall come to pass, that whosoever is left of thy house will come, and crouch to him, (the new high-priest), for a piece of silver and a bit of bread, and will say: Put me, I pray thee, in something of the priest-hood, that I may eat a piece of bread." The Christian exposi-tion of this verse has all along drawn attention to the fact, that the substance of our verse, as that also of ver. 6, 14, has gone into fulfilment on the Jews. "They have been scattered intoall lands, and must go and stand before the eyes of all Chris-tians, as a living witness, that they have crucified the true Mes- siah and Saviour of the world. So that if you see a Jew, think on this word," (Arnd.) The Psalmist calls all Israel his people; so the expression: my people, often occurs, for ex. Judges 14:3, Psalms 14:4. Many think without reason exclusively of the right-eous seed; the ungodly needed the warning example of the divine punitive righteousness still more than they. On the ex-pression: let them wander about, comp. the divine judgment on Cain in Genesis 4:12, Numbers 32:13, "Then the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel, and he caused them to wander in the wilderness forty years," and Psalms 109:10, "Let his chil-dren be continually vagabonds and beg." On the: through thy power, (falsely Hitzig: through thy host,) "David invokes God's power for the destruction of the wicked, because they, trusting in their earthly power, thought themselves invin-cible;" comp.: they gather themselves together against me strong, in ver. 3. On the: overthrow them, prop. make them come down, Calvin: "He wills that they should be thrown down from their honourable position, be cast, as it were, before one's feet, so that they may afford in their misery and dis-grace a standing spectacle of the divine indignation." The designation of God as the shield of the righteous, is of fre-quent use in the mouth of David, comp. Psalms 3:3; Psalms 18:2; Psalms 28:7. By saying "our shield," he indicates that his cause is that of the whole church, comp. in ver. 5: thou God of Israel. David was the bearer and representative of the good principle, and this was endangered in him. Saul's victory would have opened a deep wound in the kingdom of God.-The words: Sin of their mouths is the word of their lips, in ver. 12, are q.d. they sin, as often as they but speak. That the wish of their destruction is to be supplied here, which the simple representa-tion of the matter-of-fact includes in itself, is evident from thesecond member. The ב in בגאום is explained by the follow-ing מן. The pride must be viewed as the cause of their de-struction in so far as it served to draw down upon them the divine vengeance. Pride was manifestly the root of Saul's hatred to David; the more he was devoid of true greatness, the more in-supportable to him was the thought of true greatness beside him, it filled him with rage, and he would, at whatever expense, have it driven out of the world; comp. the account of the firstorigin of Saul's enmity to David, in 1 Samuel 18:8; 1 Samuel 19:8, ss. The curse is connected in Psalms 10:7, as here, with lying and deceit. There are curses which the wicked pronounces upon himself, so that his deceit prospers with him, his lie finds currency. Saul protested loudly and vehemently, that David sought occasion against his life. Before יספרו the rela-tive is to be supplied. The word is used in its common sig.:they tell under solemn protestations lies for truth. That the entire verse is unsuitable to heathen armies, is clear as day, comp. Psalms 5:9.-In ver. 13, the first words of which are seen reflected in the fate of the Jews, when they were "mercilessly extirpated at the destruction of Jerusalem," not less than in ver. 6 and 13, but the immediate fulfilment of which is exhibited in the signal overthrow of Saul, we must connect: that it may be known to the ends of the earth, that God is ruler in Jacob, not that God is ruler in Jacob to the ends of the earth, against which already the accents speak, and in which case also an and should have been prefixed before unto. Calvin: "David indi-cates an extraordinary kind of punishment, the report of which would reach to the most distant people, and force even on blind and profane men the fear of God." It is characteristic of David that he everywhere thinks also of the heathen as interested in that which God did among the Israelites, for ex. Psalms 18:49, Ivii. 5, 9, 11. In remarkable agreement with our passage David says to Goliath in 1 Samuel 17:46, "And all the earth shall know, that the God of Israel is God." On the expression: that God is ruler in Jacob, it is justly remarked by expositors: not Saul or any other person whatever. From this contrast we are to explain the position of the general name of God. The Psalm closes in ver. 14-17 with the second hope-strophe, in which, as the result of the whole, the destruction of the ene-mies, and the Psalmist's rejoicing at his own deliverance, are represented. Ver. 14. Yea, they shall return back at even, make a noise like a dog, and run through the city. Ver. 15. They shall wander about for food, although they shall not be satisfied, so shall they stay over night. Ver. 16. But I will sing of thy strength, and praise thy favour in the morning, for thou wert my fortress and my refuge in the time of my necessity. Ver. 17. My strength will I sing to thee; for God is my for-tress, my gracious God.-Ver. 14 is a resumption of ver. 6, Ver. 15 serves only for expansion and colouring. Instead ofthe fut. in Kal ינועון, the Masorites would read the fut. in Hiph.,merely because in ver. 11 the Hiph. is used, and without anytolerable sense. The אם is found not rarely where we put "al-though," Ges. Thes. Ew. § 625. So they stay over night, somust it still happen to them, that the night overtakes them inthis condition. Hence it is the image of a wretched existencein hunger and pain.-The: in the morning, ver. 16, stands inobvious reference to the expression in ver. 6 and 14 in the morning, and on that account alone we must not think of the besides ungrammatical exposition: every morning. The morn-ing is not uncommonly mentioned in connection with salvation, comp. for example, Psalms 90:14; Psalms 92:2; Psalms 144:8, because it pre-sents an image of that, comp. 2 Samuel 23:4, where David thus describes the salvation of the future, "and as the light of the morning, when the sun riseth; a morning without clouds." Job 11:17, "Now art thou dark, then shalt thou be as the morning." The fancy, occupied with images of future prosperity, will dwell with special delight on the morning, and conceive of this as the time of an uninterrupted prosperity. To the enemies the Psalmist assigns the evening and the night, because their lot is a matter of darkness, but he himself sings praise to God in the morning, because his lot is a morning. רנן with the accus. as in Psalms 51:14. On משגב here, and in ver. 9, comp. Psalms 17:2. In reference to צר, distress, necessity, see on Psalms 18:6. In ver. 17, the words: my strength will I sing to thee, q. d. I will praise thee in a song as the author of my strength, which thou hast imparted to me, after thou hast thrown down the strength of my enemy. The Psalmist alludes to what is said in ver. 9: his strength will I preserve for thee. Just as he had laid aside the strength of his enemy for the Lord, so will he now also not keep for himself, but righteously attribute to its real author his own strength (which he already possesses in faith after having received the assurance of being heard-comp. the: thou wert in ver. 16.) At the same time, the words refer to that in ver. 16: I will sing of thy strength. The common construction is inadmissible, which takes: my strength, as an address to God.For זמר is never connected with אל, always with ל. That the unusual construction has been called for by ver. 9, we are not warranted in saying; for there the construction is just as un-usual according to the common view. Psalms 60. THE Psalmist, or rather the people in whose name he speaks, first expresses his acknowledgment of a deliverance already im-parted: the Lord has visited his people with severe sufferings, but he who has sent has again removed them, and that because he is faithful and true, (ver. 1-4). May God continue to impart deliverance: the Psalmist grounds this prayer on the sure foundation of the word and promise of God, by which Israel is assured of continued possession of his land, and of victory over the neighbouring nations (ver. 5-8). In looking back upon this promise, the Psalmist expresses his confidence, that the expedition against Edom, on which, at the time, he was setting out, would be crowned with success, (ver. 9-12). The Psalm consists of twelve verses, and is divided into three strophes, each containing four verses, and the first ending with Selah. If the title be added, the number of verses is fourteen. That this number was designed by the author is evident from the circumstance that in Psalms 108., where the title is wanting, the text contains two verses more. This circumstance is worth being attended to. It shows that in other passages also we are warranted in bringing the titles, with all their contents, into the domain of the formal arrangement of the Psalms. In this case it furnishes a proof of the originality of the titles gene-rally. It is evident from the title, "On the Lily of Testimony," that the second strophe forms the heart of the Psalm, pointing as it does to the word and the promise of God as the sure pledge of deliverance. This is evident also from a considera-tion of the Psalm itself. That the first strophe is intended to awaken the believer to the reality of this promise, inasmuch as it points to those events in which it has been already fulfilled, is evident from the expressive clause, "because of thy truth," with which it closes. The third strophe is in reality connected with the second by a therefore. The eternal contents of the Psalm are: that the church of God may be always patient in trouble, and joyful in hope, inas-much as she contains securely within herself those noble pro-mises by which her God secures, in presence of a hostile world, the maintenance of her position and her final victory over every enemy. Under the New Testament this ground of support has not lost, it has gained in point of significance. For the promises of the Old Testament have passed on, in all their completeness, to the New, and in addition to these there are others peculiar to itself, which are nobler still. The title runs: To the Chief Musician, on the lily of testi-mony, a Secret of David, to teach. Ver. 2. When he had con-quered Aram of the two floods, and Aram Zobah, and Joab had returned and had slain Edom in the Valley of Salt, twelve thou-sand men of them. The term עדות, properly testimony, has only one sense, that of the law, which gets this name, because it bears testimony against evil-doers. Compare at Psalms 19:7.The sense, assumed by many, as next to this, namely, that of revelation, is to be rejected, because it is only founded on the passage before us, and on the title of Psalms 80. The titles, from their dark and enigmatical character, are not proper pas-sages for ascertaining new senses of words: at least, whatever may be done elsewhere, the sense which is most certainly esta-blished, must be adopted in them. Generally עדות refers to the law of God as existing in the books of Moses, which are simpliciter termed עדות: comp. 2 Kings 11:12. The lily ge-nerally denotes something lovely; compare at Psalms 45:1, "The Lily of the Testimony" is therefore " something lovely contain-ed in the law." Hence a lovely promise is introduced in the se-cond strophe, which, as we have already said, is to be consider-ed as the kernel or middle point of the whole Psalm. On מכתם, a secret, compare at the title of Psalms 16 :The expres-sion, "to be taught," intimating that it was intended to be taught to the people, points to the public and national character of the Psalm, and stands in singular accordance with the fact, that it is not the Psalmist, but the people, who speak through out. It refers also to Deuteronomy 31:19, "and now therefore write ye this song, and teach it to the children of Israel, and put it in their mouths."-The sketch of the historical circumstances, by which the Psalm was called forth, shews that it moves within the same domain as Psalms 44.; and we would simply refer to the introduction to that Psalm. We would only remark, that from an oversight we did not then exactly state the relation in which the two Psalms stand to each other. Psalms 44. is the earlier of thetwo: the sons of Korah sang in the midst of misery, probably whilst David was absent at the Euphrates; David followed them after succour had been in some measure obtained. The cha-racter of the two Psalms is in remarkable accordance with the titles, which ascribe them, though composed at the same time, to different authors. "The liveliness of our Psalm, its rapid transitions, (ver. 6-8,) its short yet comprehensive language, pre-vent us," observes Hitzig, "from entertaining, for one moment, the idea that its authorship is the same as that of Psalms 44."- Expositors generally translate, when he made war; but it ought rather to be translated, when he had overthrown or conquered; -literally, when he had beat down or pulled down: (נצה is used in Kal in the sense of beat down or pulled down, in Jeremiah 4:7, and also in Niphal.) For Joab, the commander in chief of the main army, which took the field against the Syrians, could not return till after the full victory had been gained over the Syrians. According to 2 Samuel 8:13, the expedition against Edom followed immediately after the termination of the war with the Syrians, and it was not a detached division of the army that went against them, but the main body, which had en-gaged in the campaign against the Syrians; finally, it is not with the Idumeans, but with the much more terrible Syrians, that the Psalmist has to do,-it is to the victory over them that he refers when he speaks, in the first strophe, of a salvation which the Lord had already wrought out for him.-Aram of the two rivers is not spoken of in the narrative of this war in 2 Samuel 8 :but only Aram of Zobah. We learn, however, from the account of David's second Syrian expedition, (2 Sam. x.) that David, when he had to do with Aram of Zobah, had also necessarily to do with the Mesopotamians, inasmuch as the king of Zobah, whose situation cannot be very exactly fixed, but is generally supposed to lie between the Euphrates and the Orontes, to-wards the north-east of Damascus, held the kings of Mesopo-tamia in a state of vassalage. We read, verse 16: "And Had-adeser (the king of Zobah) sent and brought out Aram, which is beyond the river, and their Lord came, and Shoback, the cap-tain of the host of Hadadeser was at their head: ver. 19, and all the kings who were servants to Hadadeser saw that they were smitten before Israel, and served them." That the kings of Mesopotamia were not allies but vassals of Hadadeser, is evident from the term, "the servants of Hadadeser,'' from the circumstancethat his commander in chief commanded their army, and from the expression, "he drew out." This name of Mesopotamia, oc-curring in the title, furnishes a strong presumption in favour of its originality. For it is exceedingly improbable that any com-poser of later date would have obtained from the incidental and obscure notices of 2 Samuel 10. knowledge of a state of matters, which, as appears from ver. 19, ceased to exist even under David.-In reference to the valley of Salt, Robinson remarks, (P. III. p. 25): "This valley can be nothing else than the district adjoining the Salt-Mountain, to the south of the Dead Sea, which in reality formed the boundary between the ancient territories of Judah and Edom." The victory over Edom is here attributed to Joab, but in 2 Samuel 8:13, David himself is mentioned as the conqueror over Edom, while in 1 Chronicles 18:12, it is said to have been Abishai, the brother of Joab. We might suppose a contradiction to be here, were it not that the historical books give us nothing else than a short notice of the whole transaction. The most exact account is that of Chronicles. 2 Samuel 10:10, where Abishai holds an im-portant office under his brother Joab, confirms this. It was Abishai who smote the Edomites; but it was also Joab, for he was commander in chief of the whole forces. In like manner it was also David: we read in Chronicles, no less than in the books of Samuel, "and the Lord helped David in all his under-takings."a Instead of 12000, we have 18000 in Samuel and in Chronicles:-a difference which may be explained either from the different methods of reckoning, or by the supposition that all such estimates of numbers are given at random. Both de-viations furnish a strong presumption in favour of the origi-nality of the title: one of later date would have contained the facts exactly as given in the historical records. The title contains within itself very important proof of its ori-ginality; and this proof is confirmed by the contents of the Psalm. This confirmation has in it all the greater weight, that the con-tents are not of such a kind as naturally to have suggested the circumstances noticed in the title. The contents, however, it may be remarked, are well fitted to shew the folly of those who deprive themselves of the aid which the titles supply. The warlike con- a Michaelis is short and good: "David, as king, Joab as commander in chief, and Abishai, as sent by his brother on this particular expedition, defeated the enemy."fident tone, the triumphant contempt of the enemy expressed at ver. 8, point to a time of highest prosperity in the state. And, in particular, the reign of David is indicated by the circumstances, that the three hostile neighbouring nations, spoken of in this verse, were all signally defeated by David, and that in ver. 6 and 7, the countries on both sides of Jordan, and also Ephraim and Judah, appear as united in one kingdom, of which kingdom Judah was the head-a state of matters which ceased to exist immediately after Solomon, and to whose time it is impossible to refer the Psalm, on account of the prevailing warlike cha-racter by which it is distinguished. Finally, it is evident from ver. 9-13, that the Psalm was composed in view of an expedition against Edom. The exact date of the composition of the Psalm may be determined from comparing this verse with the title,-viz. after the victory over Edom in the valley of Salt, and before the actual occupation of the country. From this induction of particulars we might have expected a perfect agreement as to the occasion on which the Psalm was composed. Such, however, has been the passion for scepticism and arbitrary interpretation, that even here a monument in its favour must be erected. It is on utterly untenable grounds that the title has been explained as unsuitable. The assertion that the kingdom under David never was in such a shattered state as is described in ver. 1-3, is refuted by the 44. Psalm. The other objection, viz, that there is a hope expressed in ver. 6 and 7, of conquering the whole of Palestine, of which David had long be-fore that time been in entire possession, depends upon a false translation, as is abundantly evident from the triumphant and confident character of the Psalm, and also from the fact that it is the safe possession of his own land that forms the basis of the immediately designed expedition against Edom.-The complete worthlessness of those attempts which have been recently made to define positively the occasion on which the Psalm was com-posed, as different from that pointed out in the title, may be easily seen. Thus the idea of Koester and Maurer, that the Psalm was composed in exile, or immediately after the return from exile, is put to shame even in ver. 10; and Hitzig's assertion, that it was composed in the time of the Macca-bees, which is founded on a false translation of ver. 4, is re-butted by ver. 7: Ephraim is the strength of mine head. Really it is not worth our trouble to go farther into such arbitrary notions. The first strophe is ver. 1-4: The Lord has sorely tried his people, but he has now gloriously vindicated his truth and his faithfulness to his promises, by repairing their loss.-Ver. 1.0 God, thou, who didst cast us of, and break us, wast angry; now thou comfortest again. Ver. 2. Thou didst make the earth to tremble and to rend, heal its breaches for it shakes. Ver. 3. Thou didst shew thy people hard things, thou didst make us drink intoxicating wine. Ver. 4. Thou hast given those who fear thee a banner to lift up because of the truth. It appears probable, from ver. 10, that צהתני and פרצתני belong to a re-lative clause: and this is rendered more evident by the term of the last clause, evidently in opposition, תשובב, which has to do only with, "thou hast been angry." The clause, which precedes this one, points out in what way God has shewn his anger. On זנהתנו comp. Psalms 43:2; Psalms 44:9. The פרץ is like פרץ פרץ, with ב: comp. 2 Samuel 5:20, which passage is the more remarkable in as much as it shews, when compared with 6:8, that פרץ, in the sense in which it is used here, is really a Davidic expression: to break a wall or a besieged city, (under which image Israel is spoken of here as in Judges 21:15 : compare Job 16:14; Job 30:14), that is, to make a breach. It is obvious, on comparing Psalms 44. that these words, and also ver. 2 and 3, refer to the severe losses which Israel had formerly sustained in the war against the Syrians, and especially through the irruption of the Edomites. The reference is entirely directed to the miserable condition of the people in the last days of Saul. The context, which fol-lows, slims that תשובב is not to be taken in the sense of a wish or a prayer, but is the present tense. Verses 2d and 3d are an expansion of thou hast been angry, and in verse 4, תשובב is expanded and shewn to indicate that God now, by a return of prosperity, had gladdened the hearts of his people. The use of the present tense shews, in unison with the title, that the season of prosperity had just commenced. "Thou causest to return to us" is obviously to be supplemented by "that of which in anger thou didst deprive us, our former safety."-The figure of ver. 2 is, that of violent earthquakes which rend the earth. The Psalmist compares the former miserable condition of the kingdom to the earth when thus rent and divided. "Thou hast made the earth to tremble and to rend," i. e. "in our case." As the salvation had already succeeded, (compare the title, "thou causest to return to us" in ver. 1, and ver. 4,) we are to understand "heal its breaches" as spoken under arealizing sense of the past misery, and, as it was, from that con-dition,-"heal," we said, "its breaches." Comp Psalms 30:9; Psalms 30:10. -Intoxicating wine in ver. 3, is wine which is followed by intoxication, wine mixed with roots which increase its strength: comp. Psalms 75:8. The two nouns stand next each other in the status abs. This construction, which occurs frequently in other passages, (comp. Ewald's Large Grammar, p. 627, Small Gr. p. 515,) is similar to one in the German language, in which the case-termination, indicating the relation in which the one noun stands to the other, is frequently omitted, as, for example, taumelwein not taumelswein. The threatened approach of di-vine judgment is frequently represented by the figure of pre-senting such wine. The passage before us is the fundamental one; Psalms 75. and Isaiah 51:17; Isaiah 51:22, (to which last Jeremiah 25:15; Jeremiah 49:12, allude,) refer to it. Compare Kueper, Jeremiah, p. 139. It is not the effect of suffering in the mind that is depicted by this figure, the despair, or the terror: the point of comparison is the helplessness and misery of the condition; drunkenness 18 a state of entire prostration of bodily strength. Compare Isaiah 51:18; Isaiah 51:20.- We have already observed that ver. 4 is related to ver. 2, and to ver. 3, exactly in the same way as in ver. 1 תשובב is related to what precedes. The Psalmist had thought upon the depth of the misery, only because this brought the delivering grace of God more prominently into view. This becomes ex-ceedingly evident on comparing Psalms 108. The first part of that Psalm contains an ascription of praise to God for a favour which had been already granted, and in this respect it differs from the first part of this one. On this there follows, in close connection with the second part here, and with only a few alterations, the prayer for further grace. The Psalmist compares the salvation which the Lord bestows upon his people to a highly exalted banner, which serves as a signal, to a man lying low in misery, to rise up, with perhaps an allusion to Numbers 21:8, "And the Lord said to Moses, Make thee a serpent, and set it upon a standard-pole, and it happened that every one who was bitten and looked at it lived;" at any rate, that passage in which the serpent is a symbol of the healing power of God may serve to illustrate the passage before us: compare "heal its breaches." That התנוסס is nothing else than the Hiph. from. נסס in the sense of "to be elevated," is evident from the passage Zechariah 9:16, from the connection with נס, properly "something lifted up," and from the reference, which it it is impossible to mistaketo the miserably low condition of those who are drunk with the wine of intoxication, ver. 3. Hence we are to reject not only the derivation from נוס, "to fly," but also the translation "to stand up." The Psalmist in the expression, "because of thy truth," points out the cause of the salvation imparted to the people. It proceeds from the divine truth or faithfulness; see Romans 15:8. The sense "truth" is confirmed by קשט in Proverbs 22:21, and by the Syriac. The idea of "bow," קשט=קשת may be left to the wandering fancies of the old translators. That "the truth," is the divine steadfastness to truth, is evident from what follows, where everything refers to the truth of God: compare especially "because of thy truth" in this verse with the corresponding clause in ver. 6, "in his holiness." Hitzig and others give a false rendering: "to rise for the sake of the truth," or, "in defence of the true religion." The "truth" is obviously placed, from design, at the end of the sentence. The following paragraph, where the hope of future aid is made to rest on the truth of God, could not have been better intro-duced, than by closing the sentence with a reference of the deliverance already obtained as resulting from the truth of God. In the second strophe, ver. 5-8, the church prefers a prayer for farther deliverance, and makes it to rest on the glorious promises which God, who is not a man that he should lie, nor the son of man that he should repent, has put on record. Ver. 5. In order that thy beloved may be relieved, help with thy right hand and hear us. Ver. 6. God has spoken in his holiness, there-fore will I rejoice, I will divide Shechem, and measure the valley Succoth. Ver. 7. Gilead is mine, and Manasseh is mine, and Ephraim, the strength of my head, Judah, my lawgiver, Ver. 8. Moab is my washing-tub, on Edom I cast my shoe, Philistia rejoice to me. Calvin on ver 5: "In adding prayer, he reminds us that God, when he lifts us up on high by his gracious deeds, ought to be modestly and humbly entreated to promote his own work." The fundamental passage, for "thy beloved," is Deuteronomy 33:12, where Benjamin is referred to as the beloved of the Lord, not in opposition to the rest of the race, but on account of his sym-pathy with the whole of the community. David also, in refe-rence undoubtedly to this passage, designated Solomon, (2 Samuel 12:25,) by the name Jedidiah. In reference to the accusative ימינך, compare at Psalms 3:4. The Keri "hear me," instead of "us," has been adopted, only because the singular is used in the following clauses. It was not observed, that the singular num-ber denotes plurality.-The Psalmist in ver. 6-8, founds his hope of having his prayer answered on the divine promise. The question may be asked to what divine promise does the Psalmist here refer. Most expositors refer to one not other-wise known to us, and given in the time of the Psalmist. The real reference is to the general aspect of the assurances given in the Pentateuch in regard to the possession of the land of Canaan in its widest extent, and victory over hostile neighbours. As far as regards the first of these, the Psalmist has particularly in his eye the blessing of Jacob in Genesis 49., the very language of which he employs in ver. 7, and the blessing of Moses in Deuteronomy 33.; and as regards the latter, the prophecies of Balaam. In favour of this view we may urge, besides the manifest reference to the Pentateuch, "the lily of the testimony," in the title; the circumstance, that here the enemies in the north, with whom Da-vid had so much to do, are not even mentioned; the expressions, "I will divide," and "I will measure," which can only be explain-ed, if considered as spoken at the era of Moses; and finally, that the historical record gives no notice of any such promises having been ever made to David in regard to the extension of his king-dom.-The expression "in his holiness," (comp. Psalms 89:36, Amos 4:2,)-not "by his holiness," and still less "in his sanc-tuary,"-is equivalent to, "as the Holy One," "as he who is separated from all created and finite beings, (see Psalms 22:3,) and therefore above all deceit and change:" comp. Numbers 23:19.-The substance of the speech of God is given, though in an indirect form, in what follows. We may gather what it was, from the reply as grounded on it, which is made by the people: "God has given to me glorious promises, which as the Holy One, he must fulfil, and on the ground of them I will re-joice," &c. For it is clear as day that we cannot, with Ewald, consider what follows as being spoken by God: the clauses, "Ephraim is the strength of my head," "Judah is my law-giver," are sufficient to shew this, as is indeed verse 6 itself; for though God be supposed to speak there, yet it cannot be said that he has divided to Israel Succoth and Shechem: and yet it must come to this. Hence we cannot read the words-I will rejoice, &c. with marks of quotation.-That in the expression,“I will rejoice,” &c. we are not to suppose that David is the speaker, (as many have done, and thereby have wrought confu-sion,) but Israel, is evident from "hear us," at the end of ver. 5; also the use of the plural in the whole of the first strophe, and in the passage from ver. 10 to ver. 12, and finally from the clause, "Judah is my lawgiver," which, on the other supposition, would be wholly destitute of meaning.-"I will rejoice," refers to the whole of the divine promises. These are divided into two parts, as referring to the possession of Canaan, and to victory over the neighbouring nations. "I will divide my lawgiver," refers to the first. The sense is:- "the whole of Canaan is my inalienable possession, I will do and act in it without control; no man shall succeed in removing portions or tribes of it from the whole." The invasion of the Edo-mites has opened the eyes of the Israelites to the high value of those divine promises, which guarantee their occupancy of their own land, and to the importance of these promises at the present juncture. This thought is individualized by naming in succes-sion several particular places, objects and tribes, which, to-gether, make up a description of the whole land, in all its ex-tent. First, with this view, we have Shechem named on the one side Jordan, and Succoth on the other. The representation in the passage before us, of the two great divisions of the land by these two places, is made in manifest reference to Genesis 33:17; Genesis 33:18, where Jacob, on returning from Mesopotamia, first settles at Succoth, where he builds an house, and afterwards goes on to Shechem, where he builds an altar. The Psalmist sees in that action of Jacob-it is really very remarkable that Jacob makes a formal settlement in both places, and all the more so, that it is expressly intimated in ver 18, that Shechem was the first station, properly speaking, to which he came within the limit of Canaan,-a type and a pledge of the occupancy of the land by his posterity, an assurance that they would possess it on both sides of the Jordan. The clause: "I will divide and measure," indicates, in general, the free grant: yet the choice of this par-ticular phrase for expressing the free grant, manifestly shews, that the writer had in his eye the point of time when the pro-mise was originally made, comp. Joshua 13:7; Joshua 18:8.-Next, in ver. 7, several places are named, for the purpose of shewing,that in virtue of the divine word, both divisions belong to Israelin all their extent. First, there are selected, in immediate con-nection with Succoth the place last named, Gilead and Manasseh,the two great divisions of the whole. The half tribe of Manas-seh did indeed, on the one side, occupy a portion of Gilead; but this, in the present case, is kept out of view, and attention is directed to Bashan, which formed the main portion of the pos-sessions of that tribe. Comp. Deuteronomy 3:12; Deuteronomy 3:13, Raumer, p. 229. Gilead was chiefly occupied by Reuben and Gad. On this side Jordan, Ephraim and Judah are mentioned, the two leading tribes of the nation, which could not be separated from it with-out endangering its whole existence, and with which, therefore, the whole must stand or fall. It is expressly said, that these are noticed as the main divisions of the country. There is no necessity for explaining "Ephraim is mine, the strength of my head, and Judah is my lawgiver," as in opposition to ver. 8. "Is mine," is implied in "is, (i.e. "is and continues to") the strength of my head." "The strength of my head" is to be explained from Psalms 27:1. "The fortress of life," in that Psalm, is the fortress which protects life; and the fortress of the head can only be the fortress which protects the head. The "head" is named as the part most exposed to a fatal wound; compare Psalms 68:21; Psalms 110:4, "The helmet of my head" is altogether pre-posterous. Ephraim is mentioned in Genesis 48:19, as a par-ticularly rich and powerful tribe; he is signalized in the blessing of Jacob; in Deuteronomy 33:17, it is said of him: "his horns are the horns of a buffalo, with them he shall push nations." "Ju-dab is my lawgiver," = "Judah is my (Israel's) ruling tribe." "The rod of authority," is an arbitrary invention. Reference is made to Genesis 49:10 : "The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet," that is, "he shall always take the rule over Israel."-The Lord has promised to his people, not only the undivided possession of their own land, but also victory over the surrounding nations, ver. 8. This verse points to that portion of the divine promises, to which we have here arrived, according to the title and the last strophe. In ver. 6 and 7, the enemies could not succeed in, their attempts to injure Israel; here the enemies shall submit to Israel, in re-ference to his expedition for the subjugation of Edom. The enemies are brought forward in geographical order, beginning at the east, and thence along the south to the west. This suf-ficiently explains the fact, that Edom, against whom the expe-dition is directed, is placed in the middle instead of being found at the end: Ewald draws an entirely false conclusion from this circumstance. Moab is named before Edom on account of theprophecy of Balaam; see on Balaam, p. 184. "Moab is my washing tub," is expressive of the state of ignominious bondage to which David reduced the Moabites: compare 2 Samuel 8:2, "And so the Moabites became David's servants." The vessel used for washing the feet was a dishonourable vessel: comp. Herod. 2, 172. When, keeping in view the idea of washing the feet, a person throws his shoes, which he has taken off, to anyone to be taken away or to be cleaned,- השליך with על and also with אל, 1 Kings 19:19, is "to throw to any one," the individual to whom it belongs to perform such an office, must be a slave of the lowest kind: comp. Matthew 3:11; Acts 13:25. The expression is not used in Scripture in the sense of "to take possession of property:" in Rth 4:7, the putting off the shoe is symbolical of giving up one's right. "Rejoice over me Philistia," is to be explained by "rejoice with trembling," Ps. ii.. 11; it is the shout of a king that is meant, the outward ex-pression of subjection for the purpose of averting the threatened punishment; compare also, "The sons of strangers feign to me," in Psalms 18:44. In Psalms 108:9, it is suitably varied by, "I will rejoice over Philistia." The translation, "lament over me, Philistia," is negatived by the parallel passage: the Hithp. besides, has the sense of "rejoice," in the few passages in which it else-where occurs: Psalms 65:13. The Philistines who, during the period of the judges, had severely oppressed Israel, were brought down to the very dust by David: comp. 2 Samuel 8:1; 2 Samuel 8:14; 2 Samuel 8:1. Chron. 18:13. In the third strophe, (ver. 9-12), the people ground upon the glorious promises of God, referred to in the second, the hope of success in the expedition against Edom, and a prayer for the same.-Ver. 9. Who will bring me to the strong city, who conducts me to Edom. Ver. 10. Wilt not thou, O God, "who puttest us away, and marchest not forth, O God, among our enemies." Ver. 11. Give us help against the enemy; and decep-tive is the help of man. Ver. 12. In God we will do valiantly, and he will tread down our enemies.-The 9th verse is in reality connected with the second strophe by a then: inasmuch ashave in my favour such a sure word of God. The strong city is the wonderful rock-built city Petra, the most import-ant city of Idumea in later times: See Robinson, § 1, p. 128. It is evident, especially from 2 Kings 14:17, that Petra is exclusively referred to: "Amaziah slew Edom in the valley of Salt, (comp. title of the Ps.) and took Sela in war, and calledit Joktel to this day." The מצור עיר, "city of strength," is used also in Psalms 31:21, which is a Davidic Psalm, and in Micah 7:12. The pret. נהני is the pret. of faith, which anti-cipates the future, and so represents the matter to itself, as if God had already led forth.-"Who puttest us away," &c. is not to be considered as equivalent to "even while thou," &c. but to "although thou hast put us away." The man who has the word and promise of God in his favour, cannot be shaken from his hope of deliverance by any contrary experiences:-these only serve to put his faith to the test. He regards every thing of a contrary character as a thin cloud, through which the sun of salvation will burst forth in his own good time. The words, "who marchest not out," &c., are to be read with marks of quotation. They are quoted from Psalms 44:9, and are to he re-garded as equivalent to, "thou of whom it used to be said," &c. That Psalm was evidently composed when the author was in a state of misery, as is clear from the use of the future tense.-The עזרת in ver. 11, and in Psalms 108:12, is used instead of the usual form עזרה. "And deceptive," = "because deceptive." Calvin: "If in our contests with man we are not permitted to share the glory between ourselves and God, must it not be a much more intolerable offence in the work of salvation, to place the power of free will along side of the grace of the Holy Ghost, as if the two wrought in equal proportions together? Those men also perish through their pride, who, without God, attempt even one particle of virtuous conduct."-In the words, "in God we will do valiantly," there is a manifest allusion to the clause in the prophecy of Balaam, Numbers 24:18, "And Israel shall do valiantly," in which there is foretold the subjugation of Edom and Moab by the sceptre which was to rise out of Israel. The Psalmist virtually introduces the verse thus: As the Spiritof God said by Balaam, In, God shall we do valiantly. היל עשה.always signifies to act powerfully, mightily, valiantly: Compare on Balaam, p. 185. On "he will tread down," see Psalms 44:5. 2 Samuel 8:14, shows how David's hope was fulfilled, as far as the Edomites were concerned: "And he put garrisons in Edom, throughout all Edom he put garrisons, and all they of Edom became David's servants: and the Lord preserved David whithersoever he went." Psalms 61. THE Psalmist prays in great distress to the Lord for deliver-ance (ver. 1, 2), grounds thin prayer on the fact that the Lord is his Saviour (ver. 3), and expresses his confident expectation of help from God (ver. 4). The basis of this confidence lies in this, that the God who hears his prayer has promised him an eternal dominion; may God, in fulfilment of this promise, vouch-safe to him deliverance; and he will continually thank him, (ver. 5-8). The Psalm consequently is divided into two strophes, separated by Selah, and consisting each of five verses, ver.4,) and ver. (5-8). In the first we have prayer and confidence, and in the second, the grounds of the confidence. That David was the author of the Psalm is evident not less from its title than from its contents. The mention of the taber-nacle-temple (ver. 4.) leads us to the time of David. And inas-much as the Psalm was undoubtedly composed by a king-for it is as such that the Psalmist claims salvation as grounded on a divine promise-this king can be none other than David. This, moreover, is evident even from ver. 5. For there the author refers to the promises contained in 2 Samuel 7. as having been imparted to him in answer to his prayer. The question may be asked, whether David composed the Psalm for any particular occasion, or merely for his own com-fort, and that of his successors on the throne, in disastrous times, and for the purpose of confirming the courage of his subjects. In favour of the first view, we have the clause, "from the ends of the earth," which would seem to intimate that the Psalmist was at the time in exile, and that therefore the Psalm must have been composed during the rebellion of Absalom, when David was beyond Jordan: comp. Psalms 42:6. This special occasion, however, must not lead us to lose sight of the general reference. It could only be by keeping this reference in view that David issued the Psalm for public use. The Psalm, even in our days, has its complete use, inasmuch as the promises in 2 Samuel 7. have undoubtedly their complete fulfilment in Christ. Gener-ally, whenever the kingdom of Christ is in danger, we may, in addition to other considerations, plead with God as the Psalm-ist does, on the ground also of this particular promise which he there made.Title: To the Chief Musician, on David's instrumental music, by David. "On David's instrumental music" (comp. on נגינה in Ps. liv.) is to be explained by Habakkuk 3:19, where thechurch calls the musical instruments of the temple its musicalinstruments. It is obvious that לדוד must be connected withthe preceding noun, because that noun is in the stat. constr.But this cannot be its only connection. For, in that case, therewould be no reason for the existence of the ל, and, besides, in the titles, לדוד, is the usual mark which points out that the Psalm was composed by David, and finally, this mark cannot be wanting herein the midst of Psalms, all of which are inscribed withthe name of David. We must, therefore, assume that לדוד both supplies the place of a genitive to נגינת and also serves to point out the authorship of the Psalm,-an idea which har-monizes well with the enigmatical character of the titles com-posed by David. The idea that the stat. constr. is used instead of the stat. abs. and that נגינת is to be pointed as if it were a plural, are mere attempts to cut the knot, and have, more-over, the analogy of the title of the following Psalm against them, a title which corresponds exactly to the one before us. The first strophe, ver. 1-4.-Ver. 1. Hear, O God, my cry, and attend to my prayer. Ver. 2. From the end of the earth I cry to thee in the trouble of my heart, wilt thou lead me to a rock which is too high for me. Ver. 3. For thou art my confi-dence, a strong tower before my enemies. Ver. 4. I will dwell in thy tabernacle for ever, I will trust in the shelter of thy wings.- הארץ קצה in ver. 2, stands in the sense of "the end of the earth," "its extreme part;" comp. for example, Deuteronomy 28:64; and it will not do to translate it either "from the end of the land;" or "low down on the earth," with Luther, (cam-pensis: e terra, quae longissimo tractu a coelo distat,) nor "from the extreme depth of the earth," with Clauss. The end of the earth is at the same time the end of the heaven, (comp. Deuteronomy 4:32, Isaiah 13:5), and therefore that portion of it which is most remote from the throne of God, which was supposed to stand in the middle: comp. Psalms 135:7, Jeremiah 10:13; Jeremiah 51:16. David, when he was driven out of the Lord's land, properly so called, felt as much distressed as if he had been banished to the utmost extremity of the earth, far from the face of God. And as there is, after all, in the expression an element of feeling, wemay perhaps consider it as equivalent to "I feel as far fromthee as if I were banished to the utmost extremity of the earth." Still, that the idea conveyed by the expression contains as its principal element a matter of fact, is evident from the parallel passage in Psalms 42:7, from the circumstance that immediately after verse 5 David speaks in his own name, and from the refe-rence in the following Psalm to the time of Absalom. The rock is noticed as a place of security; compare Psalms 40:2. "Which is too high for me," is, "which is so high that I cannot in my own strength ascend it."-The היות in ver. 3 is to be taken as a pre-sent: the Psalmist grounds his prayer not only on what God has been, but on what he always is towards him. Proverbs 18:10 refers to the second clause: "the name of the Lord is a strong tower, the righteous runneth into it and is safe:" this is all the more evident from the fact, that the second part is strictly connected with the conclusion of ver. 2 The "I will dwell" in verse 4, is an energetic expression for, "I shall dwell." The Psalmist is so sure of his privilege, that he proceeds as it were to take possession of it, without any regard to the misery of his pre-sent condition, by which he is effectually excluded from its enjoyment. On "dwelling in the house of the Lord," in the sense of "enjoying his grace;" see Psalms 27:4, and the pas-sages quoted there. The עולמים, properly "eternities," but also "eternal," shews that David, with his eye on the pro-mises in 2 Samuel 7. looked upon himself as identified with his posterity: comp. Psalms 21:4. So far from his enemies having it in their power to rob him personally of what the grace of God had given him, he is safe through this grace even to the most distant posterity. For the second clause compare Psalms 36:7. The second strophe (ver. 5-8) contains the ground of David's confidence, viz. that sure word of prophecy, which guaranteed to him eternal dominion: against this rock all the waves of re-bellion must dash in vain.-Ver. 5. For thou, O Lord, heardest my vows, thou gavest the inheritance to them who feared thy name: Ver. 6. Thou wilt add days to the days of the king, his years last for many generations. Ver. 7. He will sit on a throne for ever before God, appoint mercy and truth to preserve him. Ver. 8. Therefore will I sing praise to thy name continually, paying my vows every day.-The "vows" in ver. 5 are prayers mingled with vows, like Jacob's vow. We gather the object of this prayer from verse 6: it is the continuance of his dominion. That the promise of Nathan was given in answer to ardentprayer on the part of David, we gather also from Psalms 21:2; Psalms 21:4, which throughout is to be considered as parallel to the 61:"thou hast given him his heart's desire, and hast not withholden the request of his lips,-he desired life of thee, and thou gavest it him, even length of days for ever and ever." The in-heritance of those who feared the name of the Lord is salvation: -even though we were to translate as erroneously as many have done, "thou gavest their inheritance to the leavers of thy name," as if the constr. case could be used instead of the absolute.-In what this, inheritance of the Lord consists, (for the expression, being altogether general in its form, requires some limitation), is seen in ver. 6, which stands in the same relation to ver. 5, as in Psalms 21. verses 3 and 4, stand to verse 2. David's fear of God had received as its reward the promise of eternal do-minion. Those who perceive the connection (at the end of ver. 5, there should be a colon), will not think anything of the usual future תוסיף being used in an optative sense. David speaks designedly of the days of the king instead of his own days, as might have been expected from what had been said, for the purpose of showing that he considered the promise of eternal dominion as relating not to himself personally but to his family -the royal family of David. In the second clause we supply from the first, "thou wilt increase." "As generation and ge-neration,"-so that they resemble the continuance of a whole succession of generations.-"Before God," in ver. 7, is "under the protecting guardianship of his grace:" compare 2 Samuel 7:29, " And now let it please thee to bless the house of thy ser-vant, that it may continue for ever before thee." The מן,imper. from מנה in Pih., is to instruct, to appoint�\הסר and אמת, which are accusatives. Mercy and Truth are God's servants, which are instructed to protect his devoted people, the royal family of David: compare "God will send his mercy and his truth," Psalms 57:3, and Psalms 43:3. The "appoint" rises from the ground of "he will appoint:"-the imperative, there-fore, has a close affinity to the future: see similar imperatives in 2 Samuel 7:29.-The "therefore" in ver 8, "is if thou fulfillest this prayer and thine own promise." David undertakes for his posterity in regard to the vow of thanks. At all times the call of grace will be accompanied by the corresponding call of thanks. In reference to the לשלמי, "paying therefore my vows," (for thanks formed the soul of a vow), or "so that I pay," compare Ewald, § 544. Psalms 62. THE Psalmist begins with an expression of his unlimited con-fidence in God: it is in God only that his soul finds rest, be-cause God only is his Saviour, (ver. 1, 2). Then he turns his eye towards the occasion which had led him to seek refuge under the wings of God;-the diversified wickedness of his nu-merous enemies, who had aimed at robbing him of his dignity, and at the same time of his life, (ver. 3 and 4). The conside-ration of this leads him to exhort his soul to seek rest only in God as his only helper, (ver. 5-7), and to invite all men to trust in him, (ver. 8). The exhortation to trust in God is fol-lowed by a warning against trusting in any thing else except God,-the help of man, the power of oppression, unrighteous wealth and uncertain riches, (ver. 9 and 10),-and, as the basis of this exhortation, he points (ver. 11, 12), to the infinite power and love of God. The Psalm consists exactly of twelve verses. It is divided into three strophes, which contain each four verses. In favour of this we have the Selah at the end of ver. 4 and ver. 8, and each strophe beginning with "only," which is unquestionably the characteristic mark of the Psalm. We might at first sight feel inclined to suppose, that one strophe must necessarily end with verse 7, where the Psalmist finishes having to do with the state of his own heart, and that verse 8, where he turns his at-tention outward, and begins to exhort and to teach others, must necessarily begin a new one. But a closer inspection is suffi-cient to satisfy us that this is not the case. The difference is one of form merely between the direct and the indirect exhor-tation. Even in ver. 1-7. the Psalmist addresses the churchhe lays before them, for their imitation, what is passing in his own soul: My soul rests in God," contains in its back ground, "let your soul rest in God." This is evident even from "To the Chief Musician" of the title. No Psalm could have been set apart for public use if it were not of general applica-tion. In favour of the Davidic authorship of the Psalm asserted in the title, we have one of the characteristic peculiarities of Da-vid's compositions occurring throughout, viz. the inseparable blending together of what is individual with what is general: comp. for example, Psalms 32:51. The assertion of Ewald, thatthe writer, according to verse 11, must have been a prophet, is founded on a mistake. The divine revelation, of which the Psalmist there speaks, belongs to the same class as that men-tioned in Job 33:13, and as those which are common to all believers. In favour of the supposition that the Psalm was composed during the time of Absalom's rebellion, or at least that the circumstances of that period are primarily referred to, we have the 4th verse, where it is said, that the whole object of the ene-mies is to deprive him of his dignity, the 5th verse, where the Psalmist calls God his honour, and the resemblance to Psalms 3:3; Psalms 3:4. Ewald, in his remarks on these Psalms, brings out the close resemblance between them and the circumstances in which the Author of our Psalm was placed-circumstances in which David was placed at that time: "The enemies by whom he is distressed appear, according to verse 3d, to be a set of thoughtless, slanderous citizens, elated with their newly acquired importance, and endeavouring to bring the Psalmist to the dust, and to annihilate him, because they cannot bear his spiritual eminence and superiority." The remarks of Amyraldus relative to the peculiar nature and characteristic features of the Psalm, are worthy of notice: "There is in it throughout not one single word (and this is a rare occurrence), in which the prophet expresses fear or dejection, and there is also no prayer in it, although, on other occasions; when in danger, he never omits to pray. The Prophet found himself remarkably well furnished in reference to that part of piety which consists in נכחסןצשסויב, the full assurance and per-fection of faith, and therefore he designed to rear a monument of this his state of mind, for the purpose of stimulating the reader to the same attainment." The particle ך`א is of great importance in reference to the determination of the peculiar nature of the Psalm: it occurs no less than six times; and this frequent repetition is of itself suffi-cient to point it out as the soul of the Psalm. The "yea," by which most translators render it, is far too insignificant to bear this frequent repetition. If we adhere to the usual rendering, "only," we find, what indeed was requisite, that all the posi-tions which are introduced by the "only," are arranged in a continuous series: only in God does my soul find rest, because it is only God who is my helper, at a time when my enemiesare only considering how they may destroy me. The lesson taught is this, that when we are exposed to relentless hatred on the part of powerful enemies, and when generally in extreme necessity and danger, it is only by going decidedly and directly to cast ourselves without reserve on God, that we obtain quiet and peace to our soul. If we apply to the contest against sin, what in the Psalm before us is said, in the first instance, and directly, of our relation to outward enemies, we obtain this by faith alone. The title. To the Chief Musician over Jeduthun, a Psalm of David. The president of the choir of Jeduthun was, according to 1 Chronicles 25:1; 1 Chronicles 25:3, under David, Jeduthun himself:-the choir consisted of his Sons. It is therefore manifest, that the difference is not great between the title and that of Psalms 39. -"To the chief musician, Jeduthun " As the נצה stands connected withעל, the existence of a Jeduthunic choir in the time of David, and indeed in later times, is sufficiently ascertained, (see Ps. 87:1), and as the title thus interpreted is in entire accordance with that of Psalms 39. , there is no reason whatever for adopting, in preference to this translation, one less satisfactory, viz. "accor-ding to Jeduthun," that is, "in the way invented by him." The first strophe is ver. 1-4. The Psalmist finds rest only in God, because it is only from him that there can be salvation, in the face of powerful and determined wickedness.-Ver. 1,Only to God is my soul silent, from him comes my salvation. Ver. 2. Only he is my rock and my salvation, my strong hold, I shall not be much shaken. Ver. 3. How long do you rage all of you like a storm let loose against a man, (do you) murder (him) all of you, like a bending partition, a wall which is violent-ly struck at. Ver. 4. Only from his dignity do they think to thrust him down, they have pleasure in lies, they bless with the mouths and in the heart they curse.-The first clause of ver. 2 is literally, "Only to God is silence my soul," that is, "Only the direct turning of my soul to God gives it quiet and peace." The "silence" דומה (is always a substantive, it occurs no-where else except in the Psalms of David, and was probably a word of his own formation), is not patient trust, quiet resigna-tion, so as to be considered as parallel to Isaiah 30:15 : it denotes the opposite of that state of tumultuous agitation which pre-vails in the soul as long as it looks anywhere else, when in great trouble, than to God for help: comp. Psalms 42:5, especially"thou art disquieted in me," and Psalms 22:2. Jo. Arnd: "When we put God out of view, and have not recourse to prayer, the sea is not more agitated in a storm than is the heart and soul of man. For there come in succession, pain, fear, terror, con-cern, impatience, and so forth, until devair follows, which sinks the poor ship of the soul to the bottom." In reference to the "only," the same author thus writes, "When in affliction, turn whithersoever you like, if you turn not to God you will find no rest." The "to God" is "ad Deum directa." Several transla-tors give the first clause as an exhortation with reference to verse 5. But in such repetitions, there is generally a slight change, and that the "is" ought to be supplied here, is evident from the analogy of the second clause. The "for," in verse 5, shows that this second clause contains the basis of the first: for from him is my salvation: only in God my soul finds rest, for he only can help me.-The basis of this is set forth in verse 2. There is a progression of thought here: the "only" is emphatic:-- he and he only is my Saviour. The accumulation of names of God is as characteristic of David, (comp. for ex-ample, Ps. kviii.) among the writers of the Psalms, as it is of Paul Gerhardt among Christian poets. Calvin: "The reason why he heaps together so many names of God is, that he may meet and throw back the assaults of Satan, by, as it were, so many shields." It is only raw inexperience that can find in such passages "clattering talkativeness." In reference to "myrock," and "my stronghold," see Psalms 18:2. The רבה is used adverbially: "much," "greatly." A small misfortune, a tran-sitory sorrow may assail me, (for David sang the Psalm in afflic-tion), but not entire ruin: comp. Psalms 37:24. In ver. 6, "Ishall not be moved," stands alone: the mere stumble not being considered worth speaking of, is left out of sight. The reason why "Elohim" is used throughout the Psalm, becomes evident from the verse before us, and from the preceding one. It is, because the Psalmist is speaking of God, in opposition to every thing of an earthly and human nature: comp. ver. 9 and 10. When such a contrast is drawn, the most general name of God is the most suitable.-In verse 3 and 4, the Psalmist, first in the form of an address to his enemies, and then in the form of re-marks made of them, points at what it was that compelled him to complain to God his only Saviour, We come to learn what we have in God, and to know that he is our only Saviour when weare brought to a state of distress, which, humanly speaking, is irremediable, in contending against determined wickedness. It is only in this school that we learn effectually the "only" of both verses, so that it never again disappears from the mind. The הותת is the Po: of the ἁנבמ כוד. התת, in Arabic,"to break," here with על, manifestly "to break in upon." "All of you" stands in contrast to " a man." All appeared to have conspired against the one man David: comp. Psalms 3:2; Psalms 3:3. In תרצהו there is combined a double reading: viz. והצ;רAת;, the rare Pihel form, in which the Dagesh is wanting and com- pensated by the long vowel; and the usual form והצ.רaת;: comp.Ewald's Small Grammar, p. 277. The first is evidently the original. רצה has always the sense of "to murder," (comp. at Psalms 42:10), and this sense is very suitable here, and not to be given up for the sense of "to shatter in pieces." The whole attempt of David's enemies was a murderous one; his death was the end of all their efforts. In "a bending partition," there is, according to a frequent practice of poets, an implied com-parison:-so that it is with me as with a partition which is be-ginning to fall, a wall, which cannot any longer stand against the continually repeated thrusts which are made against it. It is evident from the clause in the 4th verse, "they think to thrust him down," that it is not the enemies but David who is refer-red to in this figure. There is a similar figure in Isaiah 30:13.-The "only" in ver. 4, indicates that the design of the enemies of David was utterly to destroy him. When this is the case with any one, it is only in God that rest and deliverance can be found. The שאת is "dignity," high station, as in Genesis 49:3, and all other passages. Corresponding to this is הדיה, "to push down," a phrase which was in David's mouth at the time referred to, 2 Samuel 15:14. In the following clause, the Psalm-ist points out the shameful means which the enemies employed in prosecution of their shameful object, and by which they made his condition so desperate. One prominent weapon which the world has always employed in its bitter contest with the church, has been that of lies: compare with, "they have pleasure in lies," (in opposition to the abhorrence which they should have exhibited rather than pleasure), Psalms 4:2, "ye sons of men (here ver. 9), how long will ye turn my glory to shame, how long will ye love vanity and seek lies. On, "with the mouth," &c. comp. Psalms 5:9. The rebels had employed hypocritical deceit,as one of the means of accomplishing their end. The singularsuffix in פיו refers to the ungodly; and, as its position here is inaccordance with a practice, which is common in the Psalms, of passing from actual plurality to ideal unity, and conversely, itwould be incorrect, with Ewald, to maintain, that the singularaffix is admissable only because the language is indefinite: com-pare a similar expression at Psalms 63:10. In the second strophe, which comprehends ver. 5-8, the Psalmist has no longer to do with enemies. He turns with re-newed zeal from them to God, exhorts his soul to seek rest only in him, because he only can and will help, and exhorts all to give themselves into his hands unreservedly as their only Sa-viour.-Vera 5. Only to God, O my soul, be thou silent, for fromhim comes my hope. Ver. 6. Only he is my rock and my sal-vation, my place of defence, I shall not be moved. Ver. 7. In God is my glory, my strong rock and confidence is God. Ver. 8. Trust in him at all times, ye people, pour out your heart before him, God is our confidence.-The almost verbal repetition of ver. 1 and 2, in ver. 5 and 11, shews us, that the Psalmist, after having gone forth among his enemies, returns back to the point from which he had set out, for the purpose of teaching us, that the consideration of our sufferings and dangers should only serve to bring us anew to God. "Be silent to God," (comp. at Ps. 37:7), because to be silent refers to him: only in him, in whom alone it is to be found, and not in the world, (ver. 9 and 10), seek rest, the allaying of thy agitation. "Be thou silent, O my soul," in contradistinction to "my soul is silent," of ver. 1, an-nounces human weakness. Calvin: "Our souls are never so completely quieted that they do not experience some secret agi-tation, as in the sea when a gentle breeze blows, there are nogreat waves, but there is always some agitation. Then we seehow Satan often raises, into new agitation, those who seemed tohave been brought to complete rest." "My hope," = "thething for which I hope," "my salvation:" comp, ver. 1.--I shallnot be moved, ver. 6, however much my enemies strive to thrustme down, ver. 4.-On ver. 7, Calvin: "The epithets which Davidapplies to God, in reference to his power to uphold, are like somany pillars, by which he supports his steadfastness, like somany bridles, by which be restrains the levity of his flesh, sothat he seeks no part of his salvation any where except in God.""My help is over," (על) God is, "it depends on him," "it hashim for its foundation." באלהים, in or on God, so that he is it: comp. ver. 8.-The expression, "at all times," implies not only in prosperity, or in troubles of a comparatively easy cha-racter, but even in the severest affliction, when every other sup-port threatens to give way. עם, ye people, is used as at Psalms 45:12. In reference to "pour out," (Arad: "as when a vessel is completely emptied, that nothing whatever remains in it,") "your hearts before him," Calvin: "David exhorts us to lay aside the fault which is so natural to us, which leads us to con-ceal our pain, and rather to give way to murmuring and despair, than to ease ourselves, by pouring out pious complaints and prayers before God." The heart comes into view in connection with the care and sorrow with which it is filled; so that 1 Pet. v. 17 is parallel as to sense, "Cast all your care upon him, for he careth for you;" comp. Psalms 142:2, "I will pour out my com- plaint before him," 1 Samuel 1:15, and Lamentations 2:19. "God is our confidence," here, in relation to "my confidence is God," at ver. 7, shows how easy and natural is the transition from the I to the you. In the third strophe, ver. 9-12, the Psalmist first rejects allother objects of confidence, and then turns, in the conclusion, towards God, as the only steadfast ground of hope.-Ver. 9. The children of men are only vanity, the sons of man are lies, they mount up in the scale of a balance, they are altogether vain. Ver. 10. Trust not in oppression, and be not proud on the spoils of robbery: if wealth springs up around you, set not your heart upon it. Ver. 11. God has spoken one word, yea there are two which I heard, that "might is God's." Ver. 12. And thine, O Lord, is loving-kindness, for thou rewardest every one accord- ing to his work.-It is evident from verse 10th, that "the children of men are only vanity" in ver. 9 implies "trust not in men, for they are only vanity." Arnd: "If there were any one among men, immortal, not liable to sin, or to change, whom it were impossible for any one to overcome, but who was strong as an angel, such a one might be some-thing, but inasmuch as every one is a man, a sinner, mortal, weak, liable to sickness and death, exposed to pain and terror, like Pharaoh, even from the most insignificant animals, and liable to so many miseries, that it is impossible to count them, the conclusion must be a valid one: "man is nothing." Com-pare Psalms 146:3; Psalms 146:4. "The sons of man," in relation to "the sons of men," forms a climax: comp. P. I. p. 78. Lies;-becausethey cannot fulfil the promises which they make, but entertan with false hopes: comp. at Psalms 40:4. לעלות; "they are for going up,"-they must go up, they are so light: compare Ewald, 544. They are of nothing;-they belong to it: comp. Isaiah 40:17:41:24.-After the human help of ver. 10, there is named, as the second object of false confidence, oppression, by which the ungodly world so often endeavours to prop up its might and dominion. The third object is property, of which others have been robbed, property acquired by unrighteous means. Both of these objects, by a relation common to each, stand opposed to the fourth, inasmuch as in their case, the insecurity which attaches to all earthly things, is aggravated by their lying under the curse of God. The second clause is lite-rally, "be not nothing on what has been stolen;"-whoever putshis trust on what is, nothing will become nothing, himself, com-pare 2 Kings 17:15. The נוב "to sprout," "to grow up of its own accord," depicts the opposite of what has been ac-quired by violent means. היל, is not might, but substance: comp. Deuteronomy 8:11, ss. The heart should not be set even on riches which have been obtained by lawful means, because they are insecure, (1 Timothy 6:17), and not permanent. Arnd: "Riches are like a stream, which soon flows to a person, and may also soon flow away, so that where one had first to pass, with a boat, he may in a short while be able to cross by a step and by and by to walk over with dry feet."-Pointing to the warning contained in ver. 9 and 10, and at the same time, laying the basis of the exhortation of ver. 8, the Psalmist says that God is mighty, in opposition to every thing of an earthly character, and intimates that this is a truth which God had again and again impressed deeply upon his heart. The parallel passages, Job 33:14; Job 40:5, render it evident that the "one," "two" mean more than once, and set aside all other expositions: "God speaketh once, yea twice, yet man perceiveth it not." Calvin: "He wishes to say, let this lesson be thoroughly learned," as what is frequently announced to us re-mains more firmly with us."-In the 12th verse, the Psalmist adds to this word of God, a second, which serves to supplement it. For that the words, "and thine, O Lord, is loving-kindness," do not form part of what God uttered, is evident from the succeeding clause, in which a reason is assigned for the affir-mation there made, and in which the Psalmist addresses God, Next to power, according to which God, and God alone, can help, he has loving-kindness or love, according to which he will help his own people, who alone are the objects of his love; and, moreover, he must have loving-kindness, inasmuch as it is in-volved in the very idea of God, that he recompense every one according to his work, and therefore manifest himself as com-passionate to the righteous, while he destroys the wicked. Romans 2:6; and Revelation 22:12, refer to the second half. These two positions, that God is mighty, and that God is gracious, form the strong pillars on which the confidence of the righteous in God depends,-their cry, "my soul is silent only at God." Psalms 63. THE whole of the Psalm contains the full number of 12 verses, on the assumption that the title is to be considered as an intro-duction, to which the last verse corresponds. The main body contains ten verses: and is divided into two fives. In both halves there is depicted in the midst of trouble, the cordial union of the soul with God for the present, both times in three verses, (ver. 1-3,) and (6-8,) and on the ground of this he raises his hope in reference to the future, ver. 4, 5, and ver. 9, 10, in the first half a hope of his own deliverance, and in the second, a hope of the destruction of his enemies. The conclusion in ver. 11 sums up the whole, and expresses both in a few words. The Psalm is aptly described by Clauss as "a delightful view of the experience of a soul thirsting after God and his grace, and finding itself quickened through inward communion with him, and which knows how to commit its outward lot into his hand." Its great lesson is, that the consciousness of commu-nion with God in trouble, is the sure pledge of deliverance. This is the peculiar fountain of consolation, which is opened up to the sufferer of the Psalm. The Berleb. Bible describes it as a Psalm "which proceeds from a spirit really in earnest. It was the favourite Psalm of M. Schade, the famous preacher in Berlin, which he daily prayed with such earnestness and appro-priation to himself that it was impossible to hear it without emotion." The title runs: "A Psalm of David when he was in the wil-derness of Judah." The wilderness of Judah is the whole wil-derness towards the east of the tribe of Judah, bounded on the north by the tribe of Benjamin, stretching southward to the south-west end of the Dead Sea, westward to the Dead Sea and the Jordan, and eastward to the mountains of Judah:-passages in Josephus, Robinson, II. p. 494, and Matthew 3:1, as compared with ver. 6, shew that the country in the neighbourhood of the Jordan, as far at least as that country lies contiguous to Judah, was a complete wilderness. Without any proof, and against the natural import of the name, against the passage before us, and against Matt. iii., it has been repeatedly maintained, that it is only a part of this wilderness, in which Jericho stands like an oasis, that goes by the name of the wilderness of Judah:-ac-cording to Raumer, the region next the Dead Sea, and, accord-ing to Robinson, "the wilderness along the west side of the Dead Sea." This wilderness is not unfrequently designated simply The Wilderness. In this wilderness David was often found when flying from Saul. In the same wilderness also he took refuge during the rebellion of Absalsom. That he did so is self-evident, inasmuch as the road from Jerusalem to the Jor-dan leads through it: it is, moreover, expressly asserted in more than one passage in the books of Samuel: 2 Samuel 15:23; 2 Samuel 15:28; 2 Samuel 16:2; 2 Samuel 16:14; 2 Samuel 17:16. We cannot refer our Psalm to the time of Saul, because mention is expressly made of a king in ver. 11. On the other hand, in favour of the time of Absalom, besides this reason we have a very marked reference, in ver. 1, "In a dry and parched (עיף) land, without water," to 2 Samuel 16:14," And the king and all the people that were with him came weary, (עיפים) and he rested there;"�\. chap. 16:2, where Zibah brought out in the way, wine, "that such as were faint in the wilderness might drink," and the יגע in chap. 17:2.This reference affords very strong proof in favour of the cor-rectness of the title proof which is strengthened by the cir-cumstance, that, according to verse 11, the speaker must ne-cessarily be the king of Israel. It could only be from not ob-serving the relation in which this concluding verse stands to what goes before, summing up, as it does, the contents of the whole, that any expositors could have been led to consider the king as a different person from the Psalmist, who speaks through-out. From what has been said, it is obvious that the Psalm stands in close connection with the Davidic Psalms generally, and in the closest connection with such of them as belong to thetime of Absalom, especially with Ps. (Ewald remarks both Psalms have a striking similarity, and were undoubtedly compos- ed by the same poet,) and Psalms 2and 4. which are immediately related to the Psalm before us, inasmuch as they were compos-ed during the first night of David's flight, and with Psalms 42., which belongs to the period when David got beyond Jordan. Modern criticism ought to be somewhat distrustful of itself, as the fact is evident, that, in general, only those Psalms are re- lated to each other, which are announced by the titles to belong to the same era. The first Strophe is ver. (1-5.) The Psalmist has a heart-longing after God, ver. 1, in consequence of this he enjoys the most vital communion with him, ver. 2 and 3, and this insures to him the return of his former prosperity, ver. 4 and 5.-Ver. 1. O God, thou art my God, I seek thee, my soul thirsteth after thee, my flesh fainteth after thee in a dry land, and is weary without water. Ver. 2. Therefore I behold thee in the sanctuary, seeing thy power and thy glory. Ver. 3. For thy loving-kind-ness is better than life, my lips praise thee. Ver. 4. Therefore I shall praise thee in my life, in thy name I will lift up my hands. Ver. 5. As with marrow and with fatness my soul shall be sa-tisfied, and with joyful lips my mouth shall praise thee.-It is a proof of the sincerity of David's faith, that he loves so well the expression "my God," with which he begins, (comp. Psalms 3:7; Psalms 18:2; Psalms 18:28; Psalms 22:1; Psalms 22:10), and that he can utter it even when in the deepest misery. Arnd: "Just as a magnet has lost all its power when it does not quickly turn to the north, so faith has lost all its power and is dead, when it does not without delay, turn to God and say, O my beloved God.'" On "my soul thirsteth," (comp. 42:2,) he says: "Just as bodily hunger and thirst are appeased by meat and drink, so the spiritual hunger and thirst of the soul are satisfied only with God." The earnestness of the desire affects the body, as well as the soul, as every strong emotion is accompanied with bodily effectscomp. Psalms 84:2. The עיף is generally connected with ארץ, but the reference to "my flesh," or even to the person is much more natural, as the ארץ is generally feminine, and is used with ציה in the feminine in the preceding clause, and as the parallel passages in the books of Samuel put the matter beyond a doubt. The more recent expositors consider the residence inthe wilderness, and the being weary, as a mere figure descrip- tive of a miserable condition. This may be so; but the par-allel passages in Samuel show that we must abide by the literal rendering. This particular feature, however, must be regarded as introduced as symptomatic and descriptive of the whole condition in which the Psalmist was placed. This is particularly true of the idea of a king who could not get even a drink of water to quench his thirst. All human fountains of consolation and happiness were dried up to the Psalmist. But he thirsts all the more earnestly after the divine fountain which still re-mained open to him. It is by this that a child of God may be known. When the children of the world are in a dry land, and are wearied and without water, the last remains of any desire after God disappear from their souls. But real piety, in propor-tion to the severity of personal suffering, becomes all the more intense in its longings after God. By the extent to which a man, in severe sufferings, can say "I seek thee," &c. may he decide on the state of his soul. The Psalmist in ver. 2 says that he comes, by these his ear-nest desires, into the most intimate connexion with God, and that he will participate in his grace. The כן has its usual sense "therefore," "in consequence of this," comp. Psalms 61.: -"because the whole desire of my heart goes after thee." "To behold God," signifies "always to be assured of his love," "to enjoy his grace," comp. at Psalms 17 :Such a beholding of God can only take place in the sanctuary; for this is the taber-nacle of meeting, the type of the church; there God permits his people to approach him, there they are beside him, even though they are far off in body, yea, even though in a desert-wilderness. Instead of, "I behold thee in the sanctuary," we may ren-der, without any alteration in the sense, "Therefore I dwell with thee in the sanctuary:" comp. at Psalms 27:4, and the pas-sage quoted there, Psalms 61:4. The infinitive with Lamed is to be explained as at Psalms 21:3; Psalms 61:8, to see = so that I see. Where God is beheld, there will his power and glory also be seen: who ever is partaker of his grace, has these developed to him: comp. Psalms 27:13, where to see the goodness of the Lord is to per-ceive his excellence, The power and glory of the Lord are im-mediately developed (and this is what is here spoken of, comp. ver. 3, and its opposite in ver. 4,) in inward comfort, whereby the soul is quickened in the midst of sufferings: compare Psalms 42.-, "The Lord commands his loving-kindness in the day time, and in the night his song is with me," i. e. by day and by night the Lord makes me partaker of his loving-kindness, and bestows it for this reason, that I may sing songs of praise in the midst of sufferings. This verse has had the misfortune to have been fre-quently and in various ways misunderstood. The interpretation comes nearest the truth: through this desire after thee, or in consequence of it, I walk, though in the wildnerness, in commu-nion with thee, as really as if I were in the sanctuary:-an implied comparison. Against this, however, we have the wide- ly spread parallel passages in the Davidic Psalms, according to which, whosoever enjoys the grace of God, wherever he may be, is really, in a spiritual sense, in the sanctuary, and beholds God there. The following interpretations are altogether at fault: "there I long after thee in thy sanctuary, might I only behold thymight and glory:"-this is contrary to the sense of כן and הזה; "therefore might I behold thee"-contrary to the sense of theperfect, and it is absurd to translate "therefore," as in ver. 1, mention is made only of desire; "then I behold thee in thesanctuary," i. e. "then, when I have found thee whom I de-sire, I will rejoice in view of the sanctuary:"-without any foundation, as in ver. 1, the subject spoken of is not finding but seeking, and ver. 3 and 4 would become unintelligible; "there-fore I beheld thee once in the sanctuary is impossible to translate "therefore,"-as I long after thee, therefore I beheld thee! in like manner, ver. 3, and against ver. 4, where כן de-notes in consequence. The true translation contains a most com-forting truth, viz. that in the deepest misery an approach to God and to his grace stands open to us, that he always, and without exception, comes down to us in the exercise of love if we only stretch out to him the arms of desire. "Therefore," says Calvin, "we should learn from his example, that when God deprives us of all outward tokens of his grace, we should behold God in the midst of the abyss with the eye of faith, in order that we may not turn the back upon him, as often as what is visible is withdrawn from us. Yea, even when tyrannical power deprives us of the holy ordinance of the supper and other means of grace, we ought to be upon our guard that we do not turn away the eyes of our mind from God."-The Psalmist in ver. 3, gives his ground for saying that he beholds God in the sanctuary, and that he experiences his power and glory:-Hisloving kindness appears in those consolations which quicken his soul, and if so, so strong are those consolations, he can still love and praise him. In view of such proof of fellowship of love with the Lord, any proof to the contrary, which outward suffering seems to afford, is not worth being regarded:-"for thy loving kindness, which I do possess, is better than the life, of which I am deprived." David's life at that time, consider-ed outwardly, might more properly be called a death than alife:-comp. on life as equivalent to salvation or prosperity, Psalms 16:11; Psalms 30:5, 36:10, and 42:8. "My lips praise thee," stands related to the first clause, in the same way as in Psalms 42:8, "in the night, his song is with me," does to "the Lord commands his loving kindness in the day time." The man who can praise God must be richly blessed by him, must see his power and glory.-The "therefore," in ver. 2, draws an infe-rence from ver. 1, and the "therefore," in ver. 4, draws an infe-rence from verses 2 and 3. As, from the inward longing of the Psalmist after God, there flows inward union with him, in the midst of the trouble of the present, so from this there flows again assurance of the deliverance of the future; for God cannot leave his own people, even outwardly, in death. The man who can praise God in death, has a pledge that he will yet praise him in life, that the Lord will again make him partici-pate even outwardly in his favour. The whole, therefore, de-pends upon this one thing, that the soul has a longing after God. Wherever this is, there is salvation in trouble, and salvationafter trouble. The clause, "I shall bless thee," (i. e. I shall thank thee:-compare Psalms 16:7; Psalms 34:1), in reference to "my lips praise thee," shews that the כן, which refers in reality to the whole contents of verses 2 and 3, is more immediatelyconnected with the conclusion of verse 3. The בהיי, "in my life," i. e. "when brought back to life or to salvation," is translated by many, "during my whole life": but in this way the connection, so full of meaning with מהיים in ver. 3, is not brought out, and, besides, the translation is not correct,- compare at Psalms 30:5. On the lifting up of the hands as thegesture of prayer, see Psalms 28:2. The connection and the parallelism shew that the language refers to prayers of thanks. On the "name of God," "his glory as it has been manifested in his deeds":-in this the Psalmist, when rendering thanks, is sunk down:-compare at Psalms 20:1; Psalms 20:5; Psalms 52:9; Psalms 54:1.-Ver. 5 con- tains the continual expression of hope of future deliverance,which appears under the emblem of a banquet: compare at Psalms 23:5. In reference to "according to lips of joy," i. e. "with them," see at Psalms 3:4. The second strophe, is ver. 6-10. The Psalmist enjoys most intimate communion with God, and from this he has the confident assurance of the defeat of his enemies.-Ver. 6. When I think of thee on my bed, I meditate in thee in the night watches: Ver. 7. For thou art a help to me, and under the shadow of thy wings I can rejoice. Ver. 8. My soul depends on thee, thy right hand holds me fast. Ver. 9. And those go down who seek after my life, they come into the depths of the earth. Ver. 10. They are given over to the power of the sword, they become the prey of the foxes.-The sense of the sixth verse is: when the Psalmist awakens during the night, his every thought on God is like a meditation in him,-he sinks so deep in his reflections on the grace and compassion of God of which he has been a partaker, (ver. 7), that be cannot again fall asleep. On הגה with ב, compare at Psalms 1:2. "In the night-watches," is "throughout the whole night:" compare on the night-watches, Psalms 90:4.-In the 7th verse we have the reason why the Psalmist cannot get quit of his meditation on God. On the first clause Arnd says: "But God often conceals his help under the beloved cross." On "under the shadow of thy wings, a favourite expression of David:" compare 17:8, 36:7, 57:1, 61:4.-In verse 8, there are the mutual relations between a believing soul and the Lord: it depends on him, and cleaves to him, like a bur to a coat, and he takes hold of it, and holds it up with his powerful right hand, so that it does not sink into the abyssof destruction and despair. On תמך with ב, to take holdof, to hold up, to hold fast, see Psalms 17:5. The right handis the seat of strength, Psalms 18:35; Psalms 44:3; Psalms 60:5. Arnd: "God holds heaven and earth with his hand, he will there-fore be able both to hold up and to bear such a little atomof earth as thou art."-On שואה "ruin," in ver. 9, compare at Psalms 35:8. The common translation is, "And they who seek my soul to destruction": but נפש בקש needs no such addition, it stands without any such, as for example in 2 Samuel 15:1:1, and according to the analogy of verse 10, we must expect an independent declaration of the destruction of the enemies in each of the two halves of the verse. They shall come into the deep places of the earth, as did once the fierce rebels in the days of old: compare Numbers 16:31-34, to which David also alludes in Psalms 56:16.-The Hiph. of נגר means always "to pour out." The third plural stands indefinitely, and instead of the passive -"Over the hands," after the verb of "giving over," is equiva-lent to "into the power." The jackals go after a dead body;--"they become their prey," is "they remain unburied." Com-pare, in reference to the fulfilment of the expectation expressed in verses 9 and 10, 2 Samuel 18:7; 2 Samuel 18:8. The conclusion is in ver. 11. And the king shall rejoice in God, every one that sweareth by him, shall glory, because the mouths of liars shall be stopped. Instead of "I," the Psalmist says the "king," in order to point to the ground of his hope and con-fidence. That the suffix in בו refers not to God but to the king, is evident, because it is not Jehovah but Elohim that goes before, and swearing by God being common to both parties, it was only swearing by the king that is a sign of fidelity: comp. Genesis 42:15; Genesis 42:16. These, by the salvation which the Lord imparts to the king, shall have occasion to glory, that is, to triumph. On the rebels as liars see Psalms 62:4. Verses 9 and 10 shew how their mouths are stopped. Psalms 64. AFTER a prayer for protection against the wicked, the Psalm-ist takes occasion to paint their machinations for the destruction of the righteous, and then describes how, when they were just upon the very point. of accomplishing their purpose, through means of all the power which cunning and wickedness could command, God himself interposed, and turned the destruction upon their own head, to the terror of their friends and admirers, to the edification of the whole world, and to the joy of all the righteous. The Psalm consists of ten verses, which are divided into two fives. At first sight, the first strophe appears to consist of six, and the second of four verses. But the fut. with a vau conv. in ver. 7, can scarcely begin a strophe; and it appears to be suitable (and we are saved from tearing asunder what is intimately and inseparably connected together,) that at the beginning of the second strophe at ver. 6, it is intimated that the completion of the wickedness and cunning of the enemies is on the eve of deal-ing the deadly blow. The fundamental thought of the Psalm is, that the comple-tion of the wickedness and cunning of the enemies is no ground for despair, but rather for joyous hope:-the nearer they are to gaining their end, the nearer are they to destruction. To those who have to contend with such wickedness, the Psalmist calls, "lift up your hearts." Although the events of Saul's time form, in the first instance, the basis of the Psalm, as is shewn by the great prominence given throughout to slander, as a weapon of assault, employed by the wicked against the righteous, and although the Psalm is nearly allied to those other Psalms of an individual character which were composed by David at that time, especially to the vii. and the 52. Psalm, yet we cannot assign to it any individual occasion. We are prevented from so doing, first, because all the allusions are of a general character, and second, because the "I" is exchanged in verse 4 for the innocent man. The authorship, which is asserted in the title to be David's, is confirmed by the resemblance, as may be seen by the exposi-tion, which the Psalm bears to others which were composed by him. The great prominence given to slandering shews that the Psalm does not refer to heathen enemies. The first strophe is ver. 1-5: May God help the righteous against the wickedness and cunning of man.-Ver. 1. Hear, O God, my voice in my grief, protect my life against the terror of the enemy. Ver. 2. Conceal me from the intimacy of the wick-ed, from the tumult of evil-doers. Ver. 3. Who sharpen their tongues like the sword, and stretch as their arrow a bitter word. Ver. 4. To shoot in a lurking place at the innocent, suddenly they shoot at him without fear. Ver. 5. They strengthen for themselves an evil plan, they tell how they will lay snares, they say, who shall look at them.-The expression, "in my sorrow," properly, "in my thought," (compare at Psalms 55:2), shews that the prayer for help was not a superficial one, but proceeded from the deep ground of a sorely grieved heart. The "terror of the enemy," is the terror which goes forth from him, the ter-rible danger which he threatens. "Protect my life," shews that the Psalmist (contrary to Tholuck's view) was exposed to personal danger, to danger of life.-The סור is to be taken in the sense of "intimacy," not "secret assemblies," and רגש, in that of "tumult," and not "tumultuous crowds," is evident from the parallel passage Psalms 55:3. The "intimacy" is found in the secret counsels for the destruction of the righteous, (see Psalms 83:3), and the tumult in the execution of these counsels,מרע is a standing word in Davidic Psalms. Calvin: "He re-commends his case on the ground of the wickedness of the enemy; for the more unreasonably and cruelly they act towards us the more sure may we be that God will be gracious tous."-The comparison of a slandering tongue to a sword, andof slander to an arrow, in verse 3, (comp. Ps. Ivii. 4, and 59:7,and the passages quoted there), shews that it is not ordinaryslanders that are referred to, but such as, in direct violation ofthe 6th commandment, aim at the destruction of a neighbour,-such slanders as David had to do with in the days, of Saul."They stretch," is "they lay stretched": compare Psalms 58:7."A bitter word," i. e. a painful, destructive word, (compareDeu_32:24, 1 Samuel 15:32), is not in apposition: הצם is tobe explained, "as their bow," and corresponds to "like thesword."-In verse 4, the slanderers, on account of their hiddencunning and dark efforts, are compared to thieving-murderers,who waylay the defenceless traveller, in a secret place, in orderto destroy him: compare Psalms 10:8; Psalms 10:9. "Suddenly," is, "while heis thinking there is no harm." It is evident from, "who fear notGod," in Psalms 55:19, and "all men are afraid," in verse 9, that"without fear" refers to the fear of God and of his punishment.-"They strengthen for themselves an evil word, or an evil plan," in verse 5, by acute consideration and increased improvement, to which every one contributes his share. ספר stands, as in Psalms 59:12, in its usual sense, to "recount"; every one in their secret councils makes his speech, proposes his plan. As the ראה is never used with ל, of the object, we cannot translate, "them,"meaning thereby, either the snares, or the wicked: למו, signifies, as at the beginning of the verse, "to them," i. e. to hurt them. Who?-will God?-he does not trouble himself about human affairs, and therefore no man need trouble himself about him: compare Psalms 59:7; Psalms 10:11-13. The second strophe is from verse 6-10. Every thing is fully prepared, when God brings vengeance upon the wicked. Ver. 6. They examine thoroughly into wickednesses "we are ready, a well matured plan," and the inside of a man and his heart is deep. Ver. 7. There God shoots at them with a sudden arrow; there are THEIR wounds! Ver. 8. And they are confound-ed, their tongue comes upon themselves, all their admirers flee away. Ver. 9. And all men are afraid and make known the deed of God, and understand his work. Ver. 10. The righteousshall rejoice in the Lord, and shall trust in him, and all the up- right shall glory.-"They examine thoroughly into iniquities," in verse 6, (the plural עלות) is used only here, and in Psalms 58:2), they allow no corner of these to be unexamined, that is, they make it their study to bring their wicked plans to as great perfection as possible. In the words, "we are ready, a tho-roughly matured plan," (properly a thoroughly searched search), the Psalmist introduces the wicked telling that, as the result of their zealous studies in wickedness, they had brought their vil-lanous plans to perfection, and expressing joy on that account. As the תמם is always intransitive, and in particular תמנו, in-stead of תמונו, is so, in all the three passages in which it else-where occurs, we cannot translate, "we have completed a tho-roughly matured plan." In the last words, "the inside," &c. reference is made to the greatness of the danger to which the righteous man is exposed. Human wickedness is unfathomable, it is impossible to know it, and all its wicked plans, much less then to be on our guard against them. How then will it go with the poor righteous man. "Deep" is often used in the sense of what is difficult to be searched out or known. Thus, Ez. 3: 5, 7 “ deep of speech,” is, "difficult to be understood," Job 11:8, Prov. 25:3. Jeremiah 17:9, is exactly parallel, "The heart is steep before all and, diseased, who can know it," where "steep" occupies the place of "deep." Both are equally inac-cessible. The "inside," compare at Psalms 5:9, denotes the op- posite of what may easily be seen on the outside, and therefore there is no room for the tautology at which Clauss stumbles.-The "There" in verse 7, is when they are in the midst of their joy over their completed plan, and when they are just on theeve of carrying it into execution. Stich picturesque represen-tations of vengeance suddenly breaking out are characteristic of David's Psalms; compare for example, Psalms 7:11:53:5; Psalms 57:6. The arrow of God here corresponds to the arrow of the wicked at verses 3 and 4; compare at Psalms 7:13. It is evident from verse 4 that פתאם, agreeably to the accusative, belongs to the first clause. The second clause gives in an abbreviated form the substance of what we have at length in Psalms 7:14-16. The emphasis is on the suffix: there are THEIR wounds! They were thinking of wounding the upright, but behold they are wounded themselves.-The beginning of the 8th ver. is literal-ly, "and there they bring them to fall," the plural being usedas at Psalms 63:10. "Their tongue comes upon them," inasmuch as it brings upon them the punishment and the judgment of God. From the second half of the verse to the end the Psalm-ist describes the salutary effects of this judgment, first upon the companions of the wicked; second, upon all men; and, finally, upon the righteous. The first, (ראה with ב, as in Psalms 59:10) flee, that they may not be involved in the punishment; compare Numbers 16:34, "And all Israel who were around them (the sons of Korah) fled, for they said, lest the earth swallow us up also." -In the 9th verse, men in general, occupy the middle position, between the two opposite extremes. On "they are afraid," comp. Psalms 52:6. On the second and third clause, comp. Psalms 58:11, "and men shall say, verily there is a reward for the righteous, verily God judgeth on the earth." השכיל is not "to give con-sideration," but "to understand:" the great mass of people ob-tain insight into the works and government of God, when they see the destruction of the wicked with their own eyes. On ver. 10, compare Psalms 63:11. Psalms 65. GOD gives his church abundant opportunity to praise and to thank him, he hears prayer, he forgives sin, and he bestows upon his people the good things of his house, (1-4). As God of the whole world and of nature, he manifests himself as such in the wonderful deliverances of his people, in establishing moun-tains (and kingdoms), in stilling the tumultuous sea and the agi-tated nations, so that the manifestations of his power and glory fill the whole world with reverence, (ver. 6-8). As such he manifests himself particularly, in the fertility which he, whose fountain is always full of water, imparts to the earth, by his fertilizing rain, and in the blessings of harvest, which spread abroad a universal joy (ver. 9-13). The formal arrangement is, upon the whole, the same as in Psalms 60.: the whole consists of 14 verses, and the main body of 12, divided into three strophes, each of four verses. The only dif-ference is, that the concluding verse here corresponds to the two verses of the title there, containing, as it does, a description of the occasion on which the Psalm was written, and manifesting its connection with the title by the שירו "they sing," with which it concludes, coresponding to the שיר, a song, with which the title ends. The object of the Psalm is announced in the concluding verse. It should be sung when "the flocks are covered with lambs, and the valleys are clothed with corn." Hence the whole, from ver. 1-8, is to be considered as an introduction. We are led to the same result, by the circumstance that it is only the goodness of God, as seen in the blessings of harvest, that is dwelt upon at any length; while every thing else is touched upon shortly and slightly, this is carried on to the end of the Psalm; the Psalmist never returns to those general views with which the Psalm opened, and the ninth verse, with which the description of harvest begins, is of such disproportionate length as to shew that the Psalmist enters then for the first time upon his proper subject. On the relation between the first and second portions of the Psalm, (ver. 1-8, and ver. 9-13,) Luther remarks: "Al-though the special intention may be to thank God for good weather and propitious seasons, yet it is the custom of the pro-phets, when they speak of the mercies and gifts of God of one kind, to speak also of others, especially of his highest grace: so, in the present instance, having designed to thank God for domestic government or for agriculture, the Psalmist takes a wider range, and introduces other two kinds of government." This is just as it should be: every individual gift of God should lead us to a lively consideration of all the blessings which we receive from him; and it is only when this is the case, when all the rest harmonize with the one string, that we render thanks in a suitable manner even for the one more immediately in view. It is for this reason that natural and providential blessings were so blended together at the Jewish festivals. Although the Psalm refers to the harvest, yet it would be in-correct to maintain that it was peculiarly a song of thanksgiving for harvest, and especially to suppose that it was composed for the passover, on the second day of which the first fruits were pre-sented in the temple, upon which harvest began. Luther says more correctly, he thanks God for "good weather and a gra-cious season." It may be considered as having been composed when favourable appearances presented themselves in reference to the harvest, when God was giving the former and the latter rain in their seasons, (Jeremiah 5:24), and when, in consequence of this, every thing was flourishing and growing luxuriantly. This is manifest from the concluding verse, according to which, thePsalm may be considered as sung at a time, when the valleys are clothing themselves with corn, (not have been clothed,) and from ver. 9 and 10, where the Palmist speaks of rain as if he saw it just descending. Hitzig has taken altogether a wrong view, according to whom, the Psalm was composed for the Feast of Tabernacles, "when the fruits of the earth had been ga-thered in, and the seed, recently committed to the ground, was waiting for the early rain." There are no traces whatever of any particular historical oc-casion. It is altogether without the least shadow of reason that the vile passion for historical exposition has referred the ex-pressions in verse 9 to a peculiarly fertilizing rain, or a peculiar-ly fruitful year. Israel had been led, in Deuteronomy 11:10-17, to consider the fruitfulness of their land, and in an especial man-ner, the regular periodical appearance of rain, on which it de-pended, as a blessing bestowed upon their nation in connection with its moral state; and it is the design of our Psalm through-out to awaken these feelings in the minds of the people-a de-sign which does not admit of special application at any parti-cular time. The title bears testimony on behalf of the Davidic authorship of the Psalm:-"To the chief musician, a Psalm of David, a song. Compare on שיר "a song," = "a song of praise,"the title of Ps. xlviii, 8:-a sense which is especially de-manded here by the clause in the concluding verse, "they sing," standing in immediate connection with "they rejoice." The originality of the title is confirmed, by its having a place within the formal structure of the Psalm, and by the corre-spondence which it obviously bears to the concluding verse. In-ternal reasons for the Davidic authorship of the Psalm, are, the דמיה, an expression altogether peculiar to David, which occurs at the very beginning in the same way as it does in Psalms 62. the individual Davidic character of ver. 4. the allusion in ver. 5 to 2 Sam. 7:23, and, finally, the exact agreement in regard to for-mal arrangement between our Psalm and other Davidic Psalms, especially the 60. The language in no part refers to great and lasting national prosperity. The people are rather, as they were in the time of David, happy, and in the full enjoyment of the divine favour. The objections against the Davidic authorship are altogether nugatory. Ewald supposes that the poem is not nearly so light and sprightly as David's Psalms generally are, and that it is only towards the end that the style rises. But it is not in the nature of things that the tone of a poem which returns thanks for seasonable rain, or for a similar blessing, should rise above a certain height. Even in our common hymn books, there is a decided difference in this respect, according to the different seasons of the year, and special occasions, for example, Easter, for which the hymns are designed. Much more may we ex-pect such a difference between such Psalms as the one before us, and those which were composed by David as war or vic-tory-songs. The bounties of God, the guide of nature, as they regularly came round with the return of the seasons, are fitted to call forth rather quiet joy than loud triumph. De Wette supposes that verse 3 indicates on the part of the people a consciousness of some (?) crime, and therefore refers the Psalm to a later period than that of David. A single glance at Levi-ticus 16. is sufficient to spew what use we are to make of such an assertion. In reference to the idea, that the mention of the temple in verse 4th, is unfavourable to the Davidic authorship, compare Ps. 5. The first strophe is ver. 1-4: "Compassionate, gracious, merciful, forgiving iniquity to every one daily."Ver. 1. Thou art praised in the silence, O God, in Zion, and to thee vows are paid. Ver. 2. Thou who hearest prayer, to thee all flesh comes. Ver. 3. Our iniquities prevail against us, our transgressions-thou forgivest them. Ver. 4. Blessed is the man whom thou choosest and causest to approach to thee, that he may dwell in thy courts. Ver. 5. We shall be satisfied with thegoodness of thy house, of thy holy temple.-The לך in ver. 1, stands exactly as in Psalms 62:10; Psalms 62:11, “ thine is praise,” i. e. "thou art praised." The praise comes into notice in so far as it testifies of God's glory, who furnishes for it rich, and continually new materials: comp. at Psalms 22:3. דמיה תהלה must be considered as a kind of compound noun, like צדק-ענוה in 45:4: compare also Psalms 60:3. Silence-praise is praise which is bound up with silence, has silence for its con-sequence, or has the effect of allaying that tumultuous agita-tion, that distressing excitement, which prevails in the soul till it has attained to a living knowledge of the glory of God: against this, his praise, which quiets all the tumult of the soul, is the only effectual remedy; the more a man praises God, themore quiet does his soul become: compare at Psalms 62:1; Psalms 62:5; Psalms 42:5; Psalms 131:1. Against the exposition, "on thee is con-fidence, praise," there may be urged, besides the harshness of the asyndeton, the fact that דמיה never signifies any thing else than "silence," and in particular never signifies "trust." The Berleb. Bible has: "It is not loud praise that corre-sponds to the infinite majesty of God, but a reverential silence before his presence, which holy souls employ in giving expression to their intensest love." To this exposition we reply, the Psalmist does speak. Against Ewald's "reveren-tial and quiet song of praise, of those who contrast the infinite greatness and goodness of God, with their own unworthiness," we urge the fact that דמיה is entire silence, and also the שיר of the title and the ישירו of the concluding verse. A careful comparison of the other passages in which דמיה occurs, will be sufficient to remove all doubt as to the correctness of the above interpretation. God is praised in Zion, because he there unfolds the treasures of his salvation in the most perfect manner, (compare ver. 5, Psalms 48:1; Psalms 132:13,)and because the only legitimate place of worship was there. Luther: "God had bound to that place all men who desired to meet with, and to worship the true God, so that although they might not be bodily present, they should be compelled with their hearts to turn and look thither. This was the case before Christ appeared. But now God has built for this purpose in Christ a greater and more glorious Zion. Wherever he is with his word and sacraments, there also is the old Zion. On this account, whoever now believes in Christ, and ac-knowledges him, gives thanks to the true God, in the true Zion." Those who belong to this Zion, the church, may say now for the first time with perfect truth: "Thine is praise, O God, in Zion." The paying of vows followed after salvation had been obtained, (compare at Psalms 66:13), and is introduced here in this connec-tion: by sending salvation, thou givest men reason to praise thee, and to pay their vows.-God is a living God, who hears prayers, ver. 2, he is the fulness of strength and of love: he is rich not only for a few, but for all: all to whom the name of man belongs come to him, (flesh is with the idea of weakness and need: compare at Psalms 56:4,) in order to draw from his inexhaustible fountain. Luther: "Whither, to thee? In former ages to Jerusalem, or in Zion, but now no where, except in the Lord Christ:" comp. Math. 11:28. We cannot with Ewald understand by "all flesh," all "who at that time lived in Judea." The 5th verse, "thouart the confidence of all the ends of the earth," and the 8th verse, are decisive against this. The difficulty which has called forth this false interpretation, may be fairly set aside by the remark, that every necessity, and every want, is, though an un-conscious, yet a real coming to God, a real prayer to him, who is the only helper: compare Psalms 104:27, where all the beasts wait upon God, that he may give them their meat in due season, Job 38: 41, where the ravens cry to God, and Genesis 21:17, where God hears Ishmael, not when he is praying, but when he is crying. We dare not, however, on this account, take up the position of Tholuck, that all prayers, even those which men address to idols, meet with acceptance from the true God.-In ver. 3, we have God praised on account of the forgiveness of sin which he imparts to his people. The optative exposition (Luther: "0 that thou wouldest forgive our sins,") is as assuredly wrong as the Psalm before us is a song of praise: the future indicates, as in the pre-ceding and following context, a custom. The עונות דברי is properly matters of iniquities,-they are a something which is too strong for me: compare at Ps. cv, 27, 1 Samuel 10:2, 2 Samuel 11:18; 2 Samuel 11:19. The iniquities are too strong for the people, (who here speak as one man, for me), as regards their consequences, which they are not able either to avert or to endure: compare Ps. 38: 4, "Mine iniquities are gone over my head, as a heavy burden, they are too heavy for me:" Psalms 40:12, "innumerable evils have compassed me about, mine iniquities have taken holdupon me:" and Psalms 130:3. After "our iniquities"-trans- gressions have applied to them this stronger expression, in orderthat the grace of forgiveness may shine forth more gloriously,-we are to suppose a hyphen added. One would have expected,"they lay me on the ground." But God comes forward at once,and forgives the iniquities, which threaten destruction. Luther: "Whereas he has so gloriously celebrated that which was notso abundant at that time, as it was afterwards in Christ, how much more joyfully ought we to sing this verse, and to exult with- the eyes and ears to see and hear!"-Happy are the people, tocut any intermission, if we have the heart to understand, and ver. 4, (compare the אשרי in Psalms 33:12,) whom this God has taken into his immediate confidence! Happy we to whom this happiness has been imparted! A rich salvation, the full possession of the good things, and the gifts which God im-parts to his people, is the consequence of this. The house of God, his temple appears here as the place where his people, withoutany regard to bodily presence or absence, dwell continually beside him, and where they are cared for by him with tender love: compare at Psalms 27:4; Psalms 36:8; Psalms 84:4. The ex-pression, "that he may inhabit thy courts," (De Wette "in the exercise of the worship of God") shews that we are not to rest satisfied with the external idea. The, "we will be sa-tisfied," etc. contains in reality the basis of the declaration of blessedness. This is expressed in the form of a mutual exhor-tation to partake of the rich feast, which the Lord has prepared. The good things of the house of the Lord are not only "the spiritual joys of God's house," but they comprehend also the whole of the blessings which the Lord bestows upon the mem-bers of his family (Ephesians 19,) from the forgiveness of sins to outward mercies: compare Psalms 36:8; Psalms 63:5. "The holy (place) of thy temple" (compare Psalms 46:4), stands in apposi-tion to “ thy house.” The קדוש is independent and emphatic, because it is in the holiness of the temple, that the Psalmist sees the ground on which there had been given to it such a fulness of blessings. The second strophe, ver. 5-8, forms a transition to the third, inasmuch as, in it, prominence is given only to those mani-festations of the glory of God, in which he makes himself known, as the Lord of the world and of nature.-Ver. 5. Thou impart-est to us what is terrible, in righteousness, O God, our salva- tion, thou, the confidence of all the ends of the earth, and of the sea of those afar of. Ver. 6. Who sets fast by his power the hills, is girt about with might. Ver. 7. Who stills the tumults of the sea, the tumults of their waves, the noise of the nations. Ver. 8. And the inhabitants of the ends (of the earth) are afraid at thy tokens, the outgoings of the morning and evening thou makest to rejoice.-Thou returnest for answer to us what is ter- rible, ver. 5, is, "Thou impartest to us, when we are in trouble, astonishing deliverances." The answer comes in the shape of some event-a practical word. In "terrible," reference is made to such events as happened before and after the depar-ture from Egypt, as Calvin perceived, "0 Lord, thou hearest us always, so that thy power now appears in wonderful deli-verances, as it did formerly when our fathers went out of Egypt." "God has preserved the church," Calvin gives this as the general sense of the expression, "not only by the common and ordinary means, but also by terrible power." The reference to such occurrences as happened in Egypt, is clearly demanded bythe parallelism and the connection, from which it is evident that only such circumstances can be meant as those by which God manifests himself as the God of the whole earth. The word נודא is used of such circumstances in Deuteronomy 10:21, "He is thy praise, and he is thy God that hath done for thee these great and terrible things which thine eyes have seen," and in a re-markably similar expression of David's in 2 Samuel 7:23 :- which last passage at the same time shows that the נוראות is not an adverb but is the second accusative after תענה: comp. on ענה with two accusatives, Ewald, p. 479. The בצדק denotes the righteousness of God, the property, according to which, he gives to every one his own, as the root of those answers which on account of it are peculiar to Israel: comp. צדיק in Deuteronomy 32:4. Many expositors, without any reason, translate"in grace" or "for salvation." In the second clause the Psalm-says, that the God, so superabundantly rich for Israel, is notpoor even for all the rest of the earth. God is called the con-fidence of all the ends of the earth, in reference to what he is actually in himself, not in reference to his being acknowledged as such. Even the rudest heathen has in God the foundation of his existence, receives from him all that is requisite for his life, and without him must perish. The knowledge of God cannot be always wanting in places, where he is really present. What the living God was for the whole earth even at the time when the knowledge of him was confined within the narrow limits of Canaan, was a prophecy which foretold that that knowledge would be spread abroad over the whole earth. The sea of those afar off, of those who dwell afar off, (compare Psalm lvi. 1,) denotes those who dwell on the most distant sea, just as "the ends of the earth" denote those who dwell on its ut-most extremity. The mercies of God are co-extensive with human need. Luther: "One may run over the wide world, even to its utmost extremity, yet thou art the only foundation on which the trust of man's heart can stand and remain." Psalms 18:49; Psalms 24:1; Psalms 24:2; Psalms 22:68 :; Psalms 57:9, and the prominence given to Elohim in the prayer of David, 2 Samuel 7. shew that it has been without any good reason that an inference in favour of a later date has been drawn from "the wide extent of the inhabitants of the earth, conscious of Jehovah's power."-In ver. 6, the mountains are named as being the most secure objects in nature, in the es-tablishing and keeping fast of which, (compare in reference to the participle at Psalms 33:7), the omnipotence of God, which is prais-ed in general, in the second clause, is exhibited in the strongest manner. The conclusion of verse 7 makes it probable that the Psalmist thought at the same time upon mountains in a figura-tive sense, viz kingdoms: compare Psalms 46:3; Jeremiah 51:25; Jeremiah 51:1 Kings 2:12. Luther: "Who is he that has such a kingdom, as that there be under one single individual so many subjects, who must obey him, and so many lands and nations who are held in subjection? This can be none but God. Therefore he ought to be praised and thanked wherever this government remains. For the devil does not behold this with joy, but opposes it in all places, outwardly, through means of wicked neighbours, and inwardly, by disobedient subjects."-The connection of the quieting of the tumultuous sea, (this also is connected in Jer. v. 22-24, with the giving of rain in its season, comp. also Psalms 89:9,) with the tumultuous nations in ver. 7, appears all the more suitable, inasmuch as the sea is the usual emblem of the power of the world; compare Psalms 46:3. In reference to this last expression, Luther: "Like as he stilled Pharaoh with all his people, when he stormed and raged against Israel, as if he would have devoured them. In like manner as he stilled the king of Assyria when he roared and raged against Jerusalem." Calvin thus gives the sense of ver. 8 "From the rising to the setting of the sun, God is not only dreadful but also the author of joy." But that the fear and the joy do not stand in opposi-tion, as might be supposed from this remark, but that the fear implies reverence, or holy awe, is evident from what follows, where "the tokens of God" manifestly mean only such tokens as are fitted to fill the mind with reverence and not with terror. The tokens of God are the manifestations of his glory, every thing by which he makes himself known as God, such as those that are named by way of example in the preceding context, and such as those by which he is described in the following verses: our verse is the point of transition from the second to the third strophe. The more lively the sense of deity is, the more sus-ceptible is it of impressions from these signs. And even the man who, with hardened mind, suppresses those feelings of gra-titude, which are due to God, cannot altogether withdraw him-self from all sense of these, or from all secret misgivings in regard to them. Who, for example, is so deaf, as that the thunder, after striking upon his outward, does not penetrate his inward ear! And even though there were more exceptionsto the "they are afraid," than there appear to be, still these are so completely irregular and unnatural, that the Psalmist might well disregard them. "The outgoings of the morning and evening," (comp. on מוצא, the place of outgoing, Christol: P. III. p. 300; בקר, and ערב are not places on the earth's surface, but periods of the day), are the places, the points in the heavens, from which the morning and the evening go out, the east and the west. And the east and the west stand, according to the parallel-ism, (the inhabitants of the ends,) for those who dwell in the east and west. The third strophe is from ver. 9 to ver. 12: the glory of God, which manifests itself in the whole world, is revealed especially in his spreading blessing and prosperity over the whole earth, even to its most remote boundaries.-Ver. 9. Thou visitest the earth, and sendest it a flood, thou makest it very rich, the foun- tain of God has plenty of water. Thou providest their corn, for thus thou providest for it. Ver. 10. Thou waterest its furrows, thou layest down its ploughed fields, thou makest it soft with rain, thou blessest its increase. Ver. 11. Thou crownest the year of thy goodness, and thy paths drop with fatness. Ver. 12. The pastures of the wilderness drop, and the little hills are girt round with joy.-The verbs in ver. 9 refer, as is manifest from the in- terchange of preterites and futures, to something going out at the time. It is evident from the connection between the third and the second strophe, and especially between this verse and the 8th one, that הארץ is not "the land," but "the earth." On, "thou visitest the earth," Arnd: "The holy Spirit makes use of a homely word, when, in describing the fertilizing genial rain, he terms it a visiting of the earth. When a visit is made by rich and affectionate friends, they do not come empty, but bring with them a blessing, a good gift, to testify their fa-vour and love. Thus, although God is Lord over all, and fills heaven and earth, he does not at all times leave traces or marks of his presence. But when in time of drought he gives a gra-cious fertilizing shower, it is as if he paid us a visit, and brought along with him a great blessing, that we might mark his love and his goodness." The שקק is Pih, from שוק, to overflow: comp. the Hiph. in Joel 24; 4:13. The רבת is the stat. constr. pro-perly, there is much of the "thou makest it rich;" comp. Ewald, p. 507. The תעשרנה is the form of the Hiph. with--Arnd: "A rich lord can by many gifts make a poor man very rich. Sothe earth, were it not watered by God from above, would bevery poor, and could not nourish us. But when God gives rain,he makes the land very rich." The channel, or the brook ofGod, is in opposition to the channels and brooks of earth.Arnd: "If this upper fountain does not give water from above,no fountain or stream on earth will be of any avail; yea, theyare all dried up, when there is no rain." Especially in Canaanwould men seek and long for this upper fountain: see Deuteronomy 11:11. What is said here directly of water, is applicable to salva-tion generally, both in a temporal and spiritual sense, comparePsa_36:8. Arnd: "God's fountain of grace, the waters ofconsolation have plenty for all troubled and sad souls, so thatnone may go away comfortless." The suffix in דגנם refers tomen, Psalms 4:7; the suffix in דגנם to the earth. God, like agood house-holder, provides for men their corn, in providingrain for the earth to make it fruitful. Luther: "Thou art theright master-cultivator, who cultivates the land much more andmuch better than the farmer does. He does nothing more to itthan break up the ground, and plough, and sow, and then let itlie. But God must be always attending to it with rain and heat,and must do every thing to make it grow and prosper, while thefarmer lies at home and sleeps, and has done nothing exceptprepared the ground."-The רוה and נהת, in ver. 10 are infinitives, and not imperatives, which are not suitable either in thisconnection, or in a Psalm of praise. The reference to the mereaction is enough, as the particulars are given in what precedesand follows: Ewald, 355. The pressing down of the furrowsגדודים is properly "cuts," in all probability a purely poeticalterm of the Psalmist's own formation, as the proper term isתלם-indicates the richness of the rain. The מוגג is properlyto make to flow. Every thing helps to praise the paternalgoodness of God. What he does in the material world, is, atthe same time, a pledge and a symbol of the care with which hewatches over his own people in spiritual matters, to which everything admits of being applied.-As the status constr. is neverused instead of the status absol. we cannot translate ver. 11, inany other way than: the year of thy goodness, i. e. to which allthy goodness belongs: comp. Deuteronomy 11:12, "A land for whichthe Lord thy God careth, to which the eyes of the Lord thyGod are always directed, from the beginning of the year evenunto the end of the year." The crown which God puts uponthe year of his goodness, (comp. Psalms 103.) is composed of theinstances of that goodness. The "fatness," is a figurative ex-pression for good things, comp. Psalms 63:5 : this follows him in all his foot-steps; his rain (comp. "thou visitest," in ver. 9), creates every where blessing and plenty."-"They drop," ver. 12, with fatness, in consequence of thy visit. The "wilderness" is named as the most parched place on the earth, where the blessing is visible in the most striking manner: comp. Job 38:26; Job 38:27. The "joy" with which the little hills are girt, is that of men rendered happy at the sight of an abundant year. The conclusion is ver. 13. The flocks are clad with lambs and the valleys are clothed with corn; they shout for joy and sing. The flocks are clad with lambs, i. e. are rich in them. The blessing of God manifests itself in the encrease of the flocks, which find rich nourishment in the pasture fertilized by the rain. On כרים, only lambs, not pasture, comp. Psalms 37:20. Against the sense of pasture, we have particularly the article in הצאן. If this were in the accusative, and thus like בר, it would, like the latter word, want the article, or בר would have it:-and this all the more certainly, as the article in that case would mark out the flocks in opposition to the corn. The second clause of the 12th verse shews, that the subject of both the two last verbs is the "valleys"-(not men sing). The refe-rence, however, to the title and to ver 8, shews that the song of the valleys does not come from themselves, but from the joyful men who inhabit them. The אף; stands, as in Psalms 18:48, only as a particle of connection. Psalms 60:8; Psalms 108:9, shew that the Hithpa. רוע means simply to "shout for joy." The conclusion is Psalms 65:13. The flocks are clad with lambs and the valleys are clothed with corn; they shout for joy and sing. The flocks are clad with lambs, i.e. are rich in them. The blessing of God manifests itself in the increase of the flocks, which find rich nourishment in the pasture fertilized by the rain. On λψιν only lambs, not pasture, comp. Psalms 37:20. Against the sense of pasture, we have particularly the article in δφΰο. If this were in the accusative, and thus like αψ, it would, like the latter word, without the article, or αψ also would have the article:—all the more, as the article in that case would mark out the flocks in opposition to the corn. The second clause of the (Psalms 65:12) 12th verse shows, that the subject of both the two last verbs is the “valleys”—(not men sing). The reference, however, to the title and to Psalms 65:8, shows that the song of the valleys does not come from themselves, but from the joyful men who inhabit them. The ΰσ stands, as in Psalms 18:48, only as a particle of connection. Psalms 60:8, and Psalms 108:9, shew that the Hithpa ψες means simply to “shout for joy.” Psalms 66. THE Psalm is a song of thanksgiving by the church of God, after protracted and severe trial. It is divided into three great parts. In the first, God is praised, (1-7), on account of what he does to Israel at all times, in the second. (8-12), on account of what he had just now done, and in the third, (13-20), the church vows that she will give thanks. The relation in which the second division stands to the first, which is not that of something old to something new, but that of the general to the special, bears a striking resemblance to theplan adopted in Psalms 46., in which the general idea is first brought out, and then, in the third strophe, the matter-of-fact is alluded to, which contained the special application. In the same way also, Psalms 48:48; Psalms 48:76. first describe the general relation of God to Israel, and then the individual instances of the divine grace. All the three parts contain a significant number; the first, seven, which again breaks up, according to a common custom, into a three and four, the first and second together, twelve, and the whole three, twenty. The first main division is closed with a Selah: at the close of the second, this mark is wanting, be-cause the division is sufficiently well indicated by the context: and for a similar reason it occurs at the end of the first sub-di-vision of the first and also of the third part, ver. 4 and 16, in both places, as also in ver. 7, before an imperative which intro-duces a new address. The Title is, To the Chief Musician, a song of praise. Its originality is supported by the first verse, which, if taken with-out the title, seems too short and abrupt, and in which the הריעו forms a sort of parallelism with שיר. The title announces neither the author, nor the occasion, nor the date of the Psalm; and modern criticism therefore is left at full liberty to indulge its diseased propensity to bring down the Psalms to as late a date as possible. It has been pretty generally affirmed, that the deliverance, celebrated in our Psalm, is the deliverance from the Babylonish captivity. The contents, however, are alto-gether against this idea. The expressions, "he suffered not our feet to slide," in ver. 9, and, "I called to him with my mouth, and a song of Praise was on my tongue," i. e. "I had scarcely called upon him, when, by delivering me, he gave me occasion to praise him," exclude every reference to a calamity so grievous, and so protracted, as the Babylonish captivity. The detailed representation of suffering in ver. 9-12, does not con-tain one word about the leading away of the people into capti-vity. The temple appears in ver. 13 as standing, and there is no expression to indicate that it had been re-built: nay, it is im-possible to entertain the idea of a re-built temple, inasmuch as the people express their determination to give thanks to God in the temple for their deliverance, immediately after having ob-tained it, and a succession of years intervened between the completing of the second temple and the return of the exiles. Finally, the idea of the captivity is excluded by verse 18th,where the people give great prominence to their innocence, and affirm that God, for this reason, had heard their prayer for deliverance. The captivity in Babylon was throughout distin-guished as being an affliction for sin; compare the introduction to Psalms 44. If we are thus compelled to take our stand on this side of the captivity, we have another reason to prevent us from assigning to the authorship a higher date than the time of Hezekiah. The, "come, behold the deeds of the Lord," in ver. 5, is literal-ly copied from Psalms 46:8; we cannot consider as accidental,the occurrence of מפעלות in both of these passages and nowhere else; in like manner, the throughout original character of Psalms 46 leads us to something else than a return of similar circum-stances. It would therefore seem natural to take up the position which many have done, that the deliverance celebrated in our Psalm, is, as there, the deliverance from the Assyrians. But a closer inspection leads to a different result. The trouble and the deliverance are, with manifest design, depicted in such general terms,-amid a multitude of images, there is only one specific feature, namely, that it is a deliverance from the hands of enemies that is celebrated,-that it is impossible to avoid considering our Psalm as of a general character, and applying "we shall praise thee, O Lord God," to every deliverance from hostile power. And yet the Psalm manifestly stands in a certain relation to the deliverance under Hezekiah. Such Psalms, for the use of the church of all ages, were composed only at times when passing events made a deep impression on the mind. While Psalms 46. celebrates one great transaction, as also does Psalms 76. and even Psalms 75. specially refers to it, the author of our Psalm was led, from the same event, to compose a song which might be suitable at all times, when something similar occurred. The first strophe is ver. 1-7. After an exhortation to the whole earth to praise God, ver. 1-4, (compare at Psalms 47:1,) there follows, in ver. 4-7, the basis of the same: the Lord manifests his glory in a multitude of mighty deeds, deliver-ances on behalf of his people, and judgments on the insolent heathen world. The Psalmist, before passing on to what is par-ticular, selects the proper place in which it ought to be intro-duced, by taking a rapid glance at the mighty whole.-Ver. 1. Shout for joy to God, all lands. Ver. 2. Sing the glory of his name, give glory to his praise. Ver. 3. Say to God, How ter-rible art thou in thy works, on account of the multitude of thy strength thine enemies must feign (submission) to thee. Ver. 4. All lands worship thee, they sing to thee, they sing thy name. Ver. 5. Come and see the works of God, who is terrible in his deeds on the children of men. Ver. 6. He turns the sea into dry land, they go through the flood on foot, there we will rejoice in him. Ver. 7. He rules eternally by his power, his eyes spy out among the nations, the rebellious may not exalt themselves.-On "the glory of his name" = "the glory which belongs to him according to his glorious deeds and manifestations," comp. Psalms 29:1; Psalms 29:2. The parallel passages, Joshua 7:19, Psalms 29:1, Isaiah 42:12, Jeremiah 13:16, John 9:24, show that we cannot translate the second clause, "make his praise glorious," but only, "give glory as his praise," or, "to his praise:" כבוד, isthe thing to be given, and the second object, is תהלתו, comp. Ewald, p. 480. The angels give formally glory to God, in Psalms 29:9 : compare "Holy, holy, holy, all lands are full of his glory," in Isa. vi.-- In verses 3 and 4, we have the words in which the nations of the earth should give glory to God. The translation, "how terrible are thy works," is not grammatically incorrect, but, on comparing verse 5, it becomes manifest that we must translate, "how terrible art thou in thy works,"-theמעשיך, as well as the עלילה being an accusative; comp. Ew.§ 483. The "thou" is wanting, as in Psalms 68:36, "dreadful, God, (art thou,) from out of thy sanctuary." In reference to "they feign," compare Psalms 18:44. The greatness of God's might, and the terrible nature of his deeds, are evident from the fact that all who oppose must be subject, must tamely submit, must conceal their aversion. Pharaoh's is an example of suchforced submission, comp. ver. 6.--In ver. 4, "they feign," ren-ders it necessary for us to consider "they worship" as, equiva-lent to "may they worship."-The "come, see the deeds of God," in ver. 5, to which allusion is so strikingly made in John i. 46, 47, indicates the prominent place which the manifestation of the glory of God occupies before the eyes of the whole hea-then world: it is not with idle phantoms but with realities that they have to do; and this is the reason why the confident hope is entertained, by the people of the revelation, that the heathen world shall be won over to God through the influence of what has happened. The church still addresses the same language, "come and see," to all, whether within or without, who are afar off. The deeds of God are dreadful even to those to whomdeliverance is brought. For his tremendous majesty is mani-fested in them, comp. Psalms 65:5; Psalms 65:8. The על points out the children of men as the object on which the deeds of God are performed:-the patient in opposition to the agent. The pre-terite הפך in ver. 6, stands, as the following future shews, in the sense of a present. The Psalmist refers to the passage through the Red Sea and the Jordan, but not as to transactions which took place and were concluded at a given period of time, but as to events which are really happening in every age. God's guid-ance of his people is a constant drying up of the sea and of the Jordan; and the joy over his mighty deeds is always receiving new materials. The idea, that the sole reference is to those parti-cular transactions, which took place at the origin of the nation, is inconsistent with what goes before, "Come and see the deeds of the Lord," which implies that it is something actually pre-sent that is referred to, with the entirely general contents of verse 7, with the future יעברו following immediately the pre-terite, and lastly, even although this in every case could be ac-counted for by a realization of past events, with the נשמהה which can be translated in no other way than by "we will re-joice," (comp. Psalms 42:4:4:2), a resolution to do that for which God is continually giving rich opportunity, and which does not admit, except in a case of absolute necessity, of being taken as a resolution adopted by the nation in an absolutely general sense. Moreover, there is all the less reason to maintain, in spite of all these arguments, the reference to past events, inasmuch as the deliverances which took place in the days of old, are in several passages considered as pledges of deliverances to come, and the succeeding events of God's gracious providence are described in figurative language borrowed from former events: comp. for example, Isaiah 11:15; Isaiah 11:16, where the drying up of the Red Sea and of the Euphrates, are spoken of as events which were ex-pected to take place, Zechariah 10:11, "And the Lord passes through the sea, affliction, and smites the waves in the sea, and all the floods of the Nile shall be put to shame," and the Christology on these passages, especially on the last. If the sense of the verse in general be correctly determined, there remains no reason for departing from the usual sense in regard to "the flood," by which is thus meant the Euphrates:-especially, as in Isaiah 11:15, the Euphrates is substituted in room of the little Jordan, and in Zechariah 10:11, the Nile is named for the purpose of announcing that the wonder at the Jordan was to be repeated on a greaterscale. "There,"-"on the theatre of these glorious transac-tions." "We will rejoice," is an energetic expression for "we may rejoice."-The expression, "his eyes spy among the hea-then," ver. 7 indicates that the self-sufficiency of earthly power is only apparent. God from his high watch tower beholds every thing, guides every thing, brings down every haughty effort, which may be made against himself, or against his church. In the last clause, the expression assumes a hortatory character: "they may not exalt themselves," i. e. "I would advise them not to do so." For the contest against Omnipotence must bring evil upon them, and pride comes before a fall, as surely as there is a God in heaven. Compare the אל in Psalms 34:5; Psalms 41:2; Psalms 1:3. The למו shews that what they had undertaken, with a viewto their own advantage, had turned out to their own loss: Psalms 58:7; Psalms 64:5. Instead of the Hiph. of the verb רום to which we must supply the head, or some similar word, (Psalms 110:7; Psalms 67:4), the Masorites read the Kal:-this, however, is unsuitable, as it does not express the idea of action. The second strophe is ver. 8-12. The constant use of the preterites, throughout this passage, makes it evident that we have here a description of some special trouble and deliverance, in which had been manifested the glory which had been de-scribed in general terms in the preceding verses. Ver. 8. Praise ye nations our God, and cause the voice of his praise to be heard. Ver. 9. Who putteth our soul into life, and does not suffer our foot to slide. Ver. 10. For thou didst prove us, O God, thou didst purify us as silver is purified. Ver. 11. Thou broughtest us into the net, thou laidest affliction upon our loins: Ver. 12. Thou didst let men ride upon our heads, we came into fire and into water, and thou didst lead as out to affluence.- In ver. 9 the calamity is represented as a death, and the deliver-ance as a putting of the soul into life-a revivification: comp. Psalms 30:3, "thou hast brought up my soul from hell," and at Psalms 63:3. In reference to the "sliding," see Psalms 15:5; Psalms 55:22. -On "thou didst prove us," ver. 10, the Berleb Bible: "Thou bast by many heats of trouble tried the worth and the steadfast-ness of our faith, hope and patience, as men examine metals by the fire": compare Zechariah 13:9, 1 Peter 1:7. The "thou didst purify us," shews that the protestation of innocence in ver. 18th, has reference only to the fundamental aim, and does not exclude manifold sins of infirmity, the existence of which justified the ap-pointment of the divine chastisement. The purification separates the dross: comp. Isaiah 1:25, "I will purify, as with prepared water, all thy dross, and I will take away all thy tin," Zechariah 13:9. Silver requires a particularly continuous and repeated purification: comp. Psalms 12:6; Isaiah 48:10, "I have refined thee, but not as silver, I have chosen thee in the furnace of affliction."-The מעוקה, in ver. 11, is straitness, oppression, sorrow: compare עקה in Psalms 1 v. 3. The loins are named as the seat of strength: comp. Deuteronomy 33:11; Psalms 69:23, and Gesen. Thes. When they are weakened, the strength generally is gone, and the man is weak and miserable. Some translate erroneously: straitening, op-pressing fetters; others: an oppressing burden. But fetters are not put on the loins, and loins do not carry burdens.-In verse 12th, the head is named as the noblest part, without strict re-gard to whether, in the case of beasts, the rider sits on the head or not. In reference to אנוש, comp. at Psalms 8:4. The more miserable the master is, the more oppressive is the servitude. On "we came into fire and water," comp. Isaiah 43:2. The רויה occurs only here and in Psalms 23:5. Calvin: "The sum is, although God may chastise severely his own people by tem-poral punishments, yet he always gives them a happy and joy-ful issue." Arnd: "Many thousands of pious Israelites, under the Old Testament, and many thousands of Christians, under the New, have been literally delivered out of such troubles, but many thousands have had to lay down their lives, whom God has de-livered and brought to life as regards their soul, as the pious mar-tyr Babylas said when he was led to death: Be now joyous, O my soul, the Lord is doing good to thee.'" The third strophe is from ver. 13 to 20. Calvin: "The sense is, the glory of God would be unworthily suppressed, if, as often as he stands by us in trouble, our thanksgivings did not follow upon our obtaining deliverance." Instead of the "we," which occurs in the preceding paragraph, we have here "I." The speaker cannot be the Psalmist, or "every particular heart." Against this we have the magnificent character of the sacrifices, and the circumstance that the trouble and the deliverance which are here appropriated to one individual, are manifestly the same, as what are spoken of in the preceding part of the Psalm, as be-longing to the whole. In like manner, it cannot be king Hezekiah, because the general character of the whole Psalm is against such a historical interpretation. The speaker is ratheran ideal person, the personification of the people, the "angel of the congregation." For it is evident from the address to the fearers of God, in ver. 16th, that we cannot exactly say that it is the people who speak. Similar personifications of the people are frequent: comp. for example, Psalms 60:60; Psalms 65:3.-Ver. 13. I will come into thy house with burnt offerings, I will pay to thee my vows. Ver. 14. Which my lips have uttered, and my mouth hath spoken in my trouble. Ver. 15. I will bring to thee burnt offerings of fat lambs with the smoke of rams, I will offer bullocks with goats.-Ver. 16. Come, hear, and let me tell, all ye that fear God, what he hath done to my soul. Ver. 17. I cried to him with my mouth, and a song of praise was under my tongue. Ver. 18. Had I regarded iniquity in my heart, the Lord would not have heard me. Ver. 19. But the Lord has heard me and marked my supplication. Ver. 20. Blessed be God, who has not removed my prayer nor his grace from me.-This last strophe, like the first, is complete in seven verses: the twentieth is to be considered as a conclusion: and the strophe like the first one is divided into two parts, consisting, the one of four, and the other of three verses.-The outward offerings, in ver. 13-15, are to be considered only as embodiment of the gifts of the heart. The soul is the thanksgiving of the heart. Vows have burnt offerings for their subject matter. The full enumeration of the animals, to be offered in sacrifice, spews the zeal, with which the thanks and the offerings are given.-The פצו in ver. 14, is "to open the mouth wide," and, secondarily, "to talk," Job 35:16. The expression indicates the distress which called forth the vow, so that the פצו contains in it the expression of the second clause,-in my trouble.- מיהים, fat, in ver. 15, is fat sheep. The smoke of rams, (used only here in this sense: in other pas-sages always of incense), is the kindled fat of the rams. The עשה, to make, then to prepare, to set in order, is frequently used of the bringing of offerings-In ver, 16-19, the reference to the occasion of rendering thanks to God, namely, the answer which had been vouchsafed to the speaker, prepared the way for passing on to the leading idea of this paragraph, viz. the emphatic declaration that this answer had been vouchsafed to him only on the ground of his innocence, the didactic and horta-tory tendency of which is only slightly veiled, viz. that there is no way to salvation except that of well doing. The soul is named in ver. 16th, because it had been exposed to danger:comp. ver. 9.-The רומם in ver. 17, is a noun, exaltation, praise: see its plural, Psalms 149:6. "Under my tongue," as at Psalms 10:7, indicates the fulness of the song of praise. As soon as the Psalmist cried, he got occasion, through the deliverance vouchsafed, to praise God: comp. Psalms 18:3, "I cried unto the Lord, and I was delivered from my enemies," Psalms 34:4-6. We cannot translate, "I cried, etc. and now there is"; for the reference to the present would have been clearly intimated. According to the analogy of the first clause, the preterite only must be supplied also in the second. Even the deliverance itself belongs now to the past. Much less however can we translate: "I praised God in confident expectation of his help." For in this case, no account would have been given of the result; the result, however, throughout the following verses is spoken of as having been obtained.-The following are parallel passages to verse 18th: Job 15:29, "The Lord is far from the wicked, and he hears the prayer of the righteous;" John 9:13; Isaiah 1:15, "Though ye pray ever so much, I will not hear you, your hands are full of blood;" lsa. 59:2, 3, "But your iniquities have se-parated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear, for your hands are defiled with blood, and your fingers with iniquity;" 1 John 3:21 "If our heart condemn us not, then have we confidence towards God, and whatsoever we ask we receive of him:" compare on the connection between righteousness and salvation, Ps. xvii, xviii, 34:11. The ראה is, as at Genesis 20:10, "to have before the eyes." The און is always unrighteousness, wickedness, never vanity, in the sense of false gods. The exposition, "if the design of my prayer had been directed to any thing evil," has originated in theological views. The language does not re-fer at all to the object of the prayer, but it intimates that the fundamental condition of the answer consisted in this, that not-withstanding all weakness, the inward fundamental aim of the soul is still pure and blameless, that the heart is entirely free from all secret wickedness-recondita malitia.-But God has heard, etc. ver. 19, and therefore has shewn that this hindrance to salvation does not exist in my case.-Ver. 20th, if given in full, would have been, "Who has not removed my prayer from him, and his grace from me." Psalms 67. THE church expresses a wish to God that he would impart to her blessing and salvation, in order that the manifestation of his grace, in his guidance of his people, may bring all the heathen to him: verses 2 and 3. This wish depends on the firm basis of the word and the deeds of God; and the confident assurance, (verses 4 and 5) therefore stands in its proper place, that the nations in future shall praise the Lord, on account of his righteous and good government, with which they become acquainted in the first instance, from his conduct towards his own people. In verses 6-8 the church grounds this confidence, specially on a blessing enjoyed at the present time, namely, the rich harvest which God grants to his people. The only reference to a matter of fact contained in the Psalm, viz: "the land gave its increase," is sufficient to determine the occasion on which it was composed: the title, To the Chief Musician, for instrumental music, a song of praise, is alto-gether general; compare on שיר, at Psalms 65. The Psalm was composed on the completion of harvest; and that it was design- ed for the temple service, is obvious from the title, "to the chief musician," and from the reference to the priestly blessing in ver. 1st. The Psalm contains the complete number of seven verses, which is divided, as generally, into a four and a three. The se-cond part is separated from the first, by this, that the special blessing of God, presently enjoyed, is first made mention of in it-a blessing which had rendered vivid in the minds of men the thought of the Psalm, "that the blessing of God upon Israel shall at a future time allure to him all the nations of the earth." By this thought the Psalm is connected with the preceding one: and it is assuredly for this reason that the two have been as-sociated together. The same thought which had been called forth by a deliverance of the people, is here suggested by the usual operations of nature. Every manifestation of the power and grace of God awakens in Israel the hope, that the unnatural relation, in which the heathen stand towards him shall, in fu-ture, cease to exist. The constant use of the general name of God, Elohim, has been occasioned by the contents of the Psalm, which announce the conversion of all the nations of the earth. The name Jehovahstands in reality every where along side of it, and the Elohim only gives prominence to the idea of the universality which is admissible along side of the greatest limitation, but on the ground of this was frequently misunderstood. The word Elohim must have been designed to recall this idea always afresh to the minds of the people: comp. the Beitr. P. II. p. 299, 312. The first part of the first strophe is ver. 1 and 2.-Ver. 1May God be gracious to us, and bless us, may he cause his face to shine with us. Ver. 2. That thy way may be known upon the earth, thy salvation among all nations. The Psalmist at first speaks of God, because he confines himself strictly to the blessing of Moses, Numbers 6:24; Numbers 6:25; but as soon as he leaves it, he addresses God. The wish in ver. 1, is for grace and blessing, in every respect. The sixth verse renders it manifest that tem-poral blessings are not excluded, but that these are in the first instance referred to; compare also the expansion in Deuteronomy 1-14. In the fullest sense, however, (and we may say this both of the prayer and of the design of it), the fulfilment is only in Christ. It is only after God has imparted all the blessings of grace and salvation in him to his own people, that there follow really and comprehensively those effects upon the heathen world which are the object of the Psalmist's wishes and hopes. In reference to the light and the shining of the face of God, comp. at Psalms 4:6; Psalms 31:16. Instead of the "upon" of the priestly blessing, we have here "with,"- the את being used exactly as it is in Genesis 4:1,-so that his shining counte-nance may guide us along our way.-On ver. 2, Calvin says: "The prophet wishes, that the favour of God towards the chosen people may become visible, in order that, by its splendour, it may lead the heathen to the hope of sharing in it." The way of God is his procedure: from his guiding of Israel, the hea-then shall know how God acts, what are those treasures of sal-vation which are laid up with him for his people; as, even at the present time, there are not more powerful means of bring-ing the world to God, than the perception of the gifts which he imparts to the living members of his church: comp. Psalms 25:10, "all the ways of God are grace and truth": 103:7, "He has made known his ways to Moses, his deeds to the children of Israel." The parallel term, "his salvation," is decisive against the translation, "his religion": comp. Psalms 96:2; Psalms 98:2. Thethought, that the blessings of Israel shall exert an attractive in-fluence on heathen nations, occurs also in the promises made to the patriarchs, Genesis 22:18; Genesis 26:4, "And all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in thy seed," i. e. they wish for, and they earnestly desire for themselves the lot of Israel as the highest good, and this wish shall be the means of their obtaining the blessing, (to be blessed, Niph. Genesis 12:3; Genesis 18:18), inasmuch as it will lead them to the author of the blessing. Isaiah 60:3 also is parallel: "and the Gentiles shall come to thy light, and kings to the brightness of thy rising." The second part of the first strophe is ver. 3 and 5.-Ver. 3.The nations shall praise thee, O God, all the nations shall praise thee. Ver. 4. The nations shall be glad and shout for joy, be-cause thou judgest the people righteously, and guidest the nations upon earth. There is first an announcement of the future con- version of the nations, and then a reference to the basis of this. This last is to be supplemented from ver. 1 and 2:-because, as the example of Israel shews, or as they see from the experience of Israel. Calvin saw that, according to the expression and con-nection, the language refers only to these nations who have sub-mitted to the dominion of the Lord, and who have spoken as at Isaiah 2:3. God acts judicially every time he imparts satiation.As an expansion of "he judges," we may refer to what is said in Psalms 67:12-14, of the judicial conduct of Messiah. On רושימ, properly, "even," then "evenness," in a moral sense, in the accusative here, as מישרום in Psalms 58:1, comp. at Psalms 45:6. On "thou guidest;" comp. Isaiah 58:11, "And the Lord guides thee continually and satisfies thy soul in drought." The second strophe is Psalms 67:5-7. Ver. 5. Nations shall praise thee, O God, all the nations shall praise thee. Ver. 6. The land gave its increase, God, our God, blesses us. Ver. 7. God blesses us, and all the ends of the earth shall fear him. For ought in reality to be supplied before Psalms 67:6. The Psalmist tells us in these verses what it was that had given him occasion and ground for his hope that the heathen, at a future time, should praise the Lord. First, a special event, which had just occurred, and which is expressed in the preterite tense; and, second, a general truth which had received from that event a recent confirmation, and, in the annunciation of which, the future tense is employed. The words in which the first is represented are borrowed from Leviticus 26:4 so designedly literal, as to render it manifest that attention was designed to be directed to the faithfulness of God in fulfilling his promises: “And I give you rain in due season, and the land gives its increase, and the trees of the fields give their fruit,”—a reference which refutes the idea that the äàøõ here denotes the whole earth, (the “our God” serves the same purpose), and that the fruit of the land is a figurative expression for blessings generally. In reference to this thought, Calvin: “We must maintain, that as often as God adorned that ancient people with his benefits, he, at the same time, shone upon the whole world with a burning torch, so as to allure the heathen to seek him.” In Psalms 67:7, “God blesses us,” is repeated for the purpose of connecting immediately together cause and effect:—”And because God blesses us,” etc. The second strophe is ver. 5-7.-Ver. 5. Nations shall praise thee, O God, all the nations shall praise thee. Ver. 6. The land hath given its increase, God, our God, blesses us. Ver. 7. God blesses us, and all the ends of the earth shall fear him.-For ought in reality to be supplied before ver. 6. The Psalmist tells us here what it was that had given him occasion and ground for his hope that the heathen, at a future time, should praise the Lord. First, a special event, which had just occurred, and which is expressed in the preter. tense; and, se-cond, a general truth which had received from that event a re-cent confirmation, and, in the annunciation of which, the future tense is employed. The words in which the first is represented are borrowed from Leviticus 26:4 so designedly literal, as to ren- der it manifest that attention was designed to be directed to the faithfulness of God in fulfilling his promises: "And I give you rain in due season, and the land gives its increase, and the trees of the fields give their fruit,"-a reference which refutes the idea that the הארץ here denotes the whole earth, (the "our God" serves the same purpose), and that the fruit of the land is a figurative expression for blessings generally. In reference to this thought, Calvin: "We must maintain, that as often as God adorned that ancient people with his benefits, he, at the same time, shone upon the whole world with a burning torch, so as to allure the heathen to seek him." In ver. 7, "God blesses us," is repeat-ed for the purpose of connecting immediately together cause and effect:-"And because God blesses us," etc. Psalms 68. THE Psalmist, in ver. 1-6, praises the Lord as the Saviour of the righteous, and the destroyer of the wicked. Then he casts his eye upon the grand manifestations of his almighty grace on behalf of his people, as seen in their history. First, in verses 7-10, what he did for them when he led them through the wilderness, until he brought them to the promised land. Next, in ver. 11-14, the victory and the happy peace which he grant-ed to his people in the time of the judges, until the erection of the sanctuary on Mount Zion. Then, ver. 15-19, the Lord has chosen Zion, which, in spite of all the assaults of the world, he will never forsake, and where he sits enthroned in the sanctuary, with all the fulness of his might: he has just made himself known as the God of Zion, in the victories gained over the enemies of his people. Having arrived at this point, the Psalmist in ver. 20- 23, turns (the point of transition is really the 19th verse) back from what is special to what is general, so that the former is en-closed within the latter; "God annihilates his own and his peo-ple's enemies." Next there follows, in ver. 24-27, the descrip-tion of the triumphal procession in celebration of the victory. In ver. 28-34, there follows, as based on what God has done at the present time, the prophetic hope of the conversion of all the heathen to this glorious God of Israel; and in ver. 32-35, all the kingdoms of the world are exhorted to praise this God.-It is manifest that in these two last strophes, there is to be found the reason why the Psalm has been annexed to the two preceding ones, in which the hope is expressed, that what God had done for Israel, would operate effectually on the heathen nations. The originality of the title is supported by the שירו and the זמרו, in verse 4, the שרים and the נגנים in ver. 25, and the שירו and זמרו, in verse 32, in relation obviously toשיר מזמר. As regards the formal arrangement, there are seven strophes, each of four verses, corresponding to an intro-duction of seven verses. The seven is, as usual, divided into three and four. At the end of the third strophe, there occurs an intercalary verse, ver. 19th, (as is often the case, for example in Psalms 22:42.), in order that the chief division may be indi-cated by the number 20: the whole 36a verses contain three twelves. This intercalary verse is marked out as a concluding verse, by its striking resemblance to the conclusion of the whole, verse 35. The title bears simply the announcement that the Psalm was composed by David, and set apart by him for the public service: but is silent as to the occasion for which it was more imme-diately designed. For determining this last point, we have thus nothing to look to except internal reasons. Many expositors, and latterly Stier, have come to the conclusion, that the Psalm was written on the occasion when the ark of the covenant was placed on Mount Zion: comp. at Psalms 24. Others again have adopted the idea, that the occasion must have been the termi-nation of some war, when the ark was brought back again to the holy mountain. This last view is the correct one. A strong argument in its favour is drawn from the circumstance, that God is throughout celebrated too decidedly as the Lord of battle and of victory. The introductory clause, "God arises, his enemies scattered, and they who hate him flee before him," gives forth the fundamental tone, and the subject of the whole Psalm; while, at the same time, in a Psalm sung at the restoration of the ark of the covenant, and of such a length, other subjects also would be introduced. Farther, we are led to a victory as the occasion, by the 18th verse, which, like the 6th verse of Psalma These remarks are founded on the Hebrew mode of numbering the verses. The title being marked ver. 1st, the 19th verse in the English translation is the 20th verse in the Hebrew Bible, and the 35th, the 36th."the earth gave its increase," announces the matter of fact which called forth the Psalm, and which ought to be con-sidered as supplementary to the title, and should properly be printed in large characters. Then we have the epithets which are applied in ver. 27 to Benjamin and Judah, and, finally, the close adaptation to the victory-song of Deborah:-inasmuch as the author, in ver. 7 and 8, at the very beginning of his chief division, refers literally to the beginning of the chief division of this song, he declares, as distinctly as possible, that he walks in the footsteps of Deborah, and that his song is to be consid-ered as a continuation or echo of hers, exactly, as in the ob-viously designed reference, in the opening verse of the Psalm, to the language of Moses, it is intimated, that the text and the subject of the whole are taken from him. We have two data to guide us in our enquiry, as to what par-ticular battle and victory the triumphal procession belongs, which, according to ver. 24-27, advanced to the holy place, as celebrated in this Psalm. First, the Psalm must have been composed at a time when the holy place was actually in exist-ence on Mount Zion, (ver. 15, 16, 29, 35). The choice is thus very much narrowed. There remain only two great victories, the Syrian-Edomite, and the Ammonitic-Syrian. Second, in the war referred to in this Psalm, the ark of the covenant must have been in the field, according to ver. 1 and 24. It is evident from 2 Samuel 11:11, that this was the case in the Ammonitic war. We may therefore with great probability conclude, that the Psalm was composed after the capture of Rabbah, (2 Samuel 12:26-31), which terminated that war, the most dangerous with which David had to do. It was quite in accordance with Da-vid's usual manner to celebrate a great religious festival at the close of such a war. The character of conclusiveness which our Psalm so manifestly bears, is in favour of this view. That war was the last important external war in which David engaged, and, from existing circumstances, he might pretty confidently conclude that it would be so. The name of Solomon, which soon after this he gave to his son, shews that he considered peace as now secured for a long time. Modern criticism has unwarrantably attacked this Psalm. Many, with Ewald at their head, would bring it down to a period after the captivity: a mistake well fitted to fill the mind with astonishment! The character of the languageand of the description, which Amyraldusa first characterized in very striking language, is sufficient to prove this. Boettcher (Probes. p. 64,) says: "From its antique language, its impres-sive descriptions, the fresh and powerful tone of its poetry, it is assuredly one of the most ancient monuments of Hebrew poet-ry." Hitzig "Before every thing else, the Psalm, to an atten-tive reader, conveys the impression of the highest originality.... The poem is thus assuredly as remarkable for its antiquity as for its originality; for the later writers could avail themselves of the use of models, and they have actually used them and imi-tated them." The idea of Ewald, which he makes use of to counteract these considerations, viz. that the Psalm is made up of a series of splendid passages from poems now lost, must be characterized as merely an arbitrary one, at least so long as not one single passage can be pointed out, as borrowed by the au-thor from any of those pieces at present in our possession, which were composed after the time of David. The distance between those pretendedly borrowed passages, and others where the sense is plain and easy, occurs in the same way, for example, in Psalms 18., which even Ewald allows to he genuine.-There is a close connection between that Psalm and the one now before us, so much so, that the description given by Amyraldus applies with equal truth to both; there are also characteristic refer-ences in particular expressions to other Davidic Psalms, and to these alone; compare the exposition. But the reasons, drawn from the matters of fact referred to in the Psalm are much more decisive. It is of great importance here, that, according to ver. 27, Zabulon and Naphtali take part in the procession, next after Judah and Benjamin. After the captivity, some of the descendants of the ten tribes might be found united with Judah, but assuredly there could be no such thing as the distinct tribes of Zabulon and Naphtali with their princes. During the whole period when the two divided king-doms existed in a state of juxtaposition to each other, there could be no union between Benjamin and Judah and Zabulon and Naphtali; and even though they were sometimes united, (a supposition on which Hitzig would interpret the 27th verse,) yet,a "There are in it poetic descriptions, and bold metaphors, frequent apos- trophes, magnificent prosopopoeias, and words which are of rare occurrence, and well selected, and therefore not easily understood.-It has also others which are quite easy; it has doctrines sufficiently well explained to be under-stood and expressed in, ordinary language."apart from the consideration, that next to Judah, Ephraim was the tribe that would have been named, and that the naming of the northern and southern tribes is equivalent to naming a part in-stead of the whole, especially when Psalms 60:7 is compared, it is ut-terly impossible that these tribes could ever have marched in com-pany as part of a triumphal procession into Jerusalem. We must, moreover, go back from the division of the kingdom to the time of David. For under Solomon there were no such war and vic-tory as the Psalm before us refers to. Farther, the epithets ap-plied to Judah and Benjamin, in verse 27, can be explained on-ly from the relations which existed in the time of David: the mention of Egypt as representing the power of the heathen world, shows that the Psalm was composed before the rise of the great Asiatic monarchies, especially the Assyrian: Israel ap-pears everywhere as a warlike and victorious nation, (compare especially ver. 21-23), and an event such as that which, ac-cording to verse 18, formed the subject matter of the Psalm, could not take place subsequent to the captivity. The reasons which have been urged against the Davidic au-thorship of the Psalm are very trifling. In reference to the mention of the temple in verse 29, compare at Psalms 5:7. That in ver. 30 and 31 there are no traces whatever of such hostile re-lations towards Egypt as did not exist in David's time, and that Egypt is named simply as representing the might of the world as in rebellion against God, which it did in David's time, and continued to do until the rise of the great Assyrian monarchy, is evident from the circumstance that Cush, which never was in a state of hostility to Israel, is named next after Egypt. The Introduction contains first the title, after that the praise of God, as the Almighty destroyer of the wicked, and the de-liverer of the just, (ver. 1-3), and finally, the exhortation to praise him as the helper of all the miserable, (ver. 4-6).-Title. To the Chief Musician, by David, a song of praise. Ver. 1. God arises, his enemies are scattered, and those that hate him flee before him. Ver. 2. As smoke vanishes, thou makest them to vanish, as wax melts before the fire, the wicked perish before God. Ver. 3. And the righteous are glad, they shout for joy before God, and exult for gladness.-Ver. 4. Sing to God, sing praise to his name, make a way for him, who rideth forward in the deserts, he is called Lord, and rejoice before him. Ver. 5. Father of the orphans, and judge of the widows is God, in his holy habitation. Ver. 6. God makes the solitary to dwell in houses, he brings out the prisoners to prosperity, yet the rebels inhabit a dry land. On verse 1, Calvin: "This verse forms as it were the preface, in which David announces the subject on which he is to speak throughout the Psalm. The substance is: though God rest for a time while the ungodly cruelly and boldly oppress the church, yet at last he rises up as the avenger; and the faithful have sufficient protection in his help, as soon as he only stretches out his hand against the ungodly." As the preceding Psalm rises on the basis of the Mosaic blessing, the present one is closely related to the words which according to Numbers 10:35, Moses uttered on the setting forward of the ark of the covenant, "Rise up, Lord, and let thine enemies be scat-tered, and let them that hate thee flee before thee." There is all the greater propriety in this reference, inasmuch as these words were spoken for all times, and were designed to inspire with courage in every age the little flock in presence of a whole hostile world: one single look at the ark of the covenant, whose place, under the New Testament, Christ occupies (compare Christology, Part III. on Jeremiah 3:16), and all enemies sink down into nothing. There are only two variations from the fundamental passage. 1. What Moses expressed in the form of a prayer-arise,-David expresses in the form of an invaria-ble sequence: he rises = he needs only to rise. Several inter-preters translate erroneously: "May he arise": David in this case would assuredly have written קומה: the language, more-over, in the following verses, is not that of prayer, but of affir-mation. 2. Instead of Jehovah, David uses Elohim; and this name is the one which is generally used throughout the Psalm; Jehovah occurs only twice, in ver. 16 and 20, and Jah twice, in ver. 4 and 18. The reason of this has been given in the Beitrage, 3, p. 299. It lies in the misuse of the name Jehovah, which changed the name stronger in and for itself, into the weaker. It was also remarked in the same place, that in such passages Jehovah is in the back ground, and that the simple Elohim is equivalent to Jehovah Elohim,: comp. the Jah Elo-him in ver. 18th.-Tholuck has given a correct view of the con-tents of this verse, "as the great theme, which is continually being repeated, always under new forms, in the history of the church of God upon earth, until the final judgment shall com-prehend and complete all earlier judgments of God." Luther,after Augustine, has given great prominence to the verification which the verse received at the resurrection of Christ: "When Christ died, God acted as if he were asleep and did not see the raging Jews, he permitted them to gather strength and to as-semble, and the poor disciples to flee and be scattered. But when the Jews thought that they had gained the victory, now that Christ was laid in the grave, God awakes and calls Christ from the dead. Then the tables are turned: the dis-ciples assemble, the Jews divide, some to grace who believe, others to wrath who are destroyed by the Romans." What, happened to the keepers at the sepulchre, (Matthew 28:4), was a remarkable illustration of the contents of this verse. The Berleb. Bible: "St. Antonius, as Athanasius relates, is report-ed to have found great benefit from these two verses when he was assailed by the Devil. And there is no doubt that one may make very important use of them, in each and every as-sault and temptation of the evil one, when we let ourselves he brought under his power . . . . Ah! that we would only permit him (God) to rise up! But we often suppress his work within us. Hence it is no wonder that the work of our salvation goesforward so slowly."-Luther on verse 2: "Two beautiful em-blems, smoke and wax; the smoke disappears before the wind, the wax before the fire. It is most contemptuous to compare, to smoke, and wax, such mighty enemies, who think that they can combat heaven and earth." For the sake of the similarity in the termination, we have the rare instead of the usual form (ףד,נA.הi) of the infinitive in Niphal of נדף (the word is used ina similar relation in Psalms 1:4); in like manner the Nun is retain-ed in תנדף, and for the same reason the suffix is dropped, which could be easily spared, referring to the haters of God: compare on the omission of the suffix, for similar reasons, Psalms 40:3; Psalms 52:6. The image of wax is employed also in Psalms 22:14. It appears that, in this and in the following verse, there is a reference to the conclusion of the song of Deborah, verse 31: "So let all thine enemies perish, O Lord, but let them that love him be as the sun when he goeth forth in his might:" just as at the be-ginning of the main division there is a reference to the begin-ning of the same song.-By the "righteous" in verse 3, in op-position to the "wicked," in verse 2, the Psalmist means, un-doubtedly, according to the occasion of the Psalm, in the first instance, Israel in reference to their heathen enemies. We are not, however, on this account, to imagine that he consideredevery Israelite after the flesh to be a righteous man: compare the introduction to Psalms 9 :The wicked among the Israelites are, on the contrary, by this very description of those to whom the salvation of God is appointed, excluded from the promise,and thrown into the region of the threatening. The לפני stands in opposition to מפני in verse 1 and 2. Destruction goes forth from the angry face of God against the wicked, the righteous rejoice before his gracious face.-The exhortation to praise God, in ver. 4, first rises out of the representation of his glory in ver. 1-3, and has afterwards a wider basis assigned to it in ver. 5 and 6. On "his name," comp. Psalms 66:1. In the phrase, make a way (סלל is "to throw up a military road," "to make a way,") for him who rides forward in the deserts, (רכב is used as at ver. 33, where ב marks the ground rode over), there lies at bottom a spiritual application of the march through the wilderness, to which reference is made in the first verse, and which the Psalmist describes at length in ver. 7-9. God always goes at the head of his people through the desertsa of suffering and need; in every wilderness of trouble they find in him a true leader. Verses 5 and 6 are to be considered as the expansion of "riding through the deserts," and leave no room for doubt as to the meaning of that expression. Comp. on similar spiritual applications of the march through the wilderness, the Christology, P. III. on Hosea 2:16, and also the observations made on Psalms 66:6. The preparing of the way before the heavenly king, by which we open up the way, so that he comes in to us, in the wilderness of life, and guides us in it, can be nothing else, in this passage, than songs of praise, the joyful recognition of his mighty deeds and of his glory; for it is of this only that the Psalmist speaks in the preceding and following verses. Comp. Psalms 50:15; Psalms 50:23. Isaiah 40:3; Isaiah 40:4, alludes to our passage, where, however, the pre-paration of the way is that of repentance, and Malachi 3:1 refers again to Isaiah. "His name is in Jah" = “ he is called Jah” :comp, on the ב, Ewald, ˜ 521. The name Jab, a contraction of Jehovah, is first used in the song of Moses, Exodus 15:2; and there can be no doubt that this passage is to be considered as the proper fundamental passage to all the rest. The name did not come into common use, but was generally taken only from that a Compare in reference to ערבה the author's treatise on Balaam, p. 230. ערבה, in a geographical sense, is the heart of the country through the Israelites moved during the forty years' journey.passage. For otherwise we would not find it occurring only in expressions of a highly poetic character. Stier has correctly re-marked that Jah, as the concentration of Jehovah, is the more emphatic term. At all events, there is less regard paid here to the derivation and original sense of the name, than there is to the fulness of associations connected with it throughout the whole course of time.-In verses 5 and 6, we have the basis of the exhortation in ver. 4, to praise God, in the reference made to the glory of God; and, at the same time, an explanation and developement of the clause, "he rides forward in the deserts." "The import is," says Calvin, "by whatever kind of troubles we are assailed, let it be our consolation that we are in the hands of God, who is able to ease our pains and to unburden us of our cares. And even though the ungodly prosper for a while, yet, in the end, those very events, which seem to be prosperous, will work out their ruin." Arnd: "And the meaning of the Holy Ghost is, that God the Lord is a gracious, a friendly God and King, whose first, highest, and principal work it is, to give most attention to the miserabiles personae, that is, to those persons who ought to be most pitied because they are helpless and comfort-less. Great potentates in the world do not act thus: they re-spect the noblest and the richest in the land, the men who may adorn their court and strengthen their power and authority. But the highest glory of God is to compassionate the miserable." That by the widows, etc., we are not exactly to understand Is-rael, is evident from the plural, from those passages in the law, in which widows and orphans, in the proper sense, are repre-sented as objects of peculiar regard to God, and are entrusted as such to the care of the righteous, (compare for example Deut. x. 18, Exodus 22:21), and finally, from the parallel passages, such as Psalms 146:7-9. On the other hand, the reference to the suf-fering church, is demanded by the whole tendency of the Psalm, and especially by the 7th and following verses, where manifestly, what is here said in general, is brought forward historically in detail: compare particularly "thine heritage when it was weary thou hast strengthened," in ver. 9, and "for the poor" in verse 10. We must therefore hold that "the orphans," "the widows," etc., are expressions designed to individualize the miserable, and that God's care over them in general is praised, in special reference to what he does for his afflicted people. Hosea 14:4, for example, is altogether similar, "With thee the fatherless find mercy," and therefore also thydestitute people. Even there the "fatherless" is not exactly equivalent to Israel, but is an individualizing description of the helpless.-In verse 5th, Elohim is the subject of the affirmation, as it is at ver. 6. The דין occurs elsewhere only in 1 Samuel 24:16; and there also, as coming from the lips of David, com-pare Psalms 54:1. The holy-that is the sacred and glorious,-(compare at Psalms 22:3), habitation of God is heaven, (compare Psalms 11:4), in opposition to earth, the seat of unrighteousness and of coldness of heart. Sursum corda is for the widows and fatherless.-The solitary in ver. 6, are those who are destitute of human help: compare Psalms 25:16, where solitary stands connected with miserable. The immediate blessing of which these stand in need, is, to obtain a place where to lay their head, to be brought under roof and shelter: compare Isaiah 58:7, "And that thou bring the poor that are cast out to thy house." The Lord manifested himself to his people as one who caused them to dwell in houses, inasmuch as he granted to them pos-session of Canaan, (compare ver. 10), and protected them there-in against their enemies, ver. 12. In like manner he has proved himself to be such to the continuation of the community of the Old Testament, the Christian church, when "that which had previously been everywhere trodden under foot, obtained afirm and permanent settlement in the Roman empire, as hap-pened under Constantine, when the early persecutions ceased." Berleb. Bible. The same annotator, in the style of true theo-logical exposition, rises above the literal interpretation in his remarks on "those that are bound:" "partly under the heathen emperors, during the early persecutions; partly, and still more, the men who are bound under the tyranny of the devil, of sin, and of death; particularly also those whose spirit within is bound, so that it cannot rise to the joy of faith; and also those who are bound outwardly to vain pursuits." And on, he leads out: "particularly brings them out from the slavery of wild lusts and heresies into the liberty of the church and of the children of God," Ruckert renders כושרות by "prosperity." The "rebels," or the "re-fractory," are the stiff-necked enemies of the Lord and his church. These were, as it were, banished by God, into thewilderness, and shut out from the experience of his fatherlygood will. Rebellious Israel (compare Luke 19:14, and John 19:15,) has had to experience the truth of these words no lessthan the rebellious heathen, Amalek, (Exodus 17:14; Exodus 17:16), andPharaoh at their head. The "only" is "it is not otherwise than thus," "it always happens so:" compare Psalms 58:11. To the general praise of the glory of God there is now annexed a representation of several instances of this, as they took place in the history of his chosen people, first, in ver. 7-10, what God did to them at the time of their journey through the wilderness:- he revealed himself to them, in the giving of the law from Sinai, ver. 8, he fed them and revived them wonderfully, ver. 10, he finally led them into Canaan, ver. 11.-Ver. 7. O God, when thou didst march before thy people, thou, didst walk forward in the derness. Selah. Ver. 8. The earth moved, the heavens also dropped before God, it was at Sinai, before God, the God of Israel. Ver. 9. Thou didst send a rain of gifts, thine heritage, the weary one, thou didst strengthen it. Ver, 10. Thy host dwelt in the land, thou dost prepare, through thy goodness, a home for the miser - able, O God.-Verses 7 and 8 are borrowed, almost word for word, from the song of Deborah, (Judges 5:4; Judges 5:5), whose genuine-ness has now again become generally acknowledged: comp. the Beitr. 3, p. 116, Keminck, de Cann. Deb. p. 24. Judges 5:4 refers again to Deuteronomy 33:2; Ex. six. 15, ss.; comp. Beitr. p. 117. The "thou didst march," does not refer to the march out of Egypt, which is represented as having already taken place: "to march before," is applied, as it often is, for example, Numbers 27:17, Psalms 44:9; Psalms 60:10, to the leader of the host going for-ward at its head upon an expedition. Even in the Pentateuch, God is represented as the commander in chief, and Israel as the army led on by him against the Canaanites: comp. Exodus 12:41, "All the hosts of the Lord went forth out of Egypt," ver. 51, and chap. 13:18. There is apparently in the song of Deborah, and here a special reference to Exodus 13:21, according to which the Lord marched at the head of his host in a pillar of cloud and fire. Arnd: "Now, although it was a great glory of the Old Testament, that God was present to his people, in a pillar of fire and cloud, yet the glory of the New Testament is greater still, because the Son of God has become man: that was merely a shadow and a type, this is the highest consolation, and reality itself." The ישימון is apparently from Deuteronomy 32:10. The Selah stands exactly as in Habakkuk 3:3, between the general an-nouncement, and the development, and serves to direct atten-tion to the latter. The separation effected by it between verses7 and 8, is intended at the same time to indicate that the 7th verse is introductory, not only to the 8th but also to the whole strophe which has to do with the march through the wilderness, onward till its successful termination.-For the first time, in ver. 8, we have the appearances at the giving of the law. The question may be asked, why the Psalmist begins with Sinai, and passes over altogether the miracles wrought by God on behalf of his people on their departure from Egypt. The answer is: it was at Sinai that the covenant for the first time was formally and solemnly ratified: comp. Deuteronomy 33:5, "And he was king in Jeshurun, when the tribes of the people were gathered to-gether." According to several expositors, the verse before us refers, not only to the appearances at the giving of the law, but also to the whole march through the wilderness. But against this we have the emphatic explanation given by the Psalmist,סיני זה, the reference, which it is impossible to mistake, to the passages quoted above in the Pentateuch, and finally, the con-nection and the train of thought in the song of Deborah: see the Beitrage. The appearances at the giving of the law, how-ever, are introduced in this passage (where every thing that is mentioned, is brought in, as a developement of "the righteous rejoice, &c." and, "a father of the fatherless, &c.") not as con-sidered in their special import, as an illustration of "our God is a consuming fire," but as illustrating, in their general aspect, the supreme love of God seen in his thus making himself known to mortals: comp. Deuteronomy 4:33. In reference to the אף, comp. at Psalms 18:48. There is no express mention made in the his-torical narrative of the rain. (the heavens dropped), but a dense cloud is spoken of. The מפני is from Exodus 19:18. The זה, masc., stands instead of the neut., as at Ecclesiastes 6:9. "This the Sinai," "it happened there." The usual translation, "this Sinai (moved)" will not do: "moved" is not the word, which the sentence supplies, but "dropped," and this will not suit. After this finger mark, the "before God" is repeated, for the purpose of connecting it with the "God of Israel." It is he that does this,-all this is done for the sake of Israel.-Ver. 9 refers to the provision made by God for his people, in temporal matters, during their marchings through the wilderness,-the manna, the quails, the water out of the rock, etc., according to verse 4th, a type and a pledge of what God does for his poor ones at all times. The נדבה means always "free-will gifts:" comp. at Psalms 54:6. This fact is sufficient to set aside the idea that,according to the translation, "a freely given," or "a plentiful rain," a rain in the proper sense is meant, of which the history of the journey through the wilderness knows nothing, and which, in the connection, would be very unsuitable, as it would have to be adopted at the expense of the giving of manna, etc., facts which, in such a connection, are the very first to occur to the mind. The figure of rain, which was obviously suggested by the mention of rain in the proper sense in ver. 8, points, on the one hand, to the abundance of the divine gifts-and this all the more, that it is not an ordinary rain that is spoken of, but a sudden and violent shower, (comp. Exodus 16:4; Psalms 78:24, "And he rained down manna upon them, and gave them of the corn of heaven." Genesis 19:24, "And he rained on Sodom fire and brimstone,")-and on the other, to the pleas-ing, reviving, and refreshing nature of these gifts. The re-viving rain, so often an individualizing reference for blessing, is also well adapted for being used as an emblem of the same: comp. Isaiah 44:3, "For I will pour water upon him that is thirsty, and rain upon the dry ground; I will pour my Spirit upon thy seed, and my blessing upon thine offspring." The נוף, which in Hiph. signifies always to move backwards and for-wards, and never to sprinkle,-so that it is even inadmissible in point of language, besides being in violation of the accus. toconnect נהלתך with the first clause,�the rain of gifts did not fall in some spots only, but that, like all the other arrangements, these blessings were granted to the whole people: comp. Psalms 78:27; Psalms 78:28, "he rained quails upon them as dust, and feathered fowls like the sand of the sea, and he let it fall in the midst of their camp round about their habitations." The inheritance of God indicates, as usual, not the land, but the people of the Lord. The "And (indeed or even) the weary (one)," points to the greatness of the divine beneficence, which was im-parted to a people, in such a condition, to whom no restoration appeared to be possible: God, who alone, in such circumstances, was able still to help, (the emphatic, thou), stretched out his hand to them, when they were lying on the ground wholly worn out through fatigue from travelling through the wilder-ness, through hunger and vexation. The כונן is not "to re-vive," but "to establish," "to fortify:" comp. 2 Samuel 7:13, Psalms 40:2; Psalms 90:17.-The crowning act of the glorious work of guiding through the wilderness, is, (ver. 10), the introduction of his people to the land of promise. The היה occurs in thesense of "an host," besides this passage, only in 2 Samuel 11, 13. It appears that this term was one peculiar to the time of David. In 1 Chronicles 11:15, instead of "host of the Philistines," we have "camp of the Philistines." The suffix inבה relates to the land, of which no mention had been expressly made, in the preceding verses, but which the Psalmist had steadily before his eyes:-it was indeed the very object of the march through the wilderness. The suffix is used, exactly in this way, in ver. 14, and in Isaiah 8:21. The second member occupies an independent position. The object is to be supplied from what goes before: a habitation: comp. "God makes the solitary to dwell in houses," in ver. 6. We cannot translate, "which thou hast provided": in that case the future would not be used, and to prepare will not apply to land. Israel is called miserable, in reference to their degraded condition, (comp. the נלאה in ver. 9), and their utter helplessness and feebleness in presence of the powerful nations who possessed the land. The second strophe ver. 11-14, contains what God did for his people from the time of their entrance into the land of pro-mise, till the setting up of the sanctuary in Zion:-he gave them glorious victory and happy peace, which are celebrated each in two verses.-Ver. 11. The Lord gives the word; of the female-messengers of victory there are great hosts. Ver. 12. The kings of the hosts flee, they flee, and the dweller at home divides the spoil. Ver. 13. When ye rest within the confines, ye are like the Wings of cloves covered with silver, and their feathers with the gleam of gold. Ver, 14. When the Almighty scatters kings in it, it snows on Salmon.-The word which, according to ver. 11, the Lord gives, is one of joyful contents, the announcement of a victory, recently obtained; and it cannot mean a song of victory. The victory, when gained, was celebrated by women in songs, plays, and dances: comp. Exodus 15:20, Judges 5:12, 1 Samuel 18:6; 1 Samuel 18:7. These are the messengers of joy: comp. the damsels in ver. 25: the בשר is used in Psalms 40:9, of the procla-mation, accompanied with praise, of a salvation already made known. The great army of the female-messengers of joy, is con-ceived of by the Psalmist as made up of the union of all the separate quoirs which existed during the whole century of the judges, till the erection of the tabernacle on mount Sion. Against the exposition, "messengers of victory to the great host," there is, first, the article, second, the adjective would inthis case be useless, and last, the salvation is not announced to the army who gained it, but to the people who remained at home.-According to a common idea, in ver. 12 and 13, the female messengers of victory are introduced speaking. But for this there is no foundation, and the regular progression of thought is altogether against it, the victory, in ver. 11, the flight and the dividing of the spoil, in ver. 12, and the happy rest, in ver. 13, after the battle, imparted by the Lord to his people. "She that is dwelling at home," (the נות is the stat. constr. fem. of הו,נA), according to the common idea, should denote thewomen of the house, who distribute among themselves, or each among the inmates of her own house, the booty brought home by the men. But we never read of the women performing any such duty in reference to the booty: this task is one which be-longs to the men. "She that is dwelling at home," denotes Israel dwelling again peacefully at home after the flight of the kings: comp. "then shall the people of the Lord go down to the gates," Judges 5:11, "the shout of those who divide the spoil between the watering troughs." In this way the 13th verse has an important connection with the verse by which it is pre-ceded. For in it the Psalmist depicts the happy condition of "her that is dwelling at home," that is, of the people dwelling in peace in their own houses after the victory:-a state of matters which, in the book of Judges, is described by the usual phrase, "the land had rest": comp. the conclusion of ch. 5. and 8:28. The victory and the spoil, which the Lord imparted to his people, in their contests against the Gentile nations, in the season of their childhood, was a type of a more glorious victory, and a more pre-cious spoil. Arnd: "Is it not a valuable spoil, that so many thou-sands of men have been converted from heathenism, among whom have been so many glorious teachers and lights of the church, such as Justin, Augustine, Ambrose, not to speak of the innumerable martyrs, who were all brought out of heathenism, and were put to death because of their attachment to the Christian faith."-The "when you rest," in ver. 13, not, "when you rested," in-dicates that the Psalmist does not refer here to one past event. The שכב implies peaceful rest, as at Numbers 24:9, and is equivalent to רבץ, Genesis 49:14. The שפתים, which is used only here and in Ezekiel 40:43, and the משפתים, in the fundamental passage, Genesis 49:14, and in Judges 5:16, where, as in the verse before us, reference is made to it, signify either"sheep-folds," or "boundaries." Against the former of these two senses, there is the consideration, that in that case the pas-sage in Ezekiel would be too much disjoined from the others: the sense of "sheep-folds" is, strictly speaking, not suitable even in Judges 5:16, for he who lies between the sheepfolds, is not he who hears the shepherd's flute, but is the shepherd himself. At all events, however, the phrase denotes a state of peaceful rest. In this condition the Israelites, to whom the address is directed, are taken figuratively, wings of the doves, etc., or they are like doves, whose wings glitter with silver and gold. The allusion is to the play of colours on the wings of the dove in sunshine. The real import is not at all, as some, with very little taste, would have it, "rich dresses of silver and gold, for the women, derived from the spoil," nor, even generally, riches of silver and gold, but the peaceful, and, at the same time, splendid condition enjoyed by Israel in the lap of peace: com-pare the corresponding second figure, snow, applied to the same condition, in ver. 14. There is no necessity for connecting נהפה with כנפי, (Ewald, �˜ 568): it may be as well connected with יונה;�"the wings of the dove, which is covered with silver, and as to its feathers" (acc.), or "whose feathers (are covered) with yellow gold."-Ver. 14 points to the bright gleam of prosperity, which covered the land on the prosperous termina-tion of the war, in room of the darkness in which it had been envel-oped during the season of hostile oppression:-when the Lord scatters kings, the light of prosperity illuminates the darkness of the land, just as dark Salmon becomes white when covered with snow. The פרש in Pih. is originally "to stretch out," after-wards, "to scatter," as in Zechariah 2:10, (compare on that passage Maurer against Hitzig), and the Niph. is "to be scattered." The God of Israel is called Almighty, because he alone by his omnipotence could bring about the result which is here spoken of. The kings are the kings of armies of ver. 12, such as Cush-an, Jabin, Agag, etc. The suffix in בה refers to "the land," which is not indeed expressly named, but which is in reality de-scribed in, "when you rest within the boundaries." The תשלג is used, as many similar verbs are, (Ew. Sm. Gr. 552, and Lar. Gr. 645), impersonally; "it snows." The snow is mentioned here, because it has the colour of purest light: compare Psalms 51:7, Isaiah 1:18, "they shall be white as snow," Mark 9:3, "And his clothes glittered, very white like snow, such as no fuller onearth can whiten," Matthew 17:2, where, instead of "white as snow," we have "white as light," 28:3, Revelation 1:14. Zalmon is "a hill mentioned in Judges 9:48, which was covered over with great thick wood, (even according to that passage), so that it might be called in German a schwartzwald, a dark forest, the black or dark mountain." Luther. There is no need for sup-plying any mark of comparison before Zalmon: it is rather to be considered as used in a figurative sense for the land, just as snow is a figurative expression for the clear brightness of pro-sperity. In favour of this simple exposition, we have the agree-ment between this and the preceding verse; and second, it is in this way that we can see any reason for naming Zalmon: the mountain, destitute of any signification itself, would (except in this view) be held as introduced only for the sake of its name. The most obvious interpretation as to sense, "it becomes clear in darkness," is negatived by the consideration, that צלמון is never used as an appellative, and that השליג neither means nor can mean, "to be white" or "clear." And against the ex-position, "it (the land) was snow-white with the bones of the slain like Zahnon," we have to urge, that Zalmon was not a snow mountain, that בצלמון never can mean "like Zalmon," that השליב cannot be translated "snow-white," and, finally, that the ex-position brings us back from the region of peaceful victory to that of prosperous war. The third strophe, ver. 15-19, describes the glory of God in Sion, after he had taken up there his abode. God maintains his position there in spite of all the machinations of the world in hostility against Israel, verse 15, 16: he sits en-throned there in the complete fulness of his omnipotence, ver. 17: he has exhibited this in victories gained over the enemies of his people, ver. 18: praise to him the Saviour of his people, ver. 19.-Ver. 15. A mountain of God is Mount Basan, a summit-mountain is Mount Basan. Ver. 16. Why do ye lay snares, ye summit-mountains, against the mountain which the Lord chooses for his seat? the Lord will even dwell on it for ever. Ver. 17. The chariots of God are two myriads, many thousands, the Lord is among them, Sinai is in the sanctuary. Ver. 18. Thou goest up on high, thou didst lead the prisoners away, thou receivedst gifts among men, yea among the rebellions, to dwell, O Lord, God. Ver. 19. Praised be the Lord every day, they lay burdens on us, the Lord is our salvation, Selah. In verse 15 the Psalmist tells what Mount Basan is, and, in the 16th verse he rejects the false pre-tensions which it raises on the basis of its real worth: it is great, -yet Mount Zion is infinitely greater, and vain are all its efforts to change this relation. Many expositors read the 15th verse with vocatives, but Boettcher, with good reason, prefers the ex-position with subject and predicate: "A hill of God is the hill of Basan," remarking "that accumulated vocatives are very flat, and that individual appellations become very drawling." A hill of God is such a hill as, by its magnitude, reminds us of the creative power of God, and has the appearance of being favoured by him, comp. at Psalms 36:6. It will not do to take the hill of God as equivalent simply to a superior hill, because there is an opposition between the hill of God (Elohim, the most general name of God) and the hill which the Lord chooses for his habi-tation-an opposition which would be altogether destroyed by this exposition. The hill of God is here used as an emblem of the kingdoms of the world, powerful through the grace of God; comp. on the hills as an emblem of kingdoms, Psalms 65:6, and in addition to the passages quoted there, Psalms 76:4, Habakkuk 3:6. The hill of Basan is the high snow-summit of Anti-Lebanon, or Hermon, the extreme limit of Basan, yet really belonging to it: compare Beitr. III. p. 242. In Psalms 42:6, the land on the other side Jordan is named the land of Hermon; and Hermon also in Psalms 89:12 represents the country beyond Jordan. The re-maining hills of Basan are proportionally lower; the name hill of God is not suitable for them; they do not admit of being em-ployed to represent the might of the world, and they possess no superiority, even on inferior grounds, over Zion. There was, moreover, a peculiar propriety, arising from its position on the very boundary between Judea and the heathen world, in employ-ing it as a symbol of the world's might: even in ver. 22, Basan is named as the boundary of Canaan on the side of the heathen world. Comp. Psalms 29. (vol. i. p. 478), where the wilderness of Kadesh is named as forming one pair with Lebanon and Sirion: the symbols of the world's might, on the north and the south of the land of the Lord, are seized with terror at the sound of his voice. Perhaps also the Psalmist noticed that the original name of Hermon, Sion the lofty, (compare Beitr. III. p.. 241), and the Sidonian name, Sirion, (Deuteronomy 3:9), are both allied in sound to Zion. The term, summit-mountain, indicates that Basan is notan individual hill, but a gigantic rugged mountain range.-In verse 16, the wherefore," (comp. Psalms 2:1), points to the folly of the hostile conduct of the kingdoms; Boettcher: "why so fruitlessly." The word רצד, which occurs nowhere else ex-cept in this passage, "to lay snares," "to plot against," not "to envy," or "to look askance," (compare Ges. Thes.-even the 17th verse leads to hostilities expressed in outward actions), makes it manifest that the hills are symbolical of kingdoms. The summit-mountains,-a sort of compound noun, (comp. at Psalms 60:3), --are the individual summits of Hermon; or the symbol of the preceding verse is extended. The אף "even," points to the inseparable connection between the choice and the perpetual habitation: compare Genesis 27:33, "I have blessed him; he shall even be blessed." The thought of both verses-that grace is superior to nature, that natural gifts must yield to spiritual ones, that the world, in spite of all the power which God has given it, must yield to the church, in which God is present him-self with his omnipotence,-is expressed in a similar form in Is. ii. and Micah 4:1-3, where the temple-mountain will, it is predicted, be exalted above all the mountains of the earth: compare also Isaiah 8:6, where the brook Siloa symbolizes the kingdom of God, and the Euphrates the power of the world.- In verse 17 the Psalmist, in the words, "the Lord will dwell there for ever," announces the infinite safety of Zion against all the plots of the power of the world. The main strength of the hostile armies, particularly the Syrian, in the war which had just been brought to a termination, (compare 2 Samuel 18:4; 2 Samuel 10:18), lay in war-chariots. As expressing emphatically the thought that the God, who dwells on Zion, is infinitely superior to these hosts, the Psalmist represents him as surrounded by such a number, as no human king ever possessed, of invisible chariots, led on by his hosts of angels. That the mention of chariots of war has been occasioned by this contrast, is evident from the pa-rallel passage, 2 Kings 6:17, where the servant of Elisha, when his heart failed him, at the sight of "the horses and chariots of the mighty hosts" of the Syrians, is comforted when he beholds "the mountain full of fiery horses and chariots round about Elisha." Two myriads; the number usually employed to de-note an infinite multitude, is doubled. "Perhaps allusion may be made to the two wings, on each of which there are ten thou-sand: Genesis 32:1; Genesis 32:2." Berleb. Bib. Thousands of repetitionor duplication: such to whom new ones always succeed, and these every time thousands. Daniel 7:10 is similar: "thou-sand times thousand serve him, and ten thousand times thou-sands stand before him." The Psalmist next directs attention to the point, that this magnificent army of God derives its chief importance from this, that he, "who alone is in a condition to avert a thousand deaths," is in the midst of it. The last words are to be translated: "Sinai is in the sanctuary:" בקדש, just as at verse 24. The preceding context must determine, unless we wish to guess at random, in what respect Sinai is in the sanc-tuary. According to it Sinai and Zion have in common only the presence of the Lord in the midst of the innumerable hosts of his angels. This, as far as Sinai is concerned, is expressly asserted in Deuteronomy 32:2, "he comes out of myriads of holi-ness," and verse 3, "all his holy ones are in thy hand," "they serve thee, O Israel:"--a passage to which the Psalmist refers. Compare also Galatians 3:19, and Hebrews 2:2. The sense given by Stier is altogether wrong: "by the presence of the ark of the covenant and the tables of the law, Zion itself was at Sinai." In verse 8, Sinai had been thought of in reference to the majes-tic appearance of God. Even the exposition of Boettcher and others must be rejected, as not in keeping with the context: "Sinai, with all its splendour of thunder and lightning, is now in the sanctuary."-Ver. 18 gives the matter-of-fact proof for the assertion made in ver. 17. That the Lord sits enthroned in Zion, in the whole fulness of his might, has been made manifest, even now, by a great victory obtained over the enemies of his people. The constant use of the preterites makes it evident that the verse refers to one particular event, and cannot be ap-plied to what God is continually doing: and the connection with what goes before, according to which the expressions here can refer only to a favour which God grants out of his sanctuary, renders it evident that it is not those enemies that are meant, "who were completely subdued, when the ark got its position on mount Zion," according to Stier, who maintains the hypothe-sis that the Psalm was composed, on the introduction of the ark of the covenant. The ascending of God, which corresponds to "return thou on high" in the remarkably similar parallel pas-sage, Psalms 7:7, presupposes his descending: compare Ephesians 4:9. It denotes his ascent to heaven, after he had made himself known on earth, in deeds of omnipotence and love, that he might there manage the affairs of his people: comp. Psalms 47:5.המרום, the height, denotes always heaven, never mount Zion: compare at Psalms 7:7; Psalms 18:16; Psalms 93:4; Psalms 102:19. Even in verse 33, God is described as "he whose seat is in heaven:" comp. 34th, "his power is in the clouds." The prisoners, whom God leads away, the gifts which he receives, cannot be taken by him into heaven: he takes them, only that he may give them to his peo-ple, "his hosts," at whose head he had gone forth to battle, and leave them behind him when he ascends to heaven, just as the gifts of Israel to him were given to his ministering servants the priests. Hence it is evident that by the "he gave," which occurs in Ephesians 4:8, instead of, "thou takest," the sense is not altered, but only made clear: the "giving" presupposes the "taking," the "taking" is succeeded by the "giving," as its consequence. The apostle gives prominence to this conse-quence, because it serves his object, as common to the type with the antitype. The passage in his view has this complete sense: "he received gifts among men, and he gave gifts to men." That by gifts is meant, "gifts given reluctantly," is obvious, from "thou didst take;" the same remark exactly may be made of מתנה, which Gesenius has made of מנהה:�"the tribute was thus designated, which was exacted from a conquered peo-ple under the milder name of a gift," compare 2 Samuel 8:2, "and the Moabites became David's servants, and brought gifts," so of the Syrians, in verse 6. The ב in באדם, as in בם, verse 17, has the sense of among. The men on the earth stand in op-position to God on high: compare Psalms 58:64:9. Men, far from heaven the seat of God, fancy that they are secure, but they must learn wisdom by their own painful experience. The translation is altogether to be rejected: thou takest gifts to men. The gift presupposes a giver, and this must be indi-cated by באדם; the history of David knows nothing of "pri-soners who were sent as gifts to the sanctuary," nor of "prose-lytes who gifted as it were themselves to God," but a great deal of gifts in the sense adopted by us: the connection between prisoners won by victory and riches is a constant one, especially in the transactions of David's times. By the "refractory" are meant those who, even after the appearance of the Lord and the manifestation of his conquering power, still dared to persist in their rash opposition, such as the Ammonites, in opposition to those who yielded at once, like the servants of Hadadeser, 2 Sam. 10:19. That even the former, should at length give presents,spews with what might God has assailed them on behalf of his people. And even the refractory must give presents to thee,-are such from whom thou takest presents. To dwell, O Lord God: and thus thou, after thou hast completed all this, dwellest there in heaven, glorious, and as the Almighty inaccessible to the re-venge of the conquered: compare Isaiah 57:15. Several in-terpreters connect these words with what goes before: "and even the rebellious shall dwell with God." A singular exposi-tion! שכן, with the accusative, cannot mean "to dwell with any one." It can be only by a false exposition, that any thing can be supposed in the preceding context to be said of grace towards the enemies, or of their conversion; the refractory, according to verse 6, and Psalms 66:7, can be considered as referred to, only as objects of punishment. Others: "And the rebellious must rest:"-but שכן signifies always to dwell, and is so used in verse 16, compare verse 6. We observe, farther, that the quo-tation of our passage in the Epistle to the Ephesians is not a mere accommodation, as the character and manner of that quo-tation evidently shew. The descent of God on behalf of his church, and the rich load of gifts bestowed upon it, here spoken of, formed a prelude and a pledge of the appearance of God in Christ, and of the whole riches of his goodness and grace im-parted in him to his church. That which was imperfect, affords on the domain of revelation, the security for that which is per-fect, inasmuch as the former points out the reality of the rela-tion by which the latter is demanded.-The Psalmist in verse 19 rising from the particular to the general, praises the Lord, as him who is always the saviour of the church. The עמס signi-fies to lay upon, not to carry, (as Ew. supposes). The subject is not formally pointed out: they lay burdens upon us: compare Ewald, § 551. But in reality it is sufficiently obvious that we are to think of men, from the opposition to God, (compare Psalms 27:1; Psalms 124:2, and other passages), and from verse 18. Even in verses 16 and 17 the subject spoken of is the almighty help of the Lord against the enmity of the world. The 20th versemakes it evident that האל is not "even this God," but that the article limits the word to the God of Israel, as is frequently the case with האלהים: compare, for example, 2 Samuel 12:16. The same consideration sets aside the idea that God is the sub-ject to האלהים: "he loads us, he, God, is our help." R�ckert. The "Selah" here indicates the end of a section. In verses 20 and 23, the general thought is expanded, that God is the helper of his people against the wickedness of the world,--a thought to which the Psalmist had already risen in the connect-ing words of the 19th verse. Ver. 20. God is to us a God of sal-ations, and Jehovah, the Lord, has the issues of death. Ver. 21. Yea, God dashes to pieces the head of his enemies, the hair-skull of him that walks in his iniquities. Ver. 22. The Lord speaks, out of Basan, I will bring back, bring back out of the depths of the sea. Ver. 23. So that thou dashest, with thy footin blood, the tongue of thy dogs (gets) from it. The האל in verse 20, parallel to Jehovah, is equivalent to "our God." On מושעות, salutes, Calvin: "Not without reason does he make use of the plural number, in order that we may know that although even innumerable deaths assail us, God has also in readiness innume-rable ways of deliverance." "Of death:" threatening and al-ready approaching. The Psalmist refers, in the first instance, to deliverance from great dangers and troubles, (comp. Psalms 48:14); but in reality the expression applies to death, properly so called, and even to spiritual death. Only he who has the keys of death and of hell, (Revelation 1:18), can render help in every danger and trouble.-On ver. 21, Calvin: "Because the church, attack-ed on all sides, by strong and raging enemies, can obtain no-thing except by a strong and powerful defence, the Psalmist brings in God armed with terrible power, for the destruction of all the ungodly. It is to be observed that all who annoy the pious, are called enemies of God, so that we need not doubt that he will interpose for our defence." The "only" stands as in verse 6. On "he dashes to pieces the head," compare Psalms 110:6. "The hair-skull" is just the skull covered with hair. The epithet, as appears, serves the simple purpose of poetic effect and description. As שער is in the stat. abs. we can literally translate only the hair-skull walking, not of him that walks: compare Ewald, § 513. Boettcher on the passage -That in verse 22, the object to be supplied to "I will bring back," is not Israel, (compare Isaiah 49:12), but the enemies who had just been named, is evident from the following verse, where the dashing to pieces of the enemies is mentioned as the consequence of bringing them back. According to this view, verses 22 and 23 merely expand and individualize the clause, "he will dash to pieces the head of his enemies." The remarkably similar parallel passage, Amos 9:2; Amos 9:3, may also be appealed to in favour of this view. In re-ference to the enemies of God among Israel, the prophet there says: "No one shall escape, no one shall flee away, though they dig into hell, yet shall mine hand take them thence, though they mount up to heaven, yet will I thrust them down, and though they hide themselves on the top of Carmel, I will search and take them out from thence, yea, though they be hid from my sight in the bottom of the sea, &c." I will bring them back, when they are returning into their own land, laden with booty, after a prosperous invasion. Thus David slew the Edomites, when they had successfully arrived at the valley of Salt, the boundary of their own land. Basan is named, as it is in ver. 15, as the boundary of Canaan, on reaching which, the enemies appeared to be safe, from the vengeance of Israel, and of Israel's God. Vengeance, however, shall reach them even there, as Abra-ham formerly reached and slew the kings from central Asia, on the extreme boundary of Canaan, Genesis 14:14.-The 23d verse is generally translated: "so that thou dippest thy feet in blood;" Ewald: "that thy foot glitter." But מהץ always signifies to "strike," to "dash to pieces," (compare Psalms 110:6, Numbers 24:8; Numbers 24:17), and it must be used in this sense here, especially as it is used in the same sense in the 21st verse, which stands in the closest connection with the verse which we are now considering -a connection which manifests the folly of the conjectural read-ing תרהץ:�God dashes to pieces his enemies, he dashes them to pieces even when they seem to be perfectly safe. Hence we must hold that at רגלך the object is wanting, as it is in verse 22 and 2: so that thou, O Israel, dashest them in pieces, with thy foot in blood. The second clause is generally translated: "that the tongue of thy dogs may have its part in thy enemies." But מן is never used as a substantive in the sense of part, and לשון is never masculine. We must therefore translate: that the tongue of thy dogs (may get) from thine enemies, from it (the blood). Arnd: "As we see in the Old Testament, in the csse of Ahab and Jezebel, the malicious enemies of the church, and the murderers of the prophets, and in the New Testament, in the case of Julian, Licinius, and Maxentius, in whose blood the conquerors did freely die their feet; and this happens still, as often as the church of God and the gospel wonderfully gain the victory, are upheld, and protected against the bloody practices of their foes. And so will it remain till the end, accord-ing to Rom. 8: ‘ for thy sake we are killed, all the day long,and are reckoned as sheep for the slaughter, but in this we are more than conquerors, for the sake of him who hath loved us.' " In Ver. 24-27, the procession in celebration of the victory is described. It becomes here particularly apparent, that the Psalm was designed also for posterity, to whose necessities this description is pre-eminently adapted.-Ver. 24. There is seen thy procession, O God, the procession of my God and King in the sanctuary. Ver. 25. The singers go before, after that the players on instruments, in the midst of the young women striking timbrels. Ver. 26. In the assemblies praise God, the Lord, ye from Israel's fountain. Ver. 27. There is Benjamin, the little one, their Ruler, the princes of Judah, their Stoning, the princes of Zebulon, the princes of Naphtali.-The ראו in ver. 24, is either used impersonally, they see, or the subject to be supplied is those who do not take part in the procession, the great multi-tude of spectators, in opposition to those named in ver, 25, 27.The הליכות, is properly goings, (used only in the plural), and next a solemn procession. On "my God and King," compare Psalms 5:2. On בקדש., which can only mean, as at ver. 17, in thesanctuary, and which can be connected only with the proces-sion, much ingenuity has been expended. Even verse 26th leads us to a procession in the temple; for it was only in the temple that the assemblies were held: and so do the ex-pressions, "because of thy temple," in verse 29, and "out of thy sanctuary," in verse 35. It is not possible to see what ob-jection there could be to a procession in the temple, at the bring-ing back of the ark of the covenant, as the temple had courts con-nected with it. Delitzch has wholly misunderstood our verse, on Habakkuk 3:6.-The singers, according to ver. 25, go before the music, the players on instruments follow them, because, in in-tellectual, true, religion, the Word takes everywhere the first place. Our Psalm itself was manifestly sung. The אהר, pro-perly in the stat, constr. and a preposition, is frequently used as an adverb, behind, with the noun or pronoun omitted when it may be easily supplied from the connection, as it can be in the present instance, them or these. The hand-kettle-drum, a piece of skin stretched across a hoop, with metal plates on the rim, is at this day in common use in the East. The "in the midst" refers only to the players on instruments. The 26th verse contains no more than the rest of the Psalm does, "the words of the singers." In Judges 5:9 also, the poetess herself addresses the nobles of Israel: "praise the Lord:" comparealso Psalms 22:23. On מקהלות, used only here and in Psalms 26:12, compare at that passage. The assumption that the plural signifies one but a full assembly, has no foundation whatever: in the assemblies, and particularly in this one. Isaiah 48:1; Isaiah 51:1, furnish a commentary on "Ye from Israel's fountain."-In the enumeration, in ver. 27, of the tribes which took part in the procession, the Psalmist must be con-sidered as naming a few as representatives of the whole. In the choice of these he may have been guided, in the first instance, by geographical considerations: Benjamin and Judah are on the south, Zebulon and Naphtali on the north. But this assuredly was not the only, it was not even the chief considera-tion that guided him. The epithets, which are applied to the two first tribes, and the circumstance, that those only are named, which were particularly distinguished in conflict, spew that it was a consideration of this kind, that chiefly influenced the Psalmist. The first Judges belonged to the tribes mentioned, Othneil to Judah, Ehud to Benjamin; Zebulon and Naphtali distinguished themselves particularly in the conflicts under Deborah and Barak,--compare Judges 5:18, "Zebulon and Naphtali were a people that jeoparded their lives unto the death in the high places of the field;"-and Saul was from Benjamin, and David from Judah. A comparison of the song of Deborah leads to the same result: every thing that is there said of the tribes bears upon their relation to the enemies. There is Benjamin, the little, their ruler. There, in the pro-cession. The naming of Benjamin before Judah, is explained by the circumstance that Saul, as conqueror of the heathen, preceded David: compare 1 Samuel 18:7. Benjamin is called little, in reference to his place among the sons of Jacob, Genesis 43:33; which typified the position of the tribe in Israel. That even the little Benjamin should be ruler over the heathen, illustrates the greatness of the grace of God: compare 1 Samuel 9:21, where Saul, on his being appointed king, says with as-tonishment: "am not I a Benjamite of the smallest of the tribes of Israel." The suffix in רדם, who rules over them, not the Kametz but the Tseri, denotes the accusative. Ewald, § 433. The suffix is to be referred to the enemies, whom the Psalmist throughout has in his eye: the omission of the suffix in verses 2, 22, 23, is analogous. A commentary on this epithet of Benjamin is furnished in 1 Samuel 14:47; 1 Samuel 14:48 : "And Saultook the kingdom over Israel, and fought against all his enemies on every side, against Moab, and against the children of Ammon, and against Edom, and against the kings of Zobah, and against the Philistines, and whithersoever he turned himself, he vexed them. And he gathered an host, and smote the Amalekites, and delivered Israel out of the hands of them that spoiled him." Several expositors give: there was Benja-min, the little, as their leader. But the view cannot be adopt-ed that Benjamin was leader of the whole procession,-at no time, except during the reign of Saul, did the tribe occupy such a position as to entitle it to this honour;- רדה never means to lead, not once to reign, but always to have the dominion, or the mastery over, and the object of dominion is always the heathen: compare the treatise on Balaam, p. 187. This last remark also sets aside the forced interpretation: there is Benjamin, his leader. רדה cannot possibly be used of the patriarchal power of the head of a tribe. רגם is a word of frequent occurence, and never has any signification except to stone. Hence רגמה, the word here used, cannot be translated correctly in any other way than by stoning. Judah is called the stoning of the enemies, in allusion to David, who put to death by a stone Goliath, the representative of the might of the world. The translation, "the princes of Judah and their multitude," (Gesenius and others), takes רגמה in an unascertained sense, requires "and" to be added, without any authority, and is be-sides connected with a sense of רדם which has been already shewn to be a false one. It is deserving of being noticed, that the same tribes which appear in this procession as distinguished among the people of God in battle against the world, occupy a very prominent place also in the New Testament. Paul, "the least of the apostles," (1 Corinthians 15:8-100 was from Benjamin, Philippians 3:5 : "the lion of the tribe of Judah," James and John, James, Thaddeus, and Simon, were from Judah, and the rest of the apostles were from Naphtali and Zebulon, or Galilee, (Math. iv. 13). In the 6th strophe, ver. 28-31, the Psalmist, out of the glo-rious consequences which the Lord now, after such a short abode on Zion, imparts to his people, prepares for himself a ladder by which he may ascend to the hope of the future subjuga-tion of the whole world under his sceptre.--Ver. 28. Thy God hath appointed thy strength; be strong, O God, who workest for us. Ver. 29. Because of thy temple over Jerusalem, kings shall bring presents to thee. Ver. 30. Rebuke the beast of the reeds, the herd of the strong ones with the calves of the people, who sub- mit themselves to thee with bars of silver; he scatters the nations who love war. Ver. 31. Nobles shall come out of Egypt, Cushstretches forth its hands to God.-In verse 28, Israel is first ad-dressed, then the Lord. God has appointed thy strength, in his eternal determination which was made known to thee by his servant Moses. Be thou then strong, O God, on behalf of thy people, and realize therefore thine appointment of thy strength, thou who workest for us, who are helpless without thee, and hence are looking to thee alone in reference to the strength ordained for us by thee: compare Isaiah 26:12, " O Lord, give thou us peace, for thou workest all our works for us." The זה stands instead of אשר: it cannot mean "as."�The exhortation which had arisen from the basis of hope, returns again to hope in verse 29. By היכל is here meant, in the first instance, the holy tabernacle on Zion: and the temple of Solomon is to be considered as its continuation. Compare Psalms 5:7, xlviii, 9, 65:4. The sanctuary, both in a literal and spiritual sense, lies over Jerusalem. The sanctuary of God over Jerusalem is the sym-bol of his protecting power, of his help-sending grace, which hovers over Israel; and therefore, "because of thy temple," is equivalent to, "because of thy glorious appearances as Israel's God": compare "whose height is over Israel" in verse 34, and "dreadful is God out of thy sanctuaries," in verse 35. The translation, "for thy temple," is quite an arbitrary one: the connection is strong between the first half of this verse and the preceding one. As a prelude to the hope here expressed, it is recorded in 2 Chronicles 32:23 "And many (in consequence of the manifestation of the glory of God in the subjugation of the Assyrians) brought gifts to the Lord at Jerusalem." In reality, however, the hope is a Messianic one, inasmuch as it was only in the days of the Redeemer that the reality of the sanctuary over Jerusalem, the kingdom of God upon the earth, was brought fully to light. Compare Isaiah 60:3, "And nations shall come to thy light," and verse 6, "the multitude of camels shall cover thee, the dromedaries of Midian and Ephah, all they from Sheba shall come, they shall bring gold and incense, and they shall shew forth the praises of the Lord." There also the salva-tion which the Lord imparts to his people, the same as thetemple over Jerusalem, is the magnet, which, with irresistible power, attracts towards him the heathen world: compare on Psalms 66:66; Psalms 66:67 :The שי occurs elsewhere only in Isaiah 18:7, and Psalms 76:11, and in both places in the same connection as here:-a circumstance which admits of explanation from the fact that the passage before us is the fundamental one.-The 30th verse begins with an exhortation, "rebuke": but that this, as rising on the basis of confidence, has in reality the import of a prophecy, corresponding to "they shall bring," in verse 29, is manifest, from the words in the concluding clause, "he scatters," (which it has been proposed inconsiderately to change into an imperative), and also from "they submit themselves," equiva-lent to, "they shall yield, restrained by thee":-all which stands just as it would have stood, had the opening words of the verse been "thou shalt rebuke." The beast of the reeds can only be such a beast as has its usual place of abode among the reeds, and to which this belongs as its characteristic mark. It cannot therefore be the lion nor even the crocodile, whichspoken of in Ezekiel 29:3, as the symbol of Egypt, where the king of Egypt is addressed as "the great dragon who rests in the midst of his Nile"; compare 32:2. It must mean the second natural representative of Egypt in the brute creation, the hip-popotamus or behemoth, of whom it is said in Job 40:21, "he lieth under the shady tree in the covert of the reeds and fens," (the קנה is used of the reeds of Egypt also in Isaiah 19:6; Isaiah 35:7), while nothing of a similar kind is said of his colleague, the leviathan or crocodile. The היה, which is never used of any particular animal, leads to the same result: compare the Beitrage p. 258. The express naming of Egypt in verse 30 furnishes a commentary on "rebuke thou the beast of the reeds." The following expressions, "the strong ones," and "the nobles from Egypt," render it manifest that the hippopo-tamus does not exactly symbolize Egypt, but denotes its rulers, just as in Ezekiel 29:3, the crocodile is the emblem of Pharaoh. The preceding naming of the kings, and the clause which im-mediately follows, and is at the same time a general one, "the crowd of the strong ones," shews that Egypt comes into notice here only as the representative of the power of the world, and is mentioned as being the most powerful of the existing heathen kingdoms, on whose submission all the rest would yield as a matter of course. "The strong ones" is a poetic expressionfor "bullocks," as it is at Psalms 22:12. Powerful kings are termed bullocks, and their subjects calves, according to the ex-press explanation of the Psalmist. In "the calves" we may say either among or with: compare Ewald, § 521, 3: ב occurs in the same way again in ברצי. The singular masculine מתרפס refers to the whole of what had been spoken of in the preceding context. The רפס is "to tread with the feet," and in the Hithp. "to allow one's self to be trodden upon," or to submit." "With pieces of silver," which they bring as gifts of allegiance: compare "thou receivedst gifts among men," ver. 18, and " their silver and their gold with them," Isaiah 60:9. He scatters," &c.: all nations, even those who are most remarkable for their strength and love of war, must yield to his omnipo-tence, when once the time has come "to assemble all the hea-then."-In verse 31 Cush is named, next after Egypt, as repre-senting the power of the world,-a kingdom supposed to pos-sess great strength, and invested with that peculiar splendour which attaches to whatever is distant: compare Isaiah 45:14; Isaiah 18:7, Zephaniah 3:10. The name Hasmonean, adopted by the Maccabees, was, without doubt, according to the practice of later times, (Psalms 45:1), taken from this passage. The Hiph. ofרוץ signifies always "to cause to run," or "to hasten." The hands, according to verses 29 and 30, (compare Psalms 72:10), are to be regarded not as lifted up in the attitude of prayer, but as filled with gifts of allegiance: compare Genesis 31:10. Cush will not manifest greater haste in any thing than in bringing gifts to the Lord. Arnd: "There was a glorious church in Egypt at Alexandria, where the holy Athanasius was bishop. The treasurer of the Queen of Ethiopia was converted at Jerusalem, and many miracles were performed in that coun-try, by the Apostles themselves." In the seventh strophe, verses 32-35, all the kingdoms of the earth are exhorted to praise the God of Israel: compare at Psalms 66:1.--Ver. 32. Ye kingdoms of the earth, sing to God, sing praise to God. Selah. Ver. 33. He rides forward in the highest heavens of old time, behold he causes his voice to be heard, the mighty (voice). Ver. 34. Give glory to God, whose height is over Israel, and whose power is in the clouds. Ver. 35. Dreadful art thou, O Lord, out of thy sanctuaries, the God of Israel, he gives might and strength to his people. Praised be God,-The 33d verse contains the basis on which the exhorta- tion of the 32d verse rests. The heaven of heavens = the high-est heavens; compare 1 Kings 8:27. The "of old time," serves to exalt the excellence of God's seat, and at the same time to point to his supremacy. Allusion is made to Deuteronomy 33:26 : "There is none like God, Jeshurun, who rideth in the heavens, as thy helper, and in his excellency in the clouds": compare 10:14, "behold the heavens, and the heavens of hea-vens are the Lord's thy God, the earth and all that is therein." The second clause forms a compend of the 29. Psalm. On בקול נתן; compare at Psalms 46:6.-On "give might," in verse 34, compare at Psalms 29:1. The rest of the verse contains the basis. His height is over Israel: his majesty and his glory guide and protect Israel, and the image of these is brightly reflected from Israel's experience. His power is in the clouds, out of which he causes his mighty voice to sound, ver. 34. His-tory and nature alike manifest his glory.-Out of thy sanctua-ries, ver. 35, O Israel: the plural is used, because the sanctuary of God is manifold, as bearing upon the maintenance, the de-fence, and the government of his church: compare at ver. 29. The conclusion is exactly the same as Psalms 29:11, " the Lord gives strength to his people": compare Isaiah 40:29; Isaiah 40:31. Calvin: "In fine, he lays down the ark of the covenant as if it were a banner of confidence to the faithful, in order that, in reliance on the promise, 'I dwell in the midst of you,' (Exodus 25:8; Exodus 29:45), they may rest with safety under the wings of God, and may without terror call upon him." Psalms 69. THE Psalm is "a prayer of one suffering severely from men, for the sake of God." The sufferer gives a representation of his misery, ver. 1-4, next intimates that he suffers for the sake of God, that he has drawn upon himself the hatred of his aban-doned foes, on account of his zeal for the glory and the pure worship of God, ver. 5-12, prays on this solid foundation that God would deliver him, ver. 13-18, turns back and describes his necessity, and the wickedness of his enemies, ver. 19-21, and thus prepares for the expression of his desire that they may be destroyed, ver. 22-28, intimates, after a short expression of his hope, ver. 29, his resolution to glorify the Lord by render ing thanks, and his hope that the faith of all the pious will be confirmed by his deliverance, ver. 30-33, and concludes with the joyful expectation, arising from the revelation of God in his own experience, that God shall deliver Zion and build up the cities of Judah, ver. 34-36. The prayer for the vengeance of God upon the enemies, and likewise the conclusion, are contained in the complete number of seven, which in the last case is divided into a four and a three. The preceding part contains 21 verses, 3 times 7, but there are no farther traces in detail of a formal arrangement. The remarks made on Psalms 22., and also on Psalms 6:35.xxxviii. 40. and 41., as to the subject, are equally applicable here. The Psalm does not refer to any individual sufferer: the speaker is the suffering righteous man; there are no individual references whatever. In ver. 26, as in Psalms 16:10, a plurality which had hitherto been concealed under a unity, comes for-ward. Calvin ascertained the correct view: "David wrote this Psalm not so much in his own name, as in the person of the whole church, and it is like a glass, in which the common lot of all the pious is placed before our eyes." The remarks made on Psalms 22. vol. i. p. 361, are conclusive against the idea adopt-ed by many, that the subject of the Psalm is the people. In common with all the Psalms referred to above, there is in this one the appearance of exaggeration in the description of the sufferings. This, however, is to be accounted for by the circumstance, that the various features which lie scattered in connection with individual sufferers, are brought together in these Psalms into one great martyr-image. The peculiarities which are based here on grounds common to all these Psalms, are: 1st, The copiousness in the description of just judgments upon the enemies, evidently designed to serve as a strong bulwark to the righteous man against despair, in view of their wickedness, by which, in the end, they do nothing more than draw down upon their own guilty heads the terrible vengeance of God: and, 2d, The strong prominence given to the circumstance, that the suf-ferer suffers for the sake of God, extending to all placed in simi-lar circumstances a strong support, on which they may rise to the hope of deliverance. In the New Testament there is no one Psalm, with the except-tion of the 22d, which is so frequently quoted and applied to Christ, as the one before us, (compare the passages referred toin the exposition), not only by the Apostles, but also by Christ himself;-a fact, the consideration of which ought to be enoughto make De Wette ashamed of his opinion: "a Psalm composedin a plaintive style, in an exaggerated tone, and with depraved taste." Many old expositors have hence been induced to adopt a direct Messianic exposition. But these quotations do by no means justify such an exposition, inasmuch as the Psalm, even though it refer to the suffering-righteous man, is still a prophecy of Christ, in whom the idea of righteousness was personified, and in whose case, the intimate connection spoken of in the Psalm between righteousness and the opposition of sinners, was exemplified in living reality,-as seen in the sufferings which he endured from an ungodly world: compare on Psalms 22. No ar-gument against the Messianic view can be drawn from "the exe-crations directed against the enemies, as inconsistent with the magnanimous and forgiving character of Jesus;" but a very de-cided one is furnished by the confessions of sin, which by this exposition are either lost sight of, or are made to refer to im-puted sin; compare at Psalms 40. Then, it is impossible to disjoin the Psalm from those above quoted. The title intimates that the Psalm was composed by David. A very weighty argument in favour of this assertion, may be drawn from the fact, that the name of David is inscribed on the titles of all the Psalms which are nearly related in thought and language to this one-related in such a manner as to demand the assumption of the identity a of the author, as they all bear the character of originality. It would be a singular fact, if the author of the titles had ascribed all these Psalms to their real author, and assigned them to David. Modern criticism has here a problem which it may attempt to solve. The arguments against David are not of such weight as to coun-terbalance such a weighty testimony. Much stress has been laid on "the reference to the captivity," in ver. 33-36. Even a Ewald remarks, and Kצster agrees with him, that "our Psalm manifests such a strong similarity, not in the least proceeding from imitation to Psalms 35:38 :; Psalms 35:40. that it must have been composed by the same author." Hitzig says, "The author of the 40. Psalm, whoever he was, must be identi-cally the same with the author of the 69." In reference to Psalms 6:22:31 :the same remarks are manifestly applicable: compare the exposition,-Hitzig: "The similarity between 69:32 and 22:26, can only be explained by the assumption, that they have been the product of the same mind."though there were really such a reference in these verses, it would be necessary to set it aside by ascribing this portion of the Psalm to a later author. For the temple is spoken of in verse 9, as still standing.a But, according to a correct exposi-tion, it is manifest, that these verses contain nothing more than a general expression of hope of salvation for Israel, and of the removal of all troubles, such as those of which David saw so much with his own eyes, in the days of Saul and Absalom. We must certainly consider it as singular, when it is further as-serted that relations such as the one which is here so prominent, existed for the first time in later days, when the state came to be in a declining condition, and ungodliness was fearfully pre-dominant. These relations were certainly in those days very distinctly marked; and the history of Jeremiah, for example, is altogether one peculiarly well fitted to represent to us the situation of the subject of our Psalm. But, in point of fact, the condition of the world, as far as the troubles of the godly are concerned, has been substantially the same in all ages, ever since the days of Cain and Abel, (compare Matthew 23:35); and in these matters it is preposterous to attempt to define year and day. David had sufficient opportunity, from personal experience, to know as much of this condition as to enable him to generalize what had come under his own immediate notice. It was his fear of God, his zeal for the glory of God and for the purity of the worship of God, that was the real cause of his sufferings, in the days of Saul and Absalom. We may compare the mention of the enemies of the Lord, who at the same time were the bitter enemies of David, in 2 Samuel 12:14, and of " the enemies" and "the revengeful," in Psalms 8:2. Should it be maintained, that the execrations upon the enemies, are what one would not have expected from David, it will be sufficient to read 1 Samuel 26:19, 2 Samuel 3:29, and other passages. Title. To the chief Musician, on the lilies, by David. "Onthe lilies" indicates the beauty of the subject treated of: com-pare at Psalms 45. We may understand that by this is meant, either, on comparing with Psalms 45. the righteous, at ver. 28, or the servants of the Lord, at verse 36, or even the lovely consola-tions and aids of the Lord, his ישועות, at verse 1 and 29, ona Ewald's attempt to set aside this troublesome fact, serves only to shew that it is completely impossible to do so.comparing with Psalms 60. The similarity in point of sound be-tween שושנים and הושיעני, with which the Psalm begins, is perhaps not accidental, but was designed by the Psalmist to serve as an index, pointing to the true interpretation of a title which proceeded from himself. First, in ver. 1-4, the complaint. Ver. 1. Help, O God, for the water goes into my soul. Ver. 2. I sink in the slime of the deep, where there is no bottom, I have come into deep waters and the flood covers me over. Ver. 3. I have wearied myself with crying, my throat is hoarse, my eyes fail while I wait for my God. Ver. 4. Those who hate me without cause are more in number than the hairs upon my head, my destroyers, my lying enemies are mighty, I shall restore that which I did not take away.-In reference to the figure of water in the first and following verses, compare at Psalms 40:2. When one is covered over with water, the water comes into his soul = his life: com-pare Jeremiah 4:10. Jonah 2:6.-In the first clause of ver. 2, the יון, which occurs only here and in Psalms 40:2, is not "a slimy cistern," but "the slime of deep water." This is evident from מצולה, the deep, the abyss, which is always used of "the deep sea," and from the parallelism in the second clause. The Berleb. Bible: "If the abyss be only full of water, a good swimmer has still the hope of rising to the surface." מעמד is not the partic. Hoph. (in that case איני would have accompanied it), but a noun formed from it.-On "I am wearied in my crying," (that is, "with it,"-the effect existing in the cause), in the 3d verse, compare Psalms 6:6, "I am weary with my groaning." The crying also is referred to, "in my throat is burnt," "has inflamed it-self,"-the Niph. fr. הרר, as the exciting cause. The eyes fail: lose their power of vision, when a person keeps them long on the stretch, fixed upon a distant object, in hope of it coming nearer, till the outlines become better defined. The Berleb. Bible: "Just as it happens to those who look for a long time steadily at "any thing, so is such a soul sensible of its own weakness, the eye of its faith becomes weaker and weaker." Compare Psalms 119:82, Lamentations 4:17. The cause of the crying isgiven in; "the waiting upon my God." מיהל is the nomin. and not the genitive. The Psalmist goes on as if he had written עיני כליתי.�On "they are more numerous than the hairs of my head," in ver. 4, compare Psalms 40:12. "Who hate me without cause," and "my lying enemies," occur connected together exactly in the same way, in Psalms 35:19 : the quota-tion in Jo. x v. 25, refers to both passages: compare also Ps. 38:19. These verbal references to one another, as they are peculiar to those Davidic Psalms which describe the Right-eous One, are manifestly designed to exhibit these Psalms as so many links of one common chain, or parts of one great picture. The expression, "I shall replace what I did not take away," is, like the similar expression, "they ask me what I do not know," in Psalms 35:11, to be understood neither historically nor figuratively, nor proverbially, but as an individualizing trait, descriptive of what, in the circumstances, might really occur. David experienced something similar when Shimei said to him, 2 Samuel 16:8, "The Lord. recompenses on thee all the blood of the house of Saul, in whose room thou hast been made king, and the Lord gives the kingdom into the hand of thy son Absalom." The sufferer must indeed see in his misery the punishment which his sins have deserved, but yet, notwithstanding this, he can claim the assistance of God; because not to deliver him would be as much as to put to shame all the faithful, as he is suffering for the sake of God, ver. 5-7-12.-Ver. 5. O God, thou knowest my foolishness, and mine iniquities are not hid from thee. Ver. 6. Let me not be put to shame who wait on thee, O Lord God, God of hosts; those who seek thee shall not be put to shame in me, O God of Israel. Ver. 7. Because for thy sake I bear reproach, shame covers my face. Ver. 8. I was strange to my brethren, and estranged from the sons of my mother. Ver. 9. For the zeal of thy house has consumed me, and the reproaches of those who reproach thee have fallen upon me. Ver. 10. And I weep, my soul fasts, and it is turned to my reproach. Ver. 11. I have put on sackcloth, and I serve them for a proverb. Ver. 12. They think upon me who sit in the gate, and on songs the drunkards.--Ver. 5. is generally understood. as a protesta-tion of innocence on the part of the sufferer: "thou knowest whether I am chargeable or not," that is, "that I am not." But a reference to Psalms 38:3-5, especially to the wordswhich occur there, "because of my foolishness"-the אולת only in that Psalm and this passage-and to Psalms 6:1; Psalms 40:12; Psalms 41:4, makes it manifest that the words are to be taken in their most obvious sense, (my foolishness, my iniquities, comp. ver. 19), as an acknowledgment of guilt on the part of the Psalmist, which, according to the just judgment of God, had brought upon him the unjust persecution of his enemies. The connec-tion between the 5th and 6th verses is not outwardly apparent. In reality, in verse 5 there is an "indeed," and in verse 6 a "but:" "My suffering is indeed deserved, but thou canst not let me perish, because in me all thy faithful people would beput to shame." The ידע with ל, is to know in reference to something, or about something.-On verse 6. compare on Psalms 25:3, "those who wait on thee shall not be ashamed, those shall be put to shame who act perfidiously without a cause." This position would be annihilated were the sufferer to be de-stroyed. For in him as their representative, or in his case, through his fate, all who wait on God would at the same time be put to shame. The names of God point to his omnipotence, which guarantees the power, and to his relation to Israel, which guarantees the will to prevent such a consummation. Calvin: "He represents this danger before God, not because he stands in need of being reminded, but because he encourages us to deal in confidence with him."-In verse 7, the sufferer lays the foun-dation for his assertion that all who fear God would be put to shame by his destruction: he suffers for the sake of God; and this is a sure proof, that he belongs to their number, and that in his case that of all the fearers of God is at the same timedecided. In reference to the עליך, for thy sake, compare at Psalms 44:22, and Jeremiah 15:15. The 9th verse here serves as a commentary. On "it covers my face," compare at Psalms 44:16. In reference to the prominence given to reproach, Calvin: "which is more bitter to an honourable man than to suffer a hundred deaths. For many will be found ready to suffer death, who cannot bear reproach."-The more full expansion of ver. 7 follows in verses 8 and 9; the expansion of "I bear re-proach," in verse 8, where the magnitude of the reproach is indicated by the individualizing feature, that even the nearest relatives draw back from aversion, (compare at Psalms 38:11, this David himself had probably, in the time of Saul, expe-rienced in a painful manner, Psalms 27:10, if even his parents forsook him what had he to expect from his brethren, who were less likely to understand him, and 1 Samuel 17:28;) next the expansion of "for thy sake," in verse 9. The two clauses of the verse do not stand in synonymous parallelism, but are to be thus explained: zeal for thy house hath consumed me, and for this reason, the reproaches of those who reproach thee, have fallen upon me, i. e. even my nearest relatives are estrang-ed from me, because, in consequence of my burning zeal for the house of God, the reproaches of his enemies have assailed me, and covered me with shame. "It consumes me," does not refer at all to the outward consequences of zeal,-according to Stier, "it brings upon me loss, inasmuch as it has drawn upon me per-secution and death from the adversaries;" but to its inward in-tensity,-it wears me away, as Luther says, "I am zealous almost to death," and in accordance with John 2:17 : This is manifest from the parallel passage, Psalms 119:139, "My zeal consumes me, that my enemies forget thy words." It is clear from Isaiah 1:11, and following verses, what we are to understand by zeal for the house of the Lord,-the temple, as the centre of the whole Israelitish religion. Samuel was zealous for the house of the Lord, when he said to Saul, "behold, obedience is better than sacrifice." David himself displayed this zeal, when he inculcated the utter uselessness of merely outward offerings, and of the whole of mere outward worship, and when he cried out procul profani to all hy-pocrites: compare, for example, Psalms 4:5; Psalms 15:24:6; Psalms 51:16; Psalms 51:17. Every one who is animated with this burning zeal for the house of God, will naturally draw upon himself the reproaches of all the enemies of God. The first half of the verse is quoted in John 2:17, and the second half in Rona. xv, 3.-In ver. 10-12, the sufferer individualizes and enlarges still farther upon the thought, that his zeal for the house of the Lord had drawn upon him the re-proaches of the open ungodly and of the hypocritical world. The repetition in verse 10 out of verse 9, points to this relation. The fasting and weeping are united here as they are in 2 Samuel 12:16; 2 Samuel 12:21; 2 Samuel 12:22, where also they come from the lips of David. The fasting there is expressive of repentance, as it is at Psalms 35:13. The sufferer represents himself here as mourning, repent-ing for his people, in order to prevail upon God to pity him, and to mitigate the threatened judgment. But this, his holy mourn-ing, which should lead all to repentance, is made the subject of profane ridicule by the enemies of God. The connection with ver. 9 is decisive against the assumption that the Psalmist is speaking of mourning over his own sufferings. The soul appears also in the law as having particularly to do with fasting: compare at Psalms 35:13.-On verse 11 compare Psalms 35:13, and in re-ference to משל at Psalms 44:1. The שיה with ב, means here, as always, to think upon. That it is a thinking with a view to sal-lies of wit at the expense of the rueful enthusiasts, the holy, orwould-be-holy, who hang the head, is manifest from the connec-tion with what goes before, and still more clearly from the second clause, where ישיהו requires to be added. The gate was the place for the transaction of serious business: compare Lamentations 5:14. Rth 4:1; Rth 4:2, Joshua 20:4. Stier is therefore correct: tam in concessibus seriis quam ludicris. The gate is never spoken of as "the place of social rest." The preceding prayer was followed by the basis on which it rests, viz.: the greatness of the trouble, and the circumstance that the sufferer had been brought into it for the sake of God. Now is the time for the prayer to come in again in an ex-panded form, ver. 13-18, and in close dependance on the de-scription of the distress in ver. 1-3: inasmuch as I have been brought into such distress for thy sake, do thou deliver me out of the slime, &c. Ver. 13. But I pray to thee, O Lord! a time of grace, O Lord, through the fulness of thy compassion! hear me through thy delivering truth. Ver. 14. Deliver me out of the slime, and let me not sink, let me be delivered from them that hate me, and out of the deep waters. Ver. 15. Let not the water flood overflow me, and let not the deep swallow me up, and let not the well shut its mouth upon me. Ver. 16. Hear me, O Lord, for good is thy compassion, according to the multitude of thy tender mercies, turn thou to me. Ver. 17. And conceal not thy face from thy servant, for I am in trouble, make haste and hear me. Ver. 18. Draw nigh unto my soul, and redeem it, set me free because of mine enemies.-In ver. 13. the אני is empha-tically placed first, as in Psalms 35:13; Psalms 41:12. The עת is not the accus. at the time, (עת is never thus used), but the nom.: ("may it be, or may there come) a time of grace." A time of grace is a time when God makes his grace known: compare Isaiah 49:8, where the parallel expression is a "day of salvation," and 61:2, where, in opposition to "a year of grace," there is "a day of vengeance." Verse 16 furnishes a commentary, (comp. Psalms 71:2) on ב, through, in virtue of. "Through thy salvation-sending truth," (according to which thou fulfillest the prophecies given to thy people), of the third clause, is parallel to "through the fulness of thy compassion," of the second.-In verse 14, the "out of deep waters," taken from the 2d verse, is explained by the preceding "from those that hate me:" compare at Psalms 18:4. -In verse 15, the "well" is a figurative expression, as "the pit," בור at Psalms 40:2, for "deep water:" the well shuts itsmouth over him whom the billows overwhelm. The connection will not permit us to entertain the idea of a cistern and its lid. The word, moreover, has not this sense.-The Compassion of God, verse 16, is good, because it is great: compare the parallel expression, "according to the fulness of thy tender mercy," and "the fulness of thy compassion," in ver. 13. עוב never has the sense of "great." Calvin: "It is certainly a very difficult thing to represent God as gracious to us, at a time when he is angry, and as near at hand, when he is far away."-On "draw nigh," in verse 18, compare "be not far from me," in Psalms 22:11. My soul, exposed to danger: compare verse 1. Psalms 13:4, "lest mine enemy say, I have prevailed against me, mine adversaries rejoice not, when I fail," furnishes a commentary on "because of mine enemies." In verses 19-21, the Psalmist turns back to the description of his trouble, and of the wickedness of his enemies, for the purpose of laying a foundation for the second group of petitions, which are directed to righteous judgment upon his enemies. The three verses of this paragraph are connected with the seven of the following, and form together one decade.-Ver. 19. Thou knowest my reproach and my shame, and my dishonour; mine adversaries are all before thee. Ver. 20. Reproach hath broken my heart, and I am sick, and I wait for sympathy, and there is none, and for comforters, and I find none. Ver. 21. And they give me gall to eat, and in my thirst they give me vinegar to drink.-As God knows the sufferings of the righteous man, he cannot but avert them, and as he knows the wickedness of his enemies, he cannot but judge them, ver. 19 and 22, It is a great consolation in unmerited sufferings, when reflections on the om-niscience of God take full possession of the soul.-The נוש in verse 20 = אנש, to be sick: compare Psalms 6:2.�After the ene-mies had succeeded so far with the sufferer as to have wounded him in body and mind, they might have been supposed to have become terrified at the work of their own hands, and to have changed their hatred into sympathy. But their unfeeling heart aggravates his misery: instead of giving him cordials in his sickness, which they should have done, they gave him gall and vinegar.-The בברותי, (compare the cognate noun and verb in 2 Samuel 12:17; 2 Samuel 13:6; 2 Samuel 13:19), is not "in my food," but "for my food," according to the second clause, where the vinegar is the drink itself, and not some bad substance mixed with it. The ראש occurs undoubtedly, and is generally allowed to do so, inthe general sense of "something very bitter," in Deuteronomy 32:32; Deuteronomy 32:33, Job 20:6 : the assumed special sense of "some particular bitter and poisonous root," is not necessarily demanded by any of the remaining passages: the general sense is everywhere suit-able; "bitterness and melancholy" suit very well together.a In all probability, the word, according to Psalms 141:4, Ezekiel 30:23, and Son 4:13, is to be explained by "the head of bitternesses," or "something bitter as gall." Several times ראש has the kindred sense of poisonous, which in the Old Tes-tament is frequently connected with bitterness. But the con-nection with vinegar makes it manifest that it is only the senseof "something bitter" which it bears here. The לצמאי is pro-perly "for my thirst." Vinegar quenches thirst, but in an un-pleasant way. Two circumstances at the crucifixion of our Lord stand in reference to this verse. First, "they gave him vinegar to drink mixed with gall, and when he had tasted he would not drink it," Matthew 32:34. Matthew, in his usual way, refers to theological views in his narrative of the drink: always keeping his eye on the prophecies of the Old Testament, he speaks of vinegar and gall for the purpose of rendering the fulfilment of the passage in the Psalms more manifest. Mark again, 15:23, according to his usual way, looks rather at the outward quality of the drink: it was, according to him (sour) wine mixed with myrrh, the usual drink of malefactors. This drink, as given to malefactors, was a kindness, but as given to the personification of suffering righteousness, it was a severe and bitter mortification. Second, Jesus cried, according to John xis. 28, (compare Matthew 28:48), when he knew that every thing was accomplished that the scripture might be fulfilled, "I thirst," and after this there was vinegar given him to drink. The dying Saviour, in fulfilment of this passage, cried "I thirst:" the action was a symbolical one, embodying the figure of the Psalm.a Goussett remarks: "as ראש is applied to so many kinds of subjects, it seems properly to denote no one kind in particular, but any one in which the quality resides." In Ver. 22-28 we have the wish for righteous judgment on the enemies, and the prayers for the same.-Ver. 22. May their table before them become a snare, and to those who feel secure, let there be a fall. Ver. 23. May their eyes become dark, that they do not see, and may their loins continually shake. Ver. 24. Scatter upon them thy wrath, and may the hot fire of thy indignation reach them. Ver. 25. May their habitation be desolate, and may no one dwell in their tents. Ver. 26. For they persecute him whom thou hast smitten, and they talk of the pain of those who are pierced through by thee. Ver. 27. Give iniquity upon their iniquity, and let them not come to thy righteousness. Ver. 28. May they be blotted out of the book of the living, and may they not be written with the righteous.--That in reference to this paragraph, we cannot entertain the idea of "a zeal which belongs to the Old but not to the New Testament," and that the Psalmist does not stand in need of the generosity of those who would frame an excuse for his "too sensitive heart," is obvious, apart from general considerations, from the fact, that the Saviour in his last moments, emphatically referred to the Psalm, the peculiar character of which is unquestionably taken from this paragraph, that, in Matthew 23:38, he quoted the 25th verse as descriptive of the desolation which was to come upon Judah, that the same verse, in Acts 1:20, is quoted by Peter as fulfilled in Judas, Judah's type, and that Paul, in Romans 11:9; Romans 11:10, finds in verses 22 and 23, a prophecy of the fate of the Jews. The wish for divine judgment on ungodly wicked-ness, can be considered as objectionable, only if we are prepar-ed to deny this judgment itself, in manifest contradiction to the New, no less than to the Old Testament: compare, for example, Matthew 21:41, 22:7, 24:51. Assuredly, it becomes us to approach passages of scripture such as the one now before us with fear and trembling: and assuredly, in ungodly lips, they may be used in a very ungodly Manner. Luther: "After the ex-ample of a Peter, Paul, James, David and Elisha, assuredly thou mayest curse in the name of God, and thereby perform an ac-ceptable service to God." Calvin: "There is need of wisdomto make a distinction between the reprobate, and those who are still within the reach of salvation; of purity, that every one be not partial to his own self; and of moderation, which inclines the spirit to quiet patience."--In ver. 22, the sense is: because they have aggravated my misery by terrible wickedness, therefore may their happiness, (their table, their richly furnish-ed table, compare Psalms 23:5, with reference to the figure of the preceding verse), become the cause of their destruction. Calvin: "This vengeance of God, should fill us with no small degree of alarm, as the Holy Ghost says that all the blessings of life become fraught with death to the reprobate." Theשלום, properly a noun, is used here as an adjective, as it is in Psalms 55:20, "who are altogether at peace:" compare 1 Thess. v. 3.-In ver. 26, those pierced of the Lord, according to the parallelism, and according to Isaiah 66:16, and Jerem. 25:33, "those pierced through by him," or, "those wounded even to death," are those who are severely distressed, namely, those who are so by the wicked, (comp. 2 Samuel 16:11, where David says, "let him curse, for the Lord has bid him"); for in the whole Psalm there is no mention made of any other suffering, except that inflicted by the enemies: comp. "by those who hate me," in ver. 14. Regardless of "res sacra miser," (comp. Job 19:21; Job 19:22, "have pity upon me, ye, my friends, for the hand of the Lord has afflicted me: wherefore will ye persecute me, as God?") they persecute when they should help, and rejoice, when they should mourn:-as the Jews, when Pilate brought forth Jesus to them, instead of being affected by the sight of his sufferings, and led to the thought of Luk 23:31, cried out, "crucify him, cru-cify him." On ספר with ל, compare at Psalms 2:7. The connection and the parallel passage, Psalms 41:8, shew that, they talk of the pain, in the sense of triumphing, exulting, exhorting one another, to com-plete their work by giving the sufferer the last blow.-The first clause of ver. 27 is to be explained: give transgression, in its consequences, (compare at Psalms 40:12) upon their transgressions, as the punishment: compare Jeremiah 18:23, "Yet, Lord, thou knowest all their counsel against me to slay me, forgive not their iniquity, neither blot out their sin from thy sight." It is manifest, for example, from Romans 2:6, ss., that the Psalmist is not praying, merely as his sufferings may prompt him, but is utter-ing at the same time the language of prophecy. Many expositors understand the words of an increase of iniquity and punishment. Luther: "Let them fall into one sin after another." But there is no parallel passage in favour of this sense; and the second clause here, and the following verse, are altogether against it, where the language refers to the judgment, and the visitation of the guilt of the wicked by God, and not to an an increase of this. בוא with ב signifies always, "to come in to any thing," and here, as in Exodus 16:7, in the sense of "to be partaker of." Righteous-ness is here, as it frequently is, not an inherent quality, but the gift of God: compare Psalms 24:5; Psalms 132:9. The man whose sins God visits, is shut out from his righteousness.-"To be blotted out of the book of life," verse 28, of which mention is first made in Exodus 32:32, is to be devoted to death, withreference to the early and sudden death threatened to the wick-ed in the law: compare Psalms 37:29. The book of life refers here to temporal, but in the New Testament to eternal life: Philippians 4:3, Revelation 20:15. "To be written with the righteous" is the parallel clause. For the righteous are written in the book of life, are ordained to life. In the 29th verse, by an easy transition, as the prayer rests on such a solid basis, hope takes the place of prayer:-And I am miserable and a sufferer, thy salvation, O God, will exalt me. "And I" marks the opposition to the enemies devoted to destruction in spite of their prosperity. The chief thought is in the second clause, which should in reality be preceded by a "but," just as the first clause should have an "indeed." On שגב, compare at Psalms 20:1; Psalms 59:1. The confidence of deliverance gives rise, in the last strophe, to the resolution to give thanks, ver. 30 and 31, to the hope that this deliverance will strengthen the faith of all the righteous, ver. 32 and 33, and finally, in ver. 34-36, to the lively hope of Zion's salvation, a pledge of which the Psalmist sees in his own, which, in the exercise of faith, he has come to anticipate as certain. The threefold consequences of the anticipated deliverance of the Psalmist, are peculiarly well-fitted to prevail upon God, to whom the praise of his own people, the confirming of the righteous, and the enlivening of the hope of Zion's deliverance, cannot but be well pleasing, to grant this deliverance.-Ver. 30.I will praise the name of God in a song, and exalt him with songs of praise. Ver. 31. This will please the Lord better than bulls, bullocks with horns and hoofs. Ver. 32. The meek shall see it and rejoice, ye who seek God, may your heart live. Ver. 33. For the Lord hears the needy, and does not despise his fet-tered ones. Ver. 34. May the heaven and earth praise him, the sea, and every thing which moveth therein. Ver. 35. For God shall deliver Zion, and build up the cities of Judah, and they dwell there, and they occupy it. Ver. 36. And the seed of his servants shall inherit it, and those who love his name shall dwell therein.-In the 31st verse, the inward offering of the heart- believer is opposed to the merely outward offering of the hypo-crite: compare at Psalms 50:51. Where such spiritual thank-offer-ings are to be expected, God cannot be otherwise than inclined to help. The predicates of the bullocks-the מפריס, accord-ing to the analogy of מקרין, not cleaving the hoofs, as Leviticus 11:4, but having hoofs, as Leviticus 11:3, and other passages-set before our eyes the whole brute creation, and intimate that such a mere material offering cannot be an object well-pleasing to God, who is a spirit. All bodily service belongs to the same class with bullocks that have horns and hoofs.-On the second half of ver. 32 compare the exactly parallel passage Psalms 22:26.-On verse 33, "for, as my example shews, &c.", compare Psalms 22:24. The fettered ones of the Lord" are either those whom he has fettered, that is, visited with severe suffering, according to verse 26, or those who are fettered for his sake, according to verse 7. -In the 34th and following verses, the Psalmist beholds in the special deliverance vouchsafed to him, a pledge of a deliver-ance of a general character, and in the distinction made by God between him and his enemies, security for the victory of the whole church of God, and for the salvation to be imparted to her. God helps Zion, verse 35, inasmuch as he overthrows the wicked, by whom he is assailed, and rebuilds the cities of Judah which they had laid waste: compare on Psalms 51:18. The mention. made of the temple in verse 9, shews that we are not to think of a destruction such as happened during the Babylonish capti-vity, but only of such destructions as happened, for example, in the time of Saul. The subject to "dwell there", is the needy of verse 33, "the suffering righteous men": compare verse 36. What is here said of the dwelling of the righteous" is the op-posite of what is said in verse 25.-On verse 36 compare Isaiah 65:9. Calvin: "Although that land, until the appearance of Christ, was given to the chosen people, yet must we still remember that it was the type of our heavenly native land, and that therefore what is here written of the protection of the church is more truly fulfilled at the present day". Psalms 70:70; Psalms 70:71. THERE are strong reasons for believing that these Psalms, like the first and second, are connected together, so as to form one pair, the 70th being like an introduction to the 71st. In the 71st there is no title;-a want which exists nowhere throughout the first and second books of Psalms, except where a pair of Psalms occurs. The fact, that the 70th Psalm is mere-ly a repetition of a part of the 40th, is very unfavourable to its being considered as occupying an entirely independent position, but admits of explanation, if the two Psalms be viewed as con-nected together. To this may be added, the analogy of the opening verses of the 71st, which are borrowed from Psalms 31 :Then both Psalms are as it were wrought together by an alpha-betical arrangement; the beginning, the middle, and the end of the whole are indicated by the three first letters of the alpha-bet. The 70th Psalm begins with א, the 71st with ב, which is doubled, for the purpose of rendering it less doubtful that this beginning is accidental, and concludes with ג, which alternates with ת, the appropriate letter for a conclusion, גת and תג. Finally, if we add the verses of the 70th to those of the 71st, we obtain the remarkable number 30, three decades. The ground on which the relation of the 70th to the 71st Psalm depends, cannot be doubtful. It is the same which in Psalms 71. itself has been the cause of the passage at the begin-ning being borrowed from the 31st Psalm, and of the verbal references which occur, near the close of this passage, to the 22, 40, 35, and 38 Psalms, viz, the purpose to connect our Psalm with the other Davidic Psalms which refer to the suffering righteous man, and to point it out as a link of that chain: com-pare at Psalms 69. And in particular, Psalms 70. forms a transition between the 69. and 71.; the three together forming a kind of Trilogy. The 70th is a compend of the 40th Psalm, to which the 60th is very closely allied, and therefore is particu-larly well fitted to serve as the link of connection between the 69th and the 71st. As the variations between the 70th and the 40th Psalms have already been considered, in our remarks on the latter Psalm, we shall proceed at once to the 71st. The Psalm begins, ver. 1-3, with the prayer for deliverance, in which there is a short reference to the ground which affords security for its being heard. Immediately after the Introduction, which is borrowed from Psalms 31., there follows, in ver. 4-13, a more extended developement of its contents: God has mani-fested great grace to the Psalmist from his early youth, ver. 4-8, therefore may he not reject him in his helpless old age, when mighty enemies threaten him with destruction, ver. 9-13. On the same basis on which the prayer rested, there rises the hope, in ver. 14-21. The conclusion consists of a promise, ver.22-24, to render thanks for the assistance which is confidently anticipated. The whole Psalm contains 24 verses, twice 12. The first division, which contains the prayer and its basis, is complete in 10 verses, and is divided into two fives; the second half, which contains the hope and the thanks, consists, in like manner, of 10 verses, and is divided into a seven and a three. Between the two main divisions there is an intercalary verse, the 14th, con-taining the substance of the second part. This intercalary verse, together with the three verses of the introduction, and the six verses of Psalms 59. (including the title, the originality of which is very strongly supported by its having a place within the formal arrangement), make up the third decade. The same remarks are applicable to the subject of the Psalm, which have already been made on Psalms 69.: it is the suffering righteous man. In verse 20 we have, as in Psalms 69:26, a plurali-ty, which had hitherto been concealed under a unity. The ap-plication of the Psalm to the whole of the community (Luther, Cocceius, and others, consider the Psalm as a prayer of the church in its old age) is to be considered as false only if it be exclusively adopted. Besides the analogy of those other Psalms which are intimately connected with this one, there is the con-stant use, except in ver. 20, of the singular, which is sufficient to shew that the Psalm was also, and in the first instance, de-signed to apply to individual suffering righteous men. We would not however be justified in rejecting altogether the ap-plication to the whole community, (compare Isaiah 46:3; Isaiah 46:4, Ps. 120:1), or even in considering it as a mere adaptation: com-pare at Psalms 22. The particular aspect of the general subject embraced by the Psalm, is the opening of the fountains of consolation for the suffering righteous man in his old age. The Psalmist teaches him how to be patient in tribulation, and joyful in hope, by con-templating that grace of God which he has already enjoyed, and how to drive away the bitterness of his pain, by the love of God, as he dwells with his whole soul upon the recollection of those deeds, which are like so many pledges of fresh deliver-ance. It is obvious that we cannot, with many of the old expo-sitors, consider the mention of the aged man speaking, and of his feebleness, as a particular individual feature, restricting the Psalm to the relation in which David stood to Absalom. Thecolouring, which in every thing else is entirely general, and the analogy of the kindred Psalms, are decisive against this. There may be truth, however, in the assumption that David here com-forts the suffering righteous man in his old age with that same comfort wherewith he himself had been comforted in his old age. That this, however, cannot be maintained with perfect confi-dence, and that it is even possible that David may have only supposed himself to be in such a situation, is evident from par-allel instances. The Countess Amelia Juliana, of Rudolstadt, for example, in the poem, "I leave God to rule in all," says, "I am not in high esteem, and not like others great and rich," etc., and, "I strive not after high estate, the best by far is middle rank." The authorship, asserted in the title to be David's, is confirm-ed by the near relation in which the Psalm stands to those Da-vidic Psalms which have been already referred to, (compare at the 69.), a relation which is of such a character that it must have proceeded from identity of authorship, and not from copy-ing. The 20th verse, on the other hand, has been appealed to, as affording evidence that the Psalm was composed during the captivity. But there is nothing more in that verse than the ex-pression, in general terms, of the hope of deliverance out of great trouble. And the entire absence, both here, and through-out all the rest of the Psalm, of every individual description of the trouble, is sufficient to spew that it is utterly impossible to find out any historical occasion. Our Psalm, in common with all the Psalms of the same kind, is characterized by an easy style of language,-which is to be accounted for from the fact that David is reciting a prayer for the use of sufferers, to whose necessities he kindly accommo-dates himself. The fact, which many have perverted to throw doubt on the Davidic authorship of this Psalm, is to be judged of by what Schmolk says of his own poems: "Simplicity has ruled the lips and the pen. It was therefore necessary to pray with simplicity. High words do not always come from the bottom of the heart." (B. Ringwald and B. Schmolk von Hoffman v. Fallersleben, p. 55.) The introduction is ver. 1-3. The third verse closes the portion borrowed from Psalms 31., and in the fourth verse the author begins his own composition; the introduction, therefore, cannot be extended into the fourth verse. Ver. 1. On thee, OLord, do I trust, may I never be put to shame. Ver. 2. Through thy righteousness deliver me, and redeem me, incline thine ear to me, and help me. Ver. 3. Be to me a rock of habitation, to which I may come continually, who hast ordained to help me: for thou art my rock and my fortress.-The quotation here, as in similar cases, is made in a free manner, and with variations which are particularly significant in ver. 3, when the author is just about to pass on to the original portion of his Psalm. That the quotation did not arise from recollection, but was introduced designedly, and that it serves an important object, is manifest from the fact, that it opens a Psalm, which, from beginning to end, with the exception of a few references of a similar description, bears an independent and peculiar character. Instead of a "rock of se-curity," מעוז, there stands here, "a rock of habitation," מעון: compare on the word at Psalms 90:1, and on variations of this sort, Vol. i. p. 282. It is scarcely worth mentioning that the Chaldee and the several MSS. propose to change the reading into that of the fundamental passage; this pernicious practice is indeed every-where adopted. The additional clause "to which I may come continually," that is, "as often as necessity compels me," is very suitable after "habitation." The clause, "who hast or-dained," (צוה is used as at Psalms 44:4; Psalms 68:28,) contains the basis of the petition, exactly as at Psalms 7:6, "who hast ordain-ed judgment":-the imperative there, as here, is inconsistent with grammar. "For my rock," etc. gives the basis both of the wish, and of the fact by which it in the first instance is support-ed. The first main division, ver. 4-13, contains the expanded prayer and its basis. Ver. 4. O my God deliver me out of the hand of the wicked, and out of the fist of the evil-doer, and of the abandoned man. Ver. 5. For thou art my hope, O Lord God, my confidence from my youth. Ver. 6. On thee have I leant from the womb, from my mother's lap thou hast been my con- ductor, of thee is my praise continually. Ver. 7. I was as a wonder to many, but thou art my strong confidence. Ver. 8. My mouth is full of thy praise, and continually of thy glory. Ver. 9. Therefore cast me not off in the time of old age, in the failure of my strength forsake me not. Ver. 10. For my enemies speak of me, and those who lay wait for my soul take coun- sel together. Ver. 11. And say: God has forsaken him, per-secute, and seize him, for there is no deliverer. Ver. 12. O God,be not far from me, make haste to help me. Ver. 13. Let them be confounded and consumed who are enemies to my soul, let them get reproach and dishonour who seek my hurt.- מיד and מכף, as in ver. 4. are parallel as they are also in the title of Psalms 18 :המץ occurs only here, it is from המץ, to be sour, and is the same as המוץ, Isaiah 1:17, the abandoned. The Berleb. Bible, in the style of true theological exposition: "Do thou deliver the soul from unbelief, which, like an old tyrant, seeks to strangle faith. If the spirit is not always on the watch, this enemy gets together nations of vain thoughts to besiege the soul."--The prayer, which is shortly expressed, is succeeded, in ver. 5-8, by the basis on which it rests, and after that the prayer is expand- ed in ver. 9-13. The parallel expression, מבטה, "the object of my trust," makes it evident, that "my hope," in verse 5, is equivalent to "thou art the object on which I hope": comp. Psalms 40:4. The Psalmist does not in the least praise his own faith, but the grace of God, which had been imparted to him from his childhood. The 16th verse spews that we cannot, contrary to the accusative, tear יהוה אדני from each other: Psalms 68:20; Psalms 69:6. These names point to the fulness of might in God, which peculiarly fits him to be an object of hope to his people. -The Niph. ך`מסנ in ver. 6 retains its passive signification: on thee have I leant, = thou hast been my support, my prop: compare "on thee was I cast from my mother's womb," in Psalms 22:10. In the whole verse there is nothing whatever said about the senti-ments of the sufferer, but merely about good deeds done to him.גוזי is difficult. It is evidently the infinitive of גוז: גזה in the sense of "to do good to," which many adopt here, is a forced one in Hebrew, and גוזי, according to this rendering, is too far removed from the fundamental passage, Psalms 22:9, "for thou wast my breaking out, גוהי from my mother's womb." The question may be asked, is the verb here transitive, my guiding, or bringing out,-in favour of this, it may be urged, that in other passages the verb is used only transitively,-or intransitive, my being brought, or my coming forth,-an exposition which is favour-ed by the form, (for it is only intransitive verbs that have their infinitives and participles in 0), and also by the fundamental pas-sage. "In thee is my praise" is, "thou art the object of my praise," or "thou hast given me occasion to praise thee": compare at Psalms 44:8, and "of thee is my praise" in Psalms 22:25. On "I was as a wonder to many", in verse 7th, equivalent to "I, by thegreatness of my sufferings, drew upon myself their astonish-ment and wonder," compare Deuteronomy 28:46, where the woes of Israel are to be for a sign and for a wonder, Isaiah 52:14; Isa_52 1 Corinthians 4:9. On מופת, the object of astonished wonderment, not a sign, compare the Christol. II. p. 45.a Among the Arabians also, the term wonder is applied to any exceedingly great, or as it were wonderful, misfortune. Schultens, in the passage quotedin the Christology: est omne portentum, et praesertinz portentosa calamitas, et homo cui ea incumbit. But it is said in the second clause, that in all his wonderfully great misery, the Psalmist has experienced God to be his almighty confidence and help: compare on עז מהסי Psalms 45:6, page 134 of this volume.--In the 8th verse Luther has given by mistake, "let my mouth be full," instead "of my mouth is full." The Psalmist is not praying, but recounting what had happened to him, and thereby laying a basis on which his prayer may rest: compare the conclusion of verse 6th. The תפארת never sig-nifies praise, but always honour, glory: compare Psalms 96:6, and the Christol. on Zechariah 12:7. Inasmuch as the mouth is full of the praise of the Lord, it is also full of his glory; for this is the object of praise.-The second half of the strophe begins with the 9th verse: God who has proved himself to be the Saviour of the Psalmist from his early youth, cannot forsake him now in his old age. The more weak and helpless he is now, the more certainly must God be his strength and help. What is said here and in ver. 18, is applied by Isaiah 46:3; Isaiah 46:4, to the Church of God in its old age. Arnd: "When the Church of God was yet in its youth and blooming, there was true zeal, faith, knowledge, love, stedfastness, so that many thousands of holy men laid down their lives for the sake of the gospel, or gave up all their substance to aid in extending it. But now that the Church has reached its old age, and has become weak, there is scarcely any faith, no strong prayer, no steadfastness, no knowledge, no love, no fidelity, but all has sunk so low, that nothing is left for us to do except to sigh and mourn." A a Gesenius makes a very strange remark, in reference to the exposition given there: inania sent; sumsit enim, non probavit radicem admira-tionis protestatem habere. In support of this sense, reference was there made to the testimony of Schultens drawn from the Arabic Lexicographers. All theLexicons give it; Freytag for example: res mira, prodigium, calamitas. "therefore" must be supplied before "cast me not off."-On ver. 10, Calvin: "It happens generally to the children of God, that the ungodly go their utmost lengths against them, when they suppose that they have been given over by God to them for a prey. For as they judge of the favour of God by outward appearances only, they suppose that those on whom he sends sufferings, are rejected, forsaken, and given up by God." As אמר must always be followed by what is said, verse 10 is in-timately connected with verse 11. On לי, either in reference to me, or to me, compare Psalms 3:2. Who watch for my soul, i. e. my life, that I may not get away with it.-On verse 11th, com-pare the similar speeches of the enemies in Psalms 3:2; Psalms 41:6, and 2 Samuel 17:1; 2 Samuel 17:2, where Ahitophel says: "I will arise and pur-sue after David, and I will come upon him while he is weary and weak,-and I will smite the king only." On the last words see Psalms 7:2.-On verse 12, compare Psalms 22:19; Psalms 35:22, 38:21, 22, 40:13, and 70:1.-On ver. 13, Psalms 35:4; Psalms 35:26; Psalms 40:14; Psalms 70:2. According to the parallel passages, the futures are to be considered as optatives. The prayer, in the first part of the second strophe, is followed by hope. Ver. 14. And I will continually hope and will multiply all thy praise. Ver. 15. My mouth shall make known thy right-eousness, and thy salvation continually; for I know no numbers. Ver. 16. I will go forward with the deeds of the Lord, I will make mention of thy righteousness only. Ver. 17. O God, thou hast taught me it from my youth, and hitherto I have made known thy wonders. Ver. 18. And even to old age and grey-hairs forsake me not, until I make known thine arm to the gene- ration to come, and thy power to all those who shall come after. Ver. 19. And thy righteousness, O God, stretches to heaven, who hast done great things, O God; who is like thee? Ver. 20. Who hast caused us to see manifold troubles and evils, thou shalt return and quicken us, and, returning, shalt deliver us out of the floods of the earth. Ver. 21. Thou shalt multiply my great deeds and shalt turn thyself, and comfort me.-On ver 14, Cal-vin: "0 Lord, because I have been long accustomed to thy good deeds, I do not doubt that a new accession will give me new opportunity to praise thy grace." All thy praise, which I have already celebrated. The preterite הוספתי is expressive of confidence.-"I know no number", in ver. 15th, lays the basis for the resolution, expressed by the Psalmist in full expectationof his deliverance, to praise the righteousness of God, (compare at Psalms 36:6), and his salvation. Calvin: "There is nothing which inflames our spirits more to sing the praises of God, than when he has laid us under obligations by many acts of kindness." The expression in Psalms 40:5, "they cannot be reckoned up," ought to be compared:-it sets aside also the translation of Ewald: no limits.-גברות means only "great deeds," and never "praise"; בוא with ב, can only mean, in ge-neral, "to go forward with something," and not "to come with something into the temple." The exact idea becomes manifest from the parallel clause, and from the connection. From these, it is evident that, "to come with the great deeds of the Lord," must signify "to go forward praising them, or making them known." הזכיר signifies always "to mention", never " to praise": comp. at Psalms 20:7. Nothing else deserves to be made mention of, to come into notice. "Thy righteousness only,"i. e. not my sword, my bow, or my arm, Psalms 44:3; Psalms 44:6, my chariots, or horses, Psalms 20:7.-The teaching of ver. 17 is carried on by a matter-of-fact discourse. The object of the instruction, the praise of God, is marked out by the connection, and by the parallelism.-The generation, in verse 18, is the succeeding generation: compare at the parallel passage, Psalms 22:30. On "thine arm," compare Psalms 44:3.-On " to heaven," (lit. even to on high), in ver. 19, compare Psalms 36:5; Psalms 57:10. On the following clause, compare Ex. xy. 11, Deuteronomy 3:24, but especially the expression of David, in 2 Samuel 7:22, "where is a God, in heaven or on earth, who does according to thy works and thy mighty deeds."-On ver. 20 the Massorites, not understanding the subject, make a useless effort to get quit of the plurals: "thou hast caused us to see," "thou wilt quicken us." The רעות may be either an adj. as in Genesis 41:19; Genesis 41:20, or a subst. as in Psalms 34:19. That תשוב, in both places, is not an adverb, but is used in the same way in which it is in Psalms 90., and in the parallel passages quoted there, is evident from the correspond-ing word, in ver. 21, תסב, which is never used as an adverb. On, "thou shalt quicken us," compare Deuteronomy 32:39, "I kill and I make alive, I wound and I heal." Calvin: "We must descend even to death, that God may appear as a deliverer. For as we are born without feeling and observation, the first origin of our life does not point out to us its author in a manner sufficiently emphatic. But when God comes to our help, at atime when we are in a state of despair, our rising out of this state becomes a glorious mirror for reflecting his grace." "Floods of the earth" are the floods which overflow the earth, as at the deluge: compare great trouble and oppression set forth under the emblem of the overflowing of water, in Isaiah 8:7; Isaiah 8:8, and the allusions to the deluge in Psalms 29:10; Psalms 32:6, and 36:6. The Psalmist saw, in the deliverance of righteous Noah, at the great waters of old, a pledge of his own deliver-ance out of the great waters of adversity.-As the whole passage is descriptive of hope and confidence, the conver. fut. תרב, as it frequently does throughout the Psalms, conveys the idea ofwhat is usual. The גדולה and גדלה signify always, "some-thing great," never "greatness," see Psalms 165:3, and ver. 4. "My great deeds", are "the great deeds which have happened for my sake": compare 2 Samuel 7:23, where David says, "to do for you great things, and terrible for thy land," (in like manner also גדולה in ver. 21), Psalms 11:5, "Many, O Lord, are thy won-derful works which thou hast done," and here, ver. 19, "who hast done great things." In the second half of the second strophe, we have the promise to give thanks for the assistance which faith regards as already imparted. Ver. 22. Also I will praise thee with the psaltery, thy truth, my God; I will sing praise to thee upon the harp, thou holy One of Israel. Ver. 23. My lips shall shout for joy, for I will sing praise to thee, and my soul which thou hast redeemed. Ver. 23. Also my tongue shall meditate upon thy righteousness continually, because they are put to shame, because they are made to blush, who seek my hurt.-The "also” , in ver. 22, points to the inward connection between the praise and the salvation. The "Holy One of Israel" is the God of Israel who is holy: comp. on קדוש at Psalms 22:3. The passage before us is the fundamental one, for that name of God of which Isaiah is well known to be particularly fond.-On ver. 23, compare Ps. 34:22, "the Lord redeems the souls of his servants."-The גם in ver. 24, does not belong specially to the tongue, but applies to the whole sentence. On הגה compare at Psalms 90:9. Psalms 72. THE Psalm, like many others, as for example the xcth, falls into two strophes, one of ten, and another of seven verses. The ten of the first strophe is divided into two fives. In the first half, ver. 1-5, God grants righteousness to his king, in conse-quence of which, righteousness and the fear of God become prevalent among the people, and these again bring peace in their train. The second half, ver. 6-10, depicts the extension of the dominion of the righteous, the righteously acting, and therefore the salvation-sending king: its extent is as wide as that of the earth itself. The seven of the second strophe is divided, as in Ps. xcth, into a five and a two. In ver. 11-15, the Psalmist directs attention to that which will induce all na-tions and kings to do homage to this king: it is that, which appears throughout the Psalm, as the root of the rest, viz. the absolute righteousness of the king. Ver. 16 and 17, which describe, in short and graphic terms, the fulness of blessings which await this king, and his glory and greatness, form theconclusion.--The verses, as far as the 14th, consist of two clauses, with the exception of the fourth, which has three. Towards the end the verses become larger: the 15th and the 16th have, each three clauses, and the last verse has four. The fundamental thought of the Psalm is this: That the re-alization of the idea of the king in a moral respect, to be looked for in future times, the developement of the ideal image of righteousness, below which even David remained at such a dis-tance, will bring along with it the perfect realization of the kingdom of God, the righteousness of its subjects, their salva-tion, and its extension over the whole earth. Solomon is named in the Title as the author of the Psalm. Attempts have been made, to no purpose, to interpret לשלמה here, as in Ps. 127., in another sense. The ל, when it occursin the Titles, without anything to limit its application, always indicates, as here, the author: comp. page 86 of this volume. The remarks of Stier, ("it may by all means be understood: of Solomon, for Solomon, dedicated to, delivered to Solomon"), shew what deplorable mistakes would arise, were it used in other senses than in this well ascertained one. What is meant by the expression, "by all means", it is not pos-Bible to conceive:-such an expression, no cautious writer could have used. In favour of this announcement in the Title, we have first the remarkably objective character of the Psalm; common to it with the other writings of Solomon, and in striking contrast to that flow of feeling, which forms such a marked feature in the Psalms of David. And, in the second place, there is also the fact, that it is the relations of Solomon's time, that form the ground work of the Psalm. The references to these relations, partake too much of an individual character, as will be seen in the progress of our exposition, to admit of our sup-posing that they are prophetical. There are no reasons of any importance against considering Solomon as the author. It is maintained by Stier, that the typical reference to Solomon, compels us to assign the authorship to David. But, in reply to this, it is sufficient to advert to Psalms 2and 110., where David him-self, out of the grace imparted to him in his contests against the enemies of the kingdom of God, constructs a ladder, by which he may rise to the contemplation of the infinitely more glorious victories to be won in battle by his Descendant. And why should not Solomon, in like manner, see in his righteous reign of peace, a type of the kingdom of the Prince of Peace? Even the cir-cumstance, that at the end of the Psalm, there is appended the subscription, that "the prayers of David are ended", is by no means decisive against the authorship being Solomon's. For it is evident that this subscription announces nothing more, than that David is to be considered as the chief author: several Psalms occur within this section, Pc; i.- Psalms 72., which were composed by others, and of which the authors are expressly named; the prayers of David also is an appellation, a potiori:compare at Psalms 90. Title. Ewald maintains that the kingdom of David appears in the Psalm, as sunk into a diminished, poor and low condition, "the dominion over the world was lost, and had to be recovered in some other way," and that, therefore, the author cannot be Solomon. In opposition to this, we have to observe, that there is not one single trace throughout the whole Psalm, of anything like a diminution of the kingdom of David. It is, on the contrary, upon the basis of a glorious present,as in Psalms 2and 110. that there rises the hope of a still more glorious future. This is particularly manifest in the 8th verse. In the passages of the Pentateuch which give the boundaries of Israel, the Mediterranean Sea, and the Euphrates represent theextreme points. The points of termination in the Pentateuch are the points of beginning here, and the end of the dominion is the same as the end of the earth. It is hence evident, that the boundary spoken of in the Pentateuch had already been reached, and that the land between the sea and the Euphrates, had already been, and was still occupied. Had it been other-wise, this original land would not possibly have been passed over in silence; its occupation would have first of all been brought in-to notice. Finally, the idea of Hitzig, "that the diffuseness, the want of colouring, the absence of all arrangement in the Psalm, shew that we have before us a worthless poem, belonging to a vitiated age," disappears of itself, as soon as we become more intimately acquainted with the strophe-arrangement, and the train of thought in the Psalm; and the objection recoils upon the head of him who brought it forward. It has been acknowledged by the Jews, that Messiah is the subject of the Psalm: compare Christ. I. i. p. 129. And nothing but a dependence upon tradition in "the progression party", can account for the fact, that this exposition, which had been thoughtlessly abandoned in the heat of their destructive zeal, should still find so little favour, especially as a return has long since been made to the ecclesiastical interpretation, in these re-markably similar passages, Isaiah 9:11. and Zach. 9. The begin-ning, however, of a return, even in this case, may be already perceived. The Messianic interpretation is defended by Kצster, with the remark: "It would be inexplicable if an idea of such importance in the Hebrew religion, as that of the Messiah, should not have found a place in the Psalms." In the first place, the announcement as to the eternal dura-tion of the dominion of the king, in ver. 5, 7, and 17, is in fa-vour of the Messianic interpretation. This announcement could be made either of the family of David, considered as one whole, as in 1 Samuel 7. and Psalms 89:36; Psalms 89:37, or of the Messiah:--between these two, we must make our choice. Now, to maintain, with Hoffmann, (prophecy and its fulfilment, I. p. 177), according to whom Solomon prays generally for himself and the king of Israel, that the Psalm refers to the family of David, is altogether inconsistent with the fact, that throughout the whole Psalm, which in this respect, differs essentially from 2 Sam. vii., there does not occur one single trace of a personification, or of an ideal person:-the parallel passages also, such as Is. 9:5, 6,may be added, which do not admit of this interpretation.-Far-ther, it is asserted, in as express terms as possible, that the kingdom of this great sovereign, as distinguished from that of his predecessors, shall extend over the whole earth, that all kings shall submit to him, and that all nations shall serve him; while, at the same time, care is taken in such a way, as does not admit of being misunderstood, to guard this thought from every sus-picion of being a poetical exaggeration. The Psalmist would have rendered himself ridiculous, if he had promised such a dominion to any of the ordinary posterity of David, and no such thing ever took place. On the other hand, the an-nouncement of the extension of the dominion over the whole earth, is what never fails to occur in Messianic prophecies; comp. Psalms 2 Isa 9:9; Isaiah 9:11. Zechariah 9:10, Mich. 5:4. Finally, the king gains his power over the world, according to ver. 11-15, not by weapons of war, but by the righteousness and the love which he manifests in protecting and delivering the miser-able. There is no example of any Israelitish king, of the ordin-ary stamp, having brought, in this way, even one single nation into a state of subjection. No such king was ever in circum-stances to practice the virtues of righteousness and love in the midst of distant nations, powerful states not in subjection to his dominion. Such a king must have been one of a higher than human nature,-one who, in the language of the parallel passage, Isaiah 11. "smites the earth with the rod of his mouth, and slays the wicked with the breath of his lips." The violent assumptions which must be made, by those who do not adopt the Messianic interpretation, shew how imperatively that interpretation is demanded by the contents of the Psalm. The most common subterfuge is, that the futures in ver. 2-11, and in ver. 16, 17, are to be taken in an optative sense. But, such a long succession of wishes, without hope and confidence, produces a mournful impression, and has no parallel in the whole Book of Psalms. Besides, this interpretation becomes embarrassed with difficulties, in the 12th and following verses. To be consistent, you must adopt the optative sense there too: -Maurer really does so. But it is clear as day that this will not do. And if you take the futures there as promises, you find yourself doing what is inadmissible, speaking of the effects as wishes, and of the causes as promises. The frequent use of the fut. conv. has been appealed to, in favour of the optative inter-pretation. But there are two cases of this form, יהס and יהי, in the sense of the future denoting a custom, as is frequent throughout the Psalms, and the two remaining cases, ירד, in ver. 8th, and יהי, in ver. 16th, must, according to the analogy of these, be interpreted in the same way: the first occurs, moreover, in the fundamental passage, Numbers 24:19, in the sense of the future denoting a custom. Besides, were the author expressing mere wishes, he would alternate imperatives with futures. But this does not occur after ver. 1st.-Moreover, it is clear as day, that this arbitrary change of promises into mere wishes, will not even gain the object. Wishes, if they are not to be utterly ridicu-lous, must keep within the range of possibility and probability. Several expositors, sensible of this, have added to the first, a second subterfuge. They suppose that, in verse 8th, the domi-nion of the king, is not at all extended over the whole earth, but only over Canaan to its utmost limits, "from the south-east, or the Red Sea, to the north-west, or the Mediterranean, and again, from the north-east, or the Euphrates, to the south-west, where Canaan terminates in the desert without any well defined bound-ary." We cannot but express our astonishment, that even Ewald should have adopted this exposition,-an exposition better fitted for the past century, than for the present time: רדה, which is always applied to dominion over the heathen, (compare for ex-ample, Psalms 68:27, 1 Kings 5:4; and the fundamental passage, Numbers 24:19, from which even the form is taken), the ex-pression, "from sea to sea," which is always applied to the ut-most circumference of the earth, (compare Amos 8:12, Mich. vii. 12), and finally, "even to the ends of the earth," are all de-cisive against it. Compare the refutation of the reference to the boundaries of Palestine, as given in the commentary, on the passage borrowed. from this Psalm in Zechariah 9:10, in the Christology, II. p. 139. But if there were any doubt whatever remaining, it would be removed by what follows. In ver. 9 and 10, when the thought is individualized, only such nations are named, as were beyond the boundaries of Canaan, and in part at a great distance from it. The 11th verse, which recapitu-lates what had gone before, mentions all nations, all kings.-Hoffmann, p. 176, endeavours to set aside the proof for the Messianic interpretation furnished by ver. 11-15, by affirming that the sense there is, "that the goodness and the righteous-ness of the king, with which God has adorned him, will inclineGod to grant him an unlimited extent of dominion." But the extension of the dominion, appears as the result of the free-will inclinations of the people themselves; and the 15th verse would be martyred, were it forced to favour this exposition. This verse, (compare "the gold of Seba," with the 10th verse), is decisive against those who, with the view of bringing out the influence of an ordinary Israelitish king, in favour of the poor and miserable, of which the Psalmist there speaks, take the sense to be, that the conduct of the righteous king among his own people, will induce foreigners to do him homage. The idea of De Wette, adopted to meet this exigency, that by the poor and miserable, we are to understand oppressed foreign nations, seeking protection from the Israelites, requires only to be looked at, in connection with the 4th verse, (where manifestly it is oppressed individuals that are spoken of), to be abandoned. -We may well give up a view, which does so much violence to our sense of what is right in exegetical matters. The first half of the first strophe is ver. 1-5: God grants to his king righteousness, ver. 1, and his righteous government produces righteousness among the people, in consequence of which peace advances; in like manner, his righteous government produces among the people in all time coming, the ascendancy of piety, ver. 4, 5.-Ver. 1. O, God, give thy judgments to the king, and thy righteousness to the king's son. Ver. 2. He shall judge the people in righteousness, and thy miserable ones with judgment. Ver. 3. The mountains shall bring forth peace to the people, and the hills through righteousness. Ver. 4. He shall judge the miserable of the people, he shall help the sons of the needy, and crush the oppressor. Ver. 5. They shall fear thee with the sun, and before the moon through all generations.-That the petitions of ver. 1, like those of the Lord's prayer, and like all real prayer, are based on confidence, and do not partake of the wavering character, referred to in James 1:6, is obvious from the circumstance that, in the following verses, futures are made use of, on the supposition of the prayer being granted. Where prayer is based on the word of God, and is made in the strength of his Spirit, the transition from imperatives to futures, becomes ex-ceedingly natural and easy. The "he will judge, &c." in ver. 2, is connected with the "thou wilt give," which lies concealed in the "give" of ver. 1 משפטים is very often "decisions," "legal. sentences"; and ver. 4th, shews that this is the sense, and notthat of "laws," "commandments," which must be adopted here. The decisions of God are opposed to the decisions, which the king gives at his own hand. The judgment is God's, Deuteronomy 1:17 : compare Exodus 21:6; Exodus 22:7, Proverbs 8:15, 2 Chronicles 19:6. It comes to this, that the essence of all justice lies in the con-formity of the decisions of the earthly judge, to the decisions of the heavenly Lord of Justice; and this takes place, when there rests upon the former, "the spirit of the Lord, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of the knowledge and of the fear of the Lord." The great king here spoken of, shall, according to Isaiah 11:2, obtain this without measure; and thus the prayer, "give thy judgments to the king", is fulfilled to an un-limited extent. Solomon, in type, prayed, in 1 Kings 3:9, that the Lord would give him an understanding heart, (Vatabl. men-tem docilem, deo et spiritui S. audientem), that he might judge his people; and it is recorded of him, 1 Kings 3:28 : "and all Israel heard of the judgment which the king had judged, and they feared the king, for they saw that the wisdom of God was in him to do judgment." מלך stands poetically without the article, as in Psalms 45:1; compare at the passage.-On ver. 2nd, compare Isaiah 11:3; Isaiah 11:4. The "miserable ones of God," are the mis-erable among his people: comp. ver. 4.-The mountains and hills are not at all named, because they were the most unfruitful places of the land,--which they really were not, in Palestine, compare Deuteronomy 33:15, Psalms 147:8, "who maketh grass to grow upon the mountains," Psalms 65:12,-nor even because what is on them can be seen every where, and from all sides, (Tholuck),--compare against this, Joe 3:18, "the mountains shall drop down new wine, and the hills shall flow with milk," -but, as being the most prominent points, and ornaments of the country, and therefore, as representing it, well fitted to ex-press the thought, that the country shall be every where filled with peace.a Peace appears every where as a characteristic mark of the time of the Messiah: compare, for example, Isaiah 2:4; Isaiah 9:5; Isaiah 9:6; Isaiah 11:9; Isaiah 65:25, Micah 4:3, Zechariah 9:10. In the second clause, "shall bring forth peace to the people," is to be supplied from the first. And, in like manner, the "through righteous-ness" of the second, is to be added to the first clause. For a It is obvious from Isaiah 9:6, compared with ver. 4. 2 4, Zechariah 9:10, among other passages, that שלומ, has here its usual sense, and not that of salvation and prosperity. peace is brought forward, here and throughout, only in so far as it is the product and consequence of that righteousness, which is inherent in the king, and which has been introduced by him among his people. Peace appears, even in the law, as the pro-duct of righteousness: compare Leviticus 26:3-6, "if ye walk inmy statutes, and keep my commandments and do them I will give peace in the land . . . . and the sword shall notcome into your land." Peace was represented in type as a re-ward of righteousness, in the time of Solomon, to whose name there is manifestly allusion made here: 1 Kings 5:4. Right-eousness and peace are connected together, also in Isaiah 9:6, as cause and effect, in the time of the Messiah. Ewald, with his ungrammatical interpretation, "and the hills, blessings of grace," (נשא never occurs with ב of the object, צדקה never signifies blessings of grace, and most assuredly cannot have this signifi-cation here, as is obvious from verses 1, 2, and 4, which serve as a commentary), gains nothing except that he dissevers the consequence from its cause, and thus destroys the whole train of thought. The righteousness of the king, is the centre of the Psalm, that, on which every thing else unconditionally depends.-Ver. 4th is in intimate connection with verse 5th, otherwise, it would be a mere idle repetition of verse 2nd, the righteousness of the king, and, in consequence of this, the fear of God among the people. Isaiah 11:4, remarkably agrees with this verse, and is probably dependent on it. To judge of the miserable, is not at all to pronounce a just sentence upon them, but stands in opposition to neglecting to take up their case: compare Isaiah 1:17; Isaiah 1:23, "they judge not the fatherless, neither does the cause of the widow come before them." The "needy" is here an ideal person, the personification of the species, and thus the particular needy individuals appear as his sons.-In ver. 5th, the address is directed, as it is throughout the whole Psalm, not to the king, but to God. The train of thought is lost, if this be not kept in view. The passage, however, does contain a proof in favour of the Messianic interpretation of the Psalm. For the fear of God, is an eternal consequence of the righteous dominion of the king: and, therefore, this dominion itself also must be eternal: the continued existence of the effect, pre-supposes the continued existence of the cause. That there is here at least an indirect assertion, as to the eternity of the do-minion of the king, is obvious from the parallel passages, ver. 7, 17, and Psalms 89:36; Psalms 89:38. "With the sun," is "as long as it is by them": "before the moon", "as long as they are shone upon by it": compare Job 8:16. According to the doctrine of the Old Testament, the heavens and earth, in their present form, shall pass away, Psalms 102:26, but not for a very long time, and the boundary line of this era is so distant, that it frequently disappears. The second half of the first strophe, is ver. 6-10. Verses 6 and 7, resume the contents of the first strophe, the right-eousness-creating, and therefore peace-producing, conduct of the righteous king, for the purpose of adding to this another sub-ject, strictly connected with them, viz. the infinite extension of his dominion.-Ver. 6. He shall come down like rain upon the mown grass, and like showers that water the ground. Ver. 7. The righteous man shall flourish in his days, and abundance of peace until the moon is no more. Ver. 8. And he rules from sea to sea, and from the river to the ends of the earth. Ver. 9. Before him the inhabitants of the wilderness shall bow down, and his enemies shall lick the dust. Ver. 10. The kings of Tarsus and of the islands shall pay gifts, the kings of Saba and Seba shall bring presents.-The figure of rain, which produces fresh verdure, occurs in reference to the blessings of Messiah's time, also in the last words of David, in 2 Samuel 23:5. Ewald's translation is flat: it will fall down. The following verse also is against it, where the righteous man is spoken of as flourishing in consequence of the rain. גז is used of mown grass also, in Amos 7:1. Luther, falsely: "the skin."-In ver. 8th, if we suppose that by the first sea is meant the Mediter-ranean, the second will denote any imaginary one. But the passages in Micah 7:12, and Amos 8:12, seem to favour the idea that there is only a general reference to the Pentateuch, such as Exodus 23:31, where the boundaries of Ca-naan are marked out by naming the Mediterranean Sea and the Euphrates: the land which Moses gave to the Israelites stretch-ed merely from the Mediterranean Sea to the river Euphrates; but, on the contrary, the dominion of this king extends from any one sea to any other sea, and from any river even to the ends of the earth,-it is a kingdom of boundless extent. Our verse is quoted word for word in Zechariah 9:10. It is more than can be established to invert the relation, as Ewald and Hitzig do. The fact that Zechariah, in the first half of the verse, has bor-rowed from Micah 5:9, is against this idea. In individualizing the thought expressed in verse 8, the Psalmist, in verse 9, men-tions first the inhabitants of the wilderness, (ציים denotes here, as usually, the beasts of the wilderness, Psalms 74:14, Isaiah 23:13), on account of their wildness and love of liberty. They lick the dust, i. e. they indicate in the most humiliating way their reve-rence and submission: compare Isaiah 49:23. Next, in the 10th verse, there are the inhabitants of the distant wealthy West, and of the distant wealthy South. The historical basis of the announcement made in this verse, with which Psalms 68:29; Psalms 45:12, Isaiah 60:6-9, ought to be compared, is to be found in 1 Kings iv. 21, "and Solomon reigned over all kingdoms from the river unto the land of the Philistines, and unto the border of Egypt: they brought presents and served Solomon all the days of his life," and in 1 Kings 10:24, "and all the world sought a sight of Solomon, to hear his wisdom which God had put in his heart: and they brought every one his present, vessels of silver and vessels of gold," but more particularly in this last passage, and also in the history of the visit of the Queen of Sheba and her presents, (compare 1 Kings 10:10), which assuredly gave occa-sion to the naming of the Sabeans in this Psalm, inasmuch as the free-will recognition made of Solomon from the heathen world was a real, though a very limited, prelude to the entire subjection of the world to the sceptre of his Son. Gousset has given the correct interpretation of the clause מנהה השיב, which also occurs in 2 Kings 3:4; 2 Kings 17:3. It signifies "to give gifts in the way of return or recompence"; and refers to gifts or tribute, when given as thank-offerings in return for acts of favour shewn, as when the conqueror became reconciled to the conquered. The expression here is illustrated by vers. 11-15; where the good deeds are detailed by which the king lays the heathen world under obligations, and induces it to do him ho-mage. The ישיבו contains within itself the germ of this para-graph. It alone is sufficient to set aside the exposition of Hoff-mann already adverted to. The first part of the second strophe, ver. 11-15, gives first, in ver. 11, the substance, out of the second part of the first, for the purpose of adding, in ver. 12-15, the explanation of the great fact which it announces. "True love conquers, men feel it at last, weep bitterly; and fall down at its knees like children." Ver. 11. And all kings worship him, all the heathen serve him,Ver. 12. For he delivers the needy man who cries, and the miser-able, and him who hath no helper. Ver. 13. He pities the poor and the needy, and he delivers the souls of the needy. Ver. 14. He delivers their souls from oppression and violence, and their blood is precious in his eyes. Ver. 15. And he lives and gives him of the gold of Seba, and prays for him continually, ever- more he shall bless him.-The agreement of ver. 12th with Job 29:12, "For I delivered the poor that cried, and the father-less, and him that had no helper," is too striking to admit of its being considered, with any appearance of probability, as accidental. As the words stand here in a very important con-nection, and on this account were the more easily impressed on the mind, and better adapted for being introduced with grace as an appropriate allusion, ("for I," as a type of the mighty king of the future, etc.), and as, in other passages which esta-blish a connection between Job and the Psalms, the originality of the latter is manifest, (compare at Psalms 39:13, Psalms 78.), and finally, as the Book of Job belongs most assuredly to a period later than that of Solomon, the passage before us must be con-sidered as the original one.-In reference to תוך, oppression, in ver. 14, compare at Psalms 10:7; Psalms 55:11. On "their blood is pre-cious in his sight," i. e. "he values their lives highly, and hence uses every effort to protect them," compare Psalms 116:15, 1 Samuel 26:21, 2 Kings 1:14.-In ver. 15, every exposition must be abandoned which implies a change of subject. It is only in a passage where there can be no ambiguity that such an interpre-tation, where the nominatives are not mentioned, can be adopted. The question may be asked, is it the king or the needy man that is the subject of the whole verse? Without hesitation we de-cide in favour of the latter. "He lives," can be applied only to him who had been assailed or threatened with death; and the king, according to verse 10th, must be the receiver, and not the giver of the gold of Seba. The verse before us returns back to the conclusion of the first strophe, after the basis of the fact announced there, had been detailed in the second. The reasons which have been adduced against the idea, that it is the poor man throughout that is the subject, are not of any consequence. The transition from the plural to the singular is not of any mo-ment, as the singular is made use of also in verses 12 and 13. The subject is the ideal person of the needy man. The objec-tion that the needy man has no gold, disappears with the re-mark, that by the righteousness of the king, he is restored to the possession of his goods:-there is therefore no reason for taking the gold of Seba, contrary to ver. 10th, in a figurative sense, as denoting the inward thanks of the delivered man. The assertion of Hitzig, "that intercessions are employed be-fore God, who is near at hand, on behalf of those who are far off," is met by the 20th Psalm, (a prayer of the people on be-half of their king), by 1 Timothy 2:1; 1 Timothy 2:2, and by the beginning of our Psalm itself. The anxiety of the old ecclesiastical expo-sitors, lest the prayer for the king should be considered as de-rogatory to the divine nature of Christ, is quite uncalled for, be-cause we do pray for the coming of Christ's kingdom, and there-fore for himself. The analogy of the conv. futures throughout the Psalm, is sufficient to shew that ויהי must be translated, "he lives," not "that he may live." Verses 16 and 17 form the conclusion, in the first instance, to the second strophe, and next to the whole Psalm. Ver. 16. There shall be abundance of corn in the land, upon the top of the mountains, its fruit shall shake like Lebanon, and they of the city shall flourish like the grass of the earth. Ver. 17. His name shall be for ever, his name shall endure before the sun, and men shall bless themselves by him, all the heathen shall praise him. The historical basis of ver. 16 is furnished by 1 Kings 4:20, where it is said of Solomon's reign: "Judah and Israel were many as the sand which is by the sea, eating and drinking and making merry." The blessings spread abroad under this righteous reign, are referred to by the individualizing descrip-tion, "the abundance of corn": compare Deut. 11:14, Jeremiah 31:12, Zechariah 10:17, (see the Christol. on the passage):-in the last passage, the same idea occurs in connection with the abundance of the population. In like manner also, in Isaiah 27:6, "In future, Jacob shall strike his roots, Israel shall blossom and bud, and fill the face of the world with fruit." The translation of פסה by "abundance," is not quite ascertained. But the tran-slation, "there maybe want, still there will be," etc. (פסס=אפס, compare Psalms 12:1), is opposed by the consideration, that יהי can scarcely be taken otherwise than the rest of the conv. fu-tures, particularly יהי in ver. 15. The mountains are named, not as being unfruitful, but as being the most prominent points of the country, and, therefore, when covered with corn, present-ing a picturesque appearance. Lebanon comes into notice ascovered with its waving cedars, which occur to the mind as soon as Lebanon is named: it is never spoken of as fertile in corn. In the second clause, the subject is to be supplied from מעיר, the inhabitants of the city. The abundance of the population, as a sign of the joyful prosperity of the people, occurs also in Zechariah 2:8, Isaiah 49:20. "As the grass of the earth," is to be found in Job 5:25. On "out of the city," compare Numbers 24:19). -In ver. 17, the eternity of the name is based upon the eternity of the kingdom, and of the deeds out of which the name continually grows up afresh: compare Isaiah 9:5; Isaiah 9:6, Psalms 45:2; Psalms 45:6, and Psalms 102:12, where it is said of Jehovah, "thy remem-brance is to all generations." The reading in the text ינין is the Hiph. of a denomin. verb from נין, offspring, which does not else-where occur, and was probably formed by the Psalmist himself: the name shall produce posterity, i. e. shall renovate itself, inas-much as by the new deeds of the king, it always acquires fresh life. The Kri in the Hiph. has originated from the Massorites not understanding the boldness of poetical expression. The Hithp. of ברך, signifies always "to bless one's self," with the ב of him from whom the blessing is desired, Isaiah 65:16, and Jeremiah 4:2, or whose blessing is desired, Genesis 48:20. That it is the latter of these senses that must be here adopted, that "they bless themselves by him," is equivalent to, "they wish themselves to be as blessed as he is," is obvious from the pa-rallel clause, "they shall praise him," and from the reference, which it is impossible to mistake, to the fundamental passage in Genesis 22:18; Genesis 26:4. What is there said of the posterity of the patriarchs, is fulfilled, in the first instance, in the glorious king, and through him, in his people. "To bless by," is in that passage, as it is in this, followed by "to be blessed through," as its consequence: the acknowledgment of the blessing calls forth the wish to partake of it, as in Isaiah 44:5, where, in conse-quence of the rich blessing which is poured out upon Israel, the nations become anxious to adopt Israel's name. In Genesis, the Niphal, "the blessing themselves by," goes before and alongside of the Hithp., "the being blessed through:" compare 12:3, 18:18, 28:14. That we are not to explain the passages in which the Niph. occurs, from those in which the Hithp. occurs, but rather, on the contrary, that these latter are to be supple-mented out of the former, is manifest from the fact, that the Niph. of ך`רב has never been proved to occur in the sense ofthe Hithp., from the constant joyful repetition of this announce-ment which every where appears as forming the very summit of the promises made to the patriarchs, from the reference of the blessing upon all the tribes of the earth to the curse pronounced on the earth after the fall, from the connection with the pro-phecy of Japhet dwelling in the tents of Shem, Genesis 9:27, and the ruler proceeding from Judah to whom the people are to be obedient, Genesis 49:10. The union which binds these announce-ments to each other, would be destroyed, were we to force the sense of the Hiph. upon the Niph. in the promises made to the patriarchs. Verses 18 and 19 do not belong to the Psalm, but contain the doxology which forms the conclusion of the second book. This doxology, which is the most copious that occurs, agrees very well with the contents, and was undoubtedly composed in refe-rence to these. “ May the whole earth be full of his glory,” (as it shall be when all nations shall do homage to this his anoint-ed), is taken, word for word, from Numbers 14:21. In reference to ver. 20th, see the treatises at the close. Psalms 73. AFTER the Psalmist, in verse 1, has shortly expressed the truth which had been awakened, in an especial manner, in his own heart, and which he desires to awaken in the hearts of the members of the church, "that God is always good to his own people," he represents, in verse 2-11, the facts which had caus-ed him to waver in this belief, in a picturesque description of the prosperity of the ungodly, depicts, in verses 12-16, the conflicts and struggles into which he was thereby brought, and, in verses 17-20, the victory which he gained, when brought by the grace of God to know that the prosperity of the wicked, and the sufferings of the righteous, are alike transitory, com-plains of his own foolishness, as the source of his doubts, and praises the grace of God, which had removed these from him, verses 21-24, and expresses his unqualified assurance of the divine assistance, and of salvation, verses 25-28. The main division has twenty verses, two decades. These are followed by two concluding strophes, each of four verses.The whole contains four sevens. The main turning point lies in the middle. The Psalm is very nearly related to the 37. and 49., as far as its contents are concerned. Amyraldus took quite a cor-rect view as to its distinctive and individual character. "In Psalms 37. the prophet merely shews how believers ought to conduct themselves when they perceive the prosperity of the ungodly: he himself did not stumble at it. But here Asaph, though a great and pious man, acknowledges that the provi-dence of God, in this respect, did sometimes appear to him mysterious, and that he felt great difficulty in explaining it. From the very beginning of the Psalm we see how he merged out of the deep thoughts into which his spirit, agitated and vex-ed by doubts, had sunk, until, in the end, better views obtained the ascendancy . . . . He has adopted this method in order that believers might contemplate, as in a picture, the conflict to which, at times, they are exposed, and might see what weapons they have to seize against the assaults of the flesh." Several recent expositors have endeavoured to force upon'the Psalm a national interpretation. But there is no mention what-ever made of the heathen throughout the whole of it: it is the wicked only in general that are spoken of. How little good ground there is for interpreting such descriptions as these ex-clusively of the relation in which Israel stood to the heathen, (the relation here, at all events, is only that of the election, ver. 1), is manifest from Jeremiah 12:1; Jeremiah 12:2, where there occur complaints altogether similar to those of our Psalm, and which were occa-sioned by the unjustifiable conduct of the people of Anathoth. There is nothing in this Psalm, more than there is in Ps. 50., against supposing that the Asaph named in the title as the au-thor, was David's chief musician. For the assertion that משואות, in verse 18th, a word of very rare occurrence, but common to our Psalm with the 74., which was composed after the destruction of the temple, shews that both Psalms were composed at the same era, is met by the 17th verse, where the sanctuary of the Lord is represented as still standing, and also by the fact that the 13th verse of our Psalm is alluded to in Proverbs 20:9. Besides, it may be maintained that the author of the lxxivth Psalm may have borrowed the word from this one. In favour of the authorship of the Psalm belonging to the timeof David, we may urge the originality, freshness and life by which the poem is distinguished. Ver. 1. God is only good to Israel, to such as are of a pure heart. The ך`א, according to many expositors, is "yet", that is, "in spite of every thing which would lead the Psalmist away from this truth, and deprive him of its consolatory power." But ך`א has never this, sense; and the usual and fully ascertain-ed sense, (comp. ver. 18), is quite suitable:-"Only good,"-not as foolishness, looking on the outward appearance, supposes, in certain circumstances also evil. It is exceedingly difficult to say this "only" from the heart. He only can do so, who has come into the sanctuary of God. טוב is not a subs., (Stier: the true good and prosperity), but an adj.; it is employed as such in verse 26, and it is used of God, for example, in Psalms 25:8; Psalms 34:8; Psalms 118:1, Nahum 1:7, Lamentations 3:25. Good:-not evil, as the righteous man may well suppose, when he is plagued continually, tor-mented every morning, while the wicked swim in prosperity. That God is good, is manifest from his goodness towards his own people:- assuredly טוב has the sense of kind neither here nor any where else. Towards Israel:-both in its collective and individual capacity. The opposition classes those who are Israelites only in appearance with the heathen. The limiting clause, "such as are of a pure heart," (compare verse 13, and at Psalms 24:6), shews that by Israel the Psalmist understands only the Election, the true Israelites in whom there is no guile, to the exclusion of the false seed, the souls who, according to the ex-pression of the law, are cut off from their people, even although they are found to be outwardly living in the midst of them, compare on Psalms 24:6. It is only to these true Israelites that the promises of God are given: it is they only therefore who, in the event of these promises remaining unfulfilled, would have any reason to doubt of his goodness. The distinction which the Psalmist makes among the Israelites themselves, at the very be-ginning of the Psalm, goes directly against those who consider the Psalm as having a national reference. The wicked among the Israelites are by that distinction put exactly on a level with the heathen. Ver. 2. And my feet had almost stumbled, my steps had well nigh slipped. Ver. 3. For I envied the haughty, the peace of the wicked I beheld. Ver. 4. For they are not fettered to death, and their strength is firm. Ver. 5. They are not in the sufferingsof mortals, and they are not plagued with men. Ver. 6. There-fore pride encompasses their neck, the garment of haughtiness co- vers them. Ver. 7. Their eyes stand out from fat, the thoughts of their hearts flow over. Ver. 8. They see, and speak in wickedness, they speak oppression from on high. Ver. 9. They set their mouth in the heavens, and their tongue speaks upon the earth. Ver. 10. Therefore he turns his people hither, and wa-ters in abundance are sipped by them. Ver. 11. And they say:how should God know, and knowledge be in the Most High.--The "I" in the 2d verse is emphatic:-I say this not at all su-perficially, but from my own experience of the contest and of the victory. The reading in the text נטויA is the stat. absol. ofthe particip. Pa., not according to some, the stat. constr. נטוי;, one inclined in my feet. The Keri ויטAנA, the 3d Pl. Praet. is tobe rejected, as having been adopted as explanatory of the mean-ing. The נטה is used of feet inclined to fall, as it is at Psalms 62:3, of a wall. Instead of הכAP;שu, the third sing. fem. of Pu. (com-pare, on the frequent use of the plural with the fem. sing. of thepredicate, Ewald, § 568) the Masorites substitute וכP;שu. A si-milar Keri reading, and one equally useless, occurs on the sameword in Deuteronomy 21:7. The footsteps, when one cannot stand firm,are as it were spilt, like water which flows down on all sides:comp. Psalms 22:14. The subsequent part of the Psalm defines thedanger to which the Psalmist was exposed, and shows in what thestruggle consisted which had almost brought him to the ground.The prosperity of the wicked filled him with doubts as to thedivine righteousness, and these shook the whole edifice of hisreligion to its very foundation. On "I envied," in verse 3, compare at Psalms 37:1; and on הוללים, "haughty," at Ps. v.5. Pain and vexation are such natural attendants of the sight of the peace of the wicked, that there is no need for expressly mentioning them. The הרצבות, in verse 4, must, according to Isaiah 58:6, and the Arabic, be translated "fetters"; the sense of "pain" has nothing whatever to support it. The "fetters" denote figuratively the death-bringing circumstances which God suspends over the guilty: compare Job 11:17, "how oft is the candle of the wicked put out, and their destruction cometh up-on them, God sends them cords in his anger," and at Psalms 11.The Psalmist is, through the grace of God, assured in ver. 17-20, that this, which he here finds to be wanting, will make its appearance at last; and thus the conflict is brought to a termi-nation; for its peculiar difficulty is not that the wicked are in prosperity, but that this prosperity is, to all appearance, to last for ever, The אול, strength, (compare 2 Kings 24:15), oc-curs in Job 21:7, "wherefore do the wicked live, continue, and are powerful in strength," not as several arbitrarily, "in body." The "misery of men," in verse 5, is the misery to which poor mortals are so abundantly exposed: compare on אנוש, at Ps. viii. 4. The אדם, without the article, and in the singular num-ber, denotes the whole human race in its widest extent. The wicked alone appear to form an exception to the mournful rule, "there can and may be nothing else, all men must suffer, no-thing that moves and lives on the earth can escape suffering." Reason is bewildered; she finds here a singular anomaly; she supposes that the rule ought rather to be applied with increas-ed severity to those who appear to form the exception from it. On this account, verse 6: on account of this their freedom from punishment. ענק is "to surround like a neck-ornament." The reason which led the Psalmist to speak of pride as a neck-orna- ment of the wicked, for the purpose of expressing the thought that they are wholly beset with it, was in all probability the fact that it was their manner of dressing their neck that chieflyexhibited their pride: compare Isaiah 3:16, Job 15:26. The למו, properly "to them," is explained by the modification of the sense of עטף: compare the כסה with ל in Isaiah 11:9. In the first clause of verse 7, the Psalmist describes in a graphic man-ner a well-fed wicked man, whose eyes stand out with fat from his body. The external appearance comes into view only as a reflection and expression of their carnal mind, which so often displays itself by such appearances: compare on Psalms 17:10,where also, the arbitrary senses of הלב, which have been brought forward on this passage, are set aside. As the eyes of the wicked stand out of their bodies, so their thoughts rush out from their hearts: this is a sign of their might and power:-they will not practice the least forbearance, but give instant and full expression to their thoughts in words and in deeds, according to the expression, "that of which their heart is full, &c." The naked עבר does, not signify "to transgress," but "to overflow," like a river, for example, which cannot be confined within itsbanks, Isaiah 8:8. In the 8th verse ממרום cannot be taken ad-verbially, in the sense of "proudly": it must be translated " out of the height," "from above." This is manifest from what fol-lows: and, moreover, its usual sense is, "from heaven's height." The thought appears to be resumed in the following verse, chiefly from the parallelism of heaven and earth. "They speak oppression": that is, words which tend to oppression: see Isaiah 59:13. The בשמים and בארך signifies, as it always does, when the two words come together, "in heaven and on the earth:" and, therefore, "against heaven," and "to the heaven," are to be rejected. The sense of the first clause is very well express-ed by Luther: What they say must be said from heaven."ך`לה signifies only "to go," "to go up and down," and the stronger senses are to be considered as arbitrarily adopted. The going simply denotes their activity. Their wicked and do-mineering tongue is always employed. In verse 10, the text-reading is the fut. of Hiph, ישיב: the reading in the margin, ישוב, owes its origin entirely to want of sagacity. The sub- ject is the wicked: and it is to this that the suffix in "his people" refers. The idea that it refers to God is inadmissible, as God had not been spoken of. " The wicked turns his people thither" thus signifies, "by his freedom from punishment, and his prosperity, he prevails upon others to leave the right path, and to adopt his sentiments." The people of the wicked stands in opposition to the generation of the children of God in verse 15. Among this people there are many who appeared at one time to belong to the Lord's people, but whose conduct has made it manifest, that their external piety was, at bottom, nothing else than hypocrisy. The true members of the church of God may stumble, but they do not fall. God stretches out his hand to them when they are ready to sink, and they lay hold of it by faith. In the second clause ימצו is the Niph. of מצה, "to sip."The מלא, �gfull," occupies the place of a noun: water in abun-dance. The rich prosperity which the apostates enjoy, as the reward of their apostacy, appears under the figure of a rich draught presented to the thirsty; they sip prosperity in full measure. Others refer the words to the eagerness with which they have adopted their new principles, which they drink in, as it were, in full streams, (compare Job 15:16); but the figura-tive use of water for prosperity is the common one, and, on the other hand, the expression does not clearly bring out the othersense. These apostates, through the prosperity of those who went before them, and their own, are soon brought to deny the providence of God altogether: compare Psalms 10:11, Job 22:13; Job 22:14. In verses 12-16, the Psalmist depicts the struggles and con-flicts into which he had been brought, from observing, that to all appearance righteousness had been wholly deprived of its re-ward, and wickedness of its punishment. Ver. 12. Behold these are the wicked, and the eternally secure increase their wealth. Ver. 13. Only in vain I have purified my heart, and washed my hands in innocence. Ver. 14. For I have been plagued conti-nually, and my chastisement is every morning. Ver. 15. If I say, "I will announce this," behold I would act treacherously towards the generation of thy sons. Ver. 16. And I meditated, that I might know this: it was a pain in my eyes.-According to the common rendering, verses 12-14 are to be considered as a continuation of the speech of the apostates. But the Psalmist had spoken of these in the plural, and he must conti-nue to do so, otherwise it would not be possible to distinguish his own observations from theirs. The description, moreover, of the ungodly as the children of the wicked, and their openly ungodly speech in verse 11, do not suit with verses 13 and 14, where it is manifestly a sincerely pious man that speaks. The expression, "these are the wicked", in verse 12, is also against this interpretation. The apostates have already become wick-ed themselves, and are not likely to apply this name to their leaders in wickedness. Finally, the person who speaks here, is, according to verse 14, still in a state of suffering; but the apostates are, according to verse 10, in prosperity. We must, therefore, conclude that the Psalmist, in vers. 12-14, describes the impression made upon him, the representative of real and living piety, by the contradiction between sight and faith, be-tween the reality and the idea. These (the men to whom such descriptions apply) are the wicked:-the same men whom I be-hold swimming in affluence, are the very wicked men, who, ac-cording to the word of God, must be brought to shame and misery. And those secure of eternity, e. those who now alrea-dy are secure for a whole eternity,--עולם is the language of sense: the prosperity of the wicked, which is objectively bound-ed by a definite period of time, appears to impatience as if it were a whole eternity of impunity-increase their wealth, orreach forward to still greater riches: compare on היל in Deut. viii. 17, Psalms 60:12; Psalms 49:6; Psalms 49:10. On verse 13, Calvin: "Assured-ly, I have striven in vain to have a pure hand and a pure heart, whereas continual conflicts, await me, and are ready like watch-men to lay hold upon me, as soon as morning dawns." The necessary limitation to "I have purified and washed," is given in Proverbs 20:9, "who can say, I have purified my heart, I am free from my sin," namely, otherwise than in the sense in which the Psalmist says it, whose words denote a sincere struggle after righteousness. The first clause points to "such as are of a pure heart" in verse 1. On the second clause compare Psalms 26:6. On verse 14, compare Job 7:18, "And thou visitest him every morning, and triest him every moment." "I have been plagued" stands in opposition to "they are not plagued," which is said of the wicked in verse 5. The תוכהת, censure, is used, as it is in Psalms 39:11, of such censure as is convey-ed in the shape of a sermo realis: the connection and the par-allelism will not allow us to think of any thing else. It is, therefore, very weighty reasons that have perplexed the Psalmist. But another voice rises from within, warning him with great earnestness not to come forth as a preacher of un-godliness, ver. 15. "If I say: I will announce thus, &c." is equivalent to, "should I make these doubts public." ספר is "to recount," "to make known," "to preach." What had gone before was merely a soliloquy. Those who fear God, never let their inward doubts become known abroad. They do not repair with them to the streets, where the ignorant people would make them the occasion of open ungodliness; but they take them to the sanctuary of God; and give expression to their doubts, like the Psalmist, when they can, at the same time, make known their victory. The arbitrary translation of ספר by "think," is also rejected by the second clause: Mere thinking would not produce such consequences. The כמו, which is merely the separate form of כ, is nothing else than the mark of comparison; and the expositions in which it is taken in any other way are to be summarily rejected. There is an ellipsis: thus, namely, what had just been spoken of, my doubts as to the divine justice, my opinion, that it is to no purpose to lead a blameless life. The omission of what is said after אמר, when it can be obviously supplied from the context, is quite analogous to this: compare on Psalms 4:4, Vol. i. page 65. On בגד, to actfaithlessly, used of every violation of duty towards our neighbour, generally with ב, here poetically with the accus. in the sense of, "to treat faithlessly," compare at Psalms 25:3. The faithless-ness consists not in abandoning-this could scarcely be denoted in this way-but in misleading: compare what Eliphaz objected to Job, of whose words, verse 12-14, contain the essence, ch. 15:4, "thou castest off fear, and restrainest prayer before God." "The generation of the children of God" = "the righteous ge-neration," of Psalms 14:5, and -"Israel" of verse 1st. The sonship of God always implies, in the Old Testament, the most endearing love, such as that of a father to his son: compare on Psalms 2:7; Vol. i. page 31:-whoever misleads the beloved of God, or robs them of their most valuable possessions, commits a serious offence. Stier is wrong, when he asserts that this allusion is a singular one for the Old Testament. Deuteronomy 14:1; Deuteronomy 14:2, corresponds exactly. What is there said of Israel, is applicable, like every thing else of a similar nature, only to the kernel of the people: and it is manifest from ver. 1, that the generation of the sons of God here, are Israel-the others are, indeed, of Israel, but they are not Israel.-The Psalmist, according to verse 16th, seeks to understand this,-the contradiction between idea and reality, in the experience of the wicked and the righteous; but it is necessary for him to know, that human speculation, and research, can in this matter accomplish nothing: the thing remains after all a sorrow in his eyes, which torments and pains him, more than even the sorrow itself which had called forth the ques- tion; for its greatest grievance lies in this, that it has perplexed him in reference to his God. Several expositors have: "it was troublesome, difficult to conceive of," and refer to Song of Sol.8:17. But עמל signifies always in the Psalms, where it occurs very frequently, sorrow, trouble. The Keri הוא is in-tended probably to apply to the wicked. In ver. 17-20, the victory in this severe conflict is obtained through the grace of God.-Ver. 17. Till I come to the sanctuary of God, now will I mark their end. Ver. 18. Only on slippery places settest thou them, thou lettest them fall to ruins. Ver. 19. How are they so suddenly annihilated, they perish and come to an end with terror. Ver. 20. Like a dream through awak- ing, thus despisest thou, O Lord, in the city, their image.-In ver. 17, several explain, "till I pressed into the divine secrets." But this explanation is altogether an arbitrary one. The wordמקדש signifies always the sanctuary, and is the constant one for the tabernacle and the temple: compare, in reference to the plural, Psalms 68:35. There is no occasion whatever for departing from the fully ascertained and literal sense, if we only look upon the sanctuary with the eyes of the pious Israelites of the Old Testament dispensation. The substance of the temple to them was the presence of God, and just on this account, accord-ing to their view, any man could externally repair to the temple without being truly in it, and, in like manner, a man could be truly in it, even when outwardly at a distance from it: compareat Psalms 63:2, and the passages quoted there. The Psalmist thus goes here with the feet of his heart into the sanctuary, drawsnear to God, and gets from this clear fountain, that insight which natural reason could not give him. אל בוא which is used of coming to God, as for example, Exodus 44:27, makes it manifest that מקדש is used here, as it always is, in a local sense. In Ezekiel's vision, that spiritual aspect of the sanctuary, which runs through the Law, the Psalms, and the Prophets, assumes, as it were, flesh and blood. The expression, "I will think upon their end," , is con-nected with the first clause, as cause with effect. The end is here, in the first instance, temporal: compare Psalms 55:23, accord-ing to which, the wicked are carried off in the midst of their days. This appears clearly from the mention of "ruins" in ver. 18, from the clause "in the city" ver. 20, and also from the numerous parallel passages in the Psalms: compare at Ps. xxxvii. 49. It is maintained, in opposition to this, that it is against all experience that the wicked do not prosper till their end. But experience only shews that the rule has exceptions: -exceptions confirm the rule. Lactantius, on the death of Persecutors, Leo's History of the French Revolution, the Life of the poet Burger, no less than that of the Emperor Napoleon, furnish remarkable proofs in its favour. The exceptions are de-signed to perplex those who do not go into the sanctuary of God. The recompense also, on this side, should, according to the de-sign of God, remain always an object of faith. Here also God conceals himself, in order that he may be found by those who seek him. That this is so seldom done even by the well dis-posed, that even they are so much inclined to look upon the righteousness of God as inoperative in this life, is a melancholy proof of the degeneracy of the church, and of the lamentableprevalence of infidelity. In the time of the church's vigour, the eyes are open for the tremendous judgments of God, and the sight of these forms the roots of the living hope of a future judgment. The necessary consequence of modern ideas is, that those sacred narratives, in which the avenging hand of God is introduced, as every where manifest, have had given to them a mythic interpretation. Finally, there is in all probability a reference to Deuteronomy 32:29, "if they were wise they would un-derstand this, they would consider their end," לאהרותם יבינו: -the language there also refers to a temporal recompense, a judgment realized in the actual history.-In the first clause of the 18th verse, the object is to be taken from the verb:-"thou settest to them", i. e. "thou pointest out to them their posi-tion, their place." Slippery places, are places where one may easily slide and fall: compare Psalms 35:6. The ך`א is "only there." The sense of "ruins" is ascertained for משואות, in the only other passage where it occurs, Psalms 74:3. -In ver. 19th, ספו is not to be derived from ספה, but from סוף, "to cease" "to end." The מן is the particle of cause: compare Job 18:11, "Terrors alarm him on every side, and pursue him wher-ever he goes." Sodom and Gomorrha, Pharaoh and the king of the Assyrians, who, in the midst of their prosperity, were over-whelmed in sudden destruction, furnish examples illustrative of the Psalmist's position.-In verse 20th, the verb in the first clause is to be supplied out of the second: as a dream is de-spised upon awaking, or through awaking, the מן, as in ver 19. The waking puts the dream in its true light, as a mere fancy: -thus through the judgment of God, the prosperity of the wicked is seen to be but as a shadow, a fleeting spectre, a hol-low mask. The צלם, "the image," is opposed here, as at Psalms 39:6, to the reality. The contempt is manifested in con-temptuous conduct. In the city;-where they were annihilated and exposed to the derision of men: compare Job 34:26, "on account of their wickedness, he smites them in the open sight of others." The other translations of בעיר, are to be re-jected. Several give, "in wrath";-but עיר has never this sense: in Hosea 11:9, בעיר is "in the city":�"I enter not into the city," compare Genesis 23:10, says God, corresponding to what goes before, "I am not a man." Others suppose it to stand instead of יריiהAב;, when thou awakest, or awakenest them.But the ה of the Infin. Hiph; is very seldom omitted, (compareEwald, § 463), and was most unlikely to have been omitted here, as the most obvious sense of בעיר, is undoubtedly "in the city." The suffix would not have been wanting. De Wette himself is obliged to admit that the figure gets from the "awakening" a somewhat obscure turn. Finally, Job 20:8, is parallel: "he flies away as a dream and is not found, and is driven away as a vision of the night." In ver. 21-24, we have the great foolishness of the Psalmist, and the grace of God, which did not reject him on account of it, but delivered him from it.-Ver. 21. For my heart was embitter-ed, and I was pierced in my reins. Ver. 22. And I was dumb and knew not, I was a beast before thee. Ver. 23. Yet I remained continually by thee, thou didst lay hold of my right hand. Ver. 24. Thou guidest me by thy counsel and bringest me to honour. -The כי in verse 21, does not connect verse with verse, but paragraph with paragraph. The force of the "because", lies in the more detailed contrast drawn between the Psalmist's fool-ishness, and the grace of God. "Although," will not suit, and כי cannot be translated "when." המץ is to sour, to be sharp, Hiph. to sour oneself, to exasperate oneself, to fret. The second clause, "and I was pierced in my reins," is: I was preparing for myself a piercing pain. The בער, in ver. 22, signifies brutish dumbness: compare 49:11, Proverbs 30:2. The object of the knowledge, is the forementioned matters. The plural בהמות, is explained by what was said in the Beitr. p. 257, &c. of the use of the plural, even for an individual being, or an individual thing, when the idea appears as perfectly complete, so that there is a plurality really as well as apparently present. הכמות, as used in the Proverbs, is analogous,-wisdom, ךבפ. ומ.; but Behemoth, in Job 40:15, as an appellation of the hippopotamus, is exactly the same. We have, therefore, the Psalmist using the strongest possible language in condemnation of his own foolish-ness:-he acknowledges himself as chargeable with whatever there is of brutish dumbness, or of irrational conduct. Thatך`מע is to be interpreted, "beside thee", or "in thy fellowship", is manifest from the ך`מע of the following verse, which refers to it. The Psalmist had poured out his complaints before God, had given free course to his murmuring doubts, had conducted himself irrationally in his presence.-The expression, "and I was continually by thee," is, according to the connection, and the parallelism, not to be considered as an expression of selfpraise on the part of the Psalmist,-I was faithful to thee,-but as spoken in praise of the divine compassion and faithfulness. The "by thee," refers back to the "by thee" of the preceding verse:-he who conducted himself like a beast, was away from his proper companions. But God had condescended to keep the Psalmist by him, and to deliver him from his painful per-plexities, instead of punishing him on account of them. The right hands lay hold upon any thing-ימין, here the right side, hence the st. constr,-keep up one who is sinking, and prevent him from altogether falling down.-In ver. 24th, we have the confidence which the Psalmist obtained, after being delivered by the gracious assistance of God, from his irrational doubts and despair. He knows now that God, like a faithful shepherd, leads and guides him by his counsel and loving care, and that he will bring him from reproach to honour, and from suffering to joy, so that "the wise inherit glory, and shame is the pro-motion of fools," shall be fulfilled in his experience. The second clause, literally, "after honour thou takest me", implies, "thou takest me and bringest me in its train, or to honour." The translation, "and afterwards thou takest me with honour, or in honour," is to be rejected, because כבד is never used adverbial-ly, and לכה signifies neither to take to, or to take on, (compare at Psalms 49:15), and stands too bare without the whence, and the whither, and in כבוד אהר, Zechariah 2:12, אהר, is a preposition, and finally, because "after that", is not suitable. It is not after the guidance, but through the guidance of God, that the Psal-mist is brought to honour. Against the exposition which adopts the idea of eternal glory-"thou takest me finally to glory"-it may be urged, that אהר, has not the sense of "finally," and that כבור, cannot simply denote the heavenly glory, of which there is not one single word throughout the whole Psalm. Finally, as to the translation, "after honour",that is, "after thou hast brought me to honour," (compare Zech. ii. 12, where "after honour", stands for, "after ye have been brought to honour"), "thou wilt take me away," either merely "from the earth," to "thyself," we would observe that accord-ing to it, תקהני is too bare. The Psalmist concludes, in ver. 25-28, with an expression of triumphant confidence in God, and in his salvation. Ver. 25.Who is there to me in heaven, and besides thee I desire none upon the earth. Ver. 26. My flesh and my heart waste away, God isthe rock of my heart and my portion for ever. Ver. 27. For, be-hold, those who are far from thee perish, thou destroyest all those who whore against thee. Ver. 28. But I,-nearness to God is good for me, I place my confidence upon the Lord Jehovah, that I may proclaim all thy works.-In verse 25 the second clause is to be supplemented out of the first: who is there to me whom I desire, namely, as a helper and saviour. The soul which has wandered from its God searches all heaven and earth for help-ers and saviours. But when it has again found him, and been delivered from its doubts, he is sufficient for it, and it renounces all other saviours: comp. Psalms 16:2. The opposition is not be-tween God and other good things, (the Berleb. Bible considers our passage as a locus class., for the pure love of the mystics), butbetween God and all other saviours. In verse 26 the כלה is to be taken hypothetically:-though it were come to the last ex-tremity with me, to death; but, by the grace of God, it will not come to this: compare Ewald, § 626. The heart is named as the seat of vitality; and God the rock of the heart, as its true supporter: compare Psalms 18:2. In reference to "my portion," that is, "my helper and saviour," compare Psalms 16:5. The verse is to be considered as a compend of Job 19:25-27 : compare especially the 26th verse, "and after my skin, this body is de-stroyed, and without my flesh I shall see God." Even Job does not think that it will come to this with him, as indeed it cannot; but though it were to come to this, yet even in this case, confiding in the power and love of God, he is sure of his deliverance. It is clear as day that this passage contains the germ of the doctrine of the resurrection. The "for" in verse 27th refers to the whole contents of verses 27 and 28. The righteous recompense of God is the ground of the confidence previously expressed. "Thy far ones" = those who keep themselves far from thee. "To whore" is used in the Penta-teuch of other kinds of declension besides the worship of idols, Leviticus 20:6, Numbers 14:33; and that it is not to be confined to this here, is manifest from the preceding description of the wicked, in which great prominence is given to their moral depravity.-That the "nearness of God," in verse 28, is equivalent to "that I keep myself to God," (compare Zephaniah 3:2, James 4:8), is manifest from the parallelism-to "the nearness of God" there corresponds "trust placed in him,"-and from the opposition: "thy far ones." The טוב good = salvation-bringing, in op-position to "they perish," in the preceding verse, stands as neutr. The clause corresponding, in the second part of the Verse, is, "to make known (because I have got occasion to make known) all thy works"; whoever keeps near God, receives sal-vation, and whoever places his trust in him, gets occasion to praise him. Psalms 74. THE prayer to help the people sunk in the deepest misery, ver. 1 and 2, is followed by its basis, which consists of a picture of this misery, in ver. 3-9: the sanctuary is destroyed, and all traces of the presence of God among his people have disap-peared. The short prayer renewed in ver. 10 and 11 seeks, ver. 12-17, its support and stay in the consideration of the omnipotence of the God of Israel. At the conclusion, ver. 18 -23, the prayer breaks out in an expanded form. Expositors refer the Psalm partly to the Chaldean destruc-tion, and partly to the time of the Maccabees. But the reasons against the latter view which has been defended with much zeal by Hitzig, are perfectly decisive. The temple appears in the Psalm as entirely destroyed, and that by fire, in all its parts. From 1 Mac. 4:38, where the condition in which Judas found the sanctuary is described, it is evident that at that time the chief buildings of the temple were untouched, and that it was only the gates that had been burnt. 2 Mac. 1:8, 8:33, are in entire accordance with this. The reason why the Jews, accord-ing to 1 Mac. 4:28, build the holy and the most holy place, is not because these had been destroyed, but because, as is almost in so many words affirmed in verse 43, the stones which had been removed, as being polluted, had to be replaced with others. This ground is perfectly sufficient for any unprejudiced person. To this we may add, that we find nothing here of what charac-terized the time of the Maccabees, no trace of an apostate party among the Jews themselves, which Venema in vain endeavours to discover in the Psalm, no trace of any attempt to bring the Israelites to idolatry, no trace of a religious war. We stand here entirely upon Assyrian-Chaldean ground, as will be obvious on comparing 2 Kings 18:18; 2 Kings 18:19. (compare particularly 19:4 with the 10th verse of our Psalm):-the contest is not, God against God, but Man against God. Finally, in 1 Mac. 7:16, 17, the closely allied Psalm, the lxxixth, is quoted in such a way as is done only with sacred scripture. The reasons against, the Chaldean destruction will be answered in the course of our exposition. In favour of it, we may yet further urge the agree-ment between our Psalm and the Lamentations, and Jeremiah 52:12. Several expositors, from the vivid representation of what was at the time going on in ver. 5 and 6, have been led to adopt the idea that the Psalm was composed at the time when the work of destruction had just begun. But verses 3, 7, and 8, are decisive against this; for there the destruction is repre-sented as already completely finished. The author of the Psalm must have been one of the few Israelites who were left by the conquerors in the land. Asaph is named as the author of the Psalm. In those Psalms which bear his name, we must, when there are no strong rea-sons against it, conclude that the person meant is the Asaph who lived in the time of David. That he occupied a prominent place among the sacred poets, and that therefore there must be some of the Psalms of his composition, is evident from 2 Chronicles 29:30, according to which Hezekiah brought into use, in the worship of God, not only the songs of David, but also the songs of Asaph, and where Asaph is named the Seer, or the divinely illuminated, and from Nehemiah 12:46, where the days of the flower of Israelitish sacred poetry are called the days of David and of Asaph. For these reasons, we are perfectly justified in considering this Asaph as the author of Psa 50:73:78.: and these are perfectly sufficient of themselves to have procur-ed for him his poetic fame. But here we cannot have the least idea of the authorship belonging to David's time. We must not, however, on this account, convict the title of a mistake: for just in proportion as the contents are decidedly and manifestly inconsistent with David's age, was it unlikely that the title would announce that the Psalm was composed at that time. Asaph was the founder of a family of singers, who went by the name of the sons of Asaph, even in the time of Isaiah, compare 2 Chronicles 35:15, yea even in the time of Ezra and Nehemiah, Ezekiel 2:41; Ezekiel 3:10, Nehemiah 7:44; Nehemiah 11:22. That the Holy Ghost, who inspired the founder, continued to exert his influence upon the members of this family from ageto age, is manifest from the example of Jehaziel, one of the sons of Asaph in Jehosaphat's time, on whom the Spirit, of the Lord came down in the midst of the assembly, 2 Chronicles 20:14. All the sacred compositions of the different members of this family, from time to time, were classed among the songs of Asaph, just as in the title of the 62. Psalm, Jeduthun stands for the Jedu-thunic choir. If the family had not possessed a founder so very famous in this department, these Psalms, like those which bear the name of the sons of Korah, would have had inscribed on their titles "the sons of Asaph." The peculiarity of this Psalm is marked by the very fre-quent use of the נצה, for ever: ver. 1, 3, 10. It shews how the church of God, and particular individual believers, have to conduct themselves in times when every thing appears to be lost, and to lie in ruins. More particularly, we are instructed, that in such desperate circumstances, we have to overlook our-selves, and concentrate our regard upon the concerns and the glory of God: compare 2 Kings 19., where, at the Assyrian in-vasion, it is the conduct of the enemy directed against the Lord, that is most prominent, and that kindles zeal for his glory into a flame. Ver. 1 and 2.-Ver. 1. An Instruction of Asaph- Why, O God, hast thou cast us of for ever, does thine anger smoke against the sheep of thy pasture? Ver. 2. Remember thy congre-gation, which thou hast acquired of old, thine inheritance which thou redeemest, Mount Zion, on which thou hast dwelt.-On "thou hast cast off" compare at Psalms 43:2; Psalms 44:23; and on "for ever," at Psalms 13:1, and Lamentations 5:20, "why wilt thou forget me for ever". A feeble faith supposes in the severe visitations of God, that all is over for ever. The object of the Psalm is to deliver the congregation of God from these thoughts; and hence its title, a Psalm of Instruction. The smoke comes into notice as the attendant of fire: compare Psalms 18:8. That בצאן is not to be connected with the "anger" but with the "smoke", is evident from the fundamental passage, Deuteronomy 29:20, "the anger of the Lord and his jealousy shall smoke against that man," and from the parallel passage, similar to our verse, and referring to it, Psalms 80:5, "Lord God, how long wilt thou smoke against the prayer of thy people." That the מרעית is not the "feeding", but the "food", is evident,--besides the form, from Hosea 13:6, (compare Michaelis), and Jer. 25:36,also 10:21, where the "pasture" stands for the "flock who feed on it." Israel is named the pasture-flock of the Lord, be-cause he gave them possession of the fertile land of Canaan. Compare Hosea 13:6, Jeremiah 25:36; Jeremiah 25:38. The reference is pecu-liarly appropriate for the times of the captivity, when Israel was driven away from his rich pasture: compare Psalms 79:13; Psalms 100:3. Calvin: "It is to be observed that the faithful, when oppress-ed by the profane, lift their eyes to God, as if struck by his hand. For they knew that it was only in consequence of the anger of the Lord that the profane had been permitted to injure them. And hence, under the conviction that they have not to fight with flesh and blood, but that they are afflicted through the just judgment of God, they consider that the pro-per cause and fountain of all their troubles, is, that God, whose favour had formerly imparted to them salvation, had now cast them off, and considered them as no longer worthy of being his flock."-The Psalmist grounds, in verse 2nd, his prayer for the deliverance of Israel, upon the election of God, and upon the manifestations of this given from the earliest antiquity, which would not permit him to dissolve the connection of love which, through his grace, had so long existed. Moses, in Deuteronomy 9:26; Deuteronomy 9:29, based his prayer that the Lord would not cast off his people, upon their deliverance from Egypt. God acquired his congre-gation, by delivering it from the bondage of Egypt. In the second clause, גלאת occupies the place of a noun:�think of“thou hast redeemed,"-think of the redemption, compare verse 18. נהלה שבט, the inheritance-rod, is the staff with which the inheritance is measured; שבט = המדה קנה, the land-surveyor's rod, Ezekiel 40:3 : and this is used as גורל, the lot, is for the portion, for the inheritance itself. Others explain "thy in-heritance-tribe," and refer to Isaiah 63:17. But the fundamental passage is in favour of the measuring-rod, Deuteronomy 32:9, "but the Lord's portion is his people, Jacob his inheritance-line," (compare Psalms 105:11); and שבט, tribe, is never used to denote the whole of Israel. This peculiar expression occurs again in Jeremiah 10:16; Jeremiah 51:19,-a reference, which can scarcely be acci-dental. Ver. 3.-9.-Ver. 3. Lift up thy footsteps to the eternal ruins, the enemy has destroyed every thing in the sanctuary. Ver. 4. Thine adversaries roar in the midst of thy places of revelation, they make their signs for signs. Ver. 5. He makes himself looklike one lifting up the axe in a forest thicket. Ver. 6. And now they break down its carved work all at once with hatchet and hammer. Ver. 7. They set thy sanctuaries on fire, they dese-crate to the ground the habitation of thy name. Ver. 8. They say in their hearts, We will recompense it all at once, we will burn all the places of the revelation of God in the land. Ver. 9. We see not our signs, and there is no longer any prophet, and there is no one by us who knows how long.-In reference to the משאות, ruins, in verse 3, compare at Psalms 73:18. The Psalmist speaks of eternal ruins, because the complete destruc-tion had cut off all human hope of a restoration. The prayer for deliverance from misery runs on, in the second clause, into a description of that misery, which is carried forward as far as verse 9th. This description begins with the general expression: "the enemy in the sanctuary has laid every thing waste." Then follows its developement in detail; the whole scene of destruction is pictured forth in vivid colours before the eyes:--they roar, they lift the axe, they cut down, they burn. In the 8th verse, the conclusion assumes the general form of the intro-ductory clause: they burn all the places of revelation of God in the land. In verse 4, the reading ך~יד,עEומ with a Iod, whichis given by very many MSS. and editions, and is in agreement with the plu. in verse 8, is proved to be the correct one, by the feminine suffix which refers to it in verse 6. The plural is to be explained as מקדשים is, compare at Psalms 68:35. The tem-ple, according to many expositors, got the name of "the place of meeting," because the people met there for public worship. But there is a manifest allusion to the name of the tabernacle: "The Tabernacle of meeting." Now the import of this name is expressly given in Exodus 25:8; Exodus 29:42; Exodus 29:43; Exodus 29:45; Exodus 29:46, Numbers 17:19 :-the tabernacle was so called, not because the people as-sembled there, but because God met the people there: compareBeitr. P. III. p. 628, et seq. Inasmuch as אל מועד is the place where God himself dwells among his people, it appears to be the very height of all that is dreadful, that even there the enemies roar, (comp. Lamentations 2:7, "they have made a noise in the house of the Lord"), and lift up the signs of their dominion. if מעוך be rightly interpreted, it will be impossible to enter-tain the idea that the Psalm was composed during the time of the Maccabees. In this case the word would denote the synagogues. It is, however, far too lofty a word to admit ofbeing thus used. The prerogative of the temple would be in-jured. There was only one place in the land which God chose to put his name there, Deuteronomy 12:5; Deuteronomy 12:11. The signs of the ene-mies must, at all events, be interpreted as "the signs of their dominion." The connection will not allow of any thing else. When they let their signs be seen in the house of the Lord, their object can only be to proclaim themselves as masters of that house. The word never signifies usages. There is no- thing said as to what the signs consisted of, because nothing depends on that. But inasmuch as the Chaldeans, and also the Assyrians (compare Isaiah 10:13) made their own strength their God, (compare Habakkuk 1:11; Habakkuk 1:16, and Delitzsh on the last passage), and concerned themselves very little about religion, there is no rea-son whatever for supposing that the enemies brought in the images of their gods into the temple as signs of their dominion, and set up the worship of them there. The signs of their dominion are rather to be considered as of a military character; and the more so that the description directs attention not only to the setting up of military standards, but to the whole furious conduct of the enemies, for example, their shouts, their ges-tures, verse 5:-where formerly every thing had testified of the dominion of God, now every thing testifies of the dominion of the heathen. The sense in the 5th verse is: they destroy and cut down with as much indifference as if they were felling trees in a forest. The subject is the enemy of verse 3. The suffix in פתוהיה cannot, except arbitrarily, be referred to an omitted noun, or be taken as standing in a general sense. It refers, ac-cording to the usual construction of the plural with the femi-nine, to מועדים in verse 4; and the reference is quite a natu-ral one, inasmuch as the temple has all along been the subject spoken of. Before the Chaldeans set fire to the temple, which, according to Jeremiah, happened a month after the capture of the city, (Jeremiah 52:12), they removed out of it all the precious metals, ver. 17. 2 Kings 25:13. 2 Chronicles 36:18. But they could not get at these without destroying the walls, which, according to 1 Kings 6. and vii., were in part overlaid with the purest gold, and especially without destroying the beautiful carved work on the walls, spoken of in 1 Kings 6:29. There are no traces of any such destruction in the time of the Macca-bees. The second temple, from its poverty, had not so much to tempt the avarice of the enemies. Moreover, such a work supposes that the temple was devoted to entire destruction,which was not the case in the time of the Maccabees. At that time it was merely devoted to heathen worship. Instead ofמקדשך, in verse 7, many MSS. and editions read מקדשיך in the plural, thy sanctuaries; compare at Psalms 68:35. The cir-cumstance that the plural rarely occurs is in favour of this read-ing. And it becomes necessary, if we refer the first clause of ver. 8 to the sanctuary. “ They desecrate to the ground” is illus-trated by Lamentations 2:2, "he has thrown down to the ground, de-secrated." There was nothing in the least like this in the time of the Maccabees. The temple was not then levelled to the ground, and thus polluted. It remained standing. In verse 8, the נינם has the connecting vowel Kamets instead of Tseri, as is the case with נירם in Numbers 21:30; it is from ינה, to rage, here, to destroy in a rage. The suffix is generally supposed to allude to the Israelites, and a reference is made to Psalms 83:4. But we must refer it to the sanctuaries, as this word forms the subject throughout the whole passage, and especially in the parallel clause. That by "the places of revelation of God" we are to understand the temple, with all its apartments, is evident from the word itself, (compare at verse 4), from the whole con-nection, (compare at verse 3), and from the first clause, in which the "all at once" corresponds to the expression here "all in the land." The expression, "all in the land," has been incorrectly supposed not to be applicable to the temple. The sanctuaries in Jerusalem, were all the places of revelation of God that were in the land; and the circumstance, that when the temple was destroyed, there was not another such place to be found, must have peculiarly aggravated the pain which an Israelite felt, and was a proof of the extent to which God's honour was at stake, and his interests endangered. The assertion of those who are in favour of the Maccabean origin of the Psalm, that these words describe the destruction of the synagogues, is met by the remark, that in all the copious accounts which we have of the transac-tions of these times, there is nothing said of any such work of destruction. The "signs of the Israelites," in verse 9, are the signs of the dominion of their God, whose places had been oc-cupied by the signs of the enemies, verse 4. The wonderful works of God, Psalms 78:43; Psalms 86:17, form the most promi-nent of these, by which the people had been delivered, when in similar circumstances, on former occasions, such as the bondage of the Egyptians or the invasion of the Assyrians. Then fol-lows prophecy,-of the cessation of which the prophet express-ly complains in the second clause, which stands related to the first as the particular to the general. The expression, "there is no longer any prophet," has very incorrectly been maintained to favour the Maccabean reference: it is, however, altogether against it, For it takes for granted that the people of the Lord had a little while ago enjoyed the presence of pro-phets. It is only of fresh wounds that the Psalmist complains; he cannot be understood as expressing a desire for something of which the people had been deprived for a hundred years, and with the want of which they had long since become familiar. The words are to be explained from Ezekiel 7:26, where it is threatened, "and they seek (in vain) the face of the prophet," from Lamentations 2:9, "and their prophets find not the face of the Lord," and from 1 Samuel 28:6; 1 Samuel 28:15, according to which Saul got no answer from the Lord through the prophets. Jeremiah did indeed survive the destruction of the temple, (and to this reference has been made in support of the Maccabean exposition), but his prophetical office terminated with it. It was assuredly the cessation of his office that more immediately gave occa-sion to the painful cry: there is no longer any prophet. This standing ruin of the prophetical class proclaimed, even in louder accents than the non-appearance of other prophets, that God was no longer Israel's King. It was necessary, that along with the other signs of the dominion of God, this one also should cease for a long period of time, that the people might be taught how they had treated it, wherein they had offended, and might, at the same time, be led with tears of repentance to seek its re-turn.a By the "knowing how long," is meant a living know-ledge. The exact length of the captivity had been foretold by Jeremiah as fixed; but on the first infliction of the stroke, no man could take the comfort of this announcement, and no man ought to have done so, till the infliction had served its purpose.Ver. 10 and 11.-Ver. 10. How long, O God, shall the adver-a Arnd: "Such punishments were frequently inflicted upon the Jews, as it is written: At that time there was no word of God, and no prophet in the land. This is the most severe punishment and soul destitution, as, on the other hand, the pure word of God is the greatest consolation, as Jeremiah says, ch. xv: "thy words were found, and I did eat them, and thy word was to me the joy and rejoicing of mine heart." This is not observed till God and the precious treasure are away. Then men may dig holes in the earth, and run after it like a hungry dog; but it cannot be found."sary reproach, the enemy despise thy name for ever? Ver. 11. Why drawest thou back thy hand, and thy right hand? Recom- pense out of thy bosom.-In reference to the apparent contradic- tion, "how long-for ever," in verse 10, compare at Psalms 13:2. "Thy right hand," in verse 11, contains the more exact idea, just as "sun" stands related to "light" in verse 16. The righthand is the seat of strength. The annihilation, (compare כלה in Psalms 59:13), proceeds from the bosom of God, inasmuch as his omnipotent right hand is at the time reposing inoperative there. The reading of the text is ק.הe without the Iod, the morerare form: Proverbs 17:23, Job 19:27 : the Massorites, as usual, have substituted the more common form with Iod.aa Still Hitzig falsely maintains that the reading in the text is הוק. Hiller has given the correct explanation of this, and a whole class of similar cases, de Arcano Chethib. et Keri, p. 29: notandum est hie, ubi Vau aut Iod in vocalibus homogeneis quiescentes, in una lectione expressae, in altera neglectae fuerunt, placuisse Massorethis quiescentem in Chethibo transponere vel post vocalem ejus literam scribere heterogeneam: in margine autem vel transpositam quiescentem vel non transpositae quiescentis homogeneam, comp. p. 251. Ver. 12-17.-Ver. 12. And God is my king of old, who works salvation in the midst of the land. Ver. 13. Thou break-est through the sea by thy strength, thou cleavest through the heads of the dragons in the water. Ver. 14. Thou dashest to pieces the heads of leviathan, thou givest him for food to the people of the wilderness. Ver. 15. Thou cleavest the fountain and the flood, thou driest up the perpetual stream. Ver. 16. Thine is the day, thine also is the night, thou hast prepared light and the sun. Ver. 17. Thou hast set all the boundaries of the earth,--as to summer and winter, thou hast made them.-On verse 12, Calvin: "The faithful mingle contemplation with their prayers, in order that they may collect new power of faith, and grow more full of earnestness in prayer. For we know how difficult it is to rise above all doubts, and to feel free and joyful in prayer. Here also the faithful recall to their recollection the memorials of the compassion and the power of God, by which he has made it known throughout all generations that he is the king of his elected people." God is named the King of Israel, as being their beloved deliverer, guardian, and provider. And inas-much as he has manifested himself as such of old, by the mighty deeds by which he delivered his people from Egypt, he mustcontinue yet farther to do so. What he was, guarantees what he will be. The participle denotes the usual dealings of God. The plural ישועות point to the rich fulness of salvation. That we can-not, with Stier, explain "in the midst of the land," as meaning in the midst of the earth," is obvious from the reference to Exodus 8:22 and verse 8. The words denote the comprehensive nature of the salvation: whoever has obtained possession of the in-terior of a country has got the ascendancy over the whole boundaries,-whatever is done there, extends to the whole cir-cumference: compare, besides, Exodus 8:22, "that thou mayest know that I the Lord am in the midst of the land, i. e. over the whole extent of Egypt," Isaiah 10:23. In ver. 13-17, the Psalm-ist turns to the contemplation of those mighty deeds, which im-plied divine omnipotence, to sink into which is so very com-fortable to helpless feebleness. That it is only the divine omni-potence, and not the love of God, that is brought before our minds, is evident from "thy power", in the introduction, and from the consideration of every separate particular. The sevenfold repetition of the emphatic "thou" is assuredly not accidental, standing as it does in striking contrast to the powerless "I": it forms in fact the delivering right hand which rescues it froth the deep waters. That the preterites in ver. 13-15, although they stand connected with a description of historical events, denote something going, something which God is still doing, (compare on the parallel passage Psalms 66:6, "he turns the sea into dry land," &c.), is probable from "thou givest" in verse 14, and the mention of the floods in verse 15, while the history records the drying up of only one stream, the Jordan. In verses 13 and 14, the only historical event is the restraining of the sea by God, in reference to the dividing of the Red Sea: the dragon and leviathan are merely poetical fi-gures. These appear as monarchs of the sea, and their subjec- tion as a sign of its. The two ideas, the subjugation of the sea, and that of the great sea monsters, appear in connection in the passage Is. Ii. 9, 10, which the Psalmist had decidedly before his mind: "Awake, awake, put on strength, O arm of the Lord, who bringeth down pride, (not brought down, for in that case the 11th verse would not connect well,-it is, as here, something going on), pierces the dragon? Art thou not he who drieth up the sea, the waters of the great flood, who maketh the depthsof the sea a way for the ransomed to pass over?" and also inJob_26:12; Job 26:13, " by his hand he puts in motion the sea, andby his understanding he smites the pride of the raging sea: by his breath the heaven becomes clear, his hand pierceth the fly-ing serpent." The last appears there as the Queen of the sea: compare also Psalms 104:26. The inhabitants of the wilderness, (compare at Psalms 72:9), are the inhabitants of the wilderness which bounds the sea, particularly the Arabian sea, the Ichthy-ophagi, who depend for their support upon the sea beasts cast up on the land. According to the common interpretation, the dragons and leviathan are intended figuratively to represent the Egyptians and Pharaoh, (compare Ezekiel 29:3; Ezekiel 29:4, where the cro-codile occurs as the emblem of the Egyptians); and the inha-bitants of the wilderness are the beasts of the desert, who got for their food the carcases of the Egyptians. But, in opposition to this, it is to be observed, that throughout the whole para-graph it is the dominion of God over nature, and not over man, that is described:-the sea, verses 13 and 14, the fountains and rivers, verse 15, the day and the night, &c. Besides, in the passage quoted from Job, the piercing of the flying serpent oc-curs in connection with the general manifestation of the power of God over nature. And still further, the Psalmist has appliedthe word לעם, to the inhabitants of the wilderness, as if for the purpose of intimating that it was men and not beasts that he meant. The use of the word in Proverbs 30:25, as applied to ants, will not prove that it may stand for beasts here. There is a reason in the connection for the reference in that passage; but there is none here: the similarity of the ants to men is what is there spoken of. And, finally, to all this we may add, the remarkable agreement between the passage and what the an- cients have recorded of the Ichthyophagi.a The לויתן, in ver. 14, denotes the species. The plural does not occur. The histori- cal foundation of verse 15 is to be found in the supply of water granted in the wilderness, Exodus 17 :and Numbers 20., and in the, opening of the passage through the Jordan. The Psalmist considers these wonderful works of God, as being always re-peated. "To cleave" is a poetical expression for "to cause to break forth by cleaving": compare Job 28:10. Constantly- enduring rivers, are large rivers which are not dried up in thea Compare the passages in Bochart, Georgr. S. 1. 4. 100:2. "Agatharchides says: they live upon the whales cast up on the shore; Diodor.: they are supported by the whales cast up on the shore, having at the time abundance of food on account of the great size of the beasts found, &c."heat of summer. The epithet tends to exalt the wonderful power of God. The Berleb. Bible: "Thou art also he who driest up the rivers of passion when they are like to break forth in such a way as to overflow every thing."-The church turns from the manifestations of the omnipotence of God in his-tory to his mighty deeds at creation, verses 16 and 17, which are continually renewed in providence. Day and night are thine,-they belong to thee, according to the parallelism, as their creator. The light and the sun are related to each other as the special to the general, compare verse 11: the sun being the most glorious of the heavenly luminaries, compare Genesis 1:16. The boundaries of the earth, in ver. 17, are its boundaries next the sea. The Psalmist here refers again to the history of the creation: compare at Psalms 24:2. At the conclusion, ver. 18-23, we have the expanded pray-er.a-Ver. 18. Remember this: the enemy reproacheth the Lord, and a foolish people despiseth thy name. Ver. 19. Give not to the desire of the blood thirsty thy turtle dove, the life of thy poor ones forget not for ever. Ver. 20. Remember thy covenant, for the darknesses of the earth are full of the habitations of violence. Ver. 21. O let not the oppressed turn back ashamed, may the miserable and the poor praise thy name. Ver. 22. Arise, O God, fight thou our battle, remember thy reproach by the foolish man continually. Ver. 23. Forget not the voice of thine adver- saries, the tumult of thine opponents riseth up continually.-That in verse 18 the address is not to the foolish, (compare at Psalms 14 :-think of this, thou foolish man whom the Lord despises-, but, as it is throughout the Psalm, to God, is evident from the second clause, and from verses 2 and 22. In ver. 19, נפש stands, as it not unfrequently does, in the sense of desire: the desire is a poetical expression for the rapacity of the enemies, which is similar to that of wild beasts, to whom the innocent defenceless and timid doves are given over for prey. Many expositors translate: give not up to the ravenous beasts of prey the soul of thy doves. But הית cannot be the stat. absol., and the form of this case, which in general is not well ascertained, in ת--,cannot be adopted with this word, which is one of very common a Amyraldus on ver. 8: "From this verse to the end, the prophet brings forward and blends together with wonderful skill, all those considerations which might move God partly to compassion, and partly to zeal." occurrence. Be sides היה, is not used of wild beasts, without an epithet, except in reckoning, as in Genesis 7:14.a Others: "give not thy doves to the greedy host, the host of thy poor ones for- get not for ever." But היה, in the sense of a "host," appears, to belong exclusively to the age of David, (compare at Psalms 68:10); and it is scarcely suitable here to apply the word "host", both to the scattered little company of the miserable remnant, and to the great throng of the wicked. Remember the covenant, verse 20: the right method of prayer is to hold up before God his covenant and his promises.b In the second clause the refe-rence is to Genesis 6:11; Genesis 6:13, where it is said of the time before the flood: "for the earth was full of violence through them, and behold I recompense them with the earth." This undoubted reference shows that by the ארץ we are not to understand the land, but the earth. The ארץ מהשכי stands opposed to the שאול מהשכי, and signifies, "the earth is full, on which there is darkness, as there is on Sheol": compare Psalms 143:3, "for the enemy hath persecuted my soul, he hath smitten my life down to the ground, he hath made me to dwell in "dark places, where are the dead of eternity," Lamentations 3:6, where the same ex-pression occurs, and Psalms 88:6. The common interpreta-tion is: the lurking places of the land are full of the habitations of violence. But against this we would urge, with Michaelis, that the plural מהשכים always involves the notion of misery; further, the proud conquerors do not conceal themselves with their wickedness in lurking places; and there seems no reason why the lurking places should be full of the habitations,-the a Venema: The word הית without an epithet added, does not denote a wild beast, but is accustomed to have every where an epithet along with it, either "of the field," "of the earth," or "of the reeds."b Arnd: The prophet here grounds his prayer upon the covenant of grace, which God had made with the people of Israel. God had confirmed this covenant by a strong oath, and by many wonderful works, with the beloved land; and it was the peculiar source of consolation, and place of refuge to the Jews in all their trouble: thus Daniel prays, ch. 9. "0 Lord who keepest covenant and grace to those who fear thee," thus we read in Psalms 111. "He re-members his covenant for ever," and thus aged Zecharias, Luke i. says, "He hath remembered his holy covenant, and his oath which he swore to our father Abraham." We also may therefore rely firmly and surely upon the eternal covenant of grace, which God in the New Testament has made with us in Christ, through his merit and death, whereby he has reconciled us, and ob-tained forgiveness of sin and eternal life." expression ought rather to have been, "they are the habita-tions."-“ May they praise,” in verse 21, is equivalent to "grant that they may be able to praise."-On "the tumult ascends continually," in verse 23, compare Genesis 4:10; Genesis 18:21; Genesis 19:13. "Forget not" stands in the back ground, and therefore there is no reason to adopt the somewhat flat rendering of some, "which rises." Psalms 75. THE people praises the Lord in trouble, sure of salvation from him, verse 1, for he has promised to appear for judgment, and, with the omnipotence which he manifested at creation, to establish the tottering earth, verses 2 and 3. Supported on the promise of God, Israel turns round to his haughty foes, and ex-horts them to bring down their pride, inasmuch as the hope of his deliverance is not founded on his earthly neighbours, but upon God in heaven, who even now is preparing judgment upon the pretended conquerors, verses 4-8. At the conclusion, the people express their determination to praise the Lord continual-ly, for the salvation of which in faith they are sure, and their confident assurance, that they will triumph in the Lord over all wickedness, verses 9 and 10. The Psalm contains the complete number ten. This is divid-ed into a three, (at the end of the third verse, there is a Selah), and a seven. The seven is divided into a five and a two. The two of the conclusion, and the three of the introduction, give five, corresponding to the five of the first part of the second half,-so that thus both the usual divisions of the ten, are here artificially wrought together. There are very decisive reasons for maintaining that the Psalm, was composed during the time of the distress under Hezekiah. The triumphant tone of the Psalm, does not allow us to descend to the time of the falling, or rather fallen state. Ver. 4-8, render it quite evident that the Psalm was called forth by some severe distress on the part of the church of God; compare especially "the wicked of the earth," in verse 8. We have here, as in Psalms 46. a catastrophe of a universal character: according to ver. 3, the whole circle of the earth is shaken, andthe whole circle of the earth will be calmed by the manifesta-tions of might on the part of God. The catastrophe of the Assyrian invasion was the only one of this kind that ever oc-curred in all history. According to ver. 2 and 3, the people are quieted in the midst of their trouble, by an assurance of divine assistance. This happened at the time of the Assyrian invasion, by the prophecy of Isaiah. In ver. 6, the places are named, from which Israel might possibly obtain human assist-ance,-the East, West, and South. The omission of the North, indicates that the enemy had come from that quarter;-and the Assyrians did make their entrance into Canaan from Syria. To this we may add, that the Psalm is closely related to the xlvi, (compare at Ps. iv), which undoubtedly belongs to the Assyrian period, and that the following Psalm, which is also closely re-lated, and is inscribed with the name of Asaph, (compare at Ps. lxxiv), belongs also to the same era. The question may be asked: was the Psalm composed before, or after the Assyrian invasion. Ewald adopts the latter sup-position. The enthusiasm of the Psalm, he supposes, has been awakened by a glance at the first visible announcement of a great general judgment of God upon all nations. But there are decisive reasons in favour of the former view, which indeedwould never have been abandoned, had it not been supposed, that there was an incongruity in conceiving of a song of triumph sung by the church, before the victory, and while the trouble was still immediately lying upon her. In the Title, “ To the chief musician, destroy not, a Psalm of Asaph, a Song of praise,” the expression, "destroy not," (compare at Psalms 57:1), which does not occur in the lxxvi, where we find the celebration of the victory, after it had been gained, shews that, under "Lord God, we praise thee," there lies concealed, "Lord, have mercy on us."a On the supposition that the Psalm was composed after the deliverance had been obtained, there is assuredly too, little said about it, and the basis laid for hope in the future, is too narrow. The thanksgiving and the praise in verse 9, are merely promised for future assistance,-a proof that as yet nonea The Berleb. Bible: "As these words are really a prayer, while at the same time the Psalm is thrown into the form, not of petitions, but of a thanks-giving, it ought to be considered as a thank-prayer, uttered before hand, and containing petitions within it." had been imparted. Finally, the following Psalm, which was also composed by Asaph, expresses thanks and joy, for the assistance which had been already obtained. The two Psalms make up one entire whole, if the lxxvth be considered as a song of triumph over what had been promised. The Psalm is consequently to be considered as a lyrical com-panion to the prophecies, which Isaiah delivered in view of the threatened destruction, as a testimony to the living faith, with which the church at that time received the word of God, and as an intimation to the church at all times, that through a similar faith, she shall participate in a similar deliverance. The exhortation which Hezekiah in his time, addressed to the people, according to 2 Chronicles 32:7; 2 Chronicles 32:8, is exactly parallel: "be strong and courageous, be not afraid nor dismayed for the king of Assyria, for there is one greater with us, than with him: with him is an arm of flesh, but with us is the Lord our God, to help us and fight our battles" Ver. 1-3.-Ver. 1. We praise thee, O God, we praise, and near is thy name, they publish thy wonders. Ver. 2. "For I shall fix a time when I shall judge righteously. Ver. 3. The earth, with all its inhabitants, is dissolved, I have weighed its pillars."-The object of the praise of God in verse 1, is his glory, to the con-templation of which the church has been raised by the announce- ment of salvation from him. The name of God, (compare at Psalms 20:1; Psalms 23:3; Psalms 29:2), may be considered as near with a two-fold reference: objectively, as when in his historically illus-trated glory, he comes near to deliver his people, (compare Deuteronomy 4:7, Isaiah 30:27, "behold the name of Jehovah comes from afar"); and subjectively, when the consciousness of this glory has been awakened in the mind, compare Jeremiah 12:2. The name of the Lord is here said to be near in this latter sense. "Thy name is near," stands in the middle between, "we praise thee", and "they publish," and is connected with the former, not with a "because", but with an "and." The "wonders" of God are those which are past, and those which are anticipated by faith as future. One of God's wonders placed before the eyes, gives living reality also to all the others. With the future, the past also is brought to the present.-In ver. 2 and 3, we have the grounds of the confidence which the church expressed in ver. 1: God has promised to her his help. Both verses con-tain the words of God, which are uttered in reply to the addressof the church: you may well be thus full of my praise, for, &c. מעור is the point of time which God has fixed for executing his purposes: compare Psalms 102:13, thou wilt arise and have mercy on Zion, for the time to be gracious to her is come, yea the set time, Habakkuk 2:3, Daniel 8:19; Daniel 11:27; Daniel 11:35. At this point of time, the eye of faith shall, in the midst of suffering, be steadily directed towards God. Arnd: "Our God, who governs the world by his omnipotence and wisdom, has appointed to all things a boundary, and has also fixed a time and an hour for his judgment, and when this comes, he re-veals his judgments, and no man can hinder them. God with-holds his punishment for a very long time, but at last it comes with certainty, and makes no delay. Even the heathen have learned this from experience, according to the Saying: sera tamen tacitis papa vent pedibus, and also in the words of Val. Maximus, tarditatem poence gravitate compensat. That point of time comes when the chastisement of the church has been brought to a close: compare Isaiah 10:12, "And it shall come to pass, that when the Lord hath performed his whole work on Mount Zion and on Jerusalem, I will punish the pride of the king of Assyria." Several, after the example of the Septuagint, give: "when I take a point of time." But in this case verses 2 and 3 stand too much like an aphorism: their connection with ver. 4 is not indicated. On מישרים compare at Psalms 58:1. We have in this and the two following verses the substance of Isaiah's prophecies as delivered at that time: compare, for example, Isaiah 37:33-35, "Therefore, thus saith the Lord to the king of Assyria, He shall not come into this city, by the way by which he came by the same shall he return, anddefend this city," etc.-The earth, in consequence of the success of the conqueror of the world is, as it were, dissolved, sunk back into its ancient chaotic state, but the same omnipotence which at that time brought its dissolution to an end, shall aid it now. That the first clause refers to the deliverance obtained by the destruction of the Assyrians, is evident from the parallel passage Psalms 46:6; Psalms 46:7, "the peoples roar, the kingdoms shakethe earth melts": compare ver. 2, "therefore we are notafraid, though the earth is changed, and the mountains shake in the heart of the sea." Several expositors take תכנתי as a prophetic praeterite: I will set fast its pillars. But תכן never signifies "to set fast", but always "to weigh," "to value": andtherefore the word must refer to the creation:-I have weighed, and, in proportion to their size, I have placed them, compare Job 38:4-7. "Whatever our God has created, that he can and must maintain,"-in this way, what God has once done is a guarantee for what he will now do. Ver. 4-8.-Ver. 4. I say to the proud, "be not proud,"and to the wicked, "lift not up the horn." Ver. 5. Lift not up your horn on high, speak not rashly with proud neck. Ver. 6. For not from the rising of the sun, and not from the going down of the sun, and not from the wilderness of mountains. Ver. 7. But God judgeth, he putteth down one, and setteth up another. Ver. 8. For a cup is in the hand of the Lord, and it is foaming with wine, it is full of mingled drink, and he poureth out of it, and its dreg all the wicked of the earth must sip, they must drink. -The people, confiding in the promise of the Lord, address, in ver. 4, in a triumphant tone, their haughty enemies. It is clear from ver. 9th and 10th, that it is not the Psalmist, but the Church that speaks: compare also, "we praise", in ver. 1. Ac-cording to some expositors, (Koester), the address of God is still continued in this verse; according to others, (Tholuck), in ver. 5th; and according to others, (Hitzig), even in ver. 6th. But ver. 7th, where God is spoken of in the third person, is con-nected with verse 6th, by a "for", and this verse is again con-nected in the same way with ver. 5, and verses 4 and 5 cannot be disjoined from each other. To this we may add, that by these assumptions, the formal arrangement of the Psalm would be destroyed, the Selah stands at the end of the preceding verse, and the expression, "I say", at the beginning of this one,indicates a change of speaker. In reference to הוללים, com-pare at Psalms 5:5:73:3. Lift not up your horn, i. e. furiously, and from a sense of your strength, and with the intention to strike: compare the fundamental passages, Deuteronomy 33:17, and 1 Samuel 2:1; 1 Samuel 2:10, and also Psalms 89:7; Psalms 89:24; Psalms 92:10; Psa_148::14. -In verse 5, pm is according to the accusative, and the pa-rallel passages Ps. 31:18, 94:4, 1 Samuel 2:3, the accus., rash. Isaiah 37:36, furnishes the commentary, where the rash speeches of the Assyrians are put to the test. "In the neck" is, so that the neck is rendered prominent by it:-the neck more particularly displayed the pride, compare Job 15:26, Jeremiah 16. -In verses 6 and 7, we have the reasons why the wicked should not give full scope to their arrogance and haughtiness,as directed against the Israelites. They might indeed do so, were the Israelites, in the approaching contest, looking for help from the earth,-for help from the east, the west, or the south, against the north. The enemies might indeed scoff at such foolish hopes. But, inasmuch as the decision comes from above, from Israel's God, who puts down one, viz. the heathen might, and lifts up another, viz. his own miserable people, it is not a time to triumph but to tremble, in dread expectation of the coming judgment. Verse 6 is to be supplemented from the 7:-for it is neither from the east, &c. that the decision comes, that we expect the enemy to be brought down and ourselves to be raised up. That the Psalmist is not speaking of the quarters of heaven general-ly, but especially of countries around Palestine, is manifest from "the wilderness of mountains." This is a poetical term, de-signed to denote the mountainous districts of Idumea and Arabia situated to the southward of Canaan, and in which lay Horeb and Sinai: compare Deuteronomy 11:24, and Joshua 1:4, where the wilderness is named as the southern boundary of Canaan:--what is there denoted by the article is here expressed by הרים. The mountainous desert was designedly named last, and with special emphasis:-it was on this side that Egypt lay, on whose assistance Israel founded his hope of deliverance, ac-cording to the foolish imagination of the Assyrian, who, like the world even in our own day, could not conceive of a living con-fidence in a heavenly helper: compare Isaiah 36:4-6, "Thus saith the great king, the king of Assyria, . . . . On what trustest thou that thou risest up against me? behold thou trust-est on this broken reed, Egypt: whoever trusts on such a thing, it will go into his hand and pierce it: thus is Pharaoh king of Egypt to all who trust in him." Several MSS. read רבAד;מi.מi,the status absolutes; and several expositors, heedlessly enough, following this reading, translate: and not from the wilderness cometh elevation. This reading, however, is merely the product of exegetical imbecility. The mere "elevation comes" is not suffi-cient; it would have been necessary to have added the idea of "that of the righteous over the enemies," in order to explain the connection of ver. 6 and 7 with ver. 4 and 5, and of ver. 8 with ver. 6 and 7. In verse 7th the כי retains its usual sense of "for"; al-though, from viewing the relation under another aspect, we may use "but", "God" stands opposed to the earthly powers in the east, &c. The church looks always above. He brings down one: theBerleb. Bible, "who is proud and fancies himself secure." But setteth up another: "the miserable": compare 1 Samuel 2:7, "the Lord makes poor and makes rich, he brings down and lifts up." The Psalmist appears to have had the song of Hannah distinct-ly before his mind. The Lord will soon show that the decision depends on him, as he is just rising up to judge and to annihi-late the wicked, verse 8. On "the cup of the Lord" as an em-blem of judgment, compare at Psalms 60:3. The ך`סמ is not "mingling," but "mingled drink", or "wine with which roots have been mingled", (compare the exposition in Isaiah 5:22), by which its intoxicatiug power was increased; so that we can re-fer the מלא, and also the המר to the cup and not to the wine, The ך`א stands in its usual sense �gonly�h: they sip only, that is, there is nothing else for them than to sip its dregs (the dregs of the cup-כוס is used with both masc. and femin.), or they must sip it out to the dregs. Ver. 9 and 10.-Ver. 9. And I will declare for ever, I will sing praise to the God of Jacob. Ver. 10. And I will cut off all the horns of the wicked, the horns of the righteous shall be exalt- ed.-At "I will make known", in verse 9, the object is to be taken from what goes before,-the judgment of God.-I will cut off,-through the grace of God, and in the strength which God grants me. How little reason there is for supposing, that God speaks here again, is evident from comparing the fundamental passage in Petit. (see at verse 4), from which it appears at the same time, that the speaker here is not a single individual, but the people: compare also Numbers 23:22. Psalms 76. THE Lord, who has glorified himself among Israel by his deeds, and has fixed his habitation at Zion, has there broken the might of the conqueror of the world, ver. 1-3. This event is celebrated in the main division, ver. 4-10: the Lord is mightier than all the plunder-and-victory-thirsty kingdoms of the world; this has been manifested by the overthrow of the mighty ene- mies accomplished by his omnipotence, and by the rest procur-ed through his judgments to the wildly agitated earth. In the conclusion, ver. 11 and 12, the Psalmist grounds on this greatevent an exhortation, to the faithful to thank God, and to the heathen to do homage to him by gifts. The division of the Psalm into four strophes of three verses each is inadmissible. Verse 10 cannot possibly be disjoined from the preceding verse, with which it is connected by a "for", and be bound up with what follows. The Selah at the end of verse 9 is not decisive in favour of this assumption, which vio-lates the sense. It stands in reference to "the earth was afraid and became quiet", at the end of verse 8: this rest of the earth should meet with an echo in the souls of believers. The Psalm may be much better divided into a main-body of seven verses, an introduction of three, and a conclusion of two: these latter making up five, the signature of a half. The arrangement is the same as that of Psalms 75., with this difference, that here the whole number Isaiah 12, while there it Isaiah 10 verses, and that the main-body here consists of 7, and there of 5 verses. It is perhaps not accidental, that the two Psalms, which are strictly connected together, contain between them, including the titles, twenty-four verses. It is very extraordinary that Koester should still maintain that it is not possible to learn from the Psalm itself the occasion on which it was composed. There are very satisfactory reasons for referring it, as the translators of the Septuagint and the Vulgate saw, to the Assyrian catastrophe. The preceding Psalm was composed in prospect of this, and the Psalm before us after its actual commencement.a The same animated appearance and courageous tone which characterize the prophecies and also the Psalms of the Assyrian period, (comp. besides, Psalms 75. especially Psalms 46.), meet us in this Psalm. It celebrates, according to verse 3, a mighty over-throw of the enemies, which put an end at once to the war. This overthrow took place, according to the same verse, before Jerusalem; on which Jarchi remarks, that within the whole compass of sacred history, there occurs no other example of the overthrow of the enemy before Jerusalem. The overthrow took place without any co-operation on the part of the people, and by an immediate exercise of divine omnipotence, ver. 3, 6, and 8. God has manifested himself as one who cuts off the breath of a The relation of the two Psalms was therefore correctly stated by Gurtler: "it tells that the divine judgment which was promised in Psalms 75. had been executed on the enemies of the church."princes, ver. 12 the enemies are not only driven away, they are put to death. The catastrophe is an event in the world's history: all the meek of the earth are delivered through the judgment of God, ver. 9, the tumultuous earth is, in conse-quence of this, quieted, ver. 8, and God has manifested himself as terrible to the kings of the earth, ver. 12. The exhortation to the heathen to honour God by presents, ver. 11, is in accordance with the narrative as given in 2 Chronicles 32:23, that they ac-tually did so in consequence of the destruction of the Assyrian army. The title: To the Chief Musician, for stringed instruments, a Psalm, of Asaph, a song of praise, is followed by the introduc-tion, ver. 1-3. Ver. 1. God is known in Judah, in Israel is his name great. Ver. 2. And his tabernacle was in Salem, and his habitation in Zion. Ver. 3. Thither he broke the flames of the bow, shield and sword, and battle. Selah.-God's being known in Judah, ver. 1, comes into notice as representing that rich fulness of deeds of omnipotence and grace, by which he has made himself known. If God was known and celebrated by his, church under the Old Testament dispensation, he is infinitely more so now under the New, for which there has been reserved the most glorious revelation of his power and grace. In Israel: -which at that time only existed in Judah. He was the heir of all the ancient associations of the whole people. "His ta-bernacle" renders it evident that we cannot translate ויהי in verse 2 by "it is": the, correct translation is: it was. The sanctuary could only be thus named, inasmuch as, at the begin-ning, on its being first placed on Mount Zion, it had the form of a tabernacle or tent. The ancient name Salem, Genesis 14:18, of which Jerusalem was merely an enlarged form, (Salem, thesure and peaceful place, Jerusalem, ירוששלם,�\"On Balaam," page 20,-the peaceful possession), is used here to in-dicate that it is significant: wherever the Lord dwells, security and peace are there, compare Psalms 46:4; Psalms 46:5.a The שמה, verse 3, a Much doubt has been cast upon the identity of the Salem in Genesis 14:18, and Jerusalem. But the following are decisive reasons in its favour: 1. The passage before us. 2. The Jewish tradition, (Onkelos, Josephus). 3. Adon-izedeck = Melchisedeck, is called the king of Jerusalem, in the time of Joshua: Joshua 10:3. In all probability, this was the standing name of the kings. of the Jebusites. In all the Old Testament, there is no such thing as a Salem near Jerusalem. It has been repeatedly said, that there is one in Gen. means always "hence", never "there": compare the Christol. P. 105, and Hהvernick on Ezekiel 48:35. This remark sets aside the futile attempts which have been made, on the suppo-sition of this false sense, to remove the catastrophe from the neighbourhood of Jerusalem. "Hence" = so that they are broken in falling from it. In the same way as in the remark-!ably similar passage Psalms 46:9, "who makes wars to cease to the ends of the earth, bow breaks and spear cuts asunder, cha-riot with fire burns," there is here also an abbreviated compari-son: God has rendered the conquerors as helpless as if their arrows had been broken, &c. The רשף means always "flame." The flames of the bow, are the shining glittering arrows: com-pare Job 39:33, Nahum 3:3, and Deuteronomy 32:41. It is evi- dent from Psalms 46:9, that by מלהמה we are to understand "war," and not "military equipage." In the whole verse, the subject treated of is not one single defeat, but a catastrophe such as the Assyrian, which put an end at one stroke to the whole war. The "battle", occurring at the end of the verse, points expressly to this, Arnd: "We have, here to learn the gracious deliverance granted by God from bodily enemies, how he breaks all the human earthly power which is turned against the church. For the power of the enemies is human, earthly, flesh-ly, but the power of the church is spiritual, divine, and heaven-ly. There contend and fight with each other, the spirit and the 30:18: but a closer investigation shews that שלם, is there used as an ad- ject.,-that it is not "Jacob came to Salem," but, "Jacob came in safety," in spite of the village Selim found by Robinson, P. III. p. 322, in the neigh-bourhood of Nablus or Sichem. The city of Sichem was Sichem, as is expressly observed, the first city in Canaan, properly so called, where Jacob settled on his return from Mesopotamia. Jacob's coming to this place in safety, was in fulfil-ment of the promise made to him on his departure from Mesopotamia to the land of promise, Genesis 31:3; Genesis 31:13, and also of the earlier promise made, to him when he set out to Mesopotamia in ch. 28., where בשלום, of the 21st verse corresponds to שלם here.�The only reason against the identity of Salem and Jerusalem, viz: that according to Judges 19:10, Jerusalem had formerly been called Jebus, is of no weight. This name is no more ex-clusive of the name of Salem, or Jerusalem, than Kirjath-Arba, and Mamre are exclusive of Hebron: Beitr. III. 187. Had Jebus been the only name of the city, the name Jerusalem must have originated with David. The ana-logy, however, of Zion, the circumstance that the name has no connection whatever with any thing that occurred in David's time, and the absence of every account, in the historical records of this time, which are peculiarly copi-ous, are all against this supposition. flesh: spiritual power, by faith and prayer; and earthly power, by the sword, the bow, and the spear. Thus fought Goliath and David, Hezekiah and Sennacherib, Jehosaphat and the Moabites, Asa and the thousands of the Moors, and thus from the beginning, the church has fought against all the power of tyrants, and will still continue to fight till the end of the world; -yea, the church gains the victory, and conquers through the cross, according to the beautiful figure of the 19th chapter of Revelations, where we read that ‘ the Son of God rides upon a white horse, and that out of his mouth there goeth a sharp sword, and that there follows him a great army.'" Within the spiritual as well as in the external domain, the Lord reveals himself, as one who breaks the arrows of those, who are the enemies of his church and of his faithful ones. Ver. 4-10.-Ver. 4. Thou art illustrious, more glorious than the plunder-mountains. Ver. 5. The strong hearted have disap-peared, they have sunk into their sleep, and all the men of might have not found their hands. Ver. 6. Before thy rebuke,. O God of Jacob, both have sunk into a sleep, chariot and horse. Ver. 7. Thou art dreadful: and who can stand before thee, since thine anger? Ver. 8. Thou didst cause judgment to be heard from heaven; the earth was afraid and was still. Ver. 9. When God rose up to judgment to deliver all the meek. Selah. Ver. 10. For the wrath of man praises thee, and with the remainder of wrath thou girdest thyself.-The plunder-mountains of verse 4 is a figurative expression for powerful plundering nations, conquering kingdoms. On "the mountains", as a figurative term for "kingdoms", compare at Psalms 65:6; Psalms 65:16, and the singularly similar passage Psalms 46:2; Psalms 46:3. The epithet "plun-der" is illustrated from Nahum 2:11, where Nineveh is called "the habitation of lions, and the feeding place of the young lions," 3:1, "the bloody city, from which the prey departeth not," and from Son 4:8, where the high hills, the em-blems of the kingdom of the world, which the Bride is instruct-ed to leave, that she may turn to her Bridegroom the Lord, is described as "the habitation of lions, the abode of leopards."אשתוללו, in verse 5, (the Aramaic form, Ewald, § 238), is gene-rally translated "they are robbed", "plundered": but this sense is scarcely suitable here, and the sense "to be plunder-ed" is inadmissible in the only other passage where the Hiph. occurs, Isaiah 59:15. The sense demanded there, "to be made aprey of," "to disappear," is the one which must be adopted in this passage also. Even שולל, in Job 12:17; Job 12:19, is not "to be plundered," but "to be made a prey of." The disappearance, without leaving a trace behind them, of the strong spirits, the pretended lords of the world, fits in well with the second clause. The sleep is the sleep of death: compare at Psalms 13:3, Jeremiah 51:39; Jeremiah 51:57, and particularly Nahum 3:18, "thy shepherds slumber, 0 king of Assyria, thy nobles are at rest," and 2 Kings 19:35, "and behold they were all dead corpses." The expression, "they found not their hand," is used in contempt of the strong men, who, when they wished to turn their hand against the holy city, could not find their hand:-death had deprived them of it. The מן in verse 6, is the מן of cause. The נררם is the partic. and. expresses the condition. The pretended "Latinism" (Koester), ו-ו, (et�\), "as well as," occurs in Num. 9:14, Dan. viii .13, and in other passages. The chariots are as it were cast in a deep sleep when their rattling has ceased. Tholuck: "The poet describes the scene, as if we were walking along with him through the camp, which such a short while ago was so full of life, but is now silent as death."-The Zמאז in verse 7 has its usual sense: "since," "since thy anger," "as soon as thou roast angry." In verse 8, "the earth was still," is not "a poeti-cal expression for the gloomy silence of nature under the di-vine judgment," (Koester), but it denotes the cessation of the wild uproar of the earth, the termination of the war: compare "the people's roar," Psalms 46:6, "who makes wars to cease to the end of the earth," verse 10, and here verse 3, Isaiah 14:7, "the whole earth is at rest and quiet," Joshua 14:15, and other passa-ges. The earth, as opposed to heaven, comes into notice more particularly as regards the noisy uproarious part of it, which is reduced to eternal silence in consequence of what is spoken from heaven. The meek, in verse 9, are in the first instance, and chiefly, to be found in Israel. Still the Psalmist has his eye also upon the heathen nations, who are classed along with Israel on account of their fellowship in sufferings and violent oppression. This assumption of the heathen into the number of the meek is unusual, and is to be explained from the relations of the times, which led to the prevalence of milder, views. In verse 10 the connection indicated by "for", (the "for" does not refer to what immediately precedes, but to the whole con-tents of the strophe,-it leads back to the fact, celebrated in it,of the destruction of the enemies, as its basis), the parallelism, and the history prevent us from regarding the praise as the free will praise of God. The thought is one which is frequent-ly expressed in Scripture, viz.: that wickedness, even rebellion against God, must promote his glory, inasmuch as its punish-ment calls forth the manifestation of his godhead: compare Exodus 9:16, and Ezekiel 38:16, "I bring thee into my land, that the heathen may know me when I shall be satisfied in thee:" verse 23. Romans 9:17. To gird one's self, is to arm, to prepare for battle; the girdle, is the war-girdle to which the sword was fastened: compare Psalms 45:3, 2 Kings 3:21, 1 Kings 20:11, Judges 11. God girds himself with the remainder of the wrath directed against him, (we can only think of this, and not of the wrath of God, as the suffix is wanting), i. e. the wrath of the enemies must, even to its last remnant, (compare משרים in Psalms 75:8), serve him as a weapon by which to accomplish their destruction. Ver. 11 and 12.-Ver. 11. Vow and pay to the Lord your God, all ye who are round about him: Gifts may be brought to him, the dreadful One. Ver. 12. For he cuts one the breath of princes, he is terrible to the kings of the earth.-In the first clause of verse 11, the address is to those who are members of the people of the covenant. This is evident from "the Lord your God", from the fundamental passage, Deuteronomy 23:21, "when thou makest a vow to the Lord thy God, thou shalt not be slack to pay it," and, finally, from "all ye who are round about him";-nothing similar to this is ever used of the heathen, but of Israel it is frequently said, that the Lord dwells in the midst of them, and in Numbers 2:2, we read "they shall encamp round about the tabernacle of meeting." This last reason shows, at the same time, that several interpreters have very inconside-rately connected "all ye who are round about him", contrary to the accus. with the second clause. As vows are generally made at the time of trouble, and not after deliverance has been ob-tained, the "vow and pay," must be held as equivalent to "pay what you have vowed": compare Ewald, § 418:-the fundamen-tal passage Deuteronomy 23:22, also is in favour of this. The in-definite expression, "they bring", of the second clause, (compare Ewald, § 551), receives its exact limitation from the fundamental passage, Psalms 68:18, on which also, as was shown at it, Isaiah 23:7, depends. The words are to be considered, as if read with marks of quotation. Probably, the reference to the hea-then is intended to be placed beyond a doubt by the שי, whichis always used of gifts from strangers. That the heathen responded to the exhortation of the Psalmist, is evident from 2 Chronicles 32:23, "and many brought gifts to the Lord to Jerusalem."-The 12th verse, contains the basis of the exhor-tation: for, i. e. as the preceding event shews. The רוה here is the breath of life, (compare Psalms 104:29); and the idea of pride, has been adopted without any foundation. The בצר "to cut", is generally used of vine dressers, (compare Revelation 14:18; Revelation 14:19); and the representation of the enemies, under the figure of vine dressers, occurs in der. 49:9. Psalms 77. THE congregation of the Lord cries to him in deep pain for help, and the recollection of what the Lord has done in times past, does not tend to ameliorate this pain, but rather tends to increase it, ver. 1-3, and ver. 4-6, leads to doubt as to whether Israel still holds the place of God's chosen people, ver. 7-9. But faith soon rises in its strength, and leads on to re-signation, while it makes use of those events, as sure pledges of deliverance, in which, at first, doubt had sought its nourishment, particularly the deliverance from Egypt, and the passage through the Red Sea, ver. 10-12, 13-15, 16-18, 19 and 20. As to its formal arrangement, the Psalm is ruled by the num-bers three and seven. It has seven strophes, each of three verses, With the exception of the last, in which the incomplete-ness of the sense is represented by the absence of the third verse. This defect in the conclusion, is compensated at the be-ginning, by the title,-so that the whole number Isaiah 21. The thrice repeated Selah, which stands each time at the end of a strophe, corresponds to the number three of the verses. The seven in the strophes is, as usual, divided into a three and a four: the great turning point, the transition from trembling de-spondency, to the joy of faith, is in verse 10. That the Psalmist speaks in name of the people, is evident, particularly in ver. 5 and 6, (compare the exposition): still the national reference is designedly brought forward with very littleprominence, in order that individuals may find here a fountain of consolation in their particular troubles. As regards the occasion on which the Psalm was composed, the strong prominence given to the deliverance from Egypt, leads to the conclusion, that the people at the time, were in a condition similar to that in which they were, at the commence-ment of their existence as a nation, that a second Egyptian bondage was either at the time in actual existence, or was at the very door. Several expositors have adopted the period of the Babylonish captivity. But there are decisive reasons against this. Our Psalm is related in such a striking manner to the 3d chapter of Habakkuk, that the agreement can only be explained by the supposition that the one writer made use of the expressions of the other. Delitzsch on Hab. p. 119, et seq. has endeavoured at great length, to show that our Psalm is the original composition. Among his reasons, there are at least two, the validity of which cannot be denied; 1st. The 3d chap-ter of Hab. is throughout formed after the model of the Psalm- poetry. The supposition that the prophet made use of this Psalm in writing that chapter, accounts for this. 2nd. Habak-kuk describes a future deliverance in figures borrowed from a past one. It is very unlikely that the Psalmist, who is occupied with the deliverance that was past, would have described that deliverance in language borrowed from the prophetic descrip-tion of a deliverance yet to come.-Now, as Habakkuk undoubt-edly prophesied under Josiah, the Psalm before us could not be composed at a later period than that of this king. The con-tents do not authorize us to adopt a later date, as it appears clearly, that the lamentations of Habakkuk are equally deep and painful. The ten tribes had, by that time, been carried into captivity, a fact which, according to the indications of ver. 2 and 15, formed the most aggravating cause of the Psalmist's pain; and the single remaining tribe of Judah seemed to be continual-ly threatened with a storm from the north. Jeremiah, who ap-peared first under Josiah, proclaimed from the very commence-ment of his undertaking, that this tribe would presently be re-moved in a frightful manner, and the eyes of Habakkuk were continually directed towards this dark cloud. The comparison with Psalms 74., shews how very different would have been the tone of lamentation, had the author already witnessed the de-struction of the city and temple, to which there is not, throughout the Psalm, the least reference.The object of the Psalm is to instruct us, how we may obtain consolation and peace in the severest distresses, by plunging into the earlier manifestations of the grace of God. In reference to the Title: to the Chief Musician on Jeduthun, a Psalm of Asaph, compare at Psalms 62.Ver. 1-3.-Ver. 1. I will call upon God and cry, I will call upon God, and, do thou attend to me. Ver. 2. In the time of my trouble, I call upon the Lord, my hand during the night hangs open without ceasing, my soul will not be comforted. Ver. 3. I will think upon God, and cry, I will meditate, and any spirit is sunk, Selah.-In ver. 1, after "cry", also at "my voice," the word supplied, is not " is", but " may be." According to several expo-sitors, the fut., with the ה of effort, here and in the following clauses, stands in the sense of what is usual; but there is no foun-dation whatever for this, and the great heaping up of these fu-tures, and the אזכרה ver. 11, where manifestly this future has its original sense, are all against this assumption: compare the אזכרה in ver. 4 and 12. The האזין, is the imperative: compare the האזינה, in Ps.v. 1, 17:1, 39:12. In the first part, God is, ac-cording to the rule, spoken of, and in the second clause, the address to him first preponderates, after the Psalmist has again come nearer to him. Still it occurs also in ver. 4. The imperative has very ge-nerally the abbreviated form, לטeק;הa; still the form הקטיל doesoccur, Isaiah 43:8. Jeremiah 17:8. Psalms 94. According to the common view, האזין, should be either the infin. used instead of the future,-"he will hear"; or the Praeter. with the Vau relat.--and at that time he attends to me: compare Ewald, § 299. But the Psalmist would be anticipating himself were he here ex-pressing the confident assurance of being heard. The deepest complaint goes on to ver. 9, and it is there that, for the first time, we meet the great turning point. This supposition is ad- missible, only if we consider the verse as an introduction, giving a view at one glance of the whole contents of the Psalm. But this will not do, as it forms an integral part of the first strophe. -In ver. 2, the Psalmist, as is manifest from the last words, and indeed from the whole connection, is not praising his own zeal in prayer, but depicting the depth of his pain. The נגרה, does not signify simply, "it is stretched out", but only "It is open": compare 2 Samuel 14:14, Lamentations 3:49. The stretched out, weak and powerless hand, conveys the picture of relaxation ofthe whole body. The פוג, to be stiff, to be dead, (compare at Psalms 38:8), is here to rest: compare Lamentations 2:18. The last clause alludes, as does also Jeremiah 31:15, to Genesis 37:35, where it is said of Jacob, when he got intelligence of the death of Joseph, "that he refused to be comforted." On comparing ver. 15, it is clear that the Psalmist had before his eyes, the second loss of his son Joseph which Jacob suffered, viz. the de-struction of the kingdom of the ten tribes.-According to ver. 3, the Psalmist has resolved to give way to his remembrance of God and his salvation in times past, (compare Psalms 42:4, and here vers. 6, 11, 5), though he knows that this must aggravate, still more severely the pain which he feels from his present trouble. On אהמיה and אשיהה, compare at Psalms 55:2; Psalms 55:16. Ver. 4-6.-Ver. 4. Thou holdest firm through the night watches my eyes, I am terrified and cannot speak. Ver. 5. I think upon the days of old, the years of ancient times. Ver. 6. I will think of my song in the night, I will meditate in my heart, and my spirit must inquire.-The condition of the Psalmist, as described in the 4th verse, is called forth by the consideration of the early conduct of God towards his people. Thou holdest firm, namely, by thoughts upon those things spoken of in ver. 3, 5, and 6. The common interpretation is: thou holdest the watches of my eyes, i. e. my eye-lids. But שמרה, never occurs in this sense, and the form is clearly against it. We must rather consider the word, (which only occurs in this passage), as having the same sense as אשמרי, night watches, Psalms 63:6, which differs from it only by the א prosth. and therefore not essentially. Compare on the accus., as employed in marking a point of time, Ewald, § 309. The parallel passage confirms this exposition, Lamentations 2:19, "arise, cry out in the night, in the beginning of the watches, pour out thine heart like water before the face of the Lord": compare here ver. 2. The appa-rent contradiction between "I cannot speak", and the beginning, where the Psalmist announces his intention to pour out his com-plaint in loud lamentations, is explained by Calvin in the single remark, "that sufferers do not continue long like themselves, but at one time break out in sighs and lamentations, and at an-ther time, are silent as if their throat were tied."-Arnd: "In such troubles a man is often quite powerless, so that he cannot speak, but only thinks upon God and hopes in him; thus his thoughts and his hope are instead of words; and God, whosearches the heart, knows what is the mind of the spirt."-In the 5th verse, allusion is made to Deuteronomy 32:7.-The first clause of verse 6th resumes, "I will think on God", in verse 3d. The comparison of this verse, and verse 11th, shew the incorrect-ness of Koester's rendering: I will take hold of the comforting harp. The Psalmist is resolved to call to recollection the early grace of God, for the purpose of aggravating thereby his pain: since, from a comparison of the better past, the whole misery ofthe comfortless present, came before his mind. That "in the night" is to be connected with "my song", (not "I will think during the night"), is manifest from the parallel passages, Psalms 42:8. (compare at this passage), Psalms 92:2, and especially Job 35:10. In the stillness of night, those who feared God, thanked him for his grace. The Psalmist is resolved to recall to his re-collection, this his thanksgiving, and with it, the gracious deeds by which it had been called forth. These gracious deeds are those which, in the second part, are described at length, as hav-ing been imparted to the whole people in former times. This retrospect of the past, gives occasion to the Psalmist to inquire and to ask the question, whether it be the case, that God has now completely rejected his people, whom, in former days, he had so richly favoured: he cannot think so,-the supposition seems incongruous,-yet facts are altogether in its favour. The object of the inquiry is, in this way, recorded in the the third strophe, which should be preceded by a colon. Ver. 7-9.-Ver. 7. Will then the Lord cast off for ever, and manifest his grace no more? Ver. 8. Is his compassion at an end for ever, and has his word disappeared for all genera- tions. Ver. 9. Has God forgotten to be gracious, or shut up in wrath his compassion.-The expression in ver. 8, "is his word at an end," is equivalent to, "will God never speak more, has he withdrawn his word altogether?" According to the connection, the matter referred to, is promises of assistance and deliverance, of which God had often, in times past, assured his people by the prophets, as for example, at the time of the Assyrian oppression. The complaint is expressed also in Psalms 74:9, that there is no longer any prophet, that there is no one who can tell the people the end of their sufferings. Calvin: "The answer to the ob-jection, that to those who are in possession of the law of God, his word can never fail, is that, from the weakness of the times special promises were necessary."-On הנות 3 ver. 9, the in,finitive of הנן, compare Ewald, �˜ 354. Has he forgotten to be gracious, he who has so emphatically called himself in his word gracious and. compassionate, Exodus 34:6. compare Psalms 103:8. The באף in his anger, = being angry, compare Psalms 27:9, 56:7. The matter takes now another turn. Out of those glorious manifestations of God in the past, which had hitherto tended to nourish doubt, as to whether Israel still held the place of God's chosen people, there arises at once the firm belief that he does.Ver. 10-12-Ver. 10. Then I said: it is my sickness, the years of the right hand of the Most High. Ver. 11. I make known the deeds of God; for I will recall to my mind thy won- ders of old. Ver. 12. And I think upon all thy doing, and will meditate upon thy works.-In verse 10 the Psalmist expresses his resolution of quiet resignation, which could be adopted only on the basis of trust in God and of hope, and in verses 11 and 12 he points out what it was that had led him to adopt this re-solution. The two clauses of verse 10 are to be supplementedfrom each other. The הלה signifies always in Pi. to be weak, to be sick: compare at Psalms 45:12. My sickness, is the sick-ness laid upon me by the Lord, who is expressly named in the second clause as its author, and which therefore must be borne quietly and patiently: compare Jeremiah 10:19, "Woe to me because of my wounds, my stroke is painful, but I said, this is only sickness, and I will bear it", and "thou hast done it", in Psalms 39:9. The years of the right hand of the Most High, are in themselves only the years which the right hand of the Most High has brought in. Their more immediate limitation, as years of suffering, is got from the first clause: compare 1 Peter 5:6, where also "the mighty hand of God" is limited by the connection to be his punishing hand. The שנת is used in the 5th verse in the sense of years. Those translations are to be rejected which take it as the infinitive of שנה: "a change of the right hand of the Most High", or "the right hand of the Highest can change every thing," (Luther), or "an alteration for the worse." The means by which the Psalmist reaches to this elevation, is the manifestation of the deeds of the Lord, verse 11, and he reaches to it by getting absorbed in his meditations on these deeds. The reading אזכיר, which has external evidence in its favour, is demanded by the sense. The reading in the margin destroys the sense of the "for." The פלא stands inthe singular wherever a series of wonders is spoken of, and points out the whole taken together as one great wonder. In ver. 13-15, the Psalmist begins his announcement of the deeds of the Lord, and his meditation on them, and goes on in the same strain to the end of the Psalm. Ver. 13. O God, in holiness is thy way, where is there a God, who was great as God? Ver. 14. Thou art the God who dost wonders, thou hast made known thy power among the nations. Ver. 15. Thou hast redeemed with power thy people, the sons of Jacob and of Jo- seph. Selah. The way of God, in the 13th verse, is his doing, his conduct. This is in holiness, rests upon it, i. e. it is sacred and glorious: compare at Psalms 22:3. Many translate: in the sanctuary, viz. the heavenly sanctuary, compare Habakkuk 2:20,"the Lord is in his holy temple, all flesh is still before him,"Psalms 11:4; Psalms 18:6; Psalms 29:9. But the fundamental passage is de-cisive against this, Exodus 15:11, "who is like thee among thegods, O Lord, who is like thee, glorious in holiness?" קדש:compare "glorious in power", בכה in verse 6. On the secondclause, besides the passage already quoted in Ex., Deuteronomy 3:24must be compared. Calvin: "He does not, by the comparison,recognize in the least the existence of other gods, but he throwscontempt upon the foolishness of the world for not being morecareful to cultivate the friendship of the One God, whose gloryis so manifest." On "thou hast made known among the peo-ple thy power," verse 14th, compare Exodus 9:16; Exodus 15:14. In verse 15 the deliverance out of Egypt is brought forward as thegreatest and most wonderful of all the works of God, and henceas containing the strongest pledge of future deliverance. ThePsalmist had this especially before his eyes in the 13th and14th verses, but from this verse to the end of the Psalm heis occupied with it exclusively. With the arm, so that the armthereby was brought into action, that is, with outstretched arm,Exodus 6:6. The naming of Joseph next to Jacob stands in refe-hence to the ten tribes, whose head was Ephraim, descended fromlone of the sons of Joseph, (compare Ps. 78:67, 80:1),and shews how much the loss went to the Psalmist's heart, andhow he saw in the history a pledge of its deliverance. On the"Selah" the Berleb. Bible: "do thou at the same time sinkinto the quiet and stilless of the soul, that depends on God,and be baptized, at the end, into the name of the Father, theSon, and the Holy Ghost," Ver. 16-18.-Ver. 16. The waters saw thee, O God, thewaters saw thee, they were afraid, and the floods trembled vehe- mently. Ver. 17. The clouds streamed water, the clouds caused the thunder to be heard, and their arrows went abroad. Ver. 18. The voice of thy crash whirled round, lightnings illuminated the earth, the earth moved and shook.-The sea appears, in verse 16, as the enemy of the people of the covenant, and at the sight of God fighting on their behalf, it is afraid and gives up its feeble opposition: compare Habakkuk 10. The זרם, in verse 17, Po., is to cause to stream, to cause to flow. The ar-rows of God are the lightning: compare verse 18, Habakkuk 3:11, Psalms 18:14; Psalms 144:6. The description throughout is a poetical one. For the passage of Israel through the sea (and it is this only, and not the destruction of the Egyptians that is spoken of, so that Exodus 14:24 might be compared), did not take place dur-ing a storm. It was to them a source of encouragement when they heard the thunder above them, and saw the lightning around them. In verse 18, "in a whirl" = "whirling," de-notes the rapidity with which the peals of thunder followed each other: compare Ezekiel 10:13, where the wheels, on account of theirrapid movements, are said גלגל. The word is never clearly used of a whirlwind: that it is not so used in Psalms 83:13, is manifest from the parallel passage Isaiah 17:13. Ver. 19, 20.-Ver. 19. In the sea was thy way, and thy paths in many waters, and thy footsteps were not known. Ver. 20.Thou didst lead like a flock thy people, by Moses and Aaron.-In ver. 19, the Keri reading, שבילך, thy path, is merely a bad correction from the parallelism. The last words point to the wonderful circumstance, that the waters returned after the Lord had gone through with his people. Berleb: "were not known by the Egyptians, that they might walk in them. For the waters returned immediately to the place which they had formerly occupied as soon as the Israelites had crossed, and thus covered the Egyptians," Exodus 14:26-28. Several main-tain falsely that the words refer to the wonderful passageever goes through the water leaves no trace behind. But the Israelites went through on dry land. Habakkuk 3:15 is an imita-tion of this verse. On verse 20 compare Micah 6:4. Arnd: "We have therefore here the consolation that God will lead us out of all our troubles, and that, though they be ever so great and deep, like the Red Sea, God will make a way through, con-trary to all human reason and thoughts." Psalms 78. THE Psalmist intimates in the beginning, ver. 1-4, that his object is to make a practical use, for the instruction and warn-ing of the present, of the events of the time of Moses. In pro-secution of this object, he represents, first, ver. 5-8, the destination of Israel: they should have been guided into the fear of God by the deeds and the commandments of God, and not fallen into the bad manners of their forefathers in the time of Moses. He shews next, that Israel had not proved faithful to this destination: so long as they continued under the guidance of Ephraim they forgot the deeds of God, and violated his commandments, ver. 9-11, and were in all respects like their forefathers, whose unbelief, hardness of heart, and perversity, in view of the glorious deeds of God, are described at length in ver. 12-10; they forgot unthankfully those glo-rious deeds of God by which he redeemed his people out of Egypt, (a copious description of which occurs in ver. 43-55); they provoked the Lord by their apostacy and rebellion, and brought down by this, his judgments upon them: he forsook his habitation in Shiloh, gave the ark of the covenant into the hands of the enemy, and his people to the sword, ver. 57-64. Now he has again taken compassion upon his people, and re-ceived then under his protection, but he has at the same time transferred the prerogative of Ephraim to Judah, in selecting Zion for the sanctuary, and David for the King, ver. 65-72. There is no formal arrangement throughout the Psalm, and there are no strophes, unless we are to confound paragraphs with strophes. In a Psalm of such length, and especially in one of such a decidedly historical character, the absence of a strict formal arrangement, exactly corresponds with what is the case in similar Psalms; and therefore there is no necessity for attempting, with Koester, to force one. It is, however, not ac-cidental that the whole number of verses in the Psalm Isaiah 72- 6 times 12, the signature of the people of the covenant,-and also that the description of the great deeds of the Lord in ver. 43-55, occupies 12 verses. The general object of the Psalm is to warn Israel, who had escaped the judgments of God, not to provoke a fresh judgmentby a fresh apostacy. The conclusion, however, ver. 65-72,indicates, that besides this general object, the Psalmist designed to warn the Israelites against a special sin to which they were peculiarly liable from the circumstances of the times. The dan-ger was, that of not being willing to acquiesce in the divine arrangement, by which the prerogative of Ephraim was trans-ferred to Judah, of regarding that as a usurpation which was in fact a divine judgment, and of rebelling against the sanctuary in Zion and the dominion of David and his tribe. The history renders it clear that this object was both an im-mediate and a very important one. The numerous, powerful, and haughty tribe of Ephraim, had been in possession of precedency during the whole period of the Judges. The sanctuary in Shi-loh was in the heart of it. How very determined were its claims for precedency appeared from its objections to Gideon, Judges viii. 1, and its opposition to Jepthah, Judges 12:1.a It became hence a matter of great difficulty for this tribe to acquiesce in the new arrangement of things under David; and assuredly this would never have taken place, had not David been marked out in such a decided manner by God himself. For seven years David was king over Judah alone. The success of the rebellion of Absalom may assuredly be attributed, to a very great ex-tent, to the jealousy of Ephraim as its cause.b Similar conse-quences followed the insurrection of Sheba, who was supported by the whole of Israel, while the tribe of Judah remained faith-ful to its king, 2 Samuel 20:2, Under David and Solomon, how-ever, participation in that national glory, the foundation of which was laid by these powerful kings, counterbalanced the jealousy of Ephraim, and thus broke the energy of that tribe; just as during the splendid career of Napoleon, the republicans of France remained quiet. But, after Solomon's death, it burst out into a violent flame; and the consequence of neglect-ing the warning of our Psalm, was the melancholy division which inflicted a death wound on the Israelitish nation. a Compare the important treatise of Verschuir, De AEmulatione Isr. mutua. b Compare Verschuir, p. 85: "It arose from the jealousy and envy of the tribes, who eagerly seized every occasion of attempting a revolution, and of rebelling, . . . . not so much for the purpose of placing the son on thefather's throne, as with a view to take advantage of a state of confusion, for the purpose of finding out a way by which to tear the kingdom from Judah, and to free themselves from his yoke." The method by which the Psalmist seeks the accomplish-ment of his object, is by directing attention to the events of the time of Moses. These were peculiarly well fitted, first, to bring the Israelites to a sense of their ingratitude, during the period of the Judges, and to fill them with righteous abhorrence of their former sins,-a state of mind which supplies the most powerful of all warnings against fresh transgressions. This tendency is particularly obvious in the second historical para-graph, ver. 42-55. And, second, to exhibit this apostasy by the example of their fathers, and at the same time to open their eyes to the divine judgments, the perception of which formed their only security against fresh transgressions. This tendency is particularly predominant in the first historical paragraph, ver. 12-40. In this paragraph the Psalmist holds up before the people the history, which had been written for the very pur-pose of promoting his present object, as a glass in which they might see their own face. The assertion is altogether unfounded, that the historical por-tion of the Psalm is only of secondary importance, and that the author acts contrary to his plan in going so much into detail. The introduction announces, almost in plain terms, that the pe-culiar object of the Psalm is to seek the good of the present generation, by directing attention to the events of the time of Moses. The assertion also is incorrect, that the author details the history of the Mosaic era and that of the Judges for warning. It is only the first of these periods that serves the author as a torch, (as it does to the author of the 95. Psalm): the history of the Judges is the subject to be illustrated. That the Psalm, which in the title is called "An Instruction of Asaph," belonged to the age of David, and was therefore composed by the famous Asaph, cannot be considered as doubt-ful, if we take a correct view of its contents. The last matters of fact on which the author touches, are the kingdom of David, which by the fut. in ver. 72 is exhibited as still standing, and the settlement of the sanctuary on Zion. His object is to warn the people against a possible revolt from David and from the sanctuary in Zion; he cannot therefore have possibly composed the Psalm after this event had taken place. He acts in the pro-secution of his object with such great tenderness,-not naming expressly even once the disruption which it is his purpose to pre-vent, and making no express mention whatever of any inclina-tion to this, which might exist at the time, but leaving his readers to make for themselves the practical application,-that it is ob-vious that he must have written at a time, when it was of im-portance not to irritate, for fear of increasing the dissatisfaction, by even supposing it to exist, and not to call forth the idea of the disruption, by naming it. The passion for bringing down the Psalms to the latest pos-sible date has been brought into exercise even in regard to this Psalm. To deny that the Psalm belongs to the time of David, manifests utter ignorance of its contents. Most of the recent expositors agree in the assumption, that it was composed after the captivity. De Wette, Ewald, and Koester, consider it as the "product of religious hatred against the Samaritans," pro-ceeding on the assumption, which is contrary to history, that the Samaritans were the continuation of the kingdom of the ten tribes: compare against this the Beitr. P. II. p. 3, et seq. llitzig assigns the Psalm to the age of Antiochus, because it warns against a revolt, in utter ignorance of the special object of the Psalm as dwelt upon in the concluding verses. The 69th verse shews that it must have been composed before the Chaldean destruction. The Psalm is made use of in the book of Job: compare at ver. 64. It has been urged against the an-tiquity of the Psalm, that it rises very little above the style of prose. But Venema has correctly observed: "the style is plain and easy, such as a narrative of events requires." If the Psalm undoubtedly belongs to the age of David, it is evident that important results flow from it, bearing on the criti-cism of the Pentateuch. Those references to the Pentateuch, and that too as to the generally known and recognized book of national religion, by which all the Psalms of David's time are pervaded, occur here, in unusual numbers, and in a peculiarly literal manner,-a circumstance sufficiently accounted for by the length and character of the Psalm. Should any one be still dis-posed to maintain, that the Pentateuch in David's time did not exist in a complete state, and was not generally acknowledged, (which last presupposes its composition by Moses), he will find materials enough in this Psalm to show him that such an opi- nion is utterly untenable. The assertion has even been hazarded, that our Psalm is to be regarded as a product of "the national animosity" and arro-gance of the Jews. The remarks made by Lange in the pre-face to P. L of the Life of Jesus, p. 10, with so much propriety against a similar hypothesis, which had been advanced in refe-rence to the New Testament, apply with equal force to this as-sertion. Men display very little knowledge of the Scriptures, when they attempt to discover in them the petty passions of ordinary life. Asaph, who was undoubtedly recognized by Jewish antiquity as a prophet among the psalmists, (2 Chronicles 29:30, Matthew 13:35), had indeed to say what was very un-pleasant to Ephraim; but in this he acted not as a Jewish parti-zan, (an idea quite out of place with him, who belonged not to the tribe of Judah but to the tribe of Levi), but as a servant of God. The position which he occupies was not one which he had assumed himself; he comes forward, as Jeremiah also did, as an interpreter of the deeds of God. That the accusation, which he brings against the Ephraimites, in the first instance, and also against the whole people, was a well founded one, is rendered sufficiently obvious by the division of the kingdom, and by the subsequent history of the ten tribes, who may be considered as represented here by Ephraim. The same vile spirit which, in that history, is conspicuous throughout,-Jero-boam was its representative,-was assuredly in existence during the period of the Judges, and, at the time when Ephraim was the ruling tribe, wrought consequences as disastrous to the whole nation, as it did at a later period to Israel. "We meet with this spirit in a very offensive manner on the two occasions above adverted to, in the history of the Judges. The Introduction is ver. 1-4. The Psalmist resolves to re-count the great deeds of the past, for the instruction and warning of the people of God, to transmit to posterity the in-heritance of their fathers, so urgently called for and needed at the present time.-Ver. 1. Receive my people my law, incline your ear to the words of my mouth. Ver. 2. I will open my mouth with a similitude; I will make known riddles from times of old. Ver. 3. Which we have heard, and know, and our fa-thers have told us. Ver. 4. We will not hold them back from their children, making known to the generation to come the praise of the Lord, and his wonders which he hath done.-תורה, in ver. 1, has never the sense of "doctrine," but always the sense of "the law"; and this sense is suitable here. The Psalmist comes forward as one who has authority: the "Seer," the“Prophet,” does not deliver well meant exhortations, which he submits to the judgment of his hearers, but laws, which leave no choice between obedience and destruction: compare Isaiah 1:10. "My people" indicates the love in which the effort of the Psalmist had originated. In reference to אביעה, in ver. 2, properly, "I will sputter out," compare at Psalms 19:2; and onמשל and הידת at Psalms 49:4. The Psalmist does not desig-nate as similitudes and riddles, his remarks which follow, mere-ly as such, but the historical events which his remarks expound to the people. This is evident from the expression "from times of old," and also from the 3d and 4th verses. These ap-pellations are founded on the fact that sacred history has, in every part of it, a concealed back ground of instruction, that it is a prophecy turned in the contrary direction, to which through-out the maxim is applicable, mutato nomine de to fabula narra-tur, and upon which are virtually written in legible characters thewords, READETH, LET HIM : comp. Gal.4:24, and particularly 1 Corinthians 10:6. These appellations, moreover, call upon us to separate the kernel from the shell, and to press out the wine of instruction from the grapes of history. קדם, past time, is the common term applied to the Mosaic period, (compare Psalms 74:2; Psalms 77:5; Psalms 77:11), and is to be taken here in this sense, and not as denoting the whole of antiquity. In the quotation in Matthew 13:34; Matthew 13:35, the emphasis is laid on the first clause, "I will open my mouth in parables," and the Evan-gelist gives this part of the quotation literally from the Psalm. A prophet of the Old Testament, leaving the field of abstract thought, teaches in parables, which he clothes with flesh and blood, conveys instruction in the form of history, and thus stamps with his authority this method of instruction as one ad- quate to accomplish the end in view. In all this the Evangelist, with good reason, beholds a prophecy, that Christ, the true pro-phet, the best teacher, who must fully employ every adequate means of instruction, will avail himself also of this method. In the second clause Matthew allows himself greater liberty, and gives rather an application than a proper translation. In ver. 3 the Psalmist explains more precisely what it is that he means by "similitudes" and "riddles:" these are the universally known, the well accredited deeds of the Lord, which had been handed down from generation to generation. We are not, with most expositors, to connect this verse immediately with the 4th verse:-the similitude and the riddle are, when taken by them-selves, somewhat obscure, and require explanation. The last clause also, "which our fathers have told us," serves as a pre-paration immediately for verse 4. Exodus 10:2 ought to be compared: "that thou mayest tell in the ears of thy son and of thy son's son what things I have wrought in Egypt," also 2 Sam. 7:22 and Psalms 44:1. Though the knowlege of the deeds of the Mosaic times is drawn from tradition, this is not exclu-sive of scripture. Even in the Pentateuch itself, oral tradition is mentioned (Deuteronomy 32:7), in reference to those very deeds of which it contains the full account; and in many passages we meet with pressing exhortations to be assiduous in continuing the stream of oral tradition. Scripture is the stay and correc-tive of oral tradition: it does not supplant, it supplements it. A single glance renders it evident, that the Psalmist himself drew his account directly from Scripture, and not from oral tradition. But the Scripture would have been to him a shut book, with which he would not have known how to commence any thing, had he not been surrounded from his early youth with the atmosphere of tradition. Ver. 4 intimates that it is the sacred duty of the church, at all times, not to keep up in a faithless manner the property of tradition entrusted to her care by her forefathers, but faithfully to deliver it over to posterity, and thus justifies the attempt of the Psalmist, who sets about the discharge of this duty in the following part of the Psalm. The Psalmist does not say "our children," but "their child-ren," although he meant the former. His object is, to point out the duty of transmitting: what we have got from our fa-thers, we owe to our children, inasmuch as they did not hand it to us for our sakes only, but generally, for their children's. תהלות properly praises, indicates the rich fulness of praise, which the Lord has acquired by his deeds. The "wonders" of the Lord form the centre point of the following representation. The Psalmist does not merely recount these: he represents also the position which the people, on the other hand, took up, and points out the disastrous consequences which resulted from their false position. In the first paragraph we have the destination of Israel, the object which God has appointed him to fulfil: God has given him his law, containing a summary of his deeds and ordinances, in order that, by the transmission of it to posterity, they might be brought to a living trust in God and to obedience to his command-meats, and might be preserved from the bad habits and the re-bellious conduct of their fathers in the wilderness. This, there-fore, was the problem proposed to Israel in the time of the Judges. Ver. 5. He erected a testimony in Jacob, he laid down a law in Israel, which he commanded our fathers to teach to their children. Ver. 6. In order that the generation to come might learn it, the sons who should still be born, and rise up and relate it to their children. Ver. 7. And place their trust in God, and not forget the deeds of the Lord and keep his com- mandments. Ver. 8. And might not be like their fathers, a re-bellious and refractory race, a generation which does not pre- pare its heart, and does not keep its spirit faithful to God.- The paragraph relates to those passages in the Pentateuch, in which the people are exhorted, faithfully to transmit the law to their posterity; for example Exodus 13:14, Deuteronomy 4:9; Deuteronomy 4:23; Deuteronomy 6:6, and following verses. By the testimony and the law in verse 5, are meant the whole contents of the Pentateuch, the direct commandments contained in it, and the deeds of the Lord. which are to be considered as indirect commandments: for all the deeds of God contain a kernel of instruction, of duty, and of warning; "I have done this for thee, what dost thou for me?" "be very thankful," to day, hear his voice, harden not your hearts, as at Meribah, as at Massah in the wilderness, when your fathers tempted me, saw and felt my works," &c. That we are to exclude neither these indirect, nor (with Steir) the direct commandments is evident, from the usus loquendi, ("testimony" and "law" must certainly denote the law usually so called), from those passages in the Pentateuch, in which the exhortation faithfully to transmit to posterity, refers at the same time to the deeds and to the commandments, and finally and incontrovertibly, from verses 7th, 10th, and 11th, where the deeds and the commandments are expressly mentioned as the contents of the law. The fathers are specially the Israelites of the Mosaic period. By the teaching or making known is meant not a mere external transmission, but one of such a kind as goes from heart to heart. The Berleb.: "And even to persevere in teaching, and to press it upon them with all earnestness."-In ver. 6, the object to be taught and learned is the law and testi-mony, which God erected in Jacob and laid down in Israel. The generation to come is the Israelites existing in the time of the Judges. At יקמו (קום, is not to arise,�time�rise up; God has erected, in ver. 5, therefore they should rise up), the copula is designedly omitted, for the purpose of connecting closely together and blending into one "the know-ing" and "the rising up": wherever, within the domain of religion, there is a true, a real knowledge, such as that spoken of in ver. 7, there, there is also preaching: whatever fills the heart flows out at the lips; whatever a man feels to be of vital importance, he endeavours to set it before his family. The sub-ject in ver. 7 is "the following generation," the sons who should be born, Israel during the period of the Judges, which appears as the second generation succeeding the Mosaic one, which is the first. We cannot make the sons and the grand-sons at the same time the subject. On the first clause the Berleb.: "The law which God erected in Israel, is a law full of love and truth. It requires nothing else, than that men know the blessings of God, that they be grateful to him for these, that they love him, that they depend upon him for his bounties, and that they surrender themselves to him without reserve." The fundamental passage is Deuteronomy 31:11, "Thou shalt read this law before all Israel . . . . . in order that they may hear and learn, that they may fear the Lord your God, and observe carefully all the words of this law": compare on the last clause, Deuteronomy 4:40; Deuteronomy 33:9.-In ver. 8th, the fathers are again the Israelites of the Mosaic time. The re-proaches which Moses uttered against his contemporaries are to be compared, Deuteronomy 9:6; Deuteronomy 9:7; Deuteronomy 31:27. The סורר, and מרה, are from Deuteronomy 21:18. The man who had a stiff-necked and rebellious son, as there spoken of, may be considered as an em-blem of God, in relation to Israel: compare Deuteronomy 32:5. The phrase לבו הכין, cannot be interpreted by the נכון in ver. 37. It does not mean, "to set right the heart," but "to pre-pare the heart": compare Sir. 2:17, "they who feared theLord, prepared their hearts," ופןילבףןץףי, 18:22. This is clearfrom the want of "to the Lord," here, and in Job 11:13, and from the construction with ל, in 2 Chronicles 20:33. In 1 Sam. vii. 3, the phrase signifies: to prepare the heart unto the Lord, so as to turn to him. In the first paragraph we have the destination of Israel, the object which God has appointed him to fulfil: God has given him his law, containing a summary of his deeds and ordinances, in order that, by the transmission of it to posterity, they might be brought to a living trust in God and to obedience to his commandments, and might be preserved from the bad habits and the rebellious conduct of their fathers in the wilderness. This, therefore, was the problem proposed to Israel in the time of the Judges. Ver. 5. He erected a testimony in Jacob, he laid down a law in Israel, which he commanded our fathers to teach to their children. Ver. 6. In order that the generation to come might learn it, the sons who should still be born, and rise up and relate it to their children. Ver. 7. And place their trust in God, and not forget the deeds of the Lord and keep his commandments. Ver. 8. And might not be like their fathers, a rebellious and refractory race, a generation which does not prepare its heart, and does not keep its spirit faithful to God. The paragraph relates to those passages in the Pentateuch, in which the people are exhorted, faithfully to transmit the law to their posterity; for example Exodus 13:14, Deuteronomy 4:9, Deuteronomy 4:23, Deuteronomy 6:6, and following verses. By the testimony and the law in Psalms 78:5, are meant the whole contents of the Pentateuch, the direct commandments contained in it, and the deeds of the Lord which are to be considered as indirect commandments: for all the deeds of God contain a kernel of instruction, of duty, and of warning; “I have done this for thee, what dost thou for me?” “be very thankful,” to day, hear his voice, harden not your hearts, as at Meribah, as at Massah in the wilderness, when your fathers tempted me, saw and felt my works,” &c. That we are to exclude neither these indirect, nor (with Steir) the direct commandments is evident, from the usus loquendi, (“testimony” and “law” must certainly denote the law usually so called), from those passages in the Pentateuch, in which the exhortation faithfully to transmit to posterity, refers at the same time to the deeds and to the commandments, and finally and incontrovertibly, from Psalms 78:7 th, (Psalms 78:10) 10th, and (Psalms 78:11) 11th, where the deeds and the commandments are expressly mentioned as the contents of the law. The fathers are specially the Israelites of the Mosaic period. By the teaching or making known is meant not a mere external transmission, but one of such a kind as goes from heart to heart. The Berleb.: “And even to persevere in teaching, and to press it upon them with all earnestness.” In Psalms 78:6, the object to be taught and learned is the law and testimony, which God erected in Jacob and laid down in Israel. The generation to come is the Israelites existing in the time of the Judges. At ιχξε (χεν is not to arise,—of future time—but to rise up; God has erected, in Psalms 78:5, therefore they should rise up), the copula is designedly omitted, for the purpose of connecting closely together and blending into one “the knowing” and “the rising up”: wherever, within the domain of religion, there is a true, a real knowledge, such as that spoken of in Psalms 78:7, there, there is also preaching: whatever fills the heart flows out at the lips; whatever a man feels to be of vital importance, he endeavours to set it before his family. The subject in Psalms 78:7 is “the following generation,” the sons who should be born, Israel during the period of the Judges, which appears as the second generation succeeding the Mosaic one, which is the first. We cannot make the sons and the grandsons at the same time the subject. On the first clause the Berleb.: “The law which God erected in Israel, is a law full of love and truth. It requires nothing else, than that men know the blessings of God, that they be grateful to him for these, that they love him, that they depend upon him for his bounties, and that they surrender themselves to him without reserve.” The fundamental passage is Deuteronomy 31:11, “Thou shalt read this law before all Israel. . . . . in order that they may hear and learn, that they may fear the Lord your God, and observe carefully all the words of this law”: compare on the last clause, Deuteronomy 4:40, Deuteronomy 33:9. In Psalms 78:8 th, the fathers are again the Israelites of the Mosaic time. The reproaches which Moses uttered against his contemporaries are to be compared, Deuteronomy 9:6-7, Deuteronomy 31:27. The ρεψψ, and ξψδ, are from Deuteronomy 21:18. The man who had a stiff-necked and rebellious son, as there spoken of, may be considered as an emblem of God, in relation to Israel: compare Deuteronomy 32:5. The phrase δφιομαε, cannot be interpreted by the πλεο in Psalms 78:37. It does not mean, “to set right the heart,” but “to prepare the heart”: compare Sir 2:17, “they who feared the Lord, prepared their hearts,” ἑτοιμάσουσι, Sir 18:23. This is clear from the want of “to the Lord,” here, and in Job 11:13, and from the construction with μ, in 2 Chronicles 20:33. In 1 Samuel 7:3, the phrase signifies: to prepare the heart unto the Lord, so as to turn to him. In ver. 9-11, we are told how far the Israelites, during the pe-riod of the Judges, satisfied the positive destination pointed out for them according to ver. 5-7:-they acted contrary to the very design of their existence. They did the very opposite of whatthey ought to have clone,-they forsook, in a cowardly spirit, the duties assigned to them in war, they did not walk in the commandments of their God, and forgot shamefully his deeds and wonders. Ver. 9. The sons of Ephraim are (cowardly) bowmen, they turned back in the day of battle. Ver. 10. They did not keep the covenant of God, and would not walk in his law. Ver. 11. And they forgot his deeds and his wonders which he let them see.-In ver. 9 the first clause is to be supplemented from the second, which contains the ground of the comparison of the sons of Ephraim to bowmen: they are compared to bowmen, because they turned back in the day of battle, and therefore they could be nothing else than cowardly bowmen. Those who do not supply in this way, suppose that bowmen are used figu-ratively, to denote those who turn their backs in battle and fly, because the practice of these troops is, when attacked, to fly, and in their flight to shoot at the enemy. But this feigned flight does not suit here. Others, with greater probability, suppose that the bowmen are named, because, from their light armour, they were better adapted for real flight. But of such an inclination on the part of the bowmen to fly, there are no traces whatever, and it is not even clear that they were light armed troops, although Jahn asserts that they were, Archהol. 2. 2. p. 424. The reason why they are named in this individualizing way, is undoubtedly because, among the Hebrews and the na-tions with whom they had to do, bowmen formed the main body of the army: comp. Hosea 1:5, Psalms 76:3, Ezekiel 39:3. That the Ephraimites are merely compared to cowardly bowmen, and that it is only in a figurative sense that the Psalmist speaks of their flight in the day of battle, as indicating their apostacy in the day of their trial, appears from ver. 57th, where the Eph-raimites, who are here compared to the men, are compared to bows which will not do their work, from the connection with what goes before, according to which we are led to expect here a description of the way in which Israel fulfilled the destination appointed him by God, and with what follows, which, from this point forwards, speaks of the violation of the covenant by Israel. The sons of Ephraim do not stand here at all in opposition to the rest of Israel, but they represent the whole, as they formed, during the period of the Judges, the ruling tribe. This is evi-dent from the connection with ver. 5-8, where the Psalmist speaks of the whole of Israel during the period of the Judges,and from the 41, 42, 56, and following verses, where what is here said of Ephraim is said of the whole of Israel. It is clear as day that the conduct of Ephraim and of the whole of Israel, as here described, belongs to the period of the Judges; and we must say, that that man understands nothing whatever of the whole connection and tendency of the Psalm, who finds here the apostacy of the ten tribes. The whole Psalm ends with the government of David. In. the 41st and following verses, the Psalmist speaks of the same apostacy of Ephraim or Israel. In the 59th and following verses, he is expressly spoken of as ex-isting in the time before the ark of the covenant was carried away by the Philistines; and this event, as well as the defeat, the rejection of Shiloh, and the bringing of the sanctuary to Judah, are represented as his punishment. The verb נשק sig-nifies always "to be armed," and not, as Gesenius assumes, "to stretch the bow, contrary to 2 Chronicles 17:17, and other pas-sages, and contrary to the sense of קש,נe. That קשת רומי sig-nifies "bowmen," and nothing else, appears clear from Jeremiah 4:29. The armed of the bowmen, are "those of the bowmen who are armed," or "those men who are both armed and bowmen." The ך`פה in the sense of "to turn round," is from Judges 20:39. The Berleb: "This representation is given to us for instruction and reflection, that we may not grow weak in faith, and fall away in the time of battle. This is commonly the case with those who rely too much upon themselves, and have not unre-servedly surrendered themselves to God. They fancy them-selves strong, so long as there are no enemies before them, and prepare to fight them in imagination. But as soon as real ene-mies come within sight, they fly before them and become un-faithful."-In ver. 10 we have the opposite of the duty assigned to Israel in ver. 7, "to keep the commandments of God;" and in ver. 11 the opposite of the "not forgetting the deeds of God." The deeds and wonders of God are those done in Egypt, and during the sojourn in the wilderness. These had been seen by the fathers, as the representatives of the Israelites of all times. This is clear from the expression: which he let them see. The opposition between what the Israelites were, and what they ought to have been, is drawn in ver. 9-11, keeping in view the point at the conclusion of the paragraph which de-scribes the destination of Israel, in ver. 8, viz. that they shouldnot be like their fathers, a rebellious race. The design of the Psalmist, is not merely to refer, in short terms, to the manner in which they acted in reference to this point, but to enter into detail, according to his purpose as expressed in the introduc-tion, to hold up the glass of the fathers to the sons, in order that they might see in it their own image. He hence depicts, at great length, the way in which the fathers acted: the theme of the whole paragraph is: "the fathers were a rebellious and re-fractory race, a race who did not prepare their hearts, and whose spirits did not continue faithful to God." He next shows, in the 41st and following verses, that the Israelites, dur-ing the period of the Judges, were like their fathers. We are first told in ver. 12-16, with a view to placing the rebellious and refractory conduct of the fathers in its true light, what God did to the fathers, how he allured them to love and to good works.-Ver. 12. Before their fathers he did wonders, in the land of Egypt on the plain of Zoan. Ver. 13. He clave the sea and let them pass through, he placed the waters as an heap. Ver. 14. And he led them during the day by a cloud, and during the whole night, by the light of fire. Ver. 15. He clave the rocks in the wilderness, and let the waters flow down like a stream.-The wonders of God follow each other in historical or- der. There are first, in ver. 12, the wonders and the signs in Egypt. These are only briefly referred to, because the Psal-mist intends, at a subsequent part, and in another connection, (ver. 43-55), to take up the consideration of them at length. Ver. 12 cannot be connected with ver. 8-11, as many would do, in their excessive zeal for a strophe formation, of which there is not here one single trace. For it does not at all contain a general statement to be developed in what follows, but it forms part of a description of particulars, namely, the wonders in Egypt, which are succeeded in the following verse by others, the wonders during the sojourn in the wilderness. The clause "be-fore their fathers," which refers back to the 8th verse, is to be considered as if printed in Italics. Next to the land of Egypt, in opposition to the sea and the wilderness, we have the plain of Zoan, the country round the ancient royal city Tanis, pointed out as the theatre of the great deeds of God. The author has pointed out, in his treatise on "Egypt and the Books of Moses,"p. 41, that there is here expressly said, what is only alluded toin Numbers 13:22. The פלא, stands collectively as at Psalms 57:12.--In verse 13, there is the passage through the Red Sea. "As a heap", is from Exodus 15:8, to which passage allusion is else-where made: compare at Psalms 33:7. The Psalmist reservesthe נוזלים, in that passage, for ver. 16.�In ver. 15 and 16, the sending of the waters at Rephidim in Exodus 17:6, and at Kadesh in Numbers 20., are joined together. That we must not, through excessive historical caution, (as in what follows, deeds are re-ferred to which happened before the second of these events), re-fer the allusion merely to the first, is evident from the plural,צרים, and from the undoubted quotation of the first half of the 16th verse, from Numbers 20:8. The agreement is verbal, with this exception, that instead of the prosaic word מים, which is there used, we have here נוזלים: compare at ver. 13. Ver. 15th refers to both occasions, and verse 16, to the second as thegreater. This is evident from the סלע, which, in the Pentateuch,is used only of the second occasion, because it was only then that water came from the rock. In Ex. the word צור is always used: compare the Beitr. III. p. 379. This, as the general term, (compare on צור, properly not a rock, but a stone, at Psalms 18:2), might be used in the plural, and applied to both occasions. He "clave," refers back, in the first instance, to, "he clave," in ver. 13th, but, at the same time, in connection with this first cleaving in grace, it directs attention to its opposition, that cleaving in wrath, in the days of old, of which we read in Gen. vii. 11, "all the fountains of the great deep were broken up": compare similar allusions to the history of the deluge in Psalms 29:10; Psalms 32:6. It is only from the allusion to this passage, that we can explain how the great flood should send forth water, (as if it had something to do on the occasion), which at a former time, at the deluge, sent forth its waters for the destruction of the sinful world. We require only to see this allusion, to aban-don the idea that רבה, contrary to the accusative, may be con-sidered as an adverb: richly. The plural תהומות denotes the flood in an absolute sense, the mundane sea, and is used in the same way as Behemoth, Chokmoth, Psalms 73:22. As in reality there is only one flood meant, the adjective stands in the singular number: compare Ewald, § 569. Berleb: "should they not now have drunk with the mouth of faith, and praised the great work of God." There follows in ver. 17-20, the rebellious and refractory conduct, with which Israel requited God.-Ver. 17. But theywent on still to sin against him, and rebelled against the Most High in the wilderness. Ver. 18. And they tempted God in their heart, to ask meat for their souls. Ver. 19. And they spoke against God, they said: will God be able to provide a table in the wilderness? Ver. 20. Behold he has struck the rock, so that waters gushed out, and the streams overflowed, will he be able also to give bread, or will he prepare flesh for his people? -"They went on," in ver. 17, refers in reality to Exodus 17:2, where an account is given of the sinful and refractory conduct of the Israelites, previous to the first sending of water, when they said, " Is the Lord in the midst of us or not?" (Ven. sicut jam antea potus causa, ita et deinceps mox propter cibum), and also to Exodus 9:34, where the very same expression is used of Pharaoh, the personification of obstinacy and rebellion. The expression, "they rebelled against the Lord in the wilderness," (properly "in a dry land," with reference to what is before re-corded as to God sending them a supply of water), refers to the fundamental passage, Deuteronomy 9:7 : compare ver. 24, 31:27. The המרה here, and in ver. 40, occurs frequently in the Pentateuch. The construction with the accusative, which oc-curs also there occasionally, Deuteronomy 1:26; Deuteronomy 1:43; Deuteronomy 9:23, is to be ex-plained from a modification of the sense:-with the preposition it is, "to act rebelliously towards," with the accusative "to treat."-The tempting of God in ver. 18, consists in this, that they unbelievingly and insolently demanded, instead of expect-ing in the exercise of faith, and supplicating. They wished to put God to the proof, with a view to renounce him altogether, in case he should not give them what they wanted, whereas they ought to have been firmly convinced, long before, that he was both able and willing to give, and that he would give in due time: compare Exodus 17:7, Deuteronomy 6:6, where the tempting of God by Israel is said to consist in their saying, "Is the Lord in the midst of us or not?" that is, "we shall now see and try, it will be shewn whether he is so." God has a right to try man, because man is a being of ambiguous and uncertain character: but man cannot try God without being guilty of great offence, and injurious conduct; God says, that we try him when we doubt whether he is God or not. "In their hearts," points to the evil fountain of the heart, from which the words of the mouth proceed, (compare Matthew 12:35), and serves also to aggravate the offence. Man is always disposed to separate the mouth from theheart, and to claim immunity for the latter: compare Math. 12:37. The emphasis lies on "they demanded," not on "for their soul." The נפש denotes the animal, the food-craving soul, (comp. Romans 11:6, Deuteronomy 12:20), and not the desire for what is necessary. The sin lay not in what in they desired, but in the way and manner in which they desired it. What follows, shews that the Psalmist connects together a double demand and temptation, the one recorded in Exodus 16. and the other in Numbers 11. The first one was followed by the sending of manna, and preceded the first giving of water; but the Psalmist, with poe-tical freedom, has wrought together into one figure, the two oc-casions on which bread was given, as he formerly did with the water. It was enough, that the more aggravated temptation, and the more remarkable sending of food, happened later.-The 19th verse contains in substance exactly what the Israelites really said, and the 20th verse gives rather what they would have said had they spoken honestly and sincerely, with a view to exhibit clearly the unjustifiable nature of their conduct. It is characteristic of unbelief, to remain wilfully in ignorance of what God has previously done to exhibit his godhead; and it therefore acts towards him as if he had revealed himself for the first time. But when this cloak is removed, it stands in its en-tire nakedness. The להם, is not food, but bread, compare Exodus 16:3; Exodus 16:12; the manna was given them as bread, ver. 25, the quails as flesh, ver. 27. In ver. 21-31, we are told how God acted towards the re-bellious and refractory generation: his wrath burned against it; he gave them what they desired, bread and flesh, and in this way made them ashamed of their unbelieving wicked doubts, and thus manifested his real godhead, but after this happen-ed, there followed severe punishment. Ver. 21. Therefore,when the Lord heard it he was angry, and a fire was kindled against Jacob, and wrath rose up against Israel. Ver. 22. Be-cause they believed not in God, and trusted not in his salvation. Ver. 23. And he commanded the clouds above, and opened the doors of heaven. Ver. 24. And rained upon them manna to eat, and gave them the corn of heaven. Ver. 25. Every one ate the food of the strong, he sent them provisions to the full. Ver. 26. He caused the east wind in heaven to blow, and brought for- ward by his power the south wind. Ver. 27. And rained upon them flesh as dust, and feathered fowl as the sand of the sea. Ver. 28. And let them fall in the midst of the camp round about their habitations. Ver. 29. And they ate and were fully satis-fied, and he gratified their appetite. Ver. 30. They were yet in-dulging their appetite, the food was still in their mouth. Ver. 31. Then the wrath of God rose up against them, and he slew the fat ones among them, and struck down the young of Israel. -"The Lord heard and was angry," in ver. 21, signifies "when the Lord heard, he was angry:" comp. Numbers 11:1. The fire is not a literal fire, as many imagine from an unseasonable com-parison of Numbers 11., where there is a narrative of an event which has no connection whatever with the passage before us, but the fire of divine wrath: comp. at Psalms 18:7. This is most manifest from the repetition in ver. 31, where it is only divine wrath that is spoken of, (it is also named here in the way of ex-planation in the third clause), and where its manifestations are likewise described as in Numbers 11. The germ of this figurative re-presentation occurs in Numbers 11.: compare ver. 10, "and the anger of the Lord was kindled greatly," and ver. 33, "the an-ger of the Lord burned against his people." The נשק is not, as Hהvernick on Ez. p. 615, supposes, "to prepare," but "to kindle;" were it not so, why, should the verb be always used in connection with fire? The עלה is used of ascending wrath in 2 Samuel 11:20. On ver. 22 compare James 1:6; James 1:7, "let him pray in faith, nothing doubting Jet not such a man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord." But when, as in the present instance, a man receives any thing for the gra-tification of those desires by which he has tempted God, he re-ceives it in wrath, which could not happen to faith in the divine mercy. On "they believed not," compare Numbers 14:11; on "in his salvation," Exodus 14:13; Exodus 15:2. There is a reference in "he opened the doors of heaven" to "the windows of heaven were opened," in the history of the deluge, Genesis 7:17, in the same way as in ver. 15. On ver. 24, compare Exodus 16:4, "be-hold I rain bread from heaven for you." On "corn from heaven," Berleb.: "instead of the fruit, from which, in ordinary cases, men are accustomed to prepare meal and bread." On the manna, see the author's treatise on Balaam. Exodus 16:6 renders it evident that by איש is meant "every man." The term "to satisfaction", in the second clause, which in like manner refers to the rich supply of provisions, corresponds to it. By "the strong ones," many, after the example of the Septuagint, theChaldee, and the Book of Wisdom 16:20, (for it is beyond adoubt that the expression ἀדדוכשם פסןצחם ἐרשליףבע פןם כבןם ףןץ re-fers to the passage before us), understand "angels," and others "men of rank,"-"bread of the nobles," "rare, costly food:" compare Judges 5:25, "in a lordly dish." Against this latter idea, it is urged, that the passages which have been adduced for the purpose of shewing that אביר, strong, is also used of princes and nobles, are not satisfactory. In Job 24:22; Job 34:20, Psalms 68:30, the sense of "strong" is demanded by the connection, In 1 Samuel 21:7, Doeg is called "the strong (one) of the herdmen," not at all as being the principal one among them. Decisive evidence as to the contrary of this is furnished by ch. 22:9, where he holds a military office, in all probabili-ty, however, as the commander of the troops who were entrust-ed with the care of the royal cattle:-the strong guardian or patron of the herdmen. On the other hand, the entirely analo-gical expression in Psalms 103:20, "the powerful heroes," shews that אבירים is a very suitable term for referring to angels. We are not, however, to adopt the idea of "meat serving for the nourishment of angels,"-such a strange representation as this lies without the field of Scripture; the Psalmist, moreover, gives nothing new in reference to the history of the times of old; he merely clothes in a poetical dress the account given by Moses, -but of "meat from the region of the angels," corresponding to the bread or the corn of heaven in the Pentateuch, and in verse 24. This is the idea adopted in the Chaldee: "food which came from the habitation of the angels." The most com-plete collection of the translations which have been given of this passage, is to be found in Jac. Ode, de Angelis, p. 799, et seq., though he does not himself consider that this passage re-fers to angels. "He sent them provisions" refers to Exodus 12:39, "they had provided no provisions." The לשבע is from Exodus 16:3.-The murmuring Israelites had desired not only bread, but flesh, according to ver. 20. The 26 and following verses describe how this was given to them. "He caused the east wind to blow in heaven," rests on Numbers 11:31, "and there went forth a wind from the Lord"; from which passage it is clear that "the heaven" is introduced as the habitation of God, corresponding to "from the Lord", and being parallel to "by his power." In the fundamental passage it is only the wind in general that is spoken of; we have here the east wind and thesouth wind. The Berleb.: "Both of these are winds which bytheir strength carry along with them every thing that comes intheir way; and were therefore employed to collect and carryforward the fowls." It is self-evident that the Psalmist doesnot understand the two winds as blowing together, but in suc-cession. On ver. 27 compare Exodus 16:3, Numbers 11:31; Numbers 11:32. Theימטר assimilates the quails to the manna. On "he let fall inthe midst of his camp," in ver. 28, (the suffix is to be referred toIsrael), compare Exodus 16:13, "they covered the camp." Onסכיב, Numbers 11:31.-The expression, "they were fully satisfied"in ver. 27, shows that their wish was gratified not only complete-ly, but to excess: compare Num. 9:18-20. The תאוה, lust,is from Numbers 11:4. In preference to, "he gave them whatthey wanted," we may, on account of what follows, translate, "hebrought to them (Job 42:11, 1 Kings 9:9,) the object of theirlust," or "the thing for which they lusted."-On ver. 30 com-pare Numbers 11:33, "the flesh was still between their teeth, ithad not yet been finished," יכרת לא. Corresponding to this last expression we have, "they were not parted from their lust,"- זור is "to turn back," "to be removed," "to be estranged from." Hence, and also in accordance with the pa-rallelism, תאוה cannot here mean "lust," (several: still they did not go against their passion), but only "the object of lust." This translation also is the only one that corresponds to the history. The depopulating sickness originated even with the loathing and the surfeiting. Even while their wish was being gratified, their punishment was preparing: compare Numbers 11:20 with ver 33. The otherwise strange expression זרו has been in-troduced from the allusion to Numbers 11:20, "and it was loath-some," לזרא, properly, "for estrangement",�were not separated, but inwardly they were all the more so. On ver. 31, compare Numbers 11:33, "and the wrath of Jehovah burned against the people, and the Lord smote the people with a very great plague." Among those who were struck down "the fat ones," (compare Isaiah 10:16, Judges iii. 29, Psalms 105:15), and "the young," are singled out and brought prominently forward, as the healthiest and the strong-est, who, in spite of their health and strength, were unable to resist the power of the depopulating disease which God sent among the people. The הרג with ב, is "to strangle among." But the Israelites, in the days of old, fully manifested them-selves to be a rebellious and a refractory generation, in that they were not, even by those severe visitations, brought to a right state of mind, but continued still to persevere in sinning against God. They were therefore visited with an annihilating divine judgment. They turned to God when this lay immediate-ly upon them, but their repentance never was any thing else than superficial. It was thus that they acted towards their God, who was full of compassion and love. Truly, therefore, Israel, in the days of old, was a refractory and a rebellious generation:--this it was the immediate design of the Psalmist to shew.-Ver. 32. With all this they sinned yet more, and believed not for his wondrous works. Ver. 33. Therefore he caused their days to be consumed in vanity, and their years in terror. Ver. 34. When he slew them, they inquired after him and returned and sought God. Ver. 35. And remembered that God was their rock, and God the Most High their Redeemer. Ver. 30. And they dissem-bled to him with their mouth, and they lied to him with their tongue. Ver. 37. And their heart was not firm with him, and they were not steadfast in his covenant. Ver. 38. And he is compassionate, forgives their iniquities, and destroys them not, and often turns away his wrath and awakens not all his zeal. Ver. 39. And he remembered that they were flesh, a breath which passes away without returning. Ver. 40. How often did they rebel in the wilderness, and vex him in the desert?-It is evi-dent from Numbers 14:11, and also from the following verse, that "they sinned yet more," in ver. 32, refers to the conduct of the Israelites after the return of the spies. The correct trans-lation of the following clause is not, "they believed in his won-derful works," but "they believed (God, comp. ver. 22) through his wonderful works." This is evident from the fundamental passage, Numbers 14:11, "And the Lord said to Moses, how long will this people provoke me, and how long will it be ere they believe me for all the signs which I have shewed among them?" -Ver. 33 refers to the condition into which the Israelites were brought in consequence of the divine judgments subsequent to the sending out of the spies. The vanity denotes the useless character of their existence, and the entire state of helplessness into which they were brought. The terror refers to the extra-ordinary tokens of divine wrath which broke in upon them, and by which they were hurried off the earth: compare, "when he slew them," in the following verse and in Psalms 73:19.-Theexpression, "when he slew them," in ver. 34, refers to the.- judgments from the sending out of the spies till the death of Moses, beyond which it is not possible to go, throughout this description, without destroying the entire organism of the Psalm. On ver. 36, Berleb.: "What a large book might be written on the similarity, in this respect, of the people in our own day! The seats of repentance might speak here!"--In re-ference to נכון, in ver. 7, compare at Psalms 51:10. In ver. 38- and 39, with a view to place the conduct of Israel in a correct light, prominence is given to the truth, that they acted in this way towards their God, who was full of compassion and love. Ver. 38 is thrown into a very general form, but the general af-firmations are made with a special application, as the inserted preter. הרבה shews, to case en hand: and he is, according to the proof afforded by his conduct at this time, compassionate, &c. Allusion is made to the fundamental passage Exodus 34:6; Exodus 34:7;--instead of כפר there stands there נשא, and instead of השהית as in Deuteronomy 4:31, there is there נקה. Berleb.: "He destroy- ed them not altogether and suddenly; he did not direct against them any judgments which would have destroyed them utterly, so as to requite them in his wrath all at once, as he had often threatened to Moses that he would do," Exodus 32:10, Numbers 14:12; Numbers 16:21. On ver 39, compare "er kennt das arm Gemilchte, Gott Weiss wir Sind nun Staub," &c. in the poem, Nun lob, meine Seele, den Herrn. The suffering and the brevity of this life, form a reason why God does not act altogether strictly with us: compare Psalms 103:14-16. On the second clause, compare the dependant passage in Job 10:24, "Ere I go without return (to the upper world), to the land of darkness and of the shadow of death." But the Israelites, in the days of old, fully manifested themselves to be a rebellious and a refractory generation, in that they were not, even by those severe visitations, brought to a right state of mind, but continued still to persevere in sinning against God. They were therefore visited with an annihilating divine judgment. They turned to God when this lay immediately upon them, but their repentance never was any thing else than superficial. It was thus that they acted towards their God, who was full of compassion and love. Truly, therefore, Israel, in the days of old, was a refractory and a rebellious generation:—this it was the immediate design of the Psalmist to show. Ver. 32. With all this they sinned yet more, and believed not for his wondrous works. Ver. 33. Therefore he caused their days to be consumed in vanity, and their years in terror. Ver. 34. When he slew them, they inquired after him and returned and sought God. Ver. 35. And remembered that God was their rock, and God the Most High their Redeemer. Ver. 30. And they dissembled to him with their mouth, and they lied to him with their tongue. Ver. 37. And their heart was not firm with him, and they were not steadfast in his covenant. Ver. 38. And he is compassionate, forgives their iniquities, and destroys them not, and often turns away his wrath and awakens not all his zeal. Ver. 39. And he remembered that they were flesh, a breath which passes away without returning. Ver. 40. How often did they rebel in the wilderness, and vex him in the desert?It is evident from Numbers 14:11, and also from the following verse, that “they sinned yet more,” in Psalms 78:32, refers to the conduct of the Israelites after the return of the spies. The correct translation of the following clause is not, “they believed in his wonderful works,” but “they believed (God, comp. Psalms 78:22) through his wonderful works.” This is evident from the fundamental passage, Numbers 14:11, “And the Lord said to Moses, how long will this people provoke me, and how long will it be ere they believe me for all the signs which I have showed among them?” Psalms 78:33 refers to the condition into which the Israelites were brought in consequence of the divine judgments subsequent to the sending out of the spies. The vanity denotes the useless character of their existence, and the entire state of godlessness into which they fell. The terror refers to the extraordinary tokens of divine wrath which broke in upon them, and by which they were hurried off the earth: compare, “when he slew them,” in the following verse and in Psalms 73:19. The expression, “when he slew them,” in Psalms 78:34, refers to the judgments from the sending out of the spies till the death of Moses, beyond which it is not possible to go, throughout this description, without destroying the entire organism of the Psalm. On Psalms 78:36, Berleb.: “What a large book might be written on the similarity, in this respect, of the people in our own day! The seats of repentance might speak here!” In reference to πλεο, in Psalms 78:7, compare at Psalms 51:10. In Psalms 78:38 and Psalms 78:39, with a view to place the conduct of Israel in a correct light, prominence is given to the truth, that they acted in this way towards their God, who was full of compassion and love. Psalms 78:38 is thrown into a very general form, but the general affirmations are made with a special application, as the inserted preter. δψαδ shows, to case en hand: and he is, according to the proof afforded by his conduct at this time, compassionate, &c. Allusion is made to the fundamental passage Exodus 34:6-7;—instead of λτψ there stands there πωΰ, and instead of δωηιϊ as in Deuteronomy 4:31, there is there πχη. Berleb.: “He destroyed them not altogether and suddenly; he did not direct against them any judgments which would have destroyed them utterly, so as to requite them in his wrath all at once, as he had often threatened to Moses that he would do,” Exodus 32:10, Numbers 14:12, Numbers 16:21. On Psalms 78:39, compare “er kennt das arm Gemδchte, Gott weiss wir sind nun taub,” &c. in the poem, Nun lob, meine Seele, den Herrn. The suffering and the brevity of this life, form a reason why God does not act altogether strictly with us: compare Psalms 103:14-16. On the second clause, compare the dependant passage in Job 10:24, “Ere I go without return (to the upper world), to the land of darkness and of the shadow of death.” The Psalmist, in considering the conduct of the Israelites during the period of the Judges, with a view to the exhortation, "be ye not like your fathers," having exhibited a picture of this rebellious and refractory race, now proceeds, in prosecution of his object, to shew the similarity of the Israelites during the period of the Judges. After a short notice, in ver. 41 and 42, there follows, in ver. 43-45, with a view to exhibit their guilt in its true light, a representation of the grace and the mercies by which God had laid them under obligations, no less than he had their fathers at an earlier period.-Ver. 41. And they tempted God anew, and dishonoured the Holy One of Israel.Ver. 42, They did not remember his hand, on the day when he redeemed them from the enemy. Ver. 43. Who laid down his signs in Egypt, and his wonders in the plain of Zoan. Ver. 44. He turned their rivers into blood, and they drank not their water. Ver. 45. He sent against them vermin, which devoured them, and frogs which destroyed them. Ver. 46. He gave to the cater-pillar their increase, and their labour to the locust. Ver. 47. He destroyed their vines by hail, and their sycamore trees by frost. Ver. 48. He gave up their cattle to the hail, and their flocks to the flames. Ver. 49. He sent against them the fierceness of his wrath, anger and indignation and trouble, a host of afflic- tion-angels. Ver. 50. He made a way for his wrath, he spared not their soul from death, and gave their life over to the pesti- lence. Ver. 51. And slew all the first born in Egypt, the chief of their strength in the tents of Ham. Ver. 52. Then he caused his people to go forth like sheep, and led them like a flock in the wilderness. Ver. 53. And he led them on sqfely, and they feared not, but the sea covered their enemies. Ver. 54. And he brought them to his holy boundary, the mountain which his right hand had procured. Ver. 55. And he drove out before them the hea-then, and caused them to fall to them as an inheritance, and the tribes of Israel dwelt in their tents.-That, in the 41st verse, Israel, during the period of the Judges, is the subject, is evident from the expression standing in opposition, in the 40th verse, "in the wilderness," from the circumstance, that in the enume-ration of the wonderful deeds of God, the introduction to the land of Canaan is mentioned, and finally, from the 57th verse, where those here referred to are distinguished from the fathers in the wilderness. The temptation followed here, according to-ver. 56, where the subject is resumed, in consequence of their apostacy to idol worship, by which they put God to the proof, whether he would indeed demonstrate his true godhead. There is no necessity whatever for endeavouring to seek the uncertain aid of the cognate dialects in interpreting התוה. It occurs in Ezekiel 9:4, undoubtedly in the sense of, "to set a mark upon": and in like manner, in the Pib. in 1 Samuel 21:14, Num. 34:7, 8, The mark, according to the connection, is one of disgrace, just as the Latin word notare, is used in the sense of dishonour, to disgrace. This sense accords well with the ap-pellation given to God, "The Holy One of Israel:" compare at Ps. 71:22. To cast reproach upon such a God, the Holyand the Glorious One, is the height of iniquity.-On "his hand." in verse 42, i. e. "how his hand manifested itself at that time," comp. Exodus 7:5; Exodus 13:9. On "the enemy," Deuteronomy 7:8. In refe-rence to the paragraph, ver. 43-45, which the 42nd verse in-troduces, Venema remarks: "The design of this paragraph is, in the way of parenthesis, to exhibit in the most aggra-vated form the crime of tempting God, as conjoined with that of extreme ingratitude."-Ver. 43 is connected with verse 12. The signs, and the wonderful deeds of God, which were there shortly referred to, as exhibiting the depravi-ty of the fathers, are here depicted at length, in illustration of the depravity of the sons, for whose sakes, as well as their fathers', these were brought to pass, and who were, equally with them, laid under the deepest obligations. The fundamental passage, to which also Psalms 105:27 refers, is Ex. 10:1, 2, "I have hardened his heart, and the heart of his servants, that I might lay down these my signs before him, and that thou mayest tell to thy son, and to thy grandson, what I have done in Egypt, and my signs which I have laid down before them."-The enumeration of the wonders and signs begins with the first, and ends with the last; in the middle, however, the Psalmist speaks with considerable latitude.-In ver. 44, the first of the wonders wrought, or the first plague, was the turning of the water into blood. The יארים is from Exodus 7:19, (compare Egypt. p. 119), and denotes here in a wider sense, the arms and the canals of the Nile, the latter of which are called, in that passage, streams. The second clause refers to Exodus 7:18; Exodus 7:20.-The gnats are al-together omitted; the third and the fourth plague are inverted in ver. 45. On Arob, properly mixture, dirt, then flies, com-pare Eg. p. 114. The expression, "and they consumed them", is not at all againt this sense. Philo, in describing the dog-flies of Egypt, says: "They rest not until they have satisfied them-selves with blood and flesh," Schהfer in Mich. Suppl. "it gorges itself with blood, and makes bloody boils, severe pains." The השהית, is from Exodus 8:20, where it is used of the vermin, here mixed up in one pair with the frogs.-On הסיל, in ver. 26,originally an appellative of the locust, 1 Kings 37, and after-wards poetically a name given to them, (הסל is used in Deuteronomy 28:38, of "the feeding of the locusts"), compare Chris. III. p. 157.-The vine is particularly mentioned in the Mosaic record, as it is here in the 47th verse, and in Psalms 105:33, in connectionwith the devastation produced by hail. The "blunder against history" recoils upon the head of the critic, who brings such an accusation against the Psalmist. Compare the proof that in Egypt the vine was cultivated, and wine made from the earliest times, Egypt. p. 12.-In ver. 47, the destruction in the vegetable world is described, and after that, in ver. 48, the ruin that fell upon the cattle, and thus by gradual ascent, man himself is reached, vet 49-51. The second clause refers to the fire among the hail, which is expressly mentioned in Exodus 9:23; Exodus 9:24 : compare also Psalms 105:32, Wis. 16:16. The רשף, means always flame, never lightning: although in this passage, it is certainly the fire of heaven, or lightning, that is meant. This observation also sets aside the miserable conjecture, דבר, pestilence, for ברד.�Ver. 49-51, refer singly and alone to the last and the severest plague, the death of the first born in Egypt, as is seen from the manifest reference to it in ver. 49. The three days' darkness, as well as the gnats and the destruction of the cattle, are passed over wholly in silence. In the first half of ver. 49th, the accumulation of terms, signifying divine wrath, is designed to set forth the dreadful nature of this last judgment, which is mentioned for the first time in plain language, at the end of the whole description in verse 57. In the second clause, רעים is to be taken in the sense of mala, as for example, atPro_12:12, the genitive in the object.: compare מוה מלאכי, in Proverbs 16:14. The fundamental passage is Exodus 12:13; Exodus 12:23, according to which, the death of the first born in Egypt is said to have been accomplished by the destroyer, המשהית:pare Hebrews 11:28. It is doubtful whether the משהית is used in Exod., collectively, for an army of destroying angels, as in Lamentations 13:17, or denotes merely the angel of the Lord appointed to execute vengeance, a sense which is favoured by 2 Samuel 24:16. In this latter case, the Psalmist must be supposed to point expressly, only to the retinue by which the "Captain of the Lord's host," as the Angel of the Lord is called in Joshua 5:15, would, as a matter of course, on such an occasion be attended: -the commander goes forth to battle, only at the head of his army. The translation, "an host of evil angels," might, if necessary, be justified grammatically,--angels who belong to the class of evil angels. But the reference to the passage above quoted in Exod., where no mention whatever is made of evil angels, and where the destroyer appears as in intimate com-mullion with God,-the analogy of the judgment of God upon the Assyrians, which was effected by the Angel of the Lord, 2 Kings 19:34, and the whole doctrine of Scripture, on the subject of angels, are altogether against it:-Jac. Ode, de Angelis, p. 741, et seq., skews that God sends good angels to punish wicked men, and employs bad angels to chastise good men. The idea, however, that "bad" stands instead of "evil bringing," is undoubtedly contrary to the language. It is better to translate: angels of the wicked, i. e. sent to punish them.-In ver. 50, the דבר re-quires attention. In the account, as given in Exod, there is nothing expressly said, as to the death of the first born being occasioned by pestilence. Still, chapter 9:15, and the natural analogies, lead to this: compare Egypt, p. 126, et seq.-In the 51st verse, "the beginning of their strength", a poetical expres-sion for "the first born", is taken from Jacob's blessing, Genesis 49:3; as it is also in Deuteronomy 49:3. Egypt is called the land of Ham, in reference to Genesis 10:6, according to which, the Egyptians descended from Ham.-In ver. 52, "he made his people to go forth," is from Exodus 12:37 : compare 15:22. The wilderness began on this side the Red Sea, Exodus 14:3, so that the guidance of the Israelites through it, which in ver. 53 is brought prominently forward, as the point from which their being guided like a flock is viewed, forms a portion of their guidance through the wilderness.--In "they were not afraid", it is not the faith of the Israelites, according to the connection, that is praised, but the grace of God, which removed from them all cause of fear. The second clause renders it evident, that the Psalmist's thoughts are chiefly dwelling upon the pas-sage through the Red Sea: compare Exodus 15:19, where the safety of the Israelites, and the destruction of the enemies, are both connected together.-In ver. 54, Mount Zion is named next after the holy land, as the centre of it, and as representing it. Although this mountain was not brought under the power of the Israelites till the time of David, it is viewed, as if from the beginning it had formed part of the land. It had already been hallowed, by a transaction which occurred in patriarchaltimes, Genesis 22. (compare the Beitr. p. 195), and in the dim obscurity of prophecy, it had been pointed out, as the spiritual centre in future times of the land, Exodus 15:13; Exodus 15:17. The verse before us is founded on this last passage. These fundamental passages, especially the concluding clause of the second, "tothe sanctuary, O Lord, which thy hands have prepared," exclude a reference, which. several expositors have sought to find to the land of Canaan, in connection with Deuteronomy 3:25, where it is called "this goodly mountain." Ewald's idea that Shiloh is referred to, is set aside by the considerations, that it would have been utterly inconsistent with the object which the Psalmist had in view, to have given prominence to Shiloh, and that the Mount Zion, which the Lord loves, appears as the definite seat of the sanctuary, (compare Psalms 74:2; Psalms 68:16), and finally, from the circumstance, that the ruins of Shiloh are situated upon a little hill, which is overshadowed by the mountains in its neighbourhood, Robinson, III. 1, p. 303.-That in ver, 55, we must interpret, "he caused them, (i. e. their territory), to fallas an inheritance," (the הבל is properly the measuring-line, and not unfrequently, the portion of land measured, compare at Psalms 16:6), is evident from the fundamental passage, Num. 34:2, "this is the land which has fallen to you as an inhe-ritance," בנהלה, and from the parallel passage, Psalms 105:11. In ver. 56-64, the representation of the rebelliousness of the Israelites is continued during the period of the Judges, and at-tention is directed to the divine judgments which overtook them, as they had overtaken their fathers in a former age, after they failed in fulfilling the appointment which had been made to them, not to insult God as their fathers had done. Ver. 56. And they tempted and grieved God the Most High, and did not observe his testimonies. Ver. 57. And turned back and were faithless, they changed like a deceitful bow. Ver. 58. And en-raged him by their high places, and provoked him by their idols. Ver. 59. When God heard, he was angry, and cast Israel far off. Ver. 60. And forsook the habitation of Shiloh, the tabernacle which he erected among men. Ver. 61. And gave up his strength to captivity, and his glory into the hand of the enemy. Ver. 62. And gave over his people to the sword, and was wroth against his inheritance. Ver. 63. The fire consumed their young men, and their maidens were not celebrated. Ver. 64. Their priests fell by the sword, and their widows did not weep.-On ver. 56-58, compare Judges 2:7, and following verses.a Ver. 56 refers to a Venema: "The prophet having brought to a close this parenthetical re- view of the judgments of God, upon the enemies, and of the benefits conferred on Israel, resumes the thread of his discourse, and enlarges at considerable Deuteronomy 6:16; Deuteronomy 6:17 : "Ye shall not tempt the Lord your God, as ye tempted him at Massah: they observed not the command-ments of the Lord and his testimonies."-"As their fathers," in ver. 57, points back to ver. 8. "They changed," in contrast to what they should have been and had been, indicates an inci-pient change of conduct for the better: compare Judges 2:7.--A deceitful bow, is one which disappoints the trust placed in it, just as streams which, in summer, when they are most needed, become dry, are said to be deceitful and faithless, Isaiah 58:11, Job 6:15. The Israelites, instead of being compared to cow-ardly soldiers, as they are in ver. 9, are here compared to use-less weapons. Hosea 7:16, "they are like a deceitful bow," depends on our passage. The הכעיס, in ver. 58, is from Deuteronomy 32:21, and the הקניא from Deuteronomy 32:16; Deuteronomy 32:21 : comp. Exodus 20:5.-Ver. 59 is intentionally the same as ver. 21:--they were faithless like their fathers, and therefore there is repeated upon them the punishment of their fathers. Israel is here the whole nation, as at ver. 55. It is against them, and not against the ten tribes only, that the charge of apostacy is brought, ver. 56 -58, it was upon them that the punishments described in the following verses fell, from the forsaking of the sanctuary in Shiloh onward, which involved them in all that followed, and from which all Israel, and not Ephraim only, had to suffer. On ver. 60 Calvin: "It is a most impressive expression, that God should have been offended by the constant transgressions of his people, so as to be constrained to forsake the only place which he had selected upon earth." The holy tabernacle was at Shiloh, during the whole period of the Judges: compare the Beitr. p. 52, et seq. That God did forsake his sanctuary in that place, so that it became like a dead carcass without a soul, was visibly demonstrated to all men, by the catastrophe described in the following verses, and more especially when the ark of the covenant actually came into the hands of the Philis-tines. The men of those days were informed, by facts which took place before their eyes, that God would never again dwell in Shiloh:-the ark of the covenant was not brought back to that length, upon the statement which had been briefly made in ver. 41, as to the temptation and rebellion of the people." On this, we would observe, that the word, "parenthetical", must be either removed, or at least, explained and modified. Compare the introduction.place, and the holy tabernacle was removed from it, first to Nob, 1 Samuel 21:2, and subsequently, after the destruction of that city by Saul, to Gibeon, 1 Kings 3:4. Jeremiah repre-sents this catastrophe, as a declaration made by God in deeds, that he would not again dwell at Shiloh. In chap. 7:12, after warning the people not to substitute a blind confidence in the temple, in room of true repentance, he says: "Go to my place at Shiloh, where I caused my name to dwell, at the beginning, and see what I have done to it, on account of the wickedness of my people Israel:" compare ver. 14, 26:6, passages which do not at all refer to a destruction of the place by enemies, of which the history knows nothing, but to a desolation of it, fol-lowing in consequence of the removal of the sanctuary, which in reality proceeded not from man, but from God. The mat-ter, however, did not end with this removal. The sanctuary was, and continued to be a corpse, until it rose in a glorified form on Zion: compare ver. 68 and 69, according to which the true sanctuary passed directly from Shiloh to Jerusalem, Beitr. III. 48. שכן signifies in Pih. to make, or to cause to dwell, (compare Deuteronomy 12:11, and other passages), and never to dwell. Luther falsely: when he dwelt among men. "To cause to dwell" is applied to the sanctuary in Joshua 18:1, "And the whole congregation of the children of Israel assembled toge-ther at Shiloh, and they made to dwell there (the Hiph. instead of the Pih.) the tabernacle of meeting:" compare ch. 22:19. The erection of the holy tabernacle was only in a lower sense, that is, as far as its boards, &c. are concerned, the work of men, who even here wrought under the direction of God. As far as regards its substance, the sanctuary was singly and alone, the work of God, who, in fulfilment of his promise, "I will dwell in the midst of you," Exodus 25:8, breathed into the body the living soul, and caused his name to dwell there, Deuteronomy 12:11. The church is, in, spite of all builders and carpenters, always built only by the Lord. It is only in consequence of not adopting this spiritual sense, that some expositors have felt them-selves obliged to have recourse to the violent assumption of a double ellipsis:-the tabernacle (where) he caused (his name) to dwell among men. Compare Ezekiel 11. where the substance of the tabernacle, the Shechinah, went back into heaven. The words call down a woe upon the wickedness of the people,by which they rendered themselves unworthy, and robbed themselves, of such a glorious privilege.-In ver. 61, the ark of the covenant is called the strength of God, (עז has only this sense), because it was the pledge of the manifestation of divine power on behalf of Israel, and, as it were, its seat and foun-tain, so that, in consequence of the loss of it, they were given up as a helpless prey to their enemies: compare Psalms 132:8, 1 Samuel 4:3, and the Beitr. III.-p. 54.. In like manner, the ark of the covenant is called the ornament of God, as the place of manifestation of his glory. As such, the ark of the covenant is call-ed also the honour or the glory of Israel, 1 Samuel 4:21, to whom Luther, after the example of the Septuagint and the Vulgate, falsely refers the suffix in this passage.-Ver. 62 refers more particularly to the great slaughter by the Philistines, in which thirty thousand Israelites perished, 1 Samuel 4:10.-In ver. 63, the fire is the fire of battle: compare Numbers 21:28. Instead of, they were celebrated or praised, Luther has: they must re-main unmarried. The praises of the bride used to be cele-brated on the day of her marriage. Now, that the young then are slain, the voices of the bridegroom and of the bride are alike hushed in silence.-The first clause of verse 64 refers to the death of the sons of Eli, 1 Samuel 4:11; 1 Samuel 4:17. The weeping is the solemn mourning: compare Genesis 23:2. This presup-poses the presence of the dead body, and takes place at the in-terment. Compare Jeremiah 22:18, where it is said of Jehoiakim: "They shall not lament for him, saying, Ah, my brother, Ah, Lord, he shall be buried with the burial of an ass." It is clear as day, that our passage is the original one, and that Job 27:15, "where his widows weep not," occurs word for word, is the copy. The singular affix, as there used, where it is the ungodly that is spoken of, has a strange appearance as applied to an ideal person; and this strange appearance is assuredly of itself sufficient to indicate the original. Now the Lord has again received his people into favour, but, in the exercise of his sovereign authority, he has at the same time made a change in regard to internal arrangements; and woe to the man who will not acquiesce in these appointments! Ver. 65-72.-Ver. 65. Then the Lord awaked like one sleep-ing, like a warrior rejoicing with wine. Ver. 66. And he struck back his enemies, he gave them an eternal reproach. Ver. 67.But he rejected the tents of Joseph, and selected not the tribe of Ephraim. Ver. 68. And selected the tribe of Judah, the Mount Zion which he loved. Ver. 69. And built like high mountains his sanctuary, like the earth which he has founded for ever. Ver. 70. And he selected David his servant, and took him from the flocks of sheep. Ver. 71. He brought him from the suckling sheep, that he might feed Jacob his people, and Israel his inheri- tance. Ver. 72. And he fed them with upright heart, and guided them, with skilful hands. In the song of Moses, it is said to be the way of God, that he first punishes the sins of his people, and then delivers them out of the oppressive power of the in-struments of his punishment. The Psalmist announces, in ver. 65 and 66, that God, on this occasion also, adopted this me-thod. These verses refer to the prosperous events which hap-pened under Samuel, Saul, and David, the commencement of which is related in. 1 Samuel 5. The מתרונן is not to be derived from the imaginary root, רען, to overpower, Hiph. to be over-powered, which would furnish an incongruous (for a man recover-ing from intoxication does not rejoice) and an ignoble figure, such as is never employed in Scripture, but from the very com-mon root רנן, to rejoice, to shout for joy:�rejoicing with wine, one who has increased by wine the strength and cou-rage which always belong to him: compare Psalms 104:16. It has been erroneously said, that this does not suit with the "awak-ing." There might be some force in this objection, were the expression, instead of "like one sleeping," "from his sleep," which, in Judges 16:14; Judges 16:20, is used of Samson. "To awake," however, is used in a figurative sense, and denotes the return from repose to action.--On ver. 66 Luther, instead of "back," has, "on the back parts," with reference to 1 Samuel 5:9. But אהור, in such connections, always signifies "back," although sometimes it has the sense of "behind," and, at the most, there is an allusion to that circumstance and double sense. The eternal shame is in accordance with the history. The Philistines went downward step by step, till they disappeared from the scene altogether. The expression, "and he rejected," refers back to ver. 59; the rejection of all Israel had come to an end, but the rejection of the house of Joseph, and specially of the tribe of Ephraim, who held the sceptre of that house, still re-mained. This rejection is limited by the connection. It didnot relate to their forming part of the Lord's people. This privilege Ephraim at that time retained in all its integrity: and even at a later period, when he had actually apostatized, it was not wholly withdrawn; as the sending of the prophets from time to time made manifest. It relates singly and alone to the pre-cedency, which was transferred to Judah. Ephraim irrevocably lost this. In ver. 48, the Psalmist says in general, that the Lord had selected Judah and Mount Zion; and Zion comes into notice as invested with a twofold excellence;--it is the seat of the sanctuary and of the Israelitish monarchy. And in ver. 69- 72, both of the prerogatives, imparted to Judah and Zion, are men tioned separately; the sanctuary in ver. 69, and the monarchy in ver. 70-72.-The first clause of ver. 69 refers to the glory and, spiritual excellence of the sanctuary on Zion; and the second to its unchangeableness, in opposition to Shiloh, from which it wasremoved:-it is high as the mountains, firm as the earth, and therefore it presents an impenetrable bulwark against every at- tempt which might be made to remove it. רמים, high, not heights, is a poetical expression for high mountains. To the eye of faith, the sanctuary in Zion, which at that time present-ed externally an insignificant appearance, seemed to rise like a mighty giant to heaven. Against the translation, "like heaven's height," we may urge, that רם is the common term applied to a mountain, (comp. for example, the רמה, in so many of the proper names of high-lying places), while it is never applied to heaven, and that the sanctuary on Zion is never compared to heaven, but frequently to high hills,-comp. Psalms 68:15; Psalms 68:16, and the passages quoted there. On the second clause, comp. Psalms 68:16, "the Lord shall dwell there for ever," and Psalms 132:14, "this is my rest for ever." The Psalmist has no anti-cipation of an impending destruction of the temple, foretold as it was by the oldest of the prophets. Still, this is not absolutely excluded by the expression, "for ever." For even the eternity of the earth is not absolute, according to the doctrine of the Old Testament: comp. Ps. eii. 27.-The call of David from the con-dition of a shepherd, ver. 70, 71, indicates "the pious and pru-dent shepherd-concern of the chosen king." (Steir): Who is the man that would rebel against such a king, graciously granted by God, instead of rendering him thanks! "It is for this reason also, that mention is made of the suckling sheep, because, in at tending to these, the faithfulness of the shepherd is most con- spicuously seen:" comp. Isaiah 40:11, and for the whole, 2 Sam. vii. 8, "I have taken thee from the sheep-cote, from following the sheep, to feed my people Israel," 1 Chronicles 11:2. The רעה with ב, is "to tend," or, "to perform the duties of a shepherd among the sheep."-Stier: “ Serve therefore this king whom God has given you with faithfulness, come together under his shepherd's rod to the sanctuary of Zion, and do not revolt like your fathers:"-this is the concluding fundamental tone of the whole Psalm. END OF VOL. II. J. THOMSON, PRINTER, MILNE SQUARE. Now the Lord has again received his people into favour, but, in the exercise of his sovereign authority, he has at the same time made a change in regard to internal arrangements; and woe to the man who will not acquiesce in these appointments! Psalms 78:65-72. Ver. 65. Then the Lord awaked like one sleeping, like a warrior rejoicing with wine. Ver. 66. And he struck back his enemies, he gave them an eternal reproach. Ver. 67. But he rejected the tents of Joseph, and selected not the tribe of Ephraim. Ver. 68. And selected the tribe of Judah, the Mount Zion which he loved. Ver. 69. And built like high mountains his sanctuary, like the earth which he has founded for ever. Ver. 70. And he selected David his servant, and took him from the flocks of sheep. Ver. 71. He brought him from the suckling sheep, that he might feed Jacob his people, and Israel his inheritance. Ver. 72. And he fed them with upright heart, and guided them, with skilful hands. In the song of Moses, it is said to be the way of God, that he first punishes the sins of his people, and then delivers them out of the oppressive power of the instruments of his punishment. The Psalmist announces, in Psalms 78:65 and Psalms 78:66, that God, on this occasion also, adopted this method. These verses refer to the prosperous events which happened under Samuel, Saul, and David, the commencement of which is related in. 1 Samuel 5. The ξϊψεπο is not to be derived from the imaginary root, ψςο, to overpower, Hiph. to be overpowered, which would furnish an incongruous (for a man recovering from intoxication does not rejoice) and an ignoble figure, such as is never employed in Scripture, but from the very common root ψπο, to rejoice, to shout for joy:—a warrior rejoicing with wine, one who has increased by wine the strength and courage which always belong to him: compare Psalms 104:16. It has been erroneously said, that this does not suit with the “awaking.” There might be some force in this objection, were the expression, instead of “like one sleeping,” “from his sleep,” which, in Judges 16:14, Judges 16:20, is used of Samson. “To awake,” however, is used in a figurative sense, and denotes the return from repose to action. On Psalms 78:66 Luther, instead of “back,” has, “on the back parts,” with reference to 1 Samuel 5:9. But ΰηεψ, in such connections, always signifies “back,” although sometimes it has the sense of “behind,” and, at the most, there is an allusion to that circumstance and double sense. The eternal shame is in accordance with the history. The Philistines went downward step by step, till they disappeared from the scene altogether. The expression, “and he rejected,” refers back to Psalms 78:59; the rejection of all Israel had come to an end, but the rejection of the house of Joseph, and specially of the tribe of Ephraim, who held the sceptre of that house, still remained. This rejection is limited by the connection. It did not relate to their forming part of the Lord’s people. This privilege Ephraim at that time retained in all its integrity: and even at a later period, when he had actually apostatized, it was not wholly withdrawn; as the sending of the prophets from time to time made manifest. It relates singly and alone to the precedency, which was transferred to Judah. Ephraim irrevocably lost this. In Psalms 78:48, the Psalmist says in general, that the Lord had selected Judah and Mount Zion; and Zion comes into notice as invested with a twofold excellence;—it is the seat of the sanctuary and of the Israelitish monarchy. And in Psalms 78:69-72, both of the prerogatives, imparted to Judah and Zion, are mentioned separately; the sanctuary in Psalms 78:69, and the monarchy in Psalms 78:70-72. The first clause of Psa 78:69 refers to the loftiness and, spiritual heigth of the sanctuary on Zion; and the second to its unchangeableness, in opposition to Shiloh, from which it was removed:—it is high as the mountains, firm as the earth, and therefore it presents an impenetrable bulwark against every attempt which might be made to remove it. ψξιν, high, not heights, is a poetical expression for high mountains. To the eye of faith, the sanctuary in Zion, which at that time presented externally an insignificant appearance, seemed to rise like a mighty giant to heaven. Against the translation, “like heaven’s height,” we may urge, that ψν is the common term applied to a mountain, (comp. for example, the ψξδ, in so many of the proper names of high-lying places), while it is never applied to heaven, and that the sanctuary on Zion is never compared to heaven, but frequently to high hills,—comp. Psalms 68:15-16, and the passages quoted there. On the second clause, comp. Psalms 68:16, “the Lord shall dwell there for ever,” and Psalms 132:14, “this is my rest for ever.” The Psalmist has no anticipation of an impending destruction of the temple, foretold as it was by the oldest of the prophets. Still, this is not absolutely excluded by the expression, “for ever.” For even the eternity of the earth is not absolute, according to the doctrine of the Old Testament: comp. Psalms 102:27. The call of David from the condition of a shepherd, Psalms 78:70-71, indicates “the pious and prudent shepherd-concern of the chosen king.” (Steir): Who is the man that would rebel against such a king, graciously granted by God, instead of rendering him thanks! “It is for this reason also, that mention is made of the suckling sheep, because, in attending to these, the faithfulness of the shepherd is most conspicuously seen:” comp. Isaiah 40:11, and for the whole, 2 Samuel 7:8, “I have taken thee from the sheep-cote, from following the sheep, to feed my people Israel,” 1 Chronicles 11:2. The ψςδ with α, is “to tend,” or, “to perform the duties of a shepherd among the sheep.” Stier: “Serve therefore this king whom God has given you with faithfulness, come together under his shepherd’s rod to the sanctuary of Zion, and do not revolt like your fathers:”—this is the concluding fundamental tone of the whole Psalm. Psalms 79. THE main division of the Psalm contains twelve verses. These are divided, as is frequently the case, into three strophes, each consisting of four verses. Ver. 1-4 contains the representation of the misery:-the land of the Lord has been taken possession of by the heathen, the temple desecrated, Jerusalem laid in ruins, the servants of God have been put to death; the people of God become the objects of contempt to their neighbours. The second and third strophes contain the prayer. The conclusion, ver. 13, containing the result of the whole, gives expression to confi-dence. The Psalm stands nearly related to the 74.; the situation is the same, and they come a good deal in contact as regards the expression. Both Psalms refer to the Chaldean invasion. The Psalm before us proceeds on the supposition that the seventy-fourth had been previously composed, and supplements it. In the seventy-fourth Psalm the destruction of the sanctuary is pre-eminently and almost exclusively brought forward; but in the seventy-ninth it is referred to very briefly, for the purpose of indicating the passages which connect the two Psalms, and other subjects are put in the foreground. There is no good reason for the assertion which has been made, that the Psalm before us must have been composed previously to the seventy-fourth, as the Temple is there spoken of as entirely destroyed,whereas it is only its desecration that is spoken of here. The desecration does not exclude its destruction; the destruction is one of the forms of its desecration. Had the Psalmist design-ed, in allusion to the seventy-fourth, to speak of the sanctuary in one single expression, he could not possibly have found a stronger term than this: the most dreadful thing that can befal the sanctuary is that it be desecrated. In saying this every thing that can be affirmed of it is said. Several expositors, both ancient and modern, refer the Psalm to the time of the Maccabees. But there are quite decisive grounds against this view. First, from the close resemblance to Psalms 74., the arguments which were there adverted to are of equal force here. There are no traces here of any reference to the special relations of the times of the Maccabees. And there are two circumstances which are not suitable to those times: the laying of Jerusalem in ruins, ver. 1, and the mention of nations and kingdoms in ver. 6 (comp. 2 Kings ixiv. 2), whereas in the time of the Maccabees Judah had to do only with a single king- dom.a There are also two weighty external reasons. Jeremiah was acquainted with the Psalm, and made use of it (comp. at ver. 6), and in 1 Macc. 7:16 and 17 it is quoted as forming at that time a portion of the sacred volume.b It is thus not neces-sary here to avail ourselves of the general reasons which may be urged against the existence of Maccabean Psalms.c The title, "a Psalm of Asaph," is confirmed by the fact that the Psalm stands closely related to a whole class of Psalms which bear in their titles the name of Asaph. Those critics who re- a The remark of Venema renders it evident that even verses 2 and 3 will not suit the times of the Maccabees: "that the expressions, they delivered the servants of God to birds and wild beasts, and there was none to bury them, are to be taken in a restricted sense, as used only of some, and in reference to the attempts and intentions of the enemies."b κατατονλογονὃνἒγραψεσαρκαςὁσιωνκ.τ.λ. The Syrian translation: " ac-cording to the word which the prophet has written." This is the usual way of quoting Scripture: comp. Harless on Ephesians 4:8. Hitzig translates falsely: according to the words which a certain one wrote. The obscure productions of unknown authors are never quoted in this way. The fact that the author omits, in the passage from the Psalm, what does not suit his purpose, renders it evident that the Psalm was not com-posed for the occasion there referred to: comp. J. D. Michaelis. c Amyrald.: besides it cannot be doubted that there were prophets at the time of Ne-buchad who were able to compose such poems; whereas in the age of Antiochus there were none, at least none whose writings have reached posterity. ject the titles are unable to explain this similarity admitted bythemselves, which obtains among all the Asaphic Psalms, evenamong those which were composed at different eras. If we fol-low the title the reason of this is clear as day. The descendantsof Asaph looked upon themselves as the instruments by whichthe Asaph of David's time, their illustrious ancestor, continuedto speak, and therefore they very naturally followed as closely in his footsteps as possible: the later descendants, moreover, wouldalways have the compositions of their more early, ancestors beforetheir minds. The unity of the persons named in the titles isconnected with the unity of character by which all these Psalmsare pervaded. Any one who composed at his own hand, and didnot look at his ancestor or the early or contemporaneous instru-ments of that ancestor, could not have adopted it. Ver. 1-4.-Ver. 1. O God, the heathen have come intothine inheritance, they have polluted thy holy temple; they have laid Jerusalem in ruins. Ver. 2. They have giventhe bodies of thy servants for food to the fowls of heaven, the flesh of thy saints to the wild beasts of the earth. Ver. 3. They have shed their blood like water round about Jerusa-lean, and the was no one to bury. Ver. 4. We have becomea reproach to our neighbours, a scorn and derision to them that are round about us.-On ver. 1, Calvin: The Psalmist says, the order of nature is, as it were, inverted; the heathen havecome into the inheritance of God." Berleb.: "Faith utters asimilar complaint in its struggles: the heathen have made aninroad into my heart as thy inheritance." The pollution of the temple by the heathen presupposes its previous pollution by theIsraelites: comp. Exodus 5:11; Exodus 23:38. Psalms 74:7, is parallel.On היתו in ver. 2, comp. at Psalms 1:10. That the ארץ is to beunderstood of the earth and not of the land is obvious from the term in contrast heaven.-The expression, "and there was noneto bury," points to a great and general desolation, such as didnot exist at any other period except during the Chaldean inva-sion.-Ver. 4 is from Psalms 44:13. Ver. 5-8.-Ver. 5. How long, O Lord, wilt thou be angry for ever? shall thy jealousy burn like fire! Ver. 6. Pour outthy floods of wrath upon the heathen who know thee not, and up- on the kingdoms which do not call upon thy name. Ver. 7. For he devours Jacob, and they lay waste his pasture. Ver. 8. Remember not against us the iniquities of our ancestors, make haste to surprise us with thy tender mercies, for we have become very much reduced.-On "how long . . . for ever," in ver. 5, comp. at Psalms 74:9; Psalms 13:1. On the second clause, Deuteronomy 29:19. Exodus 20:5.a -In ver. 6, the heathen and the kingdoms are not at all the heathen nations generally, but those who had risen up against Israel. The prayer rests upon what God does constantly. Judgment begins at the house of God, but it pro-ceeds thence to those whom God has employed as the instruments of his punishment: the storm of the wrath of God always re- mains to fall at last upon the world at, enmity with his church; comp. Deuteronomy 32. Ezekiel 38:39.b-The sing. אכל in ver. 7 denotes the one soul which animates the many membered body of the enemies of the church of God. All the nations and king-doms referred to in ver. 6 served the king of Babylon. It is better to take נוה in the sense of pasture than of habitation: comp. the מרעית in ver. 13: they eat up Israel, the poor flock, and lay waste his pasture, his land. Ver. 6 and 7 are repeated almost word for word in Jeremiah 10:25. It has been alleged in favour of Jeremiah being the original author, that the prophecy was uttered before the destruction. But this reason is of no weight. The prophecy, which designedly bears no particular date, was, at least in its present form, written after the destruc-tion; it contains much moreover which represents the destruc-tion as an event which had already taken place, while other por-tions of it again refer to it as still future, (a peculiarity which admits of explanation from the circumstance that the prophet is here giving a summary view and the substance of what had been spoken at different times); ver. 25 itself takes for granted that the heathen had already devoured Israel and laid waste his pas-turage. On the other hand, and in favour of the priority of the Psalm before us, it may be urged that in all such cases there is a Ven.: The interrogative form conveys an insinuation that God ought not to de- stroy utterly the whole people, as there remain among them so many pious, to be chas-tised and purified (Daniel 11:35), but not to be destroyed. b Arnd: "The difference is this: God's wrath will burn for ever against unbelievers; with believers, however, when they deserve punishment his wrath burns fiercely indeed, but not eternally,-he visits them with the rod and chastisement for a short while, and with a view to their improvement." a presumption in favour of Jeremiah borrowing--it being his usual manner to do so; that in this chapter there are manifestly references to other Psalms, the preceding verse being borrowed from Psalms 6:1, (comp. Kuper p. 159); that in Jeremiah the words occur without any connection whatever, while in the Psalm before us the prayer that the Lord would pour out the flood of his wrath upon the heathen, is appended without anything inter-vening to the complaint that his zeal is burning like fire against Israel-the "pour out" refers back to "they have poured out," in ver. 3, (Mich. propter, sanguinem tuorum copiose effusum ef-funde, see Psalms 69:24),-comp. ver. 10; that the difficult singu-lar אכל is changed into the plural; and finally, that the passage is expanded exactly in the style of Jeremiah in quoting passages, who can leave nothing short and round,--and they have eaten him and consumed him.-ראשנים in ver. 8, where it stands alone, sig-nifies nothing else than ancestors, not antiquity. The reference to Leviticus 26:45, which it is impossible not to observe, is altogether against the exposition, the former sins: "and I remember to them the covenant of their ancestors whom I brought out of the land of Egypt before the eyes of the heathen, that I might be their God,"-God does not remember the sins of their ancestors, but according to his own promise, the covenant which he made with them. Comp. also Leviticus 26:39, where instead of "ances-tors" we have "fathers:" they desired that they may not be treated according to this verse, but according to the 45th of this chapter, or rather, that after they had experienced the treatment referred to in the 39th verse, they might now also enjoy the 45th, comp. Lamentations 5:7. The guilty fathers do not at all stand in op-position to the innocent children. It is the uniform doctrine of scripture that no one is punished unless he be personally guilty, and that it is only in the ungodly children that the sin of the fathers which is represented as increased in them that is punish-ed: comp. the Beitr. p. 544 ss. The mention of the sins of the fathers, so far from exculpating, indicates the depth and the magnitude of the guilt. Calvin: "They acknowledge an obstin-ancy of long standing, in which they have hardened themselvesagainst God. And this acknowledgment corresponds to the prophetic punishments. For sacred history testifies that the punishment of the captivity was postponed till God had experi-enced that their wickedness was incurable:" comp. Isaiah 65:7. On קדם to surprise, comp. at Psalms 21:4. Ver. 9-12.-Ver. 9. Help us, O God, our Salvation, for thy name's glory's sake; and deliver us and pardon our sins for thy name's sake. Ver. 10. Why should the heathen say, Where is their God? May the vengeance of the blood of thy servants which they have shed become known to the heathen before our eyes. Ver. 11. May the sighing of those who are bound come before thee. According to the greatness of thine arm preserve the dying. Ver 12. And recompense to our neighbours seven-fold into their bosom their reproach wherewith they have re- proached thee, O Lord.-In the 9th verse the church implores the Lord to redeem that pledge of similar future deeds, which she got in his early dealings. The name, and the honour of the name, i. e., his glory (comp. at Psalms 29:1; Psalms 29:2), are in reality the same:-for the sake of thy historically manifested glory (comp. at Psalms 23:3), for the purpose of now verifying this in sight of the blaspheming enemies, and to their terror.-The first half of the 10th verse is word for word from John 2:17, and this passage again rests on Exodus 32:12. Numbers 14:13 ss. Deuteronomy 9:28. On comparing these passages, especially the one last quoted, it be-comes obvious, that "Where is their God?" signifies, "Where is his far-famed love towards his people and where is his omnipo-tence?" The ground is not one of a mere external character:--the heathen would have had good reason to speak thus, and therefore God must not give them any occasion to do so; he must make known his omnipotence, and his love, in delivering his people; they cannot be for ever given over to misery: comp. the Christology p. 657, &c. In the second clause, the גים is written without the Vau: comp. at Psalms 74:11. "Before our eyes," is from Deuteronomy 6:22. "The vengeance of the blood of thy servants" points back to "He will avenge the blood of his ser-vants," in the conclusion of the Song of Moses, in Deuteronomy 32:43.-In ver. 11, the whole people appears under the emblem of a prisoner. At the first clause we ought to add: as it once did in Egypt, Exodus 2:23-25. The people of God have the privilege, in every trouble, of looking to the early deliverances as pledges of those yet to come; and hence they possess a sure ground of con-fidence. The world, when it prays, prays only as an experiment,having no connection whatever with history. On "according to the greatness of thine arm," comp. Numbers 14:19. Deuteronomy 3:24. Inward greatness is meant, energy. The תמותה is a noun formed from the third fem. fut. (comp. in Balaam p. 120, &c.), very probably by the Psalmist himself. Hence it cannot mean "death," but only "that which dies," "the dying." The sons of the dying are those who belong to him as a personified race, and thus the dying themselves, just like "the sons of the needy'' in Psalms 72:4.-On "in their lap," ver. 12, comp. Isaiah 65:6-7. Jeremiah 32:18. Luke 6:38. Their reproach, inasmuch as they say, Where is their God? ver. 10. Ver. 13. And we are thy people and sheep of thy pasture, therefore we shall praise thee for ever, recount thy praise through all generations. The verse is expressive of confidence: "we shall praise thee" being equivalent to "thou shalt give us occasion to do so;" comp. Psalms 44:8. In reference to "the sheep of thy pasture," comp. at Psalms 74:1. Psalms 80. The Psalmist prays for help on behalf of the oppressed church, particularly on behalf of Joseph and Benjamin, ver. 1-3, and describes, in mournful language, their oppression in ver. 4-7. In ver. 8-13, Israel appears under the image of a vine tree, which at first is carefully attended to, and had spread forth luxu-riantly, but now had become altogether destroyed. In ver.19, the Psalmist prays that God would again take this vine tree under his gracious protection.Ver. 1-7 are evidently to be considered as an Introduction; and the individual character of the Psalm is to be found in the figure of the vine tree. The formal arrangement is obvious,-so obvious, that light is thrown from this Psalm upon others, where otherwise there would have been ground for uncertainty; and even from this Psalm alone, the significance of the numbers in the arrangement of the Psalms is placed beyond a doubt. The whole, inclusive of the significant title, contains twenty verses, two decades. The introduction con-tains seven, and the main division twelve,-the numbers of thecovenant, and of the covenant people. The seven is divided into three and four, the preliminary complaint and the preliminary petition; the twelve is divided into six and six, the expanded complaint, which comes in immediately after the preliminary one, and the expanded prayer, the first and the last verses of which are the same. The fundamental tone of the whole Psalm is given in the words: "0 God, lead us back, and cause thy face to shine, and us to be delivered." These words occur three times, like the Mosaic bles-sing to which they allude, for the purpose of making a deeper impression upon the mind,a at the end of the first and of the se-cond part of the Introduction, ver. 3 and 7, and at the end of the main division and of the whole, ver. 19: the names of God in these same verses are arranged in an ascending series,-God, ver. 3; God of Hosts, ver. 7; Jehovah, God of Hosts, ver. 19. They are wanting at the end of the first part of the main division, because it is bound together by the unity of the figure of the vine tree; the twelve also is not so decidedly divided by the six, which is destitute of any meaning of its own, as is the seven by the three and the four. The beginning, moreover, of the second half of the main division is externally indicated by the address, "0 God of Hosts," ver. 14, just as the beginning of the second part of the Introduction by the address, "Jehovah, God of Hosts," ver. 4, indicating the termination prescribed for the refrain, to which it had to advance by degrees. The Psalm is a remarkable testimony on behalf of the catholic spirit by which the true church of God has been always pervaded -an illustration of the apostolic saying, "when one member suf-fers, all the members suffer along with it." Like the seventy-seventh Psalm, to which it is closely allied, it gives adequate ex-pression to the painful feelings awakened in Judah's mind by the captivity of the ten tribes; comp. the three times repeated "lead us back," ver. 3, 7, 19. The Septuagint have already with ac-curacy written: ὑנוס פןץ;᾽ֱףףץסיןץ. For it is incontrovertibly evident, from reasons which never would have been overlooked, had it not been for the perverse disposition to assign to the Psalms a Calvin: God did not design to dictate a vain repetition of words to his people; but this support is frequently held out to them, when oppressed with evils, in order that nevertheless they may courageously arise. the latest possible date, that we cannot refer the Psalm with se-veral interpreters, to the Chaldean invasion, nor yet, with others, to the times of the Maccabees, nor indeed to any suffering which befel Judah. 1. The vine tree appears as destroyed to a consi-derable extent, and even as deprived partly of its branches, but still it is standing in the holy land: the people of the Lord ap-pear, as is evident from the thrice-repeated prayer, lead us back, partly as led away; and yet they are also in possession of their own land, as is manifest from the title, "to the Chief Musician," which is wanting in Psalms 74:74; Psalms 74:79., and which marks out this Psalm as designed for a public service in the temple. By this the reference to the Chaldean destruction is wholly excluded. 2. In the very first verse, God is addressed by the title: he who leads Joseph like a flock. The idea is altogether untenable that Joseph, who appears always as the leader of the ten tribes, and who is spoken of, in Psalms 78:67, in opposition to Judah, is here used for the whole of Israel, or for Judah, in whom Israel at the time existed. Even in Obed. ver. 18, the house of Joseph denotes the ten tribes (comp. Caspari), and, in like manner, in Amos 6:6, Joseph is used only of the ten tribes; comp. Ch. B. Michaelis. 3. In ver. 2, the tribes on whose behalf the help of God is supplicated are Ephraim, Benjamin, and Manasseh. Every thing here depends upon determining whether, in the divi-sion of the state into two kingdoms, the Benjamites adhered to Judah or to Joseph. The general view is in favour of the first. (Comp. for example Winer in his dic., Gesenius in his Thesau-rus.) It is, however, involved here in inextricable difficulties; as if Benjamin belonged to the kingdom of Judah, and this Psalm refers to the misery of the whole people, there can be no reason assigned why Benjamin is named here, and not Judah. We, on the other hand, maintain that, with the exception of Jerusalem, which lay close on the boundaries of Judah, by whom it was con-quered, and by whom, in common with Benjamin, it was inhabited (comp. Raumer, p. 334), and of that portion of its environs which lay on the side of Benjamin, the declivity, namely, slanting down, from the upper city, Benjamin adhered to Joseph. The presump-tions are all in favour of this view. Benjamin and Joseph were bound together by ties of an ancient character. They were both the darling sons of beloved Rachel (Genesis 44:27-29), and wereunited to each other in the tenderest affection, Genesis 43:29-30-34. In travelling through the wilderness we find them as here united to each other; comp. Numbers 2:17, &c., 10:21-24. It is clear, from 2 Samuel 19:21, that the bond of union between Joseph and Benjamin was very close even in David's time: in this passage Simei says that he comes first of the whole house of Joseph. Further, Benjamin is the very last tribe who can be supposed to have entertained any friendly feeling towards Judah, inasmuch as the honour and pre-eminence which belonged to it during the reign of Saul was transferred to Judah (comp. 1 Samuel 22:7); and history affords evidence that, even in David's time, there existed a spirit of deep-rooted hostility. Shimei, on the rebellion of Absalom, gave utterance to the spirit of the tribe; the rebel Sheba (2 Samuel 21:1) belonged to Benjamin: and at the numbering of the people, with the exception of Levi, which, from the nature of the case, could not be included, the only tribe which was not numbered was Benjamin, undoubtedly because Joab did not choose to provoke its seditious spirit. If we turn now to the evidence in support of the opposite view, we find, as wholly favouring it, the passage 1 Kings 12:21, according to which Rehoboam assembled the whole house of Judah and the tribe of Benjamin. But a whole series of other passages demon-strates that the author loosely, though, after all, with sufficient accuracy, as the real state of matters was universally known, em-ployed the tribe of Benjamin to denote that small portion of the tribe which was incorporated with Judah, so that we are to supply as understood: so far as it remained faithful to Judah. Accord- ing to 1 Kings 11:13; 1 Kings 11:32; 1 Kings 11:36; 1 Kings 12:20, it was only the single tribe of Judah that remained with the house of David; and it is utterly preposterous to suppose that in all these passages Benja-min, which always occupied a place of distinguished honour among the tribes, is passed over in silence, on account of its littleness. In 1 Kings 12:17, the only individuals not Jews who submitted to the government of Rehoboam are "the children of Israel who dwelt in the cities of Judah." This passage forms the connecting link between 12:21 and the passages above quoted, and gives to the former the necessary limitation. Further, if we join Benja-min to Judah, it will be impossible to make out the ten tribes; for Simeon, who is commonly reckoned among them, manifestlycannot be counted. That tribe, according to Genesis 49:7, ought to be found like Levi, broken up into pieces; according to Joshua 19:1, "its inheritance was in the midst of the tribe of Judah," not certainly any contiguous portion of the land, but separate, single cities, lying at a distance from each other: comp. Bachiene i. 2, 408. The Simeonites belong, assuredly, to "the children of Israel who dwelt in the cities of Judah," as their cities origi-nally were situated within the tribe of Judah, and are enumerated in the list of these cities, Bach. § 409. They must necessarily have held fast by Judah, and probably did so very willingly: it was quite natural that they should amalgamate with Judah, and this is sufficient to explain the fact that they are nowhere men-tioned as a part of the kingdom of Judah: on the division into two kingdoms they became extinct as a tribe. This peculiar state of matters explains 1 Kings 11:30, &c., according to which the whole number of the tribes was twelve, of which one remained faithful to the house of David, and ten took part with Jeroboam. Now, if we leave out Simeon, it becomes necessary to take in Benjamin, in order to complete the number ten.-It is, therefore, evident that the three passages above quoted represent Israel only in a limited sense, whose leading tribes they name, in ac-cordance with original historical relations, and agreeably to later usage; and, therefore, the Psalm cannot be referred either to the Babylonian captivity or to the times of the Maccabees.a Title: To the Chief Musician, on lilies, a testimony of Asaph, a Psalm. This title is formed in an original manner after those of the two Davidic Psalms, the sixtieth and the sixty-ninth. "To the Chief Musician" is important, because it skews that the Psalmist is here acting as the organ of the whole church. Instead of אל pointing out the object (comp. at title of Ps. vi.) we have על in the two fundamental passages, The lilies are an emblem of what is lovely (comp. at Psalms 45.), here, as in Psalms 69., of the lovely salva-tion of the Lord, his ישועות: comp. נושעה with which the re-frain generally ends, the peculiarly prominent word of the Psalm, and the ישועתה, in ver. 2. The עדות, which, on account of the ac-cusative, cannot be connected with ששנים, signifies always lawa Calvin: It would have been absurd to have passed over the tribe Judah, and the sacred city itself, and to have given the prominence to Joseph, Manasseh, Ephraim, and Benjamin, if the language had not been designed to apply specially to Israel. (comp. at Psalms 60. title), and generally denotes the divine law, as given in the Books of Moses; in this way also it is used in the Asaphic Psalms 78:5; Psalms 81:5. That it is used in the same sense here also, that the Psalmist designates his poem a law, because he does not prescribe a way of salvation at his own hand, but merely points to the one which had already been de-scribed in the law, and comes forward as its expounder, is evi-dent from the reference to the title of Psalms 60., where the original itself from which the Psalmist merely copies, is named עדות, and from the fact that the Psalm really throughout depends upon the law, especially the refrain which gives its fundamental tone. The particular application of עדות is to be got from the word immediately preceding, on the lilies: "a law which treatsof the way of obtaining deliverance."a The לאסף עדות, cor-responds to the לאסף משכיל an instruction of Asaph in Psalms 74:74; Psalms 74:78.; but it is a stronger and more em-phatic expression: comp. also, Hear, my people, my law in Psalms 78:1. Ver. 1-3.--Ver. 1. O thou Shepherd of Israel give ear, who leadest Joseph as the sheep; thou who sittest enthroned upon the cherubim, shine forth. Ver. 2. Before Ephraim, and Benjamin, and Manasseh, stir up thy strength and come for help to us. Ver. 3. O God, lead us back, and cause thy face to shine, and us to be delivered.-The "thou Shepherd of Israel," in ver. 1 (comp. at Psalms 23:1), refers to Genesis 48:15; Genesis 49:24, where in Joseph's blessing God is named the Shepherd of Israel. The expression, "who leadest Joseph," &c., is the development of the first clause, and marks directly that part of Israel who at this time stood particularly in need of the shepherd care of God. In the second clause prominence is given to the omnipotence of God as the second foundation of the deliverance, just as in the first his care for his people had been especially dwelt upon. It is omnipotence that is indicated by, "thou sittest enthroned upon the cherubim:" comp. at Psalms 18:10. The cherubim of the sanctuary are the emblem of the earthly creation. God's sitting above these indicates that this sublunary world with all its powers is subject to him and serves him. "God of hosts" corresponds a Venema: that the pious, when placed in dreadful trouble, might be instructed in the true way of obtaining deliverance and salvation. to this appellation of God, and denotes as exclusively God's dominion over the heavenly powers as the expression before us denotes his dominion over those of earth. In reference to shine-forth, comp. at Psalms 1:2. Allusion is made, as appears, to the resplendent symbol of the presence of God during the march through the wilderness. In ver. 2, Benjamin "the little," stands between Ephraim and Manasseh. "Before them:"-that is, leading them forward, at their head, as formerly before Israel in the pillar of cloud and the pillar of fire: comp. Deuteronomy 13:21; Deuteronomy 13:22, "and the Lord went before them," &c. Thy strength:-which now slumbers,-comp. Psalms 78:65.-The "lead us back," in ver. 3, refers to that portion of the people who had been led into captivity, and who had been described with sufficient distinctness in the preceding clauses, and whom the Psalmist, sympathising with a suffering member, keeps throughout prominently before his eye. The usual sense of שוב in Hiph. is to lead back (comp. Genesis 28:15, where Jacob, who in his exile beyond the Euphrates, and in his restoration to Canaan, typified the fate of his people, is addressed by God, I bring thee back to this place, Jeremiah 12:15; Jeremiah 16:15; Jeremiah 30:3): and there is no ground whatever to depart from this usual sense here; more especially as in the 12 Thessalonians and 13 th verses we find a lamentation expressed in figu-rative language over a considerable portion of the people who had been led into captivity. The sense to bring back to a former condition, to restore (Luther: comfort us), is of very rare occur-rence, indeed occurs with certainty only in one passage, Daniel 9:25 : comp. the Christology, p. 2, p. 456. "Cause thy face to shine," is demanded as a fulfilment of the Mosaic blessing, Numbers 6:25 : comp. at Psalms 4:6; Psalms 31:16.Ver. 4-7.-Ver. 4. O Lord God, God of hosts, how long dost thou smoke against the prayer of thy people? Ver. 5. Thou feedest them with tear-bread, and givest them drink in a great measure full of tears. Ver. 6. Thou placest us for conten- tion to our neighbours, and our enemies make merry. Ver. 7. O God, God of hosts, bring us back, and cause thy face to shine upon us, and us to be delivered. A heaping up of the names of God similar to that in ver. 4, occurs also in the first verse of the fiftieth Psalm, another of the Psalms of Asaph. In prayer, every thing depends upon God, in the full glory of his being,walking before the soul. It is only into the bosom of such a God that it is worth while to pour out lamentations and prayers. "Jehovah," corresponding to "thou Shepherd of Israel," in ver. 1, points to the fulness of the love of God towards his people; and "God, God of hosts" corresponding to "who sittest enthron-ed upon the cherubim," to his infinite power to help them. The Elohim Zebaoth causes no difficulty if we only explain cor-rectly Jehovah Zebaoth: comp. Psalms 24:10. It is manifest from, comparing the fundamental passage, Deuteronomy 29:19, and the parallel Asaph. passage Psalms 74:1, that the smoke comes into notice only as the attendant of fire. It is clear also from these passages that we must translate against, not at the prayer of thy people. There is a significant reference to smoke as the standing symbol of prayer, and to its embodiment in the burnt offering: comp. Psalms 141:2. Revelation 5:8; Revelation 8:3; Revelation 8:4. Isaiah 6:4, "the house was full of smoke," Beitr. 3:644. The smoke of prayer, according to Leviticus 16:13, should smother the fire of the wrath of God: but instead of this, God opposes the smoke of his anger to the smoke of prayer. In ver. 5, tear-bread is not at all bread destroyed by tears, but bread composed of tears. This is mani-fest from the parallel passages: comp. at Psalms 42:3, and the second clause: as the tears are drink there, they must be bread here. It cannot always be, that the Shepherd of Israel, of whom it is said, Psalms 23:5, "thou preparest before me a table in presence of my enemies, . . . my cup overfloweth," prepares nothing but tears for the food and the drink of his people. That were a very singular quid pro quo. The second clause can only be translated: thou causest them to drink with a measure of tears. For השקה is constantly construed with the accusative of the per-son and the thing; but it never occurs with ב, before the thing. The "measure" is thus the thing that is given to drink (the שליש as the name of a measure occurs only in one other passage, Isaiah 40:12; there is no need for defining its size, it was, at all events, large for tears): "of tears" denotes the contents of the measure.- Ver. 6 alludes to Psalms 44:13, on which also Psalms 79:4 depends. The neighbours are always the petty tribes in the immediate neigh-bourhood of Israel (several interpreters refer incorrectly to the As-syrians and Egyptians), who always availed themselves of those occasions when Israel was oppressed by more powerful nations, togive vent to their hatred. The מדון the object, the butt of rage expressed in actions, but especially in bitter contempt, "where is now their God?" &c. The למו as the dat. comm., i.e., according to the heart's desire. Ver. 4. O Lord God, God of hosts, how long dost thou smoke against the prayer of thy people? Ver. 5. Thou feedest them with tear-bread, and givest them drink in a great measure full of tears. Ver. 6. Thou placest us for contention to our neighbours, and our enemies make merry. Ver. 7. O God, God of hosts, bring us back, and cause thy face to shine upon us, and us to be delivered.A heaping up of the names of God similar to that in Psalms 80:4, occurs also in the first verse of the fiftieth Psalm, another of the Psalms of Asaph. In prayer, everything depends upon God, in the full glory of his being, walking before the soul. It is only into the bosom of such a God that it is worth while to pour out lamentations and prayers. “Jehovah,” corresponding to “thou Shepherd of Israel,” in Psalms 80:1, points to the fulness of the love of God towards his people; and “God, God of hosts” corresponding to “who sittest enthroned upon the cherubim,” to his infinite power to help them. The Elohim Zebaoth causes no difficulty if we only explain correctly Jehovah Zebaoth: comp. Psalms 24:10. It is manifest from, comparing the fundamental passage, Deuteronomy 29:19, and the parallel Asaph. passage Psalms 74:1, that the smoke comes into notice only as the attendant of fire. It is clear also from these passages that we must translate against, not at the prayer of thy people. There is a significant reference to smoke as the standing symbol of prayer, and to its embodiment in the burnt offering: comp. Psalms 141:2. Revelation 5:8; Revelation 8:3-4. Isaiah 6:4, “the house was full of smoke,” Beitr. iii. 644. The smoke of prayer, according to Leviticus 16:13, should smother the fire of the wrath of God: but instead of this, God opposes the smoke of his anger to the smoke of prayer. In Psalms 80:5, tear-bread is not at all bread destroyed by tears, but bread composed of tears. This is manifest from the parallel passages: comp. at Psalms 42:3, and the second clause: as the tears are drink there, they must be bread here. It cannot always be, that the Shepherd of Israel, of whom it is said, Psalms 23:5, “thou preparest before me a table in presence of my enemies, . . . my cup overfloweth,” prepares nothing but tears for the food and the drink of his people. That were a very singular quid pro quo. The second clause can only be translated: thou causest them to drink with a measure of tears. For δωχδ is constantly construed with the accusative of the person and the thing; but it never occurs with α, before the thing. The “measure” is thus the thing that is given to drink (the ωμιω as the name of a measure occurs only in one other passage, Isaiah 40:12; there is no need for defining its size, it was, at all events, large for tears): “of tears” denotes the contents of the measure. Ver. 6 alludes to Psalms 44:13, on which also Psalms 79:4 depends. The neighbours are always the petty tribes in the immediate neighbourhood of Israel (several interpreters refer incorrectly to the Assyrians and Egyptians), who continually availed themselves of those occasions when Israel was oppressed by more powerful nations, to give vent to their hatred. The ξγεο, the object, the butt of rage expressed in actions, but especially in bitter contempt, “where is now their God?” &c. The μξε as the dat. comm., i.e., according to the heart’s desire. Ver. 8-13.-Ver. 8. Thou broughtest a vine out of Egypt, thou didst remove the heathen and didst plant it. Ver. 9. Thou didst make room before it, and it struck its roots and filled the land. Ver. 10. The mountains were covered with its sha-dow, and the cedars of God with its branches. Ver. 11. It sent its boughs to the sea and its shoots to the river. Ver. 12. Why then hast thou broken down its wall, so that everything that passes by plunders it? Ver. 13. The boar out of the forest wastes it, and whatever stirs in the field feeds of it.-God can-not leave off, far less destroy a work which he has once begun; this is the truth on which depends the significance of the con-trast between the once and the now. The fundamental passage for the figurative representation is Genesis 49:22, where Joseph, to whom the eye of the Psalmist is continually directed, appears, in reference to his joyful prosperity, as a wall tree by a fountain, whose branches rose high above the walls. The difference is only this, that here instead of the fruit tree, the vine is intro-duced, after the example of Isaiah in ch. 5:1-7, where Israel appears as the vineyard of the Lord. It is obvious from the fun-damental passage, and from the expanded description which fol-lows, that the point of comparison next to the abundance of beau-tiful fruit is the luxuriant growth: comp. Hosea 14:7, "They shall grow as the vine."-That the הסיע in ver. 8 is to be taken in its usual sense, to cause to depart, which it maintains even in Job 19:10, is evident on comparing the Asaphic passage, from which it is immediately borrowed, Psalms 78:52, and the funda-mental passages, Exodus 12:37; Exodus 15:22, on which this depends. An affirmation may be made in regard to the spiritual, which could not be applied to the natural vine. "Thou didst remove the heathen" is taken from Psalms 78:55, which again depends upon Exodus 23:28; Exodus 33:2; Exodus 34:11. The sons of Asaph always follow in the footsteps of their father. The "plant" is from Psalms 44:2, to which allusion is also made in ver. 12. The Berleb.:“Shall all this be for nought and in vain? Or hast thou plant-ed it on this account, that the enemies might devour it?" Onפנה in Psalms 7. "to clear," "to clear out," in ver. 10, comp. the Christol. 404. It corresponds to "the clearing out of the stones" of Isaiah 5:2, and refers to the removal of the original inha-bitants of the country. Instead of "it struck its roots," Luther has falsely, "Thou hast made it strike its roots."-The funda-mental passages for verses 11 and 12 are Genesis 28:14, where it is said in the promise to Jacob, "thou stretch out on the west and on the east, on the north and on the south," and especially Deuteronomy 11:24, "every place which the sole of your feet shall tread upon shall be yours, from the wilderness and Lebanon, from the river, the river Euphrates, even unto the west sea shall be your boundaries:"-comp. Joshua 1:4. God had in former times glori- ously fulfilled the promises contained in these passages. צלה and ענפיה are in reality both accusatives governed by כסוP�; the mountains which were covered with the shadow of the vine are the mountains on the south of Canaan, the hill coun-try of Judah, particularly the southermost part of the same, the hill country of the Amorites, which at the commencement of Is-rael's country met the traveller like a wall; comp. Raumer p. 48. "The wilderness of mountains" is introduced in Psalms 75:7 as the southern boundary, in the same way as the mountains are here spoken of as the most southern portion of the land. The cedars of God (comp. at Psalms 36:6) which the boughs of the vine ascend and cover, are, as usual, those of Lebanon (comp. Psalms 29:5; Psalms 92:13; Psalms 104:16), which formed the north boundary of Canaan: comp. Psalms 29., where Lebanon and the wilderness of Kadesh stand opposed to each other as the northern and southern boundaries of Canaan. The sea is the Mediterranean, the river, Euphrates. From this antithesis the translation falls to the ground: and his boughs were cedars of God,-which would bring out a monstrous figure.-The ארה to pluck (else-where only in Son 5:1), applies not to the grapes but to the branches:-the luxuriance of the branches formed the subject of the preceding description; and the opposite of that state is described in this clause, as it is in Isaiah 5:5, Psalms 89:40; Psalms 89:41. All who pass by time way: Berleb.: "for example, Pul, Tiglath-pileser, Salmanasser, Senacherib."- The boar from the forest (comp. Jerem. 5:4) is according to the analogy of Psa 68:30. Ezekiel 29:3, where the hippopotamos and the crocodile are em-blem of Pharaoh, and Ezekiel 17., where the eagle indicates Ne-buchadnezar, descriptive not of the enemies generally, but of theking of Assyria. "Whatever stirs in the field" (זיז, is from theAsaph. Psalms 1:11, the only other passage where it is used ofbeasts), denotes the whole mass of the nations serving underhim.aVer. 14-19.-Ver. 14. O God, God of hosts, turn yet back,look from heaven and behold and visit this vine. Ver. 15. Andmaintain that which thy right hand has planted, and the Son whom, thou hast made strong for thyself. Ver. 16. It is burnedwith fire, cut down, before the rebuke of thy countenance they perish. Ver. 17. May thy hand be upon the man of thy righthand, the Son of Man whom thou hast made strong for thyself. Ver. 18. We will not go back, quicken thou us and we will callupon thy name. Ver. 19. Lord, God, God of hosts, lead usback, cause thy face to shine and us to be delivered.-The be-ginning of the prayer in the main division, ver. 14 is connectedwith the beginning of the prayer in the introduction, ver. 1. Theכנה; ver. 15, is the imper. of כנן, to make firm, comp. the pro-per noun, כנניהו, whom Jehovah hath established. It is con-strued first with the accusative, and afterwards with על, whichdenotes the care and the protection. Against the idea that itis to be considered as a noun, in the sense of a slip, it may beurged, that there is no such noun, that the reference to the 8thverse demands that it be the vine-tree that is here spoken of,and that the following verse refers to the vine as if it had pre-viously been spoken of. The Son of the second clause is just thespiritual vine. The translation, a shoot, according to Genesis 49:22, is not only against ver. 17, but also against the sense, as itis not any particular shoot, but the whole vine that is here spo-ken of. The אמץ should be taken in its usual sense, to makestrong (comp. the proper noun, Amaziah,) rather than in thesense of to choose, which depends upon the single and very doubt-ful passage, Isaiah 44:14. The singular, of rare occurrence else-where, here and in ver. 17, is accounted for by the allusion tothe name of Benjamin, whom the Psalmist here considers as therepresentative of all Israel. Thy right hand and, Son ought toa Berleb: The beasts represent, in the inner man, the destructive passions by which the vineyard of the soul is torn up and consumed. read with italics, for the purpose of making this allusion obvious. The Son of the right hand is the Son who stands at the right hand of his earthly and his heavenly father, and who is, conse-quently, protected by him: Genesis 44:20, "his father loves him," and Deuteronomy 33:12, "the beloved of the Lord," are to be considered as explanations of the name. In so far as Jacob gave this significant name to his son, under the guidance and in-spiration of God, it was a pledge of the divine love and help for him, and, at the same time, for all Israel, with whom he is inter-woven. The subject in "they perish," in ver. 16, is the chil-dren of Israel, the spiritual vine.a-Ver. 18 alludes to Psalms 44:18, "our heart has not turned back, nor have our steps declined from thy paths." Israel could not say so now; they have de-served their misery, they have turned aside to many ways, and, instead of the name of the Lord, they have called upon strange gods (comp. Psalms 79:6), but they promise better; if the Lord will bring them back unto life (Psalms 71:20), they also will walk in a new life. The guilt of Israel is very tenderly touched. The Psalmist has no intention of acting the part of Job's friends, he follows the admonition of Job: "have pity upon me, have pity upon me, my friends, for the hand of God is upon me." God has undertaken to rebuke, ver. 16, and therefore his servants may well be silent. Ver. 14. O God, God of hosts, turn yet back, look from heaven and behold and visit this vine. Ver. 15. And maintain that which thy right hand has planted, and the Son whom, thou hast made strong for thyself. Ver. 16. It is burned with fire, cut down, before the rebuke of thy countenance they perish. Ver. 17. May thy hand be upon the man of thy right hand, the Son of Man whom thou hast made strong for thyself. Ver. 18. We will not go back, quicken thou us and we will call upon thy name. Ver. 19. Lord, God, God of hosts, lead us back, cause thy face to shine and us to be delivered. The beginning of the prayer in the main division, Psalms 80:14 joins on to the beginning of the prayer in the introduction, Psalms 80:1. The λπδ, Psalms 80:15, is the imper. of λּ ?πο, to make firm, comp. the proper noun, λππιδε, whom Jehovah hath established. It is construed first with the accusative, and afterwards with ςμ, which denotes the care and the protection. Against the idea that it is to be considered as a noun, in the sense of a slip, it may be urged, that there is no such noun, that the reference to the (Psalms 80:8) 8th verse demands that it be the vine-tree that is here spoken of, and that the following verse refers to the vine as if it had previously been spoken of. The Son of the second clause is just the spiritual vine. The translation, a shoot, according to Genesis 49:22, is not only against Psalms 80:17, but also against the sense, as it is not any particular shoot, but the whole vine that is here spoken of. The ΰξυ should be taken in its usual sense, to make strong (comp. the proper noun, Amaziah,) rather than in the sense of to choose, which depends upon the single and very doubtful passage, Isaiah 44:14. The singular, otherwise strange, is accounted for here and in Psalms 80:17, by the allusion to the name of Benjamin, whom the Psalmist here considers as the representative of all Israel. Thy right hand and, Son ought to read with italics, for the purpose of making this allusion obvious. The Son of the right hand is the Son who stands at the right hand of his earthly and his heavenly father, and who is, consequently, protected by him: Genesis 44:20, “his father loves him,” and Deuteronomy 33:12, “the beloved of the Lord,” are to be considered as explanations of the name. In so far as Jacob gave this significant name to his son, under the guidance and inspiration of God, it was a pledge of the divine love and help for him, and, at the same time, for all Israel, with whom he is interwoven. The subject in “they perish,” in Psalms 80:16, is the children of Israel, the spiritual vine. [Note: Calvin: “Let us learn, whenever the anger of God burns forth, even in the midst of the flames of the conflagration to cast our griefs into the bosom of God, who wonderfully revives his church from destruction.]Ver. 18 alludes to Psalms 44:18, “our heart has not turned back, nor have our steps declined from thy paths.” Israel could not say so now; they have deserved their misery, they have turned aside to many ways, and, instead of the name of the Lord, they have called upon strange gods (comp. Psalms 79:6), but they promise better; if the Lord will bring them back unto life (Psalms 71:20), they also will walk in a new life. The guilt of Israel is very tenderly touched. The Psalmist has no intention of acting the part of Job’s friends, he follows the admonition of Job: “have pity upon me, have pity upon me, my friends, for the hand of God is upon me.” God has undertaken to rebuke, Psalms 80:16, and therefore his servants may well be silent. Psalms 81. The exhortation to celebrate the passover with joyful heart, ver. 1-3, is followed by the basis on which it rests, ver. 4-7: the passover is the festival of Israel's deliverance, through their Lord and God, from great trouble and deep misery. While the first part points to what the Lord has done for Israel, the second describes the position which Israel ought to occupy towards their Lord: inasmuch as the Lord, who brought Israel out of Egypt, is thus alone Israel's God, sufficient for all his necessities. Israel ought therefore to serve him alone, and leave to the world its imaginary deities,-a preposition, however, to which Israel, a Calvin: "Let us learn, whenever the anger of God burns forth, even in the midst of the flames of the conflagration to cast our griefs into the bosom of God, who wonder-fully revives his church from destruction. alas, has not hitherto responded,-and hence the origin of all his troubles, ver. 8-12. Would that he would now become obe-dient to the Lord! the salvation of his kingdom would be the consequence, ver. 13-16. In ver. 1-5 the Psalmist speaks, as is manifest from the con-clusion of ver. 5, as the representative of the better self of the church, or, in the language of the Apocalypse, as its angel; and in the 6th and following verses the speaker is the Lord. But that this distinction, which has commonly been a great deal too much spoken of, is one of no moment, is evident from the fact, that vers. 6 and 7 are nothing else than a continuation of ver. 5, and from the conclusion, vers. 15 and 16, where the address of the Lord, and the address of the Psalmist, who speaks in the spirit of the Lord, are immediately linked together. If we keep this in view, the formal arrangement of the Psalm becomes easy and simple. The Psalm falls into two main divi-sions, an objective and a subjective one, which are even exter-nally separated from each other by a Selah, at the end of ver. 7. The first, ver. 1-7, is completed in seven verses. This, as usual, is divided into a three and a four. The second main divi-sion contains, in the first instance, only nine verses, and is di-vided by a five and a four. The defect of the conclusion, how-ever, is, as in the case in Ps. lxxvii:, compensated by the title. The arrangement, therefore, is exactly the same as that which obtains universally in Psalms which contain 17 verses. According to the title, "To the Chief Musician after the manner of Gath (comp. at title of Ps. viii.) by Asaph," the Psalm was composed by Asaph. We shewed already, at Psalms 74., that we must adhere to the Asaph who belonged to the age of David, in all the Psalms which bear this name, except in those cases in which the contents of the Psalm render this im-possible. In the present instance this is not the case. "The contents," observes Kצster, "are of a general character, and the freshness of tone indicates the great age of the Psalm." The verbal reasons which led Hitzig to assign it a very late date are of no consequence. He refers to the loose יהוסף in ver. 5, and to the participle after לו in ver. 13. But that the retention of the ה of the Hiph. (Ew. �˜. 284), is not at all characteristic of the language of later times, is evident, among other passages,from Psalms 45:17, and from 1 Samuel 22:47. These forms are throughout poetical, and are altogether independent of time. Poetry is fond of full and sonorous expressions. It can never be shewn that the position of the participle after לו is characteristic of a later idiom; comp. 2 Samuel 18:12. In favour, however, of the Asaph of David's tithe, we have to urge the prophetic cha-racter which our Psalm bears in common with the other produc-tions of this bard, the "seer," the prophet among the Psalmists, Psalms 1:1; Psalms 73:73; Psalms 73:78. (even Hitzig believed that he heard in the warnings here the voice of the author of the seventy-eighth Psalm), and 81. To this we may add the striking connection between ver. 8 here, and Psalms 1:7. Ver. 1-3.-Ver. 1. Sing aloud to God, who is our strength, make a joyful-noise unto the God of Jacob. Ver. 2. Raise the song, and give the timbrel, the lovely guitar with the harp. Ver. 3. Blow in the month the horn, at the full moon, on the day of our feast.--The exhortation to praise God with all the might depends for its significance, as the second part of the strophe shews, upon its pointing to the rich treasures of salvation which he has imparted to his people.-On "our strength," comp. as a commentary vers. 14, 15, and Psalms 46:1. The Lord mani-fested himself as the strength of his people on their deliverance from Egypt. In ver. 3 the instruments are introduced in regard to their tone: timbrel stands instead of sound of the timbrel. Against the exposition "bring hither the timbrels," it may be urged, that, according to the title and verse 2d, those addressed are called upon both to sing and to play.-In verse 3 the month is the first and the chief month of the year, the month in which the passover occurred: comp. Exodus 12:1; Exodus 12:2 : "And the Lord said to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, This month shall be to you the chief of months, it shall be the first month of the year to you." "In the full moon" of the second clause defines ex-actly the time within the sacred month which belonged to the festival. The general and special descriptions are connected with each other exactly in the same way in Leviticus 23:5 : "In the first month, on the 14th day of the month, is the passover to the Lord." In other passages throughout the law it is merely the general descriptions that occur; thus, Exodus 34:18 : "The feast of unleavened bread shalt thou keep, seven days shalt thoueat unleavened bread, at the time of the month Abib" (comp. on the passage the Beitr. p. 361 ss. on Abib p. 364), Deuteronomy 16:1 : "Observe the month Abib, for in the month Abib the Lordthy God brought thee out of Egypt:" comp. on the passage theBeitr. p. 365. According to the common construction, הדש sig-nifies the new moon; throughout the Pentateuch, however, itinvariably signifies a month; and everywhere, even in the later scriptures, it retains this signification, with this difference, that sometimes the month stands for the festival peculiar to the month. And the following grounds are decisive the other way. 1. As it is undoubted that כסה signifies full moon, we have two festivals according to this view-a supposition very unlikely in itself, and the more so that no inward connection whatever is indicated be-tween the new moon and the full moon festival. 2. The con- tents of the Psalm shew that it was composed exclusively for use at the passover. The festival for which it was set apart was, according to ver. 5, instituted at the departure from Egypt, and according to verses 6, 7, and 10, stands in immediate reference to this deliverance;--that the new moon of the month Abib was celebrated as, a preparation for the passover is altogether an arbi-trary assumption. 3. The horn (not at all the trumpets named in Numbers 10:10) appears here only as one among many instruments, while the sound of drums for the new moons, and especially for the 7th of the month, was the peculiar and characteristic cere-mony. Such an amount of musical power as is here desired was not suitable for this festival. 4. There is no doubt that our verse as supplementing the title fixes the character of the Psalm. This, however, it cannot do, if הדש signify the new moon. In this case, in consequence of the indefinite nature, “ in the new moon,” which demands explanation from what follows, we have our atten-tion directed exclusively to "in the full moon;" and are thus left to waver in uncertainty, as the example of Gesenins shows, be-tween the full moon of the passover and of the feast of taber-nacles.a-The idea of those who, after the example of Luther (in our festival of booths), understand the feast of tabernacles, is confuted by the preceding context. By this reference, it becomes a It is clear from Proverbs 7:20, and also from the Syr. (See Gesen.), that כסה denotes in general the full moon, and not at all, as has been supposed, specially the feast of ta-bernacles. altogether impossible to understand the Psalm. The expression "on the day of our feast" is also in favour of the passover. The passover, which celebrates the fundamental deed of God on be-half of his church, is the feast: comp. the Christol. 2:p. 565.Beitr. 3.p. 80. The feast of tabernacles never has this name, not even in 2 Chronicles 5:3.-The correct interpretation of this verse is destructive of the position taken up by Venema, that the Psalm was composed for the celebration of the passover underHezekiah; for this took place, according to 2 Chon. 30:2, con-trary to the usual custom, in the second month. The account of this celebration, however, is so far of importance to Revelation 1-3, as it shows that at that times music and singing formed a very im-portant part of the celebration of the passover: comp. 2 Chronicles 30:21; 2 Chronicles 30:22. Ver. 4-7.-Ver. 4. For it is a law for Israel, a right for the God of Jacob. Ver. 5. Such a commandment he gave to Joseph, when he brought him over Egypt land, where I heard a language unknown to me. Ver. 6. I removed from the bur-den his shoulder, his hands were set free from the burden-bas- kets. Ver. 7. In the distress thou didst call and I delivered thee. I heard thee in the thunder-cover. I proved thee at the waters of strife. Selah.-In ver. 4, the law for Israel and the right for the God of Jacob correspond. God, by the deliverance which he has wrought out, has acquired a right to the thanks of Israel, and it is Israel's duty, by rendering obedience to the ap-pointed law of the passover, to implement this right. Israel does not celebrate the passover at his own hand, he only pays to God what is his due,-a due demanded on the ground of mercies be-stowed. It is this that distinguishes all festivals belonging to the true religion from those connected with religions that are false; the former depends throughout upon the foundation of a salvation imparted by God, and assumes the character of a right and a duty. The הוא refers to the festivals in general. The individual expressions of festive joy spoken of in ver. 1-3 had not been expressly commanded in the law. They are, how-ever, accidents which necessarily accompany the substance.-In ver. 5-7, the deed is more particularly described on which the right of God and the duty of Israel are founded. In reference to עדוה a testimony, next a law, comp. at Psalms 19:7, 78:5.Joseph occupies the place of Israel here, because, during the whole period of the residence in the land of Egypt, the nation owed every thing to Joseph, "the crowned one among his brethren," Genesis 49:26; their whole existence there was founded on the services which Joseph had rendered to Egypt; comp. Exodus 1:8, according to which, the oppression of Israel arose from the new king, who did not know Joseph. It was only during this period of his existence that Israel could bear the name of Joseph; and it is altogether incorrect to generalize what is founded singly and entirely on the special circumstances connected with that period. The passage before us has assuredly nothing whatever to do with Psalms 77:15; Psalms 77:80 :i. The suffix in בצאתו refers to Jo-seph. "Out of Egypt" is the expression which commonly occurs in the Pentateuch; comp. Exodus 11:41, "All the armies of the Lord went out from the land of Egypt," ver. 51, Numbers 22:5, Deuteronomy 9:7; particularly in connection with the feast of the passover, comp. Exodus 34:18, "Thou shalt keep the feast of unleavened bread, seven days shalt thou eat unleavened bread as I have commanded thee at the time of the month Abib, for in the month Abib thou wentest out of Egypt." Here, how-ever, the expression is "over Egypt," across, על, in the same sense in which it occurs in Job 29:7, "When I went out to the gate over or across the city." This over is more expressive than out of. The marching out appears all the more glorious, inas-much as the marching extended over the whole country, across Egypt. Numbers 33:4 supplies the commentary,-"The chil-dren of Israel went out with a high hand before all the Egyp-tians;" comp. Exodus 14:8.a Many expositors have suffered them-selves to be led astray by the על. They translate: when he. (the Lord) went forth against the land of Egypt, with reference to Exodus 11:4, "About midnight I go out in the land of Egypt." Against this, however, we may urge, besides the manifest refer-ence to the passage from the Pentateuch above referred to, the obviously corresponding expression "who led thee out of the land of Egypt," in ver. 11. There is next added very suitably, accord-ing to the first-mentioned rendering, "where I heard a language a Calvin: The people, led on by God, traversed freely the whole land of Egypt, a pas- sage having been afforded them in consequence of the broken and terrified state of the inhabitants. unknown to me," an expression which denotes more exactly the oppressive nature of their previous condition, and the unspeakable benefit arising from their deliverance; comp. Psalms 114:1, "WhenIsrael went out of Egypt, the house of Jacob from the people of strange language." Finally, in the continuation in ver. 6 and 7, the language refers entirely to the deliverance out of Egypt, and not at all to the destruction of the first-born of the Egyptians, to which there is nowhere else one single reference throughout the whole Psalm. The last words of the verse indicate, as has been already observed, what it was that rendered the departure of the Israel so very desirable. To dwell in the midst of a people of strange language, to serve a people from whom they were inwardly in a state of utter estrangement, must have been very painful and oppressive. The subject is Israel represented by the Psalmist. We cannot translate, "a language of such a one whom," "but a lan-guage (of the kind that) I did not understand," "a language of unintelligibility for me;" Comp. Bצttcher, proben p. 51. Many expositors translate: the voice of one unknown to me (a God whom I till that time did not know) I heard then in Egypt, or I hear now, the oracle referred to in ver. 6-16. But a compa-rison of the parallel passages, Psalms 114:1, which is particularly decisive, Deuteronomy 28:49, "The Lord will bring upon thee a people from afar, . . . . a people whose language thou dost not understand," Isaiah 33:19, and Judges 5:15, leaves no doubt whatever as to the correctness of the interpreta-tion given above. Farther, the description of the miserable condition in which Israel existed in the land of Egypt is continued in ver. 6 and 7. To the unknown language here, corresponds the burden, the burden-basket there; and to the marching out here the rescuing, the delivering there. Then the designation of Jehovah as one unknown, for the whole people, or for the individual, to whom a revelation begins, is destitute of all real foundation and analogy. Finally, this translation, which proceeds from an entire misapprehension of the whole train of thought, must be rejected on etymological grounds. שפה never signifies a particular discourse, but a way of speaking, a language; comp. Bצttcher.--As the difference in regard to thespeaker (in ver: 6 and 7 it s the Lord that speaks, while pre-vious to this the Psalmist, or Israel represented by him, hadspoken in the name and spirit of the Lord) is one merely of form, and as, in reality, verses 6 and 7 merely continue the train of thought of ver. 5 (when the Lord removed, or, then the Lord re-moved) it is altogether inappropriate, by marks of quotation, to favour the idea of the beginning of a new address. Such a change as to speakers requires very little attention to be paid to it, es- pecially in the Psalm of Asaph, as they are of a highly poetical character. At the first clause of ver. 6, comp. Exodus 6:6; Exodus 6:7, "I the Lord bring you out from under the burden of the Egyptians." The basket דוד is, according to the parallelism, the burden-basket. Baskets of this kind were found in the sepulchral vaults which have been opened in Thebes, of which Rosellini first fur-nished drawings and descriptions: the Israelites used them for carrying from one place to another the clay and manufactured bricks: comp. Egypt and the Books of Moses, p. 79, &c.a -On. "I heard thee in the thunder-cover," in ver. 7, comp. Habakkuk 3:4, "And there (in the lightning-flash which surrounds the Lord at his appearance) was the hiding of his power." As in that pas-sage God is concealed in the lightning-flash (comp. Delitzsch), so is he here in the thunder, i. e., the thunder-cloud, "the dark-ness," Exodus 20:18, the storm. There is no need for assuming that the Psalmist alludes, specially and exclusively, to Exodus 14:24, according to which, while the Egyptians were passing through the sea, the Lord looked upon their chariots from the pillar of fire and cloud, and thus completed the deliverance of the Is-raelites. It is a common figure of poetry to represent the Lord as riding forth in a storm, mighty against his enemies, and onbehalf of this people; comp. Psalms 77:16-18; Psalms 18:11 :--and hence the Psalmist has assuredly before his eyes the whole series of Egyptian plagues. At the last clause, I proved thee at the water of Meribah, Luther says correctly: "he makes mention of the waters of strife in order that he may remind them of their sins." The words do not properly belong to the train of thought in the preceding context, which is occu-pied only with the salvation of God. They look in the first in- a Calvin: "We may now apply the subject to ourselves: inasmuch as God has not only removed our shoulders from burdens of bricks, and our hands from kilns, but has redeemed us from the tyranny of Satan, and brought us up from perdition, we are laid under much more solemn obligations than were the ancient people."stance very like the expression of an idea which had started up uncalled for. This apparently arbitrary reference to Israel's un-faithfulness and ingratitude prepares the way, however, for the following exhortation and complaint, and thus forms the connect-ing link between the first and second portions of the Psalm. The proving at the waters of strife, Ezekiel 17:1, &c. (comp. on the rela-tion which this narrative bears to that at Numbers 20:1, &c., the Beitr. p. 378, &c.) is specially referred to, because it was here that the first proper act of rebellion took place on the part of the people who had only a short while ago beheld the glorious deeds of the Lord-the first manifestation of his real nature. The proving comes into notice here in reference to the well known re-sult by which it was followed. Ver. 8-12.-Ver. 8. Hear my people, and let me swear solemnly to thee, if thou harkenest unto me. Ver. 9. Let there not be among thee another God; and thou shalt not wor- ship a God of the strangers. Ver. 10. I am the Lord thy God who have brought thee out of the land of Egypt: open thy mouth wide, I will fill it. Ver. 11. But my people does not listen to my voice, and Israel will not be mine. Ver. 12. So I have given them over to the wickedness of their heart, they walk in their own counsels.-On ver. 8, comp. Psalms 1:7. On "my peo- ple," Luther says: "You are my people, I have preserved, nour-ished, and redeemed thee; therefore listen to me." As אם is never a particle expressive of desire, it is necessary to supply: it will be well with thee, or something similar,-a construction rendered also probable by comparing ver. 13. Similar ellipses occur in Exodus 32:32 ; Psalms 27:17 (comp. at the passage), Luke 19:42; Luke 19:9 (see Koenצhl on the passages).-Ver. 9 and 10 depend on Exodus 20:2; Exodus 20:3. It has been very unjustifiably maintained that the first commandment stands instead of the whole decalogue. This would deprive the thought of all point. It was only their fathers' God, their country's God, that had ma-nifested himself in the past as Israel's Redeemer (comp. Deut. 32:12, "the Lord alone did lead him, and there was not with him one God of the stranger)," and thus he is still rich in help for them; therefore they should even now serve this one God only. -Ver. 10 is in reality connected with ver. 9 by a "Because." The expression, "who led thee out of the land of Egypt" is literallyfrom Deuteronomy 20:1. The words, "Open thy mouth wide, I will fill it," are equivalent to "I am rich for all thy necessities, even for thy boldest wishes," as is evident from their development in ver. 14-16.-In ver. 11, 12, the Lord complains that Israel had hitherto, to their own loss, failed to respond to the exhortations addressed to them in ver. 8-10, notwithstanding the solid foun-dation on which these rested in their deliverance. Comp. Prov. i. 30, 31, "they would have none of my counsel, they despised all my censures: therefore they eat the fruit of their way and shall be satisfied with their own counsels." At ver. 11, Luther says: “ It is something dreadful and terrible that he says my people Israel. If it had been a stranger to whom I had mani-fested no particular deeds of kindness, &c.” Allusion is made to Deuteronomy 13:9, where it is said, in reference to him who should entice Israel to serve strange Gods: "thou shalt not consent unto him nor hearken unto him." Israel had- singularly and shamefully reversed the matter: they had lent their ear to the enticer and renounced their own God. The preterites denote the past stretching forward into the present.-At ver. 12, God lets every one take his own way; the stiff-necked Israelites who would not have his truth and goodness, shall be given over to error and wickedness, to their own destruction; comp. Romans 1:24. 2 Thessalonians 2:10; 2 Thessalonians 2:11. The לב שרירות (not hardness but wickedness of heart) is here and everywhere else where it occurs, Isaiah 3:17; Isaiah 7:24, taken from Deuteronomy 29:19. To walk in their own counsels is to regulate the life according to them, according to the passions of their own corrupted hearts instead of the com-mandments of the holy God, comp. Jeremiah 7:24; Isaiah 65:2 : "arebellious people who walk in a way that is not good, after their own thoughts." Ver. 13-16. Arnd.: "The blessed God in his great fatherly love and faithfulness cannot leave them, he must repeat his pro-mise and call men again to him by the offer of his gracious deeds." -Ver. 13. If now my people did hear me, and Israel walked in my way. Ver. 14. I would soon bring down their enemies and turn my hand upon their adversaries. Ver. 15. The haters of the Lord would feign submission to him, and their time would continue for ever. Ver. 16. He would feed them with the fat of the wheat, and out of the rock would I satisfy thee with honey. ---The לו, ver. 13, denotes the condition notwithstanding the consciousness that it is not realized: if my people heard, which they do not: comp. Ewald, 627. Isaiah 48:18. The ways of the Lord form the contrast to their own stupid and ruinous plans, ver. 12.-The phrase "to turn the hand upon," ver. 14, is, when taken by itself, an indefinite one, to turn it to the object of trade or manufacture: comp. the Christol. p. 338. Here, accord-ing to the connection, it is the punishing hand; and to turn it back denotes the speedy overpowering of the enemies,-as for-merly in the days of old, ver. 6 and 7: comp. particularly thereבצרה.-The first half of ver. 15 depends on Deuteronomy 33:29 : "thy enemies shall feign to thee" (comp. at Psalms 18:44.) The allusion to this passage shews that the לו is to be referred to Israel and accounts for the singular. On "the haters of the Lord," Luther: "Thou shouldst not think that I am favourable to them, for they are my enemies also. But they are too strong for thee and gain the upper hand because thou hast forsaken me. Had it not been for this, matters would have been very different. It is not the enemies that plague thee; it is I: mine hand it is that oppresses thee when thine enemies oppress thee." It was the design to give great prominence to the thought so comfort-ing for Israel and so well fitted to lead them to reconciliation with God, that their enemies are also the enemies of God, which led to the expression, "the haters of the Lord," instead of "my haters." The use of the third person in the first clause of ver. 16 is connected with this. But towards the conclusion, the usual form is resumed. On the second clause, comp. 2 Samuel 7:24. The עת signifies always time, never fortune.�On ver. 16, Luther: "For there are two things of which we stand in need, nourish-ment and protection. Therefore, God now says, that if they turn to him he will not only be their man of war to fight for them, but also their husbandman: so that those who fear him and trust in him shall want nothing that pertains to this life." The first clause is from Deuteronomy 32:14 (the fat of the wheat is instead of the best of the wheat), the second clause from Deuteronomy 32:13,and he caused Israel to suck honey from the rock, oil from the flinty rock." That the honey from the rock is not at all what several very prosaicly have supposed, the honey which the bees had prepared in the crevices of the rocks, but something alto-gether unusual and supernatural (out of the hard barren rock) isevident from the parallel clause in Deut., oil from the flinty rock,and also from the passage, Job 29:6, which in like manneralludes to the passage in Deut.: "when I bathed my feet in milkand the hard rock was changed for me into streams of oil." Psalms 82. God appears in the midst of his church for judgment upon thegods of the earth, the judges who bear his image, ver. 1, pun-ishes them on account of their violation of justice, and exhortsthem to a better conduct, ver. 2-4. Still they persevere intheir want of understanding, in their walk in darkness, and everything is in confusion, ver. 5. The definite sentence is there-fore passed upon them, intimation of their destruction is madeto them, ver. 6 and 7. In conclusion, the Psalmist expresses inver. 8 his desire for the appearance of the Lord to judgment. The formal arrangement is very simple. The main division iscomplete in seven, which is again divided into a four and a three,the preceding judgment, and the final decision. To the maindivision, which is throughout of a prophetical character, there isappended a lyrical conclusion, in which the Psalmist expresseshis wish for that which he had already announced as just impend- The question arises, whether the wicked rulers against whomthe Psalm is directed are internal or external. The last view isthe one generally entertained. The Psalm is considered as di-rected " against the potentates of Asia about the time of thecaptivity;" "the miserable, the poor," &c. are viewed as the Is-raelites. But the only argument in favour of this view dependsupon a false interpretation of ver. 5 and 8; and there are nu-merous and decisive reasons in favour of the reference to inter-nal relations. Just at the very beginning God appears for judg-ment in the "congregation of God," and there calls to account thewicked judges who must therefore belong to it. The nameElohim and sons of God which is given to them, is never used inthe Old Testament of heathen magistrates. It presupposes thekingdom of God. When there is no king there can be no vice-king. Besides, in ver. 6, in reference to this title of honour, al-lusion is made to expressions in the Pentateuch which are applied exclusively to Israelitish rulers. In reference to heathen rulers, it is matter of great difficulty that those in the Psalm are accused of nothing else than faulty administration of justice, partiality in favour of the wicked, the denial of the rights of the poor, and so on. The sins of the heathen judges lay entirely in another direc-tion. And on the other hand, these very charges are brought forward in many passages against the Israelitish rulers, for ex-ample, Isaiah 3:13-15, a passage nearly related to our Psalm, and which may serve as a commentary to it: "the Lord standeth up to plead, and the Lord standeth to judge the people: the Lord will enter into judgment with the ancients of his people and the princes thereof; for ye have eaten up the vineyard, the spoil of the poor is in your houses," Ch. 1:17-24. Mich. 3:1-4. Jeremiah 22:1, &c. If we compare carefully these passages and likewise the passages in the Pentateuch in which the Israelitish rulers are told their duties, such as Deuteronomy 1:17, and also the ad-dress of Jehosaphat to the rulers sent forth by him, it will not be possible with a good conscience to adopt the hypothesis of hea-then riders. These passages, and also the fundamental passages of the Pentateuch, are decisive against those who would refer the Psalm exclusively, or only especially, to kings. It has to do with the judges of the people, and with kings, if at all, only in so far as they are judges. If the Psalm was composed in the time of David, in favour of which supposition may be pleaded the pro-phetic tone peculiar to the Asaph of that period, and against which no tenable ground can be advanced (even Hitzig must allow that there is no allusion of any kind, no late form or con-necting particle, no term which could be pronounced as being decidedly of later origin to betray an author belonging to a later age), the Psalmist could not, in the first instance, assuredly have referred to the king,-a view which is confirmed by the express mention of "the princes," in ver. 7, as compared with "the ancients of his people and the princes thereof," in Isaiah 3.Still though the Psalm was in the first instance called forth by exist-ing relations, yet being destined for all ages, it undoubtedly ad-mits of being applied to kings in the discharge of their duty asjudges, in so far as they are guilty of that perversion of right here imputed to them: comp. Joshua 22:1, ss. The following remarks are designed to lead to a deeper insight into the meaning of the Psalm. Nothing can be more unground-ed than the assertion which in modern times has been repeatedly made, that the God of the Old Testament is a being altogether strange or foreign to finite beings. The Old Testament opposes this view at its very opening, with its doctrine of the creation of man after the image of God. With this doctrine in its com-mencement, it cannot possibly teach in any other part that there is an absolute opposition between God and man. Besides, in the Law of Moses, all those whose office it is to command, to judge; and to arbitrate, all those to whom in any respect rever-ence and regard is due, are set apart as the representatives of God on earth. The foundation of this is found in the commandment, "honour thy father and mother," in the Decalogue. It was shewn in the Beitr. P. 3.p. 605, that this commandment belongs to the first table: thou shalt fear and honour. God, first in himself, second in those who represent him on earth, and farther, that the parents are named in it only in an individualising manner, as re-presentatives of all who are possessed of worth, and are worthy of esteem. The direction in Leviticus 19:32, rises on the foundation of this commandment, where respect for the aged appears as the immediate consequence of respect for God, whose eternity was de-signed to be revered and honoured under the emblem of their old age; also Exodus 22:27, according to which we are taught to re-cognise in governors a reflection of the majesty of God: "thou shalt not revile God, nor curse the ruler of thy people," i. e., thou shalt not curse thy rulers (or in any one way dishonour him), for he bears the image of God, and every insult offered to such a repre-sentative of God in his kingdom is an insult against God, in him God himself is honoured and revered: comp. 1 Chronicles 29:23, "and Solomon sat upon the throne of Jehovah." But it was in connection with the office of judge that the stamp of divinity was most conspicuous, inasmuch as that office led the people under the foreground of an humble earthly tribunal to contemplate the background, of a lofty divine judgment; "the judgment is God's," Deut. i.. 17, whoever comes before it, comes before God, Exodus 21:6; Exodus 22:7; Exodus 22:8. The position assigned to the office of judge must, when pro-perly considered, have exerted a practical influence of a twofold character. It must have filled those who were brought before its tribunal with a sacred reverence for an authority which maintained its right upon earth in the name of God. And on the part of the judges themselves it must have led them to take a lofty view of their calling, it must have called forth earnest efforts to practise the virtues of him whose place they occupied, him "who does not favour princes, and makes no distinction between rich and poor, for they are the work of his hands," Job 34:19, and it must have awakened a holy fear of becoming liable to his judgment. For there could be no doubt that as they judged in God's stead, the heavenly Judge would not suffer them to go unpunished should they misuse their office, but would in that case come forth from his place and utter his thundering cry, "how long!" This last idea is expressly brought forward in the law. In Deuteronomy 1:17, solemn admonitions are addressed to judges, grounded on the lofty position assigned to their office. Comp. 2 Chronicles 19:6; 2 Chronicles 19:7, where Jehosaphat, with greater copiousness of detail, addresses the following admonitions to the judges, whom he commission-ed: "Take heed what ye do, for ye judge not for man but for God, who is with you in the judgment: wherefore now let the fear of the Lord be upon you, take heed and do it, for there is no iniquity with the Lord our God, nor respect of persons, nor taking of gifts." The Psalm has no reference to the depth of human sinfulness except in so far as the judges lost sight of the above view, set before their minds rather the rights than the duties of their exalted station, and abused for the gratification of their pride what should have produced in them fear and trembling. The name Elohim, which should have continually reminded them of their heavenly Judge, served them as a shield for their own un-righteousness. They held it up in the face of all complaints and objections. Every man who did not go in with their unrighteous-ness, they branded as a rebel against God. The Psalmist raises his protest against this melancholy perversity. He shows the wicked judges what it was that they really had to do with the title Elohim. Asaph the seer lets them see, what the eye offlesh did not see, God, God among the gods, and brings him out to their dismay from his place of concealment. There is a deviation so far from the language of the law of Moses, that there the name Elohim is applied only in general to the bench of judges as representing God, and here in the expression, "in the midst of the gods he judges," it is applied to individual judges. This difference, however, which has frequently been misused in favour of completely untenable expositions, is so far from being of any importance, that even in the Pentateuch an individual person, although not a judge, if representing God, is dignified with the name Elohim. Moses, in Exodus 4:16, as the re-presentative of God for Aaron, is called his god; and in like manner a god to Pharaoh, ch. 7:1 : comp. Baumgarten on the passages.Luther, after giving a picture of the wickedness and profligacy of the great men of his time, remarks:--"There existed also among the Jewish people youths of this character, who kept, continually in their mouths the saying of Moses in Exodus 22:9. They employed this saying as a cloak and shield for their wickedness, against the preachers and the prophets; and gave themselves great airs while they said: wilt thou punish us and instruct us? Dost thou not know that Moses calls us Gods? Thou art a rebel, thou speakest against the ordinance of God, thou preachest to the detriment of our honour. Now the prophet acknowledges and does not deny that they are gods, he will not be rebellious, or weaken their honour or authority, like the disobedient and re-bellious people, or like the mad saints who make heretics and enthusiasts, but he draws a proper distinction between their power and the power of God. He allows that they are gods over men, but not over God himself. It is as if he said: It is true you are gods over us all, but not over him who is the God of us all. From this we see in what a high and glorious position God intends to maintain the office of the magistracy. For who will set himself against those on whom God bestows his own name? Whoever despises them, despises at the same time the true Magistrate, God, who speaks and judges in them and through them, and calls their judgment his judgment. The Apostle Paul, Romans 13:2, points out the consequences of this; and experience amply confirms his statement. But again; just as on the one hand he restrains the discontent of the populace, and bringsthem on account of it under the sword and under law, so does he on the other hand restrain the magistracy, that it shall not abuse such majesty and power for wickedness, but employ it in the pro-motion and maintenance of peace. But yet only so far, that he will not permit the people to lift up their arm against it, or to seize the sword for the purpose of punishing and judging it. No, that they shall not do; God has not commanded it. He himself, God; will punish wicked magistrates, he will be judge and master over them, he will get at them, better than any one else could, as he has done from the beginning of the world." Ver. 1-4.-Ver. 1. A Psalm of Asaph. God stands in the congregation of God, in the midst of the gods he judges. Ver. 2. "How long will ye judge unjustly, and accept the persons of the wicked? Selah. Ver. 3. Judge the poor and the fatherless, give their rights to the poor and needy. Ver. 4. Deliver the poor and the needy, rid them out of the hand of the wicked."-The fiftieth Psalm, which was also composed, by Asaph, begins, like the one now before us, with an appearance of God for judg-ment. The name Elohim, not Jehovah, designedly occurs in the first clause of ver. 1, because the judges also had been designated by this name: God judges the gods. The נצב is, "he is placed,"he comes forward," as in Isaiah 3:13. The sphere of the judging is described in general terms in the first clause, and is more par-ticularly defined in the second. The general description refers to the ground of this special judging act on the part of God because Israel is his people, among whom he can suffer no unrighteous-riess, no abuse of an office which bears his name, he must judge his degenerate office-bearers.a יהוה עדת, the congregation, of Jehovah, in ישראל עדת, the congregation of Israel (for ex- ample Psalms 74:2), העדה, the congregation, are standing ex-pressions for the people of God. The Psalmist places אל in-stead of the Jehovah of the first expression, for the sake of the allusion to the second, and also because אל is more allied to אלהים. Several deny the reference to Israel, and translate a Luther: He stands in his congregation, for the congregation is his own. This is a terrible word of threatening against these wicked gods or magistrates. For they must here understand that they are not placed overstocks and stones, nor over swine and dogs, but over the congregation of God: they must therefore be afraid of acting against God himself when they act unjustly.either: in the assembly of God, the assembly which God ap-points, or that over which he presides, or: in the divine college of judges. But עדה never signifies an assembly or a college, but always a community, a congregation. By Elohim several would understand the sons of God, the angels: God holds a judgment (upon the judges) in the midst of his heavenly court. But in this way the fundamental thought of the Psalm which seems placed at its head in marked antithetic expressions, God judges the Gods, is destroyed; Elohim is never used for angels, (comp. at Psalms 8:5, Gesen. on the word), and there is no reason why it should be so used here, the same appellation applied to God and to the angels manifestly leading to confusion; it is impossible to tell in this case who is judged, or to whom the address in ver. 4-6 is directed; and finally, ver. 6, where the judges are called gods, cannot possibly be separated from the, words "in the midst of the gods." The judging refers, in the first instance, to the sharp accusation of ver. 2-4. Still in these cases where this is not attended to,a it is completed in the defi-nite sentence of death contained in ver. 6 and 7.-Ver. 2 de- pends on Leviticus 19:15 : Ye shall do no unrighteousness in judg- ment, thou shalt not respect the person of the poor, nor honour the person of the mighty, but in righteousness shalt thou judge thy neighbour: comp. Deuteronomy 1:17 : Ye shall not respect persons in judgment. The על stands here in some measure as an ad-verb, exactly as מישרים in Psalms 58:1 : comp. at the passage. Gesenius in his Thesaurus has proved, in a thorough discussion which in fact exhausts the subject, that the phrase פנים נשא signifies, not "to lift up the face of any one," “ to make him lift it up,” but "to regard the face of any one," "to respect his person," "to be inclined towards him," "to favour him." The Selah standing here, as in Psalms 4:4, between the prohibition and the command, leaves time to lay the first to heart.-The judging in ver. 3 denotes the opposite of not taking up their case, of sending them away unheard: comp. Isaiah 1:17 : judge the father-less, plead for the widow. The poor,-comp. Exodus 23:3. The fatherless,--comp. Exodus 22:21. Luther "Every prince should,a Mich.: Such is the great benignity and patience of the supreme Judge; that before pronouncing sentence he addresses to the criminals before his bar a serious admonition, with a view of bringing them, if possible, to a sound state of mind.get these three verses, yea the whole Psalm, painted upon the walls of his room, upon his bed, over his table, and even upon his clothes. For here they will find what high, princely, noble virtue their situation demands; so that assuredly worldly supre-macy, next to the office of the ministry, is the highest service of God, and the most profitable duty upon earth." Ver. 5-7.-Ver. 5. They know not and understand not, in darkness they walk on, all the foundations of the earth are shaken. Ver. 6. I have said: Ye are gods and sons of the Most High all of you. Ver. 7. But ye shall die like men, and fall like one of the princes.-At ver. 5 we must supply: "as they have hitherto done; the divine reprehension and punish-ment have produced no good effects." As God continues to speak in ver. 6 and 7, we must conceive of this complaint in re-gard to the inefficacy of what he had hitherto announced, as pro- ceeding from him. At "they know not and understand not," we are to supply the object from the context, as in all similar cases (comp. at Psalms 14:3), viz., the sacred duties of their office, which had been inculcated upon them in ver. 2-4. Comp. Mich. 3:1. "is it for you to know judgment?" The darkness indicates moral bewilderment, comp. Proverbs 2:13 : "They forsake the ways of uprightness, and walk in the ways of darkness." At the last clause we are by no means to supply therefore: the clause stands in the same relation as the other clauses to the criminality of the judges: every thing is ruined by them,-they ruin every thing. There is an implied comparison: every thing in the land is tossed upside down as in an earthquake. It is only in the comparison, and not in the reality, that the reference to the earth lies.-In the final judgment pronounced by God, ver. 6 and 7, the elevated station of judges is first acknowledged, on which they grounded their assertion that they were invested with absolute power, ver. 4, and then it is affirmed that this station by no means frees them from responsibility, or affords them any protection against that merited punishment which was just about immediately to befal them. The but in ver. 7 sup-poses an indeed understood in ver. 6.a I have said refers to cer- a Calvin: A concession in which the prophet spews the wicked judges, that they will derive no protection from that sacred character with which God has invested them. I acknowledge that you are God, &c.tain generally well-known expressions in which the magistracy, and in particular the judicial office, is designated by the name Elohim,-the passages already quoted of the Mosaic law. The Elohim might here in itself be taken in the singular: ye are God,bearers of his image, as Gousset and others expound. But ver. 1 renders it necessary to translate: ye are gods. Our Saviour in-terprets the passage in this way in John 10:35. Along with the fundamental passages to which it refers, and on which it certainly forms an advance, in so far as the name Elohim is applied to individuals, the passage before us is strikingly adapted to give a blow to that rigid dualism of God and man, in which the Pharasaic opposition to the God-man is rooted: The second ap-pellation, "Sons of the Highest," indicates the intimate character of the relation in which earthly judges stand to the Judge in heaven. It was shewn at Psalms 2:7, that it is in this sense that the sonship of God is spoken of every where throughout the Old Testament. Luther: "It may well make one wonder that he calls such wicked individuals as those whom he here rebukes so sharply, by the name of sons of God or sons of the Highest, sincechildren of God is an appellation which in Scripture is applied toholy believers. Answer: it is just as great a wonder that he should bestow upon such wicked people his own name; yea, it israther a greater wonder that he should call them gods. But it alllies in the word: I have said. For we have often remarked that the word of God sanctifies and deifies all things to which it isapplied. Wherefore we may call such situations as have had im-pressed upon them the word of God, in every respect holy divineconditions, although the persons are not holy. Just as father,mother, preacher, minister, &c., are in every respect holy divinesituations, although the persons who are in them may be knavesand rogues. Thus inasmuch as God stamps the office of magistrywith his word, magistrates are correctly called gods, and the chil-dren of God, on account of their divine condition, and the word ofGod, although they are really vile knaves, as he complains that they are."-The 7th verse does not at all refer in general to mortality and death-a reference which acquired proper force and significance only in New Testament times, when "and after that the judg-ment," was brought clearly out as standing in immediate con-nection. The idea meant to be conveyed is, in accordance withthe Old Testament practice throughout, and especially that of the Psalms in similar cases, a threatening of violent death, of a cutting off in the midst of the days: comp. the heathen saying: ad generum Cereris sine caede et sanguine pauci descendant reges et sicca morte tyranni. This is evident from "ye shall fall" of the second clause (נפל is always used of a violent death, Psalms 91:7; Exodus 19:21; Jeremiah 8:12, and in the full form, "to fall by the sword," in Jeremiah 39:18, and in other passages), by which the general expression of the first clause, "ye shall die," which is accompanied only by the words "like men," is rendered definite. The expression, "like men," "after the manner of men" (comp. at Psalms 17.), intimates to the gods of the earth, who fancied themselves to be above all other men, that as far as death is concerned, they are subject to the general lot of hu-manity. The expression, "as one of the princes" (comp. 1 Kings 22:13; 1 Kings 19:2. Obed. ver. 11), reminds them of the numerous examples in early times of similar dignitaries who were removed by the judgment of God. The connection shews that it is fallen princes that are meant. Any further reference (several exposi-tors suppose that heathen princes are meant, who are not even once particularly alluded to, others warriors,-not to speak of still more arbitrary ideas) is altogether unknown to the context, is in no respect called for, and indeed is of no use whatever. The prophetic denunciation of the judgment of God is followed, in ver. 8, by an expression of earnest desire for its accomplish-ment.--Lift up thyself, O God, judge the earth, for thou art Lord over all the nations.-The wish of the Psalmist, or of the church, in whose name he speaks, refers, in the first instance, to Israel; yet, as the special exercise of judgment on the part of God is only an instance of what is general, the Psalmist calls upon him to appear to judge the world: comp. at Psalms 7:7; Psalms 7:8; Psalms 56:7; Psalms 59:5. The Lord appears also, in the parallel pas-sage, Isaiah 3:13, to judge the nations. The call made upon God to judge the earth is based upon the fact, that all its nations are subject to him, and responsible to him, no less than Israel, the peculiar נהלה of the Lord, and, therefore, the immediate object of his judgment. נהל, with the accusative is, "to possess," and with ב "to have a possession:" comp. Numbers 18:20; Deuteronomy 19:14; Numbers 34:29. (Bצttcher is wrong, Proben. p. 184.) Psalms 83. The short prayer that God would help, ver. 1, is followed, in ver. 2-8, by a representation of the trouble which occasions the prayer: first, in ver. 2-4, the doings of the enemies,--they roar, they take crafty counsel, they aim at nothing less than the entire destruction of Israel-second, their number, in ver. 5-8,-no fewer than ten nations assembled around Ammon and Moab as the centre-point, are united against Israel. The representation of the distress is followed, in ver. 9-18, by the developed prayer. This prayer first reminds God of the wonderful assist-ance which, in similar circumstances, he had vouchsafed to his people in the days of old, ver. 9-12; next it calls upon him to let loose the storm and the tempest of his wrath upon the enemies, ver. 13-15, and finally, by the destruction of the ene-mies, to promote his own glory upon the earth, ver. 16-18. The formal arrangement admits of being ascertained with ease and certainty. If we cut off the title and the preliminary prayer in. ver. 1 which in reality belongs to it, we have two main divi-sions, which are also externally separated by the Selah, viz., the representation of the trouble, ver. 2-8, and the prayer, ver. 9-16. The seven of the first is divided into a three and a four, the qua-lity of the enemies, and their quantity; the ten of the second by a seven, which again falls into a four and a three (the reversed relation of the three and the four of the first half) and a three. The ten hostile nations, in ver. 5-7, correspond to the number ten of the verses of the second half: there are as many verses of petitions as there are enemies; while the number of individual peti-tions of this half is complete in twelve, the signature of the peo-ple of the covenant. This number ten of the nations is divided exactly in the same way as the verses: 4, 3, 3. In like manner, the number seven of the names of the enemies of the times of old, who were annihilated by the omnipotence of God, at the be-ginning of the second part, ver. 9-11, corresponds to the num-ber seven of the verses of the first half, which speaks of the rage and the crowd of the enemies. Accident here cannot possibly exist. There is no room for doubt as to the historical occasion of the Psalm. It refers to the war of Jehosaphat against the allied Edomites, Moabites, Ammonites, and other nations, and forms the earliest as to subject of a series of cognate Psalms. While it makes mention of the help of God in the midst of danger, the forty-seventh Psalm was sung, after the discomfiture of the enemy, on the field of battle, and the forty-eighth at the thanksgiving service in the temple. The following reasons may be urged in favour of this view--a view which has been taken by all commentators, except those who have been prevented from arriving at the truth by some prejudice, such as that all the Psalms of Asaph were com-posed in David's time, or that the narrative at 2 Chronicles 20. is not historically correct. 1. Here, as on that occasion, it is the same nations, upon the whole, that meet us. The Edomites, the Moabites, and the Ammonites, whom alone the author of Chro-nicles expressly names, are not only mentioned in this Psalm, but are also introduced as those with whom the whole enterprise ori-ginated. The others are grouped around these three; and at the conclusion, the sons of Lot are expressly named as the instigators. Even the narrative in Chronicles decidedly indicated that these three were named merely as the centre of the undertaking, and that there were others concerned of less note, the mention of whom was not a matter of such consequence to the historian as it was to the Psalmist whose object was promoted by a heaping up of names. Not to mention that, according to Chronicles, the enemy formed such a mass that Israel had no strength to resist them, that the quantity of plunder indicated an enemy from a far country, who had set out, bag and baggage, it is expressly said, in ver. 1, "and with them others who dwelt remote from the Ammonites, beyond them," (comp. on מהעמונים Cler. and the annot.), and in ver. 2, "and they told Jehosaphat saying, There cometh a great multitude against thee from beyond the sea, be-yond Aram" (not out of Aram, for there is no copula), out of the country east of that stripe which is bounded on the north by Syria, and on the south by the Dead Sea, therefore, from the de-serts of Arabia, whose hordes had in former times made Palestine the object of their marauding assaults. 2. The union and con-federacy of all the nations mentioned, ver. 3 and 5, is of great consequence. Such a confederacy of nations took place only at one period during the whole history, viz., in the time of Jehosa-phat. The remark of Koester, who finds it necessary to consider the confederacy of the nations as not a historical event, "they plunder us as if they had preconcerted a plan," shows to what arbitrary expedient those are obliged to have recourse who do not adopt the reference to this transaction. 3. According to ver. 4, the enemies kept their plans secret, and employed cunning preparatory to force. It is exactly in accordance with this, that, from 2 Chronicles 20:2, it appears that Jehosaphat obtained intelli-gence of the undertaking of his enemies for the first time, when they were already within his dominions, at Engedi: they could not possibly have made their hostile preparations with greater cunning and silence. The place, also, at which the enemies made their entrance, leads to the same result. Their marching south-ward so as to go round the Dead Sea, while they might have quietly entered Canaan from the east, as Israel did in former times, could only have been adopted for the purpose of concealing their object. 5. According to ver. 4 and 12, the enemies had nothing less for their object than to do to Israel what Israel had formerly done to the Canaanites. It was no ordinary marauding expedition;-the intention was completely to root out Israel, and to take entire possession of his lands. The enemies of Jeho-saphat, according to 2 Chronicles 20:11, had the same object in view. That they had so is obvious from the quality of the booty which was found in their tents. They had set out, as Israel did of old, with bag and baggage. 5. The mention of the Amalekites among the enemies of Israel, in ver. 7, renders it impossible to come down to times later than that of Jehosaphat. The last re-mains of the Amalekites were, according to 1 Chronicles 4:43, rooted out by the Simeonites, under Hezekiah. From that time, they disappear altogether from history. Ewald's assertion that Ama-lek stands here "only as a name of infamy applied to parties well-known at the time," is to be considered as a miserable shift. 6. The Psalm must have been composed previous to the exten-sion of the empire of the Assyrians over Western Asia. For the Assyrians named last, in the 8th verse, appear here in the very extraordinary character of an ally of the Sons of Lot. 7. Our Psalm, according to the title, was composed by Asaph. In ac-cordance with this, we read, in 1 Chronicles 20:14, that the Spirit of the Lord came upon Jehasiel, of the sons of Asaph, in themidst of the assembly. This Jehasiel is probably the author of the Psalms 8. Our Psalm is a true picture of the state of feel-ing which prevailed throughout the people during the danger under Jehosaphat. According to the history of Chronicles, they praised God at that time, in the midst of their danger, with loud voice, ver. 19; and here in the title, which is an appendage to that of Psalms 48., the Psalm is called a song of praise (comp. on שיר, at Psalms 42:9); and it is such in reality, although it bears the form of a prayer,-a song of triumph sung before the vic-tory,-no contest, no doubt, the distress is simply committed to God. In establishing the correct view, we, at the same time, virtu-ally refute those of an erroneous nature, whose very existence, as well as that of the prejudice against the historical character of 2 Chronicles 20.-a notion which even our Psalm, in common with Psalms 47:47; Psalms 47:48. (comp. Keil on 2 Chron. p. 241 ss.) is suffi-cient to put to shame,-is to be accounted for by the extent to which the abettors of the late origin of the Psalms have overshot their mark. The hypothesis that the Psalm refers to the occur-rence at Nehemiah 4:1 ss. is negatived by this, among other reasons, that it is scarcely possible to conceive anything less suitable to it than these "railleries of the neighbours," who had no further end in view than to hinder the building of the temple; and still further by the consideration that the Samaritans, who were at that time the chief enemies, would not have been wanting, and that the Amalekites and the Assyrians would not have been mentioned. That the Persians are meant by the Assyrians is again a miserable subterfuge. In a case where nine nations are spoken of by their proper names, the tenth must be referred to in the same way: that the Persians took any part in that ma-chination is a groundless assertion; even had they done so, they would not have occupied such a subordinate place as is here as-signed to the Assyrians.-The assertion first made by v. Til, and subsequently repeated by Hitzig, that the Psalm refers to the incidents of 1 Macc. 5. is negatived by the following considera-tions:-At that time, there was no combination among the neighbouring nations; each acted by itself: these nations at that time did not set out for the purpose of extirpating the Jews ge-nerally; they only rose up against those who were dwelling inthe midst of them: there is no passage where the Syrians are designated by the name of Assyrians; they never were, like the Chaldeans and the Persians, the successors of the Assyrians in the dominion of Asia: the Syrians took no part in that conflict: the mention of Endor as the place of the discomfiture of the Canaanites, at ver. 10, shows that the Psalm must have been composed at a time when, in reference to the period of the Judges, there were other sources of information at hand than those which now exist. It is, therefore, not at all necessary to have recourse to those general grounds which are conclusive against the exist-ence of Maccabean Psalms. The incidents, however, recorded in Nehemiah 4:4; Nehemiah 4:1 Macc. 5. are of importance so far, that they show how intense and permanent was the hatred of the neighbouring nations against "the people of God," and, consequently, go far to confirm the credibility of 2 Chronicles 20., and the historical cha-racter of ver. 2-8 of our Psalm. Amyraldus: "The Psalm may be applied now to the enemies of the Christian Church, of which Israel was the type. The most important and formidable of these are assuredly sin and Satan, from whom we most especially long to be delivered." Title: A Song of praise, a Psalm of Asaph. Ver. 1. O God, keep not silence, be not dumb, and be not still, O God.-That דמי signifies not rest, but silence, is evident from "thine enemies make a noise;" in ver. 2, and from the following word, תהרש,comp. at Psalms 28:1. The word also signifies to be silent, in Isaiah 62:7, as is evident from the 6th verse.Ver. 2-4.-Ver. 2. For lo, thine enemies make a noise, and those who hate thee lift up the head. Ver. 3. They make cun-ning plots against thy people, and consult against thy concealed ones. Ver. 4. They say: come let us root them out; so that they shall not be a people, and that mention be no more made of the name of Israel.-On ver. 2. Calvin: "It is to be re- marked that those who attack the church are called enemies of God, and it is no ordinary ground of confidence to have enemies, in common with God." They lift up the head,-proudly, boldly, confidently; comp. Judges 8:28, “ And Midian was humbled by the children of Israel, and did not any more lift up its head.” -In the first clause of ver. 3, the translation generally given is: they make artfully the plots in the councils. But as הערים in other passages means to act cunningly, and סוד does not exactly indicate counsel or deliberation; it is better to consider סוד as standing in the accusative, just as לב does in ver. 5, andשמך in ver. 18, comp. Evr. § 483: in reference to confidence comp. at Psalms 64:2, confidential intercourse which they carry on. The expression, "the hidden ones of God," instead of "those under his protection," is explained by Psalms 27:5; Psalms 31:21.- On ver. 4, Calvin: "it is as if they had formed the daring pur-pose of annulling the decree of God in which the eternal exist-ence of the church lies founded." The מגוי is away from a peo-ple,---so that they shall be no more a people: comp. Jeremiah 48:2; Isaiah 7:8. -There are five terms employed in these three verses, descriptive of the doings of the enemies. The number five as the signature of the half, of something unfinished, points to the second half strophe, which is occupied with enumeratingthe enemies. Ver. 2. For lo, thine enemies make a noise, and those who hate thee lift up the head. Ver. 3. They make cunning plots against thy people, and consult against thy concealed ones. Ver. 4. They say: come let us root them out; so that they shall not be a people, and that mention be no more made of the name of Israel. On Psalms 83:2, Calvin: “It is to be remarked that those who attack the church are called enemies of God, and it is no ordinary ground of confidence to have enemies, in common with God.” They lift up the head,—proudly, boldly, confidently; comp. Judges 8:28, “And Midian was humbled by the children of Israel, and did not any more lift up its head.” In the first clause of Psa 83:3, the translation generally given is: they make artfully the plots in the councils. But as δςψιν in other passages means to act cunningly, and ρεγ does not exactly indicate counsel or deliberation; it is better to consider ρεγ as standing in the accusative, just as μα does in Psalms 83:5, and ωξκ in Psalms 83:18, comp. Ew. § 483: in reference to confidence comp. at Psalms 64:2, confidential intercourse which they carry on. The expression, “the hidden ones of God,” instead of “those under his protection,” is explained by Psalms 27:5; Psalms 31:21.— On Psalms 83:4, Calvin: “it is as if they had formed the daring purpose of annulling the decree of God in which the eternal existence of the church lies founded.” The ξβει is away from a people,—so that they shall be no more a people: comp. Jeremiah 48:2; Isaiah 7:8. There are five terms employed in these three verses, descriptive of the doings of the enemies. The number five as the signature of the half, of something unfinished, points to the second half strophe, which is occupied with enumerating the enemies. Ver. 5-8.-Ver. 5. For they have consulted from the heart together, they have formed a covenant against thee. Ver. 6. The tents of Edom and of the Ishmaelites, Moab and the Haga- rites. Ver. 7. Gebal, and Ammon, and Amalek; Philistia with the inhabitants of Tyre. Ver. 8. Even Assyria has joined them; they stretch out their arm to the Sons of Lot. Selah. Calvin: "It is not a little profitable for us to see in this case, as in a glass, what, from the beginning, has been the experience of the Church of God, so that we need not be frightened too much when the whole world is against us. When we see that nothing new befals us, we are strengthened in patience by the example of the church of old, until God suddenly put forth his power, which alone is sufficient to subvert all the machinations of the world." Several expositors erroneously connect the 5th verse with what goes before-a flat and insipid rendering. The כי indicates a more full exhibition of the relations alluded to in the precedingverses; and it is not co-ordinate with the כי in ver. 2. The לב stands like the סוד in ver. 3, and the שמד in ver. 18, in the accusative. The expression "with the heart" supplies a commen-tary to Psalms 64:5; Psalms 64:6, and denotes the earnestness and zeal of their plans; the heart, with the whole fulness of its purposes, plans, and wickedness, is engaged in the matter. Several expositorsrefer erroneously to אהד לב with one heart, in 1 Chronicles 12 :38.-In enumerating the nations, the first seven are grouped to-gether in such a manner that we find associated with the ring-leaders, who are Edom, Moab, and Ammon, those nations who hadbeen pressed into the service by them,-so that these three namesshould be looked upon as if printed in large characters. That thearrangement is to be explained in this way is evident from theotherwise inexplicable separation of Moab from Ammon. Asthe Edomites were not a wandering but a settled people, wemust either understand by "tents" camp-tents, or "tents" is tobe considered as a poetical expression for habitations, founded onthe dwelling of the Israelites in the wilderness: comp. Jud. vii.8; 1 Kings 12:16. The Edomites, who are associated with theIshmaelites, dwelt, according to Genesis 25:18, next to the Assy-rians, and therefore, in the desert of Arabia. The attendants of Moab, the Hagarites, were a wandering Arabic tribe, to the east of Jordan, which, in the time of Saul, was dispossessed of its coun-try by the tribe of Reuben: comp. 1 Chronicles 5:10; 1 Chronicles 5:19-22. Theyremoved, in all probability, farther south, into that part of Ara-bia which adjoins Moab; and they were, therefore, their naturalallies in this league. On the right side of Ammon there wasGebal, in all probability an Idumean district, and on the left,Amalek, who appears here, as on a former occasion, Judges iii.13, in a state of alliance with him: “ and he (Eglon, the king ofMoab) assembled around .him the sons of Ammon and Amalek.” To the seven nations, who formed the main body, there areadded other three. First, the Philistines, who are not, indeed,expressly named in Chronicles, but concerning whom it is takenfor granted, that those who always embraced the opportunity ofa war raised against the Israelites by other nations, would notlose this opportunity of gratifying their deep-seated hatred. Theinhabitants of Tyre appear only as following in the train of thePhilistines. The merchants were induced merely by cupidity tojoin in this movement, as the tradesmen of Tarsus did in Ez.38:13. They are universally to be found wherever there is any thing to be earned. In Amos, also, 1:6-10, the Philistinesand the Tyrians appear in compact with each other, and with theEdomites, in their purposes of hostility towards the Israelites;and the passage in Joe 4:4, &c., shows how natural is this ad-dition of the Tyrians to the Philistines, where we find it repre- sented in prophetic vision that the Philistines, along with the Tyrians and Sidonians, avail themselves of the opportunity of a war raised against Israel by other nations to gratify their hatred and their cupidity.-The Assyrians are mentioned last, being at the greatest distance, and engaged only indirectly and partially in the enterprise. According to Genesis 25:18, they were the neighbours of the Arabian sons of the desert, yea, according to Genesis 25:3, they had Arabic elements in the midst of themselves, so that it is, therefore, antecedently probable that they should be found taking part in this great movement of the Arabic tribes. The Assyrians finally, as the associates from the most remote east, stand opposed to the Philistines and the Tyrians from the west. The seven wicked nations are bounded by these on the east and the west. Last of all, the sons of Lot are mentioned as the pro-per instigators and fire-brands of the war. The subject in "they stretch" is not the singular Assyrian, but all the nations which had been named, with the self-evident exception of the sons of Lot themselves. It is only by adopting this view, which, indeed, is the most obvious one, as far as the language is concerned, that this conclusion receives its proper significance.aVer. 9-12.-Ver. 9. Do to them as to Midian, as to Sisera, as to Jabin, in the valley of Kison. Ver; 10. Who were de-stroyed at Endor, they were dung for the land. Ver. 11. Make them, their nobles, as Oreb and as Seeb, all their princes as Sebah and Zalmuna. Ver. 12. Who said: we will possess ourselves of the habitations of God.-Calvin: "The substance is, may God who has so often smitten his enemies, and delivered his timorous sheep out of the jaws of wolves, not leave them at this time unprotected against these forces." From the many examples of divine judgment upon the enemies, which constituted pledges of deliverance in this trouble, the Psalmist selects two, the victory over the Canaanites from Judges 4. and v., and the victory of Gideon over the Midianites from Judges 7:7; Judges 7:8 :He begins with the latter as the more glorious of the two. But in expanding the general subject of the 9th verse, in ver. 10 and 11, the order is reversed. Ver. 10 is an appendage to the second clause; ver. 11 expands the first. "Do to them as to Midian" a Venema: Finally, having enumerated the nations in order, the Psalmist adds who were the authors of the war and who allies. (instead of "as thou didst to Midian,"-the comparison being, as is frequently the case, merely referred to, not drawn out, comp. Ew. 527) was fulfilled beyond what they asked or thought: the discomfiture of the enemies, as was the case with the Midian-ites, took place by mutual destruction,--a means which has often proved of signal service to the kingdom of God: comp. 2 Chronicles 20:22; 2 Chronicles 20:23, with Judges 7:22. The glorious victory over Midian appears also in Isaiah 9:4, and Habakkuk 3:7, as the emblem and pledge of glorious deliverances yet to come. The effort to exhibit the individuals named, standing as much apart as pos-sible, "as Sisera, as Jabin," not "and Jabin," is explained by the reference to the seven nations. On "in the valley of Kison," comp. Judges 4:7; Judges 4:13; Judges 5:21.-Endor ver. 10 (comp. Robin-son, vol. 3. 468. 77), which appears here as the proper place of the discomfiture of the Canaanites, is not expressly named in the book of Judges. In the second clause there is an abbreviated comparison, as is obvious from the other passages where this same comparison occurs, drawn out, for example, 2 Kings 9:37, "and the carcase of Jezebel shall be as thing upon the face of the field," Jeremiah 9:21. Isaiah 5:25.-The "their nobles" In ver. 11, is expository of "them." Oreb and Seeb were, according to Judges 7:25; the commanders of the Midianites, Sebah and Zalmunah, Judges 8:5-10; Judges 12:18-21, their kings.-Ver. 12 points once more to the guilt of the enemies which made them worthy of a destruction similar to that which befel those of an earlier period. Elohim (not Jehovah) is selected for the purpose of making more distinct the criminality of the attempt. By the "habitations of God" is meant the whole land of Canaan: comp. 2 Chronicles 20:11, "they have come to cast us out of thy posses-sion which thou hast given us to inherit," Psalms 47:4. Ver. 9. Do to them as to Midian, as to Sisera, as to Jabin, in the valley of Kison. Ver; 10. Who were destroyed at Endor, they were dung for the land. Ver. 11. Make them, their nobles, as Oreb and as Seeb, all their princes as Sebah and Zalmuna. Ver. 12. Who said: we will possess ourselves of the habitations of God.Calvin: “The substance is, may God who has so often smitten his enemies, and delivered his timorous sheep out of the jaws of wolves, not leave them at this time unprotected against these forces.” From the many examples of divine judgment upon the enemies, which constituted pledges of deliverance in this trouble, the Psalmist selects two, the victory over the Canaanites from Judges 4 and Judges 5, and the victory of Gideon over the Midianites from Judges 7 and Judges 8. He begins with the latter as the more glorious of the two. But in expanding the general subject of the (Psalms 83:9) 9th verse, in Psalms 83:10-11, the order is reversed. Psalms 83:10 is an appendage to the second clause; Psalms 83:11 expands the first. “Do to them as to Midian” (instead of “as thou didst to Midian,”—the comparison being, as is frequently the case, merely referred to, not drawn out, comp. Ew. § 527) was fulfilled beyond what they asked or thought: the discomfiture of the enemies, as was the case with the Midianites, took place by mutual destruction,—a means which has often proved of signal service to the kingdom of God: comp. 2 Chronicles 20:22-23, with Judges 7:22. The glorious victory over Midian appears also in Isaiah 9:4, and Habakkuk 3:7, as the emblem and pledge of glorious deliverances yet to come. The effort to exhibit the individuals named, standing as much apart as possible, “as Sisera, as Jabin,” not “and Jabin,” is explained by the reference to the seven nations. On “in the valley of Kison,” comp. Judges 4:7, Judges 4:13; Judges 5:21. Endor Psalms 83:10 (comp. Robinson, vol. iii. 468, 77), which appears here as the proper place of the discomfiture of the Canaanites, is not expressly named in the book of Judges. In the second clause there is an abbreviated comparison, as is obvious from the other passages where this same comparison occurs, drawn out, for example, 2 Kings 9:37, “and the carcase of Jezebel shall be as thing upon the face of the field,” Jeremiah 9:21. Isaiah 5:25. The “their nobles” In Psalms 83:11, is expository of “them.” Oreb and Seeb were, according to Judges 7:25, the commanders of the Midianites, Sebah and Zalmunah, Judges 8:5-10; Judges 8:12; Judges 8:18-21, their kings. Psalms 83:12 points once more to the guilt of the enemies which made them worthy of a destruction similar to that which befell those of an earlier period. Elohim (not Jehovah) is selected for the purpose of making more distinct the criminality of the attempt. By the “habitations of God” is meant the whole land of Canaan: comp. 2 Chronicles 20:11, “they have come to cast us out of thy possession which thou hast given us to inherit,” Psalms 47:4. Ver. 13-15.-Ver. 13. My God, make them like the whirl, like the stubble before the wind. Ver. 14. As fire which burns up the forest, as flame which scorches the hills: Ver. 15. Do thou thus pursue them with thy tempest, and terrify them with thy storm.a-The "like the whirl (comp. at Psalms 77.a Venema: Having placed before our eyes the judgment of God upon the enemies, as illustrated by the example of antiquity, he now describes it in a sublimer style, with images drawn from wind, storm, and fire, and (ver 16-18) exhibits the scope and effect of these judgments, in order that men, overwhelmed with shame, may learn to reverence the majesty of Jehovah.like the stubble," in ver. 13, is equivalent to "like the stubble which is, whirled round and carried off:" comp. Isaiah 17:13, a passage which depends on the verse before us.-As fire, ver. 14, as destructively. The hills are mentioned, as is obvious from the parallel clause, in reference to what covers them. Ver. 16-18.--Ver. 16. Fill their faces with shame, and may they seek thy name, O Lord. Ver 17. Let them be put to shame and terrified for ever, and blush and perish. Ver. 18. And may they know that thou with thy name, O Lord, art above the most high over the whole earth.-The object aimed at is intimated in the words: may they seek thy name, and may they know thy name. "Fill their face with shame" serves as the basis of the first, and the contents of ver. 18, of the second: we can never be more confident of the destruction of our enemies, and of our own deliverance, than when these tend to promote the exaltation and the glory of God. In point of form, however, the second clause of ver. 16 is independent of, and co-ordinate with the first: -not: that they may seek. Otherwise, we destroy the number of petitions, twelve in all, seven in this paragraph, corresponding to the number seven of the verses of the preceding paragraph.-On "their faces," ver. 16, comp. Psalms 69:7. "Thy name" is equivalent to "thee, rich in deeds, glorious." "May they seek thee" (Berleb: as humble suppliants) has no reference to "con-version," but to the forced subjection of those who, like Pharaoh, are not able to hold out any longer against the inflictions of God. This is evident, also, from the following verse, where the Psalmist prays for the destruction of the enemies.a It would be the height of folly to hope for the conversion of such enemies.-In the 18th verse, the acknowledgment is not a voluntary but a forced ac-knowledgment: comp. Psalms 59:13; 1 Samuel 17:46. The שמך, is the accus., just as the לב in ver, 5, and the סוד in ver. 3, "as a Calvin: "It is, I acknowledge, the first step towards repentance, when men, humbled by chastisements, yield of their own accord; but the prophet adverts merely to a forced and servile submission. For it often happens that the wicked, subdued by sufferings, give glory to God for a time. But because in a short while they exhibit a frantic rage, their hypocrisy is thus sufficiently exposed, and the ferocity which lay concealed in their hearts becomes apparent. He wishes, therefore, that the wicked may be compelled reluc-tautly to acknowledge God: that at least their fury, at present breaking forth with im-punity, may be kept under restraint and within due bounds.to thy name," i. e., "for the sake of thy name:" thou whorich in deeds, glorious. The name, the product of the deeds, is what belongs to the Lord, above all others who are called lords and gods these are all nameless; the names which they bear are mere names, shells without kernel. That we are not to give the first half of the verse a sense complete in itself-and know that thou alone hast the name Jehovah-is evident from the parallel and in all probability dependant passage, Isaiah 37:16, where Hezekiah says: Jehovah, Sabbaoth, God of Israel, thou art God Ha-elohim, alone for all the kingdoms of the earth, 2 Kings 19:19.a The Eljou is the predicate here just as Elo- him is there. Psalms 84. The Psalmist pronounces himself happy in the possession of the highest of all blessings, that of dwelling in the house of God, and that of communion with him; for inheritance follows adoption: to those who participate in this blessing, the Lord will by his salvation yet give occasion to praise him, ver. 1-4. He pronounces those happy (salvation to himself because he belongs to their number) who place their trust in God, and walk blamelessly: for their misery, shall be turned into salvation, and the end of their way is praise and thanks, ver. 5-7. The prayer rises on the basis of the meditation; may God be gracious to his anointed, for his favour is the highest good, whoever possesses it is sure of salvation, ver. 8-12. The whole Psalm contains 12 verses. It is divided into two strophes; one of meditation, in seven verses, and the other of prayer, in five. The seven is divided into four and three: sal- vation as the necessary consequence of dwelling in the house of the Lord, and salvation: as the consequence of piety and blame- lessness. The five which points out the second strophe as sup- plementary to the first is divided into an introduction and, a con- clusion, each of one verse, and a main body of three verses. The Selah stands where it is most necessary, at the end of the a Isaiah 37:20 is to be supplemented from both these passages: and all the kingdoms of the earth may experience that thou; O Lord, alone (art God).first part of the first strophe, and at the end of the introduction of the prayer-strophe. It is here that the parts, which ought to be kept separate, admit most easily of being read together. The name Jehovah occurs three times in the first and three times in the second strophe. Sabbaoth is added twice in each. If we add to the six repetitions of Jehovah the four repetitions of Elo-him, which occurs generally in a subordinate position, so that Jehovah preponderates, we have altogether ten names of God.The ninth verse renders it evident that the speaker is the Anointed of the Lord: This fact an be reconciled 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: comp. the Intro. to Psalms 40:40; Psalms 40:43., where the case is exactly the same. The Psalm gives very slight intimation as to the situation of the Anointed. That he was in a calamitous situation is obvious from the whole tendency of the Psalm, which, is, manifestly de-signed to pour consolation into the soul of the sufferer, and in particular from "they shall still praise thee," in ver. 4, "going through the valley of tears," in ver. 6, and the prayer in ver. 8 and 9, which is that of a sufferer standing in need of divine assistance. It is intimated in ver. 7 that the sufferer particu-larly is separated from the sanctuary. Farther, the Anointed stands in inward and near relation to the Lord, ver. 1-4; he is one who has his strength in the Lord, and trusts in him, vers. 5and 12, and who has walked blamelessly, vers. 5 and 11, yea he stands as the teacher in Israel of these great virtues, ver. 6. These marks lead to David in his flight from Absalom; they meet together as applicable no where else. This result obtained from the consideration of the Psalm itself is confirmed by com-paring it with Psalms 42. and in which the traces of that time, and the reference to these events, are still more apparent. These Psalms are so closely allied to the one before us, that it is impossible to consider them apart. They both bear a con-siderable resemblance to it, even externally, as might be made to appear,--Pss. 42. and 43. stand at the head of the Korahite Elohim Psalms, and this Psalm at the head of the Korahite Je-hovah Psalms, so that thus both are in a peculiarly close manner connected together. And they possess the following points incommon:-they were composed by the sons of Korah from the soul of the Anointed; they are all characterized by an ardour of feeling, and a tender pathos, which here, as is also indicated by the title, assumes the form of a pathetic joy; in all, the Anointed is in a state of suffering, and is separated from the sanctuary. The fundamental thought also of this Psalm occurs in Psalms 42:6; Psalms 42:8, where the Psalmist obtains comfort in his misery, and the hope of salvation because he becomes absorbed in a consciousness of possessing the favour of God. As to particular expressions comp. ver. 4 with Psalms 42:5, ver. 7 with Psalms 43:3, ver. 9 with Psalms 43:5.a The sons of Korah perform here as in Psalms 43. for David in the time of Absalom, the same duty which David once per-formed for Saul. They sang quietness and peace from their soul to his, giving back to him a part of what they themselves hadceived, from him the "teacher," ver. 6. They brought to his recollection the foundations of his hope: the blessing of com- munion with God yet remaining to him, which, as the fountain all other blessings, must brighten his piety and his blameless walk in the estimation of all who regard God, and finally his suffering in joy. The contents are nearly allied to those of Psalms 63., which was composed by David himself in the time of Absalom. There also we find hope in reference to the future rising on the basis of in-ward union with God enjoyed by the Psalmist at present. It has been maintained as an argument against the composi- tion of the Psalm in the time of David, that the sanctuary in per. 1, 2, 3, 10, must have been a temple, a large building. But the mention of “ habitations” of God, in ver. 1, does not imply this; for even the tabernacle-temple was divided into severalapartments, and the habitations and sanctuaries of the Lord are a Even Ewald acknowledges that Psalms 42., and Psalms 84., are inseparably con-nected. "These Psalms are manifestly so similar, in colouring of language, in plan and structure, in overflowing fulness of rare figures, finally, in refined delicacy and tender-ness of thought, and yet every thing in both poems is so entirely original, while nothing is the result of imitation from the other, that it is impossible to avoid coming to the con-clusion that both are the product of the same poet." It is singular that with such ac- knowledgments and concessions the inference so necessarily flowing from them it favour of the titles should be disregarded. How comes it that in the titles those Psalms are attributed to the same authors which on internal grounds are so intimately related, if these titles were composed upon mere conjecture? mentioned in other Psalms which manifestly belong to the times of David, Psalms 43:3; Psalms 68:35. The same cannot be said of "courts " in ver. 2 and 10. The tabernacle, and therefore pro-bably also the tent erected by David for the ark of the covenant on Mount Zion, had certainly only one court. But in poetical language we not infrequently find courts used in the sense of the space before the sanctuary, where in reality there was only one court. Thus, for example, in Psalms 65:4, which was composed by David; again in Isa_:1:12, "who hath required this of you that ye tread my courts," Psalms 92:13; Psalms 100:4 : the one of the two courts of Solomon's temple was the court of the Priests, and it therefore cannot be meant as included. Finally, it is only by adopting a false rendering that ver. 3 can be considered as making any men- tion of birds nests in the sanctuary; the same may be said of ver. 5 ss., in regard to pilgrimages,-it is without any good rea- soh, besides, that it has been said of these that they did not exist in the time" of David. An intimation that the sanctuary at that time existed in a tent, occurs in ver. 10. The reference to the tabernacle-house of God undoubtedly called forth in that passage the mention of the tents of wickedness, instead of its palaces: The Psalm has had the misfortune to be misunderstood in various ways, particularly by the modern expositors whose per-ception of its meaning is upon the whole much more profound than was that of Luther. The main ground of the misunder-standings is the falsely literal rendering of those passages in which mention is made of the house of the Lord. It is from this that has arisen the idea that there exists in the Psalm "an ex- pression of earnest desire for the temple," in opposition to ver. 2, where the Psalmist rejoices as one who already enjoys the privi-lege of near access to God, to ver. 3, according to which the bird has already found its house and the swallow its nest in the house of God, and to ver. 10 in connection with to ver. 9, &c. On the title "to the chief Musician after the manner (or ac-cording to the harp, comp. at title of Ps. viii.) of Gath, by the sons of Korah, a Psalm," Arnd remarks: The Gittith was a spiritual musical instrument on which these Psalms were played, which sounded pleasantly and joyfully. For the ancients did not play all the Psalms upon the same instrument, but they varied according to the strain of each Psalm. What should we learnfrom this? That our heart, mouth, and tongue, should be the true spiritual musical instruments of God, the pleasant harps and the good sounding symbols, both mournful and joyful instruments according to the dispensation of God and the times." "To the Chief Musician," shews that the Psalm was intended for some-thing more than what immediately gave occasion to it, that along with its individual application we must keep in view its applica-tion for all the suffering people of God: comp. the Intro. at Psalms 42. Ver. 1-4.-Ver. 1. How beloved are thy dwelling-places, O Lord, (Lord) of Hosts. Ver. 2. My soul longeth and even fainteth after the courts of the Lord. My heart and my flesh rejoice to the living God. Ver. 3. Even the bird has found a house, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she lays her young, thine altars, O Lord of Hosts, my king and my God. Ver. 4. Blessed are those who dwell in thy house, they shall still praise thee.-The ידיד in Ver. 1 signifies always beloved and never lovely; comp. at Psalms 45:1; and the second verse is in entire harmony with this, where the expression "how much loved they are (by me)" is expanded; and also the parallel passage, Psalms 27. "One thing I desire of the Lord, that do I seek after, that I may dwell in the house of the Lord." The Psalmist loves the habitations of the Lord; because he is sure of finding safety and protection there: comp., among other passages, Psalms 27:5. The term Sabbaoth points to this ground as one to which marked prominence is given in what follows. The Lord of Heaven is rich in salvation on behalf of his own people; the man whom he takes into his presence is protected, and that, too, although the whole world were to rise up against, him: comp. Psalms 27:1, “ Nothing can go entirely wrong with him whom the Most High has resolved to aid."--The longing and fainting, in ver. 2, do not at all in-dicate any desire completely unsatisfied at the time; but rather a spiritual hunger, which is immediately connected with satiety, a need which as it has arisen from enjoyment, also, calls for enjoy-ment. This is evident from the rejoicing, which , stands, as far as the grammatical interpretation is concerned, inseparably con- nected with the longing and fainting, but which, in consequence of the erroneous view taken of the former, has been to no purpose, considered as equivalent to to cry aloud. ןנ.eרi is of frequent oc-currence in the Psalms, and always signifies to rejoice. He who can rejoice in God must be in possession of the object of his de-sire. In proportion as the soul has already enjoyed the grace of God, does it earnestly long after it; and in proportion as it longs after it does it rejoice in God. Arnd: "This is the effect of holy desire, the fruit of holy longing after God, for God is so gra-cious and condescending that he does not permit the heartfelt love and the holy desire which man bears towards him to pass unrewarded, but so gladdens the man that he refreshes him both in body and soul. There arises, therefore, out of heartfelt desire after God a heartfelt joy, or true joy of the heart." The גםdoes, not indicate a climax; but, as is frequently the case (comp., for example; Psalms 137:1) is a mere particle of addition. The soul, heart, and flesh are exceedingly appropriate, when used together, as expressive of the whole than, and therefore, as indicating the intensity of the desire (comp. at Psa_:63:1), and the second clause begins with "they rejoice," to which the nomi-native is soul, heart, and flesh. The "courts of the Lord" are the courts of the outward temple, which is also designated in ver. 1 the habitations: the desire, however, is, not to be present in this temple corporeally, but spiritually, which is possible even in the case of external distance the servants of the Lord dwell always spiritually with him in his temple, and are there cared for by him with fatherly love, comp. at Psalms 27:4; Psalms 36:8; Psalms 65:4, and the parallel passages referred to there. The court is spe- cially spoken of here, as in Psalms 65:4; Psalms 92:13, because in the. "tabernacle of meeting" it formed the external place of concourse for the congregation; it is, therefore, there also the spiritual seat of its members; into it there flowed upon them out of the sanc-tuary the stream of the grace and love of God. The רנן withאל, to rejoice to God, who makes himself known in grace and love to the longing soul, in rejoice, in return or response; occurs only here. On הי אל comp. at Psalms 42:2.�The simple thought of ver. 3 is this: the dwelling in thy house, confiding relationship to thee, secures: thy grace, with confidence and protection. The "bird" and the swallow is the Psalmist himself, the זרור need not to be very exactly defined; the connection in which it is used defines nothing except that from the parallel צפור, and the ge-neral sense of the passage, it must denote a little, helpless bird: comp. Ps. xi, 1, where David calls himself a "little bird," Psalms 56 :Title (comp. 55:6), where he calls himself "the dumb dove of distant places," 1 Samuel 26:20, where he calls himself a flea, and compares himself to a partridge on the mountains. There is an abbreviated comparison: like a little bird, which, after a long defenceless wandering, has found a house (Matthew 8:20) in which it may dwell securely, a nest to which it may entrust with confidence its dearest possession, its young, thus have I, a poor wanderer, found safety and protection in thy house, O Lord. Jo. Arnd: "David gives thanks to the Lord for this, and says, my poor little soul, the terrified little bird has now found its right house, and its right nest, namely, thy altars; and if I had not found this beautiful house of God, I must have been for ever- flying about, out of the right way. I would have been like a lonely bird on the house-top, like an owl in the desert, Ps. cii:, like a solitary turtle dove; give not thy turtle dove into the hands of the enemies," says Psalms 74. The גם does not connect, the whole passage with what goes, before (comp. Ew. § 622, Psalms 85:12); not: even the bird has found, but: the bird has even found. Feeble man, in this hard, troublous world, destitute of the help and grace of God, is compared to the "little bird," and the, "swallow." The house, in an extended sense, is brought intonotice as a place of safety for the bird, for the little bird itself, the nest, as a place of safety for its most precious possession. On אשר for "where" comp., Ew. § 589. The מזבהותיך את is the accus. as at 1 Kings 19:10; 1 Kings 19:14. The plural refers to the altar of burnt- offering, and the altar of incense-offering: comp. Numbers 3:31. The altars are specially mentioned instead, of the whole house; because there the relation to God was concentrated. There the soul brings forward its spiritual offerings, which constitute the soul even of material sacrifices, and hears the much-loved respon-sive call of God; the assurance of his help, and his salvation, even when the body is not near the altar. "My king and my God" ( joined together in this manner only in Psalms 5:2) gives, in connec-tion with Sabbaoth, the ground why the Psalmist considers it such a happy thing for him that he has been permitted access to the altars of God, why the house of God is to him what its house and, nest are to the little bird. How should he not feel infinitely safe whom his king and his God, he who guides the stars in theircourses, has taken him into his own dwelling-place. Luther took a correct view of this verse, as is obvious from his "namely thine altars." Modern expositors, however, have gone astray, in con-sequence of their having unfortunately taken up the idea that the Psalm contains the expression of the earnest longings after the temple of one separated from it. They translate: "even the sparrows find an house, and the swallows a nest; for themselves, where they lay their young, in thine altars, Jehovah Sabbaoth, my King and my God," and suppose the idea intended to be con-veyed is: and are thus happier than I am, who am separated from thy sanctuary. But the thought obtained in this way is one, not-withstanding the defence which has been made of it by De Wette and Maurer, of a trivial character, and unworthy the holy earnest-ness of Israelitish poetry; a bird, certainly, was in no very en-viable situation which had fixed its place of dwelling and its nest in the house of the Lord. The main thing, moreover, I am less fortunate than they is wanting, and added to the passage without any reason whatever. The "with thine altars," instead of "at," is very strange, and certainly the unusual את would not havebeen used for the purpose of avoiding the ambiguity. The birds durst build their nest if generally in the sanctuary, yet certainly not in the neighbourhood of the altars. Finally, verse 4th is not at all suitable, if we suppose that ver. 3 contains a lamenta-tion over absence from the sanctuary; and even ver. 2 can only by a false interpretation be brought, in this case, into harmony with ver. 3.-The dwellers in the house of God, in ver. 4, are, as was formerly shown at Psalms 27:4, not those who regularly repair to it, but the inmates (Jeremiah 20:6) of God's house in a spiritual sense. As the Psalmist, according to what has been said before, belongs to their number, in praising their happiness, he praises at the same time his own: happy, therefore, also I. In the second clause, the ground of this praise is given: for they shall still (even though for the present they may be in misery) praisehim; he by imparting to them his salvation, give them yet occasion to do so: comp. "he will praise me," for "he will get occasion to do so," Psalms 1:15; Psalms 1:23, and also 79:13. It is usually translated: always they praise thee. But with this construction the use of עוד in the parallel passage, Psalms 42:6, is not attended to. Besides, עוד never means always. Genesis 46:29 is to be trans-lated: and he wept still upon his neck when Israel spoke. In Rth 1:14, the עוד, "they wept still," refers back to ver. 9. The sons of Korah now open up, in ver. 5-7, to the anointed of the Lord the second fountain of consolation, they point out to him the pledge of salvation which had been imparted to him through his trust in God and the blamelessness of his walk.- Ver. 5. Blessed is the man whose strength is in thee, in whose hearts (are) ways. Ver. 6. Going through the valley of tears, they make it a well; the teacher is even covered with blessing. Ver. 7. They go from strength to strength, he appears before God in Zion.-Ver. 6 and 7 contain the grounds on which the declara-tion of blessedness made in ver. 5 is founded: Blessed are they, for in passing through the valley of tears, &c. Ver. 5 contains. two conditions of salvation. First, that a man has his strength in God, has him as his strength. Jo. Arnd: "But what does having God for our strength mean? It means that we place the trust of our heart, our confidence, help, and consolation only in him, and in no creature, be it power, skill, honour, or riches. That is a happy man who knows in his heart of no other strength, help, and comfort than of God." The second condition of salvation is, that a man has ways, made roads, in his heart. By this is designated zealous moral effort, blamelessness and right- eousness. The heart of man in its natural condition, appears like a pathless wilderness, full of cliffs and precipices ; and re-pentance is a levelling of the roads. The following passages are parallel: Psalms 1:23, "whoso offereth praise (= has his strength in thee) and whoever prepares a way, to him will I show the salvation of God;" Proverbs 16:17, "the highway of the upright (in opposition to the pathlessness of the wicked) is far from evil &c." and Isaiah 40:3; Isaiah 40:4, "prepare the way of the Lord, make straight in the heath a pathway for our God; every valley is exalted, and every hill shall be made low, and every steep place shall be made plain; and the rugged place shall become a valley:" comp. theproof given in the Christol. p. 395, that by the figurative language of the preparing of the ways we are to understand the zeal of moral effort as referred to in that passage. Both of these conditions of salvation are united, as they are here, in Psalms 26.: the second has prominence given to it, for example, in Psalms 15.; Psalms 24. As in the 12th verse, "who trusts in thee" cor- responds to "who has his strength in thee," "who walk blame- lessly," in ver. 11, corresponds to "the ways in their hearts." Luther's translation is not sufficiently exact: who walk after thee from the heart; those of recent date are entirely false: whose heart thinks upon the streets, the pilgrimages to Jerusalem. The pilgrimages are in no respect suitable if the connection be viewed correctly. מסלות does not mean ways generally, but made roads, it means streets, not once the streets, which is still much too vague.-The sense of ver. 6 is: to those whose mind is in this state, suffering is turned into joy, misery into salvation. "Wandering" is not, "although they wander," but "while they wander." The stat. constr. stands, while, at the same time, the preposition cannot be omitted: comp. at Psalms 2:12. There is a reference to the second half of the preceding verse: those who have prepared the ways of their heart shall be prospered in regardto their outward ways. The valley, properly the depth, or the deep, is an emblem of a low and miserable condition. Into such a valley David found himself cast down from the height of his pro-sperity in the time of Absalom. The old translators, with won-derful agreement, give to בכא the sense of weeping; and even the Massorah remarks that the א at the end stands instead of ה. Others, on the ground that the form with the א never occurs, consider Baka as the name of a tree, which is mentioned in 2 Sam. v. 23, 24, and the parallel passage in Chron., according to the old translators, a mulberry tree, according to Celsus in Hierobot., a tree something like the balsam shrub. If we adopt this view, we must consider that the reason why the valley of the Baca tree is men-tioned is, that the tree has its name from weeping;a so that in reality the sense is the same as on the former view,-in the val- ley of the tear-shrubs. The appellation of Zalmon in Psalms 68:14 is similar to this. Then, against the idea that the Baca tree grows only in dry places, that the valley of Baca, therefore, simply denotes such a place, it may be urged with effect that valleys are not usually dry, and that the Baca tree, according to the only passage in Scripture where it is mentioned, grew in the very fruit-ful valley of Rephaim, Isaiah 17:6. In this case, also, instead of, "they make it a well," we would have expected, "they make it rich in wells." But that whole reference to the Baca trees must, a Abul Fadli:, in Celsus i. p. 330, says of the Arabian Baca tree: when its leaf is cut, a certain tear drops from it, white, warm, sharp, yet of no virtue. in all probability, be given up. As nothing remains left of them except the name, the naming of them is flat and trifling enough.In the parallel, and, in all probability, fundamental passage, Psalms 23:4, there occurs also an appellative: even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death: comp. also Psalms 126:5; Psalms 126:6. The sweet fountain of salvation stands in marked, con-trast to he bitter fountain of weeping. A valley of weep-ing also occurs in Burkhardt 2 p. 977. Gesell.: "after you have advanced two hours, the valley for an hour gets, thename of Wady Beka or the valley of the weeping, and, according to tradition, it got the name because a Be- douin wept; when, as his enemy was pursuing him, his dro-medary fell down, and he therefore could not follow his com-panion.”a We adopt, therefore, the vale of tears.b David experienced what it was to wander in this valley of tears, when he went up by Mount Olivet and wept, 2 Samuel 15:30. As the val-ley of weeping is an image of misery, the fountain is an image of salvation. (Luther gives erroneously the plural instead of the singular.) They make it, namely, inasmuch as they, by their faith and their righteousness, call down the grace of God upon them, or open the doors for the blessing. The גם stands as in ver. 2. The יעטה is the fut. in Kal as at Leviticus 13:45, Jeremiah 43:12. The verb signifies always in Kal to be covered, even in Leviticus 13:45, Mich. 3:7, with the accusative of the thing with which any one is covered, here ברכות, the plural, pointing to the fulness and multiplicity of the blessing. מורה is the instructor, the teacher, 2 Kings 17:28; Is. xxk. 20; Proverbs 5:13. The ob- ject of the teaching is to be taken from ver. 5: who not only has his own strength in the Lord, and his ways in his own heart, butwho also directs others to this, instructs them. This was David's for example, Psalms 15., Psalms 62:3. The correct view is to be found high calling and earnest endeavour, as his Psalms testify; comp:,in Luther. The translation which has hitherto been the common one is altogether erroneous; and the harvest-rain covers it with a Burkhardt knew nothing of the Baca trees growing in this valley, and Gesenius in vain endeavcurs to propose them here contrary to the Arabic authorities.b Ven.: A valley represents a depressed and abject condition; a valley of tears must therefore represent such a condition in connection with much misery, and affording very little consolation, or none at all.blessing. For the מורה signifies always "teaching," or "teach- er," never "rain," or "early rain," which is always יורה, with the single exception of Joe 2:23, where, however, מורה is used in the sense of the early rain, only on account of the similarity in sound to the מורה, which occurs immediately before in its or-dinary sense; comp. the Christol. on the passage. The עטה occurs only once in Hiph., in Kal throughout quite generally. The ברכות, would not have stood without the preposition, had it not been that עטה is so constantly used with the accusative of the thing with which one is covered, that there is no danger of mistake. The omission of the suffix referring to the valley would be harsh.- The יראה, in ver. 7 is power, might, ability; comp. "In God we shall get ability, and he will tread down our enemies," in Psalms 40:12. From strength to strength, the Berleb.; from one degree of strength to another. Comp. Jeremiah 9:2, Psalms 144:3. The sub-ject in יראה, is, as is apparent, the teacher. The אל in the phrase "to appear before God," elsewhere rarely used, is se-lected with reference to the second clause; from strength to strength, and finally to God in Zion. Everywhere the faithful appear then praising and giving thanks, after their sufferings have been brought to a close. Comp. ver. 4. That there is here a special reference to the violent separation of the Psalmist from the sanctuary, is evident on comparing Psalms 43:3.aa Luther, after the example of the Septuagint, as if the reading were אלe, translates "the God of Gods," and therefore wholly misunderstands the passage. The prayer in ver. 8-14 follows the meditation.-Ver. 8. O Lord, God, God of hosts, hear my prayer, accept it, O God of Jacob. Selah. Ver. 9. Thou, our shield, behold now, O God, and look upon the face of thine anointed. Ver. 10. For a day in thy courts is better than, a thousand (elsewhere). I will rather lie at the threshold in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of wickedness. Ver. 11. For a sun and shield is the Lord, God, the Lord gives grace and glory, he denies no good to those who walk blamelessly. Ver. 12. O Lord ofhosts, blessed is the man who trusteth in thee.-"Our shield" in ver. 9 (comp. at Psalms 3:3) shews, as "God of Jacob" in ver. 8 had already done, that in the one person the whole people is ex-posed to danger. It is emphatically placed foremost, because onit the assurance of the answer to the prayer depends. The trans-lation, "look upon our shield," is altogether at fault. The 11th verse is sufficient proof against it.--On "behold," comp. 2 Kings 19:16, "O Lord, thine ear and hear, open, O Lord, thine eyes and behold," where the object to be heard and seen is more particularly described. "The whole forementioned state of things " is what must be supplied. The face of the anointed is, his humble supplicatory face. "Thine anointed" contains in it the basis of the prayer: my face, because I am thine anoint-ed, comp. Psalms 18:50; Psalms 132:10.-The Psalmist, in ver. 10, gives the reason why he turns to the Lord with beseeching prayer, why his highest wish is that he may help him: impart to me thy favour and help me, for to be in thy favour is the highest of all good. The "for" by which the verse is connected with the pre-ceding one, is fatal to the idea, that it is not the Anointed that is praying for himself, but the Psalmist that is praying for his king, and also to the supposition, that the expressions which refer to the house of God are to be interpreted, externally. This view could not be held unless it were the case that the Psalmist, in the preceding context, had been praying for restoration to the outward sanctuary. Ver. 12, however, would not in this case be suitable. Than a thousand,-which are spent elsewhere, in theworld, and in pursuit of its pleasures. At the expression, "I will rather, lie at the door," like Lazarus at the door of the rich man, I will rather be content with the most despised place in the kingdom of God, the most distant relation to him and to his grace, we must suppose added, "if it cannot be otherwise, if God does not permit me to a nearer approach to him." There is not here any expression of unpretending modesty and humility, as Calvina supposes; but an expression of the very high sense which the Psalmist had of the value of the grace of God in salvation, above all the pleasures and all the means of support furnished by the world. Instead of the mere "dwelling," Luther has falsely sub- stituted "long dwelling." We are to think of a dwelling whether as an inhabitant or as a client, and of wickedness, as richly fur- a “ A rare example of piety. For although many desire for themselves a place in the Church, yet ambition is so prevalent that few are content to remain in the common number. For almost all are so hurried on by the mad desire of rising higher, that they cannot remain at rest unless they occupy a prominent place.” nished with all human means as was the case with the enemies of David in the time of Absalom.a We have the same thought in another form in Psa_:4:7.--In the 11th verse, we have the reason assigned why the favour of God is the best gift; whoever has him for a friend, receives in due season a fulness of gifts, and may therefore be comforted and happy even in misery. A sun and a shield, that is, deliverance and protection. Instead of the figure of the sun, the more common one in other passages is usu- ally that of light; comp. especially Psalms 27:1; still there oc-cur the passages, Isaiah 60:19; Isaiah 60:20, Malachi 3:20, Revelation 21:23, of a kindred nature to the one before us. Arnd: As the natural sun is the light, life, and joy of all natural things, so God himself is the light of all those who dwell in his house, their salvation; and the strength of their life. But the Lord is not only a sun, he is also a shield,-such a protection as covers the body and soul like a shield, so that no murderous weapon of the devil and of men can strike and mortally wound us." By grace is meant the ef-fects and gifts of grace, deliverance from enemies, &c. On glory, comp. at Psalms 49:16; and on "walk in a blameless," for as a blameless man, at Psalms 15:2. Psalms 85. The contents of the Psalm are made up of a prayer on the part of the people, for deliverance during long protracted misery. The prayer rises first in ver. 1-4, upon the foundation of the early grace of God; after this it is more fully developed in ver; 5-7, and thus the number seven of this first strophe is divided into a four and a three. The second strophe, which contains the promise of deliverance, consist exactly of the same length. Only there is wanting a verse at the conclusion, which, as in Psalms 81., is to be supplied from the title; and we are thus reminded of Hab 3:19, where the usual appendage borrowed from the titles of the Psalms stands at the close. It has been generally supposed that the people gives thanks in a Ven.: It is not any tents, or tents of any kind, that are understood, but rich, power- ful, glorious, and splendid tents.ver. 1-3, for restoration from captivity; and after this, in ver 7, prays to the Lord to complete the work which he had begun, to remove entirely his anger from the people, and to put them in full possession of deliverance. But the idea that vers. 1-3 refer to re- storation from captivity, depends altogether upon a wrong transla-tion of the phrase שבות שב in ver. 1. This never means to bring back the prisoners, not even, to turn the captivity, but al-ways to turn back to the prison, that is, to the misery (comp. at Psalms 14:7; and this translation is especially demanded here by the ונבוש, in ver. 4, and the תשוב, in verse 6. The clause atthe beginning "thou hast shewn thyself merciful to thy land," is altogether against the reference to the Babylonish captivity.“These words," remarks Claus with correctness, "appear much rather to suit a time when the people dwelt in their land, and had been visited with severe punishment." Further, the forgive-ness and the sheaving of favour in ver. 1-3, are of a universal character, just as then the wrath is completely removed, so in ver. 4-7 the people still lie completely under wrath. Ver. 1-3 cannot therefore be considered as referring to events of recent oc- currence, but to transactions of a remote age: Luther correctly gives: thou who hast been gracious in the days of old. The people cannot be considered as praying at ver. 4, &c., that the Lord would complete a work, which, according to ver. 1-3, had been begun, but that he would anew act at the present time as he had done in the the days of old. The Psalm will not bear an historical exposition: The descrip- tion of the distress out of which the people had been delivered, is conveyed in terms which are entirely general; and in like man- ner, there are no individual references in the representation of the relations of the present. In the confident expectations en-tertained of deliverance, the prominence given to peace would seem to point to an oppression which had arisen from enemies; while, on the other hand, "the land gives it increase," especially when viewed in, connection with the fundamental passage, Leviticus 26:4, appears to indicate that the distress had arisen from a failure of the crops. We are hence entitled to draw the conclu- sion that the Psalm was designed for the use of all times of pro- tracted distress-of all times in which men did not witness the ful-filment of the promise of Levi 26:3-13; the bringing to re-membrance of which was evidently the design of the second part. The time of composition cannot be determined; the title, "To the Chief Musician by the sons of Korah, a Psalm," gives as little clue to this as it does to the contents of the Psalm. The introduction, ver. 1-4, is entirely similar to the introduc-tion in Psalms 9., and also in Psalms 40.: compare also Psalms 83:9-1. There cannot be given any more solid foundation for a prayer in which it is desired that God should do something, than to ap-peal to what he has already done, inasmuch as, just because he is the unchangeable God, those deeds which proceed from the ne-cessity of his being, partake of a prophetic character.-Ver. 1. Thou didst manifest thyself gracious, O Lord, to thy land. Thou didst turn back to the prison house of Jacob. Ver. 2 Thou didst take away the iniquity of thy people, thou didst cover all their sins. Selah. Ver. 3. Thou didst take away all thy wrath, thou didst cease from the fury of thine anger. Ver. 4. Turn back therefore to us, O God, our. Saviour, and cause thy wrath against us to cease.-Every man is left at liberty to think upon one of great examples of the divine compassion in the days of old. The pause after ver. 1, pointed out by the Selah, is in-tended to bind ver. 2 and 3 closely together, and in this way to intimate that every thing said of the early grace of God was only designed to serve the object of giving a basis to the prayer for new grace. The השיב stands in ver, 3, absol. to cease from, as in Ezekiel 18:30; Ezekiel 18:32. It is evident from Ezekiel 14:6, that this usage is properly dependant upon an omission,-to turn back the face or the heart: compare on such frequent omissions of the object in Hiph. Ew. § 239: Maurer's translation, "thou hast stilled in part thine anger," is not only "unnatural," but is contradicted in one breath by the Psalmist: all their sins, all thy wrath. Al-lusion is made to Exodus 32:12, where Moses says to God: turn back from the fierceness of thy wrath. This prayer was at that time graciously heard.-The שוב, with the accusative has always the sense of to turn back: compare at Psalms 14:7. The ונמע be-longs to the verb: make it in our case to cease; compare ומעמ, from beside him, so that it is no longer near him, in Psalms 89:33. To connect the noun with the verb of indignation by the עם, is not usual. Ver. 5-7.-Ver. 5. Wilt thou then be angry with us for ever? Psalms 85. VER. 5-11. 65 prolong thine anger to all generations? Ver. 6. Wilt thou not turn back, quicken us, and shall not thy people rejoice in thee? Ver. 7. Let us behold, O Lord, thy mercy, and give us thy sal-vation.-On ver. 5, Berleb.: "The question supplicates or is put in this mournful form, with a view to move the heart of God, who, in virtue of his fatherly love, could not possibly fail to return a favourable answer." Michaelis: "while thine anger on other occasions lasts only one moment," Psalms 30:5 : comp. Exodus 34:3; Exodus 34:6.-The תשוב in ver. 6 cannot, from ver. 1 and 5, be con-strued as an adverb, it rather stands in immediate connection with ונייהת: on this word comp. Psalms 80:18; Deuteronomy 32:39; Hosea 6:21 The return of God is the indispensable condition and means of quickening. The "thy people" contains the basis of the prayer. To rejoice in their God (comp. Psalms 5:11; Psalms 40:16) is essential to the being of the people of God.Ver. 8-11.-Ver. 8. I will hear what God the Lord speaks. For he speaks peace to his pious ones, only that they return not; to foolishness. Ver. 9. Truly salvation is near to those who fear him, that glory may dwell in our land. Ver. 10. Mercy and truth meet each other, righteousness and peace embrace each other. Ver. 11. Truth springs from the earth, and righteous-ness looks) from heaven.-It is not the Psalmist that speaks in ver. 8, but the people, as in the fourth and following verses, and in the whole psalm; and the answer is got by the same party from whom the question and the prayer had proceeded. האל is equi-valent to "our God," comp. Psalms 20. The "for" contains the basis of the zeal and the joy (I will hear) with which the people prepares to listen. The church has already observed, that the answer to her prayer is a favourable one. In reference to the speeches of God, the Berleb. Bible: "Dost thou ask how this happens? Know that it happens in the simplest and surest of all ways, by his own holy and good spirit, when he imparts to the soul such good instruction and impression as that thus it learns to know his will. He speaks, therefore, nothing else than what already stands in the Bible, and only brings to remembrance what he had already said, and caused to be written. He ex-plains it, points it out, and applies it to the condition of souls and to all circumstances." It has been already observed, that the address of God here is, in particular, nothing else than a re-66 THE BOOK OF PSALMS. petition of Lev 26:3-13. If that passage be compared, it will immediately be perceived, that by the peace nothing else is understood than protection against enemies, with which in that passage also the fertility of the land is conjoined as the second gift of a gracious God. The clause designed to be read with emphasis "to his saints," following up the expression of a previous verse, "to his people," and the still more definite clause, "and they may not return to foolishness," i. e., "but that only they do not return," indicate that as the fundamental promise, so here every thing expressly and repeatedly is made dependant on obedience to the commandments of God, and also that the promise drawn from it is throughout a conditional one, the new salvation rests throughout upon the foundation of the new obedience. Comp. Psalms 80:18. Inasmuch as this was always imperfect, the people of the Old Testament never obtained full possession of the blessings here promised.-The ך`א in ver. 9 is the particle of assurance: comp. at Psalms 58:12.--On the 10th and 11th verses many errors have been fallen into in regard to the subject matter, from not ob-serving that the language from the relation in which the passage stands to the first part cannot possibly apply to any thing else than to the gifts of God: we have there what the Lord has for-merly fulfilled and ought now to perform, and here what he is about to perform, exactly in accordance with "he speaks peace to his people," of ver. 8, and with the fundamental passage.-The mercy in ver. 10 is the mercy of God, the truth therefore can be nothing but his truth. For both the mercy and the truth of God occur thus bound up together, (comp. for example Psalms 25:10; Psalms 40:11; Psalms 61:7), and if the truth were to be viewed in connection with men, it would be necessary to define it more exactly.a The meeting each other, and the kissing, denote si-multaneous appearance and friendly agreement. The righteous- ness, as is evident from the parallelism with the first clause, and ver. 11, is not subjective righteousness, but righteousness as the gift of God, the matter-of-fact proclamation of righteousness; comp. at Psalms 23:3.-The righteousness springs out of the earth, ver. 11, as to its consequences, in the rich increase, which God, always consistent in word and deed, gives to the land; a Cocceius: "the former denotes paternal love and its gifts, the opposites of anger, enmity, and condemnation, the latter the exhibition and the fulfilment of the promises." Psalms 86:67comp. “ our land gives its increase,” ver. 12, which serves as acommentary. To "the righteousness looks down from heaven,"that is, descending in blessings upon the people of God, we havethere the corresponding clause, "the Lord gives what is good."Isaiah 14:8 is parallel and probably dependent upon this passage:“drop down ye heavens from above, and let the skies pour downrighteousness, let the earth open, and let it bring forth salvation,and let it cause righteousness to spring up together.”Ver. 2, 13.-Ver. 12. The Lord also gives what is good,and our land gives it increase. Ver. 13. Righteousness goesforth before him and makes her footsteps a way.-On the secondhalf of the 12th verse comp. Psalms 67:6. Here as there thewords are from Leviticus 26:4.-The way to the right interpreta-tion of the second half of ver. 13 has been obstructed by per-versely interpreting righteousness in a moral sense. Righteous-ness makes her footsteps for a way (comp, Isaiah 51:10), and thuswe are enabled to walk in the ways of righteousness and salva-tion, comp. at Psalms 23:3. Ver. 8. I will hear what God the Lord speaks. For he speaks peace to his pious ones, only that they return not; to foolishness. Ver. 9. Truly salvation is near to those who fear him, that glory may dwell in our land. Ver. 10. Mercy and truth meet each other, righteousness and peace embrace each other. Ver. 11. Truth springs from the earth, and righteousness looks from heaven. It is not the Psalmist that speaks in Psalms 85:8, but the people, as in the fourth and following verses, and in the whole psalm; and the answer is got by the same party from whom the question and the prayer had proceeded. äàì is equivalent to “our God,” comp. Psalms 20. The “for” contains the basis of the zeal and the joy (I will hear) with which the people prepares to listen. The church has already observed, that the answer to her prayer is a favourable one. In reference to the speeches of God, the Berleb. Bible: “Dost thou ask how this happens? Know that it happens in the simplest and surest of all ways, by his own holy and good spirit, when he imparts to the soul such good instruction and impression as that thus it learns to know his will. He speaks, therefore, nothing else than what already stands in the Bible, and only brings to remembrance what he had already said, and caused to be written. He explains it, points it out, and applies it to the condition of souls and to all circumstances.” It has been already observed, that the address of God here is, in particular, nothing else than a repetition of Lev 26:3-13. If that passage be compared, it will immediately be perceived, that by the peace nothing else is understood than protection against enemies, with which in that passage also the fertility of the land is conjoined as the second gift of a gracious God. The clause designed to be read with emphasis “to his saints,” following up the expression of a previous verse, “to his people,” and the still more definite clause, “and they may not return to foolishness,” i.e., “but that only they do not return,” indicate that as the fundamental promise, so here everything expressly and repeatedly is made dependant on obedience to the commandments of God, and also that the promise drawn from it is throughout a conditional one, the new salvation rests throughout upon the foundation of the new obedience. Comp. Psalms 80:18. Inasmuch as this was always imperfect, the people of the Old Testament never obtained full possession of the blessings here promised. The àê in Psalms 85:9 is the particle of assurance: comp. at Ps. 58:12. On the (Psalms 85:10-11) 10th and 11th verses many errors have been fallen into in regard to the subject matter, from not observing that the language from the relation in which the passage stands to the first part cannot possibly apply to anything else than to the gifts of God: we have there what the Lord has formerly fulfilled and ought now to perform, and here what he is about to perform, exactly in accordance with “he speaks peace to his people,” of Psalms 85:8, and with the fundamental passage. The mercy in Psalms 85:10 is the mercy of God, the truth therefore can be nothing but his truth. For both the mercy and the truth of God occur thus bound up together, (comp. for example Psalms 25:10; Psalms 40:11; Psalms 61:7), and if the truth were to be viewed in connection with men, it would be necessary to define it more exactly. [Note: Cocceius: “the former denotes paternal love and its gifts, the opposites of anger, enmity, and condemnation, the latter the exhibition and the fulfilment of the promises.”] The meeting each other, and the kissing, denote simultaneous appearance and friendly agreement. The righteousness, as is evident from the parallelism with the first clause, and Psalms 85:11, is not subjective righteousness, but righteousness as the gift of God, the matter-of-fact proclamation of righteousness; comp. at Psalms 23:3. The righteousness springs out of the earth, Psalms 85:11, as to its consequences, in the rich increase, which God, always consistent in word and deed, gives to the land; comp. “our land gives its increase,” Psalms 85:12, which serves as a commentary. To “the righteousness looks down from heaven,” that is, descending in blessings upon the people of God, we have there the corresponding clause, “the Lord gives what is good.” Isaiah 45:8 is parallel and probably dependent upon this passage: “Drop down ye heavens from above, and let the skies pour down righteousness, let the earth open, and let it bring forth salvation, and let it cause righteousness to spring up together.” Ver. 12. The Lord also gives what is good, and our land gives it increase. Ver. 13. Righteousness goes forth before him and makes her footsteps a way. On the second half of the (Psalms 85:12) 12th verse comp. Psalms 67:6. Here as there the words are from Leviticus 26:4. The way to the right interpretation of the second half of Psa 85:13 has been obstructed by perversely interpreting righteousness in a moral sense. Righteousness makes her footsteps for a way (comp, Isaiah 51:10), and thus we are enabled to walk in the ways of righteousness and salvation, comp. at Psalms 23:3. Psalms 86. The Psalmist grounds his prayer for assistance upon the mercy and forgiving love of God towards his own people, according to which he cannot overlook their misery or permit their prayer to be unheard, ver. 1-5, then turning from what is the first of the enemies of trust in God in trouble, viz., doubt as to his willingness to help, to what is the second, viz., doubt as to his ability, he grounds it next upon the omnipotence and glory of God-so great that in future times all the heathen will do homage to him their creator, ver. 6-10. To these foundations there is added a third in ver. 11-13, the early inexpressible grace of God: inasmuch as God formerly delivered him from the jaws of death, how should he not now help him and should not the Psalmist confidently hope for his assistance? The prayer and the representation of the distress up to this point have been set forth only incidentally and in con-nection with the representation of the grounds of the confidence; now, however, that these last had been completely given, they break forth in an independent and developed form, ver. 14-17. The Psalm is divided into two strophes. The number ten of the first is divided by a five, the number seven of the second by a four and a three. The first strophe gives the general grounds of confidence, and in the second the prayer follows upon the special grounds. The title, "a Prayer of David," is justified as far as the first part of it is concerned, by the circumstance that the Psalm, in point of form, bears throughout a devotional and supplicatory character; it never sinks down from prayer to meditation, comp. on תפלה at Psalms 90., where the meditation gives rise to ad- dresses to God of unwonted frequency. It has been objected against the second part of the title that the Psalm, in consequence of the numerous borrowed passages which it contains, is mani-festly the production of a later date. But the circumstance that the passages, with the exception of those from the Pentateuch; are all borrowed from the Davidic Psalms, and none from later productions, shews that we must keep by the era of David, and at the same time leads to the idea,-an idea which we shall find confirmed by subsequent examination,-that the borrowed pass-ages originated not in feebleness but in design. The situation in the life of David may with certainty be ascer-tained. The Psalmist finds himself in misery, deprived of all human help, ver. 1; his life is endangered by a band of proud, violent, ungodly men, ver. 2, 14, after God, at an early period, had shewn towards him great mercy, and had delivered his soul out of the deep hell, ver. 13. As the last passage manifestly refers to his deliverance from the hand of Saul, we are here limited to those dangers to which he was exposed in the time of Absalom. It is very probable that this Psalm was sung by the Sons ofKorah from the soul of David, when they accompanied him inhis banishment. This was manifestly the case with Psalms 42:42; Psalms 43:43; Psalms 43:84., and the composition by the Sons of Korah, which itwas necessary should be there expressly marked, as Psalms 42:42; Psalms 42:43. open the series of the Korahitic Elohim-Psalms, and Psalms 84. the series of the Kor. Jehovah-Psalms, is in the case beforeus determined with equal certainty by the position of the Psalm inthe middle of the Korahitic Psalms, from which, the title got itsnecessary supplement. The prayer, however, is David's, notonly because it was intended for him, and was sung from his soul, the Korahites did no more than give back to him what they had got from him; but also because the poem is throughout interwoven with quotations from the Davidic Psalms. This fact is much more easily explained if we suppose one of the sons of Korah rather than David himself to have been the author. It must have gone to David's heart to have been comforted with words which he had either addressed to his own afflicted soul introubles which the Lord had gloriously averted, or with which he had comforted others. The tenderness of feeling which charac-terizes the other Psalms which the sons of Korah sang to their afflicted king, is so very marked in this case that it is impossible to overlook it. It has been objected to the Psalm that the sentiment is not at all of a noble character, the poet boasts of his piety. This objection has been met in our remarks upon other Psalms, in re-ference to which it has, been in like manner brought forward; comp. for example Psalms 17., 18: It is a very preposterous ob- jection to be urged against one who founds his hope entirely upon the forgiving mercy of God, comp. ver. 5, 15. Ver. 1--5.-Ver. 1. Incline, O Lord, thine ear, hear me, for I am miserable and poor. Ver. 2. Protect my soul, for I am pious, deliver thy servant, O thou my God, who trusts in thee. Ver. 3. Be gracious to me, O God, for I cry to thee continually. Ver. 4. Rejoice the soul of thy servant, for to thee, O Lord, I draw my soul. Ver 5. For thou; O Lord, art good and for-giving, and rich in mercy for all who call upon thee.-In ver. 1. the misery is not considered as forming of itself a sufficient basis for the prayer,-this basis is supplemented in what follows. I am miserable, and (what is equivalent to being one of thy ser-vants) full of trust in thee, seeking help from thee alone, and thou art rich in goodness and forgiving mercy towards those who are thine. This goodness and compassion of God is the proper ground of hope, comp. ver. 15; the piety and trust of the Psalmist merely denote the condition of its development.-Ver. 14 forms a commentary upon the "protect my soul " of ver. 2. In reference to הסיד comp. at Psalms 4:3.a The "I draw my soul to,a On "who trusts in thee," Calvin: "We know that some were endued with that measure of integrity that they have obtained among men the praise of the highest:thee," in ver. 4, is to be considered as understood with marks of quotation. It forms the beginning of Psalms 25.-The "forgiving," in ver. 5 is related to the "good," as the species to the genus: God would not be good if he did not forgive to his people their sins of infirmity. Ver. 6-10.-Ver. 6. Accept, O God, my prayer, and attend to the voice of my supplication. Ver. 7. In the day of my calamity I cry to thee, for thou wilt hear me. Ver. 8. There is none like to thee among the gods, O Lord, and there is nothing like thy work. Ver. 9. All the heathen whom thou hast made shall come and worship before thee, O Lord, and give the glory to thy name. Ver. 10. For thou art great and doest wonders, thou, O God alone.-The plural feminine from תהנונות, which does not elsewhere occur, is one constructed by the Psalmist for the purpose of imprinting still more distinctly upon the word the character of weakness and entreaty.--In ver. 7, assurance of being heard is given as the basis of the cry to God in trouble: for thou shalt hear me, certainly not: would that thou wert will-ing to hear me. The basis on which this confidence rests is given in ver. 8-10, in the reference there made to the glory and omni-potence of God: no man can hinder his work, &c.-Before ver. 8, according to this remark, for is in reality to be supplied. The verse reads literally: there is not (a God) as thou (art) among the gods, and there are not (works) as (are) thine. The fundamental passages are Exodus 15:11, "who is like thee, O Lord, among the gods," and Deuteronomy 3:24, "where is there a god in heaven and upon the earth, who does according to thy works and according to thy great deeds. On "among the gods," Calvin: "Should any one assert that it is unseemly to compare God to the empty fictions, the answer is easy, the discourse is accommodated to the ignorance equity: as Aristides boasted that he had given occasion of grief to none. But because these men, along with the excellency of their virtues, were either filled with ambition or so inflated with pride, that they trusted in themselves rather than in God, it is not won-derful that they paid the penalty of their vanity; just as in reading profane histories we foolishly wonder how it happened that God exposed honourable, grave, and self-denying men to the multitude of the wicked; whereas trusting to their own virtue, they despised in their sacrilegious pride the grace of God. For whereas their virtue was the idol which they worshipped, they did not condescend to lift their eyes to God. Therefore although we maintain a good conscience, and God can be appealed to as the highest attestator of our innocence, yet if we desire his aid, we must cast our hopes and our cares upon him."of men, because we know how daringly superstitious men raise their whims above the heavens. David casts contempt in a forcible manner upon their stupidity, inasmuch as they manu-facture gods which in no way are attested to be gods." That thus, "among the gods," is to be understood as if it were "among the imaginary gods," is clear from the 9th verse, where even the heathen belong to the works of God, whose gods therefore have no domain left them on which to exercise any power. In the parallel assages, Psalms 18:31, "for who is God save the Lord," 2 Sam. viii 22, "there is no God besides thee" (in a preceding clause as here: there is no God like thee), divinity and therefore existence is denied to all other gods.-In ver. 9, for the purpose of intimating the transcendant greatness of God, it is mentioned that at a future time all the heathen shall serve him; comp. Zephaniah 2:11, "and men shall worship him, every one from his place, all the isles of the heathen," Zechariah 14:9; Zechariah 14:16, and the Christol. on the last passage. How should such a God not hear the supplication of his servant! The expression, "whom thou hast made," incidentally refers to the ground of the hope of the future conversion of the heathen. To be and not to be conscious of being cannot always continue apart; the creature must neces-sarily, at a future period, return to a state of obedience to its Creator. Comp. Psalms 20:28, where the announcement that the heathen shall, at a future period, do homage to the Lord, is founded on the fact that he alone is lawful King of the earth. We here see what a fulness of prophetical matter, and of joyful expectation of the dawning of the day of knowledge, even in the midst of the dark night of error which covered the earth, was furnished by the sound doctrines in regard to the creation, which meet us, as it were, at the very threshold of the sacred Scripture. The expression, "whom thou hast made," ought always to lift us to blessed confidence, as often as the state of the world before God, falls heavily upon our souls. The proper basis of the confi-dence, however, is given in ver. 10. God, God alone is great, and does wonderful deeds, and this his greatness manifesting it-self in wonderful deeds, cannot but produce a lasting impression. The heathen shall at a future time come and honour his name, the product of his deeds. The hammer of the greatness of God will break the rock of their hearts. Vers. 11-13. But the Lord has given to the Psalmist (0 that he did but lay them to heart) special pledges of acceptance and deliverance. He has already brought him once from death to life: how should he not now prevent his death! The Psalmist not merely as one considering, but as one praying, makes mention of the former favour of God, and his heart is full of confidence.-Ver. 11. Teach me, O Lord, thy way, I will walk in thy truth, in-cline my heart that I may fear thy name. Ver. 12. I will praise thee, O Lord my God, with my whole heart, and honour eternally thy name. Ver. 13. For thy grace has been great to-wards me, and thou didst deliver my soul out of deep hell.--"Teach me thy way, O Lord," in ver. 11, is borrowed word for word from Psalms 27:11. As the quotation here is undoubtedly designed, the way of the Lord must have the same meaning here which it has there-viz., his guidance, the way of salvation along which he leads his people. The Psalmist had already, in fulfil-ment of the prayer of Psa 27:11, learned this way externally, but he prays, judiciously applying the sense of Psa 27:11, that the Lord would teach him inwardly also, still more perfectly this way, would lead him heartily and fully to appreciate the grace which had been vouchsafed to him as being the only ground on which hope can grow. The truth of God is always the truth (comp. Psalms 30:9) which belongs to God, the agreement between word and deed as manifested in the experience of his people, never the truth which he desires, and which is well-pleasing to him, or faithfulness towards him; comp. at Psalms 25:5. To walk in the truth of God sig-nifies, according to the fundamental passage, Psalms 25:3, to be al-ways mindful of it. David had there represented walking in the truth of God, as the condition of deliverance, He is tenderly re-minded of this here by the sons of Korah. They pray out of his soul; as thou hast led me in thy truth, Psalms 25:5, as thou hast richly manifested this in my experience, so may I also turn to my own words (Psalms 26:3), walk in it, meditate on it with my whole heart. That the fear of the Lord, for which the Psalmist prays in the last clause, is reverential gratitude for the manifestation of the glory of the Lord in his experience, is evident, not only from the second clause, but also from the first clause of ver. 12, which may be considered as a commentary on the expression. The fear here corresponds to the praise there. The fear of the name of thePsalms 86. VER. 14-17. 73 Lord exists already in the Psalmist's heart, but lie feels that it is not there in a perfect state; he prays to the Lord, therefore, that he would unite his heart to fear his name, i. e., that he would fill it in all its parts with reverential gratitude, that he would en-tirely remove from him the intervening ground between the torrid and the frigid zone; comp. "I will praise thee with my whole heart," in ver. 12, Psalms 12:2, James 4:8.-Ver. 13 points more distinctly and clearly than the preceding one, to the mighty deli-verance in the time of Saul, with allusion to Psalms 13, where, in a Psalm of David's, composed at this time, we read: "for thou hast delivered my soul from death, so that I walk before God in the land of the living;" comp. also Psalms 18:5, "the cords of hell compassed me about, the snares of death surprised me." It is impossible to translate with Ew. "the deepest hell," but only "the under hell," or "the hell deep below;" comp. Deuteronomy 32:22. Ver. 14-17: the developed prayer.-Ver. 14. O God, the proud rise against me, and the band of the violent stands against my soul, and they do not set thee before their eyes. Ver. 15. And thou; O Lord, art a God, compassionate and gracious, long-suffering, and of great mercy and truth. Ver. 16. Turn thyself to me, and be gracious unto me, give thy strength to thy servant, and help the son of thine handmaid. Ver. 17. Perform to me a sign for good, that those may see it who hate me, and be ashamed, because thou, Lord, assistest me, and comfortest me.-Ver. 14 is copied quite literally from Ps. liv. 3. The effect in David's case must have been very striking, when those very same words were here put into his lips in this new distress, which had been used by himself so nobly on a for-mer ocasion. The "violent," who at that time sought after his soul, were now at rest in their graves. The most remarkable of the variations (these always occur in such cases), is that זדים, proud, occurs instead of זרים, strangers, barbarians (comp. at Psalms 19:13), and instead of the violent, the band of the violent, the plural form being retained, which points back to the original text. The conspiracy of Absalom is more exactly indicated by this expression than by the mere word violent. Even the Elo- him is transposed from the original passage in which the Psalmist removes his refuge away from the earth, where he is defenceless,to heaven, flees to God that he may undertake for him in opposition to men.-In ver. 15, the Psalmist turns back once more to the basis. He holds up before God the great comforting expression which had been made use of in Exodus 34:6. "Towards thine own" must be supplied; comp. ver. 5.-The son of an hand-maid, ver. 16, is a home-born slave; comp. Exodus 23:12. As it is incumbent upon the servant that he serve the Lord, it is the duty of the Lord to help and protect the servant.-The sign which the Psalmist asks in ver. 17, is a matter-of-fact attestation of the divine favour. Neither the sense of the word nor the connection admits of a miraculous sign. What the Psalmist speaks of, ac-cording to the preceding context, and the conclusion of the Psalm, is simply help and comfort, by which his enemies may see, that it is not without good ground that he calls God his God. For good, for prosperity, comp. Psalms 16:2. In the last words (not, while thou helpest me, in this case the tenses would not be preterites), the Psalmist grounds his prayer upon confidence, with an expres-sion of which the Psalm appropriately closes. The preterites are to be explained by the strength of the faith which anticipates the future. Psalms 87. Zion, the much valued city of God, is protected and honoured by him, ver. 1-3. The fulness of the heathen shall one day en-ter into it, find in it their true home, and all the fountains of their salvation, ver. 4-7. Ver. 1-3, the contents of which are general, are to be considered as forming the introduction. The main thought is that contained in ver. 4-7, the glorifying of Sion by the reception of the heathen into the number of its citizens; and a well-defined form and arrangement of this thought forms the proper kernel of the Psalm, viz., "Sion, the birth-place of the nations," which occurs in every one of the three verses (4-6), which are bounded by a Selah behind and before. The formal arrangement is, upon the whole, easily discerned; the number seven of the verses is divided by a three and a four. (Ver. 7, as far as the main idea is concerned, is intimately con-nected with ver. 3-6; it contains the praises of Sion as sung byits new citizens.) If we search deeper, it is manifest that the numbering pervades the words as well as the verses. The whole is grouped mind the 4th verse, which stands in the middle, and contains twelve words. The three preceding verses have the Numbers 7, 7, 5, and the three following verses have exactly the same (in ver. 5 the ואיש איש is considered as one word, and in like manner the בה-ילד). If we consider the 7 and the 5 as the broken 12, the whole becomes characterised by the 7 and the 12, the signature of the covenant, and of the people of the covenant. The seven is, according to common rule, divided by the three and the four. Everything here agrees too harmoniously toge-ther to admit of the arrangement being the result of chance. The view is one of considerable importance in more respectsthan one. Thus it attests the originality of the Title in ver. 1, and, consequently, of the titles generally; for the title forms part if the artificial structure of the Psalm, a structure which falls, to pieces as soon as the title is removed. In like manner it sets aside arbitrary attempts, such as that of Ewald, who magnanimously endeavours to cover over out of his own re-sources, the pretended defect at the beginning of the Psalm. And it also explains, adequately, the very concise form of expression throughout the Psalms which certainly looks like one, the words of which had been numbered. The title furnishes no means for expounding historically the Psalm. For the song of the Sons of Korah, to whom it is as-signed, was heard at very different times. Yet an historical ex- position is demanded by the contents. For hopes such as those here expressed, suppose some actual occasion by which their flame, always glimmering under the ashes, might be kindled up in the soul of a prophet, or of a Psalmist who is particularly depend-ent upon such actual occasions. These actual occasions are of a twofold character: either the depth of misery, the sad contrast between the idea of the people of God, and their appearance, which powerfully constrains heaven-enraptured souls to seek com-pensation in the future, and opens their spiritual eye to behold the glory pointed out to them by God, (this is the history of the Messianic prospects immediately before the exile, during it, and shortly after its close), or some great present salvation, in which the believing soul sees a prelude and a pledge of the perfection ofsalvation, and by which it is lifted up to the active exercise of hope in regard to it. The spirit and tone of the Psalm render it manifest that it was an occasion of the latter kind, as at Psalms 68:72., that existed in the case before us; the former is, ge-nerally speaking, rather prophetic than lyric; poetry is depend-ant upon the popular tone of mind, and is drawn forth by it,while prophecy corrects it. The whole character of the Psalm agrees with the title, which designates it a Song of Praise. There are no traces of tears recently dried up in the clear countenance of the Psalmist, as there were, for example, in that of Jeremiah, when he began to sing the song of Israel's deliverance. Triumph-ant joy pervades it from beginning to end. If we endeavour to define more closely the historical occasion, every thing leads us to the joyful events under Hezekiah. We cannot fix upon an earlier time. For before this time Babylon could not have been named, as it is here, as being, next to Egypt, the representative of the power of the world. Its rising grandeur became first known in the time of Hezekiah. In the forty-eighth Psalm, which was composed by David, Egypt and Cush still ap-pear, ver. 31, 32, as the representatives of the might of the world: in Asia at that time it had no adequate representative. Further, the name Rahab, haughtiness, pride, by which Egypt is here designated, occurs for the first time in Isaiah 30:7, in a prophecy belonging to the time of the Assyrian oppression un- der Hezekiah, and this passage is undoubtedly the fundamental one on which the others, the passage before us and Psalms 89:11, depend,-the name does not occur in Isaiah 51:9; Isaiah 51:10 : comp. at Psalms 74:13. Isaiah indicates pretty clearly that he is the author of the name, when he says: therefore I call it Rahab. And in like manner, we cannot come down to a later time. The deliver-ance under Hezekiah is the last great joyful event previous to the captivity; and the name by which Egypt is here designated forbids us again to descend to a period later than that event. The name "haughtiness," "pride," was suitable only so long as Egypt continued to be a formidable power (and that Rahab is to be explained in this way is manifest from Job 9:13; Job 26:12; Isaiah 51:9; comp. at Psalms 74:13, besides Isaiah 30:7); the word is never applied to a ferocious aquatic animal, a sea monster; by the battle at Karkemish or Circesium on the Euphrates, thehaughtiness of Egypt was humbled, its pride was broken. Thename appears, indeed, in Psalms 89:11, but only in reference tothe haughtiness and pride of the past, the incarnation of whichwas Pharaoh in the time of Moses: but here the allusion is thateven this still haughty and proud power shall take upon itself theyoke of the Lord,-Rahab,-Egypt, with all its haughtiness andpride.-Further, it is evident from Psalms 46:46; Psalms 75:75; Psalms 75:76., whichwere all composed at this time, that the Psalm-poetry received amighty impulse from the events under Hezekiah, and was at thattime awakened out of its long slumber. The first of these Psalms,like the one now before us, belongs to the sons of Korah, and shows that these men at that time,were found among the organs by whom the joy of inspired men and the confidence of thepeople received their adequate expressions. This KorahiticJehovah Psalm is intimately connected with that Korahitic him-Psalm, not only in spirit and tone, which it possesses in com-mon with Psalms 48:48; Psalms 48:48., the ancient models after which the-Korahitic Psalms of the time of Hezekiah were composed, butalso in particular expressions, such as the praise of Zion (comp.Psalms 46:4; Psalms 46:5,with ver. 1-3 here), the name "the city of God," which is given to it here (comp. ver. 4 there with ver. 3 here), and the words "he establishes it," here in ver. 5, and there in ver. 5.-If we suppose the Psalm to have been composed on the occasion referred to, it will appear quite intelligible that the Psalmist should, break out so suddenly at the beginning with praise of the security of Sion: he merely lends his mouth in this case to the full heart of the people; verse second also, "The Lord loveth the gates ofof Sion more than all the dwellings of Jacob," is seen in its true light, for this preference for Sion was at that time verified-its gates remained closed upon the enemies, while all the rest of the coun-try was subject to their sway,-the heart alone remained uninjured.In like manner, also, the expression in ver. 5, "He establishes it, the Most High," receives its foundation.-That time also was peculiarly well-fitted to develope the germ of the main-idea of our Psalm, the hope, namely, which always slumbered among the people, of the conversion of the heathen to God and to his king-dom. The ancient promise, "In thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed," had at that time found a prelude of its fulfil-ment. The common enemy of the human race had been cast to theground for the sake of Sion; the heathen shared in a blessing which was in the first instance imparted to her. That they were not wholly hardened against this favour, but that they responded to the exhortations of Asaph, "Let them bring gifts to the Dreadful One," Psalms 76:12, is evident from 2 Chronicles 32:23, "And many brought gifts to the Lord to Jerusalem." What time could be better fitted than this to awaken the hope of the future conversion of the heathen?--Finally, if we assume the occasion referred to to have been the correct one, a surprising light is thrown upon the enumeration of the nations, which thus is saved from the appearance of arbitrariness. The nations enu-merated are only such nations as were bound up in community of interest with Israel at that time and are hence the same as the "many" of Chronicles. The Egyptians formed always the chief object of attack to the Assyrians, and were severely threatened by Sennacherib. The Ethiopians at that time were closely bound up with the Egyptians (comp. Rosellini 1:ii. p. 105), and Torhaka, king of the Ethiopians, was, according to Isaiah 37:9, in the train against Sennacherib. The king of Babylon, whose rising power the spiritual eye of the prophets had already before this time beheld in the fore-ground of the future, and whom they hadrepresented to themselves as the heir of the decaying Assyrian(comp., for example, Isaiah 39:23; Isaiah 39:17; Micah 4:10), sent a pre-sent, after the Assyrian catastrophe, to Hezekiah, and sought toenter into closer terms of friendship with him. Isaiah, in chap.14:29, threatens the Philistines with dreadful misery from theAssyrians, and it is evident, from chap. 20:1, that this threaten-ing was fulfilled.-Rich Tyre would, in all probability, come innext after Judah.-Thus, therefore, every thing unites in favourof the assumption of the composition at the time referred to, infavour of which it may still be added that some passages remindus very strikingly of Isaiah. Title. By the sons of Korah, a Psalm, a Song of Praise. Ver. 1. His founded (city), upon the holy mountains. Ver. 2.The Lord loves the gates of Sion more than all dwellings of Jacob. Ver. 3. Glorious things are said of thee, thou city of God.-The suffix in יסודתו, ver. 1, refers not to Sion, which everywhere throughout the Psalm is plural, but to Him of whom the soul of the Psalmist, and of the people at that time, was so full that every one would immediately think of him, even when he was not expressly mentioned, the Lord; comp. ver. 2 and 5, and Isaiah 14:32; Isaiah 54:11, where the founding of Sion by the Lord is, in like manner, mentioned. We cannot translate: his found-ing, for the noun יסודה, never occurs; it must be: his founded (city), as a simple participle. The founding of Sion took place in a spiritual sense, when it was chosen to be the seat of the sanc-tuary; comp. the being born used of the spiritual birth in ver. 4-6. It was at that time that the place, though it had previously existed, received its true foundation. It is better to supply "is founded," out of "his founded city," than to insert the mere "is:" comp. יסד with ב of that on which it is founded in Isaiah 54:11, "I will found thee on sapphires." As in other passages Sion is always spoken of only as the holy mountain of the Lord (comp., for example, Psalms 2:6; Psalms 43:3), and as the Psalmist, throughout the wholePsalm, has to do, not with the whole of Jerusalem, but only with Sion, Mount Sion here must be understood as alone meant. The Psalmist speaks of mountains, because Sion is one part of a mountain range, comp. Robinson 2:15. The whole was indebted for its dignity to this particular part. The sanctity of the moun-tain range, of which Sion formed the kernel (the remaining por-tion was merely the shell) denoted its separation from all the other mountains of the earth, its inapproachable character, its impregnable security against all the attacks of the world. For this sanctity it was indebted to the choice of God, fixing it as the seat of his church upon the earth. The mountain is holy "as the mountain which the Lord chooses for his seat," Psalms 68:16. The praise which is here bestowed upon Sion belongs peculiarly to the church of God upon the earth. As it belonged to Sion only in so far as it was the seat of the church, so it belongs to the church only in so far as it is really the church.-On the ex-pression, "The Lord loveth," in ver. 2, comp. Psalms 78:68. The gates are specially mentioned because it was against them that the assaults of the enemies were in the first instance directed. If they remained safe, the whole city was safe: comp. Isaiah 60:18. -"There is spoken," in ver. 3, stands instead of "men speak."The נכבדות is the accusative; comp. Ewald, 552. The form of expression is designedly general: by God, by man, among Is-rad, among the heathens, Sion gets glorious praise. Glorious:because the Lord protects thee, wonderfully maintains thee, shall at a future time wonderfully increase thy citizens; comp. the glorious praise of Sion in Psalms 48:48; Psalms 48:46 :which may serve as a commentary. Of thee:-comp. on דבר with ב of the object Ew. § 521, 8. We may also translate, "in thee," the glorious things of God's wonderful protection and blessing upon thee; comp. Psalms 48:3, "God is known in her palaces for a refuge."“Thou city of God” (comp. Psalms 46:4; Psalms 48:1) contains the ground of the fact that there is said something glorious of Sion or in Sion. Ver 4-7.-Ver. 4. I announce Rahab and Babylon as those who know me, behold Philistia and Tyre with Cush: this one was born there. Ver. 5. And of Sion it is said: every one is born in her, and He establishes her, the Most High. Ver. 6. The Lord shall count in the writing down of the nations: this one was born there. Selah. Ver. 7. And singers and dancers: all my fountains are in thee." At the time when these hopes were expressed, the number of the members of the kingdom of God had been very much melted down. The ten tribes had al-ready been led away into captivity, and Judah remained alone in the land. In these circumstances the longing after the fulfilment of the old promises of a posterity to Abraham as numerous as the stars of heaven and the sand of the sea, must have been awakened with peculiar power, and must have seized with especial ardour upon every thing, such as the above mentioned events in the time of Hezekiah, which furnished a foundation on which such a hope could rest, and brought into view a compensation for the loss of Israel in the coming in of the heathen. In like manner in the present day, the melancholy condition of the church among our-selves makes us look with earnest longings towards heathen lands, and observe every sign which intimates that the Lord will there collect new members for his church. In the first half of ver. 4, the Lord speaks, and from the second half to the end the Psalm-ist; for it will not do to suppose that the Psalmist begins with "and" in ver. 5. The difference, however, is one purely formal, so that it would scarcely be proper to read the address of the Lord with inverted commas. The Psalmist who speaks in the spirit of the Lord, merely continues what the Lord had begun. The הזיכר, is to mention, to announce, as Psalms 20:7; Psalms 45:17; Psalms 71:16;77:11; Jeremiah 4:16. The לידעי is as my knowers, such asknow me, like להפשי יצא to go out as a free man, Exodus 21:2. On to know the Lord, compare at Psalms 36:10; Isaiah 19:21 is parallel: "And the Lord shall be known to the Egyptians, and the Egyptians shall know the Lord in that day." The trans-lation of Gesenius must be rejected: I will make them known to my (old) acquaintances. For the mere announcement is not suf-ficient; the quality must be pointed out. Isaiah 19:19, &c., is, for example, really parallel; where Egypt and Assyria, instead of which we have here Babylon on the ground already mentioned, serve the Lord, and Israel is third in the covenant; and also Isaiah 44:5, "this one shall say I am the Lord's, and this one shall call himself by the name of the God of Jacob, and this one shall subscribe with his hand unto the Lord, and surname himself by the name of Israel." After "behold Philistia and Tyre with Cush," we must supply: this shall be said by them; compare מדבר in ver. 3, and יאמר in ver. 5. This supplementary clause is indi-cated by the quotation given of the words which these utter: this one was born there. Tyrus had already been named in Psalms 45:12, as among the nations which shall in future times turn to the Lordand his kingdom. The Berleb Bible: "The Syrians had already furnished workmen and materials for Solomon's temple, as a good 'type that they also would join in the fellowship of the Church of New Testament times, of which the Canaanitish woman formed the first fruits." On the conversion of the Cushites, compare Psalms 68:31; Psalms 72:10. Berleb: of which the eunuch of Queen Candace, Acts 8:27, was the first fruits. "This one" does not refer to individuals, but to the ideal persons of the nations who had for- merly been spoken of, and with whom the Psalmist has through- out to do; compare particularly, "when the people shall be re-corded" in ver. 4. The "being born" stands here in. anticipa-tion of the New Testament doctrine of the second birth in a spiritual sense: besides the passage before us, it occurs only in Job 11:12, "and the vain man shall be wise, and the wild ass born a man." Sion is the birth-place of the higher existence of the heathen, their spiritual mother city. They shall be there born anew as children of God and children of Abraham.-In ver. 5. The great favour which the Lord shews for Sion in making her the birth-place and the true home of the heathen, is again touchedupon for the purpose of placing it in connection with a second favour, that namely of strength and maintainence. It is in this connection, that what is new and advanced in the thought lies. Calvin: "It often happens, that in proportion to the rapidity with which cities rise to distinguished eminence, is the shortness of the continuance of their prosperity. That it may not be thought that the prosperity of the church is of such a perishable and transitory nature, it is declared that the Most High himself will establish her. It is not surprising, as if it had been said, to find other cities shaken, and subjected from time to time to a variety of vicissitudes; for they are carried round with the world in its re-volutions, and do not enjoy everlasting defenders. But it is the very reverse with the new Jerusalem, which, being founded upon the power of God, shall continue when even heaven and earth shall have fallen into ruins." On אמר with ל compare 3:2; 71:10. We may also translate here, "to Sion," although in point of form the address is not directed to Sion. The איש ואיש is to be considered as one noun, and signifies each and every one (comp. Esther 1:8 ; Leviticus 17:10; Leviticus 17:13),-man is added to man, nation to nation, comp. at ver. 4. He, he himself and no other, not a weak human being. The Most High-comp. Psalms 47:2. --In ver. 6, which Luther has wholly misunderstood, ספר has its usual sense, to count, compare 2 Samuel 24:10, where it is used of David numbering the people. The Lord numbers the nations 1, 2, 3, &c., and in doing so, in assigning in the case of each the reason why he counts it in, he makes the remarks: this one was born there. The כתוב is not a noun (no such noun occurs), but an infinitive: in the noting down of the people-not when he notes down, but when they are noted down. The Lord merely presides at the taking up of the lists, and intimates who are to be marked down. There lies at the foundation a reference to the usual enumeration and citizen-rolls, compare Ezekiel 13:9, which gave a poor and misreable result as compared with the high ex-pectations and hopes which had been called forth in the church of God at its commencement. There comes at last, however, a num-bering which satisfies all these hopes. Whole hosts of nations shall be added to the kingdom of God.-Ver. 7 is so far separated from ver. 4-6, as is intimated by the Selah, as that there is no-thing more said in it of Sion as the birth-place of the heathen;it is so far connected, however, as that the matter spoken of is still the relation of the heathen to Sion. It contains the words with which these new citizens of Sion praise it as the fountain of all their salvation: and singers and dancers (at the head of every great procession of the heathen), speak thus: all my fountains are in thee. The mention of singers and dancers leads to a joy-ful procession, in which the redeemed from the heathen, as Israel did on a former occasion after their passage through the Red Sea, Exodus 15:20; Exodus 15:21, express their gratitude to the Lord and to his church. In such joyful processions the singers here first named occupy the chief-place; compare at Psalms 68:25. What these did with their lips, the ring-dancers expressed in music and by mimicry; compare Psalms 149:3; Psalms 150:4, "let them praise his name in the dance." As: the one no less than the other. הלל is a verbal noun from הול, compare מהוללות, the ring-dancers in Judges 21:23, which, according to ver. 21, is to be derived from הול. Psalms 30:11, and the example of David, 2 Samuel 6:16, render it manifest that the ring-dance was not confined to young women, but was also engaged in by men. The fountains are the fountains of salvation, which revive the thirsty soul and the thirsty land; compare Ps. 84., 6; Isaiah 12:3, "with joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of salvation." In Ezekiel, chap. 47:there flows a fountain proceeding out of the sanctuary in Sion, spreading the blessings of fertility and life through the wilderness into the Dead Sea, the two emblems of the heathen world. Com-pare on the representations of the blessings of the kingdom of God by the emblem of a stream, at Psalms 36:8; Psalms 46:4. Theבך can refer, as in ver. 3, only to Sion: in the Lord and thus in Sion his church, which he has made the depository of all his trea-sures; compare Isaiah 45:14. Calvin: "Now that we know that whatever has been foretold by the Spirit has been fulfilled, we are more than unthankful if experience superadded to the words of Scripture, does not still more confirm our faith. For it is not possible to say how gloriously Christ by his appearing has adorned the church. Then the true religion which had hitherto been con-fined within the narrow boundaries of Judea, spread over the whole world Then for the first time God, who had hitherto been known only by one family, was called upon in the different languages of all nations. Then the world, which had hitherto beenmiserably rent in pieces by the innumerable sects of superstition and error, was gathered together into a holy unity of faith." Psalms 88. The Psalmist, in ver. 1 and 2, prays suppliantly for help; grounds this prayer, ver. 3-9, upon the fact that he is sunk in the deepest misery, and standing on the verge of complete de-struction, at the gates of death; and intimates in ver 10-12 that God cannot possibly give over his own people to this. After a short effort at renewed prayer, there follows a representation of the sufferings of the Psalmist, and with this the whole termi-nates, ver. 13-18. The understanding of this Psalm is entirely dependant upon the correct view of its relation to Psalms 89. We shall there- fore direct attention to this subject in the first instance. Seve-ral expositors have noticed that the two Psalms stand intimately connected together;a no expositor, however, has sufficiently fol- lowed out the traces which have been discovered. We maintain that the two Psalms together, like Psalms 9. and x., 42. and 43., and many other pairs of Psalms, form one whole consisting of two parts. 1. The Title of Psalms 88. furnishes more than one reason in favour of this. Its disproportionate length, so very striking, becomes explained at once as soon as it is viewed as belonging to one great whole. In the next place it is very striking that the last words of the title, "an instruction of He-man the Esrahite," correspond exactly to the title of Psalms 89.,“an instruction of Ethan the Esrahite.” By this we are un-questionably led to the idea that the above are the titles of the two parts respectively, and that the preceding portion of the title of Psalms 88. is the title of the whole. Finally, the שיר placed, as it were, at the top of the title, is perfectly decisive. We have, on a former occasion, shown that this word does not denote a poem generally, but a song, a song of praise, comp. at Psalms 42:8, a Amyraldus on Psalms 89.: It is common to this Psalm with the last, that although each names its author in the title, these authors are both unknown, and besides in both Psalms there is contained a most vehement lamentation, accompanied with incredible ardour of soul.title. Now if we refer the title entirely to Psalms 88., it is impossible to tell what to make of it. The Psalmist is so completely unmanned by a sense of his misery, that he can scarcely adopt the language of prayer, and certainly not that of praise. On the other hand, if we refer the title to the whole of both Psalms, the term is quite appropriate. Psalms 89. begins,with manifest reference to the title, with the words, "I will singthe grace of God," and bears from ver. 1 to ver. 38 throughout thecharacter if a song of praise.a This character belongs to thewhole, as soon as it is recognised as a whole. The introductoryand concluding portions, dark in themselves, are illuminated byof the light if a centre-sun. And the design of the whole then becomes manifest, namely, to give instruction how, in circum-stances of great distress, to gain the victory over despair bypraising God. 2. If we separate Psalms 88. from Psalms 89.,it stands alone in the whole book of Psalms. All expositors re-mark with one voice, that such a comfortless complaint no whereelse occur throughout its entire compass. Stier, for example,says: "the most mournful of all the plaintive Psalms, yea sowholly plaintive, without any ground of hope, that nothing likeit is found in the whole Scriptures." The fact is all the morestriking, that the Psalm begins with the words, "0 Lord, thouthe God of my salvation," after which one certainly might ex-pect any thing else rather than a mere description of trouble, inwhich the darkness is thickest at the close, contrary to the usualpractice, for in all other cases the sun breaks through the cloudsat the end, if it had not done so before:-the peculiar feature ofthis Psalm is that it ends entirely in night. The importance ofthese facts is obvious from the circumstance that Muntinghe hasbeen led by them to adopt the idea that the Psalm is merely afragment of a larger one-an idea utterly destitute of probability;for we have no such thing as fragments either in the book ofPsalms or indeed within the whole compass of the literature ofthe Old Testament. As soon as the connection between Psalms 88. any 89. is acknowledged, the difficulty disappears. The Psalmist might, in this case, give free scope in the first part a Ven.: The subject matter of the Psalm, if you regard the largest portion of it, is the celebration of the grace and truth of God, especially in reference to the promise of the perpetuity of the kingdom of David.to his pain and lamentation, in obedience to an irresistible im-pulse of human nature, knowing that in the second part the rising sun of consolation would dispel all this darkness. 3. The con-cluding portion of Psalms 89., ver. 38-51, strikingly agrees with Psalms 88. The situation is the same, that, viz., of one who had speedy destruction before his eyes, who stood at the gates of death. The complaint is as deep and painful here as it is there. Psalms 89:47; Psalms 89:48, ought especially to be compared with Psalms 88:10-12 :4. If we consider both Psalms as one, we ob-tain, by counting the rich title of Psalms 88., the significant number seventy. It may be urged against the unity of both Psalms, that in Psalms 88 it is a private individual who speaks, but in Psalms 89 :it is the people, or, according to the idea of others, an oppressed king of the family of David; that in Psalms 89. the sufferings distinctly arise from enemies, which in Psalms 88., even although the assertion of some, "that the Psalmist is ill of a mortal dis-ease," and the assertion of others, "that he is languishing in prison," be rejected, as arbitrary and unfounded, the description of the sufferings is of such a kind that it would apply in general to any great distress. But these remarks, in so far as they are founded in truth, agree perfectly well with the view given above as to the unity of the two Psalms-a unity which is not indi-visible, but is made up of two parts;-and are consistent with the contents of the titles. The author has constructed the first part of the double whole in such a way, that it may not only serve a sorely oppressed people, but also every individual saint may find in it an adequate expression of his own feelings-an ar-rangement which is exceedingly natural, inasmuch as in seasons of public distress the individual is too often little else than an image of the whole, and which has many analogies on its side, especially in the prophecies and lamentations of Jeremiah, in reading which one feels often inclined to ask whether the pro-phet means himself or the people. The Psalmist therefore has carefully avoided every thing which referred definitely and ex-clusively to the people, and in like manner every thing which might lead to any particular kind of trouble. There does not occur, however, any thing (and only this would be decisive against the units) which in any measure contradicts the reference to thewhole community;-in ver. 8, to which reference has been made, the acquaintances are neighbouring nations. After this, as soon as the people only speaks in Psalms 89., every objection is re-moved. And that it is the people that speaks there, and not the anointed, is clear as day. The promise is there in ver. 20 ss. directed, not as in the fundamental passage 2 Samuel 7. to David, but to the people. The complaint as to difference be-tween that promise and present experience, is raised, not on be-half of David, but on behalf of the people. The difficulty is this, that the divine favour which, according to the Word of God,the people should have enjoyed through the family of David, had been withdrawn. David, and his Son, the anointed, are through-out spoken of in the third person; the people unquestionably comes forward as different in ver. 17, 18, 50. If we adopt the unity of the two Psalms, it becomes no very difficult latter to assign the date of the composition of the whole. It cannot have been composed earlier than the times immediately preceding the Babylonish captivity: for the people stand here at the very brink of a precipice. It is even better to refer to the time of Zedekiah, than, with Venema, to the time immediately after the death of Josiah. The Psalm must have been composed before the captivity: for there is no trace of the destruction of the city and temple, which could scarcely have been omitted if it had taken place; the kingdom of David is in a state of depres-sion, and verging towards extreme old age, but still it exists (comp. especially ver. 45 and 51), and the prayer of the Psalmist is, that the Lord would deliver it from impending destruction; according to ver. 43, the anointed of the Lord still carried on wars, although unfortunate ones. Assumptions such as those; which refer the composition of the Psalm to the times of the Mac-cabees, render it necessary to have recourse to the desperate ex-pedient of understanding the expressions, "David," "his son," "the anointed of the Lord," as meaning, not the royal family of David, but the royal nation-an assertion which does not require one word to be thrown away upon it. The Title runs: A Song of Praise, a Psalm by the Sons of Korah. To the Chief Musician, upon the distress of oppres- sion.-An Instruction by Heman, the Esrahite.-The expres- sion, "to the Chief Musician," amounts to a notice that wehave before us a proper church-song. The לענות מהלת על has been already explained at Psalms 14., vol. i. p. 206. That "of the sickness" is to be interpreted of sickness in a figurative sense as equivalent to severe suffering-a sense in which the word is frequently used, as, for example, Isaiah 1:5 ; Psalms 53. Title-is evi-dent from the term which is appended as an explanation, לענות, denoting the afflicting cause: comp. ver. 8, 15, Psalms 90:15; Psalms 102:23; Psalms 119:75, or that in which the distress consists of it. If we connect these words with the שיר of the beginning we have a description of the design of the Psalm: to comfort, in severe suf-fering, by the praise of God. Let us now direct our attention to the special title of Psalms 88. It bears the name of Instruction or a didactic Psalm (at Psalms 32. Title), and the Psalm gives direction not to allow our sorrows to prey upon ourselves, but to pour them out before God-the A B C of all sufferers. If they follow this direction, they may be again spoken with. He who has learned to complain to God, will soon learn to hope in God. As the authors of the whole Psalm had already been said to be the Sons of Korah (comp. at Psalms 42.), it is obvious that Heman the Esrahite, who is named here, and Etham the Esra-hite, who is named in Psalms 89. should not be considered as the proper authors of the parts marked by their name, but as men into whose mouths the contents of these parts were put. The ל is here, as in other passages, the ל auctoris; but it denotes the imaginary, and not the real author-a sense in which it may, naturally be understood in those cases in which the real author had either been named or otherwise indicated, as in Psalms 86 :The reasons which induced the Sons of Korah to introduce these names of Heman and Etham need not remain doubtful. There is no doubt that these two men were the famous musicians of the time of David, who are so often named next after Asaph. Etham is the same as Jeduthun, who is in several passages named in an exactly similar relation as third next to Asaph and Heman. The attempt which Berthold makes in his Intro. 3. p. 1975 ss. to prove them different persons, strikes in the opposite direction. Etham is probably the proper noun, and Jeduthun (the praise-man, comp. להודות in 1 Chron. 16:41, 25:3, Ges. on the word), an ideal name, devised by David,-and hence we may ex-plain the variety in the form: comp. Psalms 39. Title. Thesemen were not at all ordinary musicians: they were also, what they must have been to enable them to be founders of the sacred music, divinely inspired sages. In 1 Kings 4:31, it is said of Solomon: "And he was wiser than all men, than Etham the Esrahite, and Heman, and Kalkol, and Dardah," and in 1 Chronicles 25:5, Heman is called "the king's seer in the words of God." Both, however, were not composers of Psalms. The Sons of Korah were at this time desirous, on the one hand, of honour-ing their own poem, and of strengthening its impression by pre-fixing to it the names of these celebrated men next after their own, and, on the other hand, of perpetuating the memory of these men, who appeared to such disadvantage, compared with their "brother" (I. Chron. 6:24) Asaph, who is so often named inthe titles of the Psalms;-they wished "to raise up seed" to thechildless and sages. In doing so, they had the example of David before their eyes, who, in Psalms 39. Title, had named Jeduthun forthe purpose of honouring him, and handing his name down toposterity, not indeed as the author, but as the chief musician(comp. at the passage), and also the example of their ancestors, who had on several occasions sung from the soul of David: comp.for example, 43., 84., 86.-Heman is here, and Ethan in Psalms 89., called the Esrahite. We learn the import of the term in 1 Chronicles 2:5, "and the sons of Serah: Simri, and Ethan, and Heman, and Chalcol, and Darah" (we have the samenames in 1 Kings 5:11, with the unimportant difference of Dar-dah instead of Darah). The א is hence an Al. prothet., and Ethan and Heman were named Esrahites, because they be- longed to the family of Serah, the son of Judah, which they adorned by their famous names. It is certain that they were not the descendants of Serah, the son of Judah. The whole music connected with the worship of God in David's time, and in later periods, was in the hands of Levites; and this every child knew, so that nobody could think of tracing the descent of the famous chief musicians of David to the tribe of Judah. Heman, according to the express and well-defined intimations given in 1 Chron. 6:18 ss., 15:27, was a Levite of the family of the Koha-thites, the grandchild of Samuel, whose spirit passed over to the "seer in the words of God," through his son Joel; Ethan, ac-cording to 1 Chronicles 6:29-32 (comp. 15:17, 19) was a Leviteof the family of the Merarites, a son of Kisis, 1 Chronicles 6:29, or, according to another form of the name of Kusaja, 15:17,a as Asaph, according to 1 Chronicles 6:24-28, was a Levite of the family of the Gershonites. Hence Heman and Ethan could have been reckoned as belonging to the family of Serah, only in the sense that they dwelt in this family, as "stran-gers and sojourners" (comp. Judges 17:7), and were incorporated with it, as citizens. And there are not wanting examples of Levites being spoken of as belonging to the family of which, in their capacity as citizens, they formed part. Thus Samuel the Levite, 1 Samuel 1:1, is called an Ephraimite; and, in Judges 17:7, there follows immediately after the words "of the family of Judah," the remark, "who was a Levite, and he sojourned there;" comp. Beitr. P. 3. p. 60. Heman and Ethan were hence adopted sons of Serah's, who brought him, however, more honour than did all his real children. From the above induction it is clear, that Movers on Chron. p. 237, was too precipitate in find-ing the accounts of Heman and Ethan to be contraditory ac-counts, which are quite consistent with each other, when rightly understood, and that Keil on Chron. p, 164, and Gesen. in his Thes. under Heman, were, in like, too precipitate in denying the identity of the persons in the different passages. It is not possible to discover any formal arrangement extend-ing throughout both Psalms; and any forced attempts to do so are the less called for, as these Psalms, which are of great length, do not require, in accordance with the usual practice, any such arrangement; comp. at Psalms 78. The Psalmist has satisfied himself with including the whole within the remarkable number 70, and giving to each separate part an artificial arrangement, in which the Numbers 7 and 10 play the chief parts. Thus the main division in Psalms 88. consists of seven verses, which are divided into a four and a three, ver. 3-9, and 10-12. a In 1 Kings 5:11, Ethan and Heman are called sons of Machol. There is, however, no contradiction between this and the notice given in Chron. Machol is not a proper name; it never occurs as such; we must translate: sons of the dance; Heller: Skilfulin leading down the sacred dance: comp. "daughters of music," Ecclesiastes 12:4. Ver. 1, 2.-Ver 1. Lord God, my saviour, I cry in the day time, in the night before thee. Ver. 2. Let my prayer come be-fore thee, incline thine ear to my cry,-On the "my salvation-God," Calvin: "In thus addressing God he lays bridle and bit on the excess of his pain, he shuts the door of despair, and strengthens himself to carry the cross." The extremely concise character of the second half of the verse is explained by the cir-cumstance, that the words are numbered for the purpose of inti-mating beforehand the 7, as the signature of the whole Psalm. The two clauses are to be supplemented from each other; in the first, before thee; and in the second, I cry. The fundamental passage is Psalms 22:2 : "My God, I cry in the day time and thou answerest not, and in the night season and I am not silenced." According to this passage the יום here must stand for יומם, or ביום. It certainly does not occur thus in any other passage, but there are many analogies in its favour (comp. Ew. 492), and the short form might the more readily be used here as בלילה, follows. Forced translations, such as "at the time when I am during the night before thee," are foundered by the fact that יום, in parallel in לילה can only mean day.a The Palmist grounds, in ver. 3-9, his petition that he may be finally heard in the prayer which he unceasingly addresses to God, without having hitherto obtained any answer, upon the greatness of his distress. Ver. 3. For my soul is filled with suffering and my life is near to sheol. Ver. 4. I am reckoned with them that go down to the grave, I am as a man to whom there is no strength. Ver. 5. Among the dead free, like the slain, who lie in the grave, whom thou rememberest no more, and they are cut off from thy hand. Ver. 6. Thou hast laid me in the lowest pit, in dark places, in deeps. Ver. 7. Thy wrath lieth upon me, and thou host afflicted me with all thy waves. Selah. Ver. 8. Thou hast removed my acquaintances from me, I am shut up and do not go out. Ver. 9. Mine eye languisheth because of misery, I cry to thee, O Lord, every day, I stretch out to thee my hands.-Instead of "my life stretches to sheol," in ver. 3, Psalms 107:18, has "to the gates of death." The first clause of ver. 4 is from Psalms 28:1, with the change of נמשלתי a On "before thee" Calvin: "Nor is the particle, before thee, superfluous; all men alike complain in their grief; but this is far from pouring out their groans in the presence of God: nay, they must seek some hiding-place where they may murmur against God, and find fault with his severity; others utter openly their clamorous words. Hence we see what a rare virtue it is to place God before us, and to direct to him our prayers." into נהשבתי. With them, i. e., as them, or like them. The men without strength (not is strength, for to whom there is no strength, Ew. § 608), are, according to the connection, the dead. It is only on this interpretation that we can explain the as. The Psalmist was already without strength; but he is rather exactly like a dead than like a living man on the brink of the grave.-In "free among the dead," in ver. 5, the Psalmist overlooks the small difference which still exists between him and the dead, and reckons himself among the latter, as he does also in ver. 6; ver. 4, and the remaining portion of ver. 5, shew that the sense is, "already as good as dead, and, therefore, free from thee." Free-dom, in connection with earthly relations, is, generally speaking, a great good. Yet, with good human masters, there have been cases in which the slave did not choose to avail himself of the freedom to which the divine law entitled him; comp. Deuteronomy 15:16, "I will not go out from thee, because I love thine house, and I am happy with thee." But, with the heavenly master, freedom is pre-eminently an evil; to be the servant of God is the highest happiness; comp. Psalms 86:16. For his service is joy, because his yoke is easy and his burden is light, his command-ments are more precious than gold, yea, than much fine gold, are sweeter than honey and the honey comb (comp. the praise of the divine commandments in Psalms 19.); and, what is of special conse-quence here, God gives to his servants a great reward, Psalms 19:12; he not only demands service from them, he also cares for them with tender fatherly love, feeds them at his table, and holds his protecting hand over them; comp. Psalms 23. Over against these rich blessings, which the service of God brings with it, there is the mere naked freedom remaining for those who have been removed from the service of God-a poor thing. Allusion is made, as is obvious, to Job 3:19, "and the servant is (there in the world of spirits) free from his master;" it may be a fortu-nate thing to become free from an earthly master, but to be free from the heavenly master is assuredly misery. Great difficulty has been experienced in interpreting the words before us. Hence have proceeded such translations as: among the dead is my couch, or among the dead I am sick, weak, or laid prostrate. The etymology is decidedly against this: the sense of freedom is the fundamental and the only sense of the root הפש in He- brew (Hהvernick on Ezekiel 27:20). In Ez. in the above men-tioned place הפש בגדי is "glorious coverings;" comp. 1 Samuel 17:25, where הפשי, which generally denotes not the "set free," but the "free man," signifies a "free lord;" magnificence can-not be wanting. In 2 Kings 15:5, 2 Chronicles 26:21, בית, הפשית or הפשות is a house of freedom, a house where the lepers dwelt, those who were likened to the dead, struck off from the roll of the servants of God. This is manifest from the remark which follows in Chron.: "for he, Uzziah, was cut off from the house of the Lord," had lost his place there where all the servants of the Lord dwell (comp. at Psalms 84. and the parallel passages), in con-sequence of which Uzziah lost his command over his fellow-servants, which was handed over to his son Jotham. This strikingly harmonious parallel passage furnishes the second proof in favour of the above translation. The third lies in the expression, "those whom thou rememberest no more, and who are cut off from thy hand," which agrees remarkably well with the first clause as un-derstood by us, and serves to explain it exactly as in the above quoted passage of Chron., "to dwell in the house of freedom," is explained by "to be cut off from the house of the Lord." The comparison with the dead is followed by that with the slain, be-cause the Psalmist was threatened with violent deprivation of life. "To be cut off from the hand of God," his helping and protecting hand, is to be made away with in a violent manner, in consequence of violent destruction to be no longer the object of God's helping grace; compare at the parallel passage, Psalms 31:22, "I am cut off from thine eyes," cut off, and consequently withdrawn from thy gracious look. We have already, at Psalms 7:5, adverted to the idea which lies at the foundation of the whole verse that the dead are no longer the objects of the loving care of God. In Old Testament times it had a mournful truth. The darkness of the intermediate state previous to the appearing of Christ, had not yet been illuminated by the morning of divine grace-the paradise of which the Lord spoke to the thief was first opened up at his death-the intermediate state under the Old Testament was indeed not distinctly known as such; the clear view of the resurrection was first opened up by him who is the resurrection and the life. It was under the New Testament that it was first said of the grave: "it is to me a chamber whereI lie on roses, because by thy death I conquer death and the grave." The servants of God at that time could not but shudder when they stood immediately over the abyss of death and looked into the utter darkness, "the darkness of death without order."-The grave of deep places, in ver 6, is sheol, deep under the earth, compare on בור of sheol at Psalms 28:1, the "lower places of the earth," in parallel with "sheol," in Psalms 63:9, Ezekiel 26:20, and "the lowest hell" in Psalms 86:13. The "dark places" are as usually (compare at Psalms 74:20) the dark places of sheol. The Psalmist, a living corpse, is as good as brought to that place. On מצלות, in other passages מצולות water-deeps, compare at Psalms 69:2.-The "waves" in ver. 7 are the tumultuous sea-waves of trouble and pain, compare at the fundamental passage, Psalms 42:7. The משבריך is the acc. according to thy waves with them, compare Ew. § 485. The Selah is appended to ענית, in order to give prominence to that word which is intended to explain the title. The want of the suffix, otherwise strange, may also be accounted for by a reference to this explanation.-The complaint of the estrangement of acquaintances and friends in consequence of suffering, ver. 8, meets us frequently in the Psalms, compare at Psalms 27:10; Psalms 38:11; Psalms 69:8. (Job 19:13). What is true of personal is also true of national relations; like causes produce like effects. The expression, "thou hast made me an abomination to them" (the plural has an intensive force-as it were a whole assemblage of abomination) alludes to Genesis 43:32; Genesis 46:34, (compare Exodus 8:22), according to which Israel was an abomination to the Egyptians, and therefore contains a slight intimation of a national reference. The last words, "I am shut up and do not go out," must necessarily be considered as referring to the acquaintances, and cannot be viewed in connection with a reference to Lamentations 3:7; Lamentations 3:9, "shut up by misfortune, I can find no way of escape," but "shut up by public reproach, which keeps me in the house like a prisoner, I do not go out, I stir not from the door," with reference to Psalms 31:11, "they who see me in the street flee from me," and especially to Job 31:34, where Job is expressing his willingness to suffer in case of his guilt what he must now suffer unwillingly, says, "I should be afraid before a great multitude, and the contempt of families should terrify me, and I will be silent and not go out of doors."-Onדאב in ver. 9, compare Deuteronomy 27:65. Instead of "the eye," Luther without any reason has the "person," compare at Psalms 6:7; Psalms 69:3. On "I stretch out my hands," Arnd: I sigh with my heart, pray with my mouth, and supplicate with my hand, like a child which stretches out both its hands to its mother." The Palmist grounds, in Psalms 88:3-9, his petition that he may be finally heard in the prayer which he unceasingly addresses to God, without having hitherto obtained any answer, upon the greatness of his distress. Ver. 3. For my soul is filled with suffering and my life is near to sheol. Ver. 4. I am reckoned with them that go down to the grave, I am as a man to whom there is no strength. Ver. 5. Among the dead free, like the slain, who lie in the grave, whom thou rememberest no more, and they are cut off from thy hand. Ver. 6. Thou hast laid me in the lowest pit, in dark places, in deeps. Ver. 7. Thy wrath lieth upon me, and thou host afflicted me with all thy waves. Selah. Ver. 8. Thou hast removed my acquaintances from me, I am shut up and do not go out. Ver. 9. Mine eye languisheth because of misery, I cry to thee, O Lord, every day, I stretch out to thee my hands. Instead of “my life stretches to sheol,” in Psalms 88:3, Psalms 107:18, has “to the gates of death.” The first clause of Psa 88:4 is from Psalms 28:1, with the change of πξωμϊι into πηωαϊι. With them, i.e., as them, or like them. The men without strength (not is strength, for to whom there is no strength), are, according to the connection, the dead. It is only on this interpretation that we can explain the as. The Psalmist was already without strength; but he is rather exactly like a dead than like a living man on the brink of the grave. In “free among the dead,” in Psalms 88:5, the Psalmist overlooks the small difference which still exists between him and the dead, and reckons himself among the latter, as he does also in Psalms 88:6; Psalms 88:4, and the remaining portion of Psa 88:5, shew that the sense is, “already as good as dead, and, therefore, free from thee.” Freedom, in connection with earthly relations, is, generally speaking, a great good. Yet, with good human masters, there have been cases in which the slave did not choose to avail himself of the freedom to which the divine law entitled him; comp. Deuteronomy 15:16, “I will not go out from thee, because I love thine house, and I am happy with thee.” But, with the heavenly master, freedom is pre-eminently an evil; to be the servant of God is the highest happiness; comp. Psalms 86:16. For his service is joy, because his yoke is easy and his burden is light, his commandments are more precious than gold, yea, than much fine gold, are sweeter than honey and the honey comb (comp. the praise of the divine commandments in Psalms 19); and, what is of special consequence here, God gives to his servants a great reward, Psalms 19:12; he not only demands service from them, he also cares for them with tender fatherly love, feeds them at his table, and holds his protecting hand over them; comp. Psalms 23. Over against these rich blessings, which the service of God brings with it, there is the mere naked freedom remaining for those who have been removed from the service of God—a poor thing. Allusion is made, as is obvious, to Job 3:19, “And the servant is (there in the world of spirits) free from his master;” it may be a fortunate thing to become free from an earthly master, but to be free from the heavenly master is assuredly misery. Great difficulty has been experienced in interpreting the words before us. Hence have proceeded such translations as: among the dead is my couch, or among the dead I am sick, weak, or laid prostrate. The etymology is decidedly against this: the sense of freedom is the fundamental and the only sense of the root ητω in Hebrew (Hδvernick on Ezekiel 27:20). In Ezek., in the above mentioned place αβγιητω is “glorious coverings;” comp. 1 Samuel 17:25, where ητωι, which generally denotes not the “set free,” but the “free man,” signifies a “free lord;” magnificence cannot be wanting. In 2 Kings 15:5, 2 Chronicles 26:21, ητωιϊαιϊ or ητωεϊ is a house of freedom, a house where the lepers dwelt, those who were likened to the dead, struck off from the roll of the servants of God. This is manifest from the remark which follows in Chron.: “for he, Uzziah, was cut off from the house of the Lord,” had lost his place there where all the servants of the Lord dwell (comp. at Psalms 84 and the parallel passages), in consequence of which Uzziah lost his command over his fellow-servants, which was handed over to his son Jotham. This strikingly harmonious parallel passage furnishes the second proof in favour of the above translation. The third lies in the expression, “those whom thou rememberest no more, and who are cut off from thy hand,” which agrees remarkably well with the first clause as understood by us, and serves to explain it exactly as in the above quoted passage of Chron., “to dwell in the house of freedom,” is explained by “to be cut off from the house of the Lord.” The comparison with the dead is followed by that with the slain, because the Psalmist was threatened with violent deprivation of life. “To be cut off from the hand of God,” his helping and protecting hand, is to be made away with in a violent manner, in consequence of violent destruction to be no longer the object of God’s helping grace; compare at the parallel passage, Psalms 31:22, “I am cut off from thine eyes,” cut off, and consequently withdrawn from thy gracious look. We have already, at Psalms 7:5, adverted to the idea which lies at the foundation of the whole verse that the dead are no longer the objects of the loving care of God. In Old Testament times it had a mournful truth. The darkness of the intermediate state previous to the appearing of Christ, had not yet been illuminated by the morning of divine grace—the paradise of which the Lord spoke to the thief was first opened up at his death—the intermediate state under the Old Testament was indeed not distinctly known as such; the clear view of the resurrection was first opened up by him who is the resurrection and the life. It was under the New Testament that it was first said of the grave: “It is to me a chamber where I lie on roses, because by thy death I conquer death and the grave.” The servants of God at that time could not but shudder when they stood immediately over the abyss of death and looked into the utter darkness, “the darkness of death without order.”— The grave of deep places, in Psalms 88:6, is sheol, deep under the earth, compare on αεψ of sheol at Psalms 28:1, the “lower places of the earth,” in parallel with “sheol,” in Psalms 63:9, Ezekiel 26:20, and “the lowest hell” in Psalms 86:13. The “dark places” are as usually (compare at Psalms 74:20) the dark places of sheol. The Psalmist, a living corpse, is as good as brought to that place. On ξφμεϊ, in other passages ξφεּ ?μεϊ water-deeps, compare at Psalms 69:2. The “waves” in Psalms 88:7 are the tumultuous sea-waves of trouble and pain, compare at the fundamental passage, Psalms 42:7. The ξωαψικ is the acc. according to thy waves—with them. The Selah is appended to ςπιϊ, in order to give prominence to that word which is intended to explain the title μςπεϊ. The want of the suffix, otherwise strange, may also be accounted for by a reference to this explanation. The complaint of the estrangement of acquaintances and friends in consequence of suffering, Psalms 88:8, meets us frequently in the Psalms, compare at Psalms 27:10; Psalms 38:11; Psalms 69:8, (Job 19:13). What is true of personal is also true of national relations; like causes produce like effects. The expression, “thou hast made me an abomination to them” (the plural has an intensive force—as it were a whole assemblage of abomination) alludes to Genesis 43:32, Genesis 46:34, (compare Exodus 8:22), according to which Israel was an abomination to the Egyptians, and therefore contains a slight intimation of a national reference. The last words, “I am shut up and do not go out,” must necessarily be considered as referring to the acquaintances, and cannot be viewed in connection with a reference to Lamentations 3:7, Lamentations 3:9, “shut up by misfortune, I can find no way of escape,” but “shut up by public reproach, which keeps me in the house like a prisoner, I do not go out, I stir not from the door,” with reference to Psalms 31:11, “they who see me in the street flee from me,” and especially to Job 31:34, where Job is expressing his willingness to suffer in case of his guilt what he must now suffer unwillingly, says, “I should be afraid before a great multitude, and the contempt of families should terrify me, and I will be silent and not go out of doors.” On γΰα in Psalms 88:9, compare Deut. 27:65. Instead of “the eye,” Luther without any reason has the “person,” compare at Psalms 6:7; Psalms 69:3. On “I stretch out my hands,” Arnd: I sigh with my heart, pray with my mouth, and supplicate with my hand, like a child which stretches out both its hands to its mother.” Ver. 10-12. The Psalmist, who is now within one single step of death, represents to God, that if he delay any longer to help him, he will deprive himself of the possibility of manifesting his glory to which his very being prompts him, and of the praise of his own people, which is very pleasant to him, compare at Psalms 6:5. For it is to the living only and not to the dead that he can shew wonders; and it is the living only that can praise him:- "Make haste therefore and help me, ere I go to the land of dark- ness when shall be lost to thee.-Ver. 10. Wilt thou then do wonders to the dead, or will shadows stand up and praise thee. Selah. Ver. 11. Will thy mercy be recounted in the grave, thy faithfulnes in destruction. Ver. 12. Will thy wonders be known in darkness, and thy righteousness in the land of forget- fulness." That God cannot shew wonders to the dead (ver. 10) is a strong reason why he should, while his people are still in life, manifest on their behalf his wondrous power. The existence of the Christian church furnishes a mighty proof that he has done this; the maintenance of Israel in a time when every thing seemed to proclaim entire destruction, proceeds on the supposition that he does this. The פלא stands collectively, compare at Psalms 77:11. The mention of wonders points to the national reference of thePsalm. The Rephaim were a Canaanitish giant-race, whose name was applied to the shades of the lower world. Contact with these is something terrible for the sufferer; the spirits of the de-ceased are represented to the imagination as possessed of a gigantic form, compare 1 Samuel 28:13, where the witch of Endor, on the appearance of Samuel, says, "I behold Gods ascending outof the earth." Beitr. p. 261. Against other attempted deri-vations it may be urged that they do not explain the fact, that this term applied to the dead is only used in poetry; that it is in the highest degree improbable that a word written exactly similar should have two derivations and significations; and רפא signifies to heal and nothing else, and that it is altogether foreign to the Hebrew to consider Rephaim a term applied to the shadesas bearing an agreeable sense. The קום, is not to be considered as signifying to raise again from the dead, (that would be contra-dictory to the true doctrines, which is never done in the Old Testament) but to rise up, compare Psalms 78:6. The language refers to what takes place in death, not after death. The יודוך also could scarcely want the copulative. The Selah gives God as it were time to weigh the weighty reason, and then the de-velopment follows.-In the grave and in destruction, ver. 11, = in the place of destruction, sheol, the mercy and the faithfulness of God could not be praised so much as by his own people on earth, when he manifests these graces in delivering them from impending death (compare at Psalms 30:9), partly because of the want of opportunity for its manifestation, and partly because of the want of ability to praise him.-The "land of forgetfulness" in ver. 12, is not the land where one is forgotten (Psalms 30:12), but the land where one forgets, Luther: "where one remembers nothing," compare Ecclesiastes 9:5; Ecclesiastes 9:6-10, "there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom in the grave." God does no wonderful works to the dead, because they would not be known by them. The great wonder of the resurrection is not excluded, because the language used applies only to those wonders which are performed to such as remain in a state of death. And that the Psalmist does not acknowledge this, is not to be explained by "the difference between seasons of faith and despondency in the human soul which is found existing even in the present day." For it is a didactic poem that we have here before us. Such a poem may descend very low to suffering; but it must always remain above it. a Ewald takes another view: he, however, has nothing except a false rendering of Hos 4:18 to refer to in support of his view of the import of the form. That passage should be translated: they love the "prayer," as a description of their insatiable avarice, which always puts "give" into their mouth, Ver. 13-18. -Ver. 13. The Psalmist, in ver. 13, prepares for prayer, makes even an effort at it in ver, 14, and soon sinks back, ver. 15-18, into lamentation, which reaches its summit in the last words.-Ver. 13. But I cry to thee, O Lord, and in the morning my prayer shall anticipate thee. Ver. 14. Why, 0 Lord, dost thou cast of my soul, hidest thy face from me. Ver. 15. I am miserable and ready to expire from my youth. I bear thy terrors. I will despair. Ver. 16. Thy wrath goes over me, thy terrors annihilate me. Ver. 17. They surround me like water the whole day, they are round me altogether. Ver. 18. Thou hast removed from me friend and neighbour,mine acquaintances-the place of darkness.-"In the morning," in ver. 13, denotes the great earnestness in prayer: comp. at Psalms 5:3; Psalms 57:8. The קדם is to surprise, comp. at Psalms 21:3. On ver. 14, Calvin: "Although these lamentations at first sight exhibit expres-sions of pain without any consolation, they nevertheless contain tacit prayers. For he does not proudly contend with God, but mournfully desires some remedy to his calamities." On "why dost thou cast off," (comp. Psalms 42:2), Arnd: "Thus it is when the cross lasts long, conflicts arise about casting off. But there is no casting off; there is only a waiting for the hour of help, the hour of the Lord."-In ver. 15th, there is no reason for departing from the usual sense of נער youth. (Luther falsely: that I am thus cast off). When a great affliction befals us, we cannot regard it as standing alone, we look upon it as the last step of a ladder, which we began to ascend as soon as we came into the world, so when we meet with any great deliverance, we think upon all the mer-cies which we have experienced from our youth. In the funeral hymn: "And now I have ended life's hard course," we read: "In every ear from tender youth, I have learned how hard's the road to heaven." Israel, who must first occur to our thoughts, says, in. Psalms 129:1, in language which corresponds exactly to the clause before us," "they have oft oppressed me from my youth up." The oppression in Egypt befel Israel in his youth (comp. Hosea 11:1) in consequence of which he was brought to the very verge of destruction, so that he might with truth say, "I am mi-serable and ready to expire from my youth," just as the anti-type, the Lord who was born in a stable (= Egypt), was soon sought after by Herod (= Pharaoh) that he might be put to death, and as exposed to the danger of his life on many occa-sions on the part of his enemies. The terrors of God are the terrors which he sends. The אפונה is from פון, to despair, to expire. The form has its usual sense. The Psalmist is so far gone that he resolves to give himself over to despair, to give up that opposition to it which he cannot any longer maintain.-In ver. 16, the form ינiותתuמ;.צi, which nowhere else occurs, is formedout of the Piel, which occurs elsewhere, by the Psalmist himself, for the purpose of alluding to the צמיתות of Leviticus 25:23, "the land shall not be sold for annihilation (so that the right of the possessor shall not be wholly annihilated) for the land is mine, forye are strangers and sojourners with me." God appears-this is the force of the allusion-to be failing, contrary to his own law, inasmuch as he is completely alienating his property, so that the possibility of redemption is, excluded.a -In ver. 18, the usual translation is: my acquaintances are darkness, i. e., have disappeared. But we must rather, with J. D. Michaelis and others, explain: my companions-the place of darkness i.e., the dark kingdom of the dead is instead of all my companions, has come near to me, while they have gone back. The fol-lowing considerations may be adduced in support of this:- ך`שהמ signifies always, even in Isaiah 29:15; Isaiah 42:16, not darkness, but a dark place, and it occurs in this sense, and is even applied to the darkness of sheol in ver. 6; according to the usual translation, the ver. does not close with a thought of suffi-cient strength, but with merely a flat repetition of ver. 8, whereas, according to our translation, the Psalm ends with an energetic expression of its main thought-the immediate vicinity of death-the darkness is thickest at the end, just as it is in the morning before the rising of the sun; and, finally, there is a strikingly parallel passage in Job 17:14, "I call the grave my father, and the worm my mother and sister." Psalms 89. The Psalmist, in language of joy and praise, calls to remem-brance first the promise of God which secured the perpetual exis-tence of the royal family of David, and consequently the preserva-tion of the people, ver. 1-37, then complains that the present state of matters forms a sad contrast to this promise, ver. 38-45, and finally prays to God that he would remove this contrast, ver. 46-51. In reference to other introductory matter, compare at Psalms 88. Ver. 1-4. The Church resolves that she will eternally praise the mercy and the faithfulness of the Lord, beeternally be manifested to the family of David, and through that family to the people, in virtue of the promise which God gave to David that he would eternally defend his family, eternally main-tain his throne.-Ver. 1. I will sing eternally the mercies of the Lord, I will make known with my mouth thy truth from gene- ration to generation. Ver. 2. For I say: eternally shall thy mercy be built, the heaven-thou maintainest thy truth in it. Ver. 3. "I have made a covenant with my chosen one. I have sworn to David my servant. Ver. 4. For ever I will maintain thy seed and build thy throne from generation to generation." Selah.-The mercies of the Lord, ver. 1, are, according to the con- text, especially the manifestations of his love towards the family of David, (compare ver. 49, and "the mercies of David," Isaiah 55:3), and the faithfulness of God is that by which he fulfils these promises made to this family. The determination to praise for ever these manifestations of the love and faithfulness of God, shews that it is not one single individual that speaks, but the congregation of the Lord, convinced of its own eternal duration. It is the work of faith to go forth on the supposition of eternal duration at a time when every thing visible proclaims near de-struction, and to give expression to the determination to praise for ever the love and the faithfulness of God at a time when every thing appears to declare that he has changed his love into hatred, and has broken his promises. The עולם here and in ver. 2, 37 is for לעולם, compare at Psalms 61:4.�The determination to praise for ever the mercy and the faithfulness of God is founded on the conviction that these will stand the trial. Ver. 2. Mercy appears here under the figure of a building in continual progres-sion, in opposition to one which is left unfinished and falls into ruins. The faithfulness is established in the heavens, in order that it may, partake of their eternity, be like them eternal; com-pare ver. 36, 37, on the eternity of the heavens at Psalms 72:5, and a similar figurative expression, Psalms 119:89, "thy word stands fast in heaven." The heavens have emphatically the foremost place assigned to them in the collocation of the words.ver. 3 and 4, the foundation of the firm hope of the eternal continuance of the mercy and the faithfulness of God is the promise of, God to David in 2 Sam. vii.; in reality we ought to supply "for thou didst say." This promise, on which seethe remarks made in this commentary at Psalms 18:28-47 (vol. i. p. 310-323), upon which also Psalms 21:21; Psalms 61:61; Psalms 132:132; Psalms 72:72; Psalms 72:110., depend, forms the proper centre-point of the Psalm. It is merely alluded to here shortly and summarily, but it is entered upon at large in the 19th and following verses. As surely as this promise culminates in Christ, so surely is it significant to us, comp. at Psalms 61.; and we may learn from this Psalm not only in general how in the church's most troublous times we may conquer that fear with which the visible aspect of affairs fills us, by cling-ing to those promises which the Lord has given her, but may also be ourselves comforted with that consolation which is adminis-tered here to the Old Testament Church. The promise of God to David extends to all ages, even to the end of the world.a In a promise every thing depends upon the person who pro-mises. The question therefore occurs: has he the will and the power to fulfil the promise? and where it is men who promise, the answer to this question is never very consolatory, often very mournful. Hence the Psalmist, before unfolding farther the con-tents of the promise, proceeds in ver. 5-18 to praise the glory of God, especially his omnipotence and faithfulness. This inde-pendent portion of the Psalm is very artificially arranged. The whole consists of 14 verses. The praise of God is completed in 10, ver. 5-14. To this there is added a declaration as to the happiness of the people who have such a God, ver. 15-18. The ten is divided into a three and a seven,-the introduction and the proper treatise. The three of the introduction and the four of the conclusion make up a seven, which corresponds to the seven of the main division. The unbroken seven is enclosed within the broken one.a On "I have sworn," Arnd: "who does not see here how great is the friendship and how faithful is the love which God bears to man, and how deep the lofty majesty of God condescends when he swears to man? And why does he do this? In order that he may make his promise sure, that he may strengthen our faith and help our weakness;-so desirous is God that we should believe on him and not doubt his promise. In Hebrews 6. such causes are assigned. O blessed people, for whose sake God swears! O miserable people, who will not believe God even when he swears!" First, ver. 5-7: The omnipotence and faithfulness of God are devoutly praised even by the angels, his heavenly congregation. Ver. 5. And the heavens praise thy wonders, O Lord, and thy truth in the assembly of the saints. Ver. 6. For who in theclouds is like to the Lord, who comes like to God among the sons of God? Ver. 7. God is very terrible in the confidence of the saints, and dreadful for all who are round about him.- And the heavens praise, ver. 5:-and therefore it is clear of what mighty importance, what a precious treasure, this promise is, the author of which is praised even by the angels, (not where-fore or truly). Psalms 29:1; Psalms 29:2, is a parallel, and in all probability the fundamental passage, where in like manner the praise of God by the angels appears as an evidence for the infinite greatness of God. Heaven is in opposition to earth. The second clause shews that it comes into notice in regard to its inhabitants, the angels. The wonders are named as works of omnipotence; comp. ver. 8, where we have as here wonders and faithfulness, might and faithfulness. In the second clause "they praise," must be supplied from the first. The angels have, as in the fundamental passage Deuteronomy 33:2; Deuteronomy 33:3, the name of the "holy ones," i. e., the sacredand the glorious (comp. at Psalms 22:3), for the purpose of pointing to their dignity, which serves for a basis on which to lay the glory of God, to whom they are devoutly subordinate. The holy ones in heaven stand opposed to the weak mortals of earth whose praisehas not much to say. The expression, "the assembly of holyones," points to the congregation of God upon the earth, which,in its weakness, sings his praise.-In ver. 6, 7, the fact that eventhe holy ones praise God, is grounded on the infinite superiorityof God above the most glorious creatures.a In ver. 6, שהק,cloud, the singular only here, and in ver. 37, in other passages,שהקים, is employed poetically for the heavens. On the Bne Elim, sons of God: comp. at Psalms 29:1. The agreement in this very singular expression, shews that the Psalmist had thispassage distinctly before his eyes. The thrice repeated Jehovah,also, in ver. 5 and 6, is assuredly designed.-In ver. 7, the אל stands in reference to its appellative sense, the strong one. "Theconfidence of the holy ones" (comp. at 83:3, 55:14), denotesthe confidential community to whom God vouchsafes to intrusthis secrets, Job 1:6; Job 2:1, though not his deepest ones, 1 Pet. 1:12. Notwithstanding this, there always remains an infinite dis- a Ven.: "The duty rendered to God by the inhabitants of heaven is confirmed and illustrated by the infinite superiority and excellence of God, in which he very far excels.them, so that there is no room for even any comparison between them and God."tance between him and them; comp. Job 4:18; Job 15:15. God does not cease to be, even to his holy ones, the object of fear. As the סוד is masculine, and does not exactly denote assembly, the רבה cannot be an adjective, "in the great assembly of the holy ones," but only an adverb, "very much," as at Psalms 62:2; comp. מאוד in Psalms 48:1. Those who are around God in heaven stand opposed to those who are so on earth; comp. Psalms 76:11. Ver. 8-14.-The Psalmist praises first, in general, the might and the faithfulness of God, ver. 8, occupies himself next, in detail, first with the might of God, ver. 9-13, dwelling at the greatest length upon it, because it is at this point that his most painful doubt arises, and afterwards at the close with the moral attribute, the truth (corresponding to the faithfulness) which forms the conclusion, ver. 14. In depicting the omnipo-tence of God, prominence is given first, ver. 9, to the dominion of God over the sea, because it presents, with its tumults, the emblem of the power of the world, by which Israel was op-pressed, the Psalmist passing from the figure to the reality, ver. 10; next, the dominion of God over the solid land is adverted to, in opposition to the sea, with which the description had be-gun; and lastly, the conclusion, ver. 13, consists of a general as-cription of praise to God for his power.-Ver. 8. O Lord, God of Hosts, who is mighty as thou art, O Lord, and thy faithful- ness is round about thee. Ver. 9. Thou rulest over the pride of the sea, when its waves swell thou stillest them. Ver. 10. Thou crushest Rahab, like one slain, by thy mighty arm thou destroyest thine enemies. Ver. 11. Thine is the heaven, thine also the earth, the world and its fulness thou hast founded them. Ver. 12. The north and the south thou host created, Tabor and Hermon rejoice in thy name. Ver. 13. Thine is a mighty arm, strong is thy hand, high is thy right hand. Ver. 14. Justice and judgment are the ground ( on which) thy throne , mercy and truth go before thy face.-On הי, in ver. 8, comp. at Psalms 68:4. The Jah as the concentration of Jehovah, is the more emphatic word. The second vocative, moreover, would have no significance if Jehovah stood. The spirit, impressed with a sense of God, feels the necessity of repeating frequently that name of God, in which his being is comprehended; comp., forexample, ver. 6. The faithfulness of God is round about him, surrounds him as his attendants, so that he never appears with-out it.-In ver. 9, the גאות is not "the lifting up," but the "pride," as "thou rulest " shews; comp. גאות in Psalms 46:3. The figurative expression is chosen with reference to what it re-presents, the pride of the sea of the people. A reference to this also explains the fact, that in such representations of the omni-potence of God, the subjugation of the waves of the sea is dwelt upon with peculiar delight; comp. at Psalms 46:3; Psalms 65:7. It has been already intimated in the summary, that the whole arrange-ment of the clauses of this paragraph can only be explained on the supposition, that the Psalmist regards the sea a symbol of the power of the world.a The שוא is a noun abbreviated from the infinitive of נשא; comp. the איש of Job 20:6.�From the ordinary sea the Psalmist turns, in ver. 10, to the sea of the na-tions. He mentions Egypt first as a particularly powerful and famous humbled enemy of God and his people in past times; after this, as Egypt got its main overthrow in the sea, the figure and the reality meet together; and after this he turns generally to the enemies of God. By the name Rahab, here applied to Egypt (comp. at Psalms 87:4), attention is directed to its appellative sense, pride, haughtiness, גאות, which had already been used of the ordinary sea. The expression, "like one slain," is to be considered as equivalent to, so that the proud, haughty person sinks down to the feebleness of a slain man;b comp. Psalms 88:5.-On תבל, land, in opposition to sea, as ארץ, earth, in opposition to heaven; comp. at the fundamentala Calvin: "And thus when the world is in a state of the greatest excitement, the Lord can immediately bring all things into a tranquil condition." Arnd: "It is indeed a mighty power on the part of God which holds the sea; and the man who has not seen the sea, has not seen the smallest portion of the power and wonders of God. As now God rules over the sea, he rules also over the whole world, which indeed is a very boisterous sea when the persecutors rise against the church like great waves and billows; but he stills them so that they must not destroy Christ's poor little sheep. Yea, he also rules in our heart; when it is as unquiet and impetuous as the sea, so that the great billows of conflict, trouble, anguish, despair, strike against the heart, then shall we know that the Lord rules over such hellish floods. Therefore in such troubles we should pray: O Lord, thou who rulest over the impetuous sea, art able to render quiet and soft even my little restless heart."b Arnd: "The Son of God has not only slain and laid low the Egyptians, and all outward enemies, but also the hellish Egyptians of our sins, which pursue us in great numbers, and whose captain is the devil."passage, Psalms 24:1; Psalms 24:2.-Ver. 12 describes the dominion of God over the earth in its whole extent. After the north, and the right hand = the south, Tabor lying on the one side of Jordan, and Hermon on the other, can only be considered as representa-tives of east and west; comp. Psalms 42:6. They were well fitted to represent these on account of the manifest traces of the creat-ing power of God which they bear. They rejoice, because their very existence is a matter-of-fact praise. In thy name,-over it, over the deeds of thy glory which have been done on them; comp. ver. 16, and on "the name of God," for example, at Psalms 44:5.-In ver. 13, according to the connection of arm, hand, and right hand, according to "thy mighty arm," in ver. 10, and according to ver. 21, we cannot explain: thine is might with power, but only: thine is an arm with strength, a strong power-ful arm.--In ver. 14, ןוכמ is not foundation, basis,�is neither ascertained nor suitable; what should it mean? thy king-dom stands through righteousness? who would overthrow it then, if God were not righteous?-but as always the site, the soil on which the building rests: the dominion of God, is the sense, is situated on the domain of justice and righteousness. The קדם signifies to go before, to come before, פנים קדם occurs in the sense of to come before the face, Psalms 17:12; Psalms 95:2. It is not, therefore: mercy and truth step before thee, or stand before thee, but: they go before thee; comp. at Psalms 85:13. Ver. 15-18. Happy the people who have such a God, a God of omnipotence, faithfulness, and righteousness! Salvation can never fail to be imparted to such a people. For this holy and awful God is, as he has solemnly said and sworn, the protection of his anointed one.--Ver. 15. Happy the people which know the joyful sound: O Lord, in the light of thy countenance they shall walk. Ver. 16. In thy name they rejoice always, and through thy righteousness they are glorious. Ver. 17. For thou art their mighty ornament, and by thy favour thou exalt- est our horn. Ver. 18. For our shield is the Lord's, and our King is the Holy One of Israel's.-At the expression, "who know the joyful sound," ver. 15, we must supply from the pre-ceding verse, "in the presence or before the face of such a God;" who knows to rejoice to thee. The joyful sound is that which Israel shouted to God, his king and saviour, with the mouthand trumpets (comp. Numbers 10:1 ss.), at the regular periodicalfestivals, and on extraordinary occasions, such as in war;comp. Numbers 10:9, Joshua 6:5; Joshua 6:20, 1 Samuel 4:5; 1 Samuel 4:6, 2 Sam. 6:15, the treatise "on Balaam," at Numbers 23:28, where Balaamsays of Israel, "the shout of a king is in the midst of him."We are not justified, with many, in limiting the joyful soundto the festivals, or in interpreting it exclusively of the sound ofthe trumpet, comp. at Psalms 27:6. The relation of the twoclauses of the verse to each other, as is also the case in Psalms 84:4, is that of cause and consequence, not: who walk, but:who shall walk in the light of thy countenance, in the splendourof thy grace; comp. at Psalms 4:6; Psalms 44:3; Psalms 43:3. The face ofthe Lord is itself the light which brightly illuminates their other-wise dark way. Arnd: "There is great loveliness in the coun-tenance of a joyful virtuous man. There is greater lovelinessstill in the countenance of an angel. But the highest lovelinessis in the countenance of God. Just as parents look joyfully upontheir little children, and when they are learning to walk guide them with their countenance and eye, so does the merciful Godto those who love him."-In ver. 16, "in thy name," as is mani-fest from the parallel clause, "through thy righteousness" is tobe understood as equivalent to "over it," "over thy glory mani-fested in guiding them," comp. at ver. 1. 2. The righteousness ofGod is also here that property by which he gives to every one hisown, salvation to his people. The ומורי is not "they are proud,"but "they are high," "lifted-up as the right hand of God itself,"ver. 13, comp. "thou liftest up," ver. 17 and Psalms 27:6.-Asit is undoubted that תפארת can only signify "an ornament"(comp. Psalms 78:61, the Christol. on Zechariah 12:7), and עז only"strength," "might," we can only translate in ver. 17: for thouart their mighty ornament; comp. "the arm of thy strength,"for "thy strong arm," in ver. 10, "the ark of thy strength,"instead of "the strong ark," Psalms 132:8. The ומזע looksback to זעת, in ver. 13. On "thou liftest up our horn," comp.at Psalms 75:10; Psalms 92:10. The Keri םורת "our horn is high,"has been introduced only by an unseasonable comparison of ומורי in ver. 16, and of םורת in ver. 24. In ver. 18 the confidencewhich had been expressed in the preceding verses is groundedupon the mighty assistance of the Lord. How can he do other-wise than be surety for him, when Israel's king is his anointed, and Israel's guardian is his guarded one? The ל, denotes here, as in Psalms 47:9, "for the shields of the earth are the Lord's," HIM to whom the king belongs. The common translation is: for the Lord is our shield, the Holy One of Israel our king. But ל never stands in this way before a nominative, and the thought is not sufficiently suitable, as the joyful confidence in the salva-tion of God expressed in ver. 15-18 is in this way wholly dis-joined from the person of the anointed, around which the whole Psalm revolves. In reference to the appellation of God, "the Holy One of Israel," comp. at Psalms 71:22; Psalms 78:41. There follows, in prosecution of the subject entered upon in ver. 3 and 4, a more full development in two sections, of the glorious promise made to the anointed, and in him to the people, ver. 19-38. First in ver. 19-28, it is represented that God had promised perpetual deliverance to the people in him, perpetual victory over its enemies, perpetual dominion; and after that the objection is met that this promise may, in consequence of the sins of the anointed, become altogether null: God has already explained that the promise is in its nature an unconditional one, that he will punish the sins of his chosen family, but that he will never withdraw his favour from it, and from the people in it, ver. 29-37. Ver. 19-28.-Ver. 19. At that time thou did speak in the appearance ( to Nathan) to thy holy ones, and didst say: I have laid help upon a man of war, I have lifted a young man out of the people. Ver. 20. I have found David my servant, with my holy oil I anointed him. Ver. 21. With him my hand shall be constant, yea my arm shall strengthen him. Ver. 22. The enemy shall not oppress him, and the wicked shall not afflict him. Ver. 23. And I beat down before him his opponents, and his haters I will strike. Ver. 24. And my truth and mercy are with him, and through my name his horn shall be exalted. Ver. 25. And I put his hand upon the sea, and upon the rivers his right hand. Ver. 26. He shall also thus address me: Thou art my father, my God, and the rock of my salvation. Ver. 27. I will also make him my first born, most high over the kings of the earth. Ver. 28. I will perpetually secure for him my mercy, and my covenant shall remain continually with him.-That theparagraph ends here, and that ver. 29 belongs to what follows, is evident from the circumstance that there it is the seed of the anointed that is spoken of, while here it is only one person that always meets us, the ideal person of the anointed, the royal family of David represented by him.-The "at that time," in ver. 19, connects the paragraph with ver. 3 and 4. ןוזה, appearance is the term applied to the revelation of God made to and by Nathan in 1 Chronicles 17:15, comp. the ןויזה in 2 Samuel 7:17. In its original form the promise was directed to David. But it is made very manifest in 1 Chronicles 17:15, and 2 Samuel 7:10, that it was intended not only for him but also for the people. This view of the promise, as intended for the people, is the only one that is kept before our eye throughout the whole of the Psalm; and in accord-ance with this, the people, as the original recipient of the revelation, are termed "thy holy ones," and in harmony with it David, in what follows, is spoken of in the third person. All the old translators, many MSS. and editions give ךידסה in the plural. The singular owes its existence, as in Psalms 16:10, to an exegetical difficulty. It was felt to be impossible to reconcile the plural with the application to David or Nathan; and to one or other of these, all interpre-ters, without exception, down even to modern times, have applied the expression, without observing that in the following part of the Psalm it is the people that complains that God does not ap-pear to be keeping his promise, and that it is the people that prays that he would fulfil his promise. When one goes deep into the root of the matter, the singular is seen to be unsuitable. The address cannot be made to David, for he is never addressed throughout the remaining portion of the Psalm. The Psalmist has given no ground for changing the address, which histori-cally was directed to David through Nathan, into an address to Nathan, so that he should be considered as the person meant by the holy one; it would be considered as a step backwards, inasmuch as the language employed in the Psalm does not refer to a decree of God received inwardly, but to one openly promulgated; and there is, moreover, no ostensible reason why Nathan should be termed the holy one of God. His piety has nothing to do with the matter. The divine revelation made through Nathan first goes backward in ver. 19, 20, to what had taken place long ago, the first choice of David by Samuel,and there is next connected with this in the 22d and following verses, the promise for the future which rests upon this as its basis. The expression "I have laid help" is not to be understood as equivalent to "I have provided help," but it means: I have on behalf of you, my holy ones, laid help upon him, made him the depository of my help, or constituted him a helper; compare Judges 13:5, when it is said of Samson: he shall begin to deliver Israel out of the hand of the Philistines. On the term, "a man of war," compare 2 Sam. xvli. 10, all Israel knoweth that thy father is a man of war. David was a powerful young man, (compare Psalms 78:31; Psalms 78:63 -Luther falsely a chosen one), at the time when his selection became possessed of vitality in his deed of heroism against Goliath. Still we must not limit ourselves to David as an individual. We must rather consider him as the representa-tive of his eternally youthful heroic seed, a seed which reached its summit of perfection in Christ (Jesus = him on whom God has laid help), compare ver. 45.-"I have found" in ver. 20, intimates that the choice of David was not a blind arbitrary act lifting him out of the mass of the people, but a step taken in consequence of a fixed divine purpose. For the sake of impressing this upon the people, God, according to the history of the choice of David, put on the appearance of seeking and finding. The anointing of David with the holy oil was, according to 1 Samuel 16:13, the form under which the gifts of the Spirit were imparted to him, which were developed in the most glorious forms in Christ who at the same time was anointed in him.-"With whom my hand shall be esta-blished" in ver. 21 (compare ver. 37; Psalms 78:37), is to be con-sidered as equivalent to "my hand shall be continually with him," ver. 24, 1 Samuel 18:12; 1 Samuel 18:14, 2 Samuel 5:10.-In ver. 22 the אישiה is"to act like a creditor," השונ, �gto oppress.�h The second clause is quite literally taken from 2 Samuel 7:10, "neither shall the children of wickedness afflict them any more as in the beginning." What is there said of the people is applied here to the anointed, who receives every thing for the community, and without whom the community receives nothing.-In ver. 25, the hand is that which takes possession of any thing. The article in the sea, in the river, stands generically as in Isaiah 43:2. The sea and the rivers generally are meant as in Psalms 24:2. The Psalmist en-larges the promise, as the language of prophecy had already done,with special reference to Psalms 72:8, "he has dominion from sea to sea and from the river to the ends of the earth." As de-cisive against the limited application to the Mediterranean Sea and the Euphrates, may be mentioned the parallel passages al-ready referred to in Psalms 72., and in the prophets, the clause, "the highest over the kings of the earth" in ver. 27 and the plural "the rivers," which cannot be explained by connecting the Tigris with the Euphrates, for no such connection ever occurs.-On "He will call me my father," ver. 26, compare 2 Samuel 7:14, and the investigations at Psalms 2:7.-The first-begotten in ver. 27, as in Exodus 4:22, where Israel, and Hebrews 1:6, where Christ the true David is thus named, is at the sametime the only begotten. In the second clause, what is said in Deuteronomy 28:1 (compare 26:19) of the people, "and the Lord thy God make thee higher than all the nations of the earth," is transferred to the anointed in whom and through whom the people were to obtain their lofty destination. Here also we must ascend to Christ, compare Psalms 72:11; Psalms 72:12; it was only a feeble type of the fulfilment that was witnessed in David, compare 1 Chronicles 14:17. Ver. 29-37.-Ver. 29. And I set upon eternity his seed, and his throne like the days of heaven. Ver. 30. If his sons forsake my law and walk not in my statutes. Ver. 31. If they profane my ordinances and observe not my commandments. Ver. 32. I visit with the rod their iniquity, and with stripes their sin. Ver. 33. But my mercy I will not withdraw from him, nor break my faithfulness. Ver. 34. I will not profane my cove-. nant, and I will not alter what has gone out of my lips. Ver. 35. One thing have I sworn in my holiness, I will not lie to David. Ver. 36. His seed shall be eternal, and his throne as the sun before me. Ver. 37. As the moon he shall be established for ever, and the witness in the clouds is perpetual.-At the be-ginning and at the end of this paragraph there is an assurance of the perpetuity of the kingdom of David. And in the middle of it, the Psalmist removes every thing which appeared to endanger that perpetuity, by dwelling upon the one verse, 2 Samuel 7:14, what had obtained a very peculiar importance in consequence of the history, the manifest dreadful sins of the family of David, which seemed to imply total rejection.--On ver. 29, compare 2 Samuel 7:12; Psalms 72:5; Psalms 72:7; Psalms 72:17. The expression as "the days of heaven" is takenfrom Deuteronomy 11:21, where there is promised to the people in case they remain faithful to the covenant, a continuance "on earth as the days of heaven."-In ver. 30 and 31 the strongest possible descriptions of sin are designedly chosen in order to express the thought that the substance of the covenant is altogether indepen-dent of human conditions, that even the greatest unfaithfulness on the part of man does not alter the faithfulness of God.-In ver. 32, the words themselves do by no means convey the idea of a slight punishment; and neither can this be said of the fundamen-tal passage, 2 Samuel 7:14, "if he (the seed of David his race) errs, I will visit him with the rod of men, and with the stripes of the children of men," i.e., with such punishments as all men (be-cause all are sinners) are exposed to, grace shall not remove him from this the common lot of men, he has no commission to sin, contrary to Proverbs 23:13; Proverbs 23:14, "withdraw not thy son from chas-tisement, if thou smitest him with the rod he shall not die, and thou shalt deliver his soul from hell." The alleviating limitation is here first given in ver. 33, as it is in the fundamental passage in ver. 15. The alleviation, however, is not to be misunderstood as if it referred to individuals contrary to the nature of the thing, and contrary to the history, according to which annihilating judg-ments did descend upon the rebellious members of the family of David; but the opposition is of the punishment of sin in the in-dividual, and of grate continually remaining to the family. We must not fail to notice that in ver. 33 it is not said: I will not withdraw my mercy from them, the sinners, but from him the family as such. Now that the kingdom has passed from the sin-ful to the holy seed of David, the direct application of this para-graph has ceased. The case provided for in the promise cannot again occur. Still there exist between Christ and his church a case analogous to that between David and his seed. As David's family was chosen in him (compare 1 Kings 11:36, 2 Kings 8:19, Isaiah 37:35, 2 Chronicles 6:42), so that it always remained in possession of the favour of God, notwithstanding the fall and rejection of many of its individual members, in like manner the church is chosen in Christ and the sins of its members may hurt themselves but cannot injure it. Notwithstanding the fall of a whole generation, it always flourishes again and under the most inexorable judgments which are not removed by the appear-ance of Christ, but rendered more severe, compassionate grace is always concealed. -In reference to the שקר, with ב in ver. 33, comp. at Psalms 44:17.-The הלל in ver. 34 signifies, as it always does, to profane. The covenant sworn by God was a holy one, comp. at Psalms 55:20, and "in my holiness" at ver. 35. That is holy which God, the Holy One, promises, de-sires, and has agreed to. "I will not profane" refers back to "if they profane," in ver. 31. The second clause rests on Deuteronomy 23:24 (comp. Numbers 30:13), "whatever has gone out of thy lips thou shalt perform and do." God desires, on the part of his peo-ple, truth and fidelity towards himself only on the ground of his own truth and fidelity towards them. All the commands of him who has said, "Be ye holy for I am holy," are also promises.-In ver 35, the תהא is not once (this sense, in this case, would be generally uncertain, and it is still more uncertain whether once could be taken as equivalent to once for all), but one thing, as at Psalms 27:4,-if I have anywhere sworn anything to him, I have sworn this. The thing sworn, and, according to the second clause (on which we may compare Numbers 23:19; 1 Samuel 15:29), the thing to be kept inviolate, follows in ver. 36 and 37. On "in my holiness," (Gesenius, manifestly falsely: in my sanctuary) comp. Psalms 60:6.-The "before me," in ver 36, is "under the sheltering covering of my favour."-The constant witness, in ver. 37, is the moon. As God has connected with his own duration the continued existence of the family of David, so has he, in like manner, given a constant witness which would convict him of un-faithfulness, should he permit this family to fall to the ground. As long as the church of God beholds the moon shining, which no more goes out in darkness than the other witness and pledge, the sun, she may be full of comfort and joy,-he promises to her David life and victory, even though he seems to be laid on his death-bed, and the sons of wickedness shout over him as one al-ready dead. Many expositors give the totally false rendering: the witness in the clouds, God himself is to be depended on:--the still more arbitrary view is not for one moment to be thought of, which refers to the rainbow, with which the family of David had nothing to do. God cannot be named as his own witness, and נאמן in parallel with ןוכי cannot signify "to be depended upon," but only "constant," as in ver. 28. With the joyful assurance of the everlasting continuance of the family of David, and, therefore, of her own deliverance, the church proceeds to contemplate the actual state of matters at the present moment. (Psalms 44:9, and following verses, are exactly similar.) The contradiction between the present state of matters and this assurance gives occasion to the church to utter a painful lamen-tation, ver. 38-45. She soon turns, however, from the lamenta-tion to the prayer, ver. 46-51, that the Lord would remove the appearance, of contradiction.-The whole has fourteen verses, the first paragraph twice four and the second twice three (comp. סלה in ver. 48), the four of lamentation is both times supplemented by three of prayer so as to form seven. Ver. 38-45.-Ver. 38. And THOU castest off and rejectest, art angry with thine anointed. Ver. 39. Thou destroyest the covenant of thy servant; thou profanest on the ground his crown. Ver. 40. Thou tearest down all his hedges, thou layest in ruins all his strong works. Ver. 41. All who pass by rob him, he was a reproach to our neighbours. Ver. 42. Thou dost exalt the right hand of his enemies, thou lettest all his foes re- joice. Ver. 43. Thou castest also the strength of his sword to turn back, and dost not stand by him in battle. Ver. 44. Thou robbest him of his purity, and castest his throne to the ground. Ver. 45. Thou shortenest the days of his youth, thou coverest him with shame. Selah.-It is to be observed that all the objec-tions of the Psalmist are directed to the one point, that the family of David is apparently in danger of utter destruction. It is not any thing that had hitherto happened, considered in itself, that dis-quiets him-all might have happened only in terms of ver. 32-but as foreboding a yet more dreadful future. He is contending only against appearances, and knows in God that he is contending only against appearances, yet the contest is, on that account, all the harder; the signs are very threatening, and, were it not for God and his word, he would be forced to regard it as folly still to hope. No difficulty would ever have been felt by expositors with the lamentation, if it had been viewed as, what it really is, the basis of the following prayer, and if, at the same time, attention had been directed to the light which breaks in upon its darkness out of the preceding praise of God.-The expression "Thou profanest his crown," in ver. 39, is to be explained by the fact, that thecrown was the official badge of the king, as the anointed of the Lord. There stood also upon it, though in an invisible form, what was visible on that of the high priest, "holiness to the Lord," Exodus 28:36; Exodus 29:6. In reference to לארץ on the ground," comp. at Psalms 74:7.-In the first clause of ver. 40, the king appears, under the image of a vineyard, whose protecting walls have been thrown down, and in the second, of a city whose fortifications (for this is the proper meaning of רצבמ) have been demolished, comp. Job 16:14. The sense is: thou hast left him defenceless and helpless. That we cannot translate "Thou breakest down all the walls of his city," is clear from this, that הרדג is never used of the walls of a city, but always of the en-closures of a vineyard or sheep-fold, and also from comparing the parallel passage, Psalms 80:12, "Why hast thou broken down its wall (i. e., the wall of thy vineyard)?" It is quite obvious that this is the fundamental passage. In that passage "its wall" (its fence) is an expression for which preparation had been made, as the language used had all referred to the Lord's vine, and allusion had been made to Isaiah 5:5; The expression in the 41st verse, "all who pass by the way," is also borrowed from the eightieth Psalm. Those quotations in the Psalm before us from the eightieth Psalm, quotations which ft is impossible to mistake, show that we formed a right judgment as to the age of that Psalm. Had it referred, ac-cording to the assumption of several, to the Chaldean catastrophe, it would have been later than the Psalm before us. The sense of destruction, ruin, is commonly given here to התהמ. But this sense is not well ascertained, and the ordinary sense, terror, is also here very suitable: thou causest his fortifications to be terrified before the enemy, and to be removed; comp. Jeremiah 1, "the fortification is confounded and dismayed."-In ver. 41, "the passers by" are the nations of the Asiatic kings who visited Judah in marching through against the king of Egypt (comp. at the fundamental passage), the neighbours, the surrounding nations who, on a former occasion, approached David and Solomon with reverence, and paid tribute; comp. 2 Samuel 8:2; 1 Kings 5:1; now they despise the anointedof the Lord in his disgracefully degraded condition, comp.Psalms 80:6; Psalms 88:8.-In ver. 42 the Psalmist complainsthat the anointed of the Lord missed the fulfilment of theprayer, "let not mine enemies triumph over me," which ap-peared to have been secured to him for all eternity. But it is well for him that he derives all the sufferings of the anointed singly and alone from the Lord, and considers human enemies only as instruments in his hands. This is the first foundation of the hope of deliverance.-The expression, "thou causest his sword to turn back" in ver. 43, is illustrated by 2 Samuel 1:22, "the sword of Saul returned not empty." The sword returns back ashamed when it does not pierce. The rock or the stone (comp. at Psalms 18:2) of his sword, is his sword which, according to the promise, ver. 22 and 23, and through means of the rock of salva-tion, ver. 27, should have been unchangeably firm and sure. The whole meaning is: the edge of his sword is as it were unaccountably turned away. The צור means always a stone, even in Joshua 5:2; Joshua 5:3. --In the first clause of ver. 44, the suffix is to be supplemented outof what precedes, comp. the ענית in Psalms 88:7 : thou hast caused him to cease from his purity, thou hast robbed him of his splendour, comp. Ezekiel 34:10. The explanation, thou hast robbed from his splendour a part of it, gives a flat, and hence in the connection an unsuitable meaning.-"Thou hast shortened the days of his youth," in ver. 45, is equivalent to, thou hast made him, thine anointed, old before the time, whereas according to ver. 19 he should have been eternally young. The youth is alluded to as- the season of strength, comp. Job 33:25. Old age, as the season of feebleness, here referred to in connection with the anointed, is in other passages spoken of in connection with the church in the same view, comp. at Psalms 71:9; Psalms 71:18, Hos. 7:9, "Old age whitens his hair, and he knows it not." In Christ the family of David returned to the strength of youth, which had apparently vanished. "Its flesh became again as that of a little child." Several expositors altogether erroneously refer to this or that Jewish king before the captivity, who reigned only a short while. The Psalmist has to do throughout, not with a single individual, but with the whole race. Ver. 46-51.-Ver. 46. How long, O Lord, wilt thou hide thyself for ever, shall thine anger burn like fire? Ver. 47. Re-member how short my life is, wherefore hast thou created all the children of men in vain? Ver. 48. Where is the man who lives and does not see death? who delivers his soul from the hand of sheol? Selah. Ver. 49. Where are thy early tendermercies, O Lord, which thou didst swear to David in thy faith- fulness? Ver. 50. Remember, Lord, the reproach of thy ser-vant, that I bear in my bosom all the many nations. Ver. 51,That thine enemies reproach, O Lord, that they reproach the footsteps of thine anointed.-On "how long-always," in ver. 46, comp. at Psalms 13:1; Psalms 79:5.a ver. 47 and 48, theprayer that God would not further withhold his favour from his anointed, and from the church in him, is founded on the shortness of human life, as is the case very often with similar prayers inthe book of Job, for example, 7:6, "remember that my life isa breath, mine eye will not return to see good," 14:1, s., comp.at Psalms 39:39; Psalms 78:39. It would be hard if God were to fill upentirely with sufferings, in the case of his own people, the shortspan of time which man has to live.b The first clause of ver. 47is to be explained: remember, I, what life, i. e., what I have tolive, how short my existence is; comp. the fundamental passage,Psalms 39:5, "behold as an hand-breadth thou makest my days,and my life is as non-existence before thee." Some hasty criticswould read instead of אני, ינודא, O Lord. But the Psalmist isnot so prodigal of his addresses to God, and the אני cannot bedispensed with, more especially as the הלד, properly exist-ence or continuance, does not exactly point out human life.Even in the fundamental passage the language used does notapply to human life generally, but to the life of the Psalmist,who speaks here in the name of every individual member ofthe church. In the second clause המ על stands in its usualsense, why; שוא, adverbially, in vain, as Psalms 127:1; Psalms 127:2. Weshould supposed added: as would be the case, wert thou to givea Arnd: "Is it not an odd thing that when we see a fire break out we are terrified and run, and every man looks after what is his own, yet no man will be terrified at thefire of the wrath of God? Whereas every man should rather help to quench the wrathof God by prayer and true 'repentance, and after this consider that he has a graciousGod, and one who is not angry with him. And if this were so it would be well with us all, and the common fire of the wrath of God would be extinguished."b Arnd: Thou wilt be long angry, and our life is so short. And truly, belovedChristians, there is a high, immeasureable, noble way and disposition in the most highGod, there is such great long-suffering and compassion with him, that when a man holdsup before him his nothingness and his deep misery, he does not punish us as we havewell deserved, but thinks, what should I do with poor dust and ashes, why should I beangry with dust."over man in perpetuity to misery. The expression, therefore, "why hast thou," &c., is in reality as much as "yet will not have been made in vain." Even here the rich background of salvation after death is concealed before the eye of the Psalm-ist. It must first be made perfectly manifest in Christ.-The former tender mercies are those which God manifested to David in the early part of his history, and which were pledges of the fu-ture, all the more on this account that God had sworn his favour in perpetuity to David. In the second clause the former (tender mercies) are not the object directly contemplated; it is only the idea of the general favour of God that is there placed before the mind.a -That the many nations in the second clause of ver. 50 are referred to in connection with the reproach which they cast upon the people of God is clear from the first clause. But to supply grammatically the reproach from the preceding clause, "all (the reproach) of the many nations" is hard and flat:-- such a resumption of the st. constr. in a subsequent clause is altogether without example; Job 26:10, to which Ewald re-fers, has nothing to the point. The Church of the Lord has, as it were, many nations in its bosom (Psalms 79:1), in the reproach which she suffers from them.-Ver. 51 is still dependant upon "remember " in ver. 50. The אשר is that, comp. Ewald 597. It is emphatically shewn that the enemies of the king, as he is the anointed of God, are the enemies of God. The footsteps of thine anointed (Psalms 77:20)-him wherever he goes and wherever he stands.Ver. 52 does not at all belong to the Psalm, but contains the doxology which concludes the third book. Hitherto the arrange-ment of the Psalms has presented no difficulty. The first book contains the Davidic Jehovah-Psalms; the second the Elohim Psalms of the singers of David, the sons of Korah, Psa_42:-49., Asaph, Psalms 1., then his own Elohim Psalms; the third book, the Jehovah Psalms of his singers, Asaph, Psa_73:-1 xxxiii., the sons of Korah, Psalms 84:89. The Elohim-Psalms are de-signedly enclosed on both sides by the Jehovah-Psalms. a Calvin: "God had attested the faithfulness of his word by clear proofs, and therefore believers present before him both the promise and its numerous effects." Psalms 90. The Psalm consists of two main divisions, one of meditation, which is complete in ten, and one of prayer in seven. The ten of the first part is divided by a five, the seven of the second by a two and a five. The formal arrangement is simple, is exactly carried through, and is easily seen. The point from which the Psalmist sets out is furnished by the view which he takes of the transitory and perishable nature of hu-man existence, and the pain with which he contemplates the nullity of life on earth. The Psalmist, or rather the Church in whose name he speaks, meditating upon the distress before God and in his light, is first driven thereby to cling inwardly and firmly to God, who, as the Eternal and therefore the Almighty, is the sole ground of hope for perishable and therefore feeble creatures; inside the narrow boundaries with which our being is enclosed, God alone can protect, help, and gladden: O Lord, thou art a dwelling-place to us, for thou art eternal, but we are perishable, ver. 1-5. But the perishable nature of man's existence furnishes to meditation another important view: it teaches us the depths of our sinful corruption, and the greatness of the wrath of God against us: death, to which our short existence is a prey, is the wages of sin, ver. 6-10. The prayer of the second part rising upon the basis of the me-ditation of the first, is first connected with the thought to whichprominence had been given in the second strophe, (because theprayer to be based upon the first strophe is dependant upon thefulfilment of the one to be referred to the second): May Godgrant that we may know his wrath, reflected to us as in a mirrorin the transitory nature of our being, in its entire magnitude, andour own sins in all their depths, and that thus we may have awise heart, which is afraid of sin, and lays hold upon the com-mandments of God, ver. 11, 12. After this the second prayer rises, ver. 13-17, (it being supposed that the first has been fulfilled), on the basis of ver.1-5. "Be thou our dwelling place," here, grows out of "thou art our dwelling place," there. May God remove the misery in the miserable, the severe sufferings with which he has oppressedthe short existence of his people, and show himself again gracious toward them. The Psalm is described in the title as a prayer. This descrip-tion shews, as Amyraldus saw, that the kernel of the Psalm is the second part, and that the design of the first is to prepare the way for the second, and lay down a basis on which it may rest. Forתפלה denotes only prayer in the proper sense, supplicatory prayer; and Delitsch maintains without any ground at Hebrews 1, that it denotes "prayer in its widest, most comprehensive sense, all kinds of addresses to God," 1 Timothy 2:1. It occurs only inthe titles of such Psalms as 17., 86., 102., 142. , in which prayer even in point of form constitutes the most prominent part; and even in the prayer of Habakkuk the prophet, the "accept the prayer of our distress" in ver. 2, forms the middle point round which every thing else is grouped. Assuredly the title points to a high privilege enjoyed by the people of divine revelation. The heathen, in view of the perishable nature of earthly existence, can only hang down their hands and utter cheerless lamentations: but the congregation of the Lord lifts up its hands in prayer to the merciful. Father on high. Luther: "Although now Moses in the discharge of his duty kills, inasmuch as he shews us sin in connec-tion with its punishment; yet as he calls this Psalm a prayer, he gives us to understand the medicine against death. And in this he excels in two ways all heathen writings. He amplifies death, or represents it as great, and yet so terrifies that he shews at the same time the hope of comfort, in order that those who are terri-fied may not be brought to despair. . . . He takes parti-cular care so to act as that he may teach men to fear God, in order that when they are terrified before the wrath of God and before death, they may humble themselves before God and may thus be partakers of his grace. For it is impossible that a man be moved to fear God unless the wrath of God be revealed to him, which cannot be except through the revelation of sin." All the fountains of consolation, which Revelation furnishes in view of the transitory nature of human life, are assuredly not opened up in our Psalm. It points only to the grace with which God re-freshes his own people within the narrow boundary of this life; and the view beyond, full of salvation and grace, remains cut off. This fact is so troublesome to most of the old expositors, to whomamong the moderns we may add Meyer and Stier, that they have made every effort to remove it. But it remains in spite of all these attempts, attempts which cannot be made without destroy-ing the clear train of thought, and, therefore, the practical power of the Psalm. And where is the good reason for endeavouring violently to set this fact aside? The Psalm teaches us many great truths in a forcible and impressive manner both of death and of the grace of God. Death it represents as the proof, exhibited in stern realities, of the fact that God is our only Saviour,-a fact well fitted to lead us to cling closely to him,-and as the wages of sin and the herald summoning us to repentance. It speaks of the grace of God towards those who give ear to the calls of this herald. Why then force upon it another truth of which it says nothing, which it does not deny, and for which it certainly every-where prepares the ground out of which it may grow? For the knowledge of Goda as eternal omnipotence and love is the founda-tion of the hope of eternal life; it pledges his power and his will to impart it to his own people. Compare vol. 2 page 52. The title designates the Psalm as a prayer of Moses the manof God. The last designation is no empty title, it points to the dignity of the person as affording a security for the importance of his word. Luther: "As one who has such a duty assigned to him by God, so that we should believe in him and in his instructions no less than in God himself." The designation considered in it-self may very well have orignated with Moses. Luther: "As when Paul calls himself the servant of the Lord, Romans 1:1, it is not pride but a necessary recommendation of his office." David designates himself in the titles of Psa 18:18; Psalms 18:36. as the ser-vant of the Lord, (compare the remarks made there), and in 2 Sam. 23:1 he calls himself "the man who was highly exalted, the anointed of the God of Jacob." Notwithstanding as this de-signation does not occur in the books of Moses, so far as they were written by him, but only in the addition made by another hand, viz., the title of the blessing pronounced on the tribes in Deuteronomy 33:1, (compare the designation of Moses in the mouth of a cotemporary, Joshua 14:6), and as the same is the case with a Luther: "But when thou seest that the prophets and other holy men call upon God who is still beyond everything that man can see, wilt thou not see that they by such calling upon God, acknowledge that there is another life after this one-a life either of grace or of wrath."the corresponding designation, "the servant of the Lord" in Deuteronomy 34:5 (compare the Beitr. P. iii., p. 158), it is probable, (al-though the grounds are by means decisive), that the title was added by another person. The paragraph, ver, 13-15, serves to determine more exactly the time when the Psalm was composed. According to it, the people had already sighed for a long time under the pressure of severe suffering, and now pray that God at last would change this suffering into joy, and would again make himself known in his glory. This leads us towards the end of the 38 years punish-ment in the wilderness. The fulfilment of the prayer lies in the glorious events of the 40th year, and of the time of Joshua. There are important internal reasons which may be urged in favour of the composition of the Psalm by Moses, as announced in the title. The poem bears throughout the character of high antiquity; there is no other Psalm which so decidedly conveys the impression of being the original expression of the feelings to which it gives utterance.a There is, moreover, no other Psalm which stands so much by itself, in regard to its fundamental tone and peculiarities, for which parallel passages furnish so little kin-dred matter in characteristic peculiarities. On the other hand, there occurs a series of striking allusions to the Pentateuch, espe-cially to the poetical passages, and, above all others, to Deuteronomy 32 :(comp. the exposition), allusions which are of another kind than those which occur in other passages in the Psalms, and which do not bear like them the character of borrowing. Luther, in the following quotation, intimates that even here the deep seriousness of the lawgiver may be seen: "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 se-cure in their sins, and that he may set before their eye their sin and evil, concealing, hiding nothing." The strong prominence a Amyraldus: But as this ode is most ancient, so it bears strong marks of the genius and character of antiquity. It is grave, full of majesty and authority, some-what concise, adorned with various comparisons, splendid with figures, but these rare and little used, and for the understanding of which there is needed an extraordinary at-tention of mind." Ewald; "The poem has something uncommonly striking, solemn, sinking into the depth of the Godhead. In contents and language it is throughout ori-ginal and powerful; and as it is undoubtedly very old, it would have been universally considered as correctly derived from Moses, had we known exactly the reasons which guided the collector." given to the doctrine of death as the wages of sin is especially characteristic, a doctrine which is not of frequent occurrence in Scripture, and especially not so in the Psalms, and which is pro-claimed as distinctly and impressively as it is here, only in the Pentateuch, Genesis 2 and iii., and in those ordinances of the ceremonial law which threaten death. The reasons which have been adduced against the composition of the Psalm by Moses are of very little weight. The objection that ver. 10, where the length of human life is limited to seventy, or, at the most, eighty years, stands opposed to Deuteronomy 34:7, according to which Moses reached the age of 120, is disposed of by the remark that Moses, throughout the whole Psalm, does not speak in his own name, but in that of the people. It is obvious from Deuteronomy 14:22; Deuteronomy 14:23, that among the Israelites at that time the exceptions to the general rule, as to the duration of human life, were much fewer than at ordinary times. Koester's assertion that ver. 15 supposes a long period of suffering, and scarcely applies to the Israelites in the wilderness, who rather beheld the glorious deeds of Jehovah, is disposed of as soon as we direct our attention to "that terrible oath with which God struck them in Numbers 14." Eight-and-thirty years spent amidst the gradual destruction of men lying under the curse, were well-fitted to call forth the prayer, "Make us glad according to the days in which thou hast afflicted us, the years during which we have seen evil;" they are sufficient to explain "the melancholy view of life" which here meets us, and the dread earnestness "with which he instructs us of ourmelancholy necessities;" no glass was more suitable than this for giving a view of the common condition of human life. Finally, the assertion that the Psalm could not have been composed by Moses, because it resembles the other Psalms in language and general poetical structure, is an a priori assertion, which may be met, with at least as much force, by another, that Moses, "the fountain out of which all the prophets have drunk divine wisdom," gave at first the tone no less for prophecy, Deuteronomy 32:32; Deuteronomy 32:33., than for Psalm-poetry. How little able modern criticism is to erect a new edifice, in room of one which it has arbitrarily destroyed, is evident even here, from the utter want of unanimity among those who doubt the composition of the Psalm by Moses, in determining its age.According to Ewald, the Psalm is very old, and certainly older than the age of David; according to Hitzig, it is much later; he places it in the year 150 of the Selencidae! Kצster and Maurer will have it placed between these two dates, a little after the return from the captivity; on which Maurer very appropriately, and with great simplicity, remarks, "Yet this is very doubtful." The first part, that of meditation, ver. 1-5: the transitory nature of human life points us to God as our only refuge. Ver. 1. O Lord, thou art a dwelling-place to us for ever and ever. Ver. 2. For before the mountains were brought forth and thou didst create the earth and the land, and from eternity to eter- nity, thou art, O God. Ver. 3. Thou turnest man so that he is beat to pieces and sayest: Turn, ye children of men. Ver. 4. For a thousand years are before thee as yesterday when it is past, and as a watch in the night. Ver. 5. Thou earnest them away as with a flood, they are as a sleep, in the morning it vanishes like grass.-Ver. 1 contains the theme: we have no other helper and saviour except thee, O Lord; ver. 2-5 its basis. The מעון has only one sense, that of habitation, which it main-tains even when it is used of the caves and dens of the wilderness; and those translators are far wrong who set aside this expression, which is so peculiar, and must, therefore, have been selected with express design, and supply its place by refuge:-in the whole of Scripture the word is applied to God, only here, in Psalms 91:9, and in Deuteronomy 33:27, "God is a dwelling-place of old, and underneath are the everlasting arms,"-the feminine form is used there הנועמ, the masculine here as at Deuteronomy 26:15. Even in Paul Gerhardt, God is named, "My house in whom I safely dwell." Isaiah 4:6 shows where the point of comparison lies: "And there shall be a tabernacle for a shade before the heat, and for a place of refuge, and a covert from the storm and from rain." It was probably the houseless wandering of the Israelites in the wilderness which made them sensible of the value of a habitation, that suggested the use of the figure. Instead of "thou art," many translators give "thou wast," and refer the whole verse to the grace of God which had been enjoyed by the people in early times, and especially by the patriarchs. But this translation is not required either by the preterite, "which often denotes ge-neral truths, which are rendered manifest by experience, andare in this way defined," Ew. 262, or by the רדו רדב, which is used as frequently of the future as it is of the past, comp., for example, Psalms 49:11. And against it we may urge, first, that by this translation the connection with what follows is de-stroyed: thou art our dwelling-place, for thou art eternal, and, therefore, almighty; but we are transitory, and, therefore, weak, and helpless; and second, that it is only in "thou art our dwell-ing-place," that we can find a right basis for "be thou our dwell-ing-place" in ver. 13-17. God is also a dwelling-place in Deuteronomy 33:27. Finally, at the time of Moses; the history of the people had been too short as yet to admit of the expression, from "generation to generation" being suitable as applied to the past. -Ver. 2 is in reality connected with ver. 1 by the for. The eternity of God serves in so far as a basis to the proposition "that he is the only saviour;" as to be eternal and to be God are inseparably bound together. Just as in the following verses the conclusion as to human weakness is silently drawn from the short-ness of human life, so here the omnipotence of God is deduced from his eternity. Thus Luther in his day: "If we look at it, in a right way, it includes all the properties of the Godhead. For inasmuch as he is eternal, it follows that he is immortal, omnipo-tent, blessed, and wise." The mountains are named first, be- cause of all other created things they give, by their immoveable fastness, the deepest impression of originality; comp. "the eter-nal hills," in Genesis 49:26, “ the mountains of old and the eter-nal hills,” of Deuteronomy 33:15, Numbers 23:7, Habakkuk 3:6. ארץ the earth is in opposition to heaven, תבל the fruit-bearing land, (comp. at Psalms 24:1; Psalms 89:11),-a purely poetical word, the corresponding term in the Pentateuch being השבי�oppo-site of "the sea." In regard to ללוהתו, after setting aside the arbitrary change ללaוהת, and the altogether ungrounded assump-tion of Ewald, that "to move in a circle" stands poetically instead of "to be in the state of being born," or "being originated," we have only two remaining explanations, which require to be considered, the one that it is the third person singular," and the earth and the land were brought forth" (comp. Genesis 1:11; Genesis 1:12), and the other, that it is the second masculine, the address being directed to God," and thou hast brought forth." In favour of this last we urge that it is only accord-ing to it that we see any reason for the difference between ארץ and תבל �the earth was created by God on the second, and the land on the third day; and the earth is fruit-bearing only as תבל--that in this case, to be brought forth, and to bring forth, are placed most naturally together, as cause and effect (comp. Deuteronomy 32:18 : "the rock that bore thee thou hast despised, and thou has forgotten God who brought thee forth:" God in this passage is, in like manner, termed מהולל, with reference, in the first instance, to Israel); finally, that, according to this explana-tion, it is very appropriately implied, that the being of God is not an existence merely, prior to all created things, but is the existence of the creator, prior to that of his creature, and all the more so, that his eternity is here alluded to on account of his omnipotence, which is really associated with it. Comp. Schleier-macher Glaubenl. § 67: "the eternity of God is to be under-stood only as the omnipotent eternity, as that in God, which, along with all that is temporal, limits also time itself." The אל is not to be taken with Calvin, Ewald, and others, as a predi-cate: thou art God; but like אדני, in ver. 1, as an address: thou art, O God. As in the following verses man's feebleness and helplessness are deduced from the brevity of his life, so, from the eternity of God, his exclusive Godhead is here deduced, just as in Isaiah 44:6, "I am the first, and I am the last, and (there-fore), besides me there is no God." If we take אל as the pre-dicate, the whole train of thought is destroyed: thou art our only refuge, for thou art eternal, and, therefore, omnipotent; but we are short-lived, and, therefore, feeble, wholly unable to bring about our own deliverance.-In ver. 3, in opposition to the eter-nity of God, which renders him fit to be the habitation of his people, we have brought forward the transitory life of men, which drives them, feeble creatures, to this habitation as their only refuge. The דכא, according to most expositors, is a substantive, a poeti-cal term for the "dust," properly what is beat to pieces. But asדבא only occurs as an adj. in the sense of crushed, beat to pieces, and as, according to the other construction, one would expect, in-stead of עד, rather אל, we must rather consider that the "even to a thing broken to pieces," is equivalent to "even to such a condi-tion." Junius has already given: eo usque, ut sit contritus. The expression is exactly analogous: "even to perishing," for "till he comes to the condition of our perishing," in Numbers 24:20;comp. Balaam, p. 190. The "return" of the second clause has its exact meaning assigned to it out of the expression: of the first, "thou turnest him back so that he is beaten to pieces," and by the passage in Genesis 3:19 undeniably alluded to here, "till thou return to the dust from which thou wast taken, for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return," exactly as in Psalms 104:29, "they return to their dust," Job 10:9, " thou wilt bring me to the dust," 34:15, Psalms 103:14. Luther explains otherwise, and is followed by Tholuck: "It proceeds on this, that like as men daily die because of sin, so others are daily born always in the same condition as those who have died." But be-sides the positive grounds which have been adduced on behalf of the translation given above, we may urge the ובוש, against this view; no return can be attributed to the new generation which comes in the room of the old. Many expositors, and among the last of these Meyer and Stier, explain the words of the return of the spirit of God. But in this case the whole connection of the first part would be broken, and the prayer of the second part, grounded upon the meditation here, would be unintelligible. Ac-cording to this, the language here can apply only to the short and perishable nature of man's being. For it is upon it that the prayer there is grounded, that God would not embitter, by extra-ordinary sufferings, the span of time allotted to man. The ob-jection to our translation, that it is tautological (comp., for ex-ample, Psalms 102:26), and expresses what is perfectly well known, needs no refutation. It is evidently not this that has led to its rejection, but something wholly different, as Stier has openly ac-knowledged: "Should not Moses, the man of God, have known what is after death? Or if he knew it, is there any other pas- sage in this Psalm in which it is expressed?"-Luther has given more correctly the sense of ver. 4 than most modern expositors: "Moses exhorts us to rise above time, and to look upon our life with the eyes of God, so shall we assuredly say, that all the life of man is scarcely one hour long, even though it last the longest." The "for" shows that the verse serves to ground the assertion indirectly contained in ver. 3, as to the perishable and brief life of man. To man his life appears long; comp. "teach us to num-ber our days," of ver. 12. He who has the number of seventy years before him, supposes that an eternity has been measuredout to him. The Psalmist destroys, with a powerful stroke, such an illusion: "for how short is human life when it is seen with thine eyes, who seest all things as they are, and measurest the extent of our life by a correct standard? To thee a thousand years are what one day is to man, a night-watch. If we lived then, instead of our poor seventy, which, at the best, is all that is measured out to us, a thousand years, what would these be be-fore thee?" This divine estimate of the length of human life is made by all who have looked with a steady and clear eye upon eternity; they cannot sufficiently wonder at the stupidity of those before whom such a short human life stretches out into the infinite; the years dwindle down, in their estimation, to days and hours; comp. the noble poem of J. Neander, "How swiftly passes human life," the most beautiful of all the Christian imitations of our Psalm.-According to the common view, the shortness of human life is shewn by comparing it with the eternity of God, whereas, according to the exposition given above, the eternity of God is noticed only indirectly, inasmuch as, just because he is the Eternal, that time which is long to man appears short to him: a thousand years are in thine eyes what yesterday or a night-watch is in ours. (Bengel: as to a very rich man a thou-sand sovereigns are as one penny; so, to the eternal God, a thousand years are as one day.) It is decisive against the direct reference to God, that the years are by no means described as the years of God, but it is rather said, as a thousand years are before him. Then, on this construction, the "for" also occasions a difficulty, such, for example, as manifestly meets, us in Koester's paraphrase: this cannot be otherwise, as thou art alone (?) eter-nal. The construction, as we give it, is exactly the same as an admonition to measure time, not by the human but by the divine standard, as in 2 Peter 3:8, "be not ignorant that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day." The Lord looks upon time with altogether different eyes from those who live in time; what seems long to you is short to him; a divine day is like a thousand human years, and a thousand human years are like one divine day.-The כי רבעי is "when it passes by,"-the future expressing what is just ending, Ew. § 264. The night-watch which fleets past to those who are asleep like a moment, is added, as a second step in theclimax, to the day which is spread out at greater length over labour. It is clear that, in ancient times, the night was divided into three watches; in Judges 7:19, mention is made of the middle watch. And Exodus 14:24, where the morning watch is spoken of, renders it evident that this division existed in the time of Moses.-In the fifth verse the Psalmist proceeds in the description of the transitory nature of human life. The זרם, to flow as a stream (in Psalms 77:17, hence םר,ז,, a storm of rain),is here to carry away with a stream, to carry off with the tear-ing rapidity with which a storm of rain, in conjunction with the flood which it has occasioned, carries away every thing; for, ac-cording to the sense of the noun and the verb, the flood must be noticed here, not as in itself, but as the product of a storm of rain; comp. the ריק זרם, �ga rain-torrent of a wall," which car-ries away walls, in Isaiah 25:4. Luther: "It is a fine full figure, by which is illustrated how the whole human family is driven away, as when a sweeping torrent of rain carries every thing be-fore it, one race or generation after another is hurried away like a roaring flood." Jo. Arnd: "When thou seest a torrent sweep past, thus say, behold there my life flows past, and the water which has gone past never returns." Perhaps the Psalmist al-ludes to the deluge, in which he sees a figure of the common lot of men.-On "they are a sleep," Luther: "We know that sleep is such a thing that it ceases ere we can perceive it or mark it; for, before we am aware that we have slept, sleep is gone and ended. Wherefore truly our life is nothing else than a sleep and a dream, for before we are rightly conscious of being alive, we cease to live." Comp. Psalms 73:20, "like a dream on awak-ing," Psalms 37:6, "only as an image walks man." The sleep and the morning stand opposed to each other. The expression, "as grass," is incidently thrust in as the medium of connecting the first and the second part of the Psalm. It is taken up again at the beginning of the last clause in ver. 6, and dwelt upon at greater length. The subject in ףלהי, is not the grass (De Wette and others: in the morning like grass which perishes), but the figurative sleep, man. Otherwise the clause, "as the grass," would cease to be the incidental expression which alone it can be here, and would form a part of ver. 6. The translation is much more to be rejected; in the morning it is like the plant whichsprings up. This destroys the obvious opposition between the sleep and the morning (by which the interpretation of the sleep, as the sleep of death, is set aside), and has, besides, against it, the fact that ףלה, in Kal, has never the sense of to spring up. In the only other passage besides the one before us, which Ges. has adduced in favour of this sense, it has been set aside by Delitzsh, Habakkuk 1:11. The second section of the meditative part is ver. 6-10: death is the wages of sin. Ver. 6. In the morning he blooms and-perishes, in the evening he is cut down and withers. Ver. 7. For we disappear by thine anger, and by thy wrath we are ter- rified. Ver. 8. For thou settest our iniquities before thee, our secret sins in the light of thy countenance. Ver. 9. For all our days are spent in thy wrath, we complete our years like a thought. Ver. 10. Our life-time, it lasts seventy years, and if any one by strength, eighty years, and their strength is suffering and wickedness; for it is soon worn out and we flee away.- On ver. 6, Jo. Arnd: "When thou seest a garden in blossom, it is as if God took a flower in his hand and said, behold this is what thou art, and thy whole life." The subject in ץיצי, ףלה and יבש is also here, as in ףלהי in ver. 5, man, the figurative flower, comp. Job 14:2, "like a flower he withers and is cut down," Psalms 103:15, "as for man his days are as grass, like a flower of the field so he flourisheth; for the wind passeth over it and it is gone, and its place knows it no more." The blossom of man is so short that it does not deserve to have a whole member of a verse devoted to it. Hence the expression, "and it perishes," forms, as it were, a part of the first, and is more fully expanded in the se-cond. The translation, "and springs up," is all the less admissible that the springing up must precede the blossoming. The ללומיis the Pil. from מול. As God is throughout addressed, he can-not be the subject; we must consider the verb as used imperson-ally, comp. 2 Kings 22:38; 2 Kings 21:36; Ezekiel 41:7. In reality, however, God undoubtedly is the agent who cuts down. To be cut off, which alone the form of the verb can denote, is more suit-able than to fade, which several would violently thrust in in its stead, because it points, as does also the "to be terrified" of the following verse, to the violent nature of the destruction. In the parallel passages which have been appealed to, Psalms 37:2, andJob_14:2 , the language in like manner refers to cutting down, and not to fading.-In ver. 7, the Psalmist ascends from the me-lancholy fact which he had described in the 6th verse to its yet more melancholy cause; that man's life is so short is the con-sequence of the wrath of God, which he has drawn down upon himself by his sins, comp. Genesis 2:17; Romans 5:12. According to the passage before us, the terrible judgments by which those who proudly rebelled against the Lord in the time of Moses, were annihilated (comp., for example, Numbers 16.), are only a reflec-tion and an image of the common lot of humanity; there hap-pened then, visibly and impressively, what is always going on secretly and unobservedly. The wrath of God eats away our life until after a little while it has completely consumed it. It is a remarkable peculiarity of revelation, that in this way it throws the blame of death upon men; for verse 8th shows that the wrath of God presupposes and has for its foundation the guilt of men. If we do not see in death the wages of sin, our melancholy existence must necessarily awaken perplexing thoughts of God, and stifle all noble and child-like love towards him. The כלה is to disappear, to be annihilated. We are terrified, namely, before that dreadful death which destroys us; compare Psalms 104:29, and the noun הלהב, of sudden death, Psalms 78:33, Isaiah 65:23.-The expression "thou placest our sins before thee," in ver. 8 stands in opposi-tion to an overlooking, either arising from want of power to ob-serve, (compare Jeremiah 16:17; Hebrews 4:13), or from want of hat-red of sin, proceeding from that easy good nature which rationalism ascribes to God. Instead of תש the Keri has the correct reading. In the second clause, the reading ונמלע, our secret, our secret sin, is better supported than the plural ונימלע, compare Job 20:11, a reading which the parallel passage alone has intro-duced. The term "our secret sin," intimates that the domain of sin is much more extensive than that of human knowledge, either that of others or our own, and therefore points to the depth of human depravity. Even for the believer, sin has many dark parts, so that even he, in cases where he is not conscious of any guilt, cannot be sure that he is free from guilt, but must wait the judgment of God, "which shall bring to light the hidden works of darkness and render manifest the counsel of the heart," compare Psalms 19:12; 1 Corinthians 4:4; 1 Corinthians 4:5. Luther: "We should by allmeans especially mark this saying, that no man can know or see all his sins, especially if you regard the greatness of original sin. And it is no wonder. For who can sufficiently describe the single sin of unchastity which yet is known to every one? How much less can any one sufficiently know other difficult and subtile spiri-tual sins, such as impatience in adversity, blasphemy, and mur-muring against God, &c.? O what a deep abyss is unbelief alone! 0n this account Moses well calls sin a secret thing, whose great- ness no mind can comprehend. For as the wrath of God is, and as death is, so also is sin, an inconceivable infinite." The רואמ according to most expositors signifies here light. But Gen. i. makes a distinction between רוא light and רואמ a luminary, and the ascertained sense is here wholly suitable: the luminary of the countenance, because the divine countenance illuminates what was concealed, so that it lies clear and open.-The פנה in ver. 9 is to turn round, to turn away, compare Jeremiah 6:4. All our days disappear, so that it is soon over with our whole life. "Through thine anger" belongs in reality also to the second clause. In this the כלה is not "to bring," but "to bring to an end." The הגה cannot signify a conversation, a tale: for the word always denotes something inward (comp. Gousset in Gesen.), and is never used of a conversation with another. As little can it denote a pure thought, for the noun in the two other passages where it occurs, Ezekiel 2:10, Job 37:2, stands for something loud, and the verb properly denotes not the pure thought, but what is intermediate between thought and discourse. The Psalmist compares human existence as regards its transitory nature, to a soliloquy which generally bears the character of some-thing transitory and broken. The mind does not advance be-yond single half-uttered words and sentences, and soon retires again into the region of pure thought. To such a transitory murmur and ejaculation is that human life compared which stupid dreamers look upon as an eternity.-As "the days of the years," in ver. 10, is a phrase of constant occurrence, particu-larly in the Pentateuch for "a life-time" (comp. Genesis 25:7; Genesis 47:8; Genesis 47:9), and as ימים also occurs in ver. 9 and 12, for "the whole extent of human life," the idea of Calvin is to be rejected, that "the days of the years" is an emphatic expression, "be-cause though time is divided into small portions, the number it-self deceives us so that we expect to live a very long time." The remark, however, of Michaelis is correct, "the nominative abso-lute is not without emphasis, because it calls forth expectation," and also that of Kצster, "the expression retarding the current of thought is intended to render prominent the contrast between the apparently numerous days of life, and their short sum at the end." The expression "are in them," is, "they contain the sum of seventy years in them." "And if with strength," is better explained by "if there is any one furnished with strength,-with a particularly strong constitution," than by "if they, the days are furnished with strength." As הרובג is also "strength," "power," we must reject such explanations as "if it comes high," (Luther's), and "if very strong." Luther: "Men almost reach this time of life, therefore he sets it down as a common terminus and usual boundary. For what is beyond this is not worth being called a life, because then every thing that be-longs to life ceases; men use neither meat nor drink with plea-sure, are scarcely fit for any trade or work, and are kept at them only to their torment." And their pride is only suffering and wickedness. The בהaרo occurs only here the noun, how-ever בהaרa occurs in the sense of pride in Job 9:13; Job 26:12, and the adjective בהAרA proud in Psalms 40:4. The pride of thedays, that of which they are proud or may be proud, is either the strong period of life-Calvin, "the sense is, that before men sink into old age, and while they are still in the very blossom of youth, they are involved in those many troubles, cares, pains, and anxieties to which mortal life is exposed"- or, the best, the most favourable condition of life, Luther, "when it is delightful." It has been shewn in the treatise on Balaam, that און always means wickedness, p. 112, ss.; Delitzsch, on Habakkuk 1:3; Habakkuk 3:7, has opposed this without sufficient ground. Here the wickedness de-notes what must be suffered from the wickedness of others, as in the case of Abel from Cain. The confession of Jacob before Pharoah in Genesis 47:19, and also that of Lamech, Genesis 5:29, agree with what is here said as to the condition of human life. Luther: "The whole of life therefore is trouble and labour, with the single exception that these evils are alleviated by faith and hope in the divine compassion in the case of those who have been born again, and are new creatures." For we are driven rapidlyaway and we flee hence. This affirmation is by no means suit-able as the basis of what immediately precedes. We must hence separate it by a semicolon, and connect the "for" with the main subject of the verse. "And their pride, &c.," can be considered only as an offshoot thought, the subject of the Psalm being notthe misery but the transitory nature of human life. The גז isusually translated, it goes away, it passes away. But as גז in the only other passage where it occurs with certainty (Psalms 71:6 is doubtful), Numbers 11:31, (a remarkable connection with the lan-guage of the Pentateuch) has the sense of "to bring," "to drive;"and as there is no suitable subject in the preceding clause to גזin the sense of to pass away-the רהב cannot be the subject, as here manifestly the language applies to the brevity of human life -it is more suitable to take the verb impersonally, and translate "we are driven away," comp. "we are cut off" in ver. 6. In reality, however, it is God that drives away just as there it is God that cuts off. The היש is an adverb, suddenly. To the sudden driving away, the fleeing corresponds suitably, fleeing as its consequence. In the first strophe of the second main division, ver. 11, 12, there are appended to the doctrine of death as the wages of sin, the painful complaint that this relation in all its depths is so little known, and the prayer to God that he would cause this relation to be better known, and lead the heart to repentance. Ver. 11. Who knows the might of thine anger, and thy fury in proportion to thy fear? Ver. 12. To number our days, this do thou teach us, in order that we may obtain a wise heart.-Onver. 11, Luther: "From this point he shews why and for whoseknown in the brevity of our existence, the power of death in all sake he had given this narrative, for the sake, namely, of unfeel-ing sinners, in order that they may be brought to a sense of their misery. For this is the greatest misery that we men live in such great manifold innumerable distresses, have such a short life, andare in perpetual danger, yea, certain prospect of eternal death,and yet do not feel all this nor know it sufficiently. Who can sufficiently express such stupidity!" The expression "who knowsthe power of thy wrath," equivalent to "thy wrath as it is madeits strength," is in the first instance an expression of painful la- mentation over the inconceivable delusion of men; it however contains within it the heart-felt wish that it may be other-wise, and the prayer that God would alter it, which in ver. 12 rises out of the lamentation. The הודע there refers manifestly to the יודע here. Luther: "This complaint also contains a prayer in it. For Moses wishes that such pestilential security may be torn out of his heart, and out of the hearts of all men, and that all hearts may be animated by faith, so that men may believe that such a thing is true and may be alarmed at such great wrath of God." "As thy fear" is to be understood as equivalent to "in proportion as is demanded by that fear of thee, that piety which is becoming in thy people." Several explain after the example of Venema: according to thy dreadfulness, according to the infinite measure of which in God, are his wrath against sin and his punish- ment of sin. But "the fear of God" is a phrase of constant oc-currence in the sense of "fear before God,'' (compare Deuteronomy 2:25, Psalms 5:7), and on the other hand there is only one passage which can be referred to in the sense of dreadfulness-viz., Ezekiel 1:18, a writer who supplies so many anomalous expressions, and even in this one passage the above sense depends upon a false exposition, com-pare Gesell. Thes.-For what object the Psalmist in ver. 12 wishes his days to be numbered, appears from the reference of the הודע to the יודע of the preceding verse, according to which to number the days and to know the wrath of God must be strictly con-nected together. May God, the sense is, lead us to lay rightly to heart the brevity of our life, thus cause us to know the great-ness of his wrath, the depth of our corruption, and in this way lead us to repentance. Luther: "Such a thing would never have come into my mind as to pray for this, if I had not seen that Moses prayed here for it with all earnestness and valour. For I thought that the hearts of all men were as full of fear and terror as mine is. But if we carefully examine we shall find there are scarcely ten in ten thousand moved by these things as they ought to be; all the others live as if there were no God, and no death. This is the greatest misery, and the one to be most deeply de-plored, that men even in death dream of life. There are certainly to be found some men of experience who feel this misery very se-verely without any such prayer, but the greater part do not feel it; for these generally live in such a way that they value their moment of life as if it were an eternal existence. The prayer which Moses here pens is necessary for these." The כן on which so much ingenuity has been expended, serves to mark the impor-tance of this knowledge to be imparted only through the favour of God. Arnd: "We are here told that this knowledge comes not from flesh and blood, but from God." "Thus teach us," is equiva-lent to "this teach us." The ונבא is not to be translated ac-cording to Ewald, § 621, by "and to bring," but § 618, "that we may bring." For as the prayer here is closely connected with the meditation in ver. 6-10, it can refer directly only to theknowledge of the relation represented there; and the desire for a wise heart can only come into notice as the effect of this know-ledge. The הביא never signifies "to carry away," "to obtain," but always "to make," "to bring." The most natural con-struction is to supply with Abenesra בקרבנן or בנו, into our inward parts or into us. The translation "that we may bring forward as the best offering" would be admissible only if הביא, were a word commonly applied to sacrifices, which it is not; only in this case לך would be wanting. S�sskind and Stier are without any good reason inclined to find in this passage an intimation of immortality: "for in what should that wisdom consist which arises from a knowledge of the brevity of our life, if not in the effort after a more extended duration?" The wisdom which is got from a consideration of the brevity of our life, and of the wrath of God manifested in that brevity, consists in fearing God and eschewing evil, Job 28:28, in keeping the words of his covenant and doing accordingly, Deuteronomy 29:9, and thus preparing for him the way to fulfil the prayer in ver. 13-17, that he would, at least within the boundary of our brief life-time, manifest his favour, and withdraw his punishing hand. In ver. 13-17, the second prayer: after the knowledge of the brevity of our existence, and of the greatness of his wrath, and upon the ground of this, and of the repentance called forth by it, may God impart to his church favour and deliverance inside this narrow existence, instead of the punishment and misery which she is now suffering.-Ver. 13. Turn back, O Lord, how long! and let it repent thee of thy servants. Ver. 14. Satisfy us in the morning with thy mercy, and grant that we may rejoice and be glad all our days. Ver. 15. Make us glad like to the days in which thou didst afflict us, the years when we saw evil.Ver. 16. Show to thy servants thy doing, and thy glory to their children. Ver. 17. And may the beauty of the Lord our God be upon us, and the work of our hand confirm upon us, yea, the work of our hand confirm!--The “ turn back,” in ver. 13, is to be supplemented out of "let it repent thee" of the secondclause, "of the wrath which now lies upon thy servants" (comp. Exodus 32:12, "Turn back from the fierceness of thy wrath, and let it repent thee of the evil concerning thy people," Jeremiah 4:28),and also out of the relation to what goes before, where the churchhad prayed that he would make her turn back from the wicked-ness of her heart. The נהם has, in Niph. and Hithp., only a double sense, to comfort one's self, Genesis 27:42; Genesis 37:35,and to repent, Numbers 23:19, Deuteronomy 32:36, "And it re-pented him of his servants," יתנהם עבדיו ועל--on which Psalms 135:14 depends-and Exodus 32:12; Exodus 32:14, "And it repentedthe Lord of the evil which he had said he would do to his peo-ple"-to this John 2:13 refers, the preceding passage is taken from the Pentateuch-- Judges 2:18; Jeremiah 15:6. Those senses flow easily from the fundamental sense, the quieting of the excited affection: not so, however, a third one, which has been arbitra-rily adopted, and applied here in more ways than one, "to havecompassion on." Of the two ascertained senses, the one torepent is the only one that is suitable here; and it is alsoconfirmed by the two remarkably accordant parallel passagesfrom the Pentateuch, Exodus 32:12, and Deuteronomy 32:36 -in the former passage, the Niph. is a very marked point ofconnection, and the same may be said of "for thy servant " in the second, to which the "of evil for thy people" in the first serves as a commentary. In reference to the sense, Calvin cor-rectly remarks: "According to the usual phraseology of Scrip-ture, God is said to repent, when, after dissipating sadness andgiving again occasion for joy, he appears as if he had changed;"comp. on the repentance of God, the Beitr. P. 3. p. 453 ss. Inreference to "in the morning," in ver. 14, comp. at Psalms 59:16.-In reference to the stat. constr. ימות; and שונת; in ver. 15, comp. Ew. 500. The ימות very remarkably occurs only here and in Deuteronomy 32:7; in other passages it is always ימים. There it occurs in like manner as here, in connection with שנות, and manifestly this connection has occasioned the peculiar termi-nation. Jo, Arnd: "For we have seen it in those who havelived before us. How didst thou gladden Noah after the flood, Lot after the destruction of Sodom, Jacob after his distress in the famine, Joseph after his imprisonment, and the children of Israel after the captivity! These are all glasses in which we find this word written: after trouble. God again makes glad."-The doing of God is, according to the connection and the parallel, only a salutary doing. The Psalmist prays, in the first instance, only that God would make himself known very visibly in his deeds. The assertion, "The poet is longing after some parti-cular mighty deed of God," has no foundation in the words; comp., for example, Psalms 92:4, "For thou makest me glad, O Lord, by thy deed; I rejoice over the works of thy hand." If it were so, we must conceive him to be thinking upon the posses-sion of Canaan; comp. 44:1.-In reference to the beauty of the Lord, in ver. 17, comp. at Psalms 27:4; may it be upon us is equivalent to, may it be made known in our experience. By "the work of the hands," according to the parallel passages of the Pentateuch, we cannot suppose any particular undertaking, but only the collective doings to be meant; comp. Deuteronomy 14:29, "that the Lord thy God may bless thee in all the work of thine hands which thou doest," 16:13, 24:19, 28:12, 30:9. "To confirm" is "to bring about," "to accomplish." The עלינו, -because the promoting comes from above. Psalms 91. The Psalm contains, in representation of the truth, "if God be for me, every thing else may be against me," the expression of joyful confidence in the protection and help of God in all troubles and dangers. "The whole object is to bring to a right trust in God," Berl. B. The formal arrangement is easy and obvious. First, an Intro-duction, ver. 1 and 2, which proposes the theme, and communi-cates the contents of the whole Psalm. Next, there are two strophes, each of seven verses, containing the development, ex-ternally separated by the circumstance that, at the conclusion of the first part (ver. 9), the Psalmist repeats what he had said at the conclusion of the Introduction, and thus finishes off this part as a whole. The seven are both times divided by a four and athree, a division which strikes as particularly well marked in the second strophe, where the three last verses contain an address of God, in which he assures the righteous man of his salvation, and with which the whole suitably ends. But there is also manifestly a break in the first strophe at ver. 7. The seven, as the signa-ture of the whole, appears not only in the number of the verses, but also in the number of the names of God. Jehovah occurs seven times. The character of the Psalm is entirely general; for it ap-plies to the whole church, at all events, no less than it does to its individual believing members, and, as shall hereafter be shown, to the former in the first instance. But there is also wanting, it may be observed, every mark by which the date can be certainly determined:-the matter assumes another appearance, if we regard the whole as one group, to which the opening verses form the introduction. Several expositors have incorrectly assumed, the occasion to have been a destructive disease. How God affords protection at such an emergency, is indeed brought prominently forward in ver. 6, and perhaps with the design that the church should use this Psalm among others in seasons of pestilence, as it has done at all times: among all the Psalms, no one is more suitable for this purpose. But this reference, so far from being the exclusive, is not even once the preponderating one, which it would have been had the Psalm been called forth by such an occasion. Ac-cording to a correct exposition, it occurs only in. the verse above referred to. And even here it is oppression arising from enemies that occupies the fore-ground, as is usually the case in the Psalm, among the dangers, against which the protection of God is sufficient. The alternation of thou and I in the Psalm has led many ex-positors to divide it among alternating choruses. But that this is not the case is clear from the fact that in this way we are obliged to tear asunder what is manifestly connected together; thus in the Introduction, where the first portion in the first verse must belong to the first chorus, and the second in the second verse to the se-cond chorus, next in ver. 9, where the change occurs in one and the same verse, and where the first portion alloted to a particular chorus is remarkably distinguished for its being far too short andbald. The fact, however, upon which this hypothesis leans may be far more easily explained by supposing that the Psalmist speaks at one time from his own person to the soul of the right-eous one who is in danger, and revives its courage, while at an-other time he expresses confidence from the soul of the righteous man; and thus in that pleasant alternation which forms the cha-racteristic peculiarity of the Psalm, he employs at one time the thou in the character of teacher, and at another time the I, in the character of scholar. If we take a right view of the I through-out the Psalm, keeping our attention not so much upon the per-son of the Psalmist as upon those who were intended to appropriate the Psalm to themselves, the difference between the thou and the I will be felt as less marked and will occasion scarcely any diffi-culty. Under the thou an I is everywhere concealed; for the Psalmist teaches what the person for whose use the Psalm was designed ought to acknowledge: and in like manner, under the I there is a thou; for the person using the Psalm adopts language put into his mouth by the Psalmist, who is only a thou in dis-guise. The call of instruction in Scripture, (this is the meaning of the alternation), ought always to be responded to by the ac-knowledgment of the hearer. Ver. 1, 2.-Ver. He who sits in the covert of the Most High, spends the night under the shade of the Almighty: Ver. 2. I say to the Lord: my confidence and my fortress, my God, in thee I trust.-The Psalmist, whom God has taken under his care, is perfectly safe under his protection. Instead of I say, one might have expected he says, which indeed the Septuagint and many others have taken the liberty of substituting, incorrectly, however, if the translation was intended to be an exact one, for אמר can only be the first person future. The Psalmist, how-ever, springs from the tone of the teacher to that of the scholar. Those who find themselves in difficulties here, and at the same time are not willing to make any change upon the אמר, sepa-rate the two verses, and make the first an independent one: the man who sits under the protection of the Most High spends the night under the shade of the Almighty. But it is impossible to separate the synonymous parallel clauses of this verse. To spend the night is in no respect stronger than to dwell; and the "continually," "well," and "safely," are arbitrary additions. On"in the covert," comp. Psalms 27:5; Psalms 31:20, 1 Samuel 19:2. Arnd: "The defence of God means a place of concealment, a secret little place where a man hides and covers himself in public general troubles. And the Holy Ghost intends thus to comfort us, if a man can conceal a friend in a secret hidden place in the time of trouble, much more can God." The names of God, "the Most High," "the Almighty," represent the basis of that un-bounded confidence in the protection of God which the Psalmist intended to express in ver. 2. Who can do any real injury to the man who stands under the protection of Omnipotence, asit exists in a personal God. On shade = protection, comp.at Psalms 36:7; Psalms 57:1. On מהסי comp. Psalms 71:7, and onמצודתי Psalms 18:2.Ver. 3-9.-Ver. 3. For he delivers thee from the snare of the fowler, from the pestilence of wickedness. Ver 4. With his wings he covers thee, and under his wings thou mayest trust. Ver. 5. Thou needest not be afraid of the terror of night, nor of the arrow that fleeth by day. Ver. 6. Of the pestilence which walketh in darkness, of the disease which wasteth at mid-day. Ver. 7. Thousands fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand, yet it shall not strike thee. Ver. 8. Only with thine eye shalt thou see it, and behold the recompense of the wicked. Ver. 9. For thou, Lord, art my confidence, thou makest the Most High thy habitation.-The snare of the fowler is a term designating the cunning and power of enemies, employed also in Psalms 124:7. Security, in the highest sense, is in these words promised to the believer against the plots of Satan, as the most dangerous and destructive enemy, comp. 2 Timothy 2:26. The הוה denotes wickedness here as in Psalms 57:1; Psalms 52:2; Psalms 52:7; Psalms 94:20. The plural strengthens the expression, and denotes the whole mass of wickedness. The pestilence of wickedness is the pestilen-tial ruin which it threatens. Even in Hosea 13:14, the pestilence is a figurative expression for destruction, and in Isaiah 28:2, the storm of the disease is a ruinous storm like a disease. Accord-ing to the common translation דבר is pestilence in the proper sense, and הוות in the sense of misery, occupies the place of an adjective; thus Luther: "from the destructive pestilence." But according to our translation הוות corresponds to יקוש; not only in the first half of this verse, but also in vers. 4 and 5, the lan-guage is still of the oppression of enemies, and the pestilence is spoken of for the first time in verse 6; by this translation, there-fore, the arrangement of the Psalm is destroyed.-In ver. 4 the תהסה is to be translated "thou mayest trust," "thou findest security," comp. "thou mayest not be afraid," of ver. 5. The parallel, and probably the fundamental passage is Psalms 36:7, comp. also Psalms 61:4, and Ruth 12. In reference to "his truth," comp. at Psalms 57:3.-It is obvious from the parallelism, that the terror of the night is, in the first instance and especially, to be understood of stratagems of enemies: in the verse before us, what men prepare by day and by night, and in the following verse what sickness does. It becomes manifest on comparing the passage, Proverbs 3:23-26, which so strikingly agrees with our Psalm, especially in that very peculiar expression, "thy foot shall not stumble," that the Psalmist had it distinctly in his eye. It is there said, "when thou liest down thou shalt not be afraid, yea, thou shalt lie down and thy sleep shall be sweet: thou mayest not be afraid of sudden fear, neither of the desolation of the wicked when it cometh." Comp. also the Son 3:8, where every one of the warriors around Solomon's bed has his sword at his side, "because of fear in the night," possible hostile stratagem, for it is this only that can be met by the sword, Job 21:9; Job 15:21. It is not the Psalmist, but merely a part of his expositors, that lead us here into "an unsafe spiritual region." The Old Testament knows nothing of spectres. The arrow is the arrow of the enemy (comp. Psalms 58:7); and there is just as little reason for thinking of the sun-stroke, or of any thing of a like nature here, as there was in the first clause for thinking of spectres. As oppression from enemies always stands so much in the foreground throughout the Old Testament, there is the less reason for construing figuratively what literally refers to it. Berleb. B. "even when it looks dark in the heart when the enemy comes easily upon us."--In ver. 6 the darkness is named first, because in the darkness of night all evils assume an aggra-vated character, especially wide spread disease, whose dangerous character makes it allied to the darkness of night, with which it is represented by the imagination as closely connected.-In ver. 7 the subject of יגש is not specially disease, but evil, or destruc-tion in general. The words are as much connected with ver. 2-5as with ver. 6. The expression leads rather to warlike relations than to the spreading of a contagion, comp. Psalms 27:3. In reference to the thought comp. Psalms 32:6.-In ver. 8 many ex-positors take רק as a particle of assurance, only = surely, comp. at Psalms 32:5. Then the thousand and the ten thousand in ver. 7 are to be regarded as the enemies of the Psalmist (or of the Church in whose name he speaks), whose destruction implies his deliverance. Psalms 92:11 is in favour of this view, where what the eye sees is just the destruction of the enemies. We may also explain otherwise: "only thou shalt see it with thine eyes," in opposition to it coming upon him in ver. 7.--In reference to thy habitation in ver. 9, comp. at Psalms 90:1. Ver. 3. For he delivers thee from the snare of the fowler, from the pestilence of wickedness. Ver 4. With his wings he covers thee, and under his wings thou mayest trust. Ver. 5. Thou needest not be afraid of the terror of night, nor of the arrow that fleeth by day. Ver. 6. Of the pestilence which walketh in darkness, of the disease which wasteth at mid-day. Ver. 7. Thousands fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand, yet it shall not strike thee. Ver. 8. Only with thine eye shalt thou see it, and behold the recompense of the wicked. Ver. 9. For thou, Lord, art my confidence, thou makest the Most High thy habitation.The snare of the fowler is a term designating the cunning and power of enemies, employed also in Psalms 124:7. Security, in the highest sense, is in these words promised to the believer against the plots of Satan, as the most dangerous and destructive enemy, comp. 2 Timothy 2:26. The δεδ denotes wickedness here as in Psalms 57:1; Psalms 52:2; Psalms 52:7; Psalms 94:20. The plural strengthens the expression, and denotes the whole mass of wickedness. The pestilence of wickedness is the pestilential ruin which it threatens. Even in Hosea 13:14, the pestilence is a figurative expression for destruction, and in Isaiah 28:2, the storm of the disease is a ruinous storm like a disease. According to the common translation γαψ is pestilence in the proper sense, and δεεϊ in the sense of misery, occupies the place of an adjective; thus Luther: “from the destructive pestilence.” But according to our translation δεεϊ corresponds to ιχεω; not only in the first half of this verse, but also in Psalms 91:4-5, the language is still of the oppression of enemies, and the pestilence is spoken of for the first time in Psalms 91:6; by this translation, therefore, the arrangement of the Psalm is destroyed. In Psalms 91:4 the ϊηρδ is to be translated “thou mayest trust,” “thou findest security,” comp. “thou mayest not be afraid,” of Psalms 91:5. A parallel, and probably the fundamental passage is Psalms 36:7, comp. also Psalms 61:4, and Rth 2:12. In reference to “his truth,” comp. at Psalms 57:3. It is obvious from the parallelism, that the terror of the night is, in the first instance and especially, to be understood of stratagems of enemies: in the verse before us, what men prepare by day and by night, and in the following verse what sickness does. It becomes manifest on comparing the passage, Proverbs 3:23-26, which so strikingly agrees with our Psalm, especially in that very peculiar expression, “thy foot shall not stumble,” that the Psalmist had it distinctly in his eye. It is there said, “when thou liest down thou shalt not be afraid, yea, thou shalt lie down and thy sleep shall be sweet: thou mayest not be afraid of sudden fear, neither of the desolation of the wicked when it cometh.” Comp. also the Son 3:8, where every one of the warriors around Solomon’s bed has his sword at his side, “because of fear in the night,” possible hostile stratagem, for it is this only that can be met by the sword, Job 21:9, Job 15:21. It is not the Psalmist, but merely a part of his expositors, that lead us here into “an unsafe spiritual region.” The Old Testament knows nothing of spectres. The arrow is the arrow of the enemy (comp. Psalms 58:7); and there is just as little reason for thinking of the sun-stroke, or of anything of a like nature here, as there was in the first clause for thinking of spectres. As oppression from enemies always stands so much in the foreground throughout the Old Testament, there is the less reason for construing figuratively what literally refers to it. Berleb. B. “even when it looks dark in the heart when the enemy comes easily upon us.” In Psalms 91:6 the darkness is named first, because in the darkness of night all evils assume an aggravated character, especially wide spread disease, whose dangerous character makes it allied to the darkness of night, with which it is represented by the imagination as closely connected. In Psalms 91:7 the subject of ιβω is not specially disease, but evil, or destruction in general. The words are as much connected with Psalms 91:2-5 as with Psalms 91:6. The expression leads rather to warlike relations than to the spreading of a contagion, comp. Psalms 27:3. In reference to the thought comp. Psalms 32:6. In Psalms 91:8 many expositors take ψχ as a particle of assurance, only = surely, comp. at Psalms 32:5. Then the thousand and the ten thousand in Psalms 91:7 are to be regarded as the enemies of the Psalmist (or of the Church in whose name he speaks), whose destruction implies his deliverance. Psalms 92:11 is in favour of this view, where what the eye sees is just the destruction of the enemies. We may also explain otherwise: “only thou shalt see it with thine eyes,” in opposition to it coming upon him in Psalms 91:7. In reference to thy habitation in Psalms 91:9, comp. at Psalms 90:1. Ver. 10-16.-Ver. 10. There shall no evil befal thee, and noplague shall come near thy dwelling. Ver. 11. For he giveshis angels charge over thee, that they guard thee in all thy ways. Ver. 12. They shall bear thee up in their hands thatthou dash not thy foot upon a stone. Ver. 13. Thou shalttrample upon the lions and the adders, tread on the young lions and the dragons. Ver. 14. Because he cleaves to me, I willdeliver him, 1 will set him on high, because he knows my name.Ver. 15. He calls upon me, I will answer him; I am with himin trouble, I will deliver him and honour him. Ver. 16. I willsatisfy him with long life, and will cause him to see my salva- tion.-In the second clause of ver. 10 allusion is to all appearance made to Exodus 12:23, the exemption of Israel at the infliction ofjudgment upon the Egyptians.-In ver. 11, the צוה with ל is "togive charge in reference to any thing," as Numbers 8:20. Theangels appeared in similar circumstances in ancient times, Genesis 12, "behold a ladder stood upon the earth, and its headreached to heaven, and the angels of God ascended and descendedupon it," where we find a figurative representation of what wasto happen to the whole chosen family and its individual mem-bers at all times. There is neither here, nor any where else inScripture, the least mention made of guardian angels. The com-missions of God are entrusted to the whole angelic host; andthere is the less room for thinking here of guardian angels at-tached to individuals, as the Psalmist, throughout the wholePsalm, has his eye especially upon the whole community, althoughwhat is said is, at the same time, so expressed, as to be suitablealso to individual members.-In ver. 12, the stone is spoken of in prosecution of the figure of the way. We can neither here, nor in the fundamental passage, Proverbs 3:23, translate " thy foot strikes not," but only "thou strike not thy foot." For the נגף is always transitive. The language in both of the two verses does not apply to dangers which one seeks, but only to such dan-gers as meet the righteous man unsought, in his course through life. The artifice of the tempter in Matthew 4:6, consisted in keeping this out of view.-The lions and the serpents, in ver. 13, represent the two kinds of dangers to which the righteous man is exposed, viz., open violence and secret cunning. The Berleb. B. "as the Israelites, when they travelled through the wilderness, Deuteronomy 8:15, Samson, Judges 14:5; Judges 14:6, David, 1 Samuel 17:34; 1 Samuel 17:35, and Daniel, Daniel 6:23, gained victories over lions; such power of victory was specially promised to the disciples of Christ, Luke 10:19."-In the first clause of ver. 16, expositors are too ready with the obvious remark, that the pro-mise of long life is specially an Old Testament one. This pro-mise, as is manifest from the fundamental passages of the Pen-tateuch, even Exodus 20:12, and Deuteronomy 5:16, where Israel is addressed, refers, in the first instance, to the whole church, and in so far we cannot limit the promise to Old Testament times. But even in regard to individuals (Berleb. B.: such as Abra-ham, Genesis 25:8, Job 42:17, David, 1 Chronicles 23:1), would we not be ashamed at the sight of a venerable old man in Christ, if we did not recognise, in a long life spent in the favour of God, a blessing of God? The difference between the Old and the New Testament, in this respect, is this, that, in the former, the other form in which God imparts blessings to his people, namely, by taking them early to himself, was less known, although, in ancient times, the history of Enoch, as a significant type, gave intimation concerning it. On the second clause, comp. Psalms 1:23. Psalms 92. The Psalmist, or rather the church, in whose name he speaks, expresses readiness to praise God, ver. 1-4, and then praises, proceeding to this duty, first, in general, the greatness of God inthe annihilation of the wicked, ver. 5-7. He next paints this more fully, ver. 9-15, and also as intimately connected with it, the salvation of the righteous. The Psalm divides into two strophes, each of seven verses, the first of which is divided by 4, 3, and the second by 3, 4. The first contains the introduction and the thesis; the second the development. In the middle, in ver. 9, we have an intercalary verse, which makes itself known as such by its brevity, and which, like a high fortress, rules the second part, and brings to-gether, in a few weighty words, its contents. The seven appears as the signature of the whole even in the names of God. The theme is the same as in Ps. xxxvii., 49., 73., God's retributive righteousness, which brings destruction to the wicked and salvation to the righteous. But the way and manner of treatment are different. The Psalmist does not come forward here teaching and exhorting, as he does in Psalms 37:37; Psalms 37:49., nor in view of the church contending and conquering, as in Psalms 73.; with holy skill he leads, as it were, the saints into the midst of the praise of God, and teaches them, by it, to gain the victory in their conflicts. The Psalm is fundamentally, as is manifest particularly from its conclusion, ver. 16, of a consoling and soothing character; the consolation, however, is imparted in the form of the praise of God, to which the Psalmist exhorts the church. According to the title, "a Psalm, a song of praise for the Sab-bath-day," the Psalm was intended for use in the public worship of God on the Sabbath, on which day, according to Leviticus 23:3, there was held "a holy convocation;" as Psalms 81. was intended to be used at the Passover. According to its contents, it is ma-nifestly well adapted for such an use. On the Sabbath-day men ought "to rest from their own works," in order to consider the works of God leisurely and together; comp. ver. 5, "how great are thy works, O Lord." Among these works, however, one of the greatest, not less great than the creation of the heavens and the earth, is his preservation of his church in the midst of the evil world. It is in accordance also with the title that the Psalm bears altogether a general character, and contains no notice of special relations. Finally, also, there is the fact, that the Psalm refers, in the first instance, to the whole church, while, at thesame time, every thing is designedly so arranged, as to render it suitable also to individuals. That it is the church, in the first in-stance, that speaks, is evident from the fourth verse, according to which, the speaker proposes to praise God with a multi-plicity of instruments, from the "our God," in ver. 14, and from the reference, in ver. 10, to the fundamental passages which apply to Israel, and in ver. 12-14, to the symbol of the temple. The Psalm, by its formal arrangement, is manifestly nearly re-lated to Psalms 91.-in both there are 16 verses, in both two strophes each of seven verses, divided by 3 and 4, and in both Jehovah occurs seven times. There is a resemblance also in other respects-the subject-matter and the tone, which is that of soft tenderness, never rising above a certain height-the connec-tion between the application at once to the whole church and to individuals-and, finally, the agreement between ver. 11 of the one Psalm, and ver. 8 of the other. That the Psalm before us was composed later than Psalms 73 :is obvious from ver. 6, when compared with Psalms 73:22. More exact information as to the date of composition, will be gathered from Psalms 93., which, with it, makes up one pair. Ver. 1-7.-Ver. 1. It is good to praise the Lord, and to sing to thy name, O thou Most High. Ver. 2. To make known in the morning thy mercy, and thy faithfulness in the nights. Ver. 3. Upon the ten strings and upon the harp, with musing upon the guitar. Ver. 4. For thou makest me glad, O Lord, by thy doings, over the works of thy hands I rejoice. Ver. 5. How great are thy works, O Lord, very deep are thy thoughts. Ver.6. A stupid man knows not this, a fool understands it not. Ver.7. When the wicked spring up like grass, and all evil-doers flourish, it is the case that they shall be recompensed for ever and eternally.-The "(already) in the morning," (comp. 88: 13, 57:8, 5:3), and the "(still) in the nights" (comp. at Psalms 16:7), indicate the great zeal in praising God, for his mercy and truth, corresponding to the glory of the manifestations of these perfections. This general reference is undoubted. But, per-haps, the mention of morning and evening refers specially to the morning and evening sacrifice, and indicates that the Psalm was intended to be sung at the bringing forward of these on the Sab-bath-day. This is all the more probable, as the third verse also refers manifestly to the public festival. The mercy and faith-fulness of God are those properties which guarantee help to his people, and which are manifested in their deliverance. The cir-cumstance that these are mentioned at the very beginning of the Psalm, shews that, even from the beginning, we have to do, not with a general praise of God, but with praise in some well-defined connection; and also sets aside the false constructions of ver. 5. In ver. 3, mention is first made generally of instruments of ten strings (ten instead of the bodily incorporated ten); for ver. 1 reaches to the ten here; comp. Psalms 33., whose introduction is nearly allied to ours, and was probably modelled after it. Next we have especially the (ten stringed) harp, and the (ten stringed)guitar. On "musing upon the guitar," comp. at Psalms 9:16. For the sake of the symmetry, the not very obvious term עלי is used. It denotes the musing upon the guitar as the substratum of the praise, the means by which it obtains a standing.-The mention of the mercy and the grace in the 2d verse shews that at "the doing of God," in ver. 4 (comp. at Psalms 90:16), and "the works of his hands," we are not at all to think of the creation of the heavens and earth, but singly and alone of his salva-tion-bringing doings on behalf of his people, the wonders of their deliverance.-The Psalmist begins in ver. 5 the praise of God, which had been announced, and the motives to which had been mentioned in ver. 1-3. What kind of works and thanks the Psalmist means is particularly intimated in ver. 7, which should be distinguished from vers. 5 and 6 by inverted commas. It is the works and counsels of God for the deliverance of his people, a deliverance which is secured by the destruction of the wicked, their enemies; comp. Psalms 40:5, "thy thoughts towards us, no-thing is to be compared to thee; I will declare and speak of them, they are not to be numbered." The depth of the thoughts of God, in parallel with the greatness of his works, is not at all their darkness-this is only one consequence pointing to the basis, which is mentioned as such in ver. 6-but their glory and inexhaustible riches, comp. Job 11:8, Isaiah 55:9, Romans 11:33.-This depth is seen especially in this, that the apparent end of the thoughts of God is so often seen to be the real beginning of their realization. When every thing appears to be gone, andwickedness completely to triumph, the salvation of the righteous and the destruction of the wicked suddenly break forth.-On ver. 6 comp. Psalms 73:22. Were God's thoughts less deep and glorious, did he repay the wicked at every particular transgres-sion immediately with his punishment, and did be bestow salva-tion immediately upon the righteous according to the canon which Job's friends with their limited views had laid down, the go-vernment of the world would become plain even to the dark eye of ungodliness. But its depth makes it a secret, the understanding of which very often in times of conflict is withheld even from the pious, as is manifest from the example of Job and the author of the seventy-third Psalm, and in which there is always much that may be learned. He who has got a deep insight into this secret, and has seen that the conduct of God towards his people is always and only grace, even though often under the deepest covering, and that his conduct towards the wicked is always only wrath, even when they flourish and blossom, he alone can cry out, “ O the depth of the riches," &c., and to him these works of God ap-pear greater and more glorious still than the works of creation.-On ver. 7 comp. Psalms 37:38. The annihilation of the wicked comes into notice here as the basis of the deliverance of the righteous, which is the proper theme of the Psalm. Arnd: "Nothing except it be of God can stand, whether it be skill, or riches, or honour, or power. It rises and flourishes to appearance, but in the end it is only a thistle-bush and a noxious weed, good for nothing but the fire." Ver. 8. And thou art height in Eternity, O Lord. This verse forms the summit-point of the Psalm. God is the concrete and the personal height, = "he is holy," in Psalms 22:3, never depth, as is imagined always by ungodliness, and in times of conflict also by the godly; the appearance of depth is rather the highest height; God is strongest when he appears to our short-sighted eye as weak. The man who can only hold fast this one truth, that God is eternally height, will never despond under the cross, and will laugh at the triumph of the wicked. Not to be able any longer to form this thought is the essence of despair. If God be still height to us, we may well be joyful and in comfort however low we lie. In ver. 9-15 there follow the facts in which God shews himself as the eternal height.Ver. 9-15.-Ver. 9. For behold thine enemies, O Lord, for behold thine enemies perish, all evil-doers are scattered. Ver. 10. And thou exaltest, like that of the buffalo, my horn, I sprinkle with fresh oil. Ver. 11. And mine eye looks upon mine enemies, of those who lift themselves up against me, evil- doers, mine ears hear. Ver. 12. The righteous springs up like the palm-tree, like the cedar on Lebanon he grows. Ver. 13. They are planted in the house of the Lord, in the courts of our God they flourish. Ver. 14. They get forward even in old age, they are full of sap and flourishing. Ver. 15. To shew that the Lord is righteous, my rock, in him there is no unrighteous- ness.-The "for " in ver. 9 connects the whole strophe with ver. 8. The "behold" points to the clearly obvious facts. The enemies of the Lord are at the same time the enemies of the righteous man; and it is as such that they are mentioned here. 0 Lord, thou personal Height. They separate themselves,-- they are driven asunder, in the state of separation still more in-capable of hurting, comp. Job 4:11.-In ver. 10 we cannot trans-late "but," but only "and thou exaltest." The lifting up of the righteous stands in immediate connection with the ruin of the wicked, and is its consequence. "Thou exaltest," looks back to ver. 8. God as the Height makes his people high. "As the buffalo," stands concisely for "as the horns of the buffalo on high," or, "so that they are like the horns of the buffalo." The fundamental passages are Numbers 23:22; Numbers 24:8, where it is said of Israel, "his strength is as of a unicorn," and Deuteronomy 33:17, "the horns of the buffalo are his horns, with them he shall push the people together to the ends of the earth." Parallel passages are Psalms 75:4; Psalms 75:10; Psalms 89:17. Thou exaltest my horn, -enablest me to rise up with spirit, with a sense of strength, and in an attitude of attack. In the second clause a number of arbitrary interpretations are set aside by the remark that בלל,בשמן, is the constant expression for "to pour out oil." The verb is transitive, as it always is. The object, the head (comp. Psalms 23:5, "thou anointest my head with oil"), might very naturally be omitted, as it was only the head that was anointed, comp. at Psalms 23:5; Psalms 45:7. The "growing green" stands figu-ratively for "fresh," as in ver. 14, it is applied to the man whose condition is represented by the oil of joy. In the fresh oil,the verdant olive tree is as it were still seen, Psalms 52:8.-The doubled ב in ver. 11 cannot be considered as pointing out the object. For it is only ראה, and not, at all הביט that occurs with ב in the sense of "to look upon any thing with pleasure," and שמע never stands with ב, of the object: it would not even be suitable in this sense, for the Psalmist does not hear his ene-mies with pleasure, he hears of them. We must therefore takeב both times in the sense of "on." It is only said in general that there is a looking and a hearing on, or in regard to, the ene-mies-what that is, there is no occasion for particularly describ-ing. The "evil-doers" stand in apposition, equivalent to who or because they are evil-doers, and therefore subject to the wrath of God.-Ver. 12-14 gives an interpretation of the symbols of the sanctuary. The holy candlestick, the symbol of the Church of God, the people of the covenant (comp. Beitr. p. 645), had the form of a tree with flowers and fruit (comp. Bהhr Symb. i. p. 446 ss.), for the purpose of denoting the joyful prosperity of the Church of God. Figures of flowers were found on the two curtains of the sanctuary and of the court of the tabernacle, Bהhr, p. 376. Flowers and blossoms were specially the insignia of the priesthood to denote its joyful prosperity, Bהhr, p. 365. The temple of Solomon was adorned in the interior with palms and opening blossoms (comp. Keil on the temple of Solomon, p. 143), as the symbol of the increase, the blossoming, and the prosperity of the kingdom of God. The reference to these symbols is all the more suitable, as the Psalm before us also refers in the first instance to the whole of the church. What is said of it, how-ever, applies also to every one of its individual members.-The subject in ver. 13 is "the righteous" as resembling palms and cedars, or rather as the spiritual palms and cedars. Hitzig's assertion, that we must rather, according to the adjectives in ver. 14, understand that olive-trees are meant, is inconsistent with the reference to the symbols of the sanctuary. Even palms and cedars are always green. Schubert says of the former (Travels, ii. p. 138): "the palm-tree retains even in heat and drought its roof of foliage."-The obvious synonymous parallel in ver. 13 shews that we cannot translate with Luther: "Those who are planted in the house of our Lord shall flourish in the courts of Our God." By the house of the Lord we can only understandthe external sanctuary; in it, however, the servants of God dwell spiritually with him, and are cared for by him with paternal love; comp: Psalms 84:3 : on the "courts" at the same passage. There lies at the bottom an abbreviated comparison; these spi-ritual trees flourish in the house of God as the natural trees when they are planted in a rich soil, Isaiah 5:1, or by rivers of water, Psalms 1:3.-Ver. 15 rests upon Deuteronomy 32:4, "the rock, his work is perfect, for all his ways are judgment, a God of truth and with-out iniquity, just and right is he." Believers must always at least agree in this ancient praise of the uprightness and faithful-ness of God, even although many things often happen to lead them wrong. On the "uprightness" comp. at Psalms 25:8. God shews himself upright inasmuch as lie manifests himself rich in help to his people. The expression "my rock," which refers to the divine unchangeableness, and veracity, and faithfulness (comp. at Psalms 18:2), at the fundamental passage equivalent to faithfulness (comp. thy faithfulness here in ver. 2), stands in the second clause. in the same relation as "Jehovah" does in the first, to which it stands in several ways in strict reference, comp. at Psalms 18:2. In whom there is no unrighteousness" corresponds to "upright." The ו in ולא stands with a certain emphasis, comp. on this use of the copulative Thes. p. 396, c. c. Instead of the rare form עלתה, (comp. Job 5:16), the Kri has the usual התAלAו;עa. Ver. 9. For behold thine enemies, O Lord, for behold thine enemies perish, all evil-doers are scattered. Ver. 10. And thou exaltest, like that of the buffalo, my horn, I sprinkle with fresh oil. Ver. 11. And mine eye looks upon mine enemies, of those who lift themselves up against me, evildoers, mine ears hear. Ver. 12. The righteous springs up like the palm-tree, like the cedar on Lebanon he grows. Ver. 13. They are planted in the house of the Lord, in the courts of our God they flourish. Ver. 14. They advance even in old age, they are full of sap and flourishing. Ver. 15. To shew that the Lord is righteous, my rock, in him there is no unrighteousness. The “for” in Psalms 92:9 connects the whole strophe with Psalms 92:8. The “behold” points to the facts lying clearly before us. The enemies of the Lord are at the same time the enemies of the righteous man; and it is as such that they are mentioned here. O Lord, thou personal Height. They separate themselves,—they are driven asunder, in the state of separation still more incapable of hurting, comp. Job 4:11. In Psalms 92:10 we cannot translate “but,” but only “and thou exaltest.” The lifting up of the righteous stands in immediate connection with the ruin of the wicked, and is its consequence. “Thou exaltest,” looks back to Psalms 92:8. God as the Height makes his people high. “As the buffalo,” stands concisely for “as the horns of the buffalo on high,” or, “so that they are like the horns of the buffalo.” The fundamental passages are Numbers 23:22, Numbers 24:8, where it is said of Israel, “his strength is as of a unicorn,” and Deuteronomy 33:17, “the horns of the buffalo are his horns, with them he shall push the people together to the ends of the earth.” Parallel passages are Psalms 75:4, Psalms 75:10, Psalms 89:17. Thou exaltest my horn,—enablest me to rise up with spirit, with a sense of strength, and in an attitude of attack. In the second clause a number of arbitrary interpretations are set aside by the remark that αωξοαμμ is the constant expression for “to pour out oil.” The verb is transitive, as it always is. The object, the head (comp. Psalms 23:5, “thou anointest my head with oil”), might very naturally be omitted, as it was only the head that was anointed, comp. at Psalms 23:5, Psalms 45:7. The “growing green” stands figuratively for “fresh,” as in Psalms 92:14; it is applied to the man whose condition is represented by the oil of joy. In the fresh oil, the verdant olive tree is as it were still seen, Psalms 52:8. The doubled α in Psalms 92:11 cannot be considered as pointing out the object. For it is only ψΰδ, and not, at all δαιθ that occurs with α in the sense of “to look upon anything with pleasure,” and ωξς never stands with α of the object: it would not even be suitable in this sense, for the Psalmist does not hear his enemies with pleasure, he hears of them. We must therefore take α both times in the sense of “on.” It is only said in general that there is a looking and a hearing on, or in regard to, the enemies—what that is, there is no occasion for particularly describing. The “evil-doers” stand in apposition, equivalent to who or because they are evil-doers, and therefore subject to the wrath of God. Psalms 92:12-14 gives an interpretation of the symbols of the sanctuary. The holy candlestick, the symbol of the Church of God, the people of the covenant (comp. Beitr. p. 645), had the form of a tree with flowers and fruit (comp. Bδhr Symb. i. p. 446 ss.), for the purpose of denoting the joyful prosperity of the Church of God. Figures of flowers were found on the two curtains of the sanctuary and of the court of the tabernacle, Bδhr, p. 376. Flowers and blossoms were specially the insignia of the priesthood to denote its joyful prosperity, Bδhr, p. 365. The temple of Solomon was adorned in the interior with palms and opening blossoms (comp. Keil on the temple of Solomon, p. 143), as the symbol of the increase, the blossoming, and the prosperity of the kingdom of God. The reference to these symbols is all the more suitable, as the Psalm before us also refers in the first instance to the whole of the Church. What is said of it, however, applies also to every one of its individual members. The subject in Psalms 92:13 is “the righteous” as resembling palms and cedars, or rather as the spiritual palms and cedars. Hitzig’s assertion, that we must rather, according to the adjectives in Psalms 92:14, understand that olive-trees are meant, is inconsistent with the reference to the symbols of the sanctuary. Even palms and cedars are always green. Schubert says of the former (Travels, ii. p. 138): “the palm-tree retains even in heat and drought its roof of foliage.” The obvious synonymous parallel in Psalms 92:13 shows that we cannot translate with Luther: “Those who are planted in the house of our Lord shall flourish in the courts of Our God.” By the house of the Lord we can only understand the external sanctuary; in it, however, the servants of God dwell spiritually with him, and are cared for by him with paternal love; comp: Psalms 84:3 : on the “courts” at the same passage. There lies at the bottom an abbreviated comparison: these spiritual trees flourish in the house of God as the natural trees when they are planted in a rich soil, Isaiah 5:1, or by rivers of water, Psalms 1:3. Psalms 92:15 rests upon Deuteronomy 32:4, “the rock, his work is perfect, for all his ways are judgment, a God of truth and without iniquity, just and right is he.” Believers must always at least agree in this ancient praise of the uprightness and faithfulness of God, even although many things often happen to lead them wrong. On the “uprightness” comp. at Psalms 25:8. God shows himself upright inasmuch as lie manifests himself rich in help to his people. The expression “my rock,” which refers to the divine unchangeableness, and veracity, and faithfulness (comp. at Psalms 18:2), at the fundamental passage equivalent to faithfulness (comp. thy faithfulness here in Psalms 92:2), stands in the second clause. in the same relation as “Jehovah” does in the first, to which it stands in several ways in strict reference, comp. at Psalms 18:2. “In whom there is no unrighteousness” corresponds to “upright.” The ε in εμΰ stands with a certain emphasis, comp. on this use of the copulative Thes. p. 396, c. c. Instead of the rare form φֹ ?μϊδ (comp. Job 5:16), the Kri has the usual ςַ ?εְ ?μָ ?ϊָ ?δ. Psalms 93. The might of the world threatens to shake the earth, and, with it, the kingdom of God. But the Psalmist places, in opposition to its blustering rage, the Lord, whom he beholds coming "in his kingdom," clothed with majesty, girt with strength,-in op-position to their modern throne, the eternal throne of the Lord, ver. 1, 2. The might of the world roars like the tumultuous sea, but the Lord on high is more glorious than the sea with its swell-ing waves, ver. 3, 4. The sum is in ver. 5: the Lord's promises are to be depended upon, he will always protect his house. The reference, which it is impossible not to notice, in which"glorious in the height is the Lord," in ver. 4, stands to "thou art height in eternity, O Lord," in Psalms 92:8, the kernel andmiddle point of that whole Psalm, has already led commentators to notice a near connection with Psalms 92. Next, there is "the tautological nature of the language, the sense being spread over two clauses, the first of which sinks down to the vocative of Je-hovah " (Hitzig), in ver. 3, to be compared with Psalms 92:9. We have still further the circumstance, that the number five of the verses of our Psalm, the signature of the half makes up, with the fifteen of Psalms 92., the number 20; and that the five times repeated Jehovah (Jehovah is spoken of and addressed in alter-nate verses), makes up, with the seven repetitions of Psalms 92., the number 12. These facts shew that our Psalms form one pair of Psalms, an idea which is decidedly favoured by the contents; both Psalms minister consolation to the church, exposed to dan-ger by the might of the world. In regard to the date of composition, our Psalm presupposes a powerful pressure from the might of the world against the king-dom of God, and, consequently, cannot be dated earlier than the Assyrian catastrophe. And that we cannot descend later than this era is evident from the very apparent dependence of the Psalm upon Psalms 46. The temple appears in ver. 5 as threa-tened. The result here obtained applies equally, not only to Psalms 92., but also to Psalms 91.; comp. the introduction to Psalms 92 :More exact particulars can be obtained, wherever they are gene-rally possible, only out of the following Psalms. In reference to the contents, Calvin: "The might of God is set forth as the ground of confidence, whereas, generally, fear and trembling arise from it, so that we do not sufficiently clothe God with his might, but rob him of his dominion." Ver. 1, 2.-Ver. 1. The Lord reigneth, he clotheth himself with majesty, he clothed himself, the Lord girdeth himself with power, therefore the earth stands firm, it does not move. Ver. 2. Thy throne is firmly grounded of old, from eternity thou art.-"The Lord reigneth," in ver. 1, alludes to the form used at the proclamation of the commencement of the reign of earthly sovereigns, comp. 2 Samuel 15:10, 1 Kings 1:11; 1 Kings 1:13, 2 Kings 9:13. This allusion makes it plain that the language does not apply to the constant government of God, but to a new glorious manifestation of his dominion, as it were a new ascent of the throne; Michaelis correctly: rex factus est. We are led to thesame result, also, by the parallel passages, Psalms 96:10; Psalms 97:1; Psalms 99:1, where the same form occurs; the language in all these passages refers to the coming of the Lord in his kingdom. In like manner, in Isaiah 24:23, where the discourse is likewise of the kingdom of glory: "the moon is ashamed, and the sun is ashamed, for the Lord of hosts reigns on mount Zion, and at Je-rusalem, and before his ancients there in glory," comp. Obed. ver. 21, Zechariah 14:9, and especially Revelation 11:17; Revelation 19:6. Be-sides this, the התאזר, "he girds himself," not "he is girded," can only be referred to a future manifestation of the glory of God. In face, therefore, of the high-handed proclamation of the might of the world, that it shall now, more than ever, lord it over the earth and the kingdom of God, in face of the cry, "the Assyrian or the Babylonian reigneth," the Psalmist raises his cry, "Jehovah reigneth;" he announces that the dominion of the Lord, so far from being overthrown by such feeble onsets, is now about, for the first time, to become manifest in its full glory. His cry, "the Lord reigneth," found the beginning of its verifica-tion at the destruction of Babylon and the deliverance of Israel; as to its full import, however, it is Messianic,--in Christ the Lord has truly come to reign, and he shall reign still more gloriously in the future; comp. the above mentioned passages in Rev. This cry, "the Lord reigneth," his servants always raise still against the fierce onsets of the world against the church, with which it gains nothing more than that it thereby calls forth a new glorious revelation of his dominion. It is the holy war-cry of the church in face of the world. The remarks of Calvin upon this are well deserving of consideration: "all acknowledge with the mouth what the prophet here teaches, but how few place this shield, as is meet, in front of the might of the world, so that they fear nothing, be it ever so terrible." The preterites are explained by the circumstance, that the Psalmist, as a seer, has the future before his eyes. He sees, with pleasure, how the Lord enters upon his kingdom, makes use of the rod of majesty, and girds on the sword of strength, in face of the haughty world. The לבשis "to put on," as in Isaiah 51:9. The majesty with which the Lord clothes himself, forms the opposition, the antidote against the majesty and pride of the world; comp. Psalms 89:9; Psalms 46:4. The second לבש cannot be referred to the preceding one: majestyhe puts on, the Lord puts on. For, in this case, there would be nothing but a flat repetition. And we cannot construe: the Lord puts on power, he is girded (therewith), for the עז is con-nected by the accusative with התאזר. The easiest plan is to suppose that the Psalmist begins the sentence, "he puts on strength" (comp. the עז לבש, in Isaiah 51:9), and then suddenly changes it, because the strength corresponding to the sword ap-pears still better as a girdle (comp. at Psalms 45:3; Psalms 76:10); heputs on-girds on strength. The אף also, deduces the conse-quence surely to be determined from what precedes: Mich. unde etiam. The globe (comp. on תבל at Psalms 90:2), together with the kingdom of God upon it, is, by the plunderers of the world, shaken to its deepest foundations; comp. Psalms 46:2; Psalms 46:3; Psalms 46:6. But by the coming of the Lord in his kingdom it shall be again estab-lished. He will display, in preserving it, the same omnipotence which he displayed in creating it; comp. Psalms 104:5, "he has founded the earth, it moves not for ever." This allusion to cre- ation is peculiarly suitable in a hymn which was intended to be used on the Sabbath-day. The beginning and the end of the verse occur word for word again in Psalms 96:10. On the clause, "it shall not move," comp. Psalms 46:5.-In ver, 2 the Psalmist places the newly erected throne of wickedness, Psalms 94:20, over against the eternal throne of God, which shall survive the former as long as it has preceded it. The נכון is "he establishes," "he grounds firm;" comp. 2 Samuel 7:13; 2 Samuel 7:16, 1 Kings 2:45. The מאז, is properly "from there," or “ then,” next "from of old;" Prov. 7:22, Isaiah 48:3; Isaiah 48:5; Isaiah 48:7. The throne of wickedness has no "then;" it is of yesterday, like a mushroom sprung out of the earth. The eternity is not the bare but the omnipotent eternity, comp. at Psalms 90:2. He who is in this way the first is also the last, Isaiah 41:4; Isaiah 44:6, Revelation 1:17; he remains when all the powers of the earth fall in the dust. Ver. 3, 4.-Ver. 3. The floods lift up, O Lord, the floods lift up their voice, the floods lift up their din. Ver. 4. Than the voices of many waters, than the glorious waves of the sea, more glorious in the height is the Lord.-There can be no doubt that the sea comes into notice here as the symbol of worldly power. There was no need, as Maurer desiderates, of its being expressly marked out as such. For it is the standing emblem, comp. atPsa_89:9, and also Psalms 107:23 ss.; and in our Psalm, the design of which is to impart consolation in the conflicts occa-sioned by the threatening power of the world, it is everywhere before the eye of the Psalmist. The fundamental passage here, also, is Psalms 46. By the floods are meant the waters of the sea; comp. Jonah 2:4, and probably, also, Psalms 24:2, where the floods are parallel with the seas. That we are here chiefly to think of these is obvious, from the circumstance, that the sea is the usual symbol of the tumultuous mass of nations, and, also from the 4th verse, where the Psalmist expressly explains, that by the "many glorious waters," = "floods" in ver. 3, are to be understood "thewaves of the sea." The דכי properly the "collision of thewaves," corresponds to the משברים in ver. 4, the "breakers." On "the Lord in majesty is more glorious than the voice," &c., in ver. 4, comp. "more glorious art thou than mountains of prey," in Psalms 76:4. The voice of the floods is thus expressly brought forward with reference to the voice of the Lord, the thunder, as the outward proof of his glory, infinitely exalted above that of the sea; comp. Psalms 29 :As the thunder sounds louder than the loudest noise of the sea, so the Lord is infinitely more glorious than the sea, infinitely more glorious than the power of the world symbolized by it;a and that nation, whose God is the Lord, would be foolish indeed, if it were to tremble before the might of the world. It requires only to open its ear to the thunder to be comforted.Ver. 5. Thy testimonies are very surely to be depended upon, holiness, O Lord, becomes thy house for ever.-On "the testi-mony." and "the testimonies" of the Lord, as expressive of the Mosaic Law, compare at the fundamental passage, Psalms 19:7, "the testimony of the Lord is sure," Psalms 25:10; Psalms 25:60. Title, 80. Title, 119:24. Here, according to the connection, we can only think of the promises of the law, comp. Psalms 94:12, "blessed is the man Whom thou instructest and teachest out of thy law," by which assurance is given to his people of everlast-ing existence and of deliverance from all troubles. It follows from the glory of the Lord, as described in ver. 1-4, that these promises are unconditionally sure. The correct interpretation a The symbolical action of our Lord, Mark 4:37 ss., depends on passages such as the one now before us.which many commentators have failed to see, (Luther: thy word is right doctrine), lies at the foundation of the passages in the Apocalypse, 19:9, 21:5, 22:6. The Berleb. Bible: "David in this gives as it were a reproof to the soul that it does not suf-ficiently put faith in the testimonies which God has given it, as to how he himself shall lead it, as if he said: how often has he not assured us that those who commit themselves to him, shall suffer no want? These testimonies are well worth being confided in, and yet we trust them not." The holiness which becomes the house of such a God, (comp. Psalms 33:1), must be preserved for it by himself. It is becoming in God that he take care that it be not desecrated by impious hand, comp, Psalms 74:74; Psalms 79:1.aHe can at times in punishment of the sins of his people give it up to be laid waste by the ungodly world, but he must always see to it that it rise like a Phoenix again upon the ashes, so that its holiness is again restored to it. And he has seen to this. In room of the first house destroyed by the Chaldeans, there arose the second; and the second was not destroyed till it had become a mere shell without a kernel, and a glorious new erection of the house of God had come into life in the Christian Church. The world did not destroy it; but God himself took down the poor provisional building, when the proper one was completed; and this last one shall preserve its sanctity at all times in spite of all the assaults of the destruction loving world. The fundamental passage is Psalms 23:6 : "I dwell in the house of the Lord for ever," לארך, ימים, properly "for length of days." The import in both pas-sages is essentially the same. For the house on behalf of whose preservation the Psalmist here expresses his confident hope is the house where the Lord dwells with his people and they with him; and it comes into view only in connection with this property. The preservation of the house for its own sake is not what is spoken of, but only in so far as it is the seat of the church; it is therefore the preservation of the church that lies near the Psalmist's heart. The common translation is: the maintenance of holiness becomes thy house, it is becoming that it should be held holy by us. By this mis-translation the point of the Psalm is destroyed. There are to be urged against it: that the thought in the connec- a Amyrald. "Thy house shall by thy sacred august presence remain for ever unde- filed, nor shall it be violated or polluted by the insolence of thine enemies."tion is wholly a strange one,-the design of the Psalm is evidently to impart confident reliance on the protection of the Lord in op-pressions from the world-that in Psalms 93:93; Psalms 93:92., and even in 91., the subject spoken of is what God does for his people, not what they should do for him; besides this we have the analogous conclusion in Psalms 92., the parallelism, the fundamental pas-sage Psalms 23:6, and also "the for length of days," and finally the קדש which does not signify maintenance of holiness but holiness. Ver. 5. Thy testimonies are very surely to be depended upon, holiness, O Lord, becomes thy house for ever. On “the testimony” and “the testimonies” of the Lord, as expressive of the Mosaic Law, compare at the fundamental passage, Psalms 19:7, “the testimony of the Lord is sure,” Psalms 25:10, Psalms 60 Title, Psalms 80 Title, Psalms 119:24. Here, according to the connection, we can only think of the promises of the law, comp. Psalms 94:12, “blessed is the man Whom thou instructest and teachest out of thy law,” by which assurance is given to his people of everlasting existence and of deliverance from all troubles. It follows from the glory of the Lord, as described in Psalms 93:1-4, that these promises are unconditionally sure. The correct interpretation which many commentators have failed to see, (Luther: thy word is right doctrine), lies at the foundation of the passages in the Apocalypse, Revelation 19:9, Revelation 21:5, Revelation 22:6. The Berleb. Bible: “David in this gives as it were a reproof to the soul that it does not sufficiently put faith in the testimonies which God has given it, as to how he himself shall lead it, as if he said: how often has he not assured us that those who commit themselves to him, shall suffer no want? These testimonies are well worth being confided in, and yet we trust them not.” The holiness which becomes the house of such a God, (comp. Psalms 33:1), must be preserved for it by himself. It is becoming in God that he take care that it be not desecrated by impious hand, comp, Psalms 74, Psalms 79:1. [Note: Amyrald. “Thy house shall by thy sacred august presence remain for ever undefiled, nor shall it be violated or polluted by the insolence of thine enemies.”] He can at times in punishment of the sins of his people give it up to be laid waste by the ungodly world, but he must always see to it that it rise like a Phoenix again upon the ashes, so that its holiness is again restored to it. And he has seen to this. In room of the first house destroyed by the Chaldeans, there arose the second; and the second was not destroyed till it had become a mere shell without a kernel, and a glorious new erection of the house of God had come into life in the Christian Church. The world did not destroy it; but God himself took down the poor provisional building, when the proper one was completed; and this last one shall preserve its sanctity at all times in spite of all the assaults of the destruction loving world. The fundamental passage is Psalms 23:6 : “I dwell in the house of the Lord for ever,” μΰψκιξιν, properly “for length of days.” The import in both passages is essentially the same. For the house on behalf of whose preservation the Psalmist here expresses his confident hope is the house where the Lord dwells with his people and they with him; and it comes into view only in connection with this property. The preservation of the house for its own sake is not what is spoken of, but only in so far as it is the seat of the church; it is therefore the preservation of the Church that lies near the Psalmist’s heart. The common translation is: the maintenance of holiness becomes thy house, it is becoming that it should be held holy by us. By this mis-translation the point of the Psalm is destroyed. There are to be urged against it: that the thought in the connection is wholly a strange one,—the design of the Psalm is evidently to impart confident reliance on the protection of the Lord in oppressions from the world—that in Psalms 93, Psalms 92, and even in Psalms 91, the subject spoken of is what God does for his people, not what they should do for him; besides this we have the analogous conclusion in Psalms 92, the parallelism, the fundamental passage Psalms 23:6, and also “the for length of days,” and finally the χγω which does not signify maintenance of holiness but holiness. Psalms 94. The Psalmist, or rather the church, begins with the expression of confidence in the appearance of God for help and vengeance, ver. 1. On the ground of this there next rises the prayer that God would rise up against the proud enemies, to which there is added the description of their unreasonable and God-denying un-godliness, ver. 2-7. Upon this there follows the emphatic refuta-tion of those among the people in whom the ungodly assertion al-luded to at the close, "that the Lord does not see, the God of Israel does not observe," had found an entrance, ver. 8-11. In opposition to these the Psalmist pronounces those men happy who continue in the firm faith of the help of the Lord: he will interest himself at his own time on behalf of his people, ver. 12-15. He declares that in every suffering the Lord is his consola-tion and his confidence, ver. 16-23. If we separate the first verse, as is obvious from itself that we must do, as soon as we get at the correct interpretation of הופיע, it becomes manifest that the Psalm in regard to number is an alphabetical one. The main division consists of 12 verses. Up to this point there is prayer, description of trouble, rejection of despair; and after that, hope. The 22 therefore is divided by a 10 and a 12. That the Psalm does not refer to the internal difference between the wicked and the righteous, but to the relation to heathen enemies, is evident from the 5th verse, according to which the wicked distress the people of the Lord and oppress his inheri-tance, from the 14th verse, according to which the Lord willnot forget his people, and will not forsake his inheritance, from the 10th verse, according to which the punishment of the impious heathen is what the ungodly part of the people deny, and the pious hope for in faith, and finally from the mention of "the throne of iniquity," in ver. 20, apparently favoured by God, by which we can understand only the heathen power. That the Psalm is intimately connected with the series of Psalms of which it forms a part (Psalms 91.-c.), is manifest from the anadiplosis characteristic of these Psalms, ver. 1, 3-23 (compare the introduction to Psalms 93.), from the sympathy expressed with the expectation peculiar to them of a joyful revelation of God, ver. 1, from the soft tone never rising above a certain height, and from their quiet tenderness, as well as the simple language which flows on easily without any great difficulty. There is hence a limit fixed, beyond which we cannot go in de-termining the date of the composition, by the 93d Psalm, which, as was shewn, cannot have been composed at all events later than the Assyrian catastrophe. We are led to the same result also, by the mention here made of the throne of iniquity, which shews that the Asiatic power had at that time already arisen and taken up a hostile position against the kingdom of God. The plaintive tone, ver. 6, according to which Israel finds herself in the situation of a widow and an orphan, ver. 14, according to which the Lord appears to have wholly forsaken his people, ver. 17, according to which the people is near destruction, leads us away from the time of the Assyrians in which prophets and psalmists are from the beginning full of joyful and triumphant hope, to that of the Chal-deans. But that we cannot advance too far into this period is manifest from the circumstance that no mention whatever is made here of the destruction of the city and temple, and of the lead-ing away into captivity and of the dispersion. Yea, if we observe that the descriptions of the severe oppression of the power of the world is altogether general, and remember that Habakkuk, a con-siderable time before the Chaldean invasion, under Josiah, saw it present in spirit, and gave expression, in the language not only of prophecy but also of poetry, to those considerations which were fitted to minister comfort and support on its approach, we shall consider it as not improbable that even our Psalm formed part of that rich spiritual provision which the spirit of God prepared forthe church before it entered upon that painful journey. It is an-tecedently probable that the voice of the spiritual "watchman of Zion, which made known so distinctly and so earnestly this ca- tastrophe long before its arrival, had called forth a response from the midst of the church,-that prophecy was not unaccompanied by psalmody; this is all the more probable, as the third chapter of Habakkuk shows us the former in a state of transition to the latter. The tone and character of the Psalm appear much more intelligible if we assign it to the eve of this catastrophe, than if we assign it to the catastrophe itself. There occur in it, and this may be said of the whole series to which it belongs, no traces of excite-ment, no attempts at conflicting with despair, as these meet us in those Psalms which were composed in the midst of the terrible sufferings of the Chaldean catastrophe. Finally, the special originating point of the Psalm does not deprive it of any of its universal truth-Luther remarks: "This Psalm, as may be easily apprehended, is a prayer of all the pious children of God, and of spiritual people, against all their perse-cutors, so that it may be used by all pious godly people from the beginning till the end of the world. Ver. 1. The God of vengeance, the Lord, the God of venge-ance shines. Luther: "He puts down God of vengeance twice as those are wont to do who speak vehemently, and with great earnestness; these men say a thing repeatedly that they may move God." Even the plural, properly "the God of vengeances," strengthens the expression. It indicates that there is in God a whole fulness of vengeance for his injured church. The fundamen-tal passage is Deuteronomy 32:35 : "Vengeance is mine and recom-pense." That God is the God of vengeance forms the sure foun- dation on which the confident hope of his appearing rests. This is the eternally powerful root from which springs the rod of help for the church. Arnd: "Therefore should the people of God rejoice and be glad because they have such a mighty, strong, and righteous God, who inquires after their blood and avenges it." The הופיע is usually taken as an imperative do thou, God of vengeance, shine forth. But it must rather be taken as a preterite, after the example of the Septuagint and the Vulgate. The imperative would be הופיעה, as in Psalms 80:1; as in the fundamental passage, Deuteronomy 33:2 (comp. at Psalms 1:2), theform which stands here is the preterite, it is all the more unlikely to have been erroneously taken here for the imperative; the pre-terite is also the form which occurs in Psalms 1:2, "from Sion-God shines:" Psalms 93:93; Psalms 97:97; Psalms 97:99. also begin with the preterite, "the Lord reigneth," comp. Psalms 96:10. In these passages "the Lord reigneth," and in the Psalm before us, "the Lord shines," are presented to the noisy onsets of the world. The firm, confident expectation of an immediate, great manifestation of the Lord, is the distinguishing feature of the whole series of Psalms. The Psalmist looks down from the height of this expectation upon suffering; next, he descends into the deep, in order that, with strength thus received, he may again gradually mount up on high laden with his heavy burden; or: ere he descends into the dark-ness, he kindles at the candlestick of the divine word, this pit-lamp which alone can enlighten it.Ver. 2-7.-Ver. 2. Rise up thou, Judge of the earth, recom-pense a reward to the proud. Ver. 3. How long shall the wicked, O Lord, how long shall the wicked triumph. Ver. 4. They sputter, speak impudent things, they brag, all the evil- doers. Ver. 5. Thy people, O Lord, they crush and oppress thine inheritance. Ver. 6. Widow and stranger they put to death, and they murder the orphan. Ver.7. And say: the Lord sees not, and the God of Jacob observes not.--On the "lift thyself up," i. e., "show thyself mighty," at ver. 2, comp. at Psalms 7:6. Luther: "Because he only is judge and avenger, the pious pray that he would lift himself up, that is, that he would set himself on high on his seat as judge and show his work, not allow himself to be so oppressed as if he were nothing." On גמול comp. at Psalms 7:4, to present gifts = to recompense. The fundamental passage is Psalms 28:4, "give them their gifts," comp. also Psalms 79:12. In reference to the גאים, Luther: "He means here the proud, not only those who are haughty in heart, but also those who have got the upper hand and the victory in persecution, as if they had conquered and suppressed the godly."-The expression, "they sputter," in ver. 4, depends on Psalms 59:7, "behold they sputter with their mouth." The Psalmist delights to make use of the words which former holy men of God had uttered in refer-ence to troubles and dangers which God had already averted. What the wicked did sputter out, is not expressly mentioned inthe fundamental passage; it is sufficient first to indicate the quantity, and after that, for the first time, the quality. Hence, we do not need to supply עתק, here, in which case even "they speak" would be flat. In reference to "they speak impudence," comp. at the fundamental passage, Psalms 75:5. The Hiph. of אמר occurs only here, and, in all probability, was formed by the Psalmist himself from the four Hithp. in Psalms 18:25; Psalms 18:26. We must, however, all the more on this account, keep by the above-ascertained sense of אמר to speak. The Hithp. denotes zealous, vehement, impassioned speaking, comp. Ew. § 124. The trans-lation, "they rise up," is not only etymologically ungrounded, but is less suitable, even in the parallelism, as the first clause refers only to speaking. Ver. 5 treats for the first time of deeds. On "the evil-doers" comp. Psalms 92:7; Psalms 92:9.-They oppress, ver. 5, as formerly Pharaoh in Egypt did, comp. Genesis 15:13; Ex.i. 12.-The 6th verse is not to be understood literally: it is obvious from the Mention of " the strangers" that there is an abbreviated com-parison,-thy people, who are as helpless as the widow, &c. The murdering also does not suit domestic relations, and the heathen enemies did not make the personae miserabiles the chief objects of their rage. The figurative expression here, as well as the in-dividualizing one in Psalms 68:5, owes its origin to those passages in the law in which the widow and the fatherless are mentioned as objects of the tender care of God, and as such are specially com-mitted to the loving treatment of Israel, for example, Deuteronomy 10:18, "He defends the right of the fatherless and the widow, and loves the stranger," Exodus 22:20 ss. "Thou shalt neither vex a stran-ger nor oppress him . . . ye shall not afflict any widow or fatherless child. If thou afflict them! For if they cry to me, I will hear their cry. And my anger waxes hot, and I kill you with the sword, and your wives shall be widows and your children orphans." There is great emphasis in the reference to these passages. They contain a rich fulness of comfort for the afflicted people. If orphans in the proper sense are the objects of the loving care of God, he must also take under the same care his own destitute people. If he avenges the widows on their oppres-sors, he must also visit his widowed church on its oppression. Does he punish the wicked among Israel who oppress the miser-able? he must also punish the wicked heathen who oppress hisown people in their affliction-On ver. 7, comp. Psalms 10:11; Psalms 10:13; Psalms 14:1; Psalms 59:7. Ver. 2. Rise up thou, Judge of the earth, recompense a reward to the proud. Ver. 3. How long shall the wicked, O Lord, how long shall the wicked triumph. Ver. 4. They sputter, speak impudent things, they brag, all the evildoers. Ver. 5. Thy people, O Lord, they crush and oppress thine inheritance. Ver. 6. Widow and stranger they put to death, and they murder the orphan. Ver. 7. And say: the Lord sees not, and the God of Jacob observes not. On the “lift thyself up,” i.e., “show thyself mighty,” at Psalms 94:2, comp. at Psalms 7:6. Luther: “Because he only is judge and avenger, the pious pray that he would lift himself up, that is, that he would set himself on high on his seat as judge and show his work, not allow himself to be so oppressed as if he were nothing.” On βΰεμ, comp. at Psalms 7:4, to present gifts = to recompense. The fundamental passage is Psalms 28:4, “give them their gifts,” comp. also Psalms 79:12. In reference to the βΰιν, Luther: “He means here the proud, not only those who are haughty in heart, but also those who have got the upper hand and the victory in persecution, as if they had conquered and suppressed the godly.” The expression, “they sputter,” in Psalms 94:4, depends on Psalms 59:7, “behold they sputter with their mouth.” The Psalmist delights to make use of the words which former holy men of God had uttered in reference to troubles and dangers which God had already averted. What the wicked did sputter out, is not expressly mentioned in the fundamental passage; it is sufficient first to indicate the quantity, and after that, for the first time, the quality. Hence, we do not need to supply ςϊχ here, in which case even “they speak” would be flat. In reference to “they speak impudence,” comp. at the fundamental passage, Psalms 75:5. The Hiph. of ΰξψ occurs only here, and, in all probability, was formed by the Psalmist himself from the four Hithp. in Psalms 18:25-26. We must, however, all the more on this account, keep by the alone ascertained sense of ΰξψ to speak. The Hithp. denotes zealous, vehement, impassioned speaking, comp. Ew. § 124. The translation, “they rise up,” is not only etymologically ungrounded, but is less suitable, even in the parallelism, as the first clause refers only to speaking. Psalms 94:5 treats for the first time of deeds. On “the evil-doers” comp. Psalms 92:7, Psalms 92:9. They oppress, Psalms 94:5, as formerly Pharaoh in Egypt did, comp. Genesis 15:13; Exodus 1:12.— The (Psalms 94:6) 6th verse is not to be understood literally: it is obvious from the mention of “ the strangers” that there is an abbreviated comparison,—thy people, who are as helpless as the widow, &c. The murdering also does not suit domestic relations, and the heathen enemies did not make the personae miserabiles the chief objects of their rage. The figurative expression here, as well as the individualizing one in Psalms 68:5, owes its origin to those passages in the law in which the widow and the fatherless are mentioned as objects of the tender care of God, and as such are specially committed to the loving treatment of Israel, for example, Deuteronomy 10:18, “He defends the right of the fatherless and the widow, and loves the stranger,” Exodus 22:20 ss. “Thou shalt neither vex a stranger nor oppress him . . . ye shall not afflict any widow or fatherless child. If thou afflict them! For if they cry to me, I will hear their cry. And my anger waxes hot, and I kill you with the sword, and your wives shall be widows and your children orphans.” There is great emphasis in the reference to these passages. They contain a rich fulness of comfort for the afflicted people. If orphans in the proper sense are the objects of the loving care of God, he must also take under the same care his own destitute people. If he avenges the widows on their oppressors, he must also visit his widowed church on its oppression. Does he punish the wicked among Israel who oppress the miserable? he must also punish the wicked heathen who oppress his own people in their affliction On Psalms 94:7, comp. Psalms 10:11, Psalms 10:13, Psalms 14:1, Psalms 59:7. Ver. 8-11.-Ver. 8. Yet mark, ye fools among the people, and, ye stupid, when will ye become wise? Ver. 9. He who planted the ear shall he not hear? He who formed the eye shall he not see? Ver. 10. He who summons the heathen shall he not punish? he who teaches men knowledge. Ver. 11. The Lord knows the thoughts of men that they are vain.-The Psalmist, in ver. 8, casts up the want of knowledge which the ignorance of God will imply to those, ver. 7, to whom it belongs: but he does not ad-dress himself to those who first started the objection, the blind heathen, who could only become wise to their cost, but to the foolish among the people, among Israel, comp. Judges 5:9, among whom the assertion of the heathen found a response. That we cannot translate "ye foolish people," understanding the address to be directed to the heathen, is clear from the circumstance-that the Psalmist has before his eyes those who are capable of being instructed from creation-it would be in vain to instruct the heathen from creation,-from the opposition of the other in-telligent part of the people, in ver. 12, 13, finally, from the way and manner in which the heathen are spoken of in ver. 10. Onבערים comp. Psalms 73:22; on the whole verse, Psalms 92:7 :- Berleb: "Ye foolish" expresses wonder: how sensible you are in that you disown your God, which, nevertheless, above every thing else, shows your ignorance. You have not even the spark of wisdom to believe in an all-seeing God. Reflect upon your stupi-dity and blindness! learn to mark how Satan mocks and deceives you!"-On ver. 9, Luther remarks: "He would thus give away what he does not possess himself." Arnd: "Learn to know God from the powers of your own body and soul. He who has made an understanding heart, should he not himself understand? he who has created a righteous heart, should he not himself be righteous? he who has made a compassionate heart, should he not himself have a father-heart?" We cannot translate he who has planted. The discourse is about a work of God which is in daily progress. Should he not hear, and see every thing, and, therefore, also the scorn of the wicked, the sighs and sufferings of his own people.-In the first clause of ver. 10, the power of God over the spirits of the heathen, by which he lets his voice be heard in theirinnermost depths, manifesting, as it does, that his being is ele-vated above all limits, is employed to show the folly of the asser-tion that he does not punish their deeds from ignorance of their crimes. The יסר, occurs in the sense of to summon, to warn, a sense which it bears more frequently than that of punishment. It occurs in ver. 12, exactly in the same way, comp. Psalms 2:10, and Proverbs 9:7, "he that reproveth a sinner begetteth to himself shame." Genesis 20. is in reality parallel, where the heathen Abi-melech receives a similar warning from God, comp. especially ver. 6, "I held thee back from sinning against me," but particularly Romans 1:20, ii, 14, 15. As the doctrine of an influence exercised by God upon the consciences of the heathen, from which the con-clusion is here drawn that he beholds and punishes their deeds, is of rare occurrence in the Old Testament-a fact to be explained by the very depraved condition of the heathen around the Israel-ites, among whom few traces of such an influence could be seen -another translation has been thought of: shall not he who for-merly chastised the heathen punish them also now? But the "formerly," or the "always," and the "now" would need in this case to be more distinctly marked. Even the "warning" suits much better in the parallel. For in the second clause, from an undeniable, subtile, and inward operation of God in reference to the heathen, a conclusion is drawn as to the folly of denying an operation of a more tangible and, external kind. Shall not he to whom the heathen owe all their power of judging know and punish also their deeds.-In ver. 10 the proposition that God knows, and proportionally punishes the thoughts of men, and specially the plans of the wicked for the destruction of the right-eous, is proved from the general relation of men to God: they are vanity, but he is Jehovah, Jahveh, the pure absolute Exist-ence; comp. on the sense of Jahveh, Beitr: 2 P. 233 ss. Isaiah 40:17 is parallel: "all the heathen are as nothing before him." The common translation is: the Lord knows the thoughts of the hea-then that they (the thoughts) are vain, avail nothing. But this translation destroys the connection. The connection requires that something be said in opposition to the affirmation that God does not see, does not know, and, consequently, does not punish. The knowing comes into notice only as the condition of the pun-ishing. The masc. pronoun המה is also against it. The mascu-line cannot be placed here, instead of the feminine, as the usual form, Ew. § 184 c., because a masc. noun preceded, and ambi-guity would thus be occasioned. Even in the parallel passages, Psalms 39:5; Psalms 39:11, "all men are only vanity," 62:9, "only va-nity are the children of men," הבל is used of men themselves. Ver. 12-15. -Ver. 12. Blessedness to the man whom thou, O Lord, admonishest, and teachest him out of thy law. Ver. 13. To give him rest against the days of adversity till the pit shall be dug for the wicked. Ver. 14. For the Lord will not reject his people; and his inheritance he will not forsake. Ver. 15. For to righteousness the right will return, and all the righteous shall follow it.-Those who allow themselves to be admonished and taught by the Lord, in ver. 12, stand in opposition to the foolish among the people, who go to school with the blind un-godly heathen. The object of the instruction appears from the connection, and especially from ver. 13-15. Luther: "That the plans and doings of the ungodly are vain and do not last, al-though they are very confident of success, and carry things with such a high hand that they boast, sing, talk, gossip, and applaud. Here sense and nature can do nothing, and know not that such a way is nothing. For nature judges as it feels, and thinks no farther: it cannot see things which are future, and are as, yet not in existence, it hangs upon the present. Therefore he says God must here be a master, and teach this. And blessed are those to whom he teaches it." The law appears here as the means which God uses in this instruction, the fountain out of which he draws it, and then satisfies with it by his Spirit the thirsty soul. It comes into notice in connection with its doctrine of recompense (comp. for example the passages to which the Psalmist himself had alluded in ver. 6), and its rich consolatory promises for the people of the Lord, whose end is always salvation, comp. for ex-ample Deuteronomy 32. Leviticus 26.-The Lord procures rest before or against the day of adversity, ver. 13, inasmuch as by his instruc-tion and consolation he brings it about that these do not any more inwardly distress the righteous, and lead him to murmur, to despair, or to fall away. Comp. Psalms 112:8, "his heart is estab-lished, he is not afraid till he see his desire upon his enemies," Psalms 49:5, "wherefore should I fear in the days of evil, when the iniquity of my treaders down compasses me about?"-Inver. 14 we have the basis of the declaration as to the blessedness of those who meet adversity in patience and quiet: the Lord may perhaps forsake his people for a time (comp. Judges 6:13, Isaiah 2:6), as a righteous punishment for forsaking him. Deuteronomy 32:15, but not for ever,-he again at his own time takes under his care his people and inheritance oppressed by the heathen, ver. 5. Arnd: "Lebanius, a sophist, asked a Christian: what is your carpenter's son doing? The Christian replied: he is making a coffin for Julian the tyrant. Immediately after this he was killed in battle and brought home in a coffin."-The right, ver. 15, which at present is inverted, Habakkuk 1:14, inasmuch as the wicked have the upper hand, the wicked devour the man who is more righteous than he, Habakkuk 1:13, is brought back at the proper time to right-eousness, is again administered according to its rule. Arnd"When a man suppresses the right, it is as if the sun were ex-tinguished with water, and yet the sun is greater than the sea." The suffix in אהריו can only refer to the right brought back to righteousness. The righteous accompany it with the joy of their heart and with happy shouts: comp. the song of triumph of the church of the Lord over the fall of the King of Babylon in Isaiah 14. Ver. 16-23. -Ver. 16. Who rises up for me against the evil-doers? Who stands up for me against the workers of iniquity? Ver. 17. Had not the Lord been my help, my soul had soon inhabited silence. Ver. 18. If I say "my foot slides," thy mercy, O Lord, holds me up. Ver. 19. In the multitude of my Thoughts within me, thy consolations delight my soul. Ver. 20. Is the throne of wickedness in covenant with thee, which maketh misery as a law? Ver. 21. They storm at the soul of the righteous, and condemn innocent blood. Ver. 22. But the Lord is my tower, and my God the rock of my confidence. Ver. 23. And he recompenses to them their unrighteousness, and will requite them because of their wickedness, the Lord our God will requite them.-Ver. 17 gives the answer to the question in ver. 16: the Lord is the only help of the Psalmist, of his church,-without him the church would be irremediably destroyed, comp. Psalms 25:16, "Lord, have mercy upon me, for I am soli- tary." For me = for my help. "With the wicked," in con- flict with them. On התיצב to put oneself down in a place, to step forward, comp. at Psalms 2:2.-The דומה in ver. 17, like theדומיה in the Davidic Psalms, is silence, comp. at Psalms 62:1. Silence is what reigns in the noiseless kingdom of the dead, comp. Psalms 31:17, דומה does not denote the place of silence either here or in Psalms 62:1. Silence itself appears poetically as a habitation. We must translate: my soul would soon inhabit silence (comp. in reference to the כמעט, Psalms 81:14, and to the praeterite Ew. § 135), not: has already inhabited, for that the כמעט cannot signify.-In reference to the sliding of the foot in ver. 18, comp. at Psalms 66:9. Mercy upholds the Psalmist inwardly, or trust in mercy sets him up, for the outward help has not yet made its ap-pearance, comp. ver. 17, 19.-On ver. 19, Luther "He speaks of the many thoughts which one has in such a state of despair, how he could or might come out of it. Then he thinks this way and that way, and visits all holes and corners, but finds none. He therefore now says: when I was in such torture, and was killing myself with my own thoughts, when I sought comfort here and there and found none, then didst thou come with thy consolation and didst delight me."-In ver. 20 the יתברך is not P�. but Kal, and the construction with the accusative is to be explained by observing that "to be bound together," here stands instead of "to be in covenant," comp. Ew. § 282. On הוות "wickedness," comp. at Psalms 91:3. As a law,-properly "upon law," the על, being not unfrequently a reference to the rule which this particular case follows, comp. Ges. Thes. p. 1025. Ew. § 217. Isaiah 10:1, ought to be compared as a parallel passage to the whole verse. The sceptre of the wicked, in Psalms 125:3, corresponds to the throne of iniquity: for the sceptre of the wicked shall not rest upon the lot of the righteous. Many translate: which meditates mis- chief contrary to the law (Maurer: quae id agit ut onmes leges nostras perfringat). But עמל, suffering, is the standing ex-pression for the misery which comes upon men as the result of violence and wickedness; and that it is to be taken in this sense here, is evident from ver. 21, which is to be considered as con-taining the developed sense, and therefore as a commentary, and also from the whole remaining contents of the Psalms, the sub-ject of which generally is the suffering of the righteous.-On ver. 23, Luther: "He who believes this, and is taught of God, can be patient, can let the ungodly rage, and look forward to the end, and wait the time." Psalms 95. The Psalmist exhorts the church of the Lord to praise with full heart God who alone is God, the Lord of the whole earth, ver. 1-5, devoutly to fall down before him, ver. 6, not to harden the heart, which ought to be obedient to him, as their fathers did once in the wilderness, and thereby shut themselves out from the land of promise, ver. 7-11. The whole is complete in ten, which is divided by the five. In the middle there is an intercalary verse, which forms as it were the beating heart of the Psalm, contains the result gathered out of the first half, and forms the point of transition to the second. A false division has often been occasioned by laying too great stress on the fact that the Lord is introduced speaking in ver. 8-11. This is really a matter of no importance; and there is hence no sufficient reason for violently applying this change to regulate the formal division. The emphatic allusion to the example of the fathers, who, by their hardness of heart, shut themselves out from the land of promise, and especially the fact that the Psalm terminates with this allusion, have long ago given rise to the idea that the Psalm must have been composed in circumstances similar to those of the Israelites in the wilderness, in view of a glorious manifestation of the salvation of the Lord. This view is confirmed by the fact that this expectation is peculiar to the chain of Psalms, of which the Psalm before us forms one link, comp. at Psalms 94:1. All doubt disappears on comparing Psalms 96., which is bound up with our Psalm so as to form one pair; comp. the introduction to that Psalm. The reference also to the Messianic salvation was clearly and profoundly acknowledged by the author of the Epistle to the Hebrews: whose λεγωνἐνΔαβιδ, however, is not to be viewed as a testimony for the special Davidic origin of the Psalm, but only as a designation of the whole taken from the author of the greater part. We have therefore here before us an Old Testament "Rejoice ye pious." Behind the darkness of the approaching Chaldean catastrophe the Prophets perceived the approach, and the Psalm-ists led on by them excited the expectation of a clear light;and hence took occasion to address earnest admonitions to the people to seek, by unreservedly giving themselves to the Lord, participation in this light, which is accompanied side by side with a consuming fire for the rebellious. As formerly in the wilderness, so here also the people appear on the way to their rest. For the great body who did not follow the admonition of the Psalmist, and did not know the time of their visitation, the Psalm is really an awfully fulfilled prophecy. The Psalm has its full significance for the Christian Church, in-asmuch as we stand in the same relation to the second coming of the Lord, of whose time and hour we know nothing, Matthew 24:36, and which shall come on us as a thief in the night and as travail upon a woman with child, as the people of the Old Testament did to the first. The Psalm; moreover, has a peculiar significance for our times, in which there is so much to call up the thought that we are on the eve of some great catastrophe, and are about to meet the coming of the Lord with steps of majesty, "To day, if ye will hear his voice," sounds with peculiarly impressive tones in our ears. Ver. 1-5. --Ver. 1. Come, let us rejoice to the Lord, let us shout with joy to the rock of our salvation. Ver. 2. Let us an-ticipate his presence with songs of praise, let us shout to him with songs. Ver. 3. For a great God is the Lord, and a great King over all gods. Ver. 4. In whose hands are the foundations of the earth, and his are the heights of the mountains. Ver. 5. His is the sea, and he has made it, and his hands have spread out the dry land.-That the exhortation to praise God in ver. 1 and 2 does not refer to a mere outward act of worship, but de- minds the surrender of the heart, which is the fountain equally of true love to God and of obedience to his commandments, is evi-dent from the negative of the second corresponding to the positive of the first part of the Psalm: harden not your heart, &c. God is called the Rock of salvation as being its unchangeable foundation and faithful author; comp. at Psalms 18:2 - Psalms 92:16; Psalms 94:22, -In reference to the קדם to anticipate, in ver. 2 (Vulg. praeoc-cupemus faciem ejus) comp. Psalms 21:3; Psalms 79:8; Psalms 88:13, "in the morning my prayer shall anticipate thee," and on the whole phraseפנים קדם also Psalms 17:13; Psalms 89:14. Calvin: "He demands haste in order that he may testify to believers that they should fulfilthis their duty with pleasure and zeal. This exhortation presup-poses that indolence which is natural to us when God calls us to render thanks." Psalms 57:8, for example, is really parallel, where the Psalmist promises that he shall always awaken the morning with his thanks and praise. The common translation, "let us come before thy face," is a mistake, and cannot be defended etymologically.-That ver. 3 does not lead to the supposition of the real existence of the heathen deities is evident from Psalms 96:4; Psalms 96:5, where the corresponding expression, "for great is the Lord and very glorious, dreadful above all gods," is followed by, "for all the Gods of the nations are nothing, but the Lord has made the heavens." The words are to be explained from the contrast intended to be drawn to the way of the world, which grants to Jehovah only the importance of a small God, and places him far beneath its own gods. In like manner, in ver. 4, 5, they are de-nied not only the place of supremacy, but even existence itself. For the Lord has every thing, they therefore have nothing; and a God who has nothing has no existence. Finally, what is here said as to what God is, is said in reference to the approaching glorious mani-festation of this his being; because as shall be the case speedily through the unveiling of the glory of the Lord, his wonder and his salvation, Psalms 96:2; Psalms 96:3, shall come to light, &c.-That the Psalm-ist in ver. 4 and 5 brings forward only the dominion of the Lord over the earth is clear from Psalms 96:5, where as a supplementary idea heaven is spoken of. In reference to the earth, the deepest depths and the highest heights are first placed in opposition in ver. 4, and after that in ver. 5, the sea and the dry land. מהקר is what is sought for, the concealed deep, in opposition to what meets the eye; comp. תהום הקר the searching of the flood, the innermost bottom of the sea, in Job 38. and Jeremiah 31:37, "when the heavens above were measured, and the foundations of the earth were searched (or explored)." "On תועפה, a noun formed from the 3 fem. fut. in Hiph., properly "that which makes weary," "the stretch," comp. the author's treatise on Balaam in Numbers 23:22, "The stretchings of the mountains" in parallel with "the searchings of the earth," is a poetical expression for the highest summits of the mountains, which can be reached only by a stretch or effort. However deep man may penetrate into the depths, or however high be may ascend into the heights, he isstill within the dominion of God-he cannot go beyond his boundaries. Ver. 6. Come, let us worship and fall done, let us kneel before the Lord our Creator. We have here before us the culminating point of the Psalm, the festive moment of devotion "when the bells ring in curia regis." This joy where the heart is full of it seeks also its bodily expression.a Still even this is only desired as the ex-pression of what fills the heart. This is manifest from what follows, where as the consequences of kneeling and falling down, it appears that the worshipper listens to the voice of God and does not harden his heart. Hence in the shell of the kneeling there must be con-tained. the kernel of unreserved surrender, which manifests itself in willing obedience. God is called the Creator of Israel as the author of his being, in every respect generally human, and speci-ally Israelitish comp. in reference to the latter the fundamen-tal passage, Deuteronomy 32:6, and the 7th verse of this Psalm. The 5th verse shews that the former is not to be excluded.Ver. 7-11.-Ver. 7. For he is our God, and we the people of his pasture, and sheep of his hand. To-day, if ye will listen to his voice! Ver. 8. Harden not your heart like Meribah, like the day of Massa in the wilderness. Ver. 9. When your fathers tempted me, proved me, and still saw my doing. Ver. 10. Forty years was I disgusted with that people and saidthey are people of erring heart, and they know not my ways. Ver. 11. So that I swore in my wrath: they shall not come to my rest.-in reference to the people of his pasture in ver. 7, comp. at Psalms 80:12; Psalms 74:1. Sheep of his hand are such as he guides and protects with his hand, comp. Psalms 23:3; Psalms 23:4; Psalms 100:3. The "to-day" stands emphatically foremost, intimating that the present is a time of great decision. As the אם is always a con-ditional, and never an optative particle (comp. at Psalms 81:8), we cannot translate "would that you heard," but must rather, as also with the אם in ver. 11, supply the proposition, "thus he will bless you his people." The אם occurs not unfrequently in this way, for example, Psalms 81:8, "Hear, O my people, and let me a Calvin: "This also is to be observed, that the Psalmist not only treats of the grati- tude of the heart, but also demands an outward profession of piety. For it is expressed in these words that the faithful do not perform their duty unless they offer themselves up as a sacrifice to God openly, by kneeling and other signs."testify to thee, O Israel, if thou will hearken unto me," where we must supply, "it will go well with you." In Zechariah 6:15, "and it happens, if ye listen to the voice of the Lord your God," there must be supplied, "ye shall share in all these good things, and Messiah will take away your sins as your high priest, and give you prosperity as your King," compare the Christol. on the pas-sage. But the fundamental passage, Exodus 23:21; Exodus 23:22, is much more worth comparing, where the clause wanting is added: "be-ware of him (the angel whom the Lord will send before you, and who will lead you to Canaan), and listen to his voice . . . for if thou shalt listen to his voice, I will do all that I say, and I will be-come an enemy unto thine enemies, and an adversary unto thy ad- versaries." This earnest voice which went forth on a former occa-sion, goes forth now again at a new critical moment to Israel, on the eve of a new leading through the wilderness into Canaan, through suffering to salvation. Would that they now laid it better to heart! Against connecting the clause with what follows (Luther: to-day, if you will hear his voice, you will not harden your hearts), we have besides that fundamental passage and the parallel pas-sage, Psalms 81:8, the accents, the change of person and the שמע, with ב, which can never mean "to hear something," but "to lis-ten to something." The whole verse has in reality a hortatory character: listen to-day to his voice, that thus his blessing may be imparted to you, in harmony with what follows, and in parallel with the "come, let us rejoice" of the first part, and as the more full development of this, "come, let us worship" of the 6th verse-not only our verse but the whole paragraph, ver. 7-11, is pointed out as such by the "for:" for, inasmuch as he is our God, &c., listen to his voice, that thus it may go well with you, harden not your heart, &c., and thus render to him the worship which he de-sires, which consists not only in a mere bending of the knee, which even the irrational beasts can render, but in an unqualified sur-render of the heart.-In ver. 8, "as Meribah, as the day of Mas-sah," stands concisely for "as it happened at Meribah and on the day of Massah." Allusion is made to Exodus 17:1, ss.; not however to Numbers 20:1, ss. For it is only in the former passage that the place has the name Massah and Meribah, comp. Beitr. 3., p. 379. Israel's offence at that place was neither their first nor their most remark-able offence. That it is selected from the number of all the rest andmade to stand as representative of them, is to be explained alone from the quality of the two names which are monuments of their striving with the Lord and of their tempting him. In reference to אשר in the sense of where, ver. 9. comp. at 84:3. That the last words of the verse are not, with many expositors, to be referred to the punishment, of which mention is first made in ver. 11, but that they are intended to heighten the guilt, to bring the crimi-nality more into view, is evident from the fundamental passage, Numbers 14:22, "for all the men who saw my glory and my signs which I did in Egypt and in the wilderness, and still tempted me these ten times, and did not hearken to my voice." The גם, also, points to the aggravating circumstances connected with the proving. The more manifestly God makes himself known, so much the more disgraceful is it, when we are in trouble, to put him first to the proof: as if he must first show himself beyond his true Godhead.-The expression, "I was disgusted," in ver. 10, does not denote the punishment, but points to the greatness of the sin. For whole forty years the Israelites acted in such a mannera that their God could only look upon them with displea-sure and aversion. By the דור, race, is meant here the whole generation, in opposition to separate corrupt individuals, comp. Deuteronomy 1:35, "There shall not one of these men of this evil gene-ration see the good land," &c., 2:14, "till the whole generation of the men of war be dead. By the want of the article, this con-trast is rendered more prominent. The second clause serves the same object as "still they saw my work," in ver. 9. The con-duct of Israel was thus inexcusable, inasmuch as they had the ways of God, that is, his glorious conduct, before their eyes, from which they might have learned better; but they perceived this only with their bodily eyes, and did not lay it to heart. The fun-damental passage serves for illustration, Deuteronomy 29:3, "And the Lord did not give you an heart to know, and eyes to see, and ears to hear, till this day;" before this the discourse had been of the great wonders and signs of the Lord on behalf of his people, and of his gracious guidance, corresponding to "his ways" here.-Onthe אשר, so that, in ver. 11, comp. Ew. �˜ 327. The oath here a Calvin: The circumstance that God struggled so long with their wickedness with- out effect aggravates its guilt. For it sometimes happens that petulance will boil up for a little and immediately afterwards subside.spoken of went forth, when, after the sending forth of the spies, the rebelliousness of the Israelites rose to formal revolt. The אם is taken from the fundamental passage, Numbers 14:23, "if they shall see the land which I sware unto their fathers," ver. 30, "If ye shall come into the land for which I have lifted up my hand to make you dwell in it," Deuteronomy 1:35, "if one of these men, this wicked generation, shall see the good land," &c. The מנוהה, a place of rest, and their rest, comp. at Psalms 23:2, must, ac-cording to the fundamental passage, where the land corresponds to it, and according to Deuteronomy 12:9, "For ye are not yet come to the place of rest, and to the inheritance which the Lord thy God gives thee," have the former sense. The close of the Psalm is serious and gloomy. The Psalmist anticipates that the melan-choly example of the past will be repeated in the future yet once more, that Israel will yet another time fail to know the time of his visitation. Ver. 7. For he is our God, and we the people of his pasture, and sheep of his hand. To-day, if ye will listen to his voice! Ver. 8. Harden not your heart like Meribah, like the day of Massa in the wilderness. Ver. 9. When your fathers tempted me, proved me, and still saw my doing. Ver. 10. Forty years was I disgusted with this people and said: they are people of erring heart, and they know not my ways. Ver. 11. So that I swore in my wrath: they shall not come to my rest.—in reference to the people of his pasture in Psalms 95:7, comp. at Psalms 80:12, Psalms 74:1. Sheep of his hand are such as he guides and protects with his hand, comp. Psalms 23:3-4, Psalms 100:3. The “to-day” stands emphatically foremost, intimating that the present is a time of great decision. As the ΰν is always a conditional, and never an optative particle (comp. at Psalms 81:8), we cannot translate “would that you heard,” but must rather, as also with the ΰν in Psalms 95:11, supply the proposition, “thus shall he bless you his people.” The ΰν occurs not unfrequently in this way, for example, Psalms 81:8, “Hear, O my people, and let me testify to thee, O Israel, if thou will hearken unto me,” where we must supply, “it will go well with you.” In Zechariah 6:15, “and it happens, if ye listen to the voice of the Lord your God,” there must be supplied, “ye shall share in all these good things, and Messiah will take away your sins as your high priest, and give you prosperity as your King,” compare the Christol. on the passage. But the fundamental passage, Exodus 23:21-22, is much more worth comparing, where the clause wanting is added: “beware of him (the angel whom the Lord will send before you, and who will lead you to Canaan), and listen to his voice . . . for if thou shalt listen to his voice, I will do all that I say, and I will become an enemy unto thine enemies, and an adversary unto thy adversaries.” This earnest voice which went forth on a former occasion, goes forth now again at a new critical moment to Israel, on the eve of a new leading through the wilderness into Canaan, through suffering to salvation. Would that they now laid it better to heart! Against connecting the clause with what follows (Luther: to-day, if you will hear his voice, you will not harden your hearts), we have besides that fundamental passage and the parallel passage, Psalms 81:8, the accents, the change of person and the ωξς with α, which can never mean “to hear something,” but “to listen to something.” The whole verse has in reality a hortatory character: listen to-day to his voice, that thus his blessing may be imparted to you, in harmony with what follows, and in parallel with the “come, let us rejoice” of the first part, and as the more full development of this, “come, let us worship” of the (Psalms 95:6) 6th verse—not only our verse but the whole paragraph, Psalms 95:7-11, is pointed out as such by the “for:” for, inasmuch as he is our God, &c., listen to his voice, that thus it may go well with you, harden not your heart, &c., and thus render to him the worship which he desires, which consists not only in a mere bending of the knee, which even the irrational beasts can render, but in an unqualified surrender of the heart. In Psalms 95:8, “as Meribah, as the day of Massah,” stands concisely for “as it happened at Meribah and on the day of Massah.” Allusion is made to Exodus 17:1, ss.; not however to Numbers 20:1, ss. For it is only in the former passage that the place has the name Massah and Meribah, comp. Beitr. 3., p. 379. Israel’s offence at that place was neither their first nor their most remarkable offence. That it is selected from the number of all the rest and made to stand as representative of them, is to be explained alone from the quality of the two names which are monuments of their striving with the Lord and of their tempting him. In reference to ΰωψ in the sense of where, Psalms 95:9, comp. at 84:3. That the last words of the verse are not, with many expositors, to be referred to the punishment, of which mention is first made in Psalms 95:11, but that they are intended to heighten the guilt, to bring the criminality more into view, is evident from the fundamental passage, Numbers 14:22, “for all the men who saw my glory and my signs which I did in Egypt and in the wilderness, and still tempted me these ten times, and did not hearken to my voice.” The βν, also, points to the aggravating circumstances connected with the proving. The more manifestly God makes himself known, so much the more disgraceful is it, when we are in trouble, to put him first to the proof: as if he must first show himself beyond his true Godhead. The expression, “I was disgusted,” in Psalms 95:10, does not denote the punishment, but points to the greatness of the sin. For whole forty years the Israelites acted in such a manner [Note: Calvin: The circumstance that God struggled so long with their wickedness without effect aggravates its guilt. For it sometimes happens that petulance will boil up for a little and immediately afterwards subside.] that their God could only look upon them with displeasure and aversion. By the γεψ, race, is meant here the whole generation, in opposition to separate corrupt individuals, comp. Deuteronomy 1:35, “There shall not one of these men of this evil generation see the good land,” &c., Deuteronomy 2:14, “till the whole generation of the men of war be dead. By the want of the article, this contrast is rendered more prominent. The second clause serves the same object as “still they saw my work,” in Psalms 95:9. The conduct of Israel was thus inexcusable, inasmuch as they had the ways of God, that is, his glorious conduct, before their eyes, from which they might have learned better; but they perceived this only with their bodily eyes, and did not lay it to heart. The fundamental passage serves for illustration, Deuteronomy 29:3, “And the Lord did not give you an heart to know, and eyes to see, and ears to hear, till this day;” before this the discourse had been of the great wonders and signs of the Lord on behalf of his people, and of his gracious guidance, corresponding to “his ways” here. On the ΰωψ, so that, in Psalms 95:11, comp. Ew. § 327. The oath here spoken of went forth, when, after the sending forth of the spies, the rebelliousness of the Israelites rose to formal revolt. The ΰν is taken from the fundamental passage, Numbers 14:23, “if they shall see the land which I sware unto their fathers,” Numbers 14:30, “If ye shall come into the land for which I have lifted up my hand to make you dwell in it,” Deuteronomy 1:35, “if one of these men, this wicked generation, shall see the good land,” &c. The ξπεηδ, a place of rest, and their rest, comp. at Psalms 23:2, must, according to the fundamental passage, where the land corresponds to it, and according to Deuteronomy 12:9, “For ye are not yet come to the place of rest, and to the inheritance which the Lord thy God gives thee,” have the former sense. The close of the Psalm is serious and gloomy. The Psalmist anticipates that the melancholy example of the past will be repeated in the future yet once more, that Israel will yet another time fail to know the time of his visitation. Psalms 96. Let the whole earth praise the Lord, who has bestowed upon it glorious salvation, ver. 1-3, for he is in his glory worthy of this praise, ver. 4-6. May all the families of the heathen wor-ship and reverence the Lord, ver. 7-9. For he has entered upon his dominion over all the earth, and all nations stand under his righteous and salutary government, to the joy of the whole world, ver. 10-12. At the conclusion, in ver. 13, there is the sum of the whole Psalm: the Lord cometh to judge the earth. The thrice-repeated "give," in ver. 7 and 8, corresponding to the thrice-repeated "sing" of the beginning, divides the Psalm into two halves, each of six verses. These are divided again into two strophes of three verses. The three is marked out as the fundamental number by the three-fold "sing" and "give." The formal arrangement announces that the Psalm, along with the one that precedes it, forms one pair. The extra verse here corresponds to one deficient in the preceding Psalm; the eleven and the thirteen together make up twenty-four, double the signi-ficant twelve, so that the numbers of the individual Psalms de-signedly devoid of meaning make up, when taken together, asignificant number. The contents also lead us to the same result, the relation of Psalms 95. to Psalms 96. The connection of both is seen in Isaiah 2:5, where, on the announcement of the reception of the heathen into the kingdom of God, ver. 2-4, there follows an exhortation to Israel, not to exclude himself by his sin from the glorious salvation of the future, in which the whole earth shall participate. The only difference is, that the arrangement here is inverted. The salvation, for which the Psalmist exhorts the heathen to praise the Lord, is a future one, and appears as pre-sent only in so far as the Psalmist transposes himself into the future-the present is not real but ideal. This is clear from the nature of the thing, as, during the whole existence of the Old Testament dispensation, such a salvation encompassing the whole earth never existed, and the dominion of the Lord over the whole earth here represented as having arrived every where else, ap-pears as the object of desire and hope, and more particularly from the 12th verse, where the prophet leaves the point of view of the ideal, and passes on to that of the real present: then shall rejoice. From this fully ascertained fact that the Psalmist trans-fers himself here into the future, in reference to the salvation spoken of, and that with so much earnestness, that he throughout addresses the heathen living in it, and exhorts the heathen who, in his own day, knew nothing of the Lord, to thank him for a salvation for which at the time there had not been made the least preparation, it follows that he may very well have adopted the same procedure also in Psalms 94., in reference to the misery with which Israel was threatened, and which was to precede the deve-lopment of that salvation. Further, if it cannot be denied that the Psalmist here transfers himself into the future, with what truth can the genuineness of the second part of Isaiah be objected to, on the ground that the prophet's point of view is not that of Isaiah, inasmuch as it belongs to prophecy, to look upon the fu-ture as present much more than it does to lyric poetry, which could be induced to adopt such a style only in imitation of pro-phecy. There can be no doubt (comp. the induction of proof at ver. 1) that the Psalmist was stimulated by the second part of Isaiah to compose this poem, that the Psalm is a testimony of that inward movement of soul which was excited among the people by theseprophecies, at a time when they were advancing with rapid strides to a period of severe suffering. It is the less possible to overlook this connection between the poetry of the Psalms and prophecy, as we observe in prophecy itself a transition to Psalm-poetry. We may compare, for example, Isaiah 12 :and Habakkuk 3. The exhortation "sing to the Lord a new song," could only be responded to by the heathen after the salvation which forms the subject of the poem had arisen. Behind the exhortation, how-ever, addressed to the heathen, to praise God, there lies concealed another addressed to the Israelites. The church of the Lord should be raised by this Psalm to joyful hope, should be awakened to an active zeal to serve with uprightness the Lord who had formed such a mighty purpose with her. She beheld indeed the heathen preparing to destroy the kingdom of the Lord in the small corner which still remained to her. But at the same time she beheld at a greater distance with the eye of the Spirit of the Lord, the Lord himself coming, in the full glory of his being, to judge the whole earth, to judge the world in righteousness, and the nations in faithfulness. As the promise which forms the basis of our Psalm is as yet unfulfilled in its whole extent, the whole fulness of the heathen have not yet entered into the kingdom of God, the Psalm is fraught with importance to us, not only in regard to its general thought, but even as to its very language. It is a missionary-hymn for all ages of the church; and it becomes more and more appropriate to our times in proportion as the heathen begin to respond to the call, "Sing to the Lord a new song," and in proportion as we find in the melancholy condition of the church at home occasion to look with a hopeful eye towards the heathen world. On the relation of the Psalm to 1 Chronicles 16:23 ss., comp. at Psalms 106. Ver. 1-6. -L -Ver. 1. Sing to the Lord a new song, sing all the world. Ver. 2. Sing to the Lord; praise his name; make known from day to day his salvation. Ver. 3. Recount among the heathen his glory, among all the nations his wonders. Ver. 4. For great is the Lord, and very glorious, dreadful above all gods. Ver. 5. For all the gods of the nations are null, and the Lord has made the heavens. Ver. 6. Majesty andglory are before him, might and beauty in his sanctuary.-On the "new song," ver. 1, comp. at Psalms 33:3. The first clause, however, is not at all borrowed from this passage, but from Isaiah 42:10, "Sing unto the Lord a new song, his praise from the end of the earth." This is clear from the literal agreement; from the circumstance that the following words of Isaiah are re-echoed in the second clause here: that the exhortation is here, as in Isaiah, addressed to the heathen, which is not the case in Psalms 33., that the whole contents of the Psalm, as also those of Psalms 98. which begins with the same words, are nearly allied to the second part of Isaiah; that in our Psalm, as also in Isaiah, the irrational creation is, imme-diately after the rational, exhorted to praise God, and that the sea and its fulness, in ver. 11, is literally borrowed from Isaiah 42:10. The verbal reference to Isaiah is designedly placed at the beginning, for the purpose of pointing out the prophetical foun-tain from which the lyric stream has flowed. The new song oc-curs in a more developed form in Revelation 5:9; Revelation 5:10. On the last clause of ver. 2, comp. Isaiah 52:7, "how beautiful upon the moun-tains are the feet of the messenger of joy, . . . . who makethknown salvation, who saith to Zion, thy king reigneth" (the Lord reigneth here in ver. 10), and also ver. 10, "all the ends of the earth see the salvation of our God." The בשר, in its reference to the future Messianic salvation, is peculiar to the second part of Isaiah: כבוד, also, is one of the favourite expressions of that writer. "From day to day" points to the greatness and the permanent character of the salvation; Calvin: "may this salvation not be frail or transitory." The exhortation, "make known," in ver. 3, which is addressed to the heathen themselves, for no others had been spoken of, and the fundamental passages, are clear against the translation, "they make known" (imper.), Isaiah 60:6, "all they of Seba shall come and make known the praise of theLord," and especially 18, 19, "the time comes for assem-bling all heathen and tongues, and they come and see my glory, and I point them out and send from them runners to the heathen to Tarsus," &c. There also the heathen are the messengers of salvation to the heathen; those who have themselves seen the glory of the Lord go out to make it known to others. His glory, which is now unveiled, so that all flesh sees it at once, Isaiah 40:5.“For,” ver. 4, is "as his glory and his wonders shew." The first half is literally from Psalms 48:1. The second half alludes to Psalms 47:2. Psalms 95:3; Psalms 97:9; Psalms 99:2, are parallel. The gods are those whom the heathen had hitherto served. Dread-ful, at the time when the Psalm was composed, was the pressure of these Elohim against Jehovah and his people, of the many against the one; but the Psalmist looks upon this pressure with joyful composure, he knows that the One will eventually gain the victory. Calvin: "The true worshippers of God had, at that time, a great and severe conflict with the mass of superstition with which the whole world was filled. For the true God was concealed in Judea, as it were, in a dark comer. . . . As eachcountry had its own particular gods, they obtained also in other places acknowledgment, only the true God was deprived of hishonour . . . . It follows that, from the unanimity of the multi-tude, nothing can be concluded in favour of the truth of a reli-gion. Even innumerable men may therefore," &c. The angels whom Stier would still understand by the Elohim, are excluded by ver. 5, and also by the retrospective nature of the expression.The אלילים is, as is evident from Job 13:4, Zechariah 11:17, not an adjective, but a substantive: nullities. This expression, ac-cording to Hoffman (Prophecy and its fulfilment, i. p. 120), who maintains the real existence of the heathen deities, must have, not an absolute, but only a relative sense: "if they would stand in opposition to God the Creator, or if men associate them withhim, they are אלילים.�h But, in opposition to this, we have the two fundamental passages of the Pentateuch, Leviticus 19:4, "ye shall not turn you to the Elilim, and ye shall not make to your-selves molten gods;" 26:1, "ye shall make no Elilim and carved image, and a molten image ye shall not set up,"-passages, at the foundation of which there lies the supposition, that theheathen gods have no other than a material existence, and in which, consequently, the basis is laid down on which may rest the assertion of their nullity. In the passage, Isaiah 41:24, which serves as an exposition of the Elilim, "behold ye are of nothing," is preceded by "ye do neither good nor evil," as proving that the non-existence of the idols is an absolute one, It is on the sup-position that the idols have no existence except the images that the whole vigorous controversy rests, which is carried on through-out the second part of Isaiah against idol-worship. In the New Testament, the non-existence of heathen gods is expressly taught, 1 Corinthians 8:4-6. 1 Corinthians 10:19-21, does not prove any-thing in reference to their real existence, which, in ver. 19, is distinctly denied, but in reference to the demoniac back-ground, which is concealed behind the fore-ground of the null idolatry. Individual idols are the product of human imagination and of human hands, but the system, as a whole, stands under the di-rection and the influence of the powers of darkness, of which, besides this particular passage, according to the whole tenor of scripture doctrine, there cannot be the shadow of a doubt; comp. the Beitr. on the Pentateuch, i. p. 248. The exclusive deity of the Lord is here founded on the creation of the heaven, as in Psalms 95:4, and on his power over the earth.-On הוד and הדר, majesty and glory, in ver. 6, comp. at Psalms 45:3. Before him, -as his inseparable attendants, comp. Job 41:14. On תפארת, ornament, glory, at Psalms 71:8. The הדוה, which is substituted instead of it, in Chronicles, refers to the festival connected with the use of the Psalm on that occasion, and to the musical estab-lishment of David, comp. ver. 4 ss. 37 ss. The question whether the sanctuary of the Lord is the heavenly (comp., for example, Psalms 29:9, Psalms 11:4, Is. vi.) or the earthly sanctuary, is an im-proper one. The sanctuary of the Lord is wherever he is. The "his place" of Chron. is a good exposition. Even the earthly sanctuary is, by its inhabitant, high and lifted up: comp. at Psalms 78:69. Ver. 7-12. -Ver. 7. Give to the Lord, ye generations of the people, give to the Lord glory and might. Ver. 8. Give to the Lord the glory of his name, bring offerings and come into his courts. Ver. 9. Worship the Lord in holy beauty, tremble be-fore him, all lands. Ver. 10. Say to the Lord: the Lord reigneth, therefore the earth stands firm, it moves not, he judges the nations in righteousness. Ver. 11. Let the heaven rejoice and the earth shout, let the sea roar and its fulness. Ver. 12. Let the field rejoice, and every thing which is in it, then shall all the trees of the forest shout for joy.-On ver. 7-9, comp. Psalms 29:1; Psalms 29:2, "give to the Lord ye sons of God, give to the Lord glory and power; give to the Lord the glory of his name, worship the Lord in holy beauty." The quotations from thisDavidic Psalm is a literal one, with the difference that two clauses are added, and that, in place of the sons of God, the tribes of the heathen are addressed, with marked reference to Genesis 12:3, "and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in thee." The quotation from Psalms 29. is not at all a quotation from memory. It lays down a strong basis for the announcement there made, as to the conversion of all the heathen. He whom the angels above praise with their song, must also, in future days, be praised by the harmonious song of the inhabitants of this earth. What God already is in heaven, is, according to the words, "as in heaven so also upon the earth," a prophecy of what he shall in future days be on the earth. The difference between heaven and earth can only be a temporary one. The manifestation of the holy arm of the Lord must remove that difference in his own time. The מנהה נשא is used of the bringing of gifts of alle-giance to earthly sovereigns, in 2 Samuel 8:2, "and the Moabites became David's servants, and brought gifts;" comp. at Psalms 68:29; Psalms 72:10; Psalms 76:11. The courts, Psalms 92:14; Psalms 100:4. -The trembling, ver. 9, is the natural feeling induced by a sight of the glory of God, even in those who have nothing to fear; comp. "may both joy and trembling be now found in me," in the sacramental hymn, "Adorn thyself O blessed soul." The trembling, more than any thing else, points to the glory of the approaching revelation of God, and hence stands very appropri-ately at the end of the whole exhortation to praise and worship God.-In ver. 10, there is the revelation of the Lord, which fills the whole earth with praise and worship, and which the heathen who first receive it, are with joyful lips to impart to other hea-thens.a The verse rests upon Psalms 93:1, "The Lord reigneth, he is clothed with majesty, he is clothed, the Lord girdeth him-self with power, therefore the earth standeth firm, it does not move." The government of the Lord shall again make firm the earth, which had been shaken to its innermost basis by the sins of men (comp. Psalms 75:3, "the earth with all its inhabitants is dissolved," as it were, loosened, in consequence of the con- a Venema: As this exhortation (ver. 7-9) takes for granted that the God of Israel had made himself known, even among the Gentiles, and is based on that manifestation, the Psalmist immediately subjoins that this would be done, or had been done, by means of an exhortation to proclaim God as king.querors of the world), shall restore to it order, salvation, and peace; nation shall no longer lift up the sword against nation, and they shall not learn war any more," Isaiah 2 In Psalms 93. the establishing of the earth follows through the omnipotence of God; and here by his righteous and righteousness promoting judgment: so that the two passages thus mutually supplement each other. It is only the righteous omnipotence and the omnipotent right-eousness that can produce such effects. On "the Lord reign-eth," = "he has entered upon his kingdom," comp. besides the passages already quoted at Psalms 93., Isaiah 24:23, also Isaiah 57:7, "who saith to Zion: thy God reigneth." The pre-existence of such fundamental passages is presupposed by the frequent repetition of the expression before us. These alone are sufficient to set aside the reference to any fact which had already taken place in the time of the Psalmist. The last clause attributes to the Lord what is elsewhere generally said of the Messiah, comp. for ex-ample Isaiah 11., Psalms 72. The Lord shall even by the "God- warrior," Isaiah 9:5, judge the nations in righteousness.-The תגל shews that the futures in ver. 11, and in the first half of ver. 12, are to be taken as optatives. The exhortation, however, has for its basis the expectation that what is desired shall happen; and the transition to the expression of this in the second half of ver. 12 is a soft and easy one. The fundamental passages are Isaiah 44:23; Isaiah 55:12. There is no necessity for supposing a reference to a participation by the creation itself, as in Romans 8:21. The living creatures in this case would have been named first. The earth standing in the middle is in contrast on the one hand to the heaven, and on the other to the sea. The field and the forest stand over against each other, on the dry land, as in Psalms 98:8, floods and mountains.-The expression, "then shall re-joice," in ver. 12, shews that the exhortation "let the heaven rejoice," &c., was spoken from an ideal present,-a point of view which the Psalmist here leaves, comp. the אז in Isaiah 24:5; Isaiah 24:6, Psalms 126:2.aa Already Muis: This particle denotes flame time, and looks far forward. Ver. 13. Before the Lord, for he comes, for he comes to judge the earth, he shall judge the world in righteousness, and the nations in faithfulness.-The repeated "for he comes," which so significantly expresses the joyful expectation of a glorious good,for which the heart of the Psalmist in his bosom so ardently longed, is omitted in Chronicles, which is characteristic of the version of the poem given there. It is also wanting at the con-clusion of Psalms 98. For such an expression of emotion does not admit of repetition, and would appear artificial. The שפט, as is manifest from the fundamental passage Isaiah 2:4, particu-larly from the construction with בין, and the parallel הוכיה, has not the sense of "to reign," but that of "to judge." The judg-ing, however, is such as affords matter of joy to the righteous, ver. 1, it is not a retributive but a gracious judging, by which controversies are adjusted and prevented, and the law of love is introduced into the lives of the people, comp. the fundamental passage.a The language does not apply to the "judgment of the world" as the "punishment of idolatry." The faithfulness of God stands in contrast to the faithlessness of man, their want of trust-worthiness, and their deceit, the reign of which on the earth can be destroyed only by God acting out his own faithful-ness, and setting it up as a model.a Calvin: "Hence it follows that it is only by the light of the justice and the truth of God that the depravity and hypocrisy natural to men are dissipated and cleared away." Psalms 97. The Lord appears for judgment in terrible majesty; ver. 1-3, and this judgment is exercised by him: all nations behold his glory, ver. 4-6. This serves to put to shame the worshippers of false gods, but it affords to Zion heartfelt joy, for her God shows himself therein as the God of the whole earth, as infinitely exalted above the gods whom the world serves, ver. 7-9. In looking for-ward to such a future, may Sion, in the midst of trying trouble, continue to hate what is evil, ver. 10-12. The twelve verses of the Psalm fall into two halves, each of which consists of two strophes of three verses. In the first we have the appearing of God and his deeds, and in the second we learn how these should be received by men on their approach, and how believers in looking at them should conduct them-selves. The text here consists of the words of Isaiah, "the Lordreigneth," placed at the head of the Psalm, and to which the Psalmist looks on the eve of a time of great oppression, as to a clear light, which shines at the end of a long dark cavern, and which he opposes to the cry of the world, which may be soon expected, "the king of Babylon reigns," or "Bell and Nebo reign." He brings forward, however, a new view of the reign of the Lord. The language here does not apply to the conversion of the worshippers of idols to the living God, but singly and alone to judgment on the idolatrous world, by which its pride will be completely humbled, and with which Sion's salvation is connected. This figure of the indignant judge meets us in the whole of the first half. Nothing but shame is the portion of the worshippers of idols in ver. 7. Sion, according to ver. 8, only hears of it and is glad. The beginning of the fulfilment of the hopes expressed here took place at the destruction of Babylon, and the deliverance of Israel connected with it; comp. Isaiah 46. These hopes, however, in their main import, are Messianic. The appearance of Christ was of the nature of a judgment even for those among the heathen who became obedient to the gospel; the nullity of their whole previous existence became thereby apparent, and, in place of their pride and high-minded contempt of Sion, there appeared deep shame. While, however, behind the judgment, which is alone brought prominently forward in our Psalm, the grace was con-cealed, which comes clearly forward in other passages, and espe-cially in the preceding Psalm, the view which is here the only predominant one, comes forward, in other passages, alone in its power, for those who, like Julian for example, will know nothing of "the Lord reigneth." Even in our day the hopes here ex-pressed are in the act of fulfilment. The exclamation, "the Lord reigneth," always sounds forth anew; the church will continue to call it out to the naked and to the clothed world, to the worship-pers of wooden and of imaginary gods, till it shall have reached to full and absolute truth, and all the kingdoms of the earth have become the kingdom of the Lord and his anointed. The prophetic character of the Psalm has been acknowledged in many ways. There has always been an inclination to gene-ralize its contents. Thus, according to Koster and Maurer, the import of ver, 1-6 is merely: "Jehovah is king and judge of theworld." This view depends upon an incorrect sense of the clause, "the Lord reigneth," and is negatived by the reference to the appearances at the giving of the law, and to the fundamental passages in Psalms 18. and in Micah. This reference shows that the language applies to a future appearance of the Lord to judg-ment. Finally, "Sion hears, &c.," in ver. 8, leads very decidedly to facts or events. According to Ewald, Psalms 18. and the one before us are "joy-ous-leaping overflowings of the clear, far-looking, lively disposi-tion" of the times immediately after the return from the captivity, "songs of praise upon the now well-grounded and eternally-abiding dominion of Jahve;" he interprets historically ver. 4 ss. and refers these to the divine manifestation which had just taken place. This construction may be easily disposed of; it destroys the organization of the Psalm, overlooks the real ground of the transition from the preter. to the fut. (compare ver. 4), and receives its fatal blow from the weapon which Amy-raldus wielded against the reference made by several exposi-torsa to the victories of David. Still, even though the Psalm be considered as purely prophetic, it cannot belong to the times shortly after the return from the captivity. The disposition of the people was not then so "bright and full of life," that the Psalm could be considered as its product. The deliverance at that time was far behind their expectation, and the prophets had enough to do to combat the despondency and the murmuring obstinacy which got possession of men's minds. But (what is de-cisive), our Psalm leans throughout, and to a greater extent than the preceding and following Psalms, upon quotations from the more ancient sacred scriptures; it may be said to be distinc-tively a piece of Mosaic work; it points, by this intelligent string of old sayings, to the comprehensive character of the approaching revelation of the Lord, in which all the traits of the earlier his-tory and prophecy were about to meet. Now all these numerous references are taken from writings earlier than the captivity; a "These contained truly great and brilliant materials for celebrating divine virtues in splendid and magnificent words. Yet if they are compared with the magnificent things contained in this Psalm, the difference is such, as if a comparison were instituted would be the case if such a triumph were decreed to a general for having stormed a little town, as was celebrated by Julius Caesar upon conquering Gahl. There is, most assuredly, no proportion between these things." and there is all the less probability in this being accidental, as the whole series of Psalms, of which the one before us forms a part (Psalms 91.-c.), leads to the same result. The more exact consideration of the allusions and quotations in this Psalm, and of the whole little collection to which it be-longs, is of importance in another point of view. It shews how false is the idea which Ewald, in particular, has pushed to ex- tremities, of a general loss of sacred literature. We can follow, in this Psalm, the references from verse to verse; no verse re-mains without its manifest fundamental passage. This can be explained only by the fact, that the sacred writings have come down to us entire. Ver. 1-6.,--Ver. 1. The Lord reigneth, let the earth rejoice, let the multitude of the islands be glad. Ver. 2. Clouds and darkness are round about him, righteousness and right are the basis of his throne. Ver. 3. Fire goes before him and burns up his enemies round about. Ver. 4. His lightnings enlightened the world: the earth saw and trembled. Ver. 5. The moun- tains melt like wax before the Lord, before the Lord of the whole earth. Ver. 6. The heavens declare his righteousness, and all nations see his glory.-In reference to the abrupta regni a deo suscepti proclamatio, "the Lord reigneth," in ver. 1, comp. at Psalms 93:1; Psalms 96:10, and "may the earth rejoice," at Psalms 96:11. The exhortation to the earth to triumph, and to the islands to rejoice, leads, at first sight, to the inference, that the reign of the Lord will bring salvation also to the heathen.a But such exhortations not unfrequently occur in cases where refer-ence is made directly only to salvation for Sion (comp. Deuteronomy 32:43, at Psalms 93:49, Psalms 47.); and, in our Psalm, the heathen nowhere appear as the objects of salvation, but as the objects of judgment on the part of God. The expression, "let the earth rejoice," assuredly opens up, indirectly, even for the heathen, a joyous prospect. For it takes for granted, that the God of Israel is the God of the whole earth, who must have compassion upon all, whose deeds on behalf of any par- a Calvin: "By inviting men to joy he sufficiently declares, that wherever God reigns, salvation and full felicity, at the same time, shine forth. In calling, however, the whole world to a common joy, he means that the kingdom of God, which at that time had been shut up within the narrow boundaries of Judea, would become much more wide, as it would extend even to the Gentiles." ticular part are always prophecies for the whole, who can only bless his people in order that all the nations of the earth may be blessed in them. The איים on the basis of Gen 10:5, and espe-cially of Psa 72:10, is a favourite expression of Isaiah, parti-cularly in the second part, (in the first part 24:15); who dwells with peculiar delight upon the relation of the heathen world to the approaching glorious revelations of the Lord. Chapter 44:10, 12, is particularly appropriate where the islands and their inhabi-tants are exhorted to sing to the Lord because of his deeds on behalf of Israel, while in other passages the islands themselves appear as participators of the salvation.-The first clause of ver. 2 is taken from Deuteronomy 5:19, "these words spake the Lord to the whole congregation on the mount out of the midst of the fire of the cloud and of the darkness," comp. Exodus 19:16; Exodus 19:18, Psalms 18:9; Psalms 18:11. The appearances at the giving of the law had a symboli-cal character. They were intended to fill the heart with holy awe in presence of the heavenly judge, revealing as they did behind the foreground of words of rebuke, a background of deeds of retribution, comp. Psalms 1:3. This prophecy contained in these appearances is now in the way of being fulfilled. The Lord appears surrounded by dark clouds which make known his wrath and hold out to view the breaking forth of a storm of lightning and thunder. The appear-ances at the giving of the law form in particular a commentary on the words of the Ten Commandments: "Thou shalt have no other Gods before me: thou shalt not make any graven image. . . . thou shalt not bow down to them nor serve them,for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God." Ver 7 of this Psalm is to be compared with this. The wrath of God then threatened in words and in symbol to the worshippers of false gods and images, is here made manifest. The second half of the verse, "righteousness and right are the basis of his throne," is from Psalms 89:14. If the dominion of God exists on the domain of right and righteousness, the heathen may well tremble, because they have trampled right and righteousness under foot in their relations to the Israelites: a righteous judgment is for them a destroying judgment.-The first clause of ver. 3 is from. Psalms 1:3, "fire burns before him;" comp. what is observed on that pas-sage upon fire as a symbol of the divine wrath. In the second clause, the expression, "and burns up his enemies round about,"is to be understood only virtually, "as soon as they present them-selves before him," (comp. at Psalms 18:8, Delitzsch on Habakkuk 3:5), for ver. 1-3 have to do only with the appearance of the Lord; in itself the effects which flow from it are first described in ver. 4-6.-Ver. 4. is from Psalms 77:18, "lightnings lightened the world, the earth trembled and shook." The reference to the fun-damental passage has here and in ver. 5 occasioned the transition from the future to the preterite, which stands as a prophet. pret. Even this transition shews that our passage is borrowed, and that Psalms 57:18 is the original passage. On ראתה, comp. Psalms 57:16. -On ver. 5 comp. Micha 1:4, "and the mountains flowed down under him and the valleys were cleft, as wax before the fire." The preter. stands there also proph. The words which there belong to the declaration of the judgment upon Israel are here employed as part of the description of the judgment upon the heathen world, of which that upon Israel was a matter-of-fact prophecy, comp. 1 Peter 4:17. The mountains are named indi-vidually as being the foremost and the highest parts of the earth. Berleb: "Even the mountains of human height and pride, the heights of human intellect and vanity, and also the kingdoms of the world." The expression, "the Lord of the whole earth," is from Micah 4:13.-The first half of ver. 6 is from Psalms 1:6. The heavens make known the righteousness of God there, in so far as his judging word making known his righteousness, and here in so far as his judging deed proceeds from them. Arnd: "The heavens made known his righteousness when brimstone and fire were rained from heaven upon Sodom." The righteousness of God is hero also the attribute according to which he gives to every one his own, to his people salvation, to his and their ene-mies destruction. The second clause is from Isaiah 40:5, "and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it;" comp. 66:18, 35:2. All nations behold the glory,-the glory of the Lord in the revelations of his being, through the deeds of righteousness and grace. Ver. 7-12.-Ver. 7. All who worship images shall be ashamed, and boast themselves of nullities, worship him all ye gods. Ver. 8. Sion hears it and is glad, the daughters of Ju-dah shout for joy, because of thy judgments, O Lord. Ver. 9. For thou, Lord, art the Most High over the whole earth, highlyexalted over all gods. Ver. 10. Ye who love the Lord hate what is evil, he preserveth the souls of his saints, he delivereth them from the hand of the wicked. Ver. 11. Light is sown for the righteous, and for the upright joy. Ver. 12. Rejoice, ye righteous in the Lord, and praise his holy memorial.-On ver.7, comp. Isaiah 42:17 : "they turn back (in consequence of the glo-rious future revelation of the Lord), and are ashamed, that trust in the image, that say to the molten work, thou art our God," 44:9. השתהוו is, according to Psalms 96:9, the imperat., not the preter. The exhortation, according to the Psalmist, here also, as there, is addressed to the heathen, The false gods are called upon to worship through the medium of their servants. The gods are also, in other passages, frequently viewed poeti-cally, as gifted momentarily with life and feeling (comp. the im-mediately preceding אלילים, and the observations made at Psalms 96:5), only for the purpose of exhibiting the Lord as triumph-ing over them; comp. Exodus 12:12, Numbers 33:4, "and upon their gods has the Lord executed judgment;" 19:1, "be-hold the Lord rideth upon a swift cloud, and cometh to Egypt, and the gods of the Egyptians are moved at his presence." The Septuagint could not understand this representation, and substi-tuted angels instead of gods, to whom what was said could apply only by an inference, as a majori ad minus; if the proud gods of the heathen cannot measure themselves with the Lord, how much less may the angels, Hebrews 1:6. As decisive against the direct reference to the angels, may be mentioned. the whole connection and tendency of the Psalm, which is to enspirit the people of God in prospect of the approaching victory of the false gods, and also the usus loquendi, as Elohim never signifies angels.-In ver.8, we have the contrary effect, which the appearance of the Lord to judgment produces on Sion. This verse depends upon ver. 11 of the 48th Psalm, which celebrates the great deliverance un-der Jehosaphat, which shall again live in the deliverance of the future; "Mount Sion rejoices, the daughters of Judah shout be-cause of thy judgments," to which passage, also, Isaiah alludes in chap. 40:9. Hears it, namely, that the Lord judges, as he did on a former occasion, under the king, whose name was so gloriously verified. The daughters of Judah are only in opposi-tion to Sion, the remaining cities of Judah. On the words whichallude to the name of Jehosaphat, "because of thy judgments, 0 Lord," we are not to comp. Psalms 96:13. The discourse there is of an entirely different judgment.-On the first half of ver. 9, comp. Psalms 83:18, from which it is taken word for word: our passages serves to confirm the interpretation there given. On the second half, comp. Psalms 47:9, "the princes of the nations are gathered together to the nation of the God of Abraham, for the shields of the earth are God's: he is highly exalted." The conclusion is borrowed from both Psalms. It is very remarkable that the Psalmist alludes, in a manner full of meaning, to the three Psalms which, according to our view, refer to the deliver-ance under Jehosaphat, and which have been separated from each other by modern criticism. Our view is thus strongly con-firmed:-The "evil" in the exhortation, founded on the pro-phecy in ver. 10, is neither idolatry, nor, as Calvin supposes, spe-cially revenge, but wickedness and unrighteousness; comp. Psalms 34:13, Romans 12:9, 2 Timothy 2:19. The prosperity of wicked-ness easily seduces to wickedness, because it shakes our faith in God, and in his providence, and therefore throws down the only floodgate which can restrain the floods of wickedness. In oppo-sition to this temptation, the Psalmist points the servants of the Lord to the salvation of the future. Before "he preserveth," there is, in reality, a "for" to be understood.-A sure standard by which to interpret ver. 11, is furnished by the parallel pas-sage, Psalms 112:4, "light arises, זרה, for the upright in darkness." This shews that "to be sown," is "to be scattered abroad;" the point of comparison being only the richness of the gift.a -The first half of ver. 12 is from Psalms 32:11, which, in that passage, also forms the conclusion; and the second half from Psalms 30:4.a Ven.: "Now light is said to be scattered when the rising sup spreads his rays plentifully in every direction." Psalms 98. In the first strophe, ver. 1-3, after a short exhortation to praise the Lord, the object of the praise is given,-the Lord has redeemed his people in a wonderful manner. The second strophe, ver. 4-6, shews how this praise is to be rendered: all meanswhich, in every place, are within reach, ought to be employed for this purpose. The third stanza says by whom the praise should be given: by the whole earth. The Psalm is the only one which is entitled מזמר, a Psalm without any addition. This struck several of the old translators; the Septuagint, the Vulgate, and the Syriac added "by David," the Chaldee, "a prophetical Psalm." This common name of all the Psalms manifestly cannot be employed here in its general, it must be used in a peculiarly modified sense. Such a sense is to be obtained only in one way. Our Psalm stands to the preceding one in the same relation that Hab. chap. 3. does to chap. i. and ii., and as Isaiah 42:10-12 does to ver. 13-17, with this difference that the arrangement there is the reverse of that here: the Psalm before us is the lyric accompaniment to the more decidedly prophe-tical Psalm which precedes. As the Psalm in the Psalm, therefore, it bears the name of מזמר, the originality of which is attested by the doubled זמרו and the זמרה in ver. 5 and 6: it is manifestly with reference to the title that such strong prominence is given to the זמר. In favour of this view we may urge first, the contents of the two Psalms, second, the analogy of the title of Psalms 100., which is related to Psalms 99., exactly as ours is to Psalms 97., and third, the formal arrangement which exhibits our Psalm as making up one whole with the preceding one. Both Psalms fall into strophes of three verses. Of these strophes there are in all seven, of which, according to the usual division of the seven, four belong to the prophetical, three to the pre-eminently lyrical part. The doctrinal contents of the Psalm, according to what has been said, must be confined to those of the preceding Psalm: it sets forth like it the appearance of the Lord in his kingdom, in so far as it shall bring salvation directly to the house of Israel, and only towards the conclusion points, as an addition, to Psalms 96., to salvation for the whole earth as closely bound up with this. Ver. 1-3. The object of the praise of the Lord.-Ver. 1. Sing to the Lord a new song, for he does wonders, his right hand and his holy arm helped him. Ver. 2. The Lord makes known his salvation, before the eyes of the heathen he unveils his righteous- ness. Ver. 3. He has remembered his mercy and his faithfulness to the house of Israel, all the ends of the earth have seen the sal- nation of our God.-The point of view in the whole Psalm is an ideal one, the time of the already-appeared salvation, of the al-ready-begun kingdom of the Lord. The new song ought to be sung for first time after those wonders which form the object of it have actually happened. The beginning, "Sing to the Lord a new song," is from Psalms 96. The exhortation here also is directed not to Israel, but to the whole earth, which is expressly named. This is manifest from the last strophe, which is devoted to the more immediate object of the Psalmist, while the "sing" here is only preliminary, as an introduction to the mention of the object. What the wonders are that are treated of is evident partly from the reference to the fundamental passages of Isaiah already quoted, partly from the prophetic part, and partly from ver. 3. The cir-cumstance that the object there is so exactly defined once more, shows that we have before us not an arbitrarily rent whole-in this case the exact defining of the object would have been left en-tirely to Psalms 97.-but a pair of Psalms, the second member of which is intended to have as sure and independent a standing of its own as the first. "His right hand helped him," is from Isaiah 59:16 : "And he saw that there was no man, and wondered that there was no intercessor, then his own right hand helped him, and his righteousness upheld him," and 63:5: "And I looked and there was none to help, and I wondered that there was no assistance, then mine own arm helped me, and my wrath up-held me." This verbal reference, at the very beginning, shows that we have before us, as in Psalms 97., the lyrical echo of the prophetic announcements of the second part of Isaiah. Here, as in the fundamental passage, the arm of the Lord, with which he helps himself in bringing salvation to Sion, stands opposed to the use of the ordinary means of help in the church of God.a The expression is very consolatory, because it shows us that we need not despair, even though these means of help be sealed up, even though everywhere there meet us nothing but weakness and feebleness, though a glance at the cut-down trunk of Jesse is enough to make us quite spiritless. Comp. Judges 7:2, where the Lord says to Gideon The people that are with thee are too a "In both passages, the arm of God is opposed to ordinary means, which, although they do not derogate from the power of God, in some measure, like a veil, hide his face."many for me to give the Midianites into their hands, lest Israel vaunt themselves against me, and say, Mine own hand hath saved me." "His holy arm" is from Isaiah 52:10 : "And the Lord has made bare his holy arm" (in the deliverance of Sion) comp. 40:10, 51:9. The "holy" is awful, infinitely removed above every creature, comp. at Psalms 22:3.-Ver. 2 and 3 depend upon Isaiah 52:10 : "The Lord has made bare his holy arm before the eyes of all nations, and all the ends of the earth see the salvation of our God." The references to this passage run through the three verses which mark out the object of the song of praise, and the whole strophe must manifestly be regarded as an expansion of that fundamental prophetical passage. His righteousness: comp. Psalms 97:6. For the people of the Lord, salvation is the expres-sion of his righteousness, which gives to every one his own: he has promised them salvation; comp. "his faithfulness," in ver. 3 and Romans 15:8; Romans 15:9.-The first half of ver. 3 alludes to Isaiah 63:7. Mercy and faithfulness: comp. Psalms 92:3. The salvation which all the ends of the earth see is, in the first instance, the salvation of Sion. For the discourse is of this in Psalms 97. and also in the fundamental passage. The heathen, however, shall be ad-mitted into participation of this salvation.Ver. 4-6. As in the preceding strophe we had why, so here we have how we should praise the Lord.--Ver. 4. Shout unto the Lord, all the earth, break out and rejoice and sing. Ver. 5. Sing to the Lord with the guitar, with the guitar and the voice of song. Ver. 6. With trumpets and the voice of the clarionet, rejoice before the Lord the King.-The first half of ver. 4 is literally from ver. 1 of Psalms 66., a Psalm which belongs to the time of Hezekiah, only that לאלהים: is there; comp. also Psalms, 47. "rejoice with hands, all nations shout unto God with ju-bilee-voice," and the observations made at that verse on the ex-hortations addressed to the whole world to rejoice over the sal-vation of Israel. "To break out in joy," רנה פצה, is pecu-liar to Isaiah, comp. 14:7, 44:23: "break out, ye mountains, in joy" (the material fundamental passage), 49:13, 54:1; still more so, however, is the "break out and rejoice," comp. 52:9: "break out and rejoice together, ye ruins of Jerusalem," -the formal fundamental passage. On זמרו comp. Psalms 47:6. -The זמרה קול, is from. Isaiah 51:3.� On "before the Lord the King, comp. Isaiah 6:5. It looks back to the expression, "the Lord reigneth," מלך, in Psalms 97:1, and is equivalent to "be-fore the Lord who has now set up his kingdom, and brought the whole earth under his subjection." Ver. 4-6. As in the preceding strophe we had why, so here we have how we should praise the Lord. Ver. 4. Shout unto the Lord, all the earth, break out and rejoice and sing. Ver. 5. Sing to the Lord with the guitar, with the guitar and the voice of song. Ver. 6. With trumpets and the voice of the clarionet, rejoice before the Lord the King. The first half of Psa 98:4 is literally from Psalms 66:1 of Psalms 66, a Psalm which belongs to the time of Hezekiah, only that μΰμδιν is there; comp. also Psalms 47:1 : “rejoice with hands, all nations shout unto God with jubilee-voice,” and the observations made at that verse on the exhortations addressed to the whole world to rejoice over the salvation of Israel. “To break out in joy,” τφηψπδ is peculiar to Isaiah, comp. Isaiah 14:7, Isaiah 44:23 : “break out, ye mountains, in joy” (the material fundamental passage), Isaiah 49:13, Isaiah 54:1; still more so, however, is the “break out and rejoice,” comp. Isaiah 52:9 : “break out and rejoice together, ye ruins of Jerusalem,”—the formal fundamental passage. On ζξψε comp. Psalms 47:6. The χεμζξψδ is from. Isaiah 51:3. On “before the Lord the King, comp. Isaiah 6:5. It looks back to the expression, “the Lord reigneth,” ξμκ, in Psalms 97:1, and is equivalent to “before the Lord who has now set up his kingdom, and brought the whole earth under his subjection.” In the last strophe, ver. 7-9, who should rejoice: in the pre-ceding one the intensity, here the extent of the joy.-Ver. 7. Let the sea roar and its fulness, the world, and them who dwell upon it. Ver. 8. Let the streams clap their hands, and the mountains rejoice together, Ver. 9. Before the Lord, because he comes to judge the earth, he will judge the earth in righteousness, and the nations in uprightness.-The first clause of ver. 7 is from Psalms 96:11. The roaring suits the fulness of the sea as well as the sea itself: it is used, Job 39:25, of the loud shout of the human voice. In so far as it is applied to the sea it denotes its solemn roar, The second clause is literally from Psalms 24:1.-The clapping of the hands is an expression of joy, comp. for example Ps. xlvii, 1, and was employed as such especially at the commencement of the reign of earthly kings, comp. 2 Kings 11:12 : "and they clapped the hands, and said long live the king." The fundamental passage is Isaiah 55:12,-the only one, moreover, where, by a bold poetical figure, the clapping of hands is ascribed to inanimate objects: "the mountains and the hills shall break forth before you into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands." Instead of the streams here, the trees are there; the mountains which follow here are named there immediately before.-The reason why the whole earth should rejoice is given in ver. 9: he comes to judge the whole earth, and to bring it by his righteous government from a state of sorrow into a state of salvation and joy. Comp. at Psalms 96:13. Psalms 99. The Psalm begins in ver. 1 with the joyful cry, "the Lord reigneth," depicts in ver. 2-5 how the appearing in his kingdom delivers his people from the state of oppression in which they had hitherto been, and exhorts them to praise devoutly the Lord from whom such glorious things, are to be expected. He pointsin ver. 6-9 to the means which secure a participation in the blessings of the future, the dangers which threaten this partici-pation: heartfelt trust in the Lord, and obedience to his com-mandments, are as the history of antiquity, the example of Moses, Aaron, and Samuel, shews the way to salvation, from which sin excludes, while it brings into the domain of an avenging God;-and concludes with a renewed exhortation devoutly to praise the Lord, who appears great and awful no less in effecting the salvation itself, than in appointing the conditions connected with its enjoyment. If we separate ver. 1 as containing the theme, the Psalm con-sists of two strophes, each of four verses, which are manifestly distinguished from each other by "exalt the Lord our God," &c., in ver. 5 and ver. 9. That these strophes again fall into half strophes, each containing a pair of verses, is evident from the circumstance that the "he is holy," which occurs three times after the example of the original passage in Is. vi., besides being at the end of the two strophes, stands also in the middle of the first, and divides its two halves from each other. The full in-sight into the formal arrangement of the Psalm is got when the following Psalm, which forms with it one pair, is added to it. We then obtain, whether the two ruling verses are added or not, 14 verses or 12; three strophes of four verses, or seven half-strophes of two. The Psalm is the inverse of "repent, for the kingdom of hea- ven is at hand," Isaiah 3-5, "the kingdom of heaven is at hand, therefore repent," an old testament, "with zeal ye sons of men." Among the series of Psalms, Psalms 91.-c., it is most closely con-nected with Psalms 95. In common with that Psalm, it sets especi-ally before the eye of the church high demands proceeding from the approaching appearance of the Lord in his kingdom, and also after the model of Psalms 78. teaches by history, and finally ends with a solemn warning to those who do not prepare their hearts and take heed to their ways. According to ver. 1 and 5 our Psalm was composed at a time when the ark of the covenant was still in existence, and therefore before the Chaldean invasion. This undoubted fact is of import-ance in determining the age of the whole series, and of course also of the second part of Isaiah. Ver. 1. The Lord reigneth, the nations tremble, he who sitteth upon the cherubim, the earth, shakes.-On "the Lord reigneth," comp. Psalms 93:1; Psalms 96:10; Psalms 97:1. The futures are not opta-tives, but are to be taken prophetically as at Psalms 93:1; Psalms 96:10. Otherwise, instead of תנוט, we would have had the abbreviated future. The character of the whole Psalm is prophetic. The trembling of the people and the moving of the earth are expres-sions of fear and reverence a before the Lord appearing in his kingdom; comp. "tremble before him all ye lands" in Psalms 96:9. By alluding to the future trembling of the people the Psalmist designs to furnish a means of strength to the church trembling at the present and the immediately future periods; the nations who now proudly rise up against the Lord and his kingdom, and before whom the heart of the people is moved like the moving of the trees before the wind.b The church of the Lord may have trouble and sorrow for a time, but the promise of Deu 2:25, will always in the end be fulfilled; "I will this day begin to give thy terror and thy fear over the nations which are under the whole heaven who hear of thy report and tremble and quake before thee." When her king appears it is the world's turn to tremble. Perhaps allusion is made to the other sense of רגז "to be angry," Psalms 4:4. The עמים, stands poetically without an article. That the nations generally are meant is evident from the parallel, "the earth," and the last verse of Psalms 98., and also. Psalms 96:7-10. Before the second clause, we must supply "the Lord reigneth;" and "who sitteth upon the cherubims" equivalent to the God of the whole earth," Psalms 97:5, (comp. at Psalms 80:1) belongs in reality to both clauses. The two clauses, therefore, are equivalent to "the Lord who sits upon the cherubim reigneth, therefore the nations tremble, the earth moves." The translation, "he sits upon the cherubim," essentially disfigures the sense, and could have been a Amyr.: "That fear which proceeds from simple reverence as well as that which arises from apprehension of evil, produces bodily shaking. Thus this exhortation (?) may concern believing as well as unbelieving nations."b Calvin: For, inasmuch as the Jews were beset by enemies on all sides, it was of great consequence that the power of God should be extolled among them, that they might know that they would be always safe under his protection against the hatred and fury of them all . . . . that God will make known such power in the deliverance of his elect people as will throw into confusion all nations, and that they will feel it, however much they may rage to their own ruin."favoured only by those who took a false view of "the Lord reigneth," and referred it to his constant dominion instead of to his appearing in his kingdom. It is not the omnipotence of God in general, but the fact that this omnipotent God reigneth, that is the cause of the trembling of the people. The expression "sitting upon the cherubim" is a phrase of constant occurrence as an epithet applied to Jehovah, comp. 1 Samuel 4:4, 2 Samuel 6:2, 2 Kings 19:15, and other passages. This use of the expres-sion "sitting upon the cherubim" indicates that the symbol of the presence of the Lord among his people was still in existence. It occurs nowhere else except in reference to the ark of the covenant. Ver. 2-5.-Ver. 2. The Lord is in Sion great, and he is ex-alted above all nations. Ver. 3. They shall praise thy name great and terrible: holy is he. Ver. 4. And the strength of the king who loveth right: thou hast founded rectitude, right, and righteousness in Jacob hast thou executed. Ver. 5. Exalt the Lord our God, and pray at his footstool: holy is he.-On ver. 2 comp. Psalms 48:1. The discourse is not of the greatness of the Lord in general, but of that greatness which he acquires by the glorious revelation of the future.a The subject in "they shall praise" in ver. 3 is the nations-(not "may they praise"--this is opposed by the prophetic character of the Psalm, which stands in contrast to the lyric nature of Psalms 100.) The nations had been last spoken of, and if the subject had been changed there would have been some intimation of it given. In the lyric part, the ex-hortation "to praise the Lord, &c.," which depends upon the previous announcement made in the passage before us, is directed to the whole earth; and even in other passages the deeds of the Lord on behalf of Israel very frequently appear as the object of praise for all nations, as in Psalms 98:3; Psalms 98:4; comp. also Psalms 86:9, "all nations shall come and worship before thee, O Lord, and give glory to thy name." The expression, "shall praise thy name," is equivalent to " shall praise thee glorious by thy deeds." The "great and terrible" is from Deuteronomy 10:17, "for the Lord thy God is the God of gods, the Lord of lords, the great God and terrible," comp. 28:58, "that thou fear this name a Ven.: "He shews that he is the exalted and most powerful King and avenger of his people in Jerusalem, and superior to and sat over all the nations of the earth." the glorious and the terrible." The " holy is he" forms the basis of the pre-announcement contained in the preceding clause. The holiness of the Lord, comp. Psalms 22:3, guarantees the praise of all nations, for the glorious deeds by which this shall be called forth. That the "He" does not refer to the name but to the Lord him-self is clear from ver. 5 and 9, and from the reference to the "holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of hosts" of the fundamental passage. It is for the sake of conformity to ver. 5 and 9, and the reference to the fundamental passage, that the address here is given up. But for this, the expression would have been: for thou art holy.-In ver. 4, "they shall praise thy holy name," is more exactly de-veloped. The name appears as the product of the deeds of omni-potent righteousness or of the righteous omnipotence of God on behalf of his people. This verse as regards construction is de-signedly made entirely dependant upon the preceding one: "and (they shall praise) the strength of the King who loves right," in order that it may not be supposed that the occurrence of the“holy is He” gives rise to a new strophe. Ewald, nevertheless, has leapt over this hedge. The עז means nothing else than strength, not splendour or fame, &c. (comp. at Psalms 29:1), and occurs even in this sense in other passages of this series of Psalms, Psalms 93:1; Psalms 91:6; Psalms 91:7. On "who loveth right," comp. Psalms 33:5, 37:28, "for the Lord loveth right and forsaketh not his saints, they shall be preserved for ever, and the seed of the wicked shall be rooted out." The remaining part of the verse is, in reality, connected with what precedes by a "for," or by a semicolon: he represents the facts by which the Lord has shewn himself as the omnipotent righteousness, or in reality shall show himself; the import being, for thou hast delivered thy con-gregation by a righteous judgment from the unrighteous oppres-sion of the world, and hast risen up with mighty arm for the glorious deliverance of the children of God. To found or to establish righteousness (comp. Psalms 68:10), is to bring his righteous way to a firm standing: this happens when God judgesrighteously, comp. at Psalms 75:2; Psalms 58:1; Psalms 96:10. The lastwords allude to 2 Samuel 15 : "and David was king over all Israel, and executed right and righteousness to his whole people." What was there said of Israel's visible king shall be performed in future times in all its truth by his invisible true King,-comp."and the strength of the King."-On "exalt," in ver. 5, comp. Psalms 30:1; Psalms 34:3. The exhortation to worship occurs also in Psalms 95:6; Psalms 96:9; Psalms 97:7. The footstool of the Lord is every where the ark of the covenant, which he who sitteth upon the cherubim touched as it were with his feet, comp. 1 Chronicles 28:2, "to build an house where the ark of the Lord rested, and the footstool of our God," Psalms 132:7, Lamentations 2:1, "the place of my foot," Isaiah 60:13. Even Isaiah 66:1 forms an excep-tion only in appearance, because it is only in opposition to the usual way of speaking, and in marked reference to it, that the earth is there called the footstool of the Lord: heaven, not, as you suppose, the place above the cherubim, is my throne, the earth, not the ark of the covenant, according to common language, is my footstool. In the passage before us we cannot leave the common sense, on account of the "sitting upon the Cherubim," in ver. 1,-comp. also his holy mountain in ver. 9. The השתהוה, is an expression of constant occurrence, with the ל of the object to whom worship is due; and it occurs in this way in Psalms 96:9; Psalms 97:7; we must translate here also "his footstool" (acc), "his holy mountain," in ver. 9, and must reject the translation "at it" as arbitrary. Worship is due to the ark of the covenant in so far as the Lord sits enthroned upon it, and makes himself known there. Isaiah 45:14 is similar where Sion is worshipped, and supplication is made to her, on account of the God who is present in her.Ver. 6-9.-Ver. 6. Moses and Aaron among his priests, and Samuel among those who call upon his name: they call upon the Lord, and he hears them. Ver. 7. In the cloudy-pillar he speaks to them, they kept his testimonies, and he gave them the law.-Ver. 8. O Lord our God, thou didst hear them, thou wast a forgiving God to them, and an avenging God because of their iniquity. Ver. 9. Exalt the Lord our God, and worship his holy mountain: for holy is the Lord our God.-In ver. 8. it is shewn by the great representatives of the people in the past, that the first condition of participating in the glorious salvation of the future is calling upon God from living faith in him, and heartfelt trust in his compassion. That the particip. and the future here and in the first half of ver. 7 are to be explained by a lively realization of the past (contrary to Hitzig), and that thesense is only poetically transferred from the past to the present, which ought to be instructed by it, is evident from the second half of ver. 7 and 8. The observations made at Psalms 54:4 are applicable to the ב. Not only Moses, but also Samuel, is num-bered among the priests, next after Aaron. That we have here merely a merismos, that is Moses, Aaron and Samuel, were among the priests, and those who called upon his name, is evi-dent from the קראס repeated from the preceding word, they called, which refers to Moses and Aaron as well as to Samuel, although the calling is ascribed literally only to Samuel. Aaron only was a priest in the usual sense. At the foundation, how-ever, of this there is another spiritual idiom, that, namely, ac-cording to which all are called priests who possess what consti-tutes the essence of the ordinary priestly office (although not the externals), inward connection with God, free access to the throne of grace, and the gift and power of intercessory prayer. This figurative idiom occurs even in the law itself, comp. Exodus 19:6, where it is said to all Israel: "Ye shall be to me a kingdom of priests, a holy people." The law hence acknowledges an ideal priesthood along with the ordinary one. That in certain circum-stances those who possessed this ideal priesthood were warranted in exercising all the functions of the ordinary priesthood, is evi-dent from the example of Samuel, and in a certain measure also from the example of Moses, who acted as a priest during the seven days of the consecration of the common priests, Leviticus 8:1 ss. Here, however, it is only the calling upon God that is considered as the essential part of the priestly office. This is evident from the circumstance that in the last clause the "they call," comprehends both "the being a priest" and the callinghence the expression "among those who call upon his name," can be nothing more than an explanation of among his priests. Exodus 17., for example, shews that Moses exercised this priestly function, when by his intercession for the people he decided the contest against Amalek, Exodus 32:31; Exodus 32:32, Psalms 106:23. Samuel fulfilled this calling especially when the Israelites were oppressed by the Philistines, comp. 1 Samuel 9, "and Samuel cried unto the Lord, and the Lord heard him." The idea that the last words allude directly to this passage is all the more probable, as we have already found an allusion in ver. 4, which it is impos-sible to mistake, to the books of Samuel. The lesson, therefore, here imparted to Israel is: if you wish to participate in the sal-vation of the future, call upon the Lord, after the example of Moses, Aaron, and Samuel, for hearing invariably follows call-ing; in "Lord come " there always lies a slumbering, "Here, Son."-From the pillar of cloud God spoke not only to Moses, Exodus 33:9, "and when Moses came into the tent, the pillar of cloud descended and stood at the door of the tent, and the Lord talked with Moses," and again, shortly before his death, Deuteronomy 31:15, but also to Aaron, Numbers 12:5. On the occasion there related it was indeed in anger but in anger beyond which grace was concealed. Samuel received divine revelations in another form; but as the matter was common to him with Moses and Aaron, the form which was peculiar to these is transferred to him; or the speaking of God in the pillar of cloud may be con-sidered as a figurative expression of divine revelation generally, taken from one of its original forms. "He gave the law to them," is a repetition of "he spoke to them out of the pillar of cloud," just as "they call upon him," in ver. 7, is a repetition of "among his priests and them that call upon his name," serving the purpose of placing faithfulness towards revelations already obtained in intimate connection with the obtaining of new revelations, and of representing the former as the indispensable condition of the latter; as if it had been “ he revealed himself to them because they had acted faithfully towards what they already received.” From the expression, "he gave the law to them," it follows that the clause, "he spoke to them in the pillar of cloud," is intended to refer to the communication of laws, precepts, injunctions, comp. Exodus 25:22, "and I come to meet with thee there, and to speak with thee . . . . all that I shall give thee in commandment to the children of Israel." In reference to his testimonies, comp. at Psalms 93:5. "He gave the law to them," is from Exodus 15:25, where Moses, as a reward for his faithfulness to the Lord, and especially for having maintained his faith in temptation, receives from him the injunction to make the bitter water sweet. This fundamental passage shews that the usual translation, "and the law which he gave them," is false. This translation, besides, destroys the train of thought in the verse, as it has above been developed, and robs the words of their import. The passagealready quoted, for example, shews how Moses obtained the law as a reward for his faithful following of the commandments of the Lord, and Numbers 12:5, how Aaron did so: had not his ob-servance of the testimonies of the Lord distinguished him from the company of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram, he as well as they would have been destroyed. Samuel obtained, for example, divine instructions as to how he ought to conduct himself in con-nection with the impetuous desire of the people for a king, 1 Samuel 8:6 ss., and also towards Saul, 1 Samuel 15. The whole verse proceeds upon the view that the communication of new precepts and rules of life shall be bound up with the future glorious reve-lation of the Lord. The people are here told how they may ob-tain participation in this. Participation in the new covenant is the reward of faithfulness to the old. If we observe the com-mandments of God we shall receive the commandments of God, and with them salvation.-The two first clauses of ver. 8 merely resume what had been said, for the purpose of connecting with it the last clause, which contains the peculiar point: thou didst hear them assuredly, thou roast to them a forgiving God, but at the same time-woe to us if we bring thy wrath upon us-an avenger of their iniquity. That the thought of our verse lay very near the Psalmist's heart is clear not only from the circum-stance that the Psalm ends with it, but also from this, that the address is impassionately directed to Jehovah. The second part of Isaiah contains all the particulars into which the thought of our verse is drawn out; the maxim, "there is no peace, saith the Lord, to the wicked," which separates the three books of the second part from each other, is fully developed. The "our God" is emphatic, and intimates that the history is at the same time a prophecy. The suffix in עניתם, which is a repetition of יענם in ver. 6, refers to those previously named. On the other hand, the suffixes in להם and in עלילותם refer to the people. For the personal history of the three individuals named affords no remarkable examples of the forgiving mercy of God, and the Psalmist, in the passage before us, can only refer to clear and well-marked cases;a the forgiveness appears here as the conse- a Ven.: "God may be here said to have forgiven these men their sins, but what emphasis this have? and for what end would it be said? For the expression takes for granted, that these men provoked God in some singular way, so that God, inthe act of forgiving them, ought to be celebrated,-this, however, is foreign from their case."quence of the hearing, this again as the result of the calling mentioned in the preceding clauses; but this calling refers not to the personal circumstances of the individuals named, but it is their intercession on behalf of the people, which had for its ob-ject to remove the divine wrath lying upon them; the wrath leads to serious offences, not to sins of infirmity; only the for-mer can be understood by עלילות,�, which is used of the actions of men only in a bad sense, denotes always only sins properly so called, never mere inadvertencies (comp. at Psalms 14:1); in Psalms 53. it is explained by עול, and here this sense is de-manded, by the manifest opposition to the "forgiving:" a for-giving God vast thou to them (for their infirmities), and an avenging one for their iniquities. It is evident, therefore, that the עלילותם does not suit the three individuals who are named. The sins of Moses and Aaron were altogether sins of infirmity, the result of the sins of the people, and their punishment was in-tended to strike at them, comp. Deuteronomy 1:37; Deuteronomy 3:26; Deuteronomy 4:21, Beitr.: the history makes no mention, even of sins of infirmity; in the case of Samuel. The transition to the people is all the more easy, as the persons named had a representative character, for they did not pray for themselves but for the people, obtained hearing and forgiveness on their behalf, and as they are here set up as an example for the people. The whole verse is a para-phrase of Exo 34:7, from which the נשא in particular is taken. "Visiting the iniquities of the fathers upon the chil-dren, and upon the children's children," corresponds to the last clause. על is to be supplied to the נקם. In this case even the אל is better explained, with which the word נקם, is not any where else joined. Allusion is made especially to the punish-ment of the whole congregation, Numbers 14:20-23, as the great-est example of the wrath of God against evil-doers, comp. Psalms 95:11. The exhortation, "exalt the Lord our God," &c., has its basis not less in the reference to the inexorable judgment of God, than in that to his forgiving grace. In both Israel's God appears as the awful and the holy God, infinitely exalted both above the love and above the wrath of human passion. Ver. 6. Moses and Aaron among his priests, and Samuel among those who call upon his name: they call upon the Lord, and he hears them. Ver. 7. In the cloudy-pillar he speaks to them, they kept his testimonies, and he gave them the law.Ver. 8. O Lord our God, thou didst hear them, thou wast a forgiving God to them, and an avenging God because of their iniquity. Ver. 9. Exalt the Lord our God, and worship his holy mountain: for holy is the Lord our God. In Psalms 99:8 it is shown by the great representatives of the people in the past, that the first condition of participating in the glorious salvation of the future is calling upon God from living faith in him, and heartfelt trust in his compassion. That the particip. and the future here and in the first half of Psa 99:7 are to be explained by a lively realization of the past (contrary to Hitzig), and that the sense is only poetically transferred from the past to the present, which ought to be instructed by it, is evident from the second half of Psa 99:7-8. The observations made at Psalms 54:4 are applicable to the α. Not only Moses, but also Samuel, is numbered among the priests, next after Aaron. That we have here merely a merismos, that is Moses, Aaron and Samuel, were among the priests, and those who called upon his name, is evident from the χψΰιν repeated from the preceding word, they called, which refers to Moses and Aaron as well as to Samuel, although the calling is ascribed literally only to Samuel. Aaron only was a priest in the usual sense. At the foundation, however, of this there is another figurative idiom, that, namely, according to which all are called priests who possess what constitutes the essence of the ordinary priestly office (although not the externals), inward connection with God, free access to the throne of grace, and the gift and power of intercessory prayer. This figurative idiom occurs even in the law itself, comp. Exodus 19:6, where it is said to all Israel: “Ye shall be to me a kingdom of priests, a holy people.” The law hence acknowledges an ideal priesthood along with the ordinary one. That in certain circumstances those who possessed this ideal priesthood were warranted in exercising all the functions of the ordinary priesthood, is evident from the example of Samuel, and in a certain measure also from the example of Moses, who acted as a priest during the seven days of the consecration of the common priests, Leviticus 8:1 ss. Here, however, it is only the calling upon God that is considered as the essential part of the priestly office. This is evident from the circumstance that in the last clause the “they call,” comprehends both “the being a priest” and the calling hence the expression “among those who call upon his name,” can be nothing more than an explanation of among his priests. Exodus 17, for example, shows that Moses exercised this priestly function, when by his intercession for the people he decided the contest against Amalek, Exodus 32:31-32, Psalms 106:23. Samuel fulfilled this calling especially when the Israelites were oppressed by the Philistines, comp. 1 Samuel 9, “and Samuel cried unto the Lord, and the Lord heard him.” The idea that the last words allude directly to this passage is all the more probable, as we have already found an allusion in Psalms 99:4, which it is impossible to mistake, to the books of Samuel. The lesson, therefore, here imparted to Israel is: if you wish to participate in the salvation of the future, call upon the Lord, after the example of Moses, Aaron, and Samuel, for hearing invariably follows calling; in “Lord come “ there always lies a slumbering, “Here, Son.” From the pillar of cloud God spoke not only to Moses, Exodus 33:9, “and when Moses came into the tent, the pillar of cloud descended and stood at the door of the tent, and the Lord talked with Moses,” and again, shortly before his death, Deuteronomy 31:15, but also to Aaron, Numbers 12:5. On the occasion there related it was indeed in anger but in anger beyond which grace was concealed. Samuel received divine revelations in another form; but as the matter was common to him with Moses and Aaron, the form which was peculiar to these is transferred to him; or the speaking of God in the pillar of cloud may be considered as a figurative expression of divine revelation generally, taken from one of its original forms. “He gave the law to them,” is a repetition of “he spoke to them out of the pillar of cloud,” just as “they call upon him,” in Psalms 99:7, is a repetition of “among his priests and them that call upon his name,” serving the purpose of placing faithfulness towards revelations already obtained in intimate connection with the obtaining of new revelations, and of representing the former as the indispensable condition of the latter; as if it had been “he revealed himself to them because they had acted faithfully towards what they already received.” From the expression, “he gave the law to them,” it follows that the clause, “he spoke to them in the pillar of cloud,” is intended to refer to the communication of laws, precepts, injunctions, comp. Exodus 25:22, “and I come to meet with thee there, and to speak with thee . . . . all that I shall give thee in commandment to the children of Israel.” In reference to his testimonies, comp. at Psalms 93:5. “He gave the law to them,” is from Exodus 15:25, where Moses, as a reward for his faithfulness to the Lord, and especially for having maintained his faith in temptation, receives from him the injunction to make the bitter water sweet. This fundamental passage shows that the usual translation, “and the law which he gave them,” is false. This translation, besides, destroys the train of thought in the verse, as it has above been developed, and robs the words of their import. The passage already quoted, for example, shows how Moses obtained the law as a reward for his faithful following of the commandments of the Lord, and Numbers 12:5, how Aaron did so: had not his observance of the testimonies of the Lord distinguished him from the company of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram, he as well as they would have been destroyed. Samuel obtained, for example, divine instructions as to how he ought to conduct himself in connection with the impetuous desire of the people for a king, 1 Samuel 8:6 ss., and also towards Saul, 1 Samuel 15. The whole verse proceeds upon the view that the communication of new precepts and rules of life shall be bound up with the future glorious revelation of the Lord. The people are here told how they may obtain participation in this. Participation in the new covenant is the reward of faithfulness to the old. If we observe the commandments of God we shall receive the commandments of God, and with them salvation. The two first clauses of Psa 99:8 merely resume what had been said, for the purpose of connecting with it the last clause, which contains the peculiar point: thou didst hear them assuredly, thou hast been to them a forgiving God, but at the same time—woe to us if we bring thy wrath upon us—an avenger of their iniquity. That the thought of our verse lay very near the Psalmist’s heart is clear not only from the circumstance that the Psalm ends with it, but also from this, that the address is impassionately directed to Jehovah. The second part of Isaiah contains all the particulars into which the thought of our verse is drawn out; the maxim, “there is no peace, saith the Lord, to the wicked,” which separates the three books of the second part from each other, is fully developed. The “our God” is emphatic, and intimates that the history is at the same time a prophecy. The suffix in θπιϊν, which is a repetition of ιςπν in Psalms 99:6, refers to those previously named. On the other hand, the suffixes in μδν and in ςμιμεϊν refer to the people. For the personal history of the three individuals named affords no remarkable examples of the forgiving mercy of God, and the Psalmist, in the passage before us, can only refer to clear and well-marked cases; [Note: Ven.: “God may be here said to have forgiven these men their sins, but what emphasis this have? and for what end would it be said? For the expression takes for granted, that these men provoked God in some singular way, so that God, in the act of forgiving them, ought to be celebrated,—this, however, is foreign from their case.”] the forgiveness appears here as the consequence of the hearing, this again as the result of the calling mentioned in the preceding clauses; but this calling refers not to the personal circumstances of the individuals named, but it is their intercession on behalf of the people, which had for its object to remove the divine wrath lying upon them; the wrath leads to serious offences, not to sins of infirmity; only the former can be understood by ςμιμεϊ,—the word, which is used of the actions of men only in a bad sense, denotes always only sins properly so called, never mere inadvertencies (comp. at Psalms 14:1); in Psalms 53 it is explained by ςεμ, and here this sense is demanded, by the manifest opposition to the “forgiving:” a forgiving God vast thou to them (for their infirmities), and an avenging one for their iniquities. It is evident, therefore, that the ςμιμεϊν does not suit the three individuals who are named. The sins of Moses and Aaron were altogether sins of infirmity, the result of the sins of the people, and their punishment was intended to strike at them, comp. Deuteronomy 1:37, Deuteronomy 3:26, Deuteronomy 4:21, Beitr.: the history makes no mention, even of sins of infirmity; in the case of Samuel. The transition to the people is all the more easy, as the persons named had a representative character, for they did not pray for themselves but for the people, obtained hearing and forgiveness on their behalf, and as they are here set up as an example for the people. The whole verse is a paraphrase of Exo 34:7, from which the πωΰ in particular is taken. “Visiting the iniquities of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children’s children,” corresponds to the last clause. ΰμ is to be supplied to the πχν. In this case even the ςμ is better explained, with which the word πχν is not anywhere else joined. Allusion is made especially to the punishment of the whole congregation, Numbers 14:20-23, as the greatest example of the wrath of God against evil-doers, comp. Psalms 95:11. The exhortation, “exalt the Lord our God,” &c., has its basis not less in the reference to the inexorable judgment of God, than in that to his forgiving grace. In both of these, Israel’s God appears as the awful and the holy God, infinitely exalted both above the love and above the wrath of human passion. Psalms 100. The exhortation to the whole earth to shout with joy, ver. 1, is developed at length in a strophe of four verses, which falls in-to two halves, of which each contains, first, the exhortation, and second, the basis: serve the Lord, for he has shewn himself as the only God, by what he has done for his people; ver. 2, 3, praise the Lord, for he is good, as the salvation spews which he has bestowed upon his people. Our Psalm is related to Psalms 99. exactly as Psalms 98. is to Psalms 97. It is the lyrical portion of the divided whole, the Psalm in the Psalm. This is pointed out by the title, "a Psalm for the praise of the Lord," on account of the glorious mani-festations of his nature announced in Psalms 99., whose origi-nality is guaranteed by the בתודה and the הודו in ver. 4. That the Psalm depends upon the preceding one is clear, not only from the formal arrangement, but also from the entirely general character of what is here laid down as a basis for the ex-hortation "to serve the Lord," &c., by which many expositors, who did not observe the connection of both Psalms, have been led to an entirely false view of the Psalm, and a misapprehen-sion of its Messianic character, which becomes clearly established as soon as it is observed that the address in the whole Psalm is directed to the heathen, and that they are exhorted, not only to shout with joy to the Lord, but also to be subject to him. The Psalm forms not merely a conclusion to Psalms 99.: it is assuredly with design that it is put at the end of the whole series, the ecumenic character of which becomes very obvious in it at the close.aa The connection with Psalms 99. was, upon the whole, correctly seen by Brentz "The hundredth Psalm very seasonably follows the ninety-ninth. For, in the one, there is contained a commendation of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the majesty of his kingdom; and, in the other, an exhortation, short, indeed, but joyful, to praise and cele-brate the acme of Christ in the whole earth, and among all nations. For he who con-quers all by his majesty, and offers his beneficence to be enjoyed by all, deserves to be worshipped and celebrated by all.” Ver. 1. Shout for joy to the Lord all the world.-Comp. Psalms 98:4. The הארץ כל stands there, and in the fundamental passage, Psalms 66:1, undoubtedly, of the whole earth. By the"shout" is understood specially the shout of a king, comp. at Psalms 2:11; the "serve," therefore, of the following verse, is com-prehended under the "shout." The exhortation presupposes the arrival of those mighty events in which occasion is given to the nations of the earth to shout for joy to the Lord, and to salute him joyfully as their king.Ver. 2-5.-Ver. 2. Serve the Lord in joy, come before him in a shout. Ver. 3. Know that the Lord is God, he has made us and not we ourselves, his people and the sheep of his pasture. Ver. 4. Come to his gates with praise, to his courts with lauda-tion, praise him, laud his name. Ver. 5. For good is the Lord, eternal his mercy, and his faithfulness from generation to ge- neration.-The first half of ver. 2, is from Psalms 2:11, only that, instead of "in fear," there, where the Psalmist has, to do with fierce rebels, there is substituted here "joy." This reference to the second Psalm shews, that the address here, as in ver. 1, is directed to the heathen, and further, that by serving him here we are not to understand merely the worship of God: the serving there is the opposite of rebellion; comp. also the clause in Psalms 72:11, all the heathen shall serve him, that is, the Messiah, by whose appearance the cry, "the Lord reigneth," is realized.a The first clause of ver. 3 takes up the exhortation again, for the purpose of adding to it its basis. It is from Psalms 46:11, which passage, again, depends upon the fundamental one, Deuteronomy 7:9. Know that I am God, exclaims God in Psalms 46. to the proud heathen, on the ground of the annihilation of Senacherib's army before the gates of Jerusalem. At the present day, when the Lord has done much that is glorious on behalf of his church, when he has placed it, by the deeds of his omnipotence and grace, in the centre of the world, the exhortation of the Psalmist, whose faith anticipates these deeds, is repeated with much greater right. From such references as these, we see how the sacred writers were moved with zeal to prepare for themselves ladders out of the glorious deeds of God in times past, on which they ascended to joyful hope in regard to the future. Did we, before whom there lies open a far greater, a richer variety of such deeds, fol-low them in this, we would not feel so often dispirited. Before a Ven.: “ To serve the Lord in joy implies, that submission is rendered to him as King and Lord willingly and joyfully in all things."the "he has made us," there must in reality be supplied a “ for,” comp. ver. 5. Psalms 99. contains the filling up instead of the general expression:-we are indebted to him for the entire glory, which loudly testifies of his own exclusive godhead. The "not we" is added, because any share, on the part of the church, in effecting the salvation bestowed upon her, would weaken the tes-timony which this bears to the exclusive Godhead of the Lord; comp. Psalms 98:1, "his right hand and his holy arm helped him," and the fundamental passages referred to there. The last words are not to be explained: for his people, &c.,-in this case the "and not we" would not be suitable, and the fundamental passage also is against this, Psalms 95:6, which shows that the עשה, stands in an independent position,-but "his people and his pasture-sheep" (comp. Psalms 95:7), as in opposition to the suffix in עשנו which give the ground of the making, we who are or because we are. It was only from not observing this con-struction, and the meaning which it originates, that the sense of the Ketib has been pronounced wholly unsuitable (D. Wette), and the bad Keri reading לו for לא substituted,�which the Chald. and Jerome had, while the other old transla-tors, with the Septuagint at their head, express the reading which stands in the text. If we take a closer view, it becomes manifest, that "we are his" is wholly unsuitable. For it is not from what Israel is in general, but from what the Lord has al-ready done for Israel, that the heathen are expected to know that Jehovah is God. Ezekiel 29:3, is exactly parallel to the text-reading, where Pharaoh says: my river is my own, and I have made myself.a --On "to his courts," in ver. 4, comp. Psalms 92:14; Psalms 96:8; on "bless his name," Psalms 96:2; and, on the whole contents of the verse, Isaiah 56:7, "my house shall be called an house of prayer for all nations," and chap. 60., where the pil-grimages of all the nations of the earth to the sanctuary of the Lord are described. A comparison of this fundamental passage shows that, behind the exhortation, there lies concealed a joyful hope, and that the exhortation is nothing but the lyric expression of the hope. The thought of the future participa- a Hהvernick gives us a translation: "I have made it for myself." The suffix, how- ever, is wanting; and as Pharoah is not referred to as an himself and his river, that is his kingdom, are in reality identical.tion of all the nations of the earth in the kingdom of God appears here as it does in the prophets in an Old Testament form and dress: the nations of the earth praise the Lord in loud harmonious chorus in the same sanctuary in which now only the weak song of praise of a single little nation is heard. But that this dress even under the Old Testament itself was known as such, is evident from passages such as those of Isa 66:23, "and it happens from month to month and from Sabbath to Sabbath all flesh shall come to worship before me"-all the inhabitants of the earth every Sabbath,-which, if literally interpreted, contains an absurdity.-At "for good is the Lord," in ver. 5, we are to sup- pose added, "as is shown by the great salvation which he has im-parted to his people, and in them at the same time to the whole world." The Lord is good, not evil, comp. Psalms 25:8, "good and upright is the Lord," 34:9, 86:5. The word never means kind; and this sense is expressly excluded here by the circumstance that it is not only the mercy of the Lord, but also his faithfulnesstowards those who have received his promises, that appears here as the expression of his goodness. For the two last propositions are merely the development of the first. On "his mercy endureth for ever," comp. Isaiah 54:8; Isaiah 54:10. There can be no doubt that Ps. xci-c. belong to the same time and same author, that they form a connected series, that they are on the territory of the Psalm poetry, what the second part of Isaiah is on the territory of prophecy, and that we have before us in them a decalogue of Psalms intimately connected together: The reference to the relation in which Israel stands to the might of the world, is common to all these Psalms.a The objective view of suffering also is a common feature: the Psalmist stands every where above it, no crying from the depths, no conflict with de-spair,-the explanation being that the Psalmist has to do with future suffering, and is preparing for it a shield of consolation. These Psalms also are in common characterised by a confident expectation of a glorious revelation of the Lord, which the author, following up the prophetical writings, sees with the eye of faith as already present. It is common to them all to quote with marked a "Venema: "All these Psalms are occupied with the destruction of enemies that have been sufficiently long endured, and with the deliverance of the people of God.intelligence from older passages, especially from the Davidic Psalms, and from the second part of Isaiah, in connection with an originality of thought and expression which it is impossible to mis-take. It is a common feature also that these quotations are in all cases taken from writings of a date prior to the captivity, in ac-cordance with a series of other marks of a pre-chaldaic era which are scattered everywhere throughout these Psalms. It is com-mon to them all that the tone never rises above a certain height, and never sinks beneath it, just as in the second part of Isaiah, in common with which our Psalm bears the character of mild subli-mity. There are common to them all a great many parallel pass-ages (compare the exposition), the use of the anadiplosis, the pre-dilection for the mention of musical instruments, proceeding from the joyful character of the Psalm. It is impossible also not to notice design in the arrangement. Two introductory Psalms of a general character stand at the head: Psalms 91., an expression of joyful confidence in the help of God in all troubles and dangers; Psalms 92., the greatness of God, which brings on the destruction of the wicked, and the salvation of the just; Psalms 93. is then opened with the watch-word, "the Lord reigneth," which henceforward is uttered on all sides, and applied for comfort and exhortation. The whole ends in the exhortation addressed to the whole earth to serve the Lord and to praise him, and to give him glory for the abundant salvation which he im-parts,-the full-toned chorus of all nations and tongues who know that the Lord is God. We have already pointed to the intimate connection between this cycle of Psalms, and the second part of Isaiah. We have hence a very strong proof in behalf of the genuineness of this por-tion of Scripture. Ver. 2. Serve the Lord in joy, come before him in a shout. Ver. 3. Know that the Lord is God, he has made us and not we ourselves, his people and the sheep of his pasture. Ver. 4. Come to his gates with praise, to his courts with laudation, praise him, laud his name. Ver. 5. For good is the Lord, eternal his mercy, and his faithfulness from generation to generation.The first half of Psa 100:2, is from Psalms 2:11, only that, instead of “in fear,” there, where the Psalmist has, to do with fierce rebels, there is substituted here “joy.” This reference to the second Psalm shows, that the address here, as in Psalms 100:1, is directed to the heathen, and further, that by serving him here we are not to understand merely the worship of God: the serving there is the opposite of rebellion; comp. also the clause in Psalms 72:11, all the heathen shall serve him, that is, the Messiah, by whose appearance the cry, “the Lord reigneth,” is realized. [Note: Ven.: “To serve the Lord in joy implies, that submission is rendered to him as King and Lord willingly and joyfully in all things.”] The “serve him” has “the Lord reigneth” for its foundation. As he has come in his kingdom, it is not time for the nations of the earth to serve him. The first clause of Psa 100:3 takes up the exhortation again, for the purpose of adding to it its basis. This clause is taken from Psalms 46:11, which passage, again, depends upon the fundamental one, Deuteronomy 7:9. Know that I am God, exclaims God in Psalms 46 to the proud heathen, on the ground of the annihilation of Senacherib’s army before the gates of Jerusalem. At the present day, when the Lord has done much that is glorious on behalf of his church, when he has placed it, by the deeds of his omnipotence and grace, in the centre of the world, the exhortation of the Psalmist, whose faith anticipates these deeds, is repeated with much greater right. From such references as these, we see how the sacred writers were moved with zeal to prepare for themselves ladders out of the glorious deeds of God in times past, on which they ascended to joyful hope in regard to the future. Did we, before whom there lies open a far greater, a richer variety of such deeds, follow them in this, we would not feel so often dispirited. Before the “he has made us,” there must in reality be supplied a “for,” comp. Psalms 100:5. Psalms 99 contains the filling up instead of the general expression:—we are indebted to him for the entire glory of our present condition, which loudly testifies of his own exclusive Godhead. The “not we” is added, because any share, on the part of the church, in effecting the salvation bestowed upon her, would weaken the testimony which this bears to the exclusive Godhead of the Lord; comp. Psalms 98:1, “his right hand and his holy arm helped him,” and the fundamental passages referred to there. The last words are not to be explained: for his people, i.e., he has made us to be his people, &c.,—in this case the “and not we” would not be suitable, and the fundamental passage also is against this, Psalms 95:6, which shows that the ςωδ stands in an independent position,—but “his people and his pasture-sheep” (comp. Psalms 95:7), as in opposition to the suffix in ςωπε, which give the ground of the making, we who are or because we are. It was only from not observing this construction, and the meaning which it originates, that the sense of the Ketib has been pronounced wholly unsuitable (D. Wette), and the bad Keri reading με for μΰ substituted,—a reading which the Chald. and Jerome had, while the other old translators, with the Septuagint at their head, express the reading which stands in the text. If we take a closer view, it becomes manifest, that “we are his” is wholly unsuitable. For it is not from what Israel is in general, but from what the Lord has already done for Israel, that the heathen are expected to know that Jehovah is God. Ezekiel 29:3, is exactly parallel to the text-reading, where Pharaoh says: my river is my own, and I have made myself. [Note: Hδvernick gives us a translation: “I have made it for myself.” The suffix, however, is wanting; and as Pharoah is not referred to as an himself and his river, that is his kingdom, are in reality identical.]On “to his courts,” in Psalms 100:4, comp. Psalms 92:14, Psalms 96:8; on “bless his name,” Psalms 96:2; and, on the whole contents of the verse, Isaiah 56:7, “my house shall be called an house of prayer for all nations,” and Isaiah 60, where the pilgrimages of all the nations of the earth to the sanctuary of the Lord are described. A comparison of this fundamental passage shows that, behind the exhortation, there lies concealed a joyful hope, and that the exhortation is nothing but the lyric expression of the hope. The thought of the future participation of all the nations of the earth in the kingdom of God appears here as it does in the prophets in an Old Testament form and dress: the nations of the earth praise the Lord in loud harmonious chorus in the same sanctuary in which now only the weak song of praise of a single little nation is heard. But that this dress even under the Old Testament itself was known as such, is evident from passages such as those of Isa 66:23, “and it happens from month to month and from Sabbath to Sabbath all flesh shall come to worship before me”—all the inhabitants of the earth every Sabbath,—which, if literally interpreted, contains an absurdity. At “for good is the Lord,” in Psalms 100:5, we are to suppose added, “as is shown by the great salvation which he has imparted to his people, and in them at the same time to the whole world.” The Lord is good, not evil, comp. Psalms 25:8, “good and upright is the Lord,” Psalms 34:9, Psalms 86:5. The word never means kind; and this sense is expressly excluded here by the circumstance that it is not only the mercy of the Lord, but also his faithfulness towards those who have received his promises, that appears here as the expression of his goodness. For the two last propositions are merely the development of the first. On “his mercy endureth for ever,” comp. Isaiah 54:8, Isaiah 54:10. There can be no doubt that Psalms 91-100 belong to the same time and same author, that they form a connected series, that they are on the territory of the Psalm poetry, what the second part of Isaiah is on the territory of prophecy, and that we have before us in them a decalogue of Psalms intimately connected together: The reference to the relation in which Israel stands to the might of the world, is common to all these Psalms. [Note: “Venema: “All these Psalms are occupied with the destruction of enemies that have been sufficiently long endured, and with the deliverance of the people of God.”] The objective view of suffering also is a common feature: the Psalmist stands everywhere above it, no crying from the depths, no conflict with despair,—the explanation being that the Psalmist has to do with future suffering, and is preparing for it a shield of consolation. These Psalms also are in common characterised by a confident expectation of a glorious revelation of the Lord, which the author, following up the prophetical writings, sees with the eye of faith as already present. It is common to them all to quote with marked intelligence from older passages, especially from the Davidic Psalms, and from the second part of Isaiah, in connection with an originality of thought and expression which it is impossible to mistake. It is a common feature also that these quotations are in all cases taken from writings of a date prior to the captivity, in accordance with a series of other marks of a pre-Chaldaic era which are scattered everywhere throughout these Psalms. It is common to them all that the tone never rises above a certain height, and never sinks beneath it, just as in the second part of Isaiah, in common with which our Psalm bears the character of mild sublimity. There are common to them all a great many parallel passages (compare the exposition), the use of the anadiplosis, the predilection for the mention of musical instruments, proceeding from the joyful character of the Psalm. It is impossible also not to notice design in the arrangement. Two introductory Psalms of a general character stand at the head: Psalms 91, an expression of joyful confidence in the help of God in all troubles and dangers; Psalms 92, the greatness of God, which brings on the destruction of the wicked, and the salvation of the just; Psalms 93 is then opened with the watch-word, “the Lord reigneth,” which henceforward is uttered on all sides, and applied for comfort and exhortation. The whole ends in the exhortation addressed to the whole earth to serve the Lord and to praise him, and to give him glory for the abundant salvation which he imparts,—the full-toned chorus of all nations and tongues who know that the Lord is God. We have already pointed to the intimate connection between this cycle of Psalms, and the second part of Isaiah. We have hence a very strong proof in behalf of the genuineness of this portion of Scripture. Psalms 101. The Psalmist expresses the determination to sing praise to the Lord, and to extol his mercy and righteousness, ver. 1. He utters next, in a strophe of seven verses, which is divided by the three and the four, his resolution as King of Israel, partly in his own conduct to be blameless, ver. 2-4, partly in his choice of his ser-vants to be careful, and to take zealous care, by rigid observance of righteousness, to root out the wicked from the city of God, ver. 5-8. According to the ordinary view taken of the Psalm, which re-presents it as a whole complete within itself, there meets us a two-fold difficulty of a very important character. 1. The Psalmist announces in ver. 1 a song of praise to the Lord, extolling his mercy and the justice obtained through him. But of this there is not in ver. 2-8 one single trace. The Psalmist there does not say one single word of what the Lord has done for him, but only of what he himself is determined to do. That this difficulty has been felt by translators, is evident from the fact that a manifest perversion of the sense of ver. 1, which serves to remove this dif-ficulty, has been so generally adopted. 2. The words, "when wilt thou come to me," interpolated as it were in the middle of a re-presentation of pious resolutions, stand so abruptly, that those in-terpreters whose view does not extend beyond our Psalm, have felt themselves put to extreme difficulty without having been able to come to rest and to a satisfactory result. The distress of the Psalmist hinted at in such a passing manner in these words, re-quires in what follows a more full description,-the short and stolen prayer, a more full development; neither of which is to be found within the compass of our Psalm. The explanation of the difficulty is this, that we have before us in Psa_101:-103., a trilogy of Psalms; that the praise announced here in ver. 1 of the mercy which the Lord has shown the Psalm-ist, and of the justice which he has done for him, follows in Psalms 103., which begins with the words, "praise the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me his holy name" (comp. especially ver. 6, 8, 11, 17); and that Psalms 102., "the prayer of the miserable when he is afflicted and pours out his complaint before the Lord," is the full expansion of the cry, "when wilt thou come to me." The plan and connection of the three divided whole, in a few words, is this: if my children only remain in the ways of the Lord, Psalms 101:2-8, they may confidently call upon him in all trouble, Psalms 102.; and the end of the song shall always be: praise the Lord, O my soul, Psalms 103. The passage which contains the whole substance of our Psalm, is expressly indicated in Psalms 103:17; Psalms 103:18, "the mercy of the Lordendureth from eternity to eternity upon those who fear him, and his righteousness to child's child, to those who keep his covenant, and remember his commandments to do them." The paragraph in Psalms 18., ver. 20-27, corresponds to this, where David shews that his salvation is the fruit of his righteousness. David, who every-where had a deep knowledge of the truth, that salvation rises only on the basis of righteousness, does not speak herein his own per-son, but extends his consciousness to that of his seed, as in Psalms 18., (comp. vol. i., p. 311, ss.), Psalms 21., and expresses in their name pious resolutions, before giving utterance to the prayer for salvation: it is only the man who can with inward truth utter after him the words of our Psalm, that is entitled to appropriate as his own "the prayer of the miserable, &c." and that shall have oc-casion given him to say, "praise the Lord, O my soul." Our Psalm is hence an indirect exhortation to the successors of David on the throne, and to the church of God represented by them, and whose weal and wo were dependant on them: behind "I will walk blamelessly in a perfect way," there is concealed a "walk blamelessly." The discovery of this close, hidden connection among Psa_101:-103., is at the same time a discovery of the nakedness of rationalistic cri-ticism. The Davidic origin of the Psalms has been acknowledged by its most distinguished representatives, with the single excep-tion of Hitzig, who, with his idea of Maccabean Psalms, has so exposed himself to attack, that nothing in the world can save him. D. Wette thus expresses himself: there is nothing what-ever against the title which announces this Psalm to have been composed by David: the Psalm is rather by its massiveness alto-gether worthy of such an author." And Ewald: “ It is easy to dis-cover in the poet a powerful reigning prince, indeed David himself, for David's lofty thought is expressed throughout.” On the other hand, the two following Psalms can not be allowed to belong to David; they contain manifest traces of the era of the captivity. If the connection be seen, one or other of the two assertions, both of which are maintained with equal confidence, must be false. The originality of the title, however, according to which Psalms 101., and therefore the whole series, is attributed to David, can all the less be called in question, as this Psalm cannot be considered as standing without a title. In regard to the time of composition, the idea that David could have composed the Psalm only at the time of his ascending the throne or near the commencement of his reign depends upon the false reference to David himself of what belongs to his successors, and upon a misconception in regard to the hortatory import of the Psalm. A twofold consideration meets us here. 1. Jerusalem is simply designated in ver. 8 as the city of the Lord. This presupposes that at the time of the composition of the Psalm, the ark of the covenant was already in Jerusalem, and that Jeru-salem had already become decidedly the religious metropolis of the nation. At all events, therefore, the Psalm must belong to a period later than that referred to at 2 Samuel 6:2. The Psalm has for its basis the promise made to David by Nathan, 2 Sam. vii. It was by this promise that David first got the assurance, that unlike Samuel he would continue to reign in the person of his descendants, and the earnest impulse to interest himself in their future welfare. There are several undoubted allusions to our Psalm in the book of Proverbs (comp. the exposition), a circumstance which admits of explanation by the fact that it must have made a great impres-sion on the mind of Solomon, for whom in the first instance it was intended, and that in regard to its sententious character it is nearly allied to the Proverbs. Ver. 1. By David, a Psalm. Mercy and judgment will I sing, to thee, O Lord, will I sing praise.-Many expositors give: I will, as well-pleasing to thee, O Lord, sing of the mercy and righteousness, which I will manifest in my government. But against this we have the parallel and derived passage, Psalms 89:1, which may be considered as the Old Testament commentary on our Psalm, "The mercies of the Lord will I sing for ever," where the mercies of the Lord are the manifestations of his love towards the family of David; and also the fact that wherever in David's Psalms the resolution, or the exhortation, to sing to the Lord, and to play to him, ליהוה זמר, is expressed on the basis of Jud 5:3, "I will sing to the Lord, I will sing praise to the God of Israel," it always refers to the thankful praise of the Lord for his deeds of goodness, comp. Psalms 13:6; Psalms 18:49; Psalms 9:11, 30: 4, 12, 33:2, 68:4 (where, in a peculiar manner, the ex- pression in Judges 5:3 stands forward as the fundamental passage) Psalms 71:22; Psalms 71:23; still further, that in the following part of the Psalm there are no traces whatever of the mercy which the king intends to show, for that ver. 6 contains no such is clear as day, the choice of trustworthy persons as servants of the king appears there only as the expression of the conscientiousness which is to distinguish his reign; and, finally, the concluding clause of the preceding Psalm, "Good is the Lord, eternal is his mercy, and from generation to generation his faithfulness" (of which judg-ment is the product), which shows that, at least according to the view of the collector, the mercy and the judgment here proceed from the Lord. We can, therefore, only explain: I will praise the Lord for the mercy and the judgment which he has promised to me. If so, we cannot restrict our view to the Psalm before us, but must look forward to Psalms 103. For every where, where a si-milar expression occurs, and, in particular, previous to this, in the fundamental passage, and, in like manner, in Psalms 89., it stands either as the introduction or the conclusion to a length-ened song of praise for the Lord's deeds of goodness. In ver. 2-4, how the king intends to conduct himself in private life, in order to become partaker of the mercy and judgment. Ver. 2. I will walk wisely in a blameless way.-When wilt thou come to me will walk in the blamelessness of my heart in the midst of my house. Ver. 3. I will place no wicked ac-tion before my eyes, to do wickedness I hate, it shall not cleave to me. Ver. 4. A perverted heart shall depart from me, what is wicked 1 will not know.-On השכיל, to act wisely, pru-dently, in opposition to the stupid conduct of the heathen, comp. at Psalms 14:2. השכיל never signifies, to think upon any thing. The means by which this wise conduct is reached and maintained are to be found in meditating upon the commandments of God, Psalms 119:99. David had himself practised what he enjoins his posterity, and recommends as the sure means of salvation. We read in 1 Samuel 18:14; 1 Samuel 18:15, where the words, in all probability, are taken from the lips of David, "And David walked wisely in all his ways, and the Lord was with him. And Saul saw that he acted very wisely, and he was afraid of him." It is with design that, at the very beginning, the future stands with the ה of effort. It regulates the following futures, and shows that they too are to be taken in the sense of resolutions and purposes. The תמים as a predicate of the way, occurs in Psalms 18:30; Psalms 18:32; there is, therefore, no reason for translating: in the way of a blameless man. The word is one for which David had a peculiar predilec-tion (comp. Psalms 18:23; Psalms 18:25; Psalms 15:2), a fact to be accounted for by the deep impression which the words addressed by God to Abraham seem to have made upon his heart: Walk before me, and be thou perfect (blameless). This expression he had here also before his eyes: in the first clause, he takes from it the blamelessness, in the second, "I will walk," and in the middle clause he refers to the promise of the blessing, which is there connected with blamelessness of conduct. The affecting and anxious question, "When wilt thou come to me," to bless and to help me in my trouble? which follows immediately after the first words of the description of the pious resolutions, in order to render prominent the object of these resolutions, and to exhibit them as introductory to Psalms 102. depends upon Exodus 20:21, "In everyplace where I erect a memorial for my name, I shall come to thee, and bless thee," and is equivalent to: When wilt thou, faithful to thy promises, come to me, and bless me, thou who hast erected in Sion, "the city of the Lord," ver. 8, a memorial of thy name, and bast chosen it as the place of thy sanctuary. The reference is all the more suitable, as David speaks here in name of his posterity, and these represent the people to whom, in the fundamental passage, the promise had been given. The various faulty translations which have been given have arisen merely from failing to observe the reference to this fundamental passage, from which the indefinite coming is defined to be a coming fraught with blessing and help, and also from failing to observe the re-ference to Psalms 102., which makes itself known as the expansion of the cry, "When wilt thou come to me?" by the clauses at the very beginning, "Lord, hear my prayer, and let my cry come before thee," according to which the coming of the Lord here can only be such a coming as goes hand in hand with the coming of the cry of the miserable to him. A host of different interpreta-tions, like Luther's entirely arbitrary one, "with those who be-long to me," are set aside by the simple remark, that מתי is never any thing else than an interrogative "when;" it is so even in Proverbs 18:35; comp. Michaelis on the passage. The 8th verse ren-ders it impossible to think of the coming of the ark of the cove-nant. On the "in the blamelessness of my heart," comp. the three dependant passages, Psalms 78:72, 1 Kings 3:14, where the Lord says to Solomon, "And thou, if thou shalt walk before me as David thy father walked," "in the blamelessness of his heart," Proverbs 20:7, "The righteous walks in his blamelessness, blessed are his sons after him." The expression, "within my house," i. e., within my four walls, denotes here, as in ver. 7, the opposite of "the city of the Lord," in ver. 8;-here his private life, there his public conduct. The last clause rests upon the basis of the first.-On בליעל דבר, the wicked action, in ver. 3, comp. at Psalms 41:8. The סטים, is not an adjective, but a subst.,a comp. Proverbs 21:3, "to execute righteousness and judgment is more pleasant to the Lord than sacrifices." The שטים occurs in Hosea 5:2, undoubtedly in the sense of departureb from God and from his commandments, comp: the שוט = שטה, Psalms 40:4, and the latter word, Numbers 5:12; Numbers 5:19. "It shall not cleave to me," is from Deuteronomy 13:17, "And there shall cleave nought of the curse to thine hand, that the Lord turn from the fierceness of his anger, and show thee mercy." This fundamental passage has given occasion to the expression.-On the first clause of ver. 4, comp. Psalms 18:26. Proverbs 11:20 is made up of this clause, and of ver. 2: "An abomination to the Lord are those of a perverted heart, but such as are blameless in their way are his delight," comp. also 17:20, "He who is of a perverted heart finds no good." In the second clause, we cannot translate the wicked man, but only the wicked thing (Psalms 34:16; Psalms 52:3), will I not know. For in the preceding context, the discourse had been only about sin, not about sinners; and in the other view, we pass over to the territory of the second strophe. a Mich.: The name after such an infinitive is usually taken not subjectively but ob- jectively. b Mich.: Superstitious victims fighting against the divine institution. In Psalms 101:2-4, how the king intends to conduct himself in private life, in order to become partaker of the mercy and judgment. Ver. 2. I will walk wisely in a blameless way. When wilt thou come to me? I will walk in the blamelessness of my heart in the midst of my house. Ver. 3. I will place no wicked action before my eyes, to do wickedness I hate, it shall not cleave to me. Ver. 4. A perverted heart shall depart from me, what is wicked 1 will not know. On δωλιμ, to act wisely, prudently, in opposition to the stupid conduct of the heathen, comp. at Psalms 14:2. δωλιμ never signifies, to think upon a thing. The means by which this wise conduct is reached and maintained are to be found in meditating upon the commandments of God, Psalms 119:99. David had himself practised what he enjoins his posterity, and recommends as the sure means of salvation. We read in 1 Samuel 18:14-15, where the words, in all probability, are taken from the lips of David, “And David walked wisely in all his ways, and the Lord was with him. And Saul saw that he acted very wisely, and he was afraid of him.” It is with design that, at the very beginning, the future stands with the δ of effort. It regulates the following futures, and shows that they too are to be taken in the sense of resolutions and purposes. The ϊξιν as a predicate of the way, occurs in Psalms 18:30, Psalms 18:32; there is, therefore, no reason for translating: in the way of a blameless man. The word is one for which David had a peculiar predilection (comp. Psalms 18:23, Psalms 18:25, Psalms 15:2), a fact to be accounted for by the deep impression which the words addressed by God to Abraham seem to have made upon his heart: Walk before me, and be thou perfect (blameless). This expression he had here also before his eyes: in the first clause, he takes from it the blamelessness, in the second, “I will walk,” and in the middle clause he refers to the promise of the blessing, which is there connected with blamelessness of conduct. The affecting and yearning question, “When wilt thou come to me,” blessing and helping me in my trouble? which follows immediately after the first words of the description of the pious resolutions, in order to render prominent the object of these resolutions, and to exhibit them as introductory to Psalms 102 depends upon Exodus 20:21, “In every place where I erect a memorial for my name, I shall come to thee, and bless thee,” and is equivalent to: When wilt thou, faithful to thy promises, come to me, and bless me, thou who hast erected in Sion, “the city of the Lord,” Psalms 101:8, a memorial of thy name, and hast chosen it as the place of thy sanctuary. The reference is all the more suitable, as David speaks here in name of his posterity, and these represent the people to whom, in the fundamental passage, the promise had been given. Other interpretations have arisen merely from failing to observe the reference to this fundamental passage, from which the indefinite coming is defined to be a coming fraught with blessing and help, and also from failing to observe the reference to Psalms 102, which makes itself known as the expansion of the cry, “When wilt thou come to me?” by the clauses at the very beginning, “Lord, hear my prayer, and let my cry come before thee,” according to which the coming of the Lord here can only be such a coming as goes hand in hand with the coming of the cry of the miserable to him. A host of different interpretations, like Luther’s entirely arbitrary one, “with those who belong to me,” are set aside by the simple remark, that ξϊι is never anything else than an interrogative “when;” it is so even in Proverbs 23:35; comp. Michaelis on the passage. The (Psalms 101:8) 8th verse renders it impossible to think of the coming of the ark of the covenant. On the “in the blamelessness of my heart,” comp. the three dependant passages, Psalms 78:72, 1 Kings 3:14, where the Lord says to Solomon, “And thou, if thou shalt walk before me as David thy father walked,” “in the blamelessness of his heart,” Proverbs 20:7, “The righteous walks in his blamelessness, blessed are his sons after him.” The expression, “within my house,” i.e., within my four walls, denotes here, as in Psalms 101:7, the opposite of “the city of the Lord,” in Psalms 101:8;—here his private life, there his public conduct. The last clause rests upon the basis of the first. On γαψαμιςμ, the wicked action, in Psalms 101:3, comp. at Psalms 41:8. The ρθιν is not an adjective, but a subst., [Note: Mich.: The name after such an infinitive is usually taken not subjectively but objectively.] comp. Proverbs 21:3, “to execute righteousness and judgment is more pleasant to the Lord than sacrifices.” The ωθιν occurs in Hosea 5:2, undoubtedly in the sense of departures [Note: Mich.: Superstitious victims fighting against the divine institution.] from God and from his commandments, comp: the ωεθ = ωθδ, Psalms 40:4, and the latter word, Numbers 5:12; Numbers 5:19. “It shall not cleave to me,” is from Deuteronomy 13:17, “And there shall cleave nought of the curse to thine hand, that the Lord turn from the fierceness of his anger, and show thee mercy.” This fundamental passage has given occasion to the expression. On the first clause of Psa 101:4, comp. Psalms 18:26. Proverbs 11:20 is made up of this clause, and of Psa 101:2 : “An abomination to the Lord are those of a perverted heart, but such as are blameless in their way are his delight,” comp. also Proverbs 17:20, “He who is of a perverted heart finds no good.” In the second clause, we cannot translate the wicked man, but only the wicked thing (Psalms 34:16, Psalms 52:3), will I not know. For in the preceding context, the discourse had been only about sin, not about sinners; and in the other view, we pass over to the territory of the second strophe. Ver. 5-8. How the king will act in his government: he will not endure slander and pride in his presence, will surround him-self with upright servants, will banish deceit and lying from his presence (the care for good servants in the middle, the removal of the bad ones on both sides), he will practise discipline with strict-ness among the people of the Lord. Or: the picture of a pious house, ver. 5-7, zeal in extirpating wickedness, ver. 8.-Ver. 5.Him who slandereth his neighbour in secret I extirpate, him who has proud eyes, and is haughty, I endure not. Ver. 6. Mine eyes look after the faithful in the land, so that they dwell by me, he who walks in a blameless way shall serve me. Ver. 7. The man shall not dwell within my house who practises deceit, he who speaks lies shall not continue beside me. Ver. 8. Every morning I will extirpate all the wicked of the land, so that I root out from the city of the Lord all evil-doers.-On the first clause of ver. 5, comp. Psalms 15:3. David had himself, in Saul's time, experienced the ruinous consequences of slander prevailing in the court. The reading in the text is ינiש;ולמ; the part. in Po. with the paragogic Jod (onwhich comp. Ewald, § 211); the reading in the margin ינiש;לAמ;, thepart, in Pi. instead of ינiש;לaמ;, like והצ;רAת;, Psalms 62:3. This peculiar expression was, in all probability, formed by David him-self as a denom. from לשון. The verb occurs elsewhere only in Proverbs 30:10, in an exactly similar and apparently derived con-nection: "Thou shalt not slander a servant to his master, lest he curse thee, and thou be found guilty." David makes use of an equally peculiar expression, in reference to slander, in Psalms 15:3. The very determined expression, "I will extirpate," suits very well in David's mouth. High eyes and a proud heart are also joined together in Proverbs 21:4. The latter of these terms is expressive of high-minded self-conceit, and not of desire (Ew.), as is manifest from Proverbs 28:25, where to the wide-hearted we find opposed the man who trusts in the Lord, and love of strife appears as the outward expression of wide-heartedness; comp. ch. 15:18, where instead of the wide-hearted man we have the man of wrath. Pride is here very appropriately con-nected with slandering, because the latter springs from the de-sire to depreciate others. On the אוכל לא, I cannot, I am not grown for it, it is beyond my strength, comp. Isaiah 1:13. Berleb: "This does not only apply to rulers; but the church and every individual who would have part in Christ must be thus minded, and say with David: if any thing had risen up in me against my neighbour, I will extirpate it, and I will not suffer in me any thing proud or high-minded."-That they dwell by me, ver. 6, as my servants and counsellors. The expression, "he who walks in a blameless way," alludes designedly to ver. 2. The house ofa king is then, for the first time, represented as good, when he not only walks blamelessly himself, but has good servants, who devote themselves to a similar line of conduct.-In like manner, "within my house," in ver. 7, alludes to ver. 2, and forms along with it the proper opposite to "the city of the Lord," in ver. 8: virtuous conduct within the house on the part of the king and his servants, and in outward matter the strict administration of justice. On "he shall not be established," comp. Proverbs 12:3, where sliding stands opposed to being established. Should liars succeed in stealing into the king's house, they shall not, at least,obtain there a lasting abode.-On לבקרים, every morning, in ver. 8, comp. Psalms 73:14. It points to the unwearied zeal ofthe king, renewed every morning in rooting out the wicked. The words have, in the first instance, the sense of an impressive ex-hortation to the strict practice of righteousness, a warning against that effeminate cruelty which, by sparing the wicked, destroys the good, and brings the whole commonwealth to ruin;a comp. the repetition of this warning in Jeremiah 21:12 : "O house of David, thus saith the Lord, execute judgment in the morning." And as the house of David reached its apex in Christ, the words have also the force of a prophecy. The second clause points to the basis on which the zeal displayed in recompensing the wicked rests: a king who has been placed over the people of the Lord has been laid under obligations of a peculiarly binding nature. The city of the Lord is Sion or Jerusalem, comp. Psalms 102:13; Psalms 46:4; Psalms 48:1; Psalms 48:8; Psalms 87:3. This was from the time the sanctuary was settled there, in a spiritual sense the abode of the whole of Israel (comp. at Psalms 28:4; Psalms 84:3), who, in reality, assembled there at the great festivals. Berleb.: "Do thou this even now, and make this promise to God,-Every thing that is ungodly I will root out of my heart, as out of thy sanctuary, where I wish to wor-ship thee alone." a Calvin: “ By this expression the sloth of rulers is condemned, who, though they see the wicked rushing on boldly to sin, put off from day to day, either through fear or in-dulgence. Let kings and magistrates, therefore; remember, that they are armed with the sword, in order that they may execute the judgments of God vigorously, and in due season. . . . . We hence learn how pleasing to God is moderate severity, and, on the other hand, how obnoxious to him is that cruel kindness which lets the wicked act without restraint, as there is no greater inducement to sin than impunity.” Psalms 102. Help me, O Lord, in my deep misery, ver. 1-5, and in my state of complete abandonment, ver. 6-10.-Near to perishing, I flee to thee, O thou who sittest on thy eternal throne in thy omnipotence and in thy mercy and faithfulness towards thy peo-ple: thou shalt have mercy upon Sion, for this the supplication of thy people ascends to thee, ver. 11-14, and shalt thus spread abroad thy call over the whole earth, ver. 15-17.-The salvation which Sion receives in her misery shall yet be praised by the most remote posterity, when the nations shall be assembled there to serve the Lord, ver. 18-22. Being near to destruction I flee to the Eternal, to him who is the eternal God, the Saviour of his people, ver. 23-27. The servants of the Lord are always vic-torious in the end, ver. 28. The whole is enclosed within an introductory verse, which an-nounces the design, and a concluding one, which sums up the contents of the Psalm. These stand out of the arrangement. Of the three strophes, the first and last consist each of ten verses, and the middle strophe of seven. The ten is divided both times by a 5, and the seven by a 4 and a 3. The title runs: a prayer of the afflicted when he is troubled, and pours out his complaint before the Lord. On the תפלה, comp. at the title of Psalms 90. The remark there made, that תפלה, is properly a supplicatory prayer, the entreaty of the miserable for help, is confirmed by the passage before us, which contains what is equivalent to a definition of תפלה; in ver. 1 it stands in parallel to the cry. On עטף comp. at Psalms 61:2. On "when he pours out," comp. Psalms 62:8, "trust in him at all times, ye people, pour out your heart before him" with its cares and sor-rows. On שיה comp. at Psalms 55:2; Psalms 64:1. The originality of the title appears from the correspondence with the concluding verse, from the reference of the beginning of the Psalm to it, and also of the conclusion of the second strophe, ver. 17, from the Davidic character which it bears in common with all the rest of the Psalm (comp. the passages quoted from Davidic Psalms), and, finally, from its poetic character, by which it is manifested to be a constituent portion of the Psalm. From this title it appears how inadmissible is the modern idea based upon a misunderstanding of the 13 and following verses (see the exposition), according to which it is held to be a prayer of the people for deliverance from the captivity. The title is ex-clusive of every special historical occasion: according to it the Psalm is set apart for the existing condition of the miserable. As to the relation in which it stands to Psalms 101:101; Psalms 101:103., comp at Psalms 101. The result there obtained is confirmed by the fact that the Psalm throughout is nearly connected with the Davidic Psalms (comp. the exposition)-a fact all the more striking as the Psalm throughout bears an independent and original char-acter, and contains nowhere any trace of quotations from post-Davidic Psalms or from the later Scriptures;-by the circum-stance that the absence of all acknowledgment of sin as the cause of the suffering which is very prominently brought forward as such, in other similar Psalms, admits of explanation by the con-nection with Psalms 101., but especially by the 1st ver., according to which this prayer is intended only for the pious and righteous posterity of David; and, finally, by the circumstance that the fundamental thought of the Psalm, the clinging of helplessness when near destruction to eternal omnipotence and love, occurs also in Psalms 103., ver. 15-17. The suppliant prays and hopes sometimes for himself and sometimes for Sion. The obvious explanation of this is, that the king is the personified aggregate of the people, and especially that the prosperity and sufferings of Israel were at all times bound up with the fate of the family of David. Comp. in reference to this the very characteristic passage, Lamentations 4:20, "Our breath, the anointed of the Lord was taken in their pits of whom we said, Under his shadow we shall live among the nations." The reference to the family of David is intentionally less pro-minent here and also in Psalms 103. than it is in Psalms 101. The title itself shews that next to its main design in connection with Psalms 101., it was generally designed for suffering righteousness. The representation, which here lies at the bottom, of severe sufferings awaiting the royal family and Sion, must be considered as entirely natural to David. Behind him lay the painful events of the period of the Judges. He himself had on many occasions drunk the cup of suffering to the dregs, and every man's prospectsfor the future are cast after the mould of his own personal ex-perience. Ver. 1-10.-Ver. 1. O Lord, hear my prayer and let my cry come to thee. Ver. 2. Hide not thy face from me, in the day when I am in trouble incline to me thine ear, in the day when I call hear me speedily. Ver. 3. For my days vanish like smoke and my bones glow like a firebrand. Ver. 4. My heart is smitten like grass and withered, for I forget to eat my bread. Ver. 5. On account of the voice of my sighing my bone cleaves to my flesh. Ver. 6. I am like the pelican in the wilderness, I am as an owl of ruins. Ver. 7. I keep watch and am like a solitary bird on the house top. Ver. 8. My enemies reproach me continually, and those that are mad against me are sworn against me. Ver. 9. For I eat ashes like bread, and mingle my drink with tears. Ver. 10. Because of thy wrath and anger, for thou hast lifted me up and cast me to the ground.-On "hear my prayer," in ver. 1, comp Psalms 4:1; Psalms 17:1. On "Let my cry come to thee," comp. Psalms 101:2, and Psalms 18:6, "And my cry comes before him into his ear." This prayer, bearing upon the future, has for its foundation what, according to that passage, David had already experienced. In the church of God, and par-ticularly in the kingdom of David, the optative always rests on the preterite.-In ver. 2, after "hide not thy face from me" (lit. Psalms 27:9, comp. Ps. there must be a point, because as "incline thine ear to me" (comp. Psalms 17:6; Psalms 31:2) corresponds to "answer me," "in the day when I am troubled," (Psalms 59:16, comp. 18:6, 69:17), corresponds to "in the day when I call" (Psalms 56:9). On "hear me speedily," comp. Psalms 31:2. David designedly puts into the lips of his suffering family the same words which had already been heard when uttered by him in his own trouble. Behind the fore-ground of simple petitions there is everywhere concealed a rich back-ground of invitations to hope and confidence.-On the first half of ver. 4 comp. Psalms 37:20, "For the wicked shall perish, and the enemies of the Lord vanish away as the joy of lambs, as smoke (properly "into smoke," as here) they vanish away," Psalms 68:2. There appears to be a decided reference to this passage: the sufferer complains that the lot which belongs only to the wicked appears to fall upon him notwithstanding his righteousness, Psalms 101. Where this last exists,God must necessarily remove this appearance. The point of comparison with the smoke is the fleeing past, the disappearing. In reality, the language does not refer to the personal existence of the life of the individual, but to the duration of the dominion of the seed of David. The מוקד signifies neither fire nor a hearth, but something that is burnt, a firebrand; the feminine מוקדה, Leviticus 6:2, used of the whole heap of fuel, corresponds to the plural, firebrands, in Isaiah 33:14. The נהר is burnt, has been kindled, Psalms 69:3. The bones,-as the foundation of cor-poreal existence, as the interior fortress of the body, to which the rest stands related as external work, comp. Psalms 6:2; Psalms 31:10; Psalms 42:10. The burning is not that of fever but of pain. There is an abbreviated comparison: deep pain penetrates my marrow and bones, as if there were kindled in them a burning fire, and destroys me, comp. Jeremiah 20. heart comes into notice, in ver. 4, as the seat of vital power. The sense is: my vital power is exhausted, for in my deep distress I loathe all food. As grass, -which is struck and injured by men or by the sun (Psalms 121:6), or in any other way, comp. Jonah 4:7, "And the worm smote the gourd, and it withered." What the sap is for plants, which is withdrawn when they are smitten, that nourishment is for the heart of men, comp. Psalms 104:15, "Bread strengtheneth man's heart;" Gem 18:5,-without nourishment, it is as if it werestruck, and were withering away. The כי corresponding to theמן ver. 5, is hence altogether suitable as an affirming particle, and we cannot translate with Luther; "so that I forget," comp. 1 Samuel 33:20, where it is said of Saul, "There was no strength in him, for he had eaten no bread that whole day and that whole night." On "I forget to eat my bread," i. e., all pleasure in eating has left me, comp. Psalms 107:18, "Their soul abhorreth all manner of food," 1 Samuel 20:34, where Jonathan eats nothing in consequence of distress about David, 1 Samuel 1:7, where it is said of Hannah, "she wept and ate nothing," 1 Kings 21:4. -On "because of the voice of my sighing," in ver. 5, comp. Psalms 31:10, "For my life is spent with grief and my years with sighing," Psalms 32:3, "When my bones wasted away through my howling continually." The clause "My bone cleaves to my flesh," is usually taken as descriptive of extreme emaciation, with reference to Psalms 22:17. But this is mani-festly to accommodate not to expound. There, and in the dependant passage, Job 19:20, "My bone cleaveth to my skin and to my flesh," that state of weakness and relaxation of the bones is manifestly described, which is brought on by severe pain and long continued distress, when they lose their force and vi-gorous power of motion; comp. the opposite in Isaiah 58:11; Isaiah 66:14, and the parallel passage: they cleave on, hang upon the flesh as the feeble and exhausted tongue does in a beast of burden, comp. also Psalms 137:6, (where דבק occurs also with ל) and 22:15.-In the second half of the first strophe we have the loneliness of the sufferer-enemies all round, and nowhere in the whole world a helper-as in the first his misery.-As the שקד in ver. 7 signifies to watch only in the sense of to keep watch, we must assume that there is an abbreviated comparison: I watch as constantly as one who stands upon the watch, comp. Psalms 77:6. The watching according to the connection and the comparison is brought in only by the discomfort arising from the loneliness. Like a lonely bird,-a poor helpless little bird, which has been deprived of its mate or its young, and is left alone in the wide world.-On "my enemies reproach me," ver. 8, comp. Psalms 42:10. The part in Poel מהולל, occurs in Son 2:2 in the sense of mad. Here "my mad ones," with a word to be supplied from the first clause, stands instead of "my mad enemies." They swear by me, inasmuch as they say: may God let it go with you or me as it does with that miserable man, comp. Num. v. 21, 27, Jeremiah 29:22, Isaiah 65:15, Psalms 44:14.-In ver. 8, 9, we have the ground of the reproach of the enemies against the solitary one, his deep misery.a The mourner sits on the ground as descriptive of his low state and his being struck down, Isaiah 3:26, or lays himself upon it, Psalms 44:25, where are dust and ashes, (Isaiah 47:1; Isaiah 52:2), which are swallowed by him who lies or sits there; comp. Isaiah 65:25, "the serpent, dust is its meat," and the phrase "to lick the dust of the feet of any one," for to throw one's self down before him. The idea is a false one, that ashes, which come into notice only as they lie with other impurities on the dirty ground, have any special relation to the mourner. This is opposed by the fact, that ashes in such passages are partly a Ven.: As this most mournful condition appears contrary to the privileges of those who are favoured of God, there thence arises occasion for laughing at the pious.218 THE BOOK OF PSALMS. joined with the dust, as Job 30:19; Job 42:6, partly interchanged with it, as Job 2:8 and ver 12. Instead of "I mingle my drink with weeping," some read "I weep instead of eat," comp. at Psalms 42:3; Psalms 80:5; here the tears fall into the drink.-On "because of thy wrath and anger," in ver. 10, comp. Ps. 38:1, 3. In the second clause the expression is taken from a storm of wind, which first lifts up the object which it seizes, and then dashes it to the ground; comp. Job 27:21, "an east wind carrieth him away, and it goes and storms him away from his place." Ver. 11-17. -Ver. 11. My days are as a shadow that de-clineth, and I am withered like grass. Ver. 12. And thou, O Lord, art enthroned for ever, and thy memorial from generation to generation. Ver. 13. Thou shalt arise, have mercy on Sion, for it is time that thou be gracious to her, for the point of time is come. Ver. 14. For thy servants have pleasure in her stones, and she mourns over her dust. Ver. 15. And the heathen shall fear the name of the Lord, and all kings of the earth thy glory. Ver. 16. For the Lord builds Sion, he appears in his glory. Ver. 17. He turns to the prayer of the destitute, and despises not their prayer.-That ver. 11 is not to be read along with the pre-ceding verses, but like ver. 23 forms the introduction of the new strophe is clear from this, that the discourse is not here as it is in the second half of the first strophe of the loneliness, but only of the misery of the miserable one, from the literal reference to vet. 4, a reference so literal that it is suitable only for a repetitionwhich resumes the subject, and finally from the אני to whichthe "thou," in the beginning of ver. 12 corresponds. The Psalmist here ties together in one bundle his whole misery, as described in the first strophe, and all his helplessness, and throws it with one mighty fling upon the Eternal. As a bent wall, in Psalms 62:3, is a wall which has already begun to sink, a bent sha-dow here is one which is already going to destruction. The figu-rative expression is just taken from a wall, Psalms 109:23; Psalms 144:4.The discourse, according to the preceding context, does not relate "generally to the sudden destruction of the transitory life of man," but to the destruction which specially threatens the family of David and the church of God in him, comp. especially ver. 3, andalso ver. 23, 24. The "thou" in ver. 12 stands in strong oppo-sition to the "I” in ver. 11. The sitting is no empty remaining,but a sitting as king, a sitting on a throne, comp. at Psalms 29:10, "the Lord sitteth as King for ever," and Psalms 9:7, "and the Lord is enthroned for ever." Though the symptoms of the destruc-tion of the family of David (the culminating point of which family was Christ), and of the church be ever so threatening, the eternal dominion of the Lord forms the sure guarantee for its mainte-nance. Whoever wishes to destroy it, must first put down God from his throne, which throughout eternity shall never be done. The consolation does not rest on the mere eternal dominion of God-in certain circumstances this may be as sure a pledge of the destruction of the sufferer-but on this truth that this eter- nally reigning God is the God of the miserable Psalmist, and has made himself known as such by word and by deed-a truth which is here taken for granted. On the memorial of God, his histori-cally manifested attributes, compare at Psalms 30:4. Allusion is here made to the historical manifestations of the exceeding love of God towards his people and towards David, in whom the whole people were comprehended for eternity under one head. God can never disown his own manifested character. Lamentations 5:19 de-pends on our verse, "And thou, O Lord, sittest for ever, thy throne is from generation to generation."-On "thou shalt rise," in ver. 13, comp. Psalms 3:7; Psalms 12:5; Psalms 68:1. On "thou shalt have mercy on Sion, Psalms 103:13. By the point of time (comp. at Psalms 75:2), those who refer the Psalm to the period of the captivity, suppose the seventy years of Jeremiah to be meant; but had these been meant, the expression would have been much more definite; the title, moreover, is against this view, as also is the character of the Psalm, according to which it is intended for no special historical occasion, but for the present state, whatever that may be, of the miserable. The point of time for having compassion upon Sion is rather that which is present when her sufferings have reached their height, and she herself stands at the brink of the abyss. This is evident from the prayer being based upon the greatness of God in ver. 1-10, from the fol-lowing verse beginning with the connecting particle "for," in which the Psalmist expressly grounds his assertion, that the point of time has come. The רצה, in ver. 13, with the accus. is to find pleasure in ally thing, Psalms 62:4; Job 14:6; Psalms 85:1. That the stones and the dust of Sion are not to be considered hereas materials for its new erection (Luther, for thy servant would be glad that it were rebuilt, and would see with pleasure its stones and lime prepared) is manifest from the "mourned over." We are hence by stones and dust to understand the ruins and the rub-bish, comp. Nehemiah 3:34; Nehemiah 4:4. There lies at the foundation a comparison of the church of God in its low condition to a building in ruins, and probably there is a special allusion to Leviticus 14:45, where it is said of the leprous house, the type of the unclean church, "And he destroys the house, its stones, and its wood, and all the dust of the house, and brings it out before the city to an un-clean place," comp. ver. 41, 42. That the stones and the dust be-long here only to the figure, and that the real allusion is to the low condition and ruinous state of Sion (comp. at Psalms 69:35, vol. 2 367), is clear from the title, according to which, the Psalm is to be used in any distress, and froth the circumstance, that the de-scriptions of the miserable condition are throughout general and poetical, and that there are no traces whatever of the destruction of Jerusalem. The “ for” at the beginning is not co-ordinate with the "for" in ver. 13 (we must be on our guard against such co-ordinate "fors"), but it grounds the last position made there: the point of time has come, for Sion lies in ruins, to the pain of thy faithful ones to whom thou art a gracious God, and whom thou canst not turn away, when they come before thee, with a "when we in severest trouble are.”a-In ver. 15, we have the glorious consequences and fruit which flow from the divine com- passion on Sion. The world shall be powerfully brought to the Lord when it sees how gloriously he takes up the cause of his church,-a hope which is fulfilled in Christ. What, in point of form, is expressed as a prophecy, has, at the same time, in re-ality, the force of an exhortation addressed to God, that, for the furtherance of his glory, he would cause the lowly state of Sion to be followed by one of exaltation;b comp., in reference to the thought, Psalms 68:28 ss. Isaiah 59:19 depends on our passage. The preter., in ver. 16, 17, which represent the ground on which a On "for thy servants have pleasure in her stones," Calvin: The more sad the deso- lation of the church is, the less ought we to be alienated from its love. This compas-sion ought rather to call forth from us groans and sighs.b Calvin: The prophet describes the fruit of deliverance because the glory of God is by it rendered illustrious to nations and kings themselves, by which he tacitly declares, that the glory of God is impaired by the oppression of the church.the heathen shall be moved to fear the Lord, relate not to an ex-ternal, but to an inward sight. The ערער, probably a word of the Psalmist's own formation, in ver. 17, is properly one entirely naked, destitute of all human means of help; Ver.: "de-prived of all good, help, and consolation." And he despises not; Psalms 22:4; Psalms 69:33. Ver. 18-27. -Ver. 18. This shall be written to the generation to come, and the people which shall be created shall praise the Lord. Ver. 19. For he looks from his holy height, the Lord looks from heaven upon the earth. Ver. 20. That he may hear the groaning of the prisoners; that he may relieve the dying. Ver. 21. In order that in Sion the name of the Lord may be made known, and his praise in Jerusalem. Ver. 22. When the nations assemble all together and the kingdoms to serve the Lord. Ver. 23. He has weakened in the way his strength, shortened my days. Ver. 24. I say: My God, take me not away at the half of my days, thy years continue for ever and ever. Ver. 25. Thou hast of old founded the earth, and the heavens are the work of thy hands. Ver. 26. They shall perish "and thou remainest, and they shall all like a garment wax old, like to a vesture thou changest them, and they shall be changed. Ver. 27. And thou art he, and thy years have no end.-On ver. 18, comp. Psalms 22:30, "it shall be told of the Lord to the (future) generation," 48:13, 78:4, according to which parallel passages we cannot translate "may it," but only "it shall be written." The נברא עם is, according to theנולד עם in Psalms 22:31, to be explained; the people which is created then, i. e., in the time of the future generation. The preter. in ver. 19 are either to be referred to doings of the Lord which are going on, as Psalms 33:13,-he looks, as the fore-men-tioned fact, the glorious salvation shews which he has prepared for his anointed and for his people, or they refer directly to the latter, he looked, as the preterites in ver. 16 and 17. On the first clause comp. at Psalms 14:2. The fundamental passage is Deuteronomy 26:15, “ look from thy holy habitation, from heaven, and bless thy people Israel.” On the מרום comp. at Psalms 18:16. The rarely used אנקה in ver. 21, in all only four times, is probably a word of David's own formation, comp. Psalms 12:5. In reference to the בני תמותה, the dying, comp. at Psalms 79:11. There can be theless doubt that it is borrowed from the passage before us, as the "sons of those bound" occurs also in that passage. To deliver-from the snares, of hell, from the dangers of death, Psalms 18:4; Psalms 18:5. On ver. 21 compare Psalms 26:7. Those who make known are partly Israel, partly the heathen brought by the salvation of Israel to the Lord.-On ver. 23 compare Psalms 22:27; Psalms 68:32; Psalms 2:11. The second half of the strophe begins, apparently only in ver. 23, with a renewed complaint. This serves merely as the foundation and ascent to confidence. That this way is the way of life, is manifest from ver. 24, compare Psalms 55:23. Allusion is made, as ap-pears to Exodus 18:8, "and all the travel that had come upon them by the way, and how the Lord delivered them" (compare Numbers 17:27; Numbers 17:28; Numbers 20:14); and the sense is, as on a former occasion, in the way through the wilderness. David and Israel were in the wilderness until they reached the glorious end set before them, viz., the dominion of the world, until the kingdom of glory was entered upon. It is a great trial when in this course strength seems to fail. Exhaustion and feebleness, however, will be always merely transitory; youthful vigour will infallibly return, comp. Psalms 103:5. In the words "his strength," the difference between the Psalmist and the sufferer, between David and his posterity, be-comes prominent. The Masorites were not able to understand the passage, all the less, as no further on than the second clause David again speaks from the soul of his posterity, and therefore they substituted כהי instead of כהו. On the second clause com-pare ver. 3, 11. The shortening of the day exists only in appear-ance, a threatening sufficient to cause alarm that it may be so, compare ver. 24, Psalms 103:5. The עלה in Hiph., in ver. 24, should signify to hurry off; but for this sense there is no proof. The cause to ascend looks back to the figure of smoke which had been employed in ver. 4; and עלה, is used as referring to this in Genesis 19:28, Jeremiah 48:15, where it is used instead of to go away in smoke. To be hurried off in the middle of their days is the lot of the wicked (compare Ps. Iv. 23), from whose way of thinking the Psalmist had separated himself in Psalms 101., and on the ground of which he here prays that he may not be involved in their fate. The second clause in reality is connected with the first by a "for." It contains the basis of the prayer uttered there: for thou art eternal, and therefore also thy mercy andgrace towards thine own are eternal, thine anointed and thy peo-ple whom thou canst never give up to destruction; they must reach the goal of glory.-Ver. 25-27 expound the infinitely con-solatory thought of the eternity of God-the God of Sion and of David never dies; David and Sion therefore can never die, for he has inseparably connected himself with them,-inasmuch as they render prominent his imperishable nature by contrasting it with the perishing nature of that which relatively is the most impe-rishable; in the second half of ver. 27 the thought of the second half of ver. 24 returns after having had its basis assigned it in the intermediate verses.-On ver. 25 compare Psalms 8:3; Psalms 19:2, 24:2, 33:6. Reference is not made here to the fact of the creation of the world, in proof of the eternity of God-for the subject after ver. 24 and 27 is not the eternity but the immuta-bility of God-but as a basis on which to rest the announcement made in ver, 26, as to the annihilation of the world, "what our God has made, that he can" not only "maintain" but also anni-hilate; heaven and earth shall pass away as being things that have been created, but the Lord shall remain as being he who created them.- Isaiah 51:6 depends upon ver. 26: there are other undoubted traces in the second part of Isaiah of use having been made of Psa_101:-103. They all-heaven and earth with their ful-ness, all that is in them. The comparison to a garment in the last clause refers to the ease with which a garment is laid aside. The ףלה is to perish, as in Psalms 90:5; Psalms 90:6, in Hiph. to change. The change refers not to the origin of a new heavens and a new earth, Isaiah 65:17; Isaiah 66:22, but as is shewn by the relation of the changing to the perishing, of the cause to the effect, to transition from a state of existence to a state of non-existence. In accord-ance with the context it is only the perishing not the renovation (Matthew 19:28), that is here contemplated, only death, not the resurrection and the glorification. Many expositors, on the ground of such passages as Job 14:12, where in popular language this last hidden event is overlooked, or apparently derived (similar passages occur also in the New Testament, comp. Matthew 5:18), have very foolishly attempted to set aside the fact that the the doctrine of the future destruction of the present fabric of the world is taught in this passage, and refer to mere possibility, what is very expressly affirmed of reality. There is the less rea-son for this, as such a doctrine is very manifestly taught in other passages of Scripture; comp., besides the passages already quoted from Is., chap. 54:10, Matthew 24:35, Luke 21:31, and the proper classical passage in the New Testament, 2 Peter 3:7; 2 Peter 3:10; 2 Peter 3:11. The foundation of this doctrine, to which the Psalmist himself refers in ver. 25, as such is laid at the very beginning of the Scriptures, in what is there taught as to the creation of all things out of no-thing. If the Lord has created the heavens and the earth by the exercise of his omnipotence, he not only can but will change them when they no longer fulfil their destination: when in the church of God every thing has become new, the announcement, "Behold I make all things new," must be uttered in reference also to the place of habitation.-In ver. 27, the translation usually given is: thou art the Same. But this sense is not an ascertained one; it does not suit in the fundamental passage, Deuteronomy 32:39, "Behold now, I am he," or in the parallel passage, Isaiah 43:10, and it does not answer very well even the connection here, for it is not so much the unchangeableness as the imperish-able nature of God that is spoken. We must translate: "Thou art he to whom this appertains,-thou, and not the heavens and the earth, art imperishable," exactly corresponding to "Thy years are through all generations," and to the second clause. In ver. 28, we have the result of the whole.-The sons of thy servants shall dwell, and their seed be established before thee.-The servants of the Lord are the whole people, who, from their ancestry, serve God; the sons of thy servants, and their seed, are the present suffering generation; instead of "thy servants," here we have "Jacob," in Isaiah 65:9. The exposition, "if not we, yet, at least, our children," is contrary to the fresh spirit of faith of Scripture, and without analogy. Shall dwell,-in opposition to those who wander about without roof or home, comp. at Psalms 68:6, more exactly, "dwell in the land of the Lord," Psalms 37:29; Psalms 69:35; Psalms 69:36, with which concluding verse, the one before us is very strikingly connected. On "before thee," comp. Genesis 17:1, Psalms 89:36; the clause "shall be established," Psalms 89:37; Psalms 101:7, forms the contrast to the perishing and the vanishing away, ver. 3, 4, 23, 24. The "shall not be esta-blished" there forms the foundation of "it shall be established" here. In Psalms 102:28, we have the result of the whole. The sons of thy servants shall dwell, and their seed be established before thee. The servants of the Lord are the whole people, who, from their ancestry, serve God; the sons of thy servants, and their seed, are the present suffering generation; instead of “thy servants,” here we have “Jacob,” in Isaiah 65:9. The exposition, “if not we, yet, at least, our children,” is contrary to the fresh spirit of faith of Scripture, and without analogy. Shall dwell,—in opposition to those who wander about without roof or home, comp. at Psalms 68:6, more exactly, “dwell in the land of the Lord,” Psalms 37:29, Psalms 69:35-36, with which concluding verse, the one before us is very strikingly connected. On “before thee,” comp. Genesis 17:1, Psalms 89:36; the clause “shall be established,” Psalms 89:37, Psalms 101:7, forms the contrast to the perishing and the vanishing away, Psalms 102:3-4, Psalms 102:23-24. The “shall not be established” there forms the foundation of “it shall be established” here. Psalms 103. Praise the Lord, O my soul, for he has crowned thee with fa-vour and compassion, ver. 1-5, he is full of kindness and pity towards his church, ver. 6-10. His kindness is infinite towards us poor mortals, ver. 11-14, the only and sure help to his people in the weakness and nothingness of human existence, ver. 15-18. O, my highly favoured soul, do thou also praise him who rules over the whole world, and is praised by the whole world, ver. 19-22. The Psalm, in regard to number, is an alphabetical one, har-monised in such a way as that the concluding turns back into the introductory verse, the whole being in this manner finished and rounded off. In like manner, the name Jehovah occurs eleven times. The Psalm is divided into two strophes, the first of ten and the second of twelve verses. The ten is divided by the five, and the twelve falls into three divisions, each of four verses. Jehovah occurs in the first strophe four, and in the second seven times. The Psalm bears the character of quiet tenderness. It is a still clear brook of the praise of God. In accordance with this, we find that the verses are of equal length as to structure, and consist regularly of two members. It is only at the conclusion, where the tone rises, that the verses become longer: the vessel is too small for the feeling. The testimony which the Title bears on behalf of the composi-tion of the Psalm by David, is confirmed by the fact that the Psalm in passages, the independence of which cannot be mista-ken, bears a striking resemblance to the other Psalms of David (comp. the exposition), and by the connection with Psalms 102.-David here teaches his posterity to render thanks, as there he had taught them to pray: the deliverance from deep distress which formed there the subject of prayer, forms here the subject of thanks-and with Psalms 101.; comp. the Introd. to that Psalm. In accordance with what was observed there, we find first an indivi-dual person speaking, ver. 1-5, the seed of David, from whose soul David gives thanks; this individual person, however, bears a comprehensive character, is inwardly identical with the whole congregation, so that without any mark of the change, the com-munity speaks from ver. 6, and again towards the conclusion it is a single individual that speaks. Ver. 1-10.-Ver. 1. By David. Praise, O my soul, the Lord, and all that is in me his holy name. Ver. 2. Praise, my soul, the Lord, and forget not all his gifts, Ver. 3. Who forgiveth thee all thine iniquity, who healeth all thy infirmities. Ver. 4. Who delivereth thy life from the grave, who crowneth thee with pity and tender mercies. Ver. 5. Who satisfieth thy beauty with good things, so that thy youth is renewed like the eagle. Ver. 6. The Lord executed righteousness and judgment for all oppressed. Ver. 7. He made known his ways to Moses, his mighty deeds to the children of Israel. Ver. 8. Compassionate and gracious is the Lord, long suffering and rich in kindness. Ver. 9. He contends not always, and keeps not up for ever. Ver. 10. He deals not towards us according to our sins, and does not give to us according to our iniquities.-On the first clause of ver. 1, comp. Psalms 34:2; Psalms 34:3. The thrice repeated“praise,” properly "bless," (twice at the beginning and once at the end), to which the thrice repeated "praise" in ver. 20-22, corresponds, stands in reference to the three-membered Mosaic blessing, Numbers 6:24-26 : the soul, which has experienced the strength of the "bless thee," is exhorted to "bless;" he who has been blessed and refuses to bless has sunk from the state of a man to that of a beast. Berleb.: "The smitten and death-struck soul again brought to life, feeling the joy of its new freedom, and the enjoyment of its deliverance, flows out, in testimony of its gratitude, entirely in praise and thanksgiving. He has, says such a man, delivered thee by his goodness from thine own cares. Thou hast therefore only one thing to do, namely to occupy thyself singly and alone with offering to him praise and thanks. Thisfor the future should be thy only employment." On קרב the inward part, comp. at Psalms 5:9. The inward part where theheart is (comp. Psalms 39:3, "my heart was hot within me), stands here in contrast to what is external, the mere lips, with which even the unthankful give thanks-Berieb.: "Men often say from mere custom, God be thanked or praised, and this rather externally, without any inward tender gratitude, than in spirit and in truth"-comp. Psalms 62:4, "with the mouth they bless,and with their inward part they curse." The plural of the קרבand the "all"' are particularly emphatic. It adds besides the con-trast of the heart to the mouth, that of the whole heart against the half of it; comp. at the "my one heart," and "with the whole heart," in Psalms 86:11; Psalms 86:12. The address to the soul, by no means a mere figurative expression, stands in contrast to a superficial lip service. The fundamental passage is Deut. vi. 5, "thou shalt love (and therefore also praise, for praise grows out of love) the Lord with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength." His holy name-him who by his deeds has manifested himself as the holy and the adorable one, comp. at Psalms 22:3.-In ver. 2 the positive exhortation is repeated for the purpose of adding to it the negative one about to be emphatically sounded forth. David knew too well from ex-perience the forgetfulness of the human heart not to consider it necessary to remind his posterity of it. For that under the "I will not forget" there lies concealed a "forget thou not" is clear from the above remarks. Berleb.: "Let us all therefore stilladdress our forgetful heart on all occasions. Ah! may we still impress upon our souls on all occasions, by the help of the Holy Ghost, forget not what good things the Lord has done for thee! Yea, "forget not" should always be rung in our hearts, because they so early forget. Allusion is made to the words of Moses, "forget not the Lord thy God who brought thee out of the land of Egypt," &c., in Deuteronomy 6:12; Deuteronomy 8:11; Deuteronomy 8:14; compare Deuteronomy 32:15. On גמל, to bestow gifts, compare at Psalms 7:4. "All his gifts," stands in reference to "all that is in me." It is only he who has given sparingly that feels satisfied with half thanks. Onthe first clause of ver. 2 compare Psalms 25:11; Psalms 51:9; Psalms 86:5. According to the connection and parallelism, the forgiveness of sin is a matter-of-fact one; it becomes known in the bringing about of salvation. On the Jod and the suf. here, and in ver. 4 and 5, compare Ew. 258. The manifestly designed repetition shews that it is no incidental Arameism but a poetical form. That the sicknesses figuratively refers to sufferings (many expositors suppose that moral infirmities are meant, which, however, will not suit the connection), is clear from the fundamental passage, Deuteronomy 29:22, "when they see the plagues of this land and the sick-nesses which the Lord hath laid on it," and Exodus 15:26, "If thou wilt hearken to the voice of the Lord thy God, . . . I will notsend upon thee the sickness which I brought upon the Egyptians (in reference to the plagues of Egypt) . . . for I the Lord am thy physician." The Psalmist praises the Lord because he had removed the fulfilment of the threatening contained in the first clause, and had brought about the fulfilment of the promise of the second.-From the grave, ver. 4, compare at Psalms 16:10; Psalms 30:9, to which the Psalmist had been very near, comp. “ my life is near to hell,” Psalms 88:3; Psalms 68:20; Psalms 48:14. The pre-ceding Psalm complains of impending danger of death, and hopes in it. Thy life-he, the God of thy life, Psalms 42:8. Who crowns thee, Psalms 65:11, with kindness and compassion, Psalms 25:6; Psalms 40:11. -In ver. 5 all translations are to be set aside as arbitrary, and not worth mentioning, which take עדי in any other sense than in the only one which is ascertained, and which also occurs in Psalms 32:9, that viz, of ornament or beauty. That the Psal-mist by his beauty denotes his soul as his better part, is clear from the fact that the corresponding expression "my glory," as denoting the soul, is a favourite one with David, (compare. at Psalms 57:8), and from the fact that to satisfy the soul as the seat of the desires and wishes, is a phrase of constant occurrence, comp. Psalms 107:9, "for he satisfies the longing soul, and fills the hungry soul with good," Isaiah 63:11, "God satisfies in thirsty places thy soul," Psalms 63:5; Psalms 25:13. The objection that the Psalmist ad-dresses his soul, and cannot call his soul the beauty of his soul, has no force. For in the preceding clauses the idea of the whole person represented by the soul as the better part, had impercep-tibly come into the place of that of the soul; and the soul is therefore named as the ornament of the person, compare "who healeth all thy sicknesses," and "who delivereth thy life from the grave." In reference to the poetical connection of the plural with the feminine singular in the second clause, compare. Ew. § 307. We cannot translate: like that of the eagle, but only, like the eagle, the comparison as is the case very frequently (comp. Ew. § 221, Lamentations 5:21), being merely intimated, instead of "as is the case with the eagle," "so that in point of strength thou art like the eagle." The Scripture knows nothing of the idea that the eagle when old renews its youth. That there is nothing of this kind contained in Isaiah 40:31, which is commonly appealed to, but that it is rather the powerful flight of the eagle that is therereferred to, "they mount up on wings like the eagle, they run and are not weary," is evident from the parallel, to fly, run, march. The want of the copula before the second clause, shews that the goodness with which the soul is satisfied, is just the renewing of the youth, the high privilege of the royal family of David which is continually verified as ages run on. Old age, in other cases always the forerunner of death, is here continually the forerunner of youth; the greater the failure of strength is, so much the nearer is the entire renewal of strength. How completely worn out with old age was the family of David at the time of the first appearance of Christ!-From the favour of God towards the royal family of David, the Psalmist turns in the second half of the strophe to that towards the church, whose weal and wo were intimately and indissolubly bound up with those of the royal race, which in it and with it is crowned with kindness and compassion, satisfied with good things, and raised to fresh and powerful youth. That by "all oppressed ones" in ver. 6, we are to understand "his people in all oppressions," is evident from what follows; com-pare the praise of the care of God for widows and orphans, in spe-cial reference to the suffering church, in Psalms 68:5. The צדקות, righteousnesses, is manifestations of righteousness, as משפטים is right actions.-The ways of the Lord in ver. 7 are his safe guidance, and the making known is a matter-of-fact one; comp. at Psalms 25:4, "thy ways, O Lord, make known to me," instead of "manifest to me thy safe guidance,"-our passage serves to con-firm the interpretation given there, Psalms 67:2. All these passages depend upon Exodus 33:13, where Moses says to the Lord, "if I have found grace in thy sight, make known to me thy ways, and let me know thee." Moses speaks there in name of the people whose soul he was. The import of the prayer is, that the Lord would make him the object of his safe guidance, and make himself known in it. The prayer is heard. God promises that he himself will go before him and will lead him to rest. The reference of our verse to this fundamental passage is all the more direct, as the following verse also is unquestionably borrowed from the Pentateuch. As Moses represents the congregation of the Lord, there is no reason for taking יודיע in the sense of a preterite; God always makes known his ways to Moses,-the discourse even in the whole paragraph is of what God does continually. His mighty deeds, Psalms 9:11, ixxviii. 11,-Ver. 8 depends upon Exodus 34:6, comp. the repe-tition just as literal in Isaiah 2:13, Psalms 86:15, and the refe-rences as entirely undeniable in Psalms 78:38; Psalms 111:4, Nahum 1:3. These passages shew what a deep impression had been made upon the Israelitish mind by this great and consolatory saying which alone ought to have annihilated all the dreams of Moloch. -On the thought of ver. 9, comp. Psalms, 30 : Isaiah 57:16, depends upon the first clause: "for I will contend for ever." The circum-stance that the ואמת of the fundamental passage is omitted, shews how close is the connection here with the preceding clause. The second clause depends upon Leviticus 19:18, "thou shalt not be re-vengeful nor bear any grudge תטר לא, against the children of thy people." In strict theological exposition, the Psalmist sees in the passage a proof of the inclination of God, whose commandments are so many illustrations of his nature to forgive his people. He would destroy his own law were he not to do so. Nahum 1:2 again de-pends on one passage: "the Lord will take vengeance on his ad-versaries, and he keepeth wrath (not assuredly for his people, of whom the declaration of the Psalmist holds true, but still) for his enemies," and Leviticus 3:5; Leviticus 3:12.-That the preterites in ver. 10, and also the preceding futures, are to be translated as presents, and refer to the constant doings of God, is evident from ver. 11-14, especially ver. 14, where the pret. does not give the least meaning. He deals not with us according to our sins, as he has threatened in Leviticus 26:21 : he does this only to mere despisers, The "with us"-the fearers of God-must be carefully attended to. Otherwise the ungrounded inference which the Berleb. B. deduces will meet us: "punishments hence cannot be ab-solutely eternal, otherwise he would undoubtedly act towards us (?) according to our sins." The גמל, to give, in ver 2. withthe על is to gift, as here, at Psalms 13:6. Ver. 11-22. -Ver. 11. Far as high as heaven is above the earth, his mercy is mighty over those who fear him. Ver. 12. As far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us. Ver. 13. As a father pitieth his chil-dren, so the Lord pitieth them who fear him. Ver. 14. For he knoweth our frame, he remembereth that we are dust: Ver. 15. Man is, in his life, like grass, like a flower of the field, so he blossoms. Ver. 16. For a wind goes over it, and it is gone andits place knows it no more. Ver. 17. And the mercy of the Lord endureth, from eternity to eternity over those who fear him, and his righteousness to the children's children. Ver. 18. With those who keep his covenant and remember his command- ments to do, accordingly. Ver. 19. The Lord has in heaven prepared his throne, and his kingdom ruleth over all. Ver. 20. Praise the Lord, ye his angels, ye strong warriors, who perform his word, you that listen to the voice of his word. Ver. 21. Praise the Lord, all his hosts, his servants, who do his pleasure. Ver. 22. Praise the Lord, all his works, in all places of his do-minion. Praise the Lord, O my soul.-In ver. 11 the point of comparison is infinity.a The verse is independently allied to the two Davidic passages, Psalms 36:5; Psalms 57:10. "Ye who fear him," is expanded in ver. 18. It is not a vague "sense of de-pendance," but the living knowledge of his holiness (at Psalms 22:3), which calls forth child like and unreserved obedience to his revealed will. The region of God's fatherly love extends only so far as this does. The Psalmist every where speaks not of what God is towards the human family, but of what he is towards his church.-The infinite mercy of ver. 11 is verified in the forgive-ness of sin of ver. 12.-On ver. 13, comp. Deuteronomy 30:3. What is there said of Israel is here said of those who fear the Lord. These are identical with Israel as soon as the false seed are excluded from the latter. What especially moves God to shew fatherly pity to his people is, according to ver. 14, the misery of their earthly condition, which appears altogether to cut them off from the riches of his fatherly care.b Comp. in reference to the thought at Psalms 78:39; Psalms 89:47, and in our (German), spiritual poetry the words, "we are still poor worms, dust and ashes, laden with sin, weakness, trouble, and death, wherefore should we be destroyed in thy wrath without any pity." The יצר, the form, the nature, is used in the Pentateuch to denote the moral nature of man, Gen. a Amyrald. on ver. 11, 12, "The prophet here uses the largest measures which the world can afford to express a thing which can scarcely be expressed any other way."b "This is carefully to be attended to, lest our misery retard or impair our confidence, for in porportion as our condition is miserable and despised, is God in-clined to pity, since, indeed, in order to do us good, he is content with even dust and ashes." Berleb. B.: "All unbelief and dejection should be ashamed of itself and be put to shame, which does not give to God the glory of interesting himself in his creatures and of feeling for their misery."vi. 5, 8:21, Deuteronomy 31:21, and here, according to the reference to the fundamental passage, Genesis 2:7, his physical nature. Ac-cording to this passage, "and the Lord God formed וייצר man as dust of the earth," the second clause contains the development of the first: he knows our form that we are dust, transitory, and hence frail, weak, and miserable. In like manner, the first clause is to be supplied out of it: He, as our former, knows our form. The use of the passive part. זכור is to be here explained from the passive nature of memory.---Ver. 15-18: in the transitory, and, as caused by this, the feeble and helpless nature of the human condition, we must despair, were it not that we had a sure ground of hope in the eternal mercy of the Lord, which is exercised towards those who fear him, those of the latest no less than those of the earliest generations. This paragraph agrees so very strikingly in thought and expression with Psalms 90:1-5 (the transitory nature, and the miserable condition of life on earth, leads us to God as our only refuge), that David without doubt drew it from Moses. The eternal word of the Lord in Isaiah 40:6-8 is opposed to men as grass, just as his eternal mercy is here. That the borrowing is on the side of Isaiah is clear from the references in which the peculiar expression (which, like many other expressions in the passage, are generally misunderstood by expositors: all his mercy (all mercy and all help which flesh can show and se-cure) is as the flower of the field) stands to the clause here, Revelation 17, "the mercy of the Lord is from eternity," &c.: the fact also that the thought here is much more simple, is in favour of this view.-The first clause of ver. 15 is literally: a man, as grass are his days, he who has his name from frailty (comp. at Psalms 8:4) perishes as quickly as the grass. How could this breath help, protect, heal itself! Comp. Psalms 37:2. Like a flower of the field so he flourishes, for as short a time as the flower of the field flourishes does his existence last; comp. Psalms 90:6, and the de-pendant passage Job 14:2, "as a flower he fades and is cut down."-The כי in ver. 16 is as a confirmative particle altogether in its place: he is like grass, or the flower, for as the hot, burn-ing east wind (Genesis 41:6; Genesis 41:23, Jonah 4:8) destroys the grass and flowers after a short existence, so the wind of suffering, trouble, sickness, destroys the spiritual flower, man. The suffix in the בו refers to the spiritual flower, man. On "and he is not," comp.Psalms 37:10. His place, namely in those who come into his room, knows him not, would not know him if he were to return, so completely is he unknown and forgotten. The second clause is quoted word for word in Job 7:10.-Ver. 17 and 18 depend upon Deuteronomy 7:9; Deuteronomy 7:11 : the faithful God, who keepeth covenant and mercy for those who love him, and keep his commandments, for a thousand generations. . . And thou shalt keep the commandments, and the statutes, and the judgments which I command thee this day that thou do them,"-a passage to which Psalms 25:10 refers. The righteousness of God, according to which he gives to every one his own, manifests itself in this, that he does not withdraw his pity from his people, not on the ground of their merit, but because his nature demands that he show himself gracious to them. To the children's children, therefore, not only to the fathers in the glorious past, ver. 7, but also to us in these last afflicted times.-Ver. 19-22; Praise, O my soul, the Lord, who rules over all places with his hands, whom angels above praise with their song, whom sun, moon, stars, and all his works praise. All serves to lay the foundations for this.-On the first clause of ver. 19, comp. Psalms 2:1; Psalms 9:7; Psalms 9:4. The throne of God in heaven stands in contrast to the throne of those who are usually called kings, the throne of David itself upon the earth, the state of feebleness.-On ver. 20, comp. 29:1, 2. The ex-hortation in that passage goes forth to the heavenly servants of God to praise his glory and strength, in order to remove fear from the church of God on the earth; in the passage before us, to awaken it to praise God.a The גבר is always a war-rior, comp. at Psalms 52:1. The clause "to listen to the voice of his word," comp. Deuteronomy 26:18; Deuteronomy 30:20, where to hearken to the voice of the Lord is connected with to love him, and to cleave to him is added for the purpose of rendering still more pointedly prominent the difference between the spiritual and the material portions of the heavenly hosts, which is also adverted to in the relation subsisting between those who obey his word and those who obey his will in his ver. 21. The angels serve God as conscious instruments with free love, the stars do his will only unconsciously. The marked difference between the angels and a Amyr. in reference to this view: It has admirable force, for it cannot proceed ex- cept from singular piety and admiration of the Divine excellencies.the stars ought to be carefully attended to. It testifies against those who would fain connect the angels more closely with the stars, and also against those who, from dislike to angels, consider them a mere personification.-The hosts of God are in other passages very particularly and usually the sun, moon, and stars, comp. at Psalms 24:10. Here the angels are specially excluded by ver. 20. Psalms 19:1 ought to be compared where in like manner the heavens and the firmament are enjoined to make known the glory of God, which in fact they by their very being praise.-My soul, ver. 22, thou who hast received so many special proofs of the glory of the Lord, bast been crowned with compassion and tender mercy. How canst thou alone remain silent, when every thing in the world praises God. Berleb: "The Psalm thus ends as it began, and by such a conclusion powerfully reminds the reader of his duty." Psalms 104. In ver. 1, after an exhortation from the Psalmist to his soul to praise God, we have the theme or the sum of this praise, the greatness of God as seen in his works. In ver. 2-34 we have the development of this theme, in the description of the works of God; first the light, and heaven, and earth, then the formation of the dry land, ver. 6-9, after this the watering of the ground by the fountains, ver. 10-12, of the mountains by the rain, for the nourishment of beasts and men, ver. 13-17. From the moun-tains the Psalmist ascends by the means of the highest summits, which are still a place of habitation for living creatures, ver. 18, to the sun and the moon, and to what these do to the creatures of God upon the earth, ver. 19-23. From this he descends to the extreme depth, the sea, which conceals so many beasts in its bosom, and which by navigation is of such signal service even to the human race, ver. 24-26. All creatures get their nourishment from God; they perish and come into existence according to his will, ver. 27-30. In ver. 31-34 we have the conclusion of the de-velopment of the thesis, and of the praise of God from his works. God is eternally glorified by his works, and the Psalmist will praise him. In ver. 35 the result from the glory of God in hisworks is applied to the circumstances in which the Psalmist is placed; the dominion of the wicked upon earth can be only trans-itory, God shall annihilate these his enemies; the pledge of this is his omnipotent love as revealed in his works. As regards formal arrangement, ver. 1 and 35 are obviously the introductory and the concluding verses. In like manner we must consider the 18th verse as standing out of the formal arrangement, a verse which cannot be immediately connected with the preced-ing one (that one being wholly taken up with the watering), and which forms the transition from the first to the second half. Each of the two halves divided by it has ten verses. The divisions into which these fall stand over against each other as antistrophes. In both a main strophe of four is separated from another of twelve verses. The signatures of the world and of the people of Godare connected together in one Psalm, which deduces from what God does in the former, what he will do for the latter. In the first part, ver. 2-5, the strophe of four verses is occupied with the fundamental relations in creation, the light and the formation of the heavens and the earth; in the second, ver. 31-34, where it forms the conclusion, as it does then the beginning, it contains the praise of God on account of his works. The strophe of twelve verses is in the first part divided by the seven, which again falls into the four and the three, and the five, in the second part, by the five and the seven, which is again divided by the three and the four. The name Jehovah occurs in all ten times (including the Hallelujah), in the first part three and in the second seven times. The interchange of the address to Jehovah and of the discourse about him, runs throughout the whole Psalm, as it had been introduced in the first verse. The division of the strophes, generally speaking, follows this. Still there are exceptions: ver. 13, 16, 20, 27-30, show that the Psalmist did not, in this respect, lay down for himself any definite rule, and that, in a manner somewhat arbitrary, wherever a break in the sense occurs, he makes a change.--From all this it appears that the arrangement here is peculiarly artificial, more so than we have as yet found to be the case in any other Psalm, so artificial (particularly in the antistrophe-relation of the sections of the two main divisions which was noticed by Köster), that many, such, namely, as will not take the trouble to reckon up with care will be angry at seeing it. In fixing the object of the Psalm, most expositors follow Luther, who inscribes it as "a praise of God from the book of nature." These are reasons which antecedently ought to put us on our guard against this view. The Psalmists of the Old Testament were very little fitted for mere "Psalms of nature." They were too much involved in the conflicts of the contending church, too much moved by the sufferings and the joys of Sion, its fears and its hopes, to give themselves up, in the simplicity of childhood, to the mere impressions of nature. With such pure nature-psalms, also, they would have done little to benefit the church. Always placed in the middle position, between death and life, she needed stronger food. She sought every where an answer to the great question prompted by her heart, "Lord, how long;" and nature had no charms except in so far as meditating upon her could contribute to furnish an answer to a question which still fills the whole heart of all the members of the church. The true object of the Psalm comes out when we put together the first and the last verses, which contain the quintessence of the whole: the intermediate verses are merely a development of the first. According to this view, the praise of God from nature is only the means: the object is to quicken in the church confi-dence in the final victory of the righteous over the wicked, of the church of God over the world, which, at the time when the Psalm was composed, had the upper hand. From comparing the follow-ing Psalm, which is intimately connected with the one now before us, it appears that "the sinners" and "the wicked" were at that time, in a peculiar manner, raging from without against the city of God, that the Psalmist, in a time of severe trouble, arising from the power of the heathen, sought consolation in reflecting upon the greatness of God in nature. From these remarks it is evident that the descriptions of na- ture in our Psalm occupy the same place as those of Psalms 29., where the Psalmist describes the greatness of God in a thunder-storm, for the purpose of preparing for the church a shield against all painful cases. According to the general relation of the whole Psalm-poetry, and also of prophecy, to the books of Moses, it cannot but be, that the Psalmist, in the praise of God from nature, hung very closely upon the first book of Genesis. The description follows in gene-rat the succession of the several days of creation: the first and second, ver. 2-5, the third, ver. 6-18, the fourth, ver. 19-23, the fifth, ver. 24-26, and an allusion to the seventh in ver. 31. The deviations are occasioned, not only by the difference between the poet and the historian, and by the circumstance that the Psalmist has before his eyes the creation perpetually prolonged in the pre-servation of the world, while the historian describes the act of creation merely in itself, but also by the fact that the Psalmist has proposed for himself not the general object to represent the greatness of God universally in nature, but the special object to set forth the greatness of God in the care which he takes of living beings. This affords an explanation of the circumstance, that in the succession of days no mention is made of the sixth which is oc-cupied with the creation of these beings. The Psalmist has only this one object in view in all that he touches upon. The "Praise the Lord, O my soul," at the beginning and at the end of the Psalm, as also in Psalms 103., has given occasion to many expositors to take up the idea that the title "by David" applies also to this Psalm. But these reasons are of no force. The expression, "praise the Lord, O my soul," may equally well be a borrowed one, and really bears the character of such, as it stands pretty loose, and the two Psalms have no such near con-nection as to lead us to view it as a bond of connection between them. That the position after Psalms 103. not only can, but must beexplained by the later Psalmist appending it to that Psalm, and that the transposition of the Davidic Psalms from their natural place in the collection of David's, Psalms is to be explained from the collector wishing to connect to these something similar in character from later times, will be made manifest in some remarks which have yet to be made. We have to urge against the as-sumption that David is the author, first that David is not named in the title as such-the existence of Davidic Psalms not exter-nally marked as such out of that part of the collection which is specially set apart to them is very problematical, nay, must even be distinctly denied-second, the want of all near contact with the Davidic Psalms-a feature so very prominent in Psa_101:-103. -and, lastly, the hallelujah which never occurs in Psalms as-cribed to David in the title, a problem worthy the attention of those who set the titles at nought. The Psalm before us stands nearly related to the one which follows, to which again the 106. Psalm is appended. As the con-fident expectation of the destruction of the heathen power is here grounded upon the greatness of the works of God in nature, it is in like manner there founded upon the greatness of the works of God in history. It is from these two Psalms that we first find materials which enable us exactly to fix the object and authorship of this whole trilogy of Psalms annexed to a similar trilogy com-posed by David; while in the Psalm before us, in accordance with its introductory character, the allusions are all general. Ver. 1. Praise, my soul, the Lord! O Lord my God thou art very great, majesty and glory hast thou put on. The two clauses of the verse may be considered as separated by a colon. The exhortation to praise God is immediately followed by the praise of God in its most general extent. The, "My (Israel's) God," is an indication of the public character of the Psalm, of its reference to the relations of the church, as is more strongly marked at the close. The clause, "thou art very great," denotes the nature of God; what follows leads a proof of the greatness of his nature, deduced from the glory of his works. On majesty and glory, comp. at Psalms 96:6. The לבש, to put on, occurs at Psalms 93:1, Isaiah 51:9. He put on these at creation; he makes it known in creation, which is continually prolonged in the preser-vation of the world. In the whole Psalm the discourse is not of what God is in himself, but of what he is in his creation. There lies at bottom a comparison of a glorious royal garment. As, and because, God has already put on this garment of glory and majesty in creation, he will yet put it on also in redeeming and glorifying his church, comp. Psalms 93:1. Ver. 2-5.-Ver. 2. He covers himself in light like to a gar-ment, he spreads out the heaven like a curtain. Ver. 3. Who makes his upper chambers with water, makes of the clouds his chariot, who rides upon the wings of the wind. Ver. 4. He makes winds his angels and flaming fire his servants. Ver. 5. He founds the earth upon its sure foundation, it moves not al- ways and eternally.-The passage is occupied with the works of the first and second days of creation. There lies at bottom the figure of an earthly king, with his glorious garment, his high tower, his magnificent chariot, his splendid retinue of servants.What such a one does shall be infinitely surpassed by the glory of the heavenly king. What, for example, is the garment of an earthly king, however much it may glitter with gold and precious stones, compared to the garment of light of the heavenly king! The "he covers himself," in ver. 2, is appended to "he has put on," at the conclusion of ver: 1. There the whole glory of God, unfolded in creation, appears as a garment which he has put on; here the figure of a garment is transferred to one particularly glorious part of the glory of creation, the light with the creation of which the whole work of creation began. The discourse is not here of the "inaccessible light " in which God dwells, accor-ding to 1 Timothy 6:16; for we have here to do, as is evident from the second clause, only with the glory of God unfolded in crea-tion; but of the light which daily shines upon us. We have be-fore us, in a poetical form, "God said let there be light and there was light." The light created by God appears under the figure of a garment in which he clothes himself, because it makes him appear glorious, just as an earthly king is rendered glorious in appearance by his splendid dress. The participles denote the con tinned action: God, whose work of creation is prolonged in provi-dence, clothes himself daily. anew with light as with his garment, and spreads out the heaven like a curtain. The article at the garment, the covering, the waters in ver. 3, stands generically. In the second clause the Psalmist turns to the work of the second day, Genesis 1:6-8. Like a curtain,-with the same ease, by his mere word, with which a man spreads out a tent-curtain, Isaiah 54:2. Isaiah 40:22 is parallel, “ that stretchest out the heavens as a curtain, and spreadeth them out as a tent to dwell in.” -Ver. 3 continues the description of the work of the second day. There lie at bottom, in the first clause, the words of Gen 1:7 : "God made the vaulted sky and divided between the waters which are under the vault and the waters which are above the vault." The waters above are the materials with which, or out of which, thestructure is reared. To construct out of the moveable waters a firm palace, the cloudy heaven, "firm as a molten glass," Job 37:18, is a magnificent work of divine omnipotence. The citadel of cloud gets the name of the upper chamber of God, as being the upper part of the fabric of the world; the under one is the earth, "the under-lower" of ver. 5. The translation is quiteat fault which gives: "who builds above the waters his upper chamber," who prepares for himself a habitation in that part of heaven which is uppermost, and furthest removed from mortal eye. The Psalm is occupied only with the unfolded glory of God with that which all see with their eyes, and which God does for the benefit of his creatures, and the concealed throne of God is not at all referred to; according to ver. 13, the rain comes out of the upper chamber of God. The clouds ap-pear as the chariot of God, because he drives them about at his pleasure, as a king his car. The wind, which is not at all men-tioned in the history of the creation, is joined with the clouds in the third clause, because they both operate together in bad weather. This clause depends on Psalms 18:9, Who drives for-ward, &c.,-to whom, as to their governor, the winds are as obe-dient as horses are to an earthly king.-In ver. 4 we have the glorious retinue of God's servants, the wind and flaming fire as it descends from the clouds, the lightning, comp. Psalms 105:32. "For his messengers" stands first, according to the analogy of Gen 6:14, "for cells make the vessel," for the sake of the contrast to the chariot and the upper chamber of God. This departure from the usual arrangement has given occasion to the translation "he makes his angels winds and his servants flames of fire,"- a translation, however, to be set aside for the following reasons: we have here to do only with the visible glory of God in connec-tion with Gen. i., which throughout is occupied only with the material creation; we are here specially engaged with the work of the second day, to which the whole of the second half of ver. 2-5 refers; material servants alone are suitable in connection with material garments, fortress, and chariot; and, finally, the parallel passages are against it, Psalms 105:32; Psa_148::8, "(praise the Lord) fire and hail, snow and smoke, stormy wind who obey his word." The citation, Hebrews 1:7, cannot lead to this false translation. Even according to our view the passage serves the object of the author. For it is a degradation of the messengers of God in a strict sense, those who by pre-eminence are so named, that the mere powers of nature should be associated with them and be called by their names,-the more so as an indirect refer-ence to angels is clear from the relation to Psalms 103:20. The maxim, "known from company" applies even here. He who hassuch companions can in no wise be placed on a level with theLord of glory. Even in ver. 5 we still find ourselves within the range of the second day. It was not till after the work of that day was ended that the earth had a separate existence. What is here said of the earth corresponds to what was said of the heaven in the first clause of ver. 3. As the upper part of the fabric of the world stands firm, though it has only water instead of beams, so is it with the lower, the earth is held as firm by the omnipotence of God, without a foundation, as if it had one; he has given to the earth, which is propped up by nothing, a firm existence, like a building which rests on a solid foundation. Ps. 24:2 is not to be compared; for the discourse there is of the earth in a limited sense, of the division of land and water; but Job 26:7, "he hangs the earth upon nothing;" comp. ver. 8 there, "he binds together the water in his thick clouds, and the cloud is not rent under them," with ver. 3 here, and also Job 38:4-6. Ver. 2. He covers himself in light like to a garment, he spreads out the heaven like a curtain. Ver. 3. Who makes his upper chambers with water, makes of the clouds his chariot, who rides upon the wings of the wind. Ver. 4. He makes winds his angels and flaming fire his servants. Ver. 5. He founds the earth upon its sure foundation, it moves not always and eternally. The passage is occupied with the works of the first and second days of creation. There lies at bottom the figure of an earthly king, with his glorious garment, his high tower, his magnificent chariot, his splendid retinue of servants. What such a one does shall be infinitely surpassed by the glory of the heavenly king. What, for example, is the garment of an earthly king, however much it may glitter with gold and precious stones, compared to the garment of light of the heavenly king! The “he covers himself,” in Psalms 104:2, is appended to “he has put on,” at the conclusion of Psa 104:1. There the whole glory of God, unfolded in creation, appears as a garment which he has put on; here the figure of a garment is transferred to one particularly glorious part of the glory of creation, the light with the creation of which the whole work of creation began. The discourse is not here of the “inaccessible light “ in which God dwells, according to 1 Timothy 6:16; for we have here to do, as is evident from the second clause, only with the glory of God unfolded in creation; but of the light which daily shines upon us. We have before us, in a poetical form, “God said, let there be light and there was light.” The light created by God appears under the figure of a garment in which he clothes himself, because it makes him appear glorious, just as an earthly king is rendered glorious in appearance by his splendid dress. The participles denote the continued action: God, whose work of creation is prolonged in providence, clothes himself daily anew with light as with his garment, and spreads out the heaven like a curtain. The article at the garment, the covering, the waters in Psalms 104:3, stands generically. In the second clause the Psalmist turns to the work of the second day, Genesis 1:6-8. Like a curtain,—with the same ease, by his mere word, with which a man spreads out a tent-curtain, Isaiah 54:2. Isaiah 40:22 is parallel, “that stretchest out the heavens as a curtain, and spreadeth them out as a tent to dwell in.” Psalms 104:3 continues the description of the work of the second day. There lie at bottom, in the first clause, the words of Gen 1:7 : “God made the vaulted sky and divided between the waters which are under the vault and the waters which are above the vault.” The waters above are the materials with which, or out of which, the structure is reared. To construct out of the moveable waters a firm palace, the cloudy heaven, “firm as a molten glass,” Job 37:18, is a magnificent work of divine omnipotence. The citadel of cloud gets the name of the upper chamber of God, as being the upper part of the fabric of the world; the under one is the earth, “the under-lower” of Psalms 104:5. The translation is quite at fault which gives: “who builds above the waters his upper chamber,” who prepares for himself a habitation in that part of heaven which is uppermost, and furthest removed from mortal eye. The Psalm is occupied only with the unfolded glory of God with that which all see with their eyes, and which God does for the benefit of his creatures, and the concealed throne of God is not at all referred to; according to Psalms 104:13, the rain comes out of the upper chamber of God. The clouds appear as the chariot of God, because he drives them about at his pleasure, as a king his car. The wind, which is not at all mentioned in the history of the creation, is joined with the clouds in the third clause, because they both operate together in bad weather. This clause depends on Psalms 18:9, Who drives forward, &c.,—to whom, as to their governor, the winds are as obedient as horses are to an earthly king. In Psalms 104:4 we have the glorious retinue of God’s servants, the wind and flaming fire as it descends from the clouds, the lightning, comp. Psalms 105:32. “For his messengers” stands first, according to the analogy of Gen 6:14, “for cells make the vessel,” for the sake of the contrast to the chariot and the upper chamber of God. This departure from the usual arrangement has given occasion to the translation “he makes his angels winds and his servants flames of fire,”—a translation, however, to be set aside for the following reasons: we have here to do only with the visible glory of God in connection with Genesis 1, which throughout is occupied only with the material creation; we are here specially engaged with the work of the second day, to which the whole of the second half of Psa 104:2-5 refers; material servants alone are suitable in connection with material garments, fortress, and chariot; and, finally, the parallel passages are against it, Psalms 105:32; Psalms 148:8, “(praise the Lord) fire and hail, snow and smoke, stormy wind who obey his word.” The citation, Hebrews 1:7, cannot lead to this false translation. Even according to our view the passage serves the object of the author. For it is a degradation of the messengers of God in a strict sense, those who by pre-eminence are so named, that the mere powers of nature should be associated with them and be called by their names,—the more so as an indirect reference to angels is clear from the relation to Psalms 103:20. The maxim, “known from company” applies even here. He who has such companions can in no wise be placed on a level with the Lord of glory. Even in Psalms 104:5 we still find ourselves within the range of the second day. It was not till after the work of that day was ended that the earth had a separate existence. What is here said of the earth corresponds to what was said of the heaven in the first clause of Psa 104:3. As the upper part of the fabric of the world stands firm, though it has only water instead of beams, so is it with the lower, the earth is held as firm by the omnipotence of God, without a foundation, as if it had one; he has given to the earth, which is propped up by nothing, a firm existence, like a building which rests on a solid foundation. Psalms 24:2 is not to be compared; for the discourse there is of the earth in a limited sense, of the division of land and water; but Job 26:7, “he hangs the earth upon nothing;” comp. Psalms 104:8 there, “he binds together the water in his thick clouds, and the cloud is not rent under them,” with Psalms 104:3 here, and also Job 38:4-6. Ver. 6-18, -Ver. 6. The flood thou coveredst above like to a garment, the waters stand upon the mountains. Ver. 7. Before thy rebuke they flee, before the voice of thy thunder they haste away. Ver. 8. They go up to the mountains, down to thevalleys, to the place which thou hast founded for them. Ver. 9. A boundary thou didst set, they pass it not, they turn not again to cover the earth.-Ver. 19: He sends fountains in the valleys, they flow between the mountains. Ver. 11. All the beasts of the field drink them, the wild asses quench their thirst. Ver. 12. Over them dwell the birds of heaven, from the midst of the boughs they let their voices be heard.-Ver. 13. He watereth the hills out of his upper chambers, of the fruit of thy works the earth is satisfied. Ver. 14. He causes the grass to grow for the cattle and corn for the cultivation of man, to bring forth bread out of the earth. Ver. 15. And wine gladdens the heart of man to make his face to shine with oil, and bread strengthens man's heart. Ver. 16. The trees of the Lord are saturated, the cedars of Lebanon which he has planted. Ver. 17. Where the birds build their nests, the stork he dwells on the cypresses.-Ver. 18. The high hills are for the chamois, the rocks a refuge for the jerboas.-The work of the third day, the removal of the water from the earth, is painted bythe Psalmist in ver. 6-9 at great length, and with evident de-light, because he sees in it an allegory, the removal from the land of the Lord of the floods of the heathen by which it had been overspread; comp. on the sea as the standing emblem of the heathen world, at Psalms 93.-The suffix in כסיתו, ver. 6, re-fers to the flood: the flood like a garment thou didst cover it, over the earth. It will not do to refer it to the earth, for ארץ does not occur in the preceding verses, and is everywhere femi-nine except in a few cases where it stands for the inhabitants of the earth. The future in the second half and in the following clauses is to be explained from the lively realization of the past. The mountains appear here, (as the work of the second day begins), as already in existence, and only covered by the floods, as theywere on a later occasion by the deluge (Genesis 19, 20), by which the earth was brought back to its original condition.-The expres-sion "the waters shall assemble in one place," Genesis 1:9, appears in ver. 7 as a rebuke of God, because God is the enemy of disorder, and because the water stood in an attitude of hostility to the reali-zation of his purpose to manifest his glory on the earth. If we view the water as symbolical of heathen power hindering the realiza-tion of the purpose of God to bestow salvation on his people, the re-buke appears as still more suitable, compare Matthew 8:26. The thunder is called the word of God, because it is just as terrible ashis word is. On הפז, to hasten for fear, at Psalms 31:22.�The clause, "they (the waters) go up to the mountains, down to the valleys, to the place (till they finally got to it) which thou hast founded for them," ver. 8, contains a graphic description of the effect of the divine rebuke and thunder: thrown into a state of tumultuous excitement the waters quickly again ascend the moun-tains, their high abode, from which the rebuke of God had brought them down, but unable to keep themselves there they go down to the valleys, until they find themselves in their proper situation, and enter into the place where God designs them to be,-a striking pic-ture of the circumstances which occur when God designs to deliver his church from the power of its enemies. Even then the floods do not retire at once softly and quietly. They make repeatedly the attempt again to ascend the mountains; after that at least to ob-tain possession of the valleys; but at last they are compelled to be off entirely. The common translation is: up go the mountains,down go the valleys. But in this case the Neptunian origin of the mountains and valleys would be really indicated as the imme-diate consequence of the separation of the fluid from the dry; for a mode of expression as suited to the appearance which most adopt, can scarcely be extracted from the words: they came by and by however high or low in appearance. Against this interpretation we have Psalms 107:26, "they go up to heaven, down to the valleys," whose שמים, and תהומות are accusatives; the unquestionable reference of the second half of our verse to the waters, according to the fundamental passage in Genesis 1:9, "let the waters under heaven be assembled in one place;" and the circumstance that in ver. 9 the water is the subject as it must also be in ver. 8. It is not possible that the language here can refer to the origin of the mountains, as according to ver. 6, they were already in existence. They existed also according to Gen. i., before the work of the sixth day. To the third day belonged only the appearing of the dry land, not its formation; the work of that day consisted only in this, that, as at the deluge, the waters retired from the earth, "the dry land appeared." The יסד, stands here as in ver. 5, Psalms 102:25, in the sense of to found: God, as the master-builder of the world, founded the sea (as he did heaven and earth), as the place of habitation for the waters and for the innumerable creatures in them, ver. 25. Even this founding suits better for the sea than it does for the state of the hills and the valleys.-On ver. 9, comp. Job 38:8-11. The exception of the flood cannot break the rule; and comes into notice here, as according to Genesis 9:11, it cannot be repeated, all the less on this account, as the Psalmist is speaking from the present of the future. Berleb.: "But if God had not set such boundaries, the earth would long ago have over-whelmed the church. Wherefore may the rebuke of thy spirit always scatter it more and more!"-To the description of the nega-tive act there is here appended the positive one: in the exercise of his loving regard for his living creatures, God waters the dry land, as a type of his tender care over his church delivered from the power of its enemies. The creation of the vegetable world for the nourishment of men and beasts belongs, even in Genesis 1:11; Genesis 1:12, still to the work of the third day; only, however, as is ob-vious from ch. 5, as regards its germ. Here we have brought forward what forms the condition of the development of this germ,and at all times the foundation of all vegetation on the earth. We have for the first time, in ver. 10-12, the watering of the ground. -That the נהל, a brook, next a valley, through which a brook flows, stands in ver. 10 in the latter sense, is evident from ver. 13, where the mountains, which receive moisture from the upper waters, form the opposite of the valleys here spoken of. The fountains hence comprehend the brooks formed by them: as in Joe 4:18, "and a fountain shall proceed from the house of the Lord, and water the valley of Acacias"-a passage much more closely connected in reality with ours than can well be made to appear. Even in "they go" the fountains form the subject.-The beasts of the field, ver. 11 (comp. on היתו at Psalms 1:10) stand in opposition to domestic animals, the cattle of ver, 14. On "they break their thirst," comp. שבר, corn, because it breaks the hunger.a-The birds of heaven of ver. 12 are from Gen. i. 30; 2:19, where in like manner the birds of heaven stand in opposition to the beasts of the field, with whom they have this in common, that no one on earth cares for them. He who takes under his care the beasts of the field and the birds of heaven; will much more take care of his own people, comp. Matthew 6:26, which passage serves as a key to the one now before us.-In ver. 13-17 the Psalmist proceeds to take up the subject of the care of God for the nourishment of his creatures by watering the dry land. As this takes place in lower situations by means of fountains, from which the wild beasts drink, and beside which the birds of heaven rear their habitations, so does it in the upper re-gions by rain, which makes the grass to grow for cattle, and corn and wine for men, and which waters even the trees where the birds build their nests. How should such a God not open the fountains of salvation for his own people, and pour down upon the thirsty the rain of grace!-The משקה in ver. 13 corresponds to the ישקו, in ver. 11 : "he gives drink even to the mountains." This division of the watering occurs in Genesis 49:25, "with blessings of the heaven above, with blessings of the deep which resteth below." The mountains are especially named because they are entirely assigned to the rain; comp. Deuteronomy 11:11, where it is said of Canaan: "a land of mountains and of vallies, it a It is in favour of this explanation that the corn bears this name in a particular man- ner in Genesis 42 :ss., comp. especially 41:57, 42:I.drinketh in water of the rain of heaven," in opposition to Egypt which is watered by the Nile. Out of his upper chambers-comp. ver. 3. The works of God are the heavens or the upper cham-bers,a ver. 2, 3, (comp. ver. 24); and the fruit of these works is the rain; by this the earth is satisfied, richly watered with it.- In ver. 14 we have the fruit which the earth thus watered bears for cattle and men. Instead of "for the cultivation of men," many translate after Luther: "for the use of men ;" but theעבדה signifies always labour, service, (in this sense ver. 23) never use, need, not even in Numbers 3:31; Numbers 3:36 the mere עשב is not enough-it belongs to cattle as food, Genesis 1:30, and needs an adjunct which corresponds to the "bearing seed" in Genesis 1:11; Genesis 1:29, and limits the expression to "corn"; finally, the fundamental passages, Gem 2:5, "to labour the ground," 3:23, 4:2, are in favour of the rendering "for the cultivation." The last words "to bring forth," for "that he may bring forth," gives the object of the shooting of the corn: God in this way pre-pares for man his chief means of support, bread. Allusion is made to Genesis 1:12, "And the earth brought forth grass bearing seed;" comp. Job 28:5, "the earth out of which goes forth bread."-In ver„ 15 the importance of bread for men is brought prominently forward-it imparts strength to the weak-after men-tion had been made of another blessing, which by means of the watering is imparted to men, viz., wine. And wine gladdens-viz., in consequence of the watering from the upper chambers of God. It is designedly that man in both clauses is termed אנוש, weak, frail, full of care, comp. the reference at Psalms 8. The Psalmist hereby intimates why God has provided for him these means of cheerfulness and strength, how lovingly God has had regard for him in adopting these means to his necessities. The צהל is to rejoice, in Hiph., to make to rejoice, to make joyful; comp. Proverbs 15:13, "a joyful heart makes a good countenance," where also as here the article is poetically wanting. With oil-the oil of glad-ness, Psalms 45:7; Psalms 23:5, with which they were wont to anoint themselves on festive occasions before meals. The brightening on such occasions did not conic from the oil, with which they anointed themselves only as a sign, of the joy, but in spite of the misuse made of it, from the wine the noble gift of God, which a Ven.; "Allusion is manifestly made to these upper chambers constructed by God: ver. 3; and for this cause these are here called the works of God," made the sign a truthful one. The translation commonly given is: so that it makes his face shining as if it were anointed with oil. But this assumes without any ground that the צהל here is equivalent to צהר, more particularly so, as this verb never occurs in Hiph in the sense of to make to shine; there is more-ever the fact that it was not the face that was ever anointed, but the head, comp. Psalms 23:5, Matthew 6:17, "anoint thy head, and wash thy face." The small difference in the shade of meaning in צהל in the translation given above need occasion less difficulty, as the word was selected because of the reference of צהר to oil: the צהר does not cause the צהל but the wine (it is not the shining but the wine that brightens the face), Bצttcher, Proben. p. 212, defends the translation of Luther: "and his face became beautiful with oil," according to which oil as the third chief product of Canaan is named between the bread and the wine, which however here as in other passages are united together as one noble pair, Psalms 4:7, Genesis 14:18, 27:28. Against this, however, there is the להצהיל, accord-ing to which the words cannot possibly be construed as an inde-pendent clause; the contrast between the gladness and the strength, which alone justifies the renewed mention of the bread, is weakened; in the whole paragraph, ver. 10-17, mention is made only of what appeases hunger and thirst, with which oil has nothing to do. The phrase, "to strengthen man's heart," is from Genesis 18:5.-The words "they are satisfied," in ver. 16, refer back to "the earth is satisfied. in ver. 13: with the earth. also the trees. The mountains of God are, in Psalms 36:6, the highest mountains, which proclaim in the loudest terms the crea- tive power of God; the cedars of Lebanon are also, in Psalms 80:10, called, as being the kings of the trees, the cedars of God: in the fundamental psssage, Numbers 24:6, "the spice trees which the Lord hath planted," are trees of particularly powerful. growth, comp. Balaam, p. 145. According to this, "the trees of the Lord" here must also be those which, as, for example, the cedars of Le-banon, named in the second clause as individual specimens, loudly proclaim, by their being well supplied, the origin from which they have come: there is no reference whatever to any contrast be-tween the trees here spoken of and such trees as have been planted by man.-Ver. 17 corresponds to ver. 12. The rain is not less beneficial to the birds than are the fountains of water. Where,-in the trees upon the mountains, according to ver. 12and the second clause. The little birds and the stork, i.e., birds great and small.--It has been already observed in the introduction that ver. 18 stands out of the connection, and is to be looked upon merely as a transition clause. The hills, the high ones I mean, stand instead of the high hills, in opposition to the hills gene-rally, in ver. 13, and in parallel to the high rocks. The מהסה is not to be supplied in the first clause, but serves only to show the force of the ל in that clause. On the second clause, comp. Proverbs 30:26. Shall not he who points out to the wild goat and the spring mouse their little abode, and leaves none of his crea-tures uncared for, undertake for his chosen ones? shall he leave any of them to perish? No; wherever they turn thoughout the wide world, they everywhere see intimations of their own salva-tion. The birds on the trees, the wild beasts at the fountains, the mouse on the hills, every thing cries out to them: be ye com-forted, and of good courage, for are you not better than many sparrows? At the time when this Psalm was composed, it was worse with Israel than with the goat and the spring-mouse (comp. Matthew 8:20), they had no place of refuge, no spot upon the wide earth which they could call their own; comp. with the middle verse here the 23d verse of Psalms 105. Ver. 19. He made the moon to divide the time, the sun knows his going down. Ver. 20. Thou makest darkness and it is night, in it all the beasts of the forest are astir. Ver. 21. The lions roaring after their prey, and to seek from God their food. Ver. 22. The sun rises, they gather themselves together and lie down in their dens. Ver. 23. Man goes forth to his work and his labour till the evening. Ver. 24. How manifold are thy works, O Lord, in wisdom hast thou made them all, the earth is full of thy goodnesses. Ver. 25. Here the sea, great and wide, where are moving things without number, beasts, small with great. Ver. 26. There go the ships, the leviathan whom thou hast formed that he should sport there. Ver. 27. All this waits upon thee, that thou givest their meat in their time. Ver. 28. Thou givest them, they gather up, thou openest thy hand, they are satisfied with good. Ver. 29. Thou hidest thy countenance, they are terrified, thou collectest their breath, they fade and turn back to their dust. Ver. 30. Thou sendest out thy breath, they are created, thou renewest the appearance of the earth. First, Psalms 104:19-23, by the distinction made by the sun and moon, the work of the fourth day, Genesis 1:14, ss., between day and night, God makes provision for the different portions of his creatures, the beasts of the forest to whom the night belongs, and man whose is the day. Shall he who bears such loving care for the lions forget Sion?— For appointed times, Psalms 104:19, (compare the ξεςγ, point of time, Psalms 75:2, Psalms 102:13), that there may be such, that these may be marked by it, namely and particularly, the difference between day and night. It is clear from the second parallel clause, and from the expansion in Psalms 104:20-23, that this fundamental difference on which the others depend is here also brought particularly into view; comp. “to divide between day and night,” which in Genesis 1:14 precedes, “and to serve for signs and for seasons,” and “to divide the light and between the darkness” of Psalms 104:18. The moon is named before the sun as the proper time-divider, as the Hebrews began the day with the evening, and also because the Psalmist wished to conclude with the picture of the day. The sun knows his going down, so that it never remains in the heaven beyond its time, and thus destroys the division of time, and robs a part of God’s creatures of their maintenance. ξαεΰ is not the act of coming but the place, Ezekiel 26:10, “the approaches to a conquered city;” ξαεΰωξω, the place where the sun goes down, Psalms 50:1, Psalms 113:3, in opposition to ξζψηωξω, the place where he rises. The two abbreviated futures in Psalms 104:20, are properly, “make thou darkness and it shall be as night,” instead of when thou makest darkness and it is. The condition in animated discourse is expressed as if it were a wish. In Psalms 104:21 the translation is not “the lions roar,” but “the lions (rise) roaring after their prey and to seek,” compare Amos 8:12, “they run to and fro to seek the word of the Lord.” From God who is their proper provider, and who therefore prepares for them the night in which they may seek their nourishment, compare Job 38:39. If God thus cares for the wild beasts of the forest, and provides for the hungry lions their food, shall he permit his chosen people to perish in sorrow and misery? The roar of the lion should ring in their ears, “O ye of little faith.” They are assembled, Psalms 104:12 from the dispersion spoken of in Psalms 104:20-21. God causes for the sake of men the day to follow the night, in which they may go forth to their labour, and work for their maintenance; he will, therefore, on behalf of those who can pray to “our Father,” cause the day of salvation to follow the night of trouble during the whole course of history, and in the most glorious manner at the end of time. Berleb.: “When Jesus Christ went into a state of humiliation, then roaring lions, bears, and foxes, came out of their holes, and fell fiercely upon him, Acts 4:27. And a similar lot still befalls his church, even at this time, and did so throughout the long night under Antichrist. But on the morning of the seventh day the sun shall rise in his strength, and shall shine throughout the whole day, when no wicked beast shall dare to look out.” In Psalms 104:24-26, after an introduction which directs attention afresh to the point of view from which the whole description is to be looked at, to the sun namely and to the moon as the highest point in the creation, where the omnipotent love of God is made manifest, there follows the sea as the deepest. In the Mosaic history of the creation the formation of the fishes and the birds belongs to the fifth day. As the business of the Psalmist is not to treat of the formation of the creatures, but only of the care which God takes of them, and as he had already handled the care taken of birds, there hence suitably follows the preparation of the sea for marine animals, and also for man, who by means of it obtains the advantages arising from navigation and trade.— The ξδψαε in Psalms 104:24, is not “how great,”—that is ξδβγμε, Psalms 92:6—but “how many are,” compare Psalms 3:2. The χπιο is not a creature, but as always a possession, compare Psalms 105:31. Throughout the whole Psalm the discourse is not of the riches of the creatures of God, but of the riches of his arrangements on their behalf, so that each of them finds his sphere of existence and his means of support: thy possessions—in which thou investest thy creatures, and by means of which thou maintainest them. Also by the works of God we are not to understand his creatures, but the arrangements made for them, not the sea-animals, for example, but the sea itself. In consequence of the numerous works of God, which are made according to the necessities of his various creatures, the earth is full of his good things by which he supports his creatures. How should Sion alone starve in the midst of all these riches of her God? How should he who cares for the beasts of the sea, great and small, not care for her? According to Kφster, our verse should come after Psalms 104:26, and be appended to Psalms 104:27 : the λμν there manifestly points back to our verse. We are, however, by this proposal strikingly reminded of the fable of the acorn. Psalms 104:24 and Psalms 104:27 do not at all suit well together, as the language of the former of these verses does not apply to creatures. This the sea, Psalms 104:25 (the Psalmist takes this case as an instance), is equivalent to, here as one of the many works which thou hast made in wisdom, the sea. Wide, both hands, for on both hands, both sides. The ψξω, of sea-animals, used only here, is taken from δψξωϊ, Genesis 1:21, comp. Psalms 69:34, “Assuredly the species of the sea-animals are of the most varied kinds, the smallest and the largest are among them.” The mention of the ships in Psalms 104:26 points to what the sea does for man (comp. Genesis 49:13); while the leviathan, presenting the appearance of a ship, represents the animals. The masculine ιδμλεο is to be explained from the personification of the ships as active wanderers (comp. Genesis 4:7), as we speak of a quick sailor. At the second clause, we are not to comp. Job 40:29, but Job 40:20 : “And all beasts of the field sport there.” The translation, “whom thou hast made to sport with him,” suits well for Jarchi, but not for our day. According to the design of the Psalmist, notice is taken only of what the sea does for the leviathan, who feels himself when there to be in his element. In Psalms 104:27-30, all creatures obtain from God their food in their seasons; he will, therefore, give also to his starving church her daily food; they perish and begin life again according to his will; he renews, after it has been destroyed, the appearance of the earth, his church, therefore, which even now experiences his death-bringing power, shall also in due season experience his life-giving power, and the comforting word, “Behold I make all things new.” The suffix in λμν Psalms 104:27 most interpreters would refer only to the sea-animals. But the expression “Thou renewest the face of the earth,” in Psalms 104:30, alone is sufficient to refute this. It applies to everything named in the preceding verses, including also men; comp. Psalms 104:14-15, Psalms 104:23; and also Psalms 104:26, where “there go the ships” refers also to men. The conjunct reference to men appears particularly clear, from the fundamental and parallel passages in the following verses, comp. particularly Job 34:14-15. Had the strophes been originally separated by an outward mark, the temptation to apply the λμν only to what immediately precedes would been much less. Psalms 147:9 is really parallel to our verse. On “at their time” comp, Psalms 1:3, Psalms 145:15.— In Psalms 104:28, the very rare word top μχθ, not to gather together generally, but to gather up, to pick up from the earth, shows that there lies at bottom a reference to the manna, in connection with which this is the word of constant occurrence, Exodus 16:4-5, Exodus 16:16. This reference intimates that all nourishment is bread from heaven, Psalms 105:40, in accordance with Deuteronomy 8:3, according to which the Lord gave manna to the Israelites, for the purpose of impressing upon them this great truth. In Psalms 104:29, the hiding of the countenance denotes the withdrawal of God’s compassionate care. On “they are terrified,” comp. at Psalms 90:7. On “Thou assemblest their breath or spirit,” (not thou takest away) comp. Job 34:14-15, “If he would regard him, he would gather to him his spirit and breath: all flesh would die at once, and man would return to the dust.” According to the doctrine of Scripture, all life, not only what is immaterial and spiritual, but also what is physical, is from God, the fountain of life, the God of the spirits of all flesh, Numbers 16:22, Numbers 27:16, Hebrews 12:9; comp. Genesis 1:2, Genesis 2:7, Ecclesiastes 12:7, “The spirit returns to God who gave it.” The abbreviated future is to be explained, as in Psalms 104:20, properly gather in instead of if thou gather in. The ιβεςε alludes to the mighty confirmation given to the position here expressed by the deluge, comp. Genesis 7:21-22 : “All flesh died that moved upon the earth, bird, and cattle, and wild beast, . . . and every man: every thing in whose nostrils was the breath of life . . . died.” The expression “return to their dust” depends on Genesis 3:19, “until thou return to the dust from which thou wast taken, for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return,” They are created, they as the whole, or the whole classes of creatures, are again called into being, comp. the αψΰ in Psalms 102:18. The face of the earth (from Genesis 7:4, “I destroy every living thing from the face of the earth,” Genesis 7:6-7) is renewed, viz. by this reproduction of living creatures, but, at the same time, by the removal of every other desolation. The period after the flood furnishes us with the most visible picture of such a renewal, as it exists after every ruinous catastrophe, and in a certain measure each spring. These renewals of the earth furnish a type and a pledge of the renewal of the condition of the church, until the final perfect regeneration, Matthew 19:28. Ver. 19-30. -Ver. 19. He made the moon to divide the time, the sun knows its going down. Ver. 20. Thou makest darkness and it is night, in it all the beasts of the forest are astir. Ver. 21. The lions roaring after their prey, and to seek from God their food. Ver. 22. The sun rises, they gather themselves to-gether and lie down in their dens. Ver. 23. Man goes forth to his work and his labour till the evening.-Ver. 24. How mani-fold are thy works, O Lord, in wisdom hast thou made them all, the earth is full of thy goodnesses. Ver. 25. Here the sea, great and wide, where are moving things without number, beasts, small with great. Ver. 26. There go the ships, the leviathan whom thou hast formed that he should sport there.-Ver. 27. All this waits upon thee, that thou givest their meat in their time. Ver. 28. Thou givest them, they gather up, thou openest thy hand, they are sa- tisfied with good. Ver. 29. Thou hidest thy countenance, they are terrified, thou collectest their breath, they fade and turn back to their dust. Ver. 30. Thou sendest out thy breath, they are created, thou renewest the appearance of the earth.-First, ver.19-23, by the distinction made by the sun and moon, the work of the fourth day, Gem 1:14, ss., between day and night, God makes provision for the different portions of his creatures, the beasts of the forest to whom the night belongs, and man whose is the day. Shall he who bears such loving care for the lions forget Sion?- For appointed times, ver. 19, (compare the מועד, point of time, Psalms 75:2; Psalms 102:13), that there may be such, that these may be marked by it, namely and particularly, the difference between day and night. It is clear from the second parallel clause, and from the expansion in ver. 20-23, that this fundamental difference on which the others depend is here also brought particularly into view; comp. "to divide between day and night," which in Gen. i. 14 precedes, "and to serve for signs and for seasons," and "to divide the light and between the darkness" of ver. 18. The moon is named before the sun as the proper time-divider, as the Hebrews began the day with the evening, and also because the Psalmist wished to conclude with the picture of the day. The sun knows its going down, so that it never remains in the heaven beyond its time, and thus destroys the division of time, and robs a part of God's creatures of their maintenance. מבוא is not the act of coming but the place, Ezekiel 26:10, "the approaches to a con-quered city;" שמש מבוא, the place where the sun goes down, Psalms 1:1; Psalms 113:3, in opposition to שמש מזרה, the place where he rises.- The two abbreviated futures in ver. 20, are properly, "make thou darkness and it shall be as night," instead of when thou makest darkness and it is. The condition in animated discourse is expressed as if it were a wish.-In ver. 21 the translation is not "the lions roar," but “ the lions (rise) roaring after their prey and to seek,” compare Amos 8:12, "they run to and fro to seek the word of the Lord." From God who is their proper provider, and who therefore prepares for them the night in which they may seek their nourishment, compare Job 38:39. If God thus cares for the wild beasts of the forest, and provides for the hungry lions their food, shall he permit his chosen people to perish in sorrow and misery? The roar of the lion should ring in their ears, “ 0 ye of little faith.” -They are assembled, ver. 12 from the dispersion spoken of in ver. 20, 21. God causes for the sake of men the day to follow the night, in which they may go forth to their labour, and work for their maintenance; he will,therefore, on behalf of those who can pray to "our Father," cause the day of salvation to follow the night of trouble during the whole course of history, and in the most glorious manner at the end of time. Berleb.: “ When Jesus Christ went into a state of humiliation, then roaring lions, bears, and foxes, came out of their holes, and fell fiercely upon him, Acts 4:27. And a simi-lar lot still befals his church, even at this time, and did so through-out the long night under Antichrist. But on the morning of the seventh day the sun shall rise in his strength, and shall shine throughout the whole day, when no wicked beast shall dare to look out.” -In ver. 24-26, after an introduction which directs attention afresh to the point of view from which the whole descrip-tion is to be looked at, to the sun namely and to the moon as the highest point in the creation, where the omnipotent love of God is made manifest, there follows the sea as the deepest. In the Mosaic history of the creation the formation of the fishes and the birds belongs to the fifth day. As the business of the Psalmist is not to treat of the formation of the creatures, but only of the care which God takes of them, and as he had already handled the care taken of birds, there hence suitably follows the preparation of the sea for marine animals, and also for man, who by means of it obtains the advantages arising from navigation and trade.-The רבו מה in ver. 24, is not "how great,"�גדלו מה, Psalms 92:6 -but "how many are," compare Psalms 3:2. The קנין, is not a creature, but as always a possession, compare Psalms 105:31. Throughout the whole Psalm the discourse is not of the riches of the creatures of God, but of the riches of his ar-rangements on their behalf, so that each of them finds his sphere of existence and his means of support: thy possessions-in which thou investest thy creatures, and by means of which thou maintainest them. Even by the works of God we are not to understand his creatures, but the arrangements made for them, not the marine animals, for example, but the sea itself. In consequence of the numerous works of God, which are made according to the ne-cessities of his various creatures, the earth is full of his good things by which he supports his creatures. How should Sion alone starve in the midst of all these riches of her God? How should he who cares for the beasts of the sea, great and small, not care for her? According to Kצster, our verse shouldcome after ver. 26, and be appended tover. 27: the כלם there ma-nifestly points back to our verse. We are, however, by this pro-posal strikingly reminded of the fable of the acorn. Ver. 24 and 27 do not at all suit well together, as the language of the former of these verses does not apply to creatures.--This the sea, ver. 25 (the Psalmist takes this case as an instance), is equivalent to, here as one of the many works which thou bast made in wisdom, the sea. Wide, both hands, for on both hands, both sides. The רמש,of sea-animals, used only here, is taken from הרמשת, Genesis 1:21,comp. Psalms 69:34, "Assuredly the species of the sea-animals are of the most varied kinds, the smallest and the largest are among them."-The mention of the ships in ver. 26 points to what the sea does for man (comp. Genesis 49:13); while the leviathan, pre-senting the appearance of a ship, represents the animals. Themasculine יהלכון, is to be explained from the personification ofthe ships as active wanderers (comp. Genesis 4:7), as we speak of a quick sailor. At the second clause, we are not to comp. Job 40:29, but ver. 20: "And all beasts of the field sport there." The translation, "whom thou hast made to sport with him," suits well for Jarchi, but not for our day. According to the de-sign of the Psalmist, notice is taken only of what the sea does for the leviathan, who feels himself when there to be in his ele-ment.--In ver. 27-30, all creatures obtain from God their food in their seasons; he will, therefore, give also to his starving church her daily food; they perish and begin life again according to his will; he renews, after it has been destroyed, the appear-ance of the earth, his church, therefore, which even now expe-riences his death-bringing power, shall also in due season expe-rience his life-giving power, and the comforting word, "Behold I make all things new."-The suffix in כלם ver. 27 most inter-preters would refer only to the sea-animals. But the expression "Thou renewest the face of the earth," in ver. 30, alone is sufficient to refute this. It applies to every thing named in the preceding verses, including also men; comp. ver. 14, 15, 23; and also 26, where "there go the ships" refers also to men. The conjunct reference to men appears particularly clear, from the fundamental and parallel passages in the following verses, comp. particularly Job 34:14; Job 34:15. Had the strophes been originally separated by an outward mark, the temptation to apply the כלם only to what immediately precedes would never have existed. Psalms 147:9 is really parallel to our verse. On "at their time" comp, Psalms 1:3; Psalms 1:145. ver. 28, the very rare word top לקט, not to gather together generally, but to gather up, to pick up from the earth, shows that there lies at bottom a reference to the man-na, in connecion with which this is the word of constant occur-rence, Exodus 16:4; Exodus 16:5; Exodus 16:16. This reference intimates that all nourishment is bread from heaven, Psalms 105:40, in accordance with Deuteronomy 8:3, according to which the Lord gave manna to the Israelites, for the purpose of impressing upon them this great truth.-In ver. 29, the hiding of the countenance denotes the withdrawal of God's compassionate care. On "they are terri-fied," comp. at Psalms 90:7. On "Thou assemblest their breath or spirit," (not thou takest away) comp. Job 34:14; Job 34:15, "If he would regard him, he would gather to him his spirit and breath: all flesh would die at once, and man would return to the dust." According to the doctrine of Scripture, all life, not only what is immaterial and spiritual, but also what is physical, is from God, the fountain of life, the God of the spirits of all flesh, Numbers 16:22; Numbers 27:16, Hebrews 12:9; comp. Genesis 1:2; Genesis 2:7, Ec. 12:7, "The spirit returns to God who gave it." The abbreviated fu-ture is to be explained, as in ver. 20, properly gather in instead of if thou gather in. The יגועו, alludes to the mighty confirma-tion given to the position here expressed by the deluge, comp. Genesis 7:21; Genesis 7:22 : "All flesh died that moved upon the earth, bird, and cattle, and wild beast, . . . and every man: every thing in whose nostrils was the breath of life . . . died." The expression "return to their dust" depends on Genesis 3:19, "until thou return to the dust from which thou wast taken, for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return,"-They are cre-ated, they as the whole, or the whole classes of creatures, areagain called into being, comp. the ברא in Psalms 102:18. The face of the earth (from Genesis 7:4, "I destroy every living thing from the face of the earth," 6, 7) is renewed, viz. by this reproduction of living creatures, but, at the same time, by the removal of every other desolation. The period after the flood furnishes us with the most visible picture of such a renewal, as it exists after every ruinous catastrophe, and in a certain measure each spring. These renewals of the earth furnish a type and a pledge of the renewalof the condition of the church, until the final perfect regenera-tion, Matthew 19:28. Ver. 31-34.- Ver. 32. Let the glory of the Lord be eternal, let the Lord rejoice in his works. Ver. 32. He looks upon the earth, it shakes; he touches the mountains, they smoke. Ver. 33. I will sing to the Lord so long as I live, I will play to my God while I have a being. Ver. 34. May my meditation be acceptable to him, I will rejoice in the Lord.-The "may it be, may he rejoice," in ver. 31, has at bottom, "it shall be; he shall rejoice," and hence merely intimates that this being and rejoic-ing are agreeable to the wishes of the Psalmist: the Lord is and shall be eternally glorified by his works, and shall have cause to rejoice, as it is said he did after creation was finished, Genesis 1:31, to which allusion is here made, "And God saw every thing which he had made, and behold it was very good." The language does not apply to the acknowledgment of the glory of God, but to the real existence of that glory. The works of God, ver. 13, 24, Psalms 19:1, can only be what had been praised in the preceding verses; and therefore are not animals and men, but every thing which he has created for them, and by which he manifests his care over them, the heavens, the sun, the moon, the earth, the fountains, &c. As the nature of God is eternally glorified by these works, so also-this is the concealed back-ground, this the conclusion of faith-shall it be by his work of deliverance.-In ver. 32 we have the basis of the confidence expressed in ver. 31, the omnipotence of God, according to which he can easily prevent every deteriora-tion of the creature from its original condition. Should the earth presume to depart from the course of its destination, a single look of the Almighty is sufficient to bring it back to trembling obedi-ence; should the mountains refuse to render their service, the Lord requires only to touch them, in order to humble them. And if the earth and the mountains cannot frustrate the design which the Lord had in creating them, the world and its kingdoms (comp. on the mountains as symbols of kingdoms, Psalms 68:15) cannot frustrate the purposes of redemption. The mountains smoke,-with fire, the wrath of the Lord which kindles their foun-dation; Deuteronomy 32:22, Exodus 19:18, "And Sinai smoked wholly because the Lord descended upon it in fire . . . . and the whole mountains shook exceedingly," (the first clause)-In the second pair of verses in the conclusion, we have as grow-ing out of the eternity of the glory of God in his works, the de-termination of the Psalmist, and of the church in whose name he speaks, to praise the Lord, and by this praise to conquer "all care, anguish, and pain." The expression, "in my life," in ver. 33, is not "my whole life through," (comp. at Psalms 63:4), but in harmony with the second clause, "so long as have I yet to live, ere death shut my lips for his praise, the night cometh when I can no more praise," comp. Psalms 6:5; Psalms 88:10; Psalms 115:17; Psalms 115:18; Psalms 30:9.-“ My meditation shall be acceptable to him,” ver. 34, ac-cording to the connection, the parallel and Psalms 105:2, is equivalent to, "I will meditate on his wonders to his pleasure," "I will bring to him the acceptable offering of my meditation." I will rejoice in the Lord-he rejoices in his works, ver. 31, and we will rejoice in them because of their glory. Ver. 35. Sinners shall end from the earth, and the wicked shall no more be. Praise my soul the Lord, Halleluja! The fundamental passage is Numbers 14:35 : "the whole company of the wicked who are assembled against me shall come to an end in the wilderness and shall die there." The fate which in a former age befel the wicked company of the Israelites in the wilderness, shall be repeated upon the heathen company which had assembled against the Lord and his church: this hope the Psalmist en-tertains from having considered the glory of God in his works. The words, "sinners shall end," &c., here form the counterpart to "the sons of thy servants shall abide," &c., at the close of Ver. 35. Sinners shall end from the earth, and the wicked shall no more be. Praise my soul the Lord, Halleluja! The fundamental passage is Numbers 14:35 : “the whole company of the wicked who are assembled against me shall come to an end in the wilderness and shall die there.” The fate which in a former age befell the wicked company of the Israelites in the wilderness, shall be repeated upon the heathen company which had assembled against the Lord and his church: this hope the Psalmist entertains from having considered the glory of God in his works. The words, “sinners shall end,” &c., here form the counterpart to “the sons of thy servants shall abide,” &c., at the close of Psalms 102. Psalms 105. In ver. 1-7, we have the theme: the judgments and the won-ders of God in the past as the foundation of joyful hope for the future. Next the development: God always remembers the pro-mise of the permanent possession of Canaan which he imparted to the fathers of the nation, ver. 8-12. Faithful to this promise he protected the fathers in every danger, ver. 13-15. It was under his wonderful guidance that Jacob the bearer of the promise came with his family to Egypt, ver. 16-23, and was afterwards deliveredfrom it by great wonders and signs, ver. 24-28, which are repre-sented in detail, ver. 29-38: the destruction of the useful fishes, and the introduction of the destructive frogs, flies, and gnats, ver. 29-31; hail, ruinous to the trees, and locusts to the plants, ver. 32-35; and, finally, the death of the first-born, ver. 36-38. After that, we have the wonders of God in the wilderness, ver. 39-42, and the introduction of the Israelites into Canaan, ver. 43-45. The beginning and the conclusion consist each of a strophe of seven verses, divided by the four and the three. Of the remain-ing thirty-one verses, the twenty-third is not counted, "and Israel came to Egypt, and Jacob sojourned as a pilgrim in the land of Ham." This verse, which forms the point of connection between the past and the present, stands out of the formal ar-rangement. There remain, therefore, three decades. These are grouped on both sides round ver. 23, as the middle point. The five forms both times the beginning, ver. 8-12, and ver. 24-28, the ten is both times, ver. 13-22, and ver. 29-38, divided by a three, four, three, or by a three and a seven, which, again, as in the introduction and conclusion, falls into a four and three. It is announced in the Introduction that the object of the Psalm is to awaken the Church to joyful hope for the future, by the consideration of the wonders of God in the past. This gene-ral object assumes a specific form in the development. The au-thor does not introduce the whole series of the wonders of God, but concludes as soon as Israel has obtained possession of Ca-naan. Out of the whole storehouse of the promises of God vouch-safed to the patriarchs, only one is brought prominently forward, namely, that concerning the possession of Canaan. Every thing revolves round this. The wonders and the judgments have all, for their ultimate design, the fulfilment of this promise. The matter of the abode in Egypt, however, is considered by the author as of particular importance in treating of the fulfilment of these promises. He depicts, particularly, how this abode was brought about. He renders prominent, with most manifest design, the clause, "Israel came to Egypt," as the most significant point of the whole Psalm; he speaks at great length of the wonders and signs by which Israel was delivered from Egypt. He takes very little notice of what was done subsequent to this, throwing itmerely into the conclusion, and treating of it very briefly and superficially. All these facts are sufficiently explained as soon as we assume the composition of the Psalm to belong to the period of the Ba-bylonish captivity,-a period which extends its sway even to the 106. Psalm, with which ours is inseparably connected. At this period, the promise of Canaan given to the fathers, and the doings of God in early times, in fulfilment of that promise, must have exer-cised a powerful influence on the spirits of men. This faithful-ness of God to his promises, which brought Israel out of Egypt, in order to bestow upon him, at the first, his inheritance, must also deliver him out of the Egypt of the present Babylon, in order to restore to him his lost inheritance. A more perfect connection with Psalms 104. is externally indicated by the circumstance, that, as there, so here also, the Hallelujah, which unquestionably has its original position in these Psalms, forms the conclusion. There are also individual points of contact in addition to the formal arrangement, the characteristic feature of which is, that both Psalms have a middle verse, here in ver. 2 comp. with 104:34, in ver. 16 comp. with 104:15. Both Psalms have for their common object to comfort sorely-afflicted Israel. The 104. Psalm draws the consolation from "meditating upon the wonders of God in nature, our Psalm in history The connection of the Psalm with the 106., which, beginning and ending with the Hallelujah, embraces the two Hallelujahs of the preceding Psalms, is effected by the last verse, in which the ultimate design of Israel's possessing Canaan, appears as the obeying, on their part, the commandments of God. The follow-ing Psalm enters at length into a description of the position which Israel obtained, in order to fulfil this purpose. Ver. 23 here comes into contact, in particular expressions, with ver. 22 of Psalms 106. The historical character of our Psalm is common to it with Psalms 78.; the design, however, is different.-The Psalmist there is occupied in endeavouring, by making use of the events of the Mosaic period, to lead the Israelites to repentance, but here to awaken them to faith in the paternal guidance of God. Our Psalm leans upon that one in particular expressions. It would form the subject of an interesting treatise to point out the prin-ciples of composition adopted in Scripture. The practice of drawing inferences from a few principles or facts, in the way of similarity and consequence, prevails to a great extent. Psalms such as ours and the 78th show very manifestly how firmly the facts of sacred history were rooted in the Israelitish mind, and how absurd it is to institute any comparison between these facts and the myths or traditions of a heathen antiquity. The material here is unquestionably a given one, over which poetry has no power. Ver. 1-7.-Ver. 1. Praise the Lord, call on his name, make known among the nations his mighty deeds. Ver. 2. Sing to him, play to him, meditate upon all his wonderful works. Ver. 3. Glory in his holy name, let the heart of them rejoice who seek the Lord. Ver. 4. Enquire at the Lord and his might, seek his face continually. Ver. 5. Think upon his wonderful works which he has done, his wonders and the judgments of his mouth. Ver. 6. Ye the seed of Abraham his servant, the sons of Jacob his chosen one. Ver. 7. He is the Lord our God, his judg-ments are over all the earth.-Praise the Lord, ver. 4; comp. Psalms 33:2. Call on his name,-on him according to his historically manifested glory (comp. at Psalms 63:4), in the first instance prais-ing and thanking after the example of Abraham, who, as often as God acquired for himself a name in guiding him, called in solemn worship upon the name of the Lord, Genesis 12:8; Genesis 13:4. On "Make known among the nations," comp. Psalms 18:49; Psalms 57:9. The mighty deeds of God are those out of which his name grows. On "glory ye," ver. 3, comp. Psalms 34:2, "My soul shall glory in the Lord." His holy name:-this he has acquired by his glo-rious deeds on behalf of Israel, for whose future salvation it affords security, and, therefore, it forms for Israel the object of glorying. The world glories in its horses and chariots against the church of God lying in the dust; but the church has some-thing better in which to glory. Let the heart rejoice in midst of deepest trouble; comp. Psalms 33:21, "For our heart rejoices in him because we trust in his holy name." To seek the Lord is equivalent to "to trust in him," Psalms 69:6.-Enquire at the Lord and his might, ver. 4, stirred up by the glorious manifesta-tions of these in times past, whether they will not help you even now; comp. Psalms 34:4; Psalms 78:34, 2 Chronicles 16:12, and, in reference to his might at Psalms 63:2; Psalms 78:34. To seek the face of the Lord is to be a candidate for his favour, encouraged by the manifestations of this in ancient times; comp. at Psalms 24:6; Psalms 27:8. -Think upon, ver. 5,-and forget not, Ps.78:11.-His won-derful works which he has done, Psalms 78:4; Psalms 78:12. The judgments of his mouth,-the deeds of the Lord are neither more nor less than so many matter-of-fact discourses, judicial decisions, such, for ex-ample, as the wonders of God in Egypt, which were exactly so many judicial decisions of God in the case of Israel against the Egyp-tians, or of the church of God against the world; comp. Psalms 119:13, where "all the judgments of thy mouth" means the command-ments of God.-Ver. 6 grounds the exhortation in ver. 5. Those addressed had good reason to remember these deeds of God; for they are the seed of Abraham, his servant, == his client (not his servants, comp. ver. 42), and, therefore, the legitimate heirs of his promises; the early deeds are for them pledges of a similar deliverance.-The Jehovah in ver. 7 contains the sense of the true Godhead in it, and guarantees infinite power to judge and to help. The expression "His judgments are over the whole earth, or extend over the whole earth," has its basis in those judgments of God in the past which are more particularly described in the following verses, and its face towards the future, for the God of Israel, as surely as he is Jehovah, will anew manifest himself as the Judge of the earth, Psalms 94:2, Ver. 8-12. -Ver. 8. He remembers eternally his covenant, the word which he ordains for a thousand generations. Ver. 9. Which he concluded with Abraham and his oath to Isaac. Ver. 10. And which he appointed to Jacob for a law, to Is-rael for an eternal covenant. Ver. 11. Saying, to thee will I give the land of Canaan for your inheritance. Ver. 12. When they were small in number, very few and strangers in it.-The preterite stands in ver. 8 on account of the verification in past times of the general position taken up in the following verses. Instead of the covenant in the second clause, we have the word for the purpose of intimating that the covenant comes into notice here on account of its promises. The word according to what follows is the declaration of the favour or grace of God, on behalf of the chosen family, and especially of the possession of Canaan.It is manifest from ver. 42 that the דבר is still governed byזכר, and that therefore the relative must be supplied "for he remembered his holy word with Abraham his servant." Which he ordained,-set forth like an inviolable law, ver. 10. To or for a thousand, innumerable generations-a verbal allusion to Deuteronomy 7:9, "who keepeth covenant and mercy for those who love him to a thousand generations," comp. Exodus 20:6,-In ver 9-11, the covenant and the word are more particularly de-scribed; in reference to those who first received them in ver. 9 and 10 (the language depending on Deuteronomy 29:12, "as he spoke to thee, and as he swore to thy fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob," comp. Deuteronomy 4:31), and in reference to their contents in ver. 11. It is evident from ver. 42, that we must in ver. 9 expound: he remembers the word which he concluded with Abraham. The כרתis also in Haggai 2:5 connected with the דבר instead of the other-wise common ברית, "the word which I concluded with you when I led you out of Egypt," and this connection here ought to occa-sion the less difficulty, as the word according to the parallel is the word of the covenant. "He remembers," must also be supplied at the second clause. Allusion is made to Genesis 26:3, where God says to Isaac, "Sojourn in the land, and I shall be with thee and bless thee, for to thee and to thy seed I will give all these lands, and fulfil the oath which I swore to Abraham thy father."-On העמיד with the accusative of the thing, and the dative of the person, vet. 10, compare at Psalms 30:7. The ex-pression, "And he appointed to him," is equivalent to "and he remembered the oath which he appointed." On להק Ven.: "that it might retain perennial vigour like some solemnly proclaimed decree." Allusion is made to Genesis 28:13, where God says to Jacob, "I am the God of Abraham thy father, and the God of Isaac, the land whereon thou liest I will give it to thee and to thy seed," and to Genesis 35:12, where he says to Israel, "the land which I have given to Abraham, I will give to thee, and to thy seed after thee will I give this land."-To thee will I give," ver. 11,-so said God to each individual of the above-mentioned three, hence in the second clause "for your inheritance," compare at Psalms 77:55. The following verse shews that we are not to regard the plural as having any reference to the descendants.-When they were small in number,-a "little flock," who could do nothing themselves to bring about the fulfilment of the pro-raise, who might easily have perished without leaving a trace behind them, had not the mighty arm of him who had made the promises been wielded over them. Thus was it also again at the time of the composition of this Psalm: in 1 Chronicles 16:19, when ye were in your fathers, this allusion is directly applied to present circumstances. Allusion is made to Genesis 34:30 : "And I am few in number, and they may easily gather them-selves together against me, and slay me and I shall be destroyed, I and my house." The כמעט is properly like a few, comp. Is. i. 9. The ideal magnitude to which the real here corresponds is the few, not the many. What resembles the original idea of fewness must be few indeed. Ver. 13-22.-Ver. 13. And they went from nation to na-tion, from one kingdom to another nation. Ver. 14. He permitted no man to do them harm, and punished kings for their sakes. Ver. 15. "Touch not mine anointed, and do my prophets no harm." Ver. 16. And he called hunger upon the land, he broke every staff of bread. Ver. 17. He sent before them a man, Joseph was sold for a servant. Ver. 18. They tormented his feet with fetters, his soul came into iron. Ver. 19. Until the time when his word came, the word of the Lord cleared him.- Ver. 20. Then the king sent and released him, the ruler of the nations, and set him free. Ver. 21. He made him Lord over his house, and ruler over all his posses- sions. Ver. 22. That he might bind his princes at his pleasure, and teach his ancients wisdom.-Ver. 23. And Israel came to Egypt, and Jacob sojourned as a pilgrim in the land of Ham.-In ver. 13-15 we have the providence of God watching over those who first received the promises, by which was declared the possi-bility of the fulfilment of these promises. They wandered from nation to nation, ver. 13, and therefore from danger to danger; the waters of the heathen world would have overflowed them, had it not been for the protecting hand of God. Everywhere, in Canaan itself, among the Philistines, among the Egyptians, it was only this hand which turned away all danger from the patriarchs. He punished kings for their sakes,--Pharaoh, in Genesis 12:17, and Abimelech in 20:3, ss., to whose case chiefly the allusion is made, as is evident from the reproof quoted in ver 15. On "touch not," ver. 15, comp. Genesis 26:2, where Abimelech says of Isaac,"whoever touches this man and his wife shall be put to death," com. ver. 29. The anointing is in the Scriptures both of the Old and New Testament the standing symbol and type (the latter, for example, in 1 Kings 19:16, Isaiah 61:1) of the communication of the gifts of the Spirit; see the proof of this in the Christol. P.p. 444 ss. Mine anointed,-therefore, the vessels of my Spirit (comp. Genesis 41:38, where Pharaoh says of Joseph, "Can we find such a one as this is, a man in whom the Spirit of God is?"), the bearers of my revelation. The parallel and the whole connec-tion show that the discourse here is of the prophetic gifts of the Spirit. The translation "my confidants," as "a vague common honorary title," is a piece of nonsense. "Do my prophets no harm" depends upon Genesis 20:7, where God says to Abimelech, "And now give the man back his wife, for he is a prophet, and if he pray for thee thou shalt live." The נביא means properly the "God-spoken:" the nature of prophecy is a divine address. The language already used in ver. 11 refers to this; Genesis 15. relates how Abraham received such addresses in both the forms peculiar to prophecy, vision and dream. Isaac had a prophetical dream at Beersheba; Jacob at Bethel. The latter as a prophet saw at Maha-naim the angels of God, and wrestled with the Lord at Jabbok. Pro-phetic revelations form the basis of the blessing of Isaac and Jacob. Our passage is of importance as a proof that נביא does not denote, as is commonly said, an orator of God, but that the form main-tains its usual passive sense. The prophets were not "inspired orators," except in the isolated case of the above-mentioned two blessing addresses, which, according to ver. 11, do not here come specially into view, but God-bespoken men, recipients of divine communications, and in so far vessels of honour, which the world durst not touch with impunity.-In ver. 16-23 we have the intro-duction into Egypt of the bearers of the promise, in circumstances which manifestly shewed that the hand of God was there in opera-tion, and that the promise of God was not by this broken, but on the contrary, that its fulfilment was by this means brought about. -The land in ver. 16 is the land in which the patriarchs so-journed, and which had been promised to them, ver. 11, 12. The staff comes into notice as the support, comp. Psalms 104:15, "And bread supporteth man's heart." The words are from Levit. 26:26, "if I break for you the staff of bread," on which Isaiah 3:1 depends.-At the first clause of ver. 17, comp. Gem 45:5, where Joseph says to his brethren, "And now be riot distressed be-cause you sold me, for God sent me before you for a support," 1. 20. On the second clause, Genesis 37:34. The exceeding copiousness of detail with which the Psalmist speaks of Joseph gives rise to the idea that he had before his mind a counterpart to Joseph in the Egypt of the present time. We might suppose that he alluded to the ten tribes, who are spoken of by the name of Joseph in Psalms 80:1, but the description will not suit this Joseph, for he had nothing in common with the old one except the single circumstance that he was taken to Egypt before Judah. It is not told in history that he prepared for him a city there. On the other hand, an astonishing light breaks in upon the picture, if we look at the second Joseph in Daniel. The striking simi-larity between Joseph and Daniel is clear as day. Daniel had been led away into captivity in the fourth year of Jehoiakim; an interpretation of a dream procured for hint an influential posi-tion, which put it within his reach to promote the welfare of his captive brethren, whose pride he was according to the testimony of Ezekiel, and finally, to effect their deliverance.-That Joseph was fettered in prison, ver. 18, is expressly said in Genesis 40:3; comp. also 39:20, 22, according to which all the prisoners in the king's prison were bound. Still his fetters were assuredly light, after he obtained the favour of the keeper of the prison, 39:21, ss. The miserable condition of Joseph as a prisoner, and his subsequent deliverance, are described at such length, be-cause the Psalmist sees in him a picture of "those bound in misery and iron," Psalms 107:10. The Keri, his foot, depends on the miserable ground that the fetter is singular. That the ברזל is the accusative is clear from the simple ground that it is mas-culine. The whole person is denoted by the soul, (at Psalms 103:5), because the soul of the captive suffers still more than the body. Imprisonment is one of the most severe trials to the soul. Even to spiritual heroes, such as a Savonarola and St Cyran (Ste Beuve hist. de Port. royal, P. i.), the waters often go over the soul.-The word of Joseph (the suffix refers every where to Joseph in this connection) is that by which he interpreted to the a It has been maintained without any reason, that אסר also signifies to make cap- tive, to keep in custody any one not bound. Custody without bonds was not common. royal servants their dreams in prison; comp. Genesis 41:13, "And as he interpreted so it happened, me he restored to my place, and him he hanged," and also the 14th verse, "then Pharoah sent and called Joseph, and they took him out of the prison, and he shaved his beard and changed his clothes and came to Pharoah." As the verification of the interpretation of the dreams on the part of Joseph and his deliverance are connected together as cause and effect, no notice is taken of the interval of two years which elapsed between them, Genesis 41 :i. The word of the Lord in the second clause is, according to ver. 11 and 42, the promise of the possession of Canaan, the accomplishment of which demanded the preceding residence in Egypt. The purifying of Joseph in the eyes of men, the establishment of his character, is at-tributed to the living and powerful word of God, because it happened on account of it. The words depend upon Psalms 18:30, "the word of the Lord (his promise) is purified:" the word of the Lord, because pure, purified; and it was the reference to that passage which led to the strange expression.-On ver. 21 comp. Genesis 41:40; Genesis 41:41, and as the most exactly accordant fundamental passage, 45:8.--The figurative expression, to bind, in ver. 21, was occasioned by the reference to "his soul came into iron," in ver. 18: the soul once bound now binds princes. That the expression is not to be taken in a literal sense, is evident not only from the parallel but also from the fundamental passages, in which no mention is any where made of imprisonment, but always only of obedience; compare Genesis 41:44, "without thee no man shall move his hand or his foot in all the land of Egypt," but especially ver. 40, "thou shalt be over my house, and all my people shall kiss thy mouth." Besides we have בנפשו, which, according to the בכבל, in ver. 18, and the usual sense of the ב after the verb of binding, Psalms 149:8, must be explained with his soul, so that the soul is what binds the fetter. On the second clause, comp. Genesis 41:39, where Pharoah declares Joseph to be the man of the greatest understanding and wisdom, and on the ground of this exalts him to the highest honour.-That Jacob in ver. 23 is the man, is manifest from "his people" in ver. 24. Still he came with his whole house, Genesis 45. The verse is an appendage to ver. 16; Jacob came on the occasion of a famine, Ver. 16, and was introduced by Joseph who had risen to thehighest honour, ver. 17-22. He sojourned, Genesis 47:4. In the land of Ham, Psalms 78:51. Ver. 24-28. -Ver. 24. And he made his people very fruitful, and stronger than their enemies. Ver. 25. He turned their heart to hate his people, to use subtlety against his servants. Ver. 26. He sent Moses his servant, Aaron whom he chose. Ver. 27. They laid down beside them all his signs and won-ders in the land of Ham. Ver. 28. He sent darkness, and made it dark, and they resisted not his word.-On ver. 24, comp. Genesis 17:6; Genesis 28:3, Exodus 1:7; Exodus 1:9. Berleb: "Behold there the concealed blessing in the secret of the cross. Under it here the people of God are in the most fruitful state." The expression "he made them strong," does not refer to the mere increase of numbers, but, as is evident from the clause, "more in number and stronger than we," of the fundamental passage, to the strength arising from this increase.-In ver. 25 the great ration-alism of Lutheran theology in regard to the relation of God to the wicked, comes out in the many forced translations and arbi-trary expedients which have been had recourse to in connection with the passage; compare on the co-operation of God in evil, which for example brings it about that a certain person writes a life of Jesus instead of gratifying his evil passions in another way, Beitr. 3, p. 462 ss., and at Psalms 51:5.a He turned, ver. 25, (comp. 1 Samuel 10:9), in order that he might furnish an opportu-nity for the display of his wonderful power. In like manner, according to Isaiah 43:17, God led out Pharoah and his hosts to pursue the Israelites. The Hiph. of נכל occurs elsewhere only in Genesis 37:18, where it is used of the wicked plots of Joseph's brethren against him. It corresponds to the נתהכמה in Exodus 1:10.-Ver. 27 is according to Psalms 78:43. The things of his signs,-the whole number of them, Psalms 145:5, and at Psalms 65:3.-The sending of darkness in verse 28 is to be taken in a figurative sense the impending displea- a Calvin: "We see that it is deliberately propounded by the prophet that the whole government of the church is subject to God. . . . And this is expressly affirmed, lest we should think that the hearts of the wicked run freely on to our destruction. But this ought to be sufficient for us that, whatever plots the devil end wicked men may lay against us, God restrains their efforts; faith is doubly confirmed when we hear that, not only their hands, but even their hearts and their minds are held bound, so that they can- not even lay a single plan except what God permits." sure and misery; the Egyptians were, in this sense, covered with darkness from the first to the last plague. The second-last plague in Egypt, Exodus 10:22; Exodus 10:23, is only alluded to. This plague was well-fitted to serve as the basis for such a figurative repre-sentation, as even in the Mosaic account it manifestly bears a symbolical character, from which the singular prominence given to darkness admits of being explained: the darkness which co-vered Egypt was an image of the divine wrath; comp. Egypt and the Books of Moses, p. 123. Against the idea that the ninth plague comes into notice here in the same way in which the others do, which are mentioned in the following verses, may be urged the formal arrangement-it would not be glanced at in a general way, but would, like the rest, have a separate part assigned to it --next, the circumstance that the following plagues, with the in-significant exception of the plague of the gnats and flies, are introduced in their historical order, and finally, the completely decisive ground, that, even by this plague, the heart of Pharaoh was not broken; to which, therefore, the second clause is not suit-able, whereas it becomes perfectly suitable, as soon as the dark-ness is considered as comprehending the ten plagues, and, of course, the destruction of the first born; comp. ver. 36, which corresponds to the second clause here. Several interpreters, to get out of the difficulty, refer the second clause, in a most unsa-tisfactory manner, to Moses and Aaron. A similar figurative use of darkness, finally, occurs, for example, in Isaiah 45:7, "Mak-ing light and creating darkness, making peace and creating evil," 1. 3, "I will clothe the heaven in darkness." The ך`ישהה never means " to be dark," always "to make dark," comp. Amos 5:8, "He makes the day dark into night," also Psalms 139:12, Jeremiah 13:16, "before he make it dark." The margin, "his word," instead of "his words," has proceeded merely from a misappre-hension of the obviously correct sense, and of the meaning arising from it, that the discourse here can be only of a single word of cod, either to the Egyptians or to Moses and Aaron. Ver. 29-38.-Ver. 29. He changed their water into blood, and killed their fish. Ver. 30. He filled their land with frogs, in the chambers of their kings. Ver. 31. He spake, there came vermin, midges in all their boundaries.-Ver. 32. He gave hailfor their rain, flaming fire in their land. Ver. 33. And des-troyed their vine and their fig-tree; and brake the trees of their boundaries. Ver. 34. He spake, there came locusts, and cater-pillars without number. Ver. 35. And they consumed all the grass in their land, and consumed the fruit of their field.-Ver. 36. And he smote all the first born, in their land, the firstlings of all strength. Ver. 37. And he led them out with silver and gold, and there was no one that stumbled among their tribes. Ver. 38. Egypt was glad when they went out, for fear had fal-len upon them.-This representation of the Egyptian plagues in detail, which terminates in the same way in ver. 38, in which the general view did in ver. 28, falls into two groups of three and seven verses, of which the last is again divided by a four and a three. Of the ten plagues of Egypt, only seven are mentioned, the omissions being the fifth and the sixth, the destruction of the cattle and the boils, and the ninth, the darkness, the same which are omitted in Psalms 78. Four plagues are allotted to the first group, and three to the second, two of which are described in the first portion, while the second is wholly filled up with the last de-cisive plague.-That in ver. 29 the emphasis lies upon the result, the death of the fish, is clear from the consideration, that in this way unity is imparted to this first group;--he deprived them of their beloved fish, and gave them, in and out of the water, hated frogs, and in addition to this, upon their land abominable flies and gnats. Psalms 78:44, Exodus 7:18; Exodus 7:21, are to be compared. -On the second clause of ver. 30, comp, Exodus 7:28. Their kings,-because the king represented kings, and dwelt in the king's palace.-In ver. 31, the little gnats, which are wholly omitted in Psalms 78. (comp. on כנים Egypt, p. 113), must take precedence of the larger flies, Psalms 78:45.-In the first divi-sion of the second group, in the transition from the animal to the vegetable kingdom, the hail which destroyed the trees, and the locusts which destroyed the plants, are bound together in one pair;-the whole food of the people was thus destroyed, Genesis 1:29. -In ver. 32, the allusion to Leviticus 26:4, "And I give you rain in its season," shows that נתן is to be taken in the sense of to give and not to make for anything:--he gave to them as their rain, or instead of the mild fertilizing rain which he gives to his people in its season, destructive hail with lightning, a fine gift ifthey would consider it as such. On the second clause, comp. Psalms 78:48.-In reference to the vine, in ver. 33, comp. at Psalms 78:47.-In ver. 34 ילק the licker, stands in parallel with thelocust, as does הסיל, the gnawer�epithets of the locust; comp. the Christol. 3, p. 351.-On ver. 35, comp. Exodus 10:5. -In ver. 36, the divine vengeance proceeds from the food of man to man himself; comp. "he smote" here with the same word in ver. 33. The ninth plague must be left out because it destroyed this progress. It is omitted for a similar reason in Psalms 78. For the same reason, the ravages which the hail made among the cattle are not alluded to. Psalms 78:51 is to be compared: "He smote all the first born in Egypt, the firstlings of the strength in the tents of Ham." The borrowing here cannot fail to be observed.-With, silver and gold,-the silver and golden vessels of the Egyptians, which they received from them at their departure as presents; comp. Beitr. 3. p. 507 ss. The second clause depends upon Exodus 13:18, "And the children of Israel went strong out of the land of Egypt," comp. Isaiah 5:27.-On ver. 38, comp. Exodus 11:1; Exodus 12:31-33, according to which Pharaoh sent away the children of Israel by neck and shoulder, "for they said, We shall all die." On the second clause, Exodus 15:16, Deuteronomy 11:25. Ver, 39-45. -Ver. 39. He spread out a cloud for a covering, and fire during the night to give light. Ver. 40. They asked, he caused quails to come, with the bread of heaven he satis- fied them. Ver. 41. He opened the rock, waters gushed out, ran in dry places like a river. Ver. 42. For he remembered his holy word with Abraham his servant.-Ver. 43. And thus he led out his people with joy, his chosen ones with a shout. Ver. 44. And gave to them the lands of the heathen, and they received the labour of the nations. Ver. 45. So that they should have observed his statutes, and kept his laws. Halleluja.-He spread out a cloud for a covering, ver. 39, namely, during their journeys; for while they lay encamped, it rested over the taber-nacle. Numbers 10:34, ought to be compared: "And the cloud of the Lord was over them by day, when they rose up from their encampment." In the burning wilderness the cloud was a pro-tection to the congregation of the Lord against the sun (comp. Isaiah 4:5; Isaiah 4:6, an emblem of the protection of the favour of Godwhich at all times watches over his church (comp. the interpreta-tion given by Isaiah in other passages); and during the night the pillar of cloud and fire enlightened the darkness, an emblem of the light which the Lord makes to shine at all times upon the darkness of the misery of his church. The spreading out does not suit the second clause; we have, therefore, a Zeugma. That לילה) is an adverb is evident from Numbers 9:16, "The cloud co-vered it and the appearance of fire by night," where, as here, "by day" is omitted; and also from Exodus 13:21. Psalms 78:14, ought to be compared.-The שאל. in ver. 40 is impers. they asked. In reference to the quails, comp. Psalms 78:26; Psalms 78:27, and the manna, ver. 22-25. The bread of heaven is from Exodus 16:4; comp. Psalms 78:24; Psalms 78:25. On "He satisfies them," comp. Exodus 16:3; Exodus 16:8; Exodus 16:12.-On ver. 41, comp. Psalms 78:20, on ציה Psalms 78:17, on נהר ver. 16.�For he remembered, ver. 42, Ber-leb.: "That we may again come to the fountain from which have flowed so many and so great acts of kindness on the part of God towards his people." The holy = glorious word of God, far above all feebleness and deceit,-is the word regarding the pos-session of Canaan, comp. ver. 8 and 11. The fundamental pas-sage is Exodus 2:24, "And God remembered his covenant with Abraham, and with Isaac, and with Jacob;" comp. "which he confirmed with Abraham," ver. 9. We cannot translate "to Abraham," for the word is not one which God merely uttered, but one which he gave.-On ver. 44, comp. Psalms 78:55.-On ver. 45, Deuteronomy 4:40; Deuteronomy 26:17, Psalms 78:7. The observance of the commandments of God by Abraham appears even in Genesis 18:19, as the object of the covenant. The Psalmist adds at the conclusion a fatal knot. The observance of the command-ments of God is the object for which Israel has had given to him possession of Canaan, and these commandments Israel has wil-fully violated; the word of God, therefore, regarding the posses-sion of Canaan to the patriarchs, and all that God has done in the days of old in fulfilment of that word, can furnish no support whatever to his hopes. The business of the following Psalm is to untie this knot. Psalms 106. May God, who is rich in mercy towards his own people, ver. 1, 2, if indeed they walk according to his commandments, ver. 3, manifest also at the present time this mercy towards his suffering church, ver. 4, 5. Assuredly we have sinned grievously, and hitherto have not fulfilled the condition of salvation; and therefore, instead of salvation, we have had severe punishment, in Egypt, ver. 6-12, in the wilderness, ver. 13-33, and in Canaan, where the consummation of the sins of the people has at last led to the con-summation of the punishment, the captivity and the desolation, ver. 34-43. But as on former occasions, the mercy of God shone forth in many ways through his wrath, so has he even now heard the cry of his people in their deserved misery, and turned towards them the heart of his oppressors, so that, in spite of his sins, which brought to a termination the prayer begun in ver. 4, 5, he can full of confidence call upon the Lord to complete the work which he had begun, and to gather them from among the heathen, ver. 44-48. The beginning and the conclusion, which consist each of five verses, make up a decade. The name Jehovah occurs in all in these verses seven times, four times in ver. 1-5, and three in ver. 44-48. The representation of the sins of the people is complete in four strophes, of which the first, containing seven verses, repre-sents the transgressions in Egypt, the second and third, each con-taining ten verses, the transgressions in the wilderness, ver. 13-22, and ver. 24-33, and the third, containing likewise two, the transgressions in Canaan. The two first strophes are separated from the two last by an intercalary verse, ver. 23, which this Psalm has in common with Psalms 104:104; Psalms 104:105 :The fourth strophe, corresponding to the decade of the beginning and the conclusion, is divided by a five and a five, while the second is devided by a three and a seven. The situation is described exactly in ver. 46 and 47. A better turn of fortune has visited the Israelities, inasmuch as the Lord has turned towards them the hearth of their oppressors, ver. 46, but still they are in captivity, scattered among the heathen, and full deliverance is still the object of desire and prayer, ver. 47; comp. also ver. 4 and 5. The situation therefore is that towards the end of the captivity, exactly corresponding to that in the prayer of Daniel at the beginning of the Medo-Persian dynasty, eh. 9., a passage with which our Psalm is so intimately con-nected, that it may be considered as its lyrical echo. The re-sult thus set forth may still be adopted even though we were to conclude from the clause at the conclusion, "and all the people say Amen," that the Psalm was intended for use in the sanctuary, and must thus have been first composed after the return from the captivity. The situation in this case, instead of being a real, would be an assumed one. The Psalmist, with the design of leading the people into a full understanding of their own experience, would in this case place himself at the time immediately before complete security had been obtained in the room of the people who are here introduced as speaking from beginning to end. This conclusion is almost perfectly conclusive. Meetings for the public worship of God (and only such in general can be supposed to be implied in the conclusion) assuredly took place during the captivity: a people of God cannot exist without worshipping God. Our Psalm is the concluding portion of that trilogy of the cap-tivity which is appended to the Davidic trilogy, and with which it forms one whole. This is evident from the joyful conclusion,--a conclusion which manifestly belongs to one great whole-and also from the Halleluja at the beginning and at the end,-a cir-cumstance all the more decisive, as such a conclusion occurs also at Psalms 113., which is connected in a similar manner with Pss. 111:and 112.-in manifest connection with the simple Halleluja of Pss. 104. and 105. The design of the Psalm is to awaken the people to a lively consciousness of the truth, that though there is much of sin in us, there is much more of grace in God, and thus to untie the knot which the Psalmist had tied at the end of Psalms 105., to which ver. 3 here alludes in the intimation made of the dependence of the pos-session of Canaan upon obedience to the commandments of God, -to remove the enemy which threatened to rob the people of the help of which they had been assured by nature, Psalms 104., and by history, Psalms 105., and of the restoration to their own land. The main-character of the Psalm is that of a confession of sin. This is manifest from the general position placed at its head, "we have sinned with our fathers, we have committed iniquity, we have done wickedly," of which all that follows is to be considered merely as a development. It is also manifest from the circum-stance that the sinfulness of the people is the one thought which runs through all the strophes, and is the regularly and exclusively predominant one. It can be considered here only as a subordi-nate matter introduced in the way of preparation for the conclusion, to point to the divine compassion which insures deliverance to Israel, notwithstanding their sins, ver. 8-12, 23. The object of the confession of sin is in the first instance to re-present the hindrance to salvation in its whole extent and with full sharpness, so that the inventive spirit of men troubled by a conscience of sin might be able to add nothing to it. In such a case every thing depends upon the fact that nothing is covered over and palliated: it is only where an awakened conscience sees an entirely true representation of sin that it can appropriate to itself the offered consolation. At the same time, however, the full representation of sins by which the people had merited the judgments under which they were sighing might serve com-pletely to justify the former ways of God, and thus to remove one mighty hindrance to hope. It is only the man who gives fully the glory to God in reference to suffering, who sees nothing in it ex-cept deserved punishment, which with him cannot be misdirected, but must serve the promotion of his glory, that can give to him also the glory in reference to deliverance. It is only a true con-fession of sin that throws light upon the past as well as the future ways of God.a The older expositors give hence the impression which the Psalm ought to produce on the New Testament church: "O Lord, thou art a gracious God, be gracious to us also poor sinners, for the sake of thy covenant and of thy grace which thou hast promised in Christ, as thou hast been gracious to our forefathers in regard to their sins." In 1 Chronicles 16., there is given a Psalm-piece, consisting of the beginning of Psalms 105. (yet.. 1-15), the whole of Psalms 96., and a Calvin, "If God chastise us severely we immediately imagine that his promises have failed. But when, on the contrary, we are told that we bear the punishment which our sins have deserved, and the promises at the same time are held out to us, by which God offers himself as gracious, immediately we repent with our whole heart." the beginning (in ver. 34) and the end (in ver. 35-36) of our Psalm. According to the common idea the author of Chronicles is understood to relate that this composition was sung at the erection of the sanctuary on Sion under David. The older exposi-tors hence conclude that the three Psalms from which this frag-ment is made up, were composed by David, or at least in the time of David; in more modern times a proof has been got of the non- genuineness of Chronicles or of the arbitrary manner in which the Jews fixed the authors and the dates of the Psalms. But the whole depends upon a mistake. The description of the service which took place at the introduction of the ark of the covenant in 1 Chronicles 16 :terminates before the Psalm-piece is given: so that we cannot con-ceive of any use made of that Psalm-piece at this festival. David had already pronounced the blessing, ver. 2, and the people had been dismissed with gifts, with which, according to 2 Chronicles 6:18; 2 Chronicles 6:19, the festival was closed. A narrative is next given of the arrange-ment of the sacred music in the tabernacle. It is recorded next in ver. 7, that David on the same day caused thanks to be given by Asaph and his brethren, and on the occasion of the great memor-able day of the establishment of the sacred music, there is given the essence in ver. 8-16 of those Psalms which at all times were sung, accompanied by this music, in representation of the whole Psalter. The author of Chronicles naturally formed his compo-sition out of these Psalms which were sung in his day most fre-quently, and with the greatest relish. In like manner it was natural that he should not bind himself strictly to the text of the borrowed passages, but should introduce slight variations where-ever such seemed suitable. The defence lies in this, that he does not, like the author of the Books of Samuel, in 2 Samuel 22., pledge himself to give a faithful transcript of another man's labour, but has rather published expressly an abstract by himself; and we must therefore expect it a priori to be given with that freedom which is manifested in selecting from Psalms 105. only the beginning, and from our Psalm the beginning and the conclusion. Ver. 1-5.-Ver. 1. Halleluja, praise the Lord, for he is good, for his mercy lasts for ever. Ver. 2. Who can express the mighty deeds of the Lord, shew forth all his praise. Ver. 3. Blessed are they who keep judgment, practise righteousness at all times. Ver. 4. Remember me, O Lord, with the favourof thy people, visit me with thy salvation. Ver. 5. So that see the good of thy chosen, rejoice with the joy of thy people: be glad with thine inheritance.-The beginning, praise the Lord, corresponds designedly to that of Psalms 105. The enduring of the goodness, = the being good of the Lord, is the eternal duration of his mercy; compare at the fundamental passage, Psalms 105.-The transcendant greatness of the deeds of God, ver. 2, ought not to keep us back from praising him, but contains in it the strongest motive to praise, comp. Psalms 40:5; Psalms 71:15; the further off the goal is, the more earnestly must we strive.-The third verse points to the condition with which participation in the eternal mercy of God is connected, in agreement with Psalms 105:45; Psalms 103:18; Psalms 103:101.;--the import being, "Blessed the people, if they only." The church does not allow herself to be incidentally turned aside by this important "if," but proceeds onward from praising the mercy of the Lord; ver. 4 and 5, to pray that that mercy may be imparted to her. After she had offered up such a prayer, how-ever, it goes to her heart with a hundred fold greater weight; she acknowledges that the condition by no means exists in her case, and lays hold of the compassion of God as the last anchor of deliverance. It is exactly in the same way that the confes-sion of sin in Daniel 9:4, is appended to the words, “ he keepeth covenant and mercy for ever, for those who love him.” In ver. 4 it is not the Psalmist himself that speaks, but the present ge-neration, compare ver. 6-such personal references are very rarely to be adopted in these Psalms that were composed at the period of the captivity and subsequently, and indeed scarcely ever in any of the non-Davidic Psalms. The conclusion of the Psalmshows that the speaker is the people. They pray in their misery to the Lord, who appeared to have forgotten them, that he would think upon them and visit them with that favour which belongs to his own people, and which they them-selves had so readily enjoyed in early times. The גוי ver. 5,is used also in other passages of Israel when עם had preceded, for example, Zephaniah 2:9. The inheritance of God is Israel, com-pare Deuteronomy 9:29. Ver. 6-12.-Ver. 6. We have sinned with our fathers, we have transgressed, we have done wickedly. Ver. 7. Our fathers in Egypt understood not thy wonders, they thought not on the multitude of thy tender mercies, and rebelled at the sea, at the Red Sea. Ver. 8. And he delivered them for his name's sake, that he might make known his strength. Ver. 9. And rebuked the Red Sea, when it was dried up, and he led them through the floods as through the wilderness. Ver. 10. And delivered them from the hand of him who, hated them, and redeemed them from the hand of the enemy. Ver. 11. And the waters covered their enemies, there was not one of them left. Ver. 12. Then they believed in his word, they sang his praise.-The three verbs iu ver. 6, by which in the most impressive manner the great-ness of the transgressions of the people is descried, occur also in 1 Kings 8:47, in the prayer of Solomon at the dedica-tion of the temple, and also in Daniel 9:5, in the same order and in a similar connection. 1 Kings 8:47 is undoubtedly the fundamental passage. There occurs also an undeniable reference in ver. 46 to the prayer of Solomon, which the author of Kings took from its ancient source, so that no deduction can be drawn from it as to the date of composition of these books; compare ver. 50 there. With our fathers,--along with them, so that we and they together form one corrupted mass. The transgressions of the fathers of Israel, the Mosaic generation (compare ver. 7, Psalms 78:8; Psalms 78:12), are next given in detail, in ver. 7-33, and their own sins or those of Israel in Canaan, ver. 34-43.-On ver. 7 compare Psalms 78:11; Psalms 78:42; on המרה at 78:17. The ex-pressive mention of the locality is intended to direct attention to this the first place where Israel's hardness of heart was displayed after the omnipotence and the grace of God had been made known to them in the ten plagues of Egypt. It appears that in the description of the locality allusion is made to Exodus 15:4, "the chariots of Pharoah and his host he cast into the sea, and his chosen warriors were drowned in the Red Sea." The conjecture עלים, referring to the Red Sea, is decidedly to be rejected. The ב can be accounted for only by its coming after the more exact word על. But for it, the rebellion must be conceived of as having taken place in the sea.-For his name's sake, ver. 8,-compare Psalms 23:3; Psalms 25:11.-He rebukes, ver. 9, compare 104:7. On "as the wilderness," concisely, for "as one goes through the wilderness," compare Isaiah 63:13, "who led them through the floods, like the horse in the wilderness, they did not stumble." 274 THE BOOK OF PSALMS. -Ver. 12 depends on Exodus 14:31; on the second clause com-pare Exodus 15:1. That Israel believed is not said to his praise, but to the praise of God who constrained them as it were to a momentary faith, and in view of the following paragraph, accord-ing to which they immediately lost this faith thus wrought in them. Out of the number of the transgressions of the people in the wilderness, the Psalmist gives prominence in the first decade to three, ascending, without any regard to arrangement as to time, from the smaller to the greater: eager impatience in demanding flesh, ver. 13-15, rebellious attack upon the rank given to the princes by God, ver. 16-18, direct attack upon God in erecting and worshipping the calf, ver. 19-22. The reason why the Psal-mist dwells at such length upon the sins of Israel in the wilder-ness, is not merely because these are detailed in the Books of Moses as a glass for all future times, but because he sees in the exclusion, as the consequence of these, of that sinful generation from Canaan, a type of the leading away into captivity from Ca-naan of their posterity, comp. ver. 27. Ver. 13-22.-Ver. 13. They hasted, forgot, waited not for his counsel. Ver. 14. And lusted in the wilderness, and tempted God in the desert. Ver. 15. And he gave them their desire, and sent leanness into their soul. Ver. 16. And they envied Moses in the camp, Aaron the holy one of the Lord. Ver. 17. The earth opened and swallowed up Dathan, and covered the com- pany of Abiram. Ver. 18. And a fire was kindled among their company, flame burnt up the wicked. Ver. 19. They made a calf in Horeb, and worshipped a molten image. Ver. 20. And changed their glory into the image of an ox that eateth grass. Ver. 21. They forgot God their Saviour, who had done great things in Egypt. Ver. 22. Wonders in the land of Ham,, terrible things at the Red Sea.-On ver. 13, Berleb: "It might well be said, except ye see signs and wonders ye will not believe," John 4:48. On "they hasted," comp. Exodus 32:8, "they have turned aside hastily from the way which I commanded them." His works, comp. Deuteronomy 11:3; Deuteronomy 11:4, Daniel 9:14. For his counsel, "inasmuch as he had already determined when and how he should help them," Berleb.:a -On ver. 14 comp. Numbers 11:4, "And the mixed mul- a Calvin. "The haste of our desires is astonishing, so much so that we can scarcely titude who were among them lusted a lust. . . And they said, who shall give us flesh to eat, ver. 34, and they called the place the graves of lust, because there they buried the people who had lusted." Improper conduct of a similar kind had already been exhibited in connection with the want of support, but the Psalmist brings forward this case here because the sin was more aggravated-formerly it was impatience when in want of the necessaries of life, but here it was lusting--and because a divine judgment was connected with it. On the second clause comp. Psalms 78:18.-On "he gave them their desire," ver. 15, comp. Numbers 11:18, ss., Psalms 78:29, "he gratified their appetite," The וישלה, and thus sent, even by this; comp. at Psalms 78:30. The נפש is the animal, food needing soul; comp. at Psalms 78:18; Psalms 107:18, Numbers 11:6, "And now our soul is dried up." This soul, while it desired to be satisfied and filled by this bounty, got its wish, but at the same time in spite of this gift it got also the opposite and its own punishment; for immediately there came on wasting sickness which at last ended in death.-On ver. 16 comp. Numbers 16:1, ss. On "Aaron the holy one of the Lord"-"holy" does not denote a moral property but the office which he held, his nobility, comp. at Psalms 16:3 -comp. Numbers 16:3, where the rebels say, "the whole congregation, they are all holy, and wherefore do ye exalt yourselves above the congregation of the Lord, ver. 5, in the morning the Lord will make known who is his and who is holy, ver. 7, he whom the Lord shall choose he is the holy one."-The rebellion was followed by a double punish-ment. The first, ver. 17 here, fell upon the non-Levitical portion of the rebels, the Reubenites, Dathan and Abiram, and their dependants; comp. Numbers 16. (the people of Korah there are the associates belonging to the tribe of Reuben, of him the chief ringleader), 26:10, Deuteronomy 11:6. These were swallowed up by the earth. On the first clause comp. Numbers 16:32, "and the earth opened her mouth," which is here to be supplied, Deuteronomy 11:6; on the second, Numbers 5:33, "and the earth covered them." The second punishment fell upon the Levitical portion, with Korah at their head, comp. Numbers 16:35; Numbers 17:5; Numbers 26:10. These had sinned by fire and were punished by fire like the sons of allow God one day. For unless he immediately answer our call, instantly there arise impatience and at length despair." Aaron, Leviticus 10:2. A similar correspondence between the trans-gression and the punishment existed in the first fall; the depth of the fall marks by way of contrast the height of the exaltation, comp. Isaiah 14:12.-The indirect assault upon the Lord in his counsel and in his holy one is followed in ver. 19 by the direct one. They made-contrary to the prohibition in Exodus 20:4; Exodus 20:5 -a calf, intended to represent an ox. They would gladly have made an ox, but they were not able to get this length, so con-temptible was the undertaking. The name, calf, is generally used in contempt; the worshippers without doubt called it a bull, according to Philo they made "a golden bull;" comp. the en-quiries on the calf-worship in the Beitr. 2 p. 155, ss. Allusion is made to Exodus 32:4, "And he made it a golden calf."-Their glory, ver. 20-the God who, had lifted them from the dust of de-basement to the glory of the children of God, and had distinguished them above all other nations; comp. Deuteronomy 4:6-8; Deuteronomy 10:21, "he is thy praise (thy glory), thy God, who hath done to thee this great and terrible thing which thine eyes have seen." The תבנית is from, Deuteronomy 4:16; Deuteronomy 4:17. On the whole verse comp. Jer. 2:11. Israel had intended to have worshipped Jehovah under the symbol of the calf or the bull, which they borrowed from the Egyptians (comp. the Beitr. p. 157); but as this symbolizing was incompatible with the nature of Jehovah, they did in reality by it give up the Lord al-together, (comp. 1-Kings 14:9, Beitr. p. 159), and were given up by him. They had therefore now, instead of the Lord of heaven and earth-O sinful stupidity!-nothing but an ox which can and will do nothing else than eat grass.-On ver. 21, 22, comp. the full description of the great deeds of the Lord in Egypt, as given in Psalms 105:27, se. In the land of Ham, Psalms 105:23; Psalms 105:27. The end of the strophe turns back to its beginning in ver. 13. Ver. 23. And he said he would destroy them, had not Moses his chosen stood before him in the breach, to turn away his wrath that he should not destroy them. The length of this verse harmonises with its important position. Long verses occur in our Psalm only where prominence is intended to be given to some important point. On "he said," not "he thought," Deuteronomy 9:13, comp. ver. 8. Before "had not" we are to supply, "this would really have happened." To stand in the breach-like a warrior who covers with his body the brokenpart of the wall of a besieged city, comp. Exodus 13:5; Exodus 22:30. The weapon with which Moses defended the spiritual city is in-tercessory prayer, comp. Exodus 32:11-44, Deuteronomy 9:18; Deuteronomy 9:19. In reference to the הישב turned away, comp. Psalms 78:38, and the fundamental passage, Numbers 25:11, "Phineas turned away my anger from the children of Israel." Moses in this matter is not to be considered as a stranger to the people, but as their re-presentative and intercessor. Because at least in him the leader, there was realized the idea of the people, God looked graciously upon the whole people in him, and withdrew the real but quali-fied determination which he had formed to destroy them, Exodus 32:10, after it had been made known that the object of the qualification of the determination existed, a manifestation which was brought about in consequence of the announcement which had been made of the bare determination. And the circumstance that the nation at the very commencement of its history owed its preservation from destruction to mediation was sufficient to show the depth of sinful corruption, and also how little hope could exist of salvation in any other way than through the mercy of God. Ver. 24. And they despised the land of beauty, they believed not his word. Ver. 25. And murmured in their tents, and did not hearken to the voice of the Lord. Ver. 26. And he lifted up his hand on them and overthrew them in the wilderness. Ver. 27. And that he overthrew their seed among the heathen, and scattered them in the lands. Ver. 28. And they bound them-selves also to Baal-peor, and ate the sacrifices of the dead. Ver. 29. And enraged him by their deeds, and the plague broke out among them. Ver. 30. Then stood up Phineas and judged, and the plague was stayed. Ver. 31. And it was reck-oned to him for righteousness for all generations for ever. Ver. 32. And they provoked him to anger at the waters of strife, and it went ill with Moses for their sakes. Ver. 33. For they rebelled against his spirit, so that he spoke inadvisedly with his lips.-This decade is divided not in the usual way by a 7 and a 3, or by a 5 and a 5, but by 4, 4, 2. First, the rebellion after the sending of the spies and its consequences, ver. 24-27, next the sins of the new generation, their participation in the Moab-itish idolatry, ver. 28-31, and the offence at Meribah, ver. 32, 33. The transgressions of the fathers reach the amount of seven; inthe first strophe, one in Egypt, in the second and third, the doubled three in the wilderness. These seven stand opposed to the seven wonders and signs of God on behalf of his people in the preced-ing Psalm, according to "do ye thus requite the Lord, O foolish people," in Deuteronomy 32:6. In the books of Moses, also, the sevenfold temptations are set over against the sevenfold wonders and signs, Numbers 14:22.-On "they despised," ver. 24, comp. Numbers 14:31, "the land which you despised." הסדה never signifies a wish or a desire, but always beauty; comp. the Chris-tol. p. 354, and Jeremiah 3:19, where "the land of beauty" stands in parallel with "the goodly heritage." Allusion is made to the descriptions of the beauty of the land, such as Exodus 3:8, "a good and large land, flowing with milk and honey," Deuteronomy 11:11-15. They believed not his word, by which he repeatedly promises that he would give them the land, but rather the word of the faithless spies; comp. Psalms 78:22; Psalms 78:32.-The first clause of the 25th Verse is from Deuteronomy 1:27; the second from Numbers 14:22. -That the lifting up of the hand in ver. 26 is the gestureof swearing (several falsely: he lifted up his hand against them) is evident from Numbers 14:30, "ye shall not come into the land while I have lifted up my hand (comp. Genesis 14:22, Exodus 6:8) to make you dwell in it," in connection with the express mention of swearing in the case referred to in Num. ver. 28, Deuteronomy 1:34; Deuteronomy 2:14. On "that he had made them fall," comp. Numbers 14:29, "And your carcases shall fall in the wilderness," ver. 32.-The determi-nation against their seed, ver. 27, was not expressed at that time but on another occasion, Leviticus 26., Deuteronomy 28.; it was, however, implied in the determination against the fathers, and is here with propriety deduced from it. The להפיל cannot here be taken in any other sense than that in which it occurs in the preceding verse, not only because of the similarity of the expression, but also because of the intimate connection of the two facts which is intended to be brought into notice by the similarity of the ex-pression. The fundamental passage also, Leviticus 26:38, "and ye perish among the heathen, and your enemy consumes your land," shews how little reason there is for changing the construc-tion. The בגוים corresponds exactly to במדבר. The wilder-ness was not more destructive for the fathers than residence among the heathen shall be for the children; the latter is also inPsalms 107. spoken of as typified by the former. The second clause is from Leviticus 26:33, "And I will scatter you among the hea-then.” -The first clause of ver. 28 is from Numbers 25:3, comp, ver. 5.-They bound themselves is explained by "to walk after Baal-peor" of Deuteronomy 4:3. Baal-poor, the proprietor of Peor, was the name given to the Moabitish idol Kamosh only in that coun-try, from one of the places where lie was worshipped, Mount Peor, Numbers 23:28, at the foot of which Israel at that time lay encamped, comp. the Treatise on Balaam, p. 248 ss. The name never occurs except in connection with that locality and that cir-cumstance. It is manifest from the fundamental passage that by "the dead' are meant the dumb dead idols, 1 Corinthians 12:2, in opposition to the living God, Jeremiah 10:10, Numbers 25:2, "And they invited the people to the sacrifice of their God, and the peo-ple did eat and worshipped their God." The one word brings together what is spread out in Jeremiah 10:3-10, Psalms 115:5, ss. Other expositions are to be rejected, because they bring forward a cir-cumstance not mentioned in the original narrative, and to that narrative the Psalmist throughout confines himself-On ver. 29 comp. Numbers 25:18; Numbers 25:19, Psalms 78:58. The two members are related to each other as cause and effect; and because they thus provoked him, therefore. The פרץ is to break in, Exodus 19:24. -Ver. 30 agrees as to expression, still more literally with Numbers 17:13, "And he (Aaron) stood (propitiating) between the living and the dead, and the plague was stayed," and also with the fundamental passage concerning Phinehas, Numbers 25:8. The פלל signifies in Pi. always to judge; and this sense appears here entirely suitable as soon as we get a right view; objections such as those of Gousset disappear of their own accord, "Judicial authority and legal right were wanting." The act of Phinehas was a judicial one. The judges of Israel to whom Moses had given commandment, "let every one put to death his people who have bound themselves to Baal-peor," sat at the door of the tabernacle and wept, Numbers 25:5; Numbers 25:6, thus intimating their will, but at the same time their want of strength to judge, and exhorting every one who possessed it to act in their room, and under their autho-rity. When therefore the commandment was given, the desire to witness the execution existed in the ordinary judges, Phinehas came forward who possessed what they wanted in their room.- Ver. 23. And he said he would destroy them, had not Moses his chosen stood before him in the breach, to turn away his wrath that he should not destroy them. The length of this verse harmonises with its important position. Long verses occur in our Psalm only where prominence is intended to be given to some important point. On “he said,” not “he thought,” Deuteronomy 9:13, comp. Psalms 106:8. Before “had not” we are to supply, “this would really have happened.” To stand in the breach—like a warrior who covers with his body the broken part of the wall of a besieged city, comp. Exodus 13:5, Exodus 22:30. The weapon with which Moses defended the spiritual city is intercessory prayer, comp. Exodus 32:11-35, Deuteronomy 9:18-19. In reference to the äùéá, turned away, comp. Psalms 78:38, and the fundamental passage, Numbers 25:11, “Phineas turned away my anger from the children of Israel.” Moses in this matter is not to be considered as a stranger to the people, but as their representative and intercessor. Because at least in him the leader, there was realized the idea of the people, God looked graciously upon the whole people in him, and withdrew the real but qualified determination which he had formed to destroy them, Exodus 32:10, after it had been made known that the object of the qualification of the determination existed, a manifestation which was brought about in consequence of the announcement which had been made of the bare determination. And the circumstance that the nation at the very commencement of its history owed its preservation from destruction to mediation was sufficient to show the depth of sinful corruption, and also how little hope could exist of salvation in any other way than through the mercy of God. Ver. 24. And they despised the land of beauty, they believed not his word. Ver. 25. And murmured in their tents, and did not hearken to the voice of the Lord. Ver. 26. And he lifted up his hand on them and overthrew them in the wilderness. Ver. 27. And that he overthrew their seed among the heathen, and scattered them in the lands.Ver. 28. And they bound themselves also to Baal-peor, and ate the sacrifices of the dead. Ver. 29. And enraged him by their deeds, and the plague broke out among them. Ver. 30. Then stood up Phineas and judged, and the plague was stayed. Ver. 31. And it was reckoned to him for righteousness for all generations for ever.Ver. 32. And they provoked him to anger at the waters of strife, and it went ill with Moses for their sakes. Ver. 33. For they rebelled against his spirit, so that he spoke inadvisedly with his lips. This decade is divided not in the usual way by a 7 and a 3, or by a 5 and a 5, but by 4, 4, 2. First, the rebellion after the sending of the spies and its consequences, Psalms 106:24-27, next the sins of the new generation, their participation in the Moabitish idolatry, Psalms 106:28-31, and the offence at Meribah, Psalms 106:32-33. The transgressions of the fathers reach the amount of seven; in the first strophe, one in Egypt, in the second and third, the doubled three in the wilderness. These seven stand opposed to the seven wonders and signs of God on behalf of his people in the preceding Psalm, according to “do ye thus requite the Lord, O foolish people,” in Deuteronomy 32:6. In the books of Moses, also, the sevenfold temptations are set over against the sevenfold wonders and signs, Numbers 14:22. On “they despised,” Psalms 106:24, comp. Numbers 14:31, “the land which you despised.” ηξγδ never signifies a wish or a desire, but always beauty; comp. the Christol. p. 354, and Jeremiah 3:19, where “the land of beauty” stands in parallel with “the goodly heritage.” Allusion is made to the descriptions of the beauty of the land, such as Exodus 3:8, “a good and large land, flowing with milk and honey,” Deuteronomy 11:11-15. They believed not his word, by which he repeatedly promises that he would give them the land, but rather the word of the faithless spies; comp. Psalms 78:22, Psalms 78:32. The first clause of the (Psalms 106:25) 25th verse is from Deuteronomy 1:27; the second from Numbers 14:22. That the lifting up of the hand in Psalms 106:26 is the gesture of swearing (several falsely: he lifted up his hand against them) is evident from Numbers 14:30, “ye shall not come into the land while I have lifted up my hand (comp. Genesis 14:22, Exodus 6:8) to make you dwell in it,” in connection with the express mention of swearing in the case referred to in Numbers 14:28, Deuteronomy 1:34, Deuteronomy 2:14. On “that he had made them fall,” comp. Numbers 14:29, “And your carcases shall fall in the wilderness,” Psalms 106:32. The determination against their seed, Psalms 106:27, was not expressed at that time but on another occasion, Leviticus 26, Deuteronomy 28; it was, however, implied in the determination against the fathers, and is here with propriety deduced from it. The μδτιμ cannot here be taken in any other sense than that in which it occurs in the preceding verse, not only because of the similarity of the expression, but also because of the intimate connection of the two facts which is intended to be brought into notice by the similarity of the expression. The fundamental passage also, Leviticus 26:38, “and ye perish among the heathen, and your enemy consumes your land,” shows how little reason there is for changing the construction. The αβειν corresponds exactly to αξγαψ. The wilderness was not more destructive for the fathers than residence among the heathen shall be for the children; the latter is also in spoken of as typified by the former. The second clause is from Leviticus 26:33, “And I will scatter you among the heathen.” The first clause of Psa 106:28 is from Numbers 25:3, comp. Numbers 25:5. They bound themselves is explained by “to walk after Baal-peor” of Deuteronomy 4:3. Baal-peor, the proprietor of Peor, was the name given to the Moabitish idol Kamosh only in that country, from one of the places where lie was worshipped, Mount Peor, Numbers 23:28, at the foot of which Israel at that time lay encamped, comp. the Treatise on Balaam, p. 248 ss. The name never occurs except in connection with that locality and that circumstance. It is manifest from the fundamental passage that by “the dead’ are meant the dumb dead idols, 1 Corinthians 12:2, in opposition to the living God, Jeremiah 10:10, Numbers 25:2, “And they invited the people to the sacrifice of their God, and the people did eat and worshipped their God.” The one word brings together what is spread out in Jeremiah 10:3-10, Psalms 115:5, ss. Other expositions are to be rejected, because they bring forward a circumstance not mentioned in the original narrative, and to that narrative the Psalmist throughout confines himself On Psalms 106:29 comp. Num. 25:18, 19, Psalms 78:58. The two members are related to each other as cause and effect; and because they thus provoked him, therefore. The τψυ is to break in, Exodus 19:24. Psalms 106:30 agrees as to expression, still more literally with Numbers 17:13, “And he (Aaron) stood (propitiating) between the living and the dead, and the plague was stayed,” and also with the fundamental passage concerning Phinehas, Numbers 25:8. The τμμ signifies in Pi. always to judge; and this sense appears here entirely suitable as soon as we get a right view; objections such as those of Gousset disappear of their own accord, “Judicial authority and legal right were wanting.” The act of Phinehas was a judicial one. The judges of Israel to whom Moses had given commandment, “let every one put to death his people who have bound themselves to Baal-peor,” sat at the door of the tabernacle and wept, Numbers 25:5-6, thus intimating their will, but at the same time their want of strength to judge, and exhorting every one who possessed it to act in their room, and under their authority. When, therefore, the commandment was given, the desire to witness the execution existed in the ordinary judges, Phinehas came forward who possessed what they wanted in their room. At Psalms 106:31 we should compare for the expression Genesis 15:6, the only passage where it occurs, and for the subject, Deuteronomy 6:25, Deuteronomy 24:1, at Psalms 17, Psalms 24:5. The language does not refer to the first justification, but to the second, to the good works of one already in a state of grace, by which he obtains from God, who recompenses every one according to his works, a reward of grace, as Phinehas obtained on the present occasion the priesthood for his family, comp. Numbers 25:13. At the expression, “for all generations for ever,” we are to consider that these gifts may be lost temporarily in the same way in which they were won, and really were lost, as was the case with the family of David; and further, that the everlasting priesthood was promised to Phinehas only in opposition to the other descendants of Aaron, compare Deuteronomy 15:17, Leviticus 25:46, Christol. 2, p. 433. The strong prominence given to the deed of Phinehas, which was scarcely called for by the tendency of the Psalm, as also to the similar action of Moses, gives rise to the idea that the Psalmist had before his eyes a man of his own, day, who stood in the breach like the spiritual hero of antiquity. If this be so, the person alluded to can be only Daniel, according to Ezekiel 14:14, Ezekiel 14:20, according to the relation of our Psalm to Daniel 9, where Daniel in a very special manner stands in the breach on behalf of his people, and according to the manifest allusion to Daniel previously made in the preceding Psalm. On the waters of Meribah, Psalms 106:32, compare at Psalms 95:8. For their sakes, because their unbelief called forth the failure of faith on the part of Moses, comp. Deuteronomy 1:37, Deuteronomy 3:26, Beitr. B. p. 425. Psalms 106:23 develops “for their sakes” more fully, because while they rebelled against the spirit of the Lord, Moses spoke unadvisedly with his lips, he was so far affected by their rebellious unbelief that he momentarily became weak in faith, and doubting words fell from his lips, those viz., of Numbers 20:10, “Hear, ye rebels, shall we bring water for you out of the rock.” His spirit, not the Spirit of Moses, (Luther, for they vexed his heart), but the Spirit of God. For δξψδ with the accusative does not mean to vex or to embitter, but always to rebel against any one (comp. at Psalms 78:17; Psalms 78:56), and occurs in this sense even in Psalms 106:7, Psalms 106:43 of the present Psalm; the words, “to rebel against the Spirit of the Lord,” correspond to “to rebel against the words of God,” Psalms 107:11, Or against his month. “They rebelled,” stands in reference to “ye rebels,” of the fundamental passage. The spirit of the Lord is mentioned as his power and presence watching over Israel, comp. Isaiah 63:11, “who put his Holy Spirit in the midst of them,” Psalms 106:10, “And they rebelled and vexed his Holy Spirit,” Ephesians 4:30. The events at Meribah are designedly placed at the end, although they preceded those mentioned in Psalms 106:28-31. For the effects of the former extended to the latter. That Moses, the holy leader of the people, must die of their sin, before he entered the land of promise, gives us a deep insight into the sinfulness of the people, and makes us look upon them with trembling expectation, entering the land of promise. At ver. 31 we should compare for the expression Genesis 15:6, the only passage where it occurs, and for the subject, Deuteronomy 6:25; Deuteronomy 24:13, at Psalms 17:17; Psalms 24:5. The language does not refer to the first justification, but to the second, to the good works of one already in a state of grace, by which he obtains from God, who recompenses every one according to his works, a reward of grace, as Phinehas obtained on the present occasion the priesthood for his family, comp. Numbers 25:13. At the expression, "for all generations for ever," we are to consider that these gifts may be lost temporarily in the same way in which they were won, and really were lost, as was the case with the family of David ; and further, that the everlasting priesthood was promised to Phinehas only in opposition to the other descendants of Aaron, compare Deuteronomy 15:17, Leviticus 25:46, Christol. 2, p. 433. The strong pro-minence given to the deed of Phinehas, which was scarcely called for by the tendency of the Psalm, as also to the similar action of Moses, gives rise to the idea that the Psalmist had before his eyes a man of his own, day, who stood in the breach like the spi-ritual hero of antiquity. If this be so, the person alluded to can be only Daniel, according to Ezekiel 14:14; Ezekiel 14:20, according to the relation of our Psalm to Daniel 9., where Daniel in a very special manner stands in the breach on behalf of his people, and accord-ing to the manifest allusion to Daniel previously made in the pre-ceding Psalm.-On the waters of Meribah, ver. 32, compare at Psalms 95:8. For their sakes, because their unbelief called forth the failure of faith on the part of Moses, comp. Deuteronomy 1:37; Deuteronomy 3:26, Beitr. B. p. 425.-Ver. 33 developes "for their sakes" more fully, because while they rebelled against the spirit of the Lord, Moses was so far affected by their rebellious unbelief that he momenta-rily became weak in faith, and doubting words fell from his lips, those viz., of Numbers 20:10, "Hear, ye rebels, shall we bring water for you out of the rock." His spirit, not the Spirit of Moses, (Luther, for they vexed his heart), but the Spirit of God. For המרה with the accusative does not mean to vex or to embitter, but always to rebel against any one (comp. at Psalms 78:17; Psalms 78:56), and occurs in this sense even in ver. 7, 43 of the present Psalm; the words, "to rebel against the Spirit of the Lord," correspond to "to rebel against the words of God," Psalms 107:11, Or against his month. "They rebelled," stands in reference to "yerebels," of the fundamental passage. The spirit of the Lord is mentioned as his power and presence watching over Israel, comp. Isaiah 63:11, "who put his Holy Spirit in the midst of them," ver. 10, "And they rebelled and vexed his Holy Spirit," Ephesians 4:30. The events at Meribah are designedly placed at the end, although they preceded those mentioned in ver. 28-31. For the effects of the former extended to the latter. That Moses, the holy leader of the people, must die of their sin, before he entered the land of promise, gives us a deep insight into the sinfulness of the people, and makes us look upon them with trembling expectation, entering the land of promise. From the fathers the Psalmist turns in ver. 34-43 to the sons: in the first half of the decade, their sins, and in the second the judgment of God. Ver. 34. They did not destroy the nations, concerning whom the Lord spoke to them. Ver. 35. And mixed with the heathen and learned their works. Ver. 36. And served their idols, which were a snare to them. Ver. 37. And offered their sons and their daughters to the lords. Ver. 38. And shed innocent blood, the blood of their sons and of their daughters, whom they offered to the idols of Canaan, and the land was pol-luted with blood. Ver. 39. And they were defiled with their works, and committed whoredom with their deeds. Ver. 40. Then the anger of the Lord burned against his people, and he abhorred his inheritance. Ver. 41. And gave them into the hands of the heathen, and those who hated them ruled over them. Ver. 42. And their enemies oppressed them, and they were brought into subjection under their hand. Ver. 43. Many times did, he deliver them, but they rebelled against him with their counsel, and were brought low by their iniquity.-They did not destroy, ver. 34, not because of want of inclination, but because they were deficient in strength, in consequence of their guilt, not from feelings of compassion, but from want of holy zeal and from slothfulness. Concerning which the Lord spake to them, comp.23:32, 33, 34:11-15.--They mixed, ver. 35, in spite of the fresh warning of Joshua, Joshua 23:12; Joshua 23:13. A commen-tary is furnished by Judges 3:6, "And they took their daugh-ters for wives, and they gave their own daughters to their sons, and they served their gods," comp. Deuteronomy 7:3. Berleb.: "Ah! how common is such a mixture even among the pious at this day!" On the second clause, comp. Deuteronomy 18:9; Deuteronomy 20:18.-For asnare, ver. 36, for a cause of misery, inasmuch as it called down, upon them the wrath of God, comp. Exodus 10:7, Deuteronomy 7:16.-On "they offered their sons," ver. 37, Berleb.: "Among us such sa-crifices take place by careless bringing up of children, when parents encourage them for example in pride and other sins, offer them to the god of the world, carefully instil into their minds the maxims of the world, and fill them with love of vanity and show." The שדים occurs only here and in the fundamental passage, Deuteronomy 32:17, "They offered to Shedim, no-gods, gods which they knew not." The Shedim there corresponds to Elohim; the bad sense (Luther: to devils) does not lie in the word itself, but is deduced from the next word, "no-god," corres-ponding to "which they knew not" of the second clause. Hencethe word is not derived from שדד to destroy, nor from to be black, but from to rule. They are the ךץסיןי in 1 Cor. 8:5, the נסץפבםויע ךןףלןע טוןי, in Wis. 13:2, the poetical word for the prosaic Baal; comp. with the above passage in Deut., Judges 2:11; Judges 2:12, where we have first "they served Baalim," and afterwards "they walked after other gods." The bad sense which the word has in Syriac owes its existence to the influence of Christianity, "The gods of Canaan" in ver. 38 is the corres- ponding expression.-"They shed innocent blood," in ver. 38, de-pends upon Deuteronomy 19:10, "Innocent blood shall not be shed in thy land which the Lord thy God giveth thee for an inheritance, otherwise the guilt of blood shall be against thee." Which they offered,-contrary to the strict commandment, Deuteronomy 12:31; Deuteronomy 18:10. On "the laud was polluted with blood," comp. Numbers 35:33, "And ye shall not pollute the land with blood wherein ye are, for blood it pollutes the land." The law calls up every thing which may impress upon the conscience the horror of shed-ding blood; and the difference between Jehovah and Moloch is so very sharply marked on this point, that the delusion of those who would have it that both approximated deserves only commiseration. -Ver. 39 collects together the offence for the purpose of adding to it the punishment-because they thus, &c. The whoredom is of a spiritual character, for it is only of this that the language had been used in the first half of the strophe, the contents of which are here resumed; comp. Exodus 34:16, Leviticus 20:5; Leviticus 17:7, Numbers 14:33.-On ver. 40, comp. Psalms 78:59; Psalms 78:62.-On ver. 41, Judges 2:14. The second clause is according to Lev.26:17.-On the second clause of ver. 42, comp. Judges 3:30; Judges 8:28. -The frequent deliverances in ver. 43 are those during the judicial (Judges 2:16) and the regal period. By their counsel,-their corrupt ungodly plans. The expression "they were brought low by their iniquity," refers to the final complete degradation of the irreclaimable people in being led away into captivity. Allu-sion is made to the expression intended to refer in like man-ner to this last catastrophe, Leviticus 26:39, "they pine away also by their evil doings," where instead of מכך we have here מקק, comp. also Ezekiel 33:10. From the fathers the Psalmist turns in Psalms 106:34-43 to the sons: in the first half of the decade, their sins, and in the second the judgment of God. Ver. 34. They did not destroy the nations, concerning whom the Lord spoke to them. Ver. 35. And mixed with the heathen and learned their works. Ver. 36. And served their idols, which were a snare to them. Ver. 37. And offered their sons and their daughters to the lords. Ver. 38. And shed innocent blood, the blood of their sons and of their daughters, whom they offered to the idols of Canaan, and the land was polluted with blood. Ver. 39. And they were defiled with their works, and committed whoredom with their deeds. Ver. 40. Then the anger of the Lord burned against his people, and he abhorred his inheritance. Ver. 41. And gave them into the hands of the heathen, and those who hated them ruled over them. Ver. 42. And their enemies oppressed them, and they were brought into subjection under their hand. Ver. 43. Many times did he deliver them, but they rebelled against him with their counsel, and were brought low by their iniquity. They did not destroy, Psalms 106:34, not because of want of inclination, but because they were deficient in strength, in consequence of their guilt,—not from feelings of compassion, but from want of holy zeal and from slothfulness. Concerning which the Lord spake to them, comp. Exodus 23:32-33, Exodus 34:11-15. They mixed, Psalms 106:35, in spite of the fresh warning of Joshua, Joshua 23:12-13. A commentary is furnished by Judges 3:6, “And they took their daughters for wives, and they gave their own daughters to their sons, and they served their gods,” comp. Deuteronomy 7:3. Berleb.: “Ah! how common is such a mixture even among the pious at this day!” On the second clause, comp. Deuteronomy 18:9, Deuteronomy 20:18. For a snare, Psalms 106:36, for a cause of misery, inasmuch as it called down, upon them the wrath of God, comp. Exodus 10:7, Deuteronomy 7:16. On “they offered their sons,” Psalms 106:37, Berleb.: “Among us such sacrifices take place by careless bringing up of children, when parents encourage them for example in pride and other sins, offer them to the god of the world, carefully inculcate the maxims of the world, and fill them with love of vanity and show.” The ωγιν occurs only here and in the fundamental passage, Deuteronomy 32:17, “They offered to Shedim, no-gods, gods which they knew not.” The Shedim there corresponds to Elohim; the bad sense (Luther: to devils) does not lie in the word itself, but is deduced from the next word, “no-god,” corresponding to “which they knew not” of the second clause. Hence the word is not derived from ωγγ to destroy, nor from [Note: Arabic not reproduced ED.] to be black, but from [Note: Arabic not reproduced ED.] to rule. They are the κύριοι in 1 Corinthians 8:5, the πρυτάνειςκόσμουθεοὶ ?, in Ws 13:2, the poetical word for the prosaic Baal; comp. with the above passage in Deut., Judges 2:11-12, where we have first “they served Baalim,” and afterwards “they walked after other gods.” The bad sense which the word has in Syriac owes its existence to the influence of Christianity, “The gods of Canaan” in Psalms 106:38 is the corresponding expression.—“They shed innocent blood,” in Psalms 106:38, depends upon Deuteronomy 19:10, “Innocent blood shall not be shed in thy land which the Lord thy God giveth thee for an inheritance, otherwise the guilt of blood shall be against thee.” Which they offered,—contrary to the strict commandment, Deuteronomy 12:31, Deuteronomy 18:10. On “the laud was polluted with blood,” comp. Numbers 35:33, “And ye shall not pollute the land with blood wherein ye are, for blood it pollutes the land.” The law calls up everything which may impress upon the conscience the horror of shedding blood; and the difference between Jehovah and Moloch is so very sharply marked on this point, that the delusion of those who would have it that both approximated, deserves only commiseration. Psalms 106:39 collects together the offence for the purpose of adding to it the punishment—because they thus, &c. The whoredom is of a spiritual character, for it is only of this that the language had been used in the first half of the strophe, the contents of which are here resumed; comp. Exodus 34:17, Leviticus 20:5, Leviticus 17:7, Numbers 14:33. On Psalms 106:40, comp. Psalms 78:59, Psalms 78:62. On Psalms 106:41, Judges 2:14. The second clause is according to Leviticus 26:17. On the second clause of Psa 106:42, comp. Judges 3:30, Judges 8:28. The frequent deliverances in Psalms 106:43 are those during the judicial (Judges 2:16) and the regal period. By their counsel,—their corrupt ungodly plans. The expression “they were brought low by their iniquity,” refers to the final complete degradation of the irreclaimable people in being led away into captivity. Allusion is made to the expression intended to refer in like manner to this last catastrophe, Leviticus 26:39, “they pine away also by their evil doings,” where instead of ξλκ we have here ξχχ, comp. also Ezekiel 33:10. Ver. 44-48.-Ver. 44. And he saw in this their trouble, when he heard their complaint. Ver. 45. And remembered for them his covenant, and repented according to the fulness of his com- passion. Ver. 46. And caused them to be pitied before all who had taken them captive. Ver. 47. Deliver us, O Lord our God, and gather us from the heathen that we may praise thy holy name and boast of thy praise. Ver. 48. Praised be the Lord the God of Israel from eternity to eternity, and all the people say, Amen, Halleluja.-Ver. 44-46 contain the facts, impart courage to the conscience-smitten people to resume, in ver. 47, the prayer which had been begun in ver. 4 and 5.-God saw, ver. 44, the burden of the matter, their misery, Exodus 4:31, the object being to be supplied out of what follows. The seeing is the opposite of overlooking, comp. Exodus 2:25. "In the trouble to them" (comp. Psalms 18:6) is here, as in Psalms 107:6, from Deuteronomy 4:30, "in the trouble to thee when all these words strike thee."-On the first clause of ver. 45, comp. Leviticus 26:42, "and I remember for them my cove-nant with Jacob, and also my covenant with Isaac and my covenant with Abraham," and ver. 45. The promise which the Lord there imparts to his people for times of deepest trouble, he has now be-gun to fulfil. "He repented him," depends on Deuteronomy 32:36, "And it repented him of his servants," comp. at Psalms 90:13. In-stead of the singular ודס;הa, his mercy, the Masorites read theplural unseasonably referring to ver. 7. The mercies of the Lord are always the manifestations of his mercy, comp. at Psalms 89:2, also Isaiah 63:7, comp. Psalms 107:43. The discourse here, how-ever, is of the fulness of love dwelling in God. That the Kri must be rejected appears from the fundamental passage, Numbers 14:19, "pardon still thy people according to the greatness ofthy mercy," comp. Psalms 5:7; Psalms 69:13, Nehemiah 13:22. A similarly bad Kri is to be found in Lamentations 3:32.-Ver. 46 depends upon 1 Kings 8:50, comp. 2 Chronicles 30:9. The operation of God referred to here was seen in facts such as that "he gave Daniel favour and pity in the face of the keeper of the eunuchs," Dan. i. 9, and afterwards made him, and in him the whole people, ac-ceptable to Nebuchadnezzar and his successors, and softened the heart of Evilmerodach to have pity upon Jechonia, 2 Kings 25:27, so that generally the former bitter hatred against Judah was followed by a more favourable state of mind, by which the way was prepared for their deliverance from captivity and their return to their own land.-That ver. 44-46 refer to the captivity, and not, as many have supposed, to earlier times, is clear from the cir-cumstance that the Psalmist had gone on to the end of ver. 43 speaking about the captivity, from the clause "before all who led them away captives"--the Babylonish captivity was the first, comp. שובינו, in Psalms 137:3,�reference to the fundamental passages of the Pentateuch, which treat of the grace of God towards the people in captivity, and to 1 Kings 8.- There rises on the ground of the compassion of God, manifested already towards the people in spite of their sins, the prayer that God would complete his begun work, and collect together his people from among the heathen. This prayer depends upon Deuteronomy 30:3; comp. ver. 4, "And the Lord turn back to thy captivity, and have mercy upon thee, and gather thee from among all the nations among which the Lord thy God has scattered thee,"-a passage to which Isaiah alludes in ch. 11:12, when he beheld in spirit the captivity as already present, and also Micah in ch. 2:12. That the language here refers to the return of the great body of the people, as it took place afterwards in the first year of Cyrus, appears from the circumstance that there is not the least trace of a return which had already taken place, while at the same time an allusion to a commencement which had recently taken place would have given the best foundation for the prayer for a complete restoration, from the reference to the fundamental passage, from Psalms 107:3, where immediately after the first return, the thing which is here prayed for appears as having al-ready been imparted. 0n "that we may praise thy holy name," comp. "praise his holy memorial" in Psalms 30:4. The Hiph.of שבה, to glory in a thing, occurs only here and in Chron. 16:35 = התהלל in ver. 5. The praise of God is the praise which be procures for himself by his glorious deeds on behalf of his people, comp. Psalms 48:11, and Psalms 105:3, "boast yourselves in his holy name."-In ver. 48 the common translation is: "and let all the people say Amen." But that the translation ought to be, "and the people say," is evident from the fundamental pas-sage, Deuteronomy 27:15, "And the whole people answers and says, Amen," and from 1 Chronicles 16:36, where, instead of ואמר we have ויאמרו, and they say. The people strike in with these words. Further, according to the common idea, the verse is not to be con-sidered as an original part of the Psalm, but is the doxology added by the compiler of the Psalms as the conclusion of the fourth book. But against this it may be urged that it is incon-ceivable that the response used by the people was taken from the conclusion of a book which had no connection with public worship, that the author of Chronicles would not in this case have quoted it, that the verse is indispensable to the formal arrangement of the Psalm, that the conclusion of the Psalm breathing praise to God remarkably agrees with its beginning, which bears a similar character, and also with the conclusion of Psalms 104., that this doxo-logy differs from that at the end of the other books, Psalms 41:41; Psalms 72:72; Psalms 72:89., inasmuch as the Halleluja is there wanting, and the Amen is placed doubled, and that the Halleluja here is mani-festly shewn to be an integral portion of the Psalm by its corres-pondence with that at the beginning. We must therefore main-tain that the doxology formed originally the conclusion of the Psalm, and, at the same time, as its length shows, also of the whole collection, Psa_101:-106., and that it was made by the compiler to serve a second purpose, namely, to form the conclusion of the fourth book. Psalms 107. The Psalm begins in ver. 1 with an exhortation to praise God, as the object of which, in ver. 2, 3, there is given the deliver-ance of the church out of great trouble, and its collection out ofall lands. These gracious deeds are celebrated, in ver. 4-32, under different images: of those who wander up and down in the wilderness, hungry and thirsty, and now were led to an inhabited city, ver. 4-9; of those bound with fetters in dark prisons, who are now set at liberty, ver. 10-16; of those sick, who are now healed, ver. 17-22; of those who survive a great storm at sea, ver. 23-32. In this portion there exists a great similarity; first always the trouble, next the prayer, after this the deliverance, and finally the exhortation to give thanks. The words "they cry unto the Lord out of their trouble, and he delivers them out of their distresses," and "these may praise the Lord for his mercy, and for his wonders to the children of men," perpetually return. In the last strophe the similarity ceases. It celebrates, in three sections, the overthrow of the power of the world, and the exalta-tion of Israel, who has now been restored to his own home, has rebuilt his city there, cultivated his land, reaped its fruit, and prospers joyfully in all respects. A conclusion in ver. 43 con-tains an exhortation to render suitable thanks to the Lord for his favour. The fundamental number of the Psalm, which praises the ga-thering of Israel from the four ends of the earth (comp. ver. 3), is four. The introduction (the opening, ver. 1, the theme, ver. 2, 3) and the conclusion contain four verses. These enclose four strophes, one of twelve, one of seven, and two of ten verses. The strophe of twelve verses is divided into two halves, vet. 4-9, and ver. 17-22, in the midst of which there stands the strophe of seven verses. The signature of the people of the covenant is thus grouped round that of the covenant. The Psalm was, according to ver. 32, sung at a joyful national religious service, and, accord-ing to ver. 22, in connection with the bringing forward of thank-offerings, to which it stands related as soul to body. A very suitable occasion is furnished by the first celebration of the feast of tabernacles after the return from exile, when the whole of Israel were assembled at Jerusalem, and sacrifices were offered to the Lord upon the newly-erected altar; comp. Ezra 3:1 ss. The Psalm cannot have been composed earlier, because public worship was then for the first time resumed, and also because, as intimated in ver. 37, the first harvest was then over. And it cannot have been composed later, because, in the whole Psalm,there is no mention whatever made of the temple, which, had it existed, could not but have been mentioned in ver. 33-42, as it must have occupied a very prominent place among the gracious deeds of God; everywhere the language refers only to a new building of the city, ver. 36, and to a new cultivation of the land, ver. 37. In addition to this, we find everywhere the first joy and elevation of spirit; we see the congregation enjoying its recovery festival. Another state of mind very soon prevailed, the beginning of which was first seen at the second great festival, at the laying of the foundation of the house of the Lord in the se-cond year, comp. Es. 3:12; although, at that time, upon the whole, the joyful feeling still prevailed. The machinations of the enemies then came into view. Instead of this, the comparison is between the present and the immediate mournful, and the more remote prosperous past, and the splendid predictions of the pro-phets. In the prophecies of Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi, we find ourselves upon an altogether different territory; comp. the introduction to these prophets in the Christol. Our Psalm is closely related to Psalms 106. The similarity of the beginning points to this. Thanks are given here, ver. 3, for what forms there the object of desire, ver. 47. The praise of the Lord, which, in Psalms 106:47, is promised; should salvation be im-parted, is here rendered to him now that salvation is enjoyed. The points of contact, however, are only of the same kind as are those of Psa 104:104; Psalms 104:103., and are to be explained by suppos-ing that another Psalmist, at a later period, appended our Psalm to the group Psa_101:-106., and thus completed the number seven, the first and last word of which is the mercy of the Lord. Even the other points of connection are not of such a kind as neces-sarily to demand the identity of the author. The author, how-ever, may be the same (what renders it very possible, yea, pro-bable, is that Psa_104:-106. were composed towards the end of the captivity, and our Psalm in the first year after the return): we must, at the same time, maintain, that the trilogy, Psa_104:-106., joined to the Davidic one so as to form one whole, existed as a previously completed group, before the number seven was com-pleted by the addition of our Psalm, and that the 107. was added as a later supplement. We are led to the same conclusion by the last verse of Psalms 106., which manifestly belongs, not merely tothis Psalm, but to the whole group, by the indirect testimony of the compilers, who would assuredly not have separated what is inseparably connected together, by elevating the conclusion of Psalms 106. to the rank of the conclusion of the fourth book; and, finally, by the want of the Hallelujah in Psalms 107.; whereas, had the connection of Psa_104:-107. been original and absolute, it would, like a connecting band, have closed the whole. The state of matters is this: to the Davidic trilogy, some Psalmist added, towards the close of the captivity, one of his own composition. This group was rounded off, internally and exter-nally, after the return from the captivity, by the addition of a seventh Psalm. A great many expositors have failed completely to observe the special reference of the Psalm to the return from the Babylonish captivity; and, led astray by the different figures under which the deliverance of God here appears, have referred every thing to the constant course of divine providence, and to the deliverances which God works out on behalf of different classes of sufferers,a--a mistake against which a careful consideration of ver. 2, 3, might have been sufficient to have guarded, as these verses regulate the whole, whose theme they contain. At the same time, there lies a measure of truth at the bottom of this error, in so far as the Psalmist was conscious that he was not a poet for a mere occasion, but that he sang for the church of God of all times. The special references, therefore, are designedly as little marked as possible, so that the Psalm is, in reality, very suitable as a song of thanks-giving for the church, and also for particular members after every deliverance. The general references, however, to mankind at large, must be given up entirely; we find ourselves everywhere in the domain of Jehovah, not of Elohim; the expression, they cry unto the Lord in their trouble, which does not suit the heathen, a Amyraldus, with whom J. H. Michaelis agrees, says: Of the more illustrious inter- preters of the Psalms, there is not one who does not acknowledge, that, while many others, and especially the two preceding. Psalms, treat of the special providence of God, as exercised on behalf of the Israelites, this one has for its object to celebrate that general care by which God continually governs all men and all nations. It would be difficult to explain how it is said of the heathen that they call upon Jehovah. At the same time there have been individuals who took the correct view. The Syrian translator gives as the title: God collects the Jews out of captivity, and brings them back out of Babylon; the only begotten Son of God also, Jesus Christ, collects the nations from the four cor-ners of the world, by calling upon man to be baptized. continually recurs; and ver. 11 is suitable only for the people of the law and of revelation. The strong dependance upon Isaiah and Job is characteristic of the Psalm. Ver. 1-3. -Ver. 1. Praise the Lord, for he is good, for his mercy endureth, for ever.-Ver. 2. The redeemed of the Lord may say so, whom he has redeemed from the hand of trouble. Ver. 3. And whom he has assembled out of the lands, from the east and from the west, from the north and from the sea.-It must have made a deep impression when the Psalmist put into the mouth of the redeemed the same words, vet. 1, with which, on a former occasion, when in deep misery, they had praised their God on the ground of his former glorious deeds,, and in the exer-cise of hope, Psalms 106:1. It is obvious that the verse before us is borrowed from this passage, because the words are not, as is the obvious view at first sight, addressed by the Psalmist to the church, but are put into the lips of the church.-In defining those who are called upon to praise the Lord, the Psalmist announces, in ver. 2 and 3, the theme of the Psalm. The "redeemed of the Lord," ver. 2, is from Isaiah 62:12; Isaiah 63:4. The צר, according to ver. 6, 13, Psalms 106:44, is not opponents, but trouble, which is here per-sonified and represented as a dangerous enemy, which has Israel in its hands. Throughout the whole Psalm, the discourse is not of enemies, but of trouble.-That ver. 3 refers to the return from the captivity is evident from Psalms 106:47, and from the reference to the fundamental passages in Isaiah 56:8, but especially 43:5, 6, "From the rising of the sun will I bring thy seed, and from the going down of the sun I will assemble thee, I will say to the north, Give up, and to the south, Keep not back," and 49:12, "Behold, these come from afar, and behold these from the north and from the sea and from the land of Sinim." This last passage bears such a close resemblance to the passage before us, particularly in the juxtaposition of the north and the sea, as to ex-clude the possibility of its being accidental. Still the reference to the return from captivity is so framed as to admit of the words being applied to those whom the Lord has brought home "from the different places to which necessary duty or severe misfortune had driven them." (Amyr.) The reference to the prophetical fundamental passages shows that we are not carefully to enquirewhether the exiles returned from all these different places. From supposing that the four quarters of heaven must be here fully named, every possible attempt has been made to make out that ים, which can denote only such a sea as represents a quarter of the heavens, viz., the west, or the Mediterranean sea, must mean the south. The correct view, however, is, that the Psalmist here, like the prophet in ch. 49:12, is content with naming the places according to the number of the quarters of heaven, without exactly naming each quarter. The omission of the south, and the substitution instead of it of the sea, on which the scattered exiles returned from Egypt and other lands (comp. Deuteronomy 28:68), might be occasioned by the circumstance that there was no-thing in that quarter but a wilderness. The omission of the north in Psalms 75:7, in the enumeration of the quarters of the heavens, proceeded from an exactly similar cause.. Ver. 4-9. -Ver. 4. They wandered in the wilderness, the path-less desert, they found not a city of habitation. Ver. 5. Hungry and thirsty, their soul fainted within them. Ver. 6. And they cry to the Lord in their trouble, he delivers them out of their oppressions. Ver. 7. And led them in the right way, that they might go to the city of habitation. Ver. 8. These should praise to the Lord his mercy, and his wonders to the children of men. Ver, 9. For he satisfied the languishing soul, and he filled the hungry soul with good.-The representation of Israel languishing in exile under the image of those who wander up and down in the wilderness, in this strophe, depends upon the typical import of the march through the wilderness, just as, on the same basis, Isaiah, in the second part of his prophecy, had not unfrequently described the miserable condition of Israel by the figure of the wilderness; for example, 40:3, 43:19, 20. Comp. on other typical applications of the march through the wilderness, the Christol. on Hosea 2:16. The desert of the way (comp. ישימון of the Arabic wilderness, Deuteronomy 32:10, Psalms 68:7; Psalms 78:40) is one which is this in reference to the way, in its way-lessness; comp. ver. 40, "And allowed them to wander in the wilderness without a way." Against the connection of the דרך with what follows, we have, besides this parallel pas-sage, the accents and the want of the article in ישימון. The מושב signifies only seat, place of abode. It is obvious, fromver. 36, that allusion is made to Jerusalem, which, in a certain sense, because it was the city of God, was the dwelling-place of the whole people; comp. at Psalms 101:8.-The hunger, and thirst, and the fatigue thereby induced (comp. the עטף Lam. 2:19, Psalms 77:3) are named in ver. 5 merely as descriptive of the miserable condition of the Israelites in the wilderness pro-per. That the Israelites were not so badly off in a temporal point of view, during the captivity, is manifest from the circum-stance, that so many who knew nothing of higher wants, the hunger and the thirst after the beautiful worship of God, and, after the land where the footsteps of God were everywhere visible, preferred remaining where they were. Psalms 137. shows us what corresponded in the spiritual wilderness to the hunger and the thirst. -The subject in ver. 8 is, "those thus led." The ל must manifestly be construed in the same way in both clauses; it is not the won-ders, therefore, but the praise, that belongs to the children of men (Luther which he does to the children of men). The praise be-longs to the Lord in so far as it is given to him, and to the children of men in so far as it is uttered by them, for the glorifying of God among them.-The languishing soul, in ver. 9, is not one which languishes in itself, but, as is obvious from the opposition of the hungry soul in the second clause, the soul of the thirsty; comp. Isaiah 29:8. To satisfy, by delivering from thirst, occurs also in Psalms 104:13; Psalms 104:16. With good, Psalms 103:5. Ver. 10-16. -Ver. 10. Who must have sat in darkness and the shadow of death, bound in misery and iron. Ver. 11. For they rebelled against the words of God, and contemned the counsel of the Most High. Ver. 12. Wherefore he brought down their heart in suffering, they fell down and there was none to help. Ver. 13. And they cried to the Lord in their trouble, he de-livered them out of their distresses. Ver. 14. And led them out of darkness and the shadow of death, and break their bands. Ver. 15. These should praise to the Lord his mercy, and his wonders to the children of men. Ver. 10. For he break the doors of brass, and destroyed the bars of iron.-The des-cription of the subject in ver. 10 is in reality pre-supposed in ver. 11-44, and after that there is appended, "May these praise."-The first clause of ver. 10 is from Isaiah 9:1. The dark prison, as an image of the misery, occurs also in ch.42:7; Psalms 49:9. On "the shadow of death," at Psalms 23:4,That the עני denotes the misery of the past, and that, therefore,the discourse is of iron = iron fetters, Psalms 105:18, only in a figurative sense, is evident from ver. 41, and from the funda-mental passage, Job 36:8, "And if they be bound in fetters and be holden in cords of affliction," where, according to the con-nection, the discourse is only of suffering generally, and not of literal imprisonment and fetters.-On המרו, in ver. 11, comp. Psalms 106:7; Psalms 106:33; Psalms 106:43. There is a paronomasia between המרו and אמרי and between עצת and נאצו. The words of the Lord are those which he had spoken to them in his law, and by his holy servants the prophets. The counsel of the Lord is either the counsel which he has taken to destroy secure and rebellious sin-ners, and to impart salvation only to the penitent-in this case, Isaiah 5:19 is to be compared, where the rebellious sinners, des-pising the counsel of the Lord, say, "Let him make speed, and hasten his work, that we may see it; let the counsel of the Holy One of Israel draw near and come that we may know it," and also Isaiah 19:17, Luke 7:30, and Psalms 106:13 -or the counsel which the Lord gave them; in this case, we must comp. Proverbs 1:25, and 2 Kings 17:13. The latter explanation is favoured by the pa-rallel to the words of God.-He brought down their heart, in ver. 12,-which had proudly risen up in rebellion and contempt. -On ver. 15 comp. Psalms 116:16, where it is said, "Thou hast loosed my bands," in reference to deliverance from captivity.--Ver. 16 depends upon Isaiah 45:2, where it is said of Cyrus: "I will go before thee, and make the crooked places straight, I will break in pieces the gates of brass, and cut in sunder the bars of iron." Ver. 17-22.-Ver. 17. Fools, because of their walk in ini-quity, and because of their iniquities, were afflicted. Ver. 18. Their soul loathed all food, and they came to the gates of death. Ver. 19. And they cried to the Lord in their trouble; he delivered them from their oppressions. Ver. 20. He sent his word and healed them, and delivered them from their pits. Ver. 21. These should praise to the Lord his mercy, and his won-ders to the children of men. Ver. 22. And offer sacrifices of praise and recount his works in triumph.-The אוילים of the first clause corresponds to the יתענו of the second: fools, because of their evil way, i. e., those who, by their wicked conduct, becamefools, were openly represented as such by the punishments which were manifestly the consequences of this conduct.-That the cause of the loathing of food, in ver. 18, was not grief, as several unsuitably referring to Psalms 102:4 have supposed, but severe sick-ness, under the figure of which the suffering is here spoken of, (comp. at Psalms 103:3) is manifest from ver. 20, "He healed them," and from the fundamental passage, Job 33:20, where it is said of the sick man, "His life abhorreth food and his sold dainty meat." On the second clause comp. Job 33:22, Psalms 88:3; on the gates of death, at Psalms 9:13.-The word of the Lord, by which he procured the salvation of Israel, with its sure conse-quences (comp. Psalms 33:9, Matthew 8:8) appears here under the figure of the physician whom he sends to heal the sick, comp. at Psalms 30:3. That the pits are equivalent to the graves in which they were almost already lying, is evident from ver. 18, and from the fundamental passage, Job 33:28, "he has delivered my soul from the grave and my life sees the light," (instead of שהם, there, and in ver. 22, 24, 30, we have here the rare form שתיתה, which only occurs again in Lamentations 4:20); comp. Psalms 103:4, "who delivers thy life from the pit."-The thank-offerings, ver. 22, occur here, according to the second clause, chiefly in connection with what constitutes their essence, thanks; comp. at Psalms 1:14; Psalms 1:23. Ver. 23-32.-Ver. 23. Those who cross the sea in ships, do duty in many waters. Ver. 24. They see the works of the Lord, and his wonders in the deep. Ver. 25. And he spoke and stilled a storm of wind which lifted its billows. Ver. 26. They go up to heaven, down to the floods, their soul is melted in trouble. Ver. 27. They dance and stagger like a drunken man and are at their wits end. Ver. 28. And they cry to the Lord in their trouble, he delivered them out of their distresses. Ver. 29. He changed the storm into a calm, and its waves were si-lent. Ver. 30. And they were glad that they had rest, and he brought them to the object of their wish. Ver. 31. These should praise to the Lord his mercy, and his wonders to the children of men. Ver. 32. And exalt him in the assembly of the peo-ple, and praise him in the seat of the elders.--The sea is thestanding emblem of the world; comp. at Psalms 46., and at Psalms 93:3; Psalms 104:6, ss. The church of God, therefore, whichhas its existence in the world, appears, ver. 23, under the em-blem of those who cross the sea, and carry on their business there,such as mariners, merchants, or fishermen. What is here afigure is, in Mark 4:36, ss., Matthew 8:23, ss., Luke 8:22,ss., embodied in a symbolical action.a Those interpreters whocould not understand the figurative representation, have, in somecases, been obliged to have recourse to strange expedients. Thisis the case with those who suppose that the Psalmist has beforehis mind, not as is the case throughout the whole preceding partof the Psalm, the whole church, but a few of its members, who,during the captivity, were obliged to have recourse, as a tempo-rary occupation, to a seafaring life!-The works and wondersof the Lord upon the deep, ver. 24, are such as are described inthe following verses, the glorious deliverances which he impartsto his own people when they are sent by him on the sea of theworld, and are overtaken by a fierce storm of oppression.-On"he said," ver, 25, comp. Psalms 105:31. The suffix in "his bil-lows," does not refer to the sea, ים,�language in the im-mediately preceding clauses had not been used of it, but of thedeep-but to the Lord; comp. "all thy waves and thy billowsgo over me," in Psalms 42:7.-On ver. 26, comp. Psalms 104:8. Tothe floods-the usual place which these occupy. In trouble--coml.). Genesis 44:29. Melts-comp. Psalms 22:14; Psalms 42:4.-Onver. 28, Berleb.:-"To the Lord, I mean, men learn then tocry, according to the common saying: whoever cannot pray lethim become a sailor."-The יקם, in ver. 29, the abbreviatedfuture, instead of the common form (comp. ver. 33, Psalms 18:10), not he quieted, he calmed-this sense is not attested-but he put it, like the העמיד in ver. 25, into a calm, he changedit into a calm, or even he restored it; comp. Amos 9:12.The דממה is not a gentle breeze, but always silence (דבכחםח,8:26), even in 1 Kings 19:12. Seasons of rest andrevival had already been spoken of in that passage under thefigure of a calm after a storm. The suffix in "their waves,"does not refer to the sea, of which, in the plural, no mentionhad been made, but to the sailors, to whom the suffixes in the a Ven.: There are three seas in which the church, like a ship, was tossed about by its billows, at great risk, but with a most prosperous issue; viz., the Jewish, the Pagan, said the Antichristian world. preceding and following words refer:-their waves, the trouble which threatened to ruin them. "Their waves" here corre-sponds to "his waves," in ver. 25. The waves belong the Lord, in so far as he raises them ("he raises the sea, its waves roar," Is. Ii. 15), and to the church in so far as she is overflowed by them. It is very consolatory that all the waves of the church are also the waves of her Lord; and the corresponding suffixes are fraught with a meaning of deep importance. The waves act as if they intended, at their own hand, to engulph the church; but it is in reality far otherwise. The Lord on high sends them; and hence the unqualified truth of the maxim, "he can change mis-fortune, he has it in his hands."--The שהק, in ver. 30 occurs only in Jonah 1:11, הים שתק, he stills or silences the sea. The Psalmist appears generally to have had before his eyes the description of the storm which occurs there. The best derivation of מהוז is that of Gousset from הוז=הזה to see, the object looked at, the mark.-It is obvious from ver. 22, that in ver. 32 we are to think of a public assembly for the worship of God in the then existing sanctuary of the nation; comp. at Psalms 22:22, 2 Chronicles 20:3-5. On the second clause, comp. at Psalms 1:1. The elders are the overseers of the people (comp. Psalms 105:22), the heads of the tribes of Judah and Benjamin, Esr. 1:5, the guides of the congregation in conduct, and also in praise. Ver. 33-42. -Ver. 33. He changes rivers into a wilderness, and fountains of water into dry ground. Ver. 34. A fruitful land into salt, on account of the wickedness of its inhabitants. Ver. 35. He changes the wilderness into a water-pond, and dry land into streams of water.-Ver. 36. And maketh the hungry to dwell there, and they build a city of habitation. Ver. 37. And sow fields and plant vineyards, and produce fruit of in- crease. Ver. 38. And he blesses them, and they multiply greatly, and he does not suffer their cattle to decrease,-Ver. 39. They, whom he diminishes and brings down by the oppression of suf- fering and sorrow.-Ver. 40. He poureth contempt upon princes, and causes them to wander in a pathless desert. Ver. 41. And lifteth the needy out of suffering, and maketh families like a flock. Ver. 42. The righteous behold it, and are glad, and all wickedness stops its mouth.-The best view to take of this strophe, is to consider it as the response to the exhortation,"these may praise to the Lord his mercy," which had run through-out the preceding part of the Psalm, as the song with which the Lord is honoured in the assembly of the people, and praised on the seat of the elders,, so that we should read it as if it were divided by marks of quotation from the conclusion of the preced-ing verse.-"The verbs of this paragraph, partly futures, partly futures with the Van Con., and partly participles, are most na-turally taken in a present sense." Still we should every where consider as added: as we see it before our eyes. What the Lord does generally is represented on the ground of what he is now doing. This is clear from the relation of the present strophe to the one which precedes it, and also from the very manifest refe-rences to present times, especially in the 36th (comp. ver. 4 and 7) and the following verses.-First, in ver. 33-35, the Lord, as is obvious from the figure, causes the waters of prosperity and hap-piness belonging to the world to sink into the ground (the ישם, in ver. 35, in its reference to the one in ver. 33), and those of the church to flow copiously; or, Babylon is drained, and the land of the Lord is watered.--Ver. 33 and 34 are usually referred to Israel and his misery. But this is not suitable; and the funda-mental passages render it obvious that the whole passage refers to Babylon, the representative of the world at emnity with the kingdom of God, which had recently been destroyed. On com-paring Isaiah 44:26; Isaiah 44:27, we find the same two positions occurring in an inverted order: "Who saith to Jerusalem, she shall be in-habitated, and to the cities of Judah, they shall be built, and I will raise up the decayed places thereof; that saith to the deep, be dry and I will dry up thy rivers." In Isaiah 1:2, we read, "Behold at my rebuke, I dry up the sea, I change the rivers into a wilderness," in Isaiah 21:1, Babylon is called "the wilderness of the sea" (see the Christol. p. 98), in Jeremiah 1:38, "a drought is upon her waters, they shall be dried up, for it is the land of graven images," 51:36, "And I dry up her sea, and make her springs dry." As the sea is the image of masses of people, the water of streams and of fountains represents happiness, pros-perity, and fortune; comp. the Treatise on Balaam, at Numbers 24:6; Numbers 24:7. The streams in ver. 33 comprehend the surrounding country. On the second. clause, comp. Deuteronomy 8:15, Isaiah 35:7, to the latter of which passages allusion is made. It is theresaid of Sion: "the parched ground shall become a pool." The state of matters in the world is being reversed.--Ver. 34 alludes to the great type of all the judgments upon the ungodly world, the de-struction of Sodom and Gomorrha, the change of its fruitful terri-tory into a salt sea and a salt soil on which nothing grows. Comp. Deut. 29:22, and Ez. ch. 47., where Sodom and Gomorrha appear as a type of the world throughout the whole of a symbolical picture. Babylon had already undergone the beginning of a great change, the completion of which was descerned by the eye of faith as revealed in the sure word of prophecy; comp., for example, Isaiah 13:19, "And Babylon, the beauty of kingdoms, the haughty ornament of the Chal-deans, shall be destroyed by God like Sodom and Gomorrha." -Ver. 35 is literally from Isaiah 41:18, "I will make the wilder-ness a pool of water, and the dry land springs of water;" comp. 35:7, "And the parched ground shall become a pool, and the thirsty land springs of water," 43:20, and, in opposition, the world, 42:15, "I will make the rivers islands, and I will dry up the pools." Allusion is made to the water which the Lord sent to his people in the wilderness, a type of the fountain of salva-tion which he opens at all times in the wilderness of misery. It is obvious, from what follows, that the wilderness here denotes the then miserable condition of Canaan.-The second portion of the strophe, which, when added to the preceding one, makes up seven verses, refers wholly to the prosperous change which bad recently taken place in favour of the people of the Lord, or it continues the description which had been begun at the end of the first.-On ver. 36, comp. ver. 4, 5, 7.-The עשה in ver. 37 is to make, comp. Psalms 60:12. The increase is the year's harvest, comp. Leviticus 25:16.-The רבה in ver. 38 is not only to increase, in reference to the number of the people, but also to improve, to prosper, Deuteronomy 30:16, comp. also ver. 41. The המעיט is from Leviticus 26:22.-In whatever way we may construe the future with Vau in ver. 39, it is, at all events, certain that this verse refers to the mournful past, and, by pointing to it, leads to a deeper consciousness of the prosperity of the present, and to more lively gratitude. The best way to translate is: and they were diminished, instead of they, the diminished and the sunk.-The first clause of ver. 40 is from Job 12:21 -the quotation is markedby the circumstance that the participle there stands in a string of participles, while here it is the only one that occurs in the whole strophe-, the second from ver. 24th of the same chapter. The wandering in the desert without a way denotes, according to the fundamental passage, helpless embarrassment. Some expositors have erroneously applied to Israel what was intended for Babylon; and as the penalty of this mistake, they cannot understand why they should begin with the participle. Our verse corresponds to ver. 33, 34; and the opposite, the salvation of Sion, follows in ver. 41. The concluding verse, the 42d, exhibits the impression which this great turn of things, this change of condition, makes on both parties.-The expression, "like a flock," or "like sheep," ver. 41, denotes great multitudes; comp. Job 21:11, "They sendforth their children like sheep." Whoever comes out of great misery is thankful even for such beginnings of salvation, as may be, for the first time, seen in the above description.-Israel is meant by the righteous in ver. 42; comp. at Psalms 33:1. The second clause is from Job 5:16. The wickedness here is heathen wickedness, wicked Babylon, with its associates, the sons of Edom, Psalms 137:7. Oppressed herself by misery, she now shuts that mouth with which she had so long insulted God and his chosen ones. In ver. 43 we have the conclusion of the whole.-He who is wise understands this; and may men observe the mercies of the Lord! An expressive nota bene! Heartfelt thanks for the past favours of the Lord form the indispensable condition of the continuance of these favours. He who does not give thanks is a fool, for he brings it about that clouds of wrath again collect over his head.a Upon the cycle of ten and the cycle of seven Psalms there follows now one of twelve, introduced as in the preceding case by a Davidic trilogy, to which there are then added nine new Psalms. a Calvin: By a question he indirectly reprobates a false opinion which prevails throughout the world to a great extent, while the most audacious despiser of God fan-cies himself very wise, as if he sail that all the fools will be detected who do not exercise discernment in this matter. In ver. 43 we have the conclusion of the whole. He who is wise understands this; and may men observe the mercies of the Lord! An expressive nota bene! Heartfelt thanks for the past favours of the Lord form the indispensable condition of the continuance of these favours. He who does not give thanks is a fool, for he brings it about that clouds of wrath again collect over his head. [Note: Calvin: “By a question he indirectly reprobates a false opinion which prevails throughout the world to a great extent, while the most audacious despiser of God fancies himself very wise, as if he sail that all the fools will be detected who do not exercise discernment in this matter.”]Upon the cycle of ten and the cycle of seven Psalms there follows now one of twelve, introduced as in the preceding case by a Davidic trilogy, to which there are then added nine new Psalms. Psalms 108. The Psalmist, or rather the church of the Lord in whose name he speaks, expresses her firm confidence in her God, and praises him because of the fulness of his mercy and truth, ver. 2-6; en-treats him to impart his salvation, and founds this prayer upon the firm ground of the word and promise of God by which Israel is assured of perpetual possession of his land, and victory over the neighbouring nations, ver. 7-10; and expresses, in looking at this promise, the hope that the expedition against Edom, about to be undertaken, may be brought to a prosperous termina-tion, ver. 11-14. The Psalm falls into three strophes, each of four verses, ver. 1-4, 6-9, 10-13, containing thus among them the significant number twelve. With the addition of the title and the doxology, which terminates the first strophe, ver. 5, there are in all fourteen verses. The name of God occurs in all seven times, and the seven is divided by a three and a four; in the first, or introduc-tory part, Jehovah is between Elohim on each side, and in the second part Elohim occurs four times. The first strophe is borrowed with alterations from Psalms 57:7-11, and the second and third from Psalms 60:5-12. That these constituent portions of two Psalms are not put together as on an equal footing, but that we have before us rather a variation of the 60th Psalm of which the introduction is taken from another Psalm, is evident from the fact that the number of verses and also of strophes of four verses each which distinguished the 60th Psalm, is retained here. The title and the doxology in ver. 5 here correspond to the title of the 60th Psalm, which consists of two verses. That this variation of the 60th Psalm proceeded from David is manifest from the title, "A Song of Praise, a Psalm of David," the originality of which is manifest from its connection with I will sing and play, ver. 1, from its being necessary to the formal organization of the Psalm, its addition being required to make the number of verses the same as that of Psalms 60. Besides, we have to add the analogy of all the other doubled Psalms; comp. at Psalms 14:14; Psalms 8:8; Psalms 11:11; Psalms 11:70. In addition, it may be observed, thatwhile all the variations bear the marks of design, there does not occur a single one which could have been intended to adapt the Psalm to the relations of later times. The object for which David made this variation may be ascer-tained from the most significant of the alterations, one around which the rest are merely clustered as associates. In room of the introductory strophe in the 60th Psalm, containing the ac-knowledgment of the deliverance already imparted, David desired to substitute the words with which he had on another occasion, on the most mournful event of his life, given expression to his confidence and joy in the time of Saul, because these words, so gloriously verified in their consequences, came from his heart; all the feelings which had belonged to that time were along withthese words transferred to the present occasion. David employed this variation of the 60th Psalm as an intro-duction to a trilogy which should represent the contest and the victory of Israel, and as immediately connected therewith, of Is-rael's family. In this connection the Psalm loses its original special reference: Edom becomes the type of the enemies of the kingdom of God and of David. Allusion is made to this disjunc-tion of the Psalm from its immediate historical occasion by the omission of the title of Psalms 60., which announces the occasion at length and exactly. This Davidic Psalm must have been very consolatory and ele-vating to the church at its return from the Babylonish captivity, when still weak and only in partial possession of the land, that, too, merely as a servant, and generally in a very depressed state in reference to the world around. Title. Ver. 1-5.-Title. A song of praise, a Psalm by David. Ver. 1. Firm is my heart, O God, I will sing praise and play, even my glory. Ver. 2. Wake up, harp and psal-tery, I will awaken the morning. Ver. 3. I will praise thee among the nations, O Lord, and play to thee among the people. Ver. 4. For great from heaven is thy mercy, and even to the clouds thy truth. Ver. 5. Praise to thee, O God, in the heaven, and upon the whole earth glory to thee.-In ver. 1, the second "my heart is fixed," of Psalms 57. is left out. A skipping expres-sion of joyful confidence like this was suitable only in connection with what went before. Even my glory shall sing praise to thee,not only the mouth, but also the soul, whose praise is acceptable to God, because it is glory, comp. Psalms 30:12; Psalms 30:1; Psalms 30:5. In Psalms 57., "wake up my glory." Those translations which differ from the above, are to be rejected on the ground that they are removed from the fundamental passage.-In ver. 4 there is a designed va-riation: instead of "even to heaven" in Psalms 57., we have "down from heaven," in reference to " praise to thee in heaven," of ver.5. The על denotes there the place where the Lord should be praised. He shall be praised in the heaven and upon the earth, be-cause his mercy is made known down from heaven, מעל, desuper, upon the children of men. The expression of confidence grounded upon all that the church had hitherto experienced of the mercy of her God, is followed by the prayer, ver. 6-9, for the communication of salvation, founded upon the glorious promises which God had given her. Ver.6. In order that thy beloved may be delivered, help with thy right hand, and hear me. Ver. 7. God has spoken in his holiness, therefore will I shout for joy, divide Shechem and measure out the valley of Succoth. Ver. 8. Gilead is mine, Manasseh is mine, and Ephraim the strength of my head, Judah my lawgiver. Ver. 9. Moab is my washing pot, on Edom cast my shoe, over Philistia I shall rejoice.-In ver. 6, instead of "hear us," in Psalms 60., there stands, "hear me." It is the church of the Lord that speaks; both expressions, therefore, are in reality the same,-In the eighth verse the 60th Psalm hasולי, and mine.-In verse 9th the 60th Psalm has: Philistia, re-joice at me. The expression here is not an explanation but a variation. The one flows from the other. In the third strophe, ver. 10-13, we have the hope of assist-ance against Edom, grounded on the divine promises, and the prayer for the same. Ver. 10. Who will bring me to the strong city, who conduct me to Edom? Ver. 11. Wilt not thou, O God, who hast cast us of, and "goest not forth, 19 God, among our armies." Ver. 12. Give us help against the enemy; and deceitful is human help. Ver. 13. In God we will do va-liantly, and he will tread down our enemies.-In ver. 10 we have the usual מבער instead of the rare מצור.�In ver. 11 the אתה is left out: (will) not God (do it); and then there is the sudden transition to the address. The expression of confidence grounded upon all that the church had hitherto experienced of the mercy of her God, is followed by the prayer, Psalms 108:6-9, for the communication of salvation, founded upon the glorious promises which God had given her. Ver. 6. In order that thy beloved may be delivered, help with thy right hand, and hear me. Ver. 7. God has spoken in his holiness, therefore will I shout for joy, divide Shechem and measure out the valley of Succoth. Ver. 8. Gilead is mine, Manasseh is mine, and Ephraim the strength of my head, Judah my lawgiver. Ver. 9. Moab is my washing pot, on Edom cast my shoe, over Philistia I shall rejoice. In Psalms 108:6, instead of “hear us,” in Psalms 60, there stands, “hear me.” It is the church of the Lord that speaks; both expressions, therefore, are in reality the same, In the eighth verse the (Psalms 60) 60th Psalm has åìé, and mine. In Psalms 60:9 th the (Psalms 60) 60th Psalm has: Philistia, rejoice at me. The expression here is not an explanation but a variation. The one flows from the other. In the third strophe, Psalms 108:10-13, we have the hope of assistance against Edom, grounded on the divine promises, and the prayer for the same. Ver. 10. Who will bring me to the strong city, who conduct me to Edom? Ver. 11. Wilt not thou, O God, who hast cast us of, and “goest not forth, 19 God, among our armies.” Ver. 12. Give us help against the enemy; and deceitful is human help. Ver. 13. In God we will do valiantly, and he will tread down our enemies. In Psalms 108:10 we have the usual ξαφψ instead of the rare ξφεψ. In Psalms 108:11 the ΰϊδ is left out: (will) not God (do it); and then there is the sudden transition to the address. Psalms 109. The formal arrangement of this Psalm is very simple. It con-sists of three strophes, each of ten verses, and a concluding verse which gives the sum of the whole. "The Lord stands at the right hand of the needy man that he may deliver him from those who condemn his soul." The ten is, according to the common rule, divided by a five. In the first half of the first strophe, the Psalmist, after a short prayer, depicts the wickedness of his enemy; in the second half he prays that the appropriate punishment may fall upon him, in regard to his life, and in regard to his children. The first half of the second strophe invokes the divine annihilating energy upon his goods and his honour; the second half, corresponding to the first strophe, turns to the cause of this misery invoked upon him, and describes this as rooted in the divine justice, which recom-penses like with like. As the two first strophes are occupied with judgments upon the wicked, with a formula at the end, formally shutting up the subject, the third is occupied with the deliver-ance of the miserable. The first half represents the greatness of his misery, and the second brings into view the divine assistance.The situation is that of one who is in danger of losing his life by false accusations, one whom wicked enemies persecute to death by means of an unrighteous judgment; comp. especially ver. 16, 20, and the conclusion, ver. 31, which exactly describes the si-tuation. This situation, at the basis of which lie the relations of David, in the time of Saul, is to be strictly retained; comp. at Psalms 58 :It constitutes the individual physiognomy of the Psalm; and to destroy it would require much more attention to be paid to the exposition than has hitherto been done. Still it is to be admit-ted, if not in a figurative yet in an individualizing sense. The Psalm belongs, as is manifest from its destination to the public worship of God (to the chief musician), to those also whose lives are exposed to dangers arising from other causes. The subject of the Psalm is the suffering righteous man; comp. ver. 31. The Psalm may be applied directly to every individual in this situation. But that it may be referred, even according tothe view of the Psalmist, also to the circumstances of the people, is obvious from its connection with Psalms 108., in which the people of God are introduced speaking. That the Psalmist had before his eyes at the same time the Davidic family, and especially Him in whom that family was destined to reach its summit, that the Psalm, as it proceeds from David as situated in the time of Saul, has him also for its object (as he existed in his seed), can admit of no doubt, if we compare the last verse of the Psalm with the first, and also with the fifth of the 110. The points of contact are of such a kind that they leave no doubt as to the originality of the connection with each other of both Psalms, and moreover as to the fact that we have here before us, as in Psa_101:-103., a Davidic trilogy of Psalms. Here we have the help of the Lord imparted to his anointed in trouble, and there it is the glory of the Lord made known after deliverance: here he stands at his right hand to deliver him from those who condemn his soul, there his address is, "Sit thou at my right hand." This threefold reference of the Psalm has only the character of three rays, proceeding from the centre of the righteous man. The undeniable existence of this reference here throws a vivid light upon the other Psalms of David which describe the suffering righteous man; comp. at Psalms 69:69; Psalms 70:70; Psalms 70:71 :The 102. Psalm in the preceding Davidic trilogy is analogous; for at first sight itseems destined only for the private use of the suffering righteous man; but in reality it serves another purpose. The originality of the title which ascribes the Psalm to David, is confirmed by the corresponding titles of the two Psalms, be-tween which the Psalm before us stands, and with which it is con-nected; by the brevity of the first verse, unexampled in the whole Psalms if the title be removed; by the number seven of the words of the first verse, corresponding to the seven divisions into which the Psalm falls, (six half strophes and a conclusion), divided as usually into a three and a four; the name Jehovah also, it may be noticed, occurs, in like manner, seven times, three times in the first (ver. 1-20), and four times in the second part. In favour of David being the author of the Psalm may be mentioned, besides the dependence of the Psalm upon the personal experience of David in the time of Saul, the view taken of the avenging justice of God, so characteristic of David, and also the fact, that the Psalm throughout is nearly connected with the other Davidic Psalms, which refer to the suffering righteous man, and that it comes into contact also in individual expressions with the Da-vidic Psalms, and only with such (comp. the exposition), and also in ver. 17, with one expression of David's, as ascertained from the historical books. The reasons which have been adduced against the Davidic authorship are of no force. A great deal of weight has been laid upon the "exaggerated imprecations," "history does not repre-sent David as a man of this turn of mind, but rather of a magna-nimous character." But it has been repeatedly shewn (last in the Introduction to Psalms 69.), that the history represents David as also a person possessed of energetic faith in the avenging jus-tice of God, and of lively desires for its, execution; his magnani-mity is so far from standing in opposition to this, that it is in this faith alone that it has its root. The assertion that the poetry is "too heavy and insipid for David," proceeds partly from a dis-like to the contents, transferred to the form which these contents assume, and partly from the imperfection of the exegetical efforts that have been made in interpreting the Psalm. Sentence of condemnation has been passed, while no reason existed on which that sentence could rest. A more correct verdict on the poeti-cal character of the Psalm is to be found in Amyraldus.a The assertion of Grotius, "that there is nothing like this in the Gospels or in the Acts of the Apostles," overlooks the cir-cumstance, that alongside of the prayer; "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do," which does not stand in the least in contradiction to our Psalm (for it is with consummated wickedness that the Psalmist has to do), there stands, in the pre-ceding context, the oft-repeated wo which the Lord denounced against the Pharisees, and also the threatening of the dreadful a “ I make bold, besides, to affirm, that the poet here exerted himself to the uttermost to compose a poem which should be the most eloquent of its kind. For he varies those his imprecations to such a great extent; some of them he sets forth under such a va-riety of forms, and with such different degrees of intensity; others he exhibits at such length and with such accuracy; he runs with care through all the topics which could furnish him with any thing baring upon his purpose; finally, he considers in such a variety of ways the curse of God, lest there should be, as it were, any one form of it which he does not imprecate upon his abandoned foe, that I have no doubt whatever he took very particular pains to render his poem, in this respect, altogether perfect."judgments upon Judas and Judah, which contain in them a wish as assuredly as the will of Christ is in accordance with the will of God; it overlooks also the expressions of Paul, "The Lord smite thee, thou whited wall," Acts 23:3, and "Alexander the cop-persmith did me much evil, the Lord reward him according to his deeds," 2 Timothy 4:14. Several expositors, giving up the justification of the Psalm, have in vain endeavoured to find out some defence. The Psalm is either edifying or it is injurious in its tendency; it is either holy or abominable. We hold decidedly by the former alterna-tive, after the example of the Apostle who found in this Psalm a prophecy of Christ, Acts 1:20. The man who considers the view which lies at the basis of our Psalm as objectionable, robs suffer-ing righteousness of one of the chief fountains of consolation, and takes away from wickedness the bit and the bridle: the use of our Psalm even in this point of view is usually overlooked. That what has a holy meaning may be made an unholy use of cannot be brought as a ground of charge against it.a a Calvin: Now as David did not speak except by the impulse of the Spirit, these im- precations are to be considered as if they were spoken by the voice of God from heaven, Thus, on the one band, in denouncing vengeance, he wounds and restrains all our wicked desires of injuring others, and, on the other, moderates our grief by administer-ing that consolation which will enable us to bear injuries. And because it is not yet given us to distinguish between the elect and the reprobate, let us learn to pray for all who trouble us, to wish salvation to the whole human race, anxious even for individuals. Meanwhile this need not hinder us, provided our minds are pure and calm, from freely appealing to the judgment of God, in order that all the desperate may be destroyed. Title. Ver. 1-10.-Title. To the Chief Musician, by David, a Psalm. Ver. 1. God my praise be not silent. Ver. 2. For they have opened the mouth of the wicked and the mouth of de- ceit against me, they speak with me with the tongue of lies. Ver. 3. And with words of hatred they surround me and fight against me without cause. Ver. 4. For my love they are my enemies and I am prayer. Ver. 5. And they shew me evil for good, and hatred for my love. Ver. 6. Place thou a wicked man over him, and let the enemy stand at his right hand. Ver. 7. When he shall be judged may he be found wicked, and may his prayer become sin. Ver. 8. May his days be few, may an-other take his office. Ver. 9. May his children become orphans, and his wife a widow. Ver. 10. May his children wander about and beg, and seek out of their ruins.-"God, my praise,be not silent," in ver. 1, is: thou who hast always given me abundant occasion to praise thee, be not now silent, that I may have here also a similar opportunity; comp. ver. 30, "I shall praise the Lord exceedingly with my mouth, and in the midst of many I shall extol him." The praise denotes here the object of the praise, as it does in the fundamental passage, Deuteronomy 10:21, "he is thy praise, and thy God Who has done with thee this great and terrible thing which thine eyes behold;" comp. Psalms 22:3; Psalms 22:26; Psalms 44:8, and the dependent passage, Jeremiah 17:14, where it is recorded as the foundation of confidence of divine de-liverance, "for thou art my praise." The presence of all that the Lord has already done for us, and the appeal to it, form a sure ground of answer, and a mighty quickening of hope. He cannot be unlike himself. On "be not silent," comp. Ps. 28, 1, 35:22. God is here called upon not to be silent in view of the words of the enemies threatening destruction.-The subject in ver. 2 is, as always in what follows, "the enemies," "the wicked." It will not do to make the mouth the subject because פתה is always active. The mouth is that of the wicked, be-cause they go forward by their words to destroy the miserable; and it is that of deceit, because, for the attainment of this object, they make use of false accusations, fictitious charges, to which also the expression "words with the tongue of lies," refers. The situation in Matthew 26:59 corresponds exactly"The high priests, and the elders, and the whole council sought false witness against Jesus that they might put him to death."-The words of hatred, in ver. 3, are malignant accusa-tions. The נלהם with the accusative, only here, is to contend with. The swords with which they fight are their tongues; comp. Psalms 55:21; Psalms 57:4. The language used in the Psalm refers only to false accusations, not to deeds. On "without a cause," comp. Psalms 35:7; Psalms 35:19.-"For my love they are enemies to me," ver. 4, found its full truth in Christ. As the Psalmist in the whole paragraph describes how he is treated, not how he feels, the expression, "I am prayer," cannot mean, "I am quiet in it," "I do nothing else than pray," but only "they treat me so wickedly, or matters have come to that extremity with me, that I am wholly prayer" (comp. I am peace, Psalms 120:7; "I cry wholly for help;" comp. on תפלה, at Psalms 90:1, and Psalms 69:13)David) was wholly prayer when he went forth over the Mount of Olives weeping, and with his head covered, 2 Samuel 15:30. On the whole verse, and on ver. 5, comp. Ps. xxxviii, 20, 35:12, 13.- The singular in ver. 6-19 refers, as it always does in similar cases, to the ideal person of the wicked. Place over him (comp. הפקיד With אל, Genesis 39:5; Genesis 41:34), as his superior, and judicial au-thority, for the righteous punishment of the shameful abuse of his judicial powers, his פקדה, ver. 8; comp. Isaiah 60:17, 2 Chronicles 24:11; -comp. Psalms 41:1; Psalms 41:2, where we find promised, deliver-ance in the day of distress from him who acts cunningly against the miserable, protection against the rage of enemies. The right hand comes into notice here not as the place which belongs to the accuser in a trial (comp. against this the Chris. p. 2 on Zech. iii. 1), but because, being the organ of action, it is the most suit-able place for one to occupy, who is determined perseveringly to hinder or to assist another; comp. ver. 31, where the Lord stands at the right hand of the needy man. Psalms 110:5 shows that the עללימין (Zechariah 3:1, Job 30:12) is here not what oppresses, what hinders, the right hand from every exertion, paralyzes all efforts of the man laid hold of, but that it in reality resembles the לימין in ver. 31, the only difference being that the ימין denotes here, as it often does, the right side. That the passage before us is the one from which the name of Satan, first used in Job, has been derived (the name in the Pentateuch is Asasel,-comp. Egypt and the Books of Moses) is evident from the literal reference in which the verse before us stands to the second fundamental passage of Satan, Zechariah 3:1; the enemy of our Psalm, a Psalm in which שטן, occurs more frequently than it does anywhere else, is the worthy repre-sentative, the visible emblem of the Evil One. Many expositors (Luther: And may Satan stand at his right hand) perceiving the connection of our Psalm with Job. i. and Zech. iii . 1, but not understanding the manner and way of that connection, consider theשטן, here as a proper name of the Evil One. But Satan is not elsewhere introduced in the Psalm; and a reference to him can-not therefore be adopted on forced grounds. On the other hand, we have to urge the want of the article which cannot occur in the first passage which makes mention of Satan, and which occurs only in the last passage of the Old Testament in which Satan is spoken of, 1 Chronicles 21.;-terms which were originally appellatives, come inthe course of time to be used as proper names. The refe-rence to what precedes leads to the idea of a human enemy; the Psalmist had suffered by human wickedness, ver. 2, and by human enmity, ver. 4, and the punishment therefore shouldcome in the same way. The הפקיד shews, especially when the פקדתו is compared, that it is the wicked and the enemies that are to be understood by the superiors set over.-The connection with ver. 6 shews that the language in ver. 7 refers to a human judg-ment (comp. Ps. xxxrii . 33, and the second clause), or if to a divine judgment, yet to such a one as is executed through the medium of the wicked and of the enemy, the unjust human judges; God's way is to punish the wicked by means of the wicked, and unjust decisions are as really under his control as just ones. We must supply: he who has condemned me un-justly, has condemned my soul without a cause; comp. ver. 31. May he go forth,-out of the trial. May his prayer be sin,- in its results, namely, increase his misery instead of granting him the deserved help; this is not a "shocking imprecation," but a prayer according to the will of God; for the prayer of the wicked uttered without faith and repentance can have no other effect than this, it originates in sin and therefore it can come to nothing but sin; comp. Proverbs 28:9, "he that turneth away his ear from hearing the law, even his prayer shall be abomination," Is. i. 15, Psalms 66:17, and the passages quoted there.-In the ex-pression, "may his days be few," in ver. 8 (מעטים is not an ad-jective but a substantive, fewnesses), we have expressed as a wish what in Ps. Isaiah 23, "the men of blood and of deceit do not live out half their days," is expressed as a fact. We must suppose added: as he intended to have shortened my days. The פקדהways oversight, ἐניףךןנח, Acts 1:20, is the usual term for a su-perior office; and that this is the sense which it bears here is evi-dent from the reference to פקדה ver. 6: the individual in officewho abused his office for wickedness, shall by a wicked superior be punished in body and life, and shall thus lose his office. We have in the whole half strophe a regular progression of thought: the wicked man is set over him, ver. 6, he is condemned, ver. 7, sentence is put in execution, and another succeeds to his office, ver. 8, then farther still, the punishment descends to his children, ver. 9, 10. The translation "his property" passesinto the territory of the next strophe.-On "may his sons wan-der up and down," ver. 10, comp. Psalms 59:11, "let them wander by thy strength, i.e., in their children; they are put to death themselves there also. On "and beg," compare Psalms 37:25. The object to the verb "seek" is easily supplied. Out of their ruins, where there is nothing but hunger and sorrow. Ver. 11-20.-Ver. 11. May the creditor catch all that he hath, and may strangers plunder his labour. Ver. 12. May he have no one who may shew him mercy, and may no one have compassion upon his orphans. Ver. 13. May his posterity be rooted out, and in the following generation may their name be blotted out. Ver. 14. Let the iniquity of his father be remem-bered by the Lord, and may the sins of his mother not be for- given. Ver. 15. May they be continually before the Lord, and may he root out from the earth their remembrance. Ver. 16. Because he remembered not to shew mercy, and persecuted the poor and needy man, and the heart-broken, that he might put him to death. Ver. 17. And he loved cursing, and it comes upon him, and he had no pleasure in blessing, and therefore it is far from him. Ver. 18. And he puts on cursing like a gar-ment, and therefore it comes like water into his inwards, and like oil into his bones. Ver. 19. May it be to him like the clothing which he has on, and a girdle which is always round him. Ver. 20. This is the reward of those who are enemies to me, from the Lord, and speak evil against my soul.-In the half strophe, ver. 11-15, the Psalmist turns from the life of the wicked, and from his children, to his property, ver. 11, 12, and to his name and memorial, ver. 13-15. The prayers and wishes rest upon the living conviction that the divine justice is a fire which does not rest until it has completely and entirely consumed what it has seized upon. The Pi of נקש in ver. 11 occurs in Psalms 38:12, in the sense of to lay snares, to catch. The stran-gers are in opposition to the members of the family, Deuteronomy 25:5. The משך in ver. 12, as in Psalms 36:10; Psalms 85:5, is to draw, to draw out to a length, to extend. According to the connection and the parallel, the extending of mercy is specially the respite granted to the debtor. The הנן, to be compassionate, in Psalms 37:21, in connection with giving, Proverbs 28:8, הונן דלים, is one who has pity in a way of charity upon the poor.The first clause of ver. 13, according to the parallel passages, Is. 37:37, for a futurity has the man of peace, and ver. 38, the futurity of the wicked is cut off--comp. on אהרית never pos-terity, always end, at the passage-must be explained " may his futurity be rooted out, may he be violently robbed of futurity, to the extinction of his family and his name." The second clause depends upon Deuteronomy 29:20, and the Lord shall blot out his name from under heaven," comp. Psalms 9:8. The blotting out of the name follows the extinction of the family, comp. Deut. 25:6. In another generation, after it has existed in the first gene-ration among hunger and ruin, comp. ver. 10. In the "its name," there lies a concealed plurality behind the unity. The not being blotted out of the 14th verse is the cause of the being blotted out of the 13th. The 15th verse renders it evident that it comes into notice only in this point of view, and that the Psalmist still goes on to speak of the extinction of the name and the remem-brance. On the visiting of the guilt of the fathers on the chil-dren (of similar character) comp. the Beitr. 3, p. 544, ss. The fundamental passage is Exodus 20:5. The unusual יהוה אל = לפניOccurs in Numbers 10:9; נגד in ver. 15 of the Psalm before us.�On ver. 15 comp. Psalms 9:6; Psalms 34:16. Luther: "Remembrance in Scripture does not imply that one is remembered, otherwise Judas, Pilate, and Herod would be always held in remembrance, but that one is extolled, praised, that there is a good report ofhim."-The זכר לא, in ver. 16 stands in reference to the יזכר, of ver 14. He persecuted the miserable man, not "the poet and such as him," for every where in the Psalms the miserable is only one individual, but me the miserable one. The Psalmist strips off personality. The misery is not what is caused by others, but what is caused by the wicked. This is their guilt, that they will not cease by the sight of the misery of their victim, but are rather thereby instigated to complete their work; comp. at Psalms 69:26. The נכאה is the Part. Niph. of כאה, to be struck down; which root occurs also in Psalms 10:8; Psalms 10:10; it is allied to נבא, to be struck, comp. at Psalms 35:15.-In ver. 17, several translate, "may it come," and "may it be far from him," and refer to the optatives in ver. 19. But this reason is not quite decisive. Declarations and wishes are much more intimately connected than the common exposition assumes that they are, which sees here nothing elsethan arbitrary imprecations: the wish depends upon the state of existence, and grows out of it. And in this half strophe, which, as is manifest from the first verse, is intended to point out the judgments called down upon the wicked in his extremity, it is much more suitable that the form of declaration should be the prevailing one, and not that of wish. The optative construction, moreover, is altogether inadmissible. The fut. with the Vau Conv. never is, and cannot be, used as an optative. By "the curse" several understand the curse which strikes the wicked himself: the wicked loved this, inasmuch as he loved sin, which necessarily draws the curse after it; comp. Proverbs 8:36, "those who hate me love death." Others by the curse understand the curses which he utters against the miserable man. The 28th verse is decisive in favour of this latter view, "they curse, do thou blessso Isaiah 2 Samuel 16:12, where David, when Shimei curses him, says, "Perhaps the Lord will look upon my evil (the evil which has befallen me), and will requite me good for my cursing." The same remark may be made of the blessing.-In the second clause of ver. 18, allusion is made to the waters of cursing, which were given to those accused of adultery to drink, for the purpose of symbolizing the thoroughly pervading power of the curse; Num. v. 22, "And this water that causeth the curse shall go into thy bowels," comp. ver. 24, 27. The figure employed here depends upon the symbol made use of here. Water, internally, stands in direct opposition to the garment surrounding the body exter-nally; oil applied to the exterior, and also operating internally, stands as it were in the middle.-The point of resemblance between the curse and the clothing in ver. 19, is, as the תמיד of the second clause shews, the continuance of it; and is thus dif- ferent from that of the garment of ver. 18.-Ver. 20 contains the epiphoneme; comp. Isaiah 17:14; Isaiah 54:17. On "of those who are enemies to me," comp. ver. 4; on "who speak wickedness," ver. 2, 3. Against my soul,--who wish to take me, comp. "to put me to death," in ver. 16, 31, and the recompense in ver. 8, Psalms 31:13; Psalms 40:14; Psalms 54:4, therefore those who seek to murder me by wicked accusations. Ver. 21-31. -Ver. 21. And do thou, Jehovah, Lord, for me for thy name's sake; because thy mercy is good, deliver thou me. Ver. 22. For I am miserable and poor, and my heart ispierced within me. Ver. 23. I must go hence like the shadow when it declineth, I am carried away like the locust. Ver. 24. My knees are weak through fasting, and my flesh deceives from want of oil. Ver. 25. I am become a reproach to them, they see me, they shake the head. Ver. 26. Help me, O Lord my God, deliver me according to thy mercy. Ver. 27. And may it be known that this is thy hand, thou, Lord, hast done it. Ver. 28. They curse, bless thou; they rise up, may they be ashamed; but may thy servant rejoice. Ver. 29. May my ad-versaries be clothed with shame, and may they be covered in their own disgrace as in a mantle. Ver. 30. I will praise the Lord very much with my mouth, and in the midst of many I will sing praise to him. Ver. 31. For he stands at the right hand of the needy man, that he may deliver him from those who condemn his soul.-And do thou, ver. 21,-My only helper against those who speak against my soul. At "do to me," the object is wanting:--several falsely: "act towards me,''-עשה only means to make, to do, never, to act; it is to be supplied here as in 1 Samuel 14:6, "perhaps the Lord will do to us," from the common phrases "to do mercy," or "to do good to any one:" this may be done much more easily here than in 1 Samuel 14:6, because the thing to be supplied is in reality contained in the clause, "for thy name's sake:"-do to me for thy name's sake what is suitable to thy name, to thy historically manifested mercy. Psalms 119:124 is exactly similar, "do to thy servant (mercy) for thy mercy's sake;" and Jeremiah 14:7, "though our sins testify against us, do thou Lord for thy name's sake (the work of thy name)." On the second clause comp. Psalms 63:3, and especially Psalms 69:16. The prayer here, reversing the order in the first clause precedes its basis: "be-cause good is thy mercy," being an explanation of "thy name's sake."-The first clause of ver. 22 is literally from Psalms 40:17, comp. 69:29. My heart is pierced within me,-by the sword of pain; comp. ver. 16, Psalms 55:4, "my heart trembles within me," in deep pain, sore anguish.-On the first clause of ver. 23 comp. Psalms 102:11, "my days are like a shadow that declineth," like one about to disappear. The declining shadow occurs only in these two pas-sages. The Niph. of הלך (a verb which properly has no Niph.) which occurs only in this passage, denotes a suffering, a forced going. Thelocusts, when the wind seizes them, are irresistibly carried off, and disappear without leaving a trace behind; comp. Exodus 10:19, Joe 2:20, Nahum 3:17. Such comparisons of the sufferer to small helpless creatures are peculiarly characteristic of David; comp. here Psalms 102:7; Psalms 11:1; Psalms 56:1. The fasting in ver. 24 is never used of that want of eating which proceeds from want of appetite (as Maurer here: inedia ex aegritudine), but always of the exercise of penitence as practised by men when overwhelmed or when threatened with severe sufferings; comp. Gesell. in the Thes., and at Psalms 69:10; Psalms 35:13. The Psalmist had already, in his deep and long-continued misery, fasted himself thin and weak. The flesh deceives when, while it is in the best possible condition, it becomes invisible = not shining, not through emaciation, but because it is not attended to. The expression is similar to (ἀצבםῐזןץףי פב נסןףשנב ἀץפשם, they make their faces invisible, not shining, Matthew 6:16. Comp. כזב, to lie, used of waters that sink into the ground in Isaiah 58:11, and גבד, to be faithless, applied to a brook dried up, Job 6:15. The מן in משמן is not to be construed in a privative but in a causal sense, as is obvious from the corresponding word מצום. The expression "from oil" is an abrupt expression instead of "from want of oil." The fasting makes the knees weak by its presence, and the oil makes the flesh not like what it should be by its absence. The common transla-tion is, "my flesh is deficient in fatness;" Gesenius "deficit a pinguedine, contabescit, emaciatur." But against this we may urge, first, the שמן always means oil, ointment, even in Isaiah 10:27, never, as Gousset has acknowledged, on דשן, fat; it occurs in the sense of oil, ointment, in ver. 18; and a special reason for taking it in this sense in the passage before us arises from the usual contrast between the anointing with oil (comp. Deuteronomy 28:20, and Mich. 6:15) and mourning and fasting; comp. 2 Samuel 14:2, "Mourn, and put on thy mourning apparel, and anoint not thyself with oil," 2 Samuel 12:20, "and David rose up from the earth, and washed himself, and anointed himself, "and also the 16th verse of the same chapter, "And David sought God becauseof the child, and David fasted, Matthew 6:16, 17." 2. The כהש never signifies to take away, to become lean, but always to de-ceive; Job 16:8, the only passage to which an appeal has been made, is not to be translated my leanness rises against me,"but my deceit, the hypocrisy, of which by my sufferings I am apparently convicted, 3. The מן in משמן must be taken cau-sally in accordance with מצום.�On the first clause of ver. 25, comp. Ps. xxii, 6, 31:11. And I,-in this miserable condi-tion, who ought rather to be an object of sympathy. On the second clause, comp. Psalms 22:7. The shaking of the head is there, as it is here, a denial of the existence of the sufferer, a de-claration that his state is completely desperate.-On ver. 27, comp. Psalms 59:13, "Annihilate: them that they may no longer exist, and that it may be known that God is ruler in Jacob even to the ends of the earth." Men may know (and thus learn to fear thee) that this my deliverance is thy hand, a work of thy hand, which exhibits the stupidity of the ungodly strengthened as it is in them by their exemption from punishment, as feeble-ness.-That in ver. 20 we cannot translate. " may they curse, but only "they curse," = "though they curse," is manifest from the קמו, On "thy servant," compare Psalms 19:11; Psalms 27:9.�On ver. 29 compare Psalms 71:13. It is a resumption from ver. 18 for the purpose of placing it alongside of the salvation of the servant of God with which alone this strophe is concerned. The comparison of the garment-מעיל a long robe, נןהחסחע accord-ing to Josephus--intimates that they are to be covered with shame from head to foot.-On ver. 30, compare Psalms 7:17 (also the conclusion of the Psalm), 9:1, 34:1, 69:30. On the second clause Psalms 22:22. The preceding prayers rise on the ground of the confidence. The promise of thanks is very appro-priately added to these.-On ver. 31 comp. ver. 6, Psalms 16:8. On "his soul," ver 20. Psalms 110. Luther calls this Psalm "the true high main Psalm of our beloved Lord Jesus Christ;" our Lord himself attests that it was composed in the Holy Ghost; and there is no other passage of the Old Testament so frequently quoted or echoed in the New. Title. By David a Psalm. Ver. 1. The LORD says to my Lord: sit at my right hand, till I make thy enemies thy foot- stool. Ver. 2. The Lord will send thy powerful rod of Sion,rule in the midst of thine enemies. Ver. 3. Thy people free-will gifts in thy day of might, in holy beauty; out of the womb of the morning-heaven, to thee thy youth dew. Ver. 4. The Lord has sworn and will not repent: thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec. Ver, 5, The Lord at thy right hand smites Icings in the day of his wrath. Ver. 6. He shalt judge among the heathen, fill with dead bodies, smite heads on the wide earth. Ver. 7. From the brook he shall drink in the way, therefore he shall lift up the head. The seven verses of the Psalm fall into two strophes, consist- ting, according to the usual division of the seven in the Psalms, the one of four and the other of three verses. The first strophe represents the foundation of the victory of the Anointed; and falls into two members, each of two verses. The offspring of David. sits at the right hand of the Lord, partner of the might and the dominion of the Almighty, therefore he will make easy work with his enemies, ver. 1, 2; the offspring of David has a people which offers itself willingly to the Lord; a holy people to whom victory cannot be wanting is given him from above; for he is, according to the sure divine purpose, not only king but also a priest for ever according to the order of Melchisedec, and as such purifies his people from their sins. A double ground of hope is hence fur-nished to us. The first is the sitting of the Anointed at the right hand of God; the second, the people of the Anointed: this last, however, is not a human but a divine ground of hope For the people is only what it is through the true priest which God has given it; the proper foundation therefore of the victory next to the true kingly power of the Anointed to whom all power in earth and heaven has been given, is his true priesthood.-As the first strophe describes the foundation of the victory, the second de-scribes the victory itself. We see how the Lord by his Anointed, and the Anointed with the help of the Lord, overthrows the enemies with irresistible power. At the beginning, ver. 1, and at the end, ver. 6 and 7, David speaks of the Anointed; and in the middle he speaks to him. In the first strophe the verses have a festive length; the description of the victory moves on in short clauses, like the rapid victory itself. The Psalm was composed by David when the seat of govern-ment and the ark of the covenant were brought to Mount Zion. This is evident from ver. 2, according to which the Lord extends the kingdom of his Anointed from Zion, and from the mention of Melchisedec, the royal priest of Salem, as the type of the union of royalty and the priesthood in the Anointed, in ver. 4. David, further, must already have been in possession of the promise made to him according to 2 Samuel 7. by Nathan, of the eternal dura-tion of his seed; for this forms the basis of the Psalm. The Psalm finally represents the triumphant termination of the wars of David, particularly the severest of them all, the Aramean-Edomitic and the Ammonitic-Aramean; for these victories form the terminating point of the Psalm. The expectations and claims made by the servants of the true and living God are from the beginning wide and all comprehensive. The servants of the true God are not at all satisfied with a limited part; but they claim for their God and his kingdom, just because he is the true God, God in the full sense, the Creator and Lord of the whole world, the whole earth in its remotest extent; and they make this claim with a decision and hold it with a tenacity, which must surprise all who do not know their real reasons. Abraham even in the days of old had the nations of the whole earth in his eye, and the blessing to be brought to them by his seed formed the centre of his hopes. Jacob saw Shiloh coming from the tribe of Judah, whom the nations obey. Everywhere onward, wherever there is living faith, we find also claims to the do-minion of the world. During the preceding and at the beginning of the present century it was one of the most mournful signs of the decay of the Church that believers were contented if they were only not disturbed in their own little corner. Expectations, claims, and efforts, wide as the world, arose along with the revival of faith. It was thus that David, notwithstanding his glorious vic-tories and the elevation of the people of God above what had ever been known in former days, was not content with this corner-do-minion. It served only to give a new impetus to his world-wide claims and expectations. But at the same time he perceived that there could be no fulfilment of these hopes in the ordinary way. Even with the mighty help of her Lord, a King like himself could have no prospect of ever being able completely to subjugate the power of the world, which like a wall of brass opposed the progress ofthe kingdom of God; this must be reserved for a King whose throne was withdrawn from earth to heaven, and who participated in divine omnipotence. A people, moreover, such as that of David, was not fitted to bring the holy war against the world to a thorough ter-mination; it wanted the spirit of entire devotedness and surrender to the Lord; it wanted the holy dress necessary for the soldiers of the Lord; and David and any one like him were not able to give this: its root lies in reconciliation and the forgiveness of sin, which one sinner cannot impart to another. Still, David was not wrong in his hopes because of these apparently insuperable diffi-culties which opposed their fulfilment. He had received from God the sure promise of the eternal dominion of his race; he who was a prophet, Acts 2:30, by whom, as he himself says in 2 Samuel 23:2, the Spirit of the Lord spake, and on whose tongue the word of the Lord was, knew that this promise would reach its height in the Messiah, of whom there had been spread abroad some dark information from a remote antiquity. When he now drew near to God, at the holy moment to which our Psalm owes its origin, with "receive the prayer of our distress," it was re-vealed to him in Spirit-for he speaks here in the spirit, accord-ing to the express declaration of our Lord-that in this his offspring, who at the same time is his Lord, these difficulties would come to an end. He shall sit at the right hand of Omni-potence and be a priest for ever, and therefore shall raise his people to the sovereignty of the world. It may well fill us with deep shame when we see how believers under the Old Testament prepared for themselves, out of what the Lord had already done, ladders, on which they rose freshly and joyfully to comprehensive hopes (we are too much inclined to despise small beginnings), how David simply brought all his doubts to God, and how he laid hold of the word of God with triumphant joy and immoveable firmness,-he who was sent entirely alone to this word, while the Scheblimini and the “Thou art a priest for ever.” have been verified to us for eighteen hundred years. "He clings to it," says Luther, "with such firm faith, what he does not see he apprehends with such power of mind, and it is so sure to him, that he speaks of it as if he saw it already fulfilled before his eyes, and thus talks of it with a joyful rejoicing spirit, while his heart burns and overflows with joy towards the Lord Christ."Who is the man who, with such an example before his eyes, ought not to feel ashamed of doubts, mourning, and lamentations when the billows of the world again break with power against the rocks of the church. In accordance with the special point from which the Psalm sets out, the Psalm treats of only one view of the announcement of theMessiah, Christ, as. ruler over his enemies; and, in like manner, this point exerts its influence-upon the form in which the victory of the offspring of David over his enemies is celebrated,-a form which occurs elsewhere even in the New Testament, in the Apocalypse. It is a matter of indifference to us how far David recognised this form as such. It is not possible to suppose him to have been completely ignorant of it; for a king who is at the same time a high priest, who reconciles his people, and who is followed by his people to the battle in holy attire, can be no common warrior.Full explanations of the form were unnecessary; it was enough in the first instance to know that it was to be; history must tell how. The address of God, the revelation in ver. 1, is only in point of form directed to David's Lord-it is David himself who re-ceives it. Jo. Arnd: "I, says the prophet David, heard God our heavenly father speak with his dear Son, and because it was a glorious royal speech which I would fain all the world should hear, I have recorded it in this Psalm." David calls his offspring his Lord, not merely in his own name but in that of the whole church of God; it is as the mouth of the church that he here speaks, and hence the explanation of the fact that our Lord in all the three Evangelists says David called him Lord, not his Lord. This mode of speech leads to the idea, as our Lord shows in arguing against the Pharisees, that David recognized in his offspring something altogether more than human. Its ex-planation and basis are to be found in the mighty word Schebli-mini, with which, according to Luther's expression, David leads and lifts Christ once for all from earth above all heavens. The throne of God, at the right hand of which the Anointed is to sit, is "the throne high and lifted up" of Isaiah, ch. vi., to which David in his own troubles, and in those of the Church, had so often directed his eye, Psalms 9:7; Psalms 68:18; Psalms 29:10 (comp. Psalms 2:4; Psalms 11:4), the symbol of his dominion over heaven and earth, andevery thing in them; comp. Psalms 103:19, "the Lord has prepared his throne in heaven, and his kingdom ruleth over all." The right hand of the mighty is the symbol of his might. Therefore earthly sovereigns allow those whom they desire to constitute par- takers of their sovereignty, to sit at the right hand of their throne. Thus Solomon set his mother at his right hand; in her case the participation in sovereignty was only ideal; she reigned in her son, not next to him or in his name. This place, however, was occupied altogether in a peculiar manner, by those who hold an office of great antiquity in the East, that namely of the represen-tative of royalty, who was invested with full kingly rank and power. This office was held by Joseph in Egypt, whom we find Pharaoh thus addressing, "Thou shalt be over my house, and according to thy word shall all my people be ruled, only in the throne will I be greater than thou: behold, I set thee over the whole land of Egypt: without thee no one shall lift up hand or foot in the whole land of Egypt," Genesis 41:40-44 : he sits in Pharaoh's chariot, and the proclamation is made before him, Bow the knee. It was this rank that Salome claimed for one of her sons in the Redeemer's kingdom of glory, when taking occasion of the remark of Christ, that the twelve apostles should sit next his glorious throne, on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel, she came to him and said, "Grant that these my two sons may sit in thy kingdom, the one on thy right hand and the other on thy left hand," Matthew 19:28. He who is invested with this honour by the Lord of heaven and earth, he whom he calls to sit at the right hand of his throne, and thus proclaims as his vicegerent and representative, is thereby elevated far above every human condi-tion, and is invested with full participation in divine power over heaven and earth, as our Lord interpreting the Scheblimini de-clared to be the case with himself before he left the earth. This Scheblimini is infinitely rich in consolation for the Church of God at all times; and the man who lets this one word get into his heart, is removed from all pain and all sorrow,-it is all one to him whether his enemies are few or many, he looks with serene smiles upon their tumults and their vain attempts. He says with Arnd: "I know one who sits at the right hand of God; and he is strong enough for my enemies and for all my misfortune. He sits on my account at the right hand of God to protect me." Theword is all the more full of comfort, as Christ not only sits at the right hand of God for himself, but also raises his people to the same place with him, even now in time, and more gloriously still in eternity, as John says in the Apocalypse: "To him that overcometh will I grant to sit down with me on my throne, as I overcame and sat down with my father on his throne;" and Paul, 2 Timothy 2:12, "If we suffer, we shall also reign with him." But that sitting of Christ at the right hand of God is still a concealed thing. It is only some one like Stephen, full of the Holy Ghost, who sees the heaven open and the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of God. The Schlebimini, first given to the Church by revelation, can be known to be true, and can be carried home to the heart only by revelation. He who sits at the right hand of the Father wields his power unobserved, so that it can be per-ceived only by faith. This is the case in order that believers may be exercised in faith, and that the world in righteous retri-bution for its unbelief towards him may run on to its own de-struction. “ What think you,” says Luther, "should this poor, weak, beggar-king do with his miserable, naked, defenceless crowd? His enemies run so full of confidence upon him, and rage at him with all their power, so that at first it seems as if they would push him from his throne. But take care of your-self,-though he seems to be very weak, and God winks at it, as if he saw and could do nothing. For now he is upon them, he will destroy them when they are in their best thoughts and in their highest power; and in the midst of their work he will cast the dice and turn all things upside down with them, so that they shall suddenly be found lying on the ground ere they have time to look around them; and lie will so deal with them that at the very moment when they are running at him and raging at them, they themselves shall run away and fall, and thus be overwhelm-ed and made his footstool at the very moment when they were intending to overthrow him and put him beneath their feet."-The Lord shall sit at the right hand of God until he makes his enemies his footstool,-subjugates them entirely, not so as if he sat quiet and looked idly on; but, on the contrary, every thing decidedly represents him overthrowing them himself, clothed with omnipotence. As the possession of divine omnipotence in "sit at my right hand," is given to the king only for the one definiteobject set before us throughout the whole Psalm, viz., the contest against the enemies; the "until" is to be understood as excluding this. It is deserving of notice, that, as soon as we hear of Christ in the Old Testament, we hear also of his enemies, just as in the days of his flesh we see him everywhere surrounded by enemies, and engaged in contest with them. This serves as an evidence against those who would derive all the enmity of the world against Christ from the conduct of his servants; it shews that we should not feel surprised if, for the present, we see such hosti-lity growing stronger and stronger, that we should consider it as quite a natural thing that we must suffer from this enmity, and that we can attain to peace only when, after a protracted and severe struggle, we participate in the victory of Christ. It is painful to be engaged in this conflict; but it cannot be otherwise, as the world "lieth in wickedness."-The second verse merely developes a consequence from the first. If the Lord has said to his Anointed, in presence of his enemies, "sit at my right hand," he must necessarily stretch forth his punishing hand as far as that enmity extends. This rod is the symbol, not of go-vernment, but of victory over resistance; it is the instrument by which the adversaries are punished; it corresponds to the sharp two-edged sword which, according to Revelation 1:16, proceeds out of the mouth of the Son of Man. The Lord will send this rod out of Sion, the ancient seat of the royal family of David, which reached its height in the Anointed, in order that, wielded by his mighty hand, it might wheel round among the enemies, and strike them to the ground. The "rule thou" is, in its con-nection with ver. 1, an exhortation; but it really contains in it a prophecy. In the midst of thine enemies,--not at all in some corner of them; the enemies are round on every side, but Christ, in the midst of them, rules in every direction.--Ver, 3 and 4 are, like ver. 1 and 2, bound together as one pair. The comfort which the omnipotent kingdom of the Lord imparts to the people of God, in view of a hostile world, is here accompanied, side by side, by that drawn from his eternal priesthood, which secures for them the forgiveness of sins, and, as rooted in this, the spirit of willing surrender and dedication, and the possession of holy garments, which are necessary for the holy contest. While verse first contains the ground, and verse second the consequence, theLord has said, "sit thou at my right hand," &c., “therefore the Lord shall send.” &c., the order is here inverted, "thy people, willing gifts," &c., "for the Lord has sworn." The Psalmist wished the people of the Lord to stand directly over against his enemies. The king has not only enemies, but he has also subjects, such subjects as, from their very nature, carry along with them a security for victory, not in consequence of any innate excellence, but from a divine cause; their king is, at the same time, the true high priest. The people of the king denote his subjects, not in and for themselves, his warriors. But, in seasons of danger, all subjects are also warriors; and it is in this view alone that they came into notice in this war-like Psalm; "he is a bad servant who dares to stand still when he sees the general advancing." The נדבה has only the sense of free-will gifts; and it is the usual term for free-will gifts of-fered to the Lord. The Lord is also here the receiver; the Anointed is the priest by whose mediation they are brought to the Lord. Such free-will offerings were brought by Israel to the Lord at the erection of the tabernacle, which was entirely built out of such gifts. "Speak," thus said the Lord at that time to Moses, (Exodus 25:2), "to the children of Israel, that they bring to me free-will offerings, from every man whose heart inclines him, ye shall take my offering." After the erection of the ta-bernacle, full opportunity was afforded by the law to grateful spirits to present such offerings. But while there the gifts con-sisted of things, which were offered by persons, in the passage before us, the persons offer themselves as free-will gifts. They dedicate and offer themselves to God through their high priest on the day of battle for life and death without any reserve. This offering takes place on the king's day of power. The day of battle-this is what is meant-is at the same time for him the day of power. The king, who sits at the right hand of God, and who marches forward at the head of a people who willingly offer up themselves, must, when he fights, necessarily conquer. But this people who willingly offer up themselves in the day of battle can be known only by the eye of faith; and that faith is a more difficult thing than faith in the king at the right hand of God; just as I believe in a holy Catholic church is the most difficult article of the creed. The matter here is to discover the willingoffering of the heart concealed under the surface of timidity, in dolence, and unwillingness, to be able, in confidence in the eter-nal High Priest appointed by God, to believe and hope that the future shall more and more bring to pass what has been very much wanting in the past, and at the same time to continue earnest in believing prayer, that the offering up of the spirit on the part of the people of God may become more real.-The second half of the verse is to be explained: the youthful soldiers of the king re-semble in their holy attire the dew in beauty, like which they un-expectedly present themselves. Holy attire,-the priests put on holy attire when they did duty in the sanctuary, in anticipation of "be ye renewed in the spirit of your minds, and put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and holi-ness," Ephesians 4:23; Ephesians 4:24,-a maxim intended to ring in the ears of every one who draws near to the holy God. The combatants are here clothed in holy attire, because the contest is no ordinary one; it is one in which it is necessary to put off the old man with his works, and in which not one thing even can be done by those who go forward in the spotted garments of the flesh; "it is a bearing of the cross, a holy warfare," where those only are admitted to the hon-our of the battle who go forward in holy garments, the symbol of holy hearts, the dress suitable to the chosen generation, the royal priesthood, the holy people, Exodus 19:6, 1 Peter 2:9. In this holyattire the youth-dew of the king appears, his youthful dew, hisyouthful soldiery, who in their holy garments resemble the dew in beauty. The soldiery of the king consists in part of old grey war-riors, but the spirit of youth is common to them all; and therefore the whole army presents to the Psalmist a youthful appearance. "Those who wait upon the Lord renew their strength, they mount up on wings as eagles, they run without being wearied, they walk without fainting." It is the service of the Lord alone that guaran-tees strength. This youth dew comes to the king "from the bosom of the morning-heaven." In this it is implied, to use the words of Luther, "that it is with the birth of the children of this king-dom as it is with the lovely dew, which falls in spring every day early in the morning, and no man can say how it is made, or where it comes from, still it lies there every morning upon the grass."-The youthful soldiers of the king are indebted for the willing spirit and the holy garments to his appointment to be apriest for ever after the manner of Melchisedec: for the Lord has sworn and will not repent, thou art not only a king, thou art also a priest after the manner of Melehisedec, who in days of old united in Sion the royal and the priestly office. The office of the high priest consisted in mediating between God and the people; and this duty is performed agreeably to the condition of the latter by ob-taining the forgiveness of sins through offerings and intercessions. As the mediation of the high priest consisted chiefly in obtain-ing reconciliation and the forgiveness of sins, these come parti-cularly into notice in Leviticus 16., where we have a description of the ceremonies which took place on the great day of atonement, on which were concentrated the main duties of the office of high priest. David felt his weakness painfully on this point. He might indeed by his transgression bring judgment upon the people (2 Samuel 24:17), but he could not effect reconciliation; safety therefore in the field against enemies could never be perfect. He knew that even a king at the right hand of God was not sufficient for the necessities of the people of God. A holy people might in-deed be sufficiently cared for by him; but a sinful people can only be sure of victory, if their king is at the same time also a high priest. The discourse of the Lord is in reality addressed to this people, although in point of form to the Anointed. "I swear to you poor sinners"--thus Jo. Arnd gives correctly the sense-"that for your comfort I have ordained and given this my Son to be your high priest, who shall reconcile you and bless you." A people offering themselves freely to the Lord, in holy garments, a king at their head, who is at the same time a priest set apart by God himself to that office for all eternity, expiating whatever of sin cleaves to them, interceding, mediating, procuring the most in-timate communion between them and God,-how is it possible that victory against the world should fail to be obtained even though the world rise against them with all its might? The description the victory itself follows in the second strophe this allusion to the presence of all the foundations of victory. The address is in ver. 5, as in the whole Psalm, directed to the king and high priest. As surely as he sits at the right-hand of the Lord, so surely must the Lord stand at his right hand in the day of the mighty conflict, as his omnipotent helper and ally, and so surely must the enemies be destroyed by him,mighty kings no less than the feeblest and the smallest; for in view of omnipotence, human might is only a section of feebleness. "He strikes kings in the day of his wrath," deeply affected the heart of Luther: "Thus," he says, "as I rather think from this prophecy, it will be some day with Germany, so that it shall be said, there lies beloved Germany destroyed and depopulated. For they will bring it about that God will act towards them the same part that he acted towards Rome and Jerusalem. God grant that we and our children may then be dead and not see this misery." This anticipation was once fulfilled when they sang: “ May the lands depopulated, the churches destroyed by war and fire, be again restored.” God grant that it may not be fulfilled a second time.- That we cannot in ver. 6 translate with Luther, "he shall smite the head over great lands," which many interpreters apply to Antichrist, but only, "he smites the heads over the wide earth," is evident, besides other reasons, from the manifest contrast be-tween smiting the head of the enemies, and lifting up that of the king and high priest.-The figure of the brook out of which the king shall drink in the way, in the course of the contest and the victory, ver. 7, is explained by the history of Samson. Samson, after he had slain a thousand Philistines with the jaw bone of an ass, was very thirsty, and cried unto the Lord and said: "Thou hast given this great deliverance unto the hand of thy servant; and now I shall die for thirst, and fall into the hands of the un-circumcised: then God clave the hollow place that was in Lehi, and there came out water, and he drank, and his spirit came back, and he revived; wherefore he called the name of it, The well of him that called, which is at Lehi unto this day." "Our Sam-son, the beloved warrior," is not like his type subject to fatigue, as sure as he sits at the right hand of Omnipotence: but people drink from the fountain not only to quench thirst, but also to re-main exempt from thirst; and the service rendered by such a brook is performed for him by that divine strength always flowing in to him which secures him against fatigue in the hottest conflict. His servants, however, and warriors, are oftened fatigued in the way, and cry out with Samson of old, "I shall now die with thirst, and fall into the hands of these uncircumcised." But the same fountain which secures the captain against fatigue, strengthens his soldiers in the endurance of fatigue, and supports them sothat they can lift up their head along with their captain. What is wanting to the enemies of the Lord, is the brook in the way, "the well of him that calleth." But he to whom this well is given cannot give way to despair, though he may at times be mournful and hang his head. The clause at the conclusion, "there-fore he shall lift us his head," corresponds to that at the commence-ment, "sit thou at my right hand." Such a beginning can befollowed only by such an end. The warrior lifts up his head in triumph after all his enemies have been cast down to the ground; "and his soldiers shout victory, and proclaim him to be a hero who keeps field and heart." This shall happen, in the most glo-rious manner, when the blessed and joyful day shall dawn, on which it shall be proclaimed: "the kingdoms of this world have become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign for ever and ever," Revelation 11:15. "But may God help us," -to conclude with the words of Luther-"to remain with this Lord, and to be found thankful to him, and to sing this Psalm to him with right faith and joy. To this our beloved Lord and Saviour alone be praise, glory, and honour, along with the Father and the Holy Ghost, one God, for ever. Amen." Having given this general exposition of the Psalm, we would now subjoin some explanations and additions on particular points. First by way of Introduction. The composition of the Psalm by David is attested by the title. This attestation is confirmed by the circumstance, that a Davidic trilogy of Psalms is, with manifest design, placed at the head of the dodecade, like a commanding citadel; by the con-nection which subsists; between the Psalm and the two preceding ones attributed in the titles to David; and finally by our Lord, whose whole train of reasoning grounded upon our Psalm, Matthew 22:41-46, Mark 12:35-37, Luke 20:41-44, depends upon the fact of the Psalm having been composed by David. The internal reasons corroborate these external ones. The courageous, fresh, warlike tone, leads us to the hero David, to whom alone, of all the authors of the Psalms, this tone is peculiar. At the founda-tionof this Psalm are to be found lying the relations of David's time, David's wars and victories. Its intimate connection with Psalms 2 is also in favour of its having been composed by David. This is denied only by those to whom its admission would be uu-pleasant, on account of the resistance which it makes to their preconceived hypothesis in regard to exposition. The attempt to weaken, in part, the testimony of the title, by translating לדוד by de Davide, is altogether a vain one. In the titles of the Psalms this expression can occur only in one sense. That the king and high priest of our Psalm is Messiah, was universally acknowledged among the ancient Jews: their testi-mony in favour of this is a national one. We see this so fully from the passages quoted above from the New Testament, that any other proof is altogether unnecessary. The Messianic cha-racter of the Psalm our Lord assumes as a fact universally ad-mitted, and makes it the basis of all his reasonings; and his opponents never think of denying it for the purpose of evading the conclusions which he draws. That this national exposition rests upon a real foundation is clear from the testimony of our Lord, which, on the ground of the reference of the Psalm to the Messiah, exhibits the untenable nature of the view then generally held, that the Messiah was to be a mere man. The old rational-ism has in vain made every effort to set aside this testimony of our Lord:-compare the enumeration and explanation of the manifold ancient expedients in Bergmann, comm. in Ps. ex. Ley-den 1819, the only separate work on our Psalm, and a work which, on account of the careful and almost complete collection of materials, is well worthy of notice. In recent times, Bleek, in his Commentary on the Epistle to the Hebrews, has made an at-tempt of the same kind-the matter is so clear that it really is not worth while to subject these efforts of mere inclination to fur-ther scrutiny. It would imply something altogether derogatory to our Lord, if we were to suppose that he could refer a Psalm of merely common import, with so much decision and confidence, to the Messiah, to himself (comp. still further Matthew 26:64), and deduce from it such important conclusions as he draws. In like manner it presents the apostles and the authors of the New Tes-tament in a very pitiable light, and it implies views altogether derogatory to the divine character of the sacred Scriptures, to suppose that a Psalm, on which they build so much, on which the whole doctrine of the sitting of Christ at the right hand of God is founded, really contains nothing whatever on which to rear such a superstructure; comp. Acts 2:34, 7:55, 56; 1 Peter 3:22; Romans 8:34 ; 1 Corinthians 15:24 ss.; Ephesians 1:20-22; Phil. 2, 9-11; Hebrews 1:3; Hebrews 1:13; Hebrews 1:14; Hebrews 8:1; Hebrews 10:12; Hebrews 10:13. It is not necessary, however, in opposition to these men, to call in authorities which they hold to be of no value. We are able, independently of these, and entirely on the force of internal evidence, to shew the inad-missibility of every other reference, so completely; that the ex-istence of such expositions in our day, can be accounted for only by the descent of rationalistic tradition from a time in which all Messianic Psalms had to be set aside at any cost-a descent which occasions a singular contrast to the interpretation of the prophets. If we are to have done with all the absurdities of Messianic Psalms, the important question arises, how comes it that nothing is to be found in the Psalms of what forms the ker-nel and the star of prophecy? The internal reasons in favour of the Messianic exposition are the following The speaker in ver. 1 calls the Messiah his Lord. Now as, according to the title, David is the author of the Psalm, the object can--be-neither himself nor any othr subject, except the Messiah. This argu-ment has been attempted to be got rid of by the assumption, that David does not speak in his own name, but in that of the people. The last author who adopts this view is Hoffmann. Most assu-redly nothing is more frequent in the Psalms than for the Psalmist to speak in the name of the people; yea, this is the common case; and that it is the case here is manifest from the connection with Psalms 108., where, in like manner, the people are introduced speaking, and also from the evidence of our Lord, who, in all the three Evangelists, says, David calls the Messiah Lord, not his Lord. But everywhere in such passages the Psalmist does not place himself in opposition to the people, but includes himself in them. The only apparent exceptions in the whole book of Psa 20:21., disappear on a closer view. For David there, along with the whole church, addresses his seed, his posterity on the throne.a II. "Sit at my right hand" is an expression which a This objection has been removed in a correct manner by Calvin: The Jews have no good ground for objecting that Christ uses a quibble, because David does not speak in his own name, but in that of the people. For, although it must be acknowledged that the Psalm was composed for the common use of the church, yet, inasmuch as David himself was one of the pious, and a member of the body under the head, he could not exempt himself, nay, he could not dictate a Psalm without singing it also with his own voice. excludes David and every other ordinary king. It denotes the investing with divine omnipotence, or, as our Lord explains it, the giving all power in heaven and on earth. The attempts to give to this magnificent expression a sense by which it can be accommodated to inferior persons, are, from their very variety, worthy of contempt. They are thereby seen to be the product of mere inclination. Hoffmann., Pro. and its Fulfil., gives the sense thus: he shall receive the seat of honour in that place where Je-hovah sits enthroned on Mount Sion. But, the sitting theright hand never occurs as merely expressive of honour; it de-notes always particpation in power and dominion; and the throne of the Lord cannot be in Sion, but in heaven; for in Sion, the throne of the Lord was nothing else than the king's throne; the king sat there, not, next the throne, of God, but on it, as his vice-gerent in the government of Israel; comp. 1 Chronicles 28:5, "He has chosen Solomon to sit upon the throne of the kingdom of the Lord over Israel;" 29:23, "And Solomon sat upon the throne of the Lord." III. According to ver. 3, the people of the king goes forth with him to the battle in holy attire. That this expression has occasioned great embarrassment, is manifest from the fact, that De Wette, on the ground of a few MSS., pro- l poses, instead of בהדרי to read בהררי "on the holy mountains," which, in this connection, is wholly unsuitable, and destroys the point of the comparison, so necessary, of the dew ; while, at the same time, בהדרי, is defended by the parallel between the holy priestly attire and the free-will offerings, and by the high priesthood of the king, who goes forth at the head of his people in holy priestly garments. History furnishes no example of the host going out, incommon wars, in sacred garments. IV. The king, according to ver. 4, is to be a priest for ever after the manner of Melchisedec. It has been maintained, that the predicate of priestly royalty might be applied to every one of the Israelitish kings, inasmuch as they all held the highest authority in ecclesiastical matters, arranged the festivals, offered sacrifices, &c., more especially David, who, at the bringing in of the ark of the covenant, 2 Sam. vi., acted entirely as the high priest, was dressed in sacerdotal garments, of-fered sacrifices, and blessed the people. But it is, after all, very singular, that the Israelitish kings are nowhere else termed priests. Assuredly the kings did exercise an important influ-ence in religious matters; this was necessary from the nature of things, and everywhere occurred. Yet the essentials of the priestly office remained, as formerly, in the exclusive posses-sion of the family of Aaron, which alone was charged with the service of God,-the attempt of Uzziah to share in this preroga-tive was punished as a dreadful offence with leprosy; comp. 2 Chron. 26:16-21,-and which alone had to do with what formed the peculiar kernel of the priestly office; the expiating the sins of the people. David assuredly wore, at the bringing in of the ark, a linen ephod; but this, so far from being identical with what was peculiar to the high priest, was in direct opposition to it; it was the dress only of those who held a subordinate place in the service of God (comp. the Beitr. 3 p. 67);-so that we have here David himself, by a matter of fact, declaring that he was not high priest. And even this subordinate dress David wore only on one extraordinary and special occasion. We read, indeed, in 2 Samuel 6:17, "And David brought burnt offerings before the Lord, and peace offerings;" but that David offered these himself is about as clear from this passage, as that he brought himself to Jerusalem the ark of the covenant, may be proved from ver. 12, or that he built the altar with his own hands may be proved from 2 Samuel 24:25. Even in the law, the offering of sacrifices is frequently attributed to the people, according to the usage of speech, quae causae principali omnia etiam ad Tnaterialem per-tinentia tribuit; comp. Beitr. p. 58 ; and also Joshua 8:30 ss. The blessing is, in the law, not confined exclusively to the priests, but only the priestly form of benediction in Numbers 6. David, though not a priest, blessed the people of God with the same right with which Moses, the man of God, blessed the children of Israel before his death, Deuteronomy 33:1. David's submission to the revealed will of God was marked by tender regard; no one who does not completely misunderstand his whole position in reference to the law could attribute to him the slightest approach to the thought of intruding into the priestly office; and that he was very far from doing this is evident from the fact of his acknowledging Zadok and Abiathar as possessing this office. Moreover it is al-together impossible for us to conceive that the priesthood here spoken of is "one which is essentially connected with rightly con-stituted royalty," inasmuch as this pretended priesthood neverhas applied to it in the Old Testament such a name, and the highly expressive language, "the Lord has sworn, and will not repent," points to something altogether unusual, and so contrary to the existing state of things, that it required the strongest pos-sible guarantee ere it could be believed:-what was a necessary concomitant of royalty did not require to be the object of a solemn asseveration. This priesthood, moreover, in so far as it came into notice in this connection, afforded no security for the willing surrender of the people to God, and for their holiness, no security for victory in the contest against the whole world arrayed in hostility. The imaginary priesthood finally was not after the manner of Melchisedec. For in his case, the narrative discrimi-nates exactly between him as king and as priest: as king, he brings to Abraham bread and wine, and as priest, he imparts, to him the sacerdotal blessing, while Abraham, who himself exer-cised the duties of the priestly office in his own family, gave him tithes in acknowledgment of his sacerdotal functions. Hitzig gets quit of a portion of these difficulties by the assumption that the reference is to Jonathan the real high priest. But though, in this case, there exists what is wanting in the others, there is wanting in it what is to be found in them: Jonathan was not a king, and therefore cannot be the representative of the sacerdo-tal king Melchisedec. Besides, the first and second reasons weigh heavier against this exposition than they do against the others; and the Psalmist, who, according to Hitzig's own view, does not utter poetic phantasies, but divine suggestions, would al-together stand in need of our compassion for speaking with such ridiculous pathos of such a man. The remark of Ewald, "King and royalty appear here on the highest summit of nobility and glory," is alone sufficient to set aside this thought. There can, however, be the less difficulty in recognising in the Messiah the high priest for ever, as even in Is. liii., the Messiah appears not only as a real offerer of sacrifice, but even as real high priest: in the latter office, he sprinkles many nations, 52:15, presents a sin-offering, 53:10, intercedes for sinners, ver. 12. Zechariah also, in a prophecy referring to the Psalm before us, ch. 6. 9:45, foretells the union in the Messiah of the priestly andAingly(comp. the Christol. 2 p. 69 ss.), and in a passage before this, ch. 3:8, represents the Messiah as the true high priest.through whom God will forgive the sins of the whole laud, Christol. 2 p. 51.-IV. The king is to be a high priest for ever. The expositions which give to this expression a sense less than that of absolute eternity cannot be admitted, inasmuch we have before us a solemn oath of God, and the "for ever" stands in manifest reference to the promise given to David regarding the eternal duration of his family. Hoffmann translates, "till the end of his life:" "we have no reason for understanding the לעולם, other-wise than at Psalms 21:4," but we have special reason for under-standing the passage before us differently from the view taken by Hoffmann. Ewald supposes that people always wish the reign of a good king to be eternal; but we have before us no wish of the Psalmist, but a declaration of God, accompanied by a solemn oath. Comp., as to further points connected with עוכן, the in-vestigations in Christol. P. 2 p. 427 ss, The reasons against the Messianic view are of no consequence. It has been said: 1. The Psalmist speaks to the king and high priest as to a cotemporary, to one present; and there is no inti-mation whatever as to his appearing at a future day for the first time. Bleek writes in this strain, p. 183. But if David calls another king his Lord, he thereby intimates distinctly enough, that he speaks of a person yet to appear. And if we must not adopt the poetical-prophetic anticipation of the future, it will be necessary to return, in regard to Is. ix, 11 and other Messianic passages, to the now exploded interpretations which refer them to some subject existing at the time when the prophet wrote. 2, The idea of a Messiah does not occur in the time of David or of Solomon. In answer to this we point to 2 Samuel 23., Ps. ii., 45., and 72:3. "Such a Messiah, a warrior and a priest, never appeared." We answer: he did indeed appear; but those who adopt this objection "knew him not," Matthew 16:12. The poetical form in which he is here spoken of cannot pre- vent the real fulfilment from being seen, as Jehovah himself in the Old Testament is frequently spoken of under the figure of a human warrior; comp., for example, Isaiah 13:4. The relation already referred to in our introductory remarks at Psalms 109., as subsisting between that Psalm and the one now be-fore us, was correctly perceived, as to essentials, by the Christian fathers: they say Ps. cix, contains פב וἰע קסיףפןם נבטחלבפב,the sufferings of Christ, and the Psalm before us, פבע לופב פבץפב הןמבע the glory that should follow; comp. the passages in Cor-derius in the Catena, in which, however, they err in interpreting Psalms 109. exclusively of the Messiah. Ver. 1. The נאם a speech of God, a Revelation, is always used of an infallible divine revelation, and shews that we have not to do with a poetic dream; in 2 Samuel 23:2, it follows: "the Spirit of the Lord speaks by me, and his word is in my tongue." It occurs in the mouth of David, besides Psalms 36:1, where the נאםיהוה is parodied, in 2 Samuel 23:1. In that passage the ex-pression is dependant upon Numbers 24:3 (comp. the Treatise on Balaam, p. 133); and that the passage before us possesses a similar dependance is evident from the circumstance that here the discourse opens the piece-a form which, besides the passage before us and 2 Samuel 23., occurs only in Proverbs 30:1; comp. on Balaam. We have already remarked that in reality the ex-pression, "The Lord says to my Lord," is equivalent to "The Lord says to me of my Lord." That David obtains this revela-tion in name of the church is evident from the fact that in Psalms 108. also he speaks in the name of the Lord.- Daniel 7:13; Daniel 7:14, forms the most ancient commentary upon "Sit thou at my right hand." There the Son of Man comes on the clouds of heaven to the Ancient of Days, to the heavenly throne of God, "and there is given to him dominion, and glory, and majesty, and all peo-ples, and nations, and tongues shall serve him, his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which does not pass away, and his king-dom shall not be destroyed,"-a passage which our Lord, in Matthew 26:24, connects with the one before us, the real import of which he explains in Matthew 28:18, "From henceforth ye shall see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of Omnipotence, and coming in the clouds of heaven." Even there the Son of Man rules from heaven over the earth. It is constantly taken for granted in the New Testament that the throne of God, at whose right hand the king sits, is only the heavenly throne; comp. Acts 2:34, Ephesians 1:20-22, Hebrews 13, 14. In reference to the right hand, as the seat and symbol of power and might, comp., for example, Exodus 15:6, "Thy right hand, O Lord, is glorious in power; thy right hand destroys the enemy." Knapp, in his treatise "On Christ sitting at the right hand of God," main-tains, without any good reason, that the place at the right hand of kings as he sat upon the throne was given not only to those whom they announced as sharers in their power, but also to those to whom they wished to exhibit their glory and friendship. The example of Bathsheba cannot prove this. She obtained the place at the right hand of Solomon, according to 1 Kings 2:19, as "the mother of the king;" as such she shared, in a certain sense, fully in his dominion. Even at table, those who sat at the right hand of Saul were the individuals who shared in his dominion, generally his son Jonathan, who held under him the place which he would willingly have held also under David (ac-cording to 1 Samuel 23:17, "And he said to David, Fear not, for the hand of Saul my father shall not find thee, and thou shalt rule over Israel, and I shall be thy vicegerent, למשנה), and in his absence, Abner; comp. 1 Samuel 20:25, and Thenius on the pas-sage:-it was a totally different thing, however, to sit on the throne. That in Psalms 45:9, the standing of the consort at the right hand denotes such participation in dominion as a woman can enjoy, is evident from ver. 12, "So shall the daughters of Tyre make sup-plication to thee with gifts," humbly solicit thy favour. Among the ancient Arabians the vicegerents of the king sat at the king's right hand, at assembly; comp. Eichorn, monum. p. 220: assideti.e. qui post sequitur, qui secundus a rege est, a dextera ejus, et si in expeditionem egressus fuerit rex, sedet in loco ejus et vices ejus gent. In the passage before us the expression can-not refer to a mere place of honour. For the conquering power with which the seed of David overthrows all his enemies appears in the following verses as the consequence of the sitting at the right hand of God.-That the main emphasis does not lie on the sitting appears from Acts 7:55; Acts 7:56, where Stephen sees Jesus standing at the right hand of God, and from Romans 8:34, "who is at the right hand of God." Still the sitting is by no means insignificant; it is the position of one ruling; sit at my right hand, that is, rejoice in thy kingdom, in sharing in my omnipotence and government of the world; comp. on sitting as the proper posture of a reigning sovereign at Psalms 29:10. We are led to this im-port of the sitting by the footstool, as the opposite of the royal throne, and also by ver. 4, which takes for granted that in thepreceding verses the language used had referred to the royal rank of the seed of David: thou art not only a king but also a priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec, who, to the kingly office from which he had his name, added also the office of priest. Even in representatives of earthly sovereigns, the sitting at the right hand of the king announced their rank as that of vicegerents of royalty.-The explanation of Grotius, "be sure of my assist-ance," has been of late renewed by Bleek on the Epistle to the Hebrews. According to him, the sitting at the right hand "denotes nothing more than the immediate shelter and defence which shall be imparted to the king by God." But this transla-tion proceeds entirely from the desire to adapt to the assumed subject words which generally are not suitable: sitting at the right hand is never used in this sense. This is rather the sense which belongs to the entirely different expression standing, or being at the right hand of any one; comp. Psalms 16:8; Psalms 119:31, and ver. 5 here.-We have already observed that the עד is to be taken exclusively. It is used by Paul in this sense in 1 Corinthians 15:24, ss. We cannot translate: till I lay thine enemies, but only: till I make thine enemies. Jo. Arnd "As this our king has a glorious throne, so has he also a wonderful footstool; and as his royal throne imparts to us comfort in the highest degree, so his footstool also imparts to us joy. How joyful shall his poor sub-jects be when they hear that their prince and king has slain their enemies and delivered them out of their hands! How did their poor subjects go forward to meet Saul and Jonathan when these kings had slain the Philistines! . . . In like manner our king has his enemies under his feet; thus shall he also bring all our enemies under his feet, for the victory is ours, God be thanked, who has given us the victory through Christ our Lord." Ver. 2. That we must translate, his-power rod, in the sense of his powerful mighty rod, is manifest from such passages as Jerem. 48:17, Ezekiel 11, 12, 14, in which עז מטה occurs undoubtedly in the sense of powerful rod. מטה never signifies sceptre, but always rod. In Jeremiah 48:17, a passage which Gesenius, next to the one before us, adduces for this sense, the parallel לקמ is decisive the other way; and Ezekiel, in ch. 19. 11, distinguishes between the rod and the sceptre. The rod is the instrument of slaughter and punishment; comp. Isaiah 9:3, 10:5, 15, 14:5, Ezekiel 7:10; Ezekiel 7:11, where Theodoret says, "he called the rod the punishment." It is hence more suitable in the con-nection, especially in relation to ver. 1 (the entire Psalm has to do not with the government of the Anointed generally, but singly and alone with the subjugation of bitter enemies), and in parallel to רדה, which does not mean to reign but to lord it over. The emblem, therefore, of the rod of the Anointed thus considered is the rod of Moses, forming as it did the counterpart to the rod which Egypt raised against Israel,-a parallelism to which Isaiah, in ch. 10:26 (comp. with ver. 24), refers, the emblem of the pun-ishing power which the Lord has given to his church in relation to a hostile world. Next to this passage there are other two passages deserving of notice, Micah 4:2; Micah 4:3, and Isaiah 2:3; Isaiah 2:4, "And many nations go and say, Come let us go up to the moun-tain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob, that he may teach us his ways, and we may walk in his paths, for the Law goes out from Sion, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem, and he judges among nations, and rebukes many peoples; and they beat their swords into pruning hooks." These passages are not exactly parallel; but they partake so far of the nature of parallel passages, that they give the opposite view, the peaceful reign of the Lord in his Anointed in Sion over his faithful sub-jects, or over those who willingly have submitted to him. "The royal sceptre was of a twofold symbolical nature: on the one hand, it pointed to the staff of the shepherd; and, on the other, to the rod of the governor of a house of correction."-Stier. In the passages now quoted, the friendly aspect of the sceptre of the Anointed is presented as it is in Psalms 2:9, and in the fundamental passage, Numbers 24:17, alongside of the threatening one. Over Sion, as the centre point of the kingdom of the Anointed, comp. at Psalms 2:6. On "rule in the midst of thine enemies," Numbers 24:19, ought to be compared, "And one shall rule out of Jacob, and shall destroy him that remaineth of the city," more especially as David, in 2 Samuel 23., undoubtedly refers to the prophecy of Balaam; comp. the Treatise on Balaam, p. 133. That prophecy received its preliminary fulfilment in David, who did rule in the midst of his enemies; comp. 2 Samuel 8. But David was not satisfied with this foretaste; his eyes were shar-pened to perceive its proper fulfilment. Luther: "He gives usno other mark as to where Christ is to reign, and where we shall find his church, except in the midst of his enemies." Ver. 3.-According to the common interpretation, נדבות ought to have the sense of "willingness"-thy people is entirely will-ing. But it was shewn at Psalms 54:6, that נדבה has only one sense, that of a free-will gift-a gift which the heart prompts any one to bring. We might look upon the Lord as the giver:-thy people, gifts, instead of shall be gifted to thee by the Lord-allu- sion being made to Psalms 68:9, where נדבות occurs in the sense of gifts given by God. But that we are rather to consider the people themselves as the giver, the receiver being not the Anointed, but the Lord-thy people give or consecrate themselves willingly to the Lord-is clear from the constant use of נדבה ליהוה in the Sense of free-will gifts, which are brought to the Lord (נדבה is found only in one passage signifying gifts of God, and never occurs in the sense of human gifts offered to each other as to the Lord), from the manifest reference to the free-will offerings at the dedication of the tabernacle, Exodus 25:2; Exodus 35:29; Exodus 36:3, from ליהוה התנדב, to dedicate one's self to the Lord, as found in the lips of David, 1 Chronicles 29:14; 1 Chronicles 29:17, and from the special use of this phrase as applied to such as dedicated themselves to the Lord for sacred warfare, in 2 Chronicles 17:16, Judges 5:2; Judges 5:9; and, finally, from ver. 4, according to which the Anointed is the priest, who thus can not only receive himself the free-will gifts, but through whose mediation they must be offered. The expression ביוםהילך is usually translated: in the day of thy host, i. e. in the day then the host is led out to battle or is mustered. But that היל ought rather to be taken in its usual sense of strength, might, power (comp. Psalms 18:32; Psalms 59:11; Psalms 84:7), is manifest from Psalms 60:12; Psalms 108:13, "in God shall we execute might, and he shall tread down our enemies," to which allusion is here made (by the king at the right hand of God, the hope there expressed shall be realized), and from the fundamental passage in the pro-phecy of Balaam, Numbers 24:18, "Israel executes might," on which 1 Samuel 14:48 depends. "In thy power-day" refers, be-sides, to ver. 1 and 2, where power had been promised to the Anointed in relation to the enemies, and is equivalent to, in the day of battle, when thou hast obtained possession of this power granted to thee by the Lord, when "rule thou in the midst ofthem" shall be in the act of being fulfilled. Finally, the "power-day" is parallel to the rod of strength in ver. 2, and to the day of wrath of the Lord and of his Anointed in ver. 5. It is evi-dent from the accents after "in the power-day," that we must consider the words, "in holy attire," as belonging to the second half of the verse; the distinction between the two portions of the verse is very great-comp. Dachsel on the accentuation, Biblia accentuata. The words give the point of resemblance between the common and the spiritual dew. It consists in the beauty which is peculiar to the troops of the king because of their holy garments, as it is to the dew. Those who rob themselves of this announcement of the point of resemblance, have recourse to guessing. They take, in most cases, the multitude as the point of resemblance, and refer to 2 Samuel 17:12, where Hushai said to Absalom, "and we come upon him in one of the places where he is found, and fall upon him as the dew falleth upon the earth. In this passage it is exceedingly doubtful whether it is the multitude that does form the point of resemblance; it is as likely to be the sudden and unexpected surprise; but, at all events, it is only the preceding context that affords any justifica-tion for thinking of the multitude, which is by no means the most obvious thought. Then, by this view, the connection with ver. 4 is destroyed; the true priesthood of the Anointed has no real connection with the mere quantity, but only with the quality of the people. Some seek the point of resemblance in מרהםמשהר, and find it only in the idea of what is unexpected, inex-plicable by human causes. But in this case the connection with ver. 4 is destroyed, which demands that "from the morn-ing-womb" be considered as limiting only what stands next to it. "Holy ornaments" is a poetical expression for the holy gar-ments קדש בגדי, in which the high priest, according to Leviticus 16:4, discharged his duties on the great day of atonement. The"holy beauty," the קדש הדרת, which in Psalms 29:2 is attri-buted to the angels worshipping God in the heavenly sanctuary, is a corresponding expression. In Revelation 19:14, the heavenly host of the contending and conquering lamb are seen clothed in pure white linen. In reference to what corresponds to the holy garments, comp. Colossians 3:9; Colossians 3:10 ; 1 Peter 3:3; 1 Peter 3:4.- משהר, which occurs only in this passage, is best taken in the sense of theplace of the sun-rising, the eastern sky; comp. Ewald, 160, Psalms 133:3, is to be compared, where David compares brotherly harmony, as a lovely gift of heavenly origin, to the dew of Her-mon; Mich. 5:7, "a dew from the Lord which tarrieth not for man, nor waiteth for the sons of men;" Job 38:28, "hath the rain a father, or who hath begotten the dew?" As ילדות occurs in the sense of the season of youth in Lamentations 11:9; Lamentations 11:10, and as it is doubtful whether it can signify "young men," it is better to translate "dew of thy youth;" "thy youth-dew;" "thy youth-ful dew;" "thy youthful soldiery like the dew in its beauty." Ver. 4.-In Hebrews 7:21, great stress is laid upon the oath with which God here assures the seed of David, and also in ver. 24, 25, upon the expression "for ever," which has no natural reference to the historical parallel. On "and will not repent," comp. Numbers 23:19, 1 Samuel 15:29. The י in דברתי על is the old external mark of the stat. constr., the so termed para-gogic Jod, which occurs also in other passages in the Psalms ofDavid; comp. Psalms 101:5; Psalms 103:3; Psalms 103:4. In this case the form is mani-festly in imitation of the preceding Melchesidec. The דברת על means properly "upon the thing of," so that the thing, the rela-tion of Melchesidec, forms the substratum, the measure and rule for thine. The Septuagint give ךבפב פחם פבמים, which the au-thor of the Epistle to the Hebrews, who follows that version in most cases-for example in 5:10, 7:15-explains ךבפב פחם ὃלןיןפחפב. The דברת על, occurs frequently in Song of Sol., but in a sense altogether different. That Melchisedec was king of Jerusalem was shewn at Psalms 76:2. This is clear also from the passage before us. For it is as to a type of the king of Sion, ver. 2, that reference is made to Melchisedec. The oath is in reality not made to the king at the right hand of God, butto the trembling believer. Arnd: "I swear to you poor sin-ners, by my holy and great name, that I have appointed, and given to you for your comfort, this my Son for a high priest, who shall atone for you and bless you." Ver. 5.-That the second strophe begins here is evident, be-sides other reasons, from the reference of "the Lord at thy right hand," "to sit at my right hand," and to the conclusion of Psalms 109. Many ancient expositors suppose that the address is heredirected to God, and consequently that the name אדני is hereapplied to the king and high priest. But the reasons adduced for this view will not stand the test. It has been said, 1st, It is not to be thought that the Psalmist should place, in such close juxtaposition, the two clauses, "the king is at the right hand of Jehovah," and "Jehovah is at the right hand of the king." But there is no reason why he should not. Assuredly because the king sits at the right hand of Jehovah, that is, without a figure, because all power has been given unto him in heaven and in earth, Jehovah is at the right hand of the king, stands by him with his omnipotence in the conflict against his enemies. Or, because the king is connected with the right hand of omnipo-tence, his right hand must be strengthened by omnipotence. 2d, In ver. 7, we add, even in ver. 6, the king is undeniably the subject. But there occurs a change of subject before this; in ver. 5 we have what the Lord does for the king, and in ver. 6 and 7 what the king himself does in the Lord. And, on the other hand, against this interpretation may be urged the follow-ing reasons:--1. The address throughout the whole Psalm is di-rected only to the king and high priest; 2. This entry is longer than a Bible module can hold. The rest is at https://www.sermonindex.net/commentary/hengstenberg/ Ver. 2. That we must translate, his-power rod, in the sense of his powerful mighty rod, is manifest from such passages as Jeremiah 48:17, Ezekiel 19:11-12, Ezekiel 19:14, in which ξθδςζ occurs undoubtedly in the sense of powerful rod. ξθδ never signifies sceptre, but always rod. In Jeremiah 48:17, a passage which Gesenius, next to the one before us, adduces for this sense, the parallel lqm is decisive the other way; and Ezekiel, in ch. Ezekiel 19:11, distinguishes between the rod and the sceptre. The rod is the instrument of slaughter and punishment; comp. Isaiah 9:3, Isaiah 10:5, Isaiah 10:15, Isaiah 14:5, Ezekiel 7:10-11, where Theodoret says, “he called the rod the punishment.” It is hence more suitable in the connection, especially in relation to Psalms 110:1 (the entire Psalm has to do not with the government of the Anointed generally, but singly and alone with the subjugation of bitter enemies), and in parallel to ψγδ, which does not mean to reign but to lord it over. The emblem, therefore, of the rod of the Anointed thus considered is the rod of Moses, forming as it did the counterpart to the rod which Egypt raised against Israel,—a parallelism to which Isaiah, in ch. Isaiah 10:26 (comp. with Isaiah 10:24), refers, the emblem of the punishing power which the Lord has given to his church in relation to a hostile world. Next to this passage there are other two passages deserving of notice, Micah 4:2-3, and Isaiah 2:3-4, “And many nations go and say, Come let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob, that he may teach us his ways, and we may walk in his paths, for the Law goes out from Sion, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem, and he judges among nations, and rebukes many peoples; and they beat their swords into pruning hooks.” These passages are not exactly parallel; but they partake so far of the nature of parallel passages, that they give the opposite view, the peaceful reign of the Lord in his Anointed in Sion over his faithful subjects, or over those who willingly have submitted to him. “The royal sceptre was of a twofold symbolical nature: on the one hand, it pointed to the staff of the shepherd; and, on the other, to the rod of the governor of a house of correction.” Stier. In the passages now quoted, the friendly aspect of the sceptre of the Anointed is presented as it is in Psalms 2:9, and in the fundamental passage, Numbers 24:17, alongside of the threatening one. Over Sion, as the centre point of the kingdom of the Anointed, comp. at Psalms 2:6. On “rule in the midst of thine enemies,” Numbers 24:19, ought to be compared, “And one shall rule out of Jacob, and shall destroy him that remaineth of the city,” more especially as David, in 2 Samuel 23, undoubtedly refers to the prophecy of Balaam; comp. the Treatise on Balaam, p. 133. That prophecy received its preliminary fulfilment in David, who did rule in the midst of his enemies; comp. 2 Samuel 8. But David was not satisfied with this foretaste; his eyes were sharpened to perceive its proper fulfilment. Luther: “He gives us no other mark as to where Christ is to reign, and where we shall find his church, except in the midst of his enemies.” Ver. 3. According to the common interpretation, πγαεϊ ought to have the sense of “willingness”—thy people is entirely willing. But it was shown at Psalms 54:6, that πγαδ has only one sense, that of a free-will gift—a gift which the heart prompts any one to bring. We might look upon the Lord as the giver:—thy people, gifts, instead of shall be gifted to thee by the Lord—allusion being made to Psalms 68:9, where πγαεϊ occurs in the sense of gifts given by God. But that we are rather to consider the people themselves as the giver, the receiver being not the Anointed, but the Lord—thy people give or consecrate themselves willingly to the Lord—is clear from the constant use of μιδεδπγαδ in the sense of free-will gifts, which are brought to the Lord (πγαδ is found only in one passage signifying gifts of God, and never occurs in the sense of human gifts offered to each other as to the Lord), from the manifest reference to the free-will offerings at the dedication of the tabernacle, Exodus 25:2, Exodus 35:29, Exodus 36:3, from δϊπγαμιδεδ, to dedicate one’s self to the Lord, as found in the lips of David, 1 Chronicles 29:14, 1 Chronicles 29:17, and from the special use of this phrase as applied to such as dedicated themselves to the Lord for sacred warfare, in 2 Chronicles 17:16, Judges 5:2, Judges 5:9; and, finally, from Psalms 110:4, according to which the Anointed is the priest, who thus can not only receive himself the free-will gifts, but through whose mediation they must be offered. The expression αιενηιμκ is usually translated: in the day of thy host, i.e. in the day then the host is led out to battle or is mustered. But that ηιμ ought rather to be taken in its usual sense of strength, might, power (comp. Psalms 18:32, Psalms 59:11, Psalms 84:7), is manifest from Psalms 60:12; Psalms 108:13, “in God shall we execute might, and he shall tread down our enemies,” to which allusion is here made (by the king at the right hand of God, the hope there expressed shall be realized), and from the fundamental passage in the prophecy of Balaam, Numbers 24:18, “Israel executes might,” on which 1 Samuel 14:48 depends. “In thy power-day” refers, besides, to Psalms 110:1-2, where power had been promised to the Anointed in relation to the enemies, and is equivalent to, in the day of battle, when thou hast obtained possession of this power granted to thee by the Lord, when “rule thou in the midst of them” shall be in the act of being fulfilled. Finally, the “power-day” is parallel to the rod of strength in Psalms 110:2, and to the day of wrath of the Lord and of his Anointed in Psalms 110:5. It is evident from the accents after “in the power-day,” that we must consider the words, “in holy attire,” as belonging to the second half of the verse; the distinction between the two portions of the verse is very great—comp. Dachsel on the accentuation, Biblia accentuata. The words give the point of resemblance between the common and the figurative dew. It consists in the beauty which is peculiar to the troops of the king because of their holy garments, as it does to the dew. Those who rob themselves of this announcement of the point of resemblance, have recourse to guessing. They take, in most cases, the multitude as the point of resemblance, and refer to 2 Samuel 17:12, where Hushai said to Absalom, “and we come upon him in one of the places where he is found, and fall upon him as the dew falleth upon the earth.” In this passage it is exceedingly doubtful whether it is the multitude that does form the point of resemblance; it is as likely to be the sudden and unexpected surprise; but, at all events, it is only the preceding context that affords any justification for thinking of the multitude, which is by no means the most obvious thought. Then, by this view, the connection with Psalms 110:4 is destroyed; the true priesthood of the Anointed has no real connection with the mere quantity, but only with the quality of the people. Some seek the point of resemblance in ξψηνξωξψ, and find it only in the idea of what is unexpected, inexplicable by human causes. But in this case the connection with Psalms 110:4 is destroyed, which demands that “from the morning-womb” be considered as limiting only what stands next to it. “Holy ornaments” is a poetical expression for the holy garments, αβγιχγω, in which the high priest, according to Leviticus 16:4, discharged his duties on the great day of atonement. The “holy beauty,” the δγψϊχγω, which in Psalms 29:2 is attributed to the angels worshipping God in the heavenly sanctuary, is a corresponding expression. In Revelation 19:14, the heavenly host of the contending and conquering lamb are seen clothed in pure white linen. In reference to what corresponds to the holy garments, comp. Colossians 3:9-10; 1 Peter 3:3-4.— ξωηψ, which occurs only in this passage, is best taken in the sense of the place of the sun-rising, the eastern sky; comp. Ewald, 160, Psalms 133:3, is to be compared, where David compares brotherly harmony, as a lovely gift of heavenly origin, to the dew of Hermon; Micah 5:7, “a dew from the Lord which tarrieth not for man, nor waiteth for the sons of men;” Job 38:28, “hath the rain a father, or who hath begotten the dew?” As ιμγεϊ occurs in the sense of the season of youth in Lam. 11:9, 10, and as it is doubtful whether it can signify “young men,” it is better to translate “dew of thy youth;” “thy youth-dew;” “thy youthful dew;” “thy youthful soldiery like the dew in its beauty.” Ver. 4. In Hebrews 7:21, great stress is laid upon the oath with which God here assures the seed of David, and also in Hebrews 7:24-25, upon the expression “for ever,” which has no natural reference to the historical parallel. On “and will not repent,” comp. Numbers 23:19, 1 Samuel 15:29. The ι in ςμγαψϊι is the old external mark of the stat. constr., the so termed paragogic Jod, which occurs also in other passages in the Psalms of David; comp. Psalms 101:5, Psalms 103:3-4. In this case the form is manifestly in imitation of the preceding Melchesidec. The ςμγαψϊ means properly “upon the thing of,” so that the thing, the relation of Melchesidec, forms the substratum, the measure and rule for thine. The Septuagint give κατὰτὴντάξιν, which the author of the Epistle to the Hebrews, who follows that version in most cases—for example in Hebrews 5:10, Hebrews 7:15—explains κατὰτὴνὁμοιόντα. The ςμγαψϊ occurs frequently in Ec., but in a sense altogether different. That Melchisedec was king of Jerusalem was shown at Psalms 76:2. This is clear also from the passage before us. For it is as to a type of the king of Sion, Psalms 110:2, that reference is made to Melchisedec. The oath is in reality not made to the king at the right hand of God, but to the trembling believer. Arnd: “I swear to you poor sinners, by my holy and great name, that I have appointed, and given to you for your comfort, this my Son for a high priest, who shall atone for you and bless you.” Ver. 5. That the second strophe begins here is evident, besides other reasons, from the reference of “the Lord at thy right hand,” “to sit at my right hand,” and to the conclusion of Psalms 109. Many ancient expositors suppose that the address is here directed to God, and consequently that the name ΰγπι is here applied to the king and high priest. But the reasons adduced for this view will not stand the test. It has been said, 1st, It is not to be thought that the Psalmist should place, in such close juxtaposition, the two clauses, “the king is at the right hand of Jehovah,” and “Jehovah is at the right hand of the king.” But there is no reason why he should not. Assuredly because the king sits at the right hand of Jehovah, that is, to speak without a figure, because all power has been given unto him in heaven and in earth, Jehovah is at the right hand of the king, stands by him with his omnipotence in the conflict against his enemies. Or, because the king is connected with the right hand of omnipotence, his right hand must be strengthened by omnipotence. 2d, In Psalms 110:7, we add, even in Psalms 110:6, the king is undeniably the subject. But there occurs a change of subject before this; in Psalms 110:5 we have what the Lord does for the king, and in Psalms 110:6-7 what the king himself does in the Lord. And, on the other hand, against this interpretation may be urged the following reasons:—1. The address throughout the whole Psalm is directed only to the king and high priest; 2. In Psalms 109:31, to which passage attention is directed back in the passage before us, the Lord stands at the right hand of the needy man. As there he stands with his omnipotence in aid of the seed of David in his humiliation, so does he here in his exaltation. 3. Were the address directed to God, the name ΰγπι would be given to the king, as distinguishing him from Jehovah, which is not suitable. That after “he smites,” we should suppose added, “by thee,” is evident, irrespective of Psa 110:6-7, from “at thy right hand,” according to which the right hand of the king is conceived of as in action, and is strengthened only by the Lord. The assertion of De Wette is very puzzling: the king sitting enthroned at Jehovah’s right hand, that is, conceived of as in a state of rest, cannot lead on a battle. The sitting at the right hand of God, on the contrary, is descriptive of a state of the highest activity, implies that God does nothing except through the agency of this his vicegerent. On the expression, “in the days of his wrath,” comp. Psalms 2:5. The day of the wrath of God is also the power-day of the king, ver. 3. On he strikes kings (Psalms 18:38, Psalms 68:21, Psalms 68:23, Psalms 2:10), Luther: “He really threatens such great heads in an awful manner, that if they will not hear, and cannot obey, they shall be terrified to death. And assuredly he would willingly, by these means, allure them to repentance, and persuade them to turn, and to cease from raging against this Lord. But if they will not, they shall know against whom it is that they go on. . . . This is our consolation which upholds us, and makes our heart joyful and glad against the persecution and rage of the world, that we have such a Lord, who not only delivers us from sin and eternal death, but also protects us, and delivers us in sufferings and temptation, so that we do not sink under them. And though men rage in a most savage manner against Christians, yet neither the gospel nor Christianity shall perish; but their heads shall be destroyed against it. For if their persecutions were to go on unceasingly, Christianity could not remain. Wherefore he gives them a time, and says he will connive at them for a while, but not longer than till the hour comes which he here calls the day of wrath. And if they will not now cease in the name of God, they must then cease in the name of the devil.” Ver. 6. Several suppose that Jehovah is here still the subject, and that the king, for the first time, is the subject in Psalms 110:7. But against this there is the consideration that “he drinks from the brook,” presupposes a hot contest, and appears unsuitable if no contest is supposed to be spoken of in the preceding clauses. We must, therefore, take it for granted that time change of subject goes on from this verse. As the ξμΰ even with the Zere occurs undeniably in a transitive sense, and signifies to fill (comp. Gesen. in his Thes.), there is no reason to assume a change of subject: it shall be full of dead bodies. The place to be filled is to be supplied from the clause “upon the wide earth.” That the ψΰω is used in its proper sense and cannot be translated: a head over great lands, is clear not from the ςμ—against the assertion that it must necessarily have been ΰψυψΰωψαδ comp: Psalms 47:2—but from the clause, “he shall raise the head,” in Psalms 110:7, and from the parallel passage, Ps. 43:21, “God smites the head of his enemies, the hairy head of him who walketh in his sins,” and Habakkuk 3:13,—comp. Habakkuk 3:14, ψΰωξηυ occurs in like manner in the sense of a breaker of heads. On our verse, we should compare the expanded description in Revelation 19:11 ss., comp. Revelation 16:1 ss. Ver. 7. That the αγψκ is not to be connected with ξπημ, “he shall drink of the brook in the way,” but that we must translate, “from the brook he shall drink on the way,” is evident from the accents (comp. Dachsel) and the parallel passage, Psalms 102:23, “He has weakened in the way my strength.” The occurrence in the life of Samson is in both cases well fitted to explain the figure. And in all probability allusion is distinctly made to it, as in Isaiah 9:3, Isaiah 10:26, allusion is made to the victory over Midian by Gideon, and also in Psalms 83:11, and in Psalms 68, to the song of Deborah, and in our Psalm to Melchisedec. The occurrence lying within the period of the Judges, immortalized by the name of the place, could not be unknown to David and to those for whom he wrote in the first instance; so that the allusion would in so far be understood. The Fathers and the old expositors understand by the brook partly the sufferings of Christ themselves, partly the revival of spirit which he experienced during these sufferings, without observing that the Psalm has to do throughout only with Christ exalted, and, without any good reason, going back to the subject of Psalms 109. According to several, the drinking out of the brook denotes the hardiness of the king “without stopping or having any royal self-indulgence, he drinks out of the brook in the way. Such a king must conquer.” But against this there is the fact that, according to this translation, the word of greatest importance, the “only” is wanting, and that water in the east is never reckoned as a drink of inferior description, but in Scripture is employed as an emblem of what revives; comp., for example, Psalms 36:8, Jeremiah 31:9. We cannot refer to Judges 6:5-6, as favouring this interpretation. The test which Gideon there made use of, refers only to the manner of drinking. All, the zealous and the effeminate alike, drink of the brook in the way:—according to the interpretation, αγψκ is falsely connected with πημ. On, “he shall lift up the head,” that is, he shall triumph, Luther “that is, shall be glorious, and shall powerfully rule over all,” Psalms 3:3, Psalms 27:6. That the words indicate an enduring, a final triumph, not a momentary strengthening, appears from the opposition to the smiting of the head of the enemies. It is also only when thus understood that they are suitable as a conclusion, as is evident from the fact that this feeble interpretation has led many to the idea that the Psalm is only a fragment. To the Davidic trilogy there is now added in Psalms 111-113, a new trilogy. For that these three Psalms are connected together, appears from the following reasons: 1. All the three have the common object to strengthen the suffering and conflicting church by praising God; Psalms 111 does this by the praise of God on account of his glorious deeds in the past, which guarantee glorious help for the future, Psalms 112, by the praise of God as the faithful recompenser, and Psalms 113, by the praise of God as the helper of the needy and of the miserable. 2. While Psalms 111 and Psalms 112 have the hallelujah only at the beginning, Psalms 113 has it at the beginning and at the end, and thus announces itself, as does Psalms 106, in relation to Psalms 104 and Psalms 105 as the conclusion which binds together the whole trilogy. 3. In connection with this there is the fact that of the significant number twelve of Jehovah in the three Psalms, six belong to the first Psalm, and six to the two last. As in Psalms 111, Jehovah occurs four times, and in Psalms 112 twice, so it occurs in Psalms 113 in the first strophe four times, and in the second twice. 4. As the Psalms 113 th Psalm forms the conclusion of a trilogy, the fact that the Psalm is, in point of form, entirely ruled by the number three, is thereby illustrated. Psalms 111. The Psalm praises the Lord because of his great works, parti-cularly the redemption out of Egypt, ver. 9; the supply of food in the wilderness, ver. 5; the placing of Israel in the inheritance of the heathen, ver. 6; then the great resplendent deeds of kind-ness which he showed to his people, and which for them had a similar import to what the deeds of the redemption through Christ have for the church of the New Testament. The design of the Psalm, as the conclusion shows, is to coun-teract that pusillanimity which is so injurious to all zeal in walk-ing in the commandments of God, that despair as to the power and willingness of God to help his people, to which their mourn-ful condition was so apt to give rise. The mighty deeds of the past come into notice in the case of the Psalmist as the ground of hope for the future as matter-of-fact prophecies, as affording a pledge that the misery of the present will be only transitory.344 THE BOOK OF PSALMS. The Psalm proceeds on the supposition that the condition of the people of God at the time was a mournful one. For it is only when we are in such a condition that we take refuge in the past from the present. That the Psalm was not composed before the end of the Babylonish captivity is clear from the hallelujah, which occurs for the first time in a Psalm of this date, Psalms 104:35. We are brought into times after the captivity by the position of the Psalm, after Psalms 107., which celebrates that good deed of the Lord. We shall be able to determine particulars more fully only from materials furnished by the following Psalms of the cycle. The circumstances of the new colony were poor and mournful, and fell very much below the expectations which had been raised by the declarations of the prophets; comp. the description of these circumstances in the Intro. to Zechariah, Christol. In room of the shout of joy arising from the deliverance, which had been heard at the beginning, there soon succeeded a state of dejection. People at that period did no longer compare the present, as they had done in the beginning, with what immediately preceded it, but with the more remote period preceding the captivity, and with the prospects which had been opened up by the prophets. The sacred Psalmists, no less than the prophets, had sufficient reason to cry out to the people: lift up the hands which hang down, and strengthen the feeble knees. The whole object was to get the trembling people again to set their heart upon their God. The Psalmist sought to gain this end, by enlisting the people along with himself in the work of praising God. The formal arrangement is exactly the same as in Psalms 111. and in Ps. a sure proof of the connection subsisting among these Psalms. The whole is complete, both times in the number ten. The individual clauses of the verses begin with the letters of the alphabet. The first eight verses contain each two clauses; the two last three,--a circumstance to be explained from the desire of the Psalmist not to go beyond the number ten, which is also in other passages not unfrequently connected with the alphabeti-cal arrangement, because both of these, the number ten and the alphabet, are the signature of perfection, of what is complete in itself. In consequence of the constraint demanded by the alpha-betical arrangement, the mighty deeds of God are not recounted in chronological order.PSALM CM. VER. 1-10. 345 If we look at the Introductory Davidic trilogy, it becomes mani-fest that ver. 6, "the strength of his works he shewed to his people, giving to them the inheritance of the heathen," must be con-sidered as the middle point of the Psalm. The inversion of the relations of Israel to the heathen world-the people of the Lord to whom dominion over the world had been promised, serving them in their own land-was what especially filled men's minds with pain. Hence it is exactly at this verse that we must fix the turning point of the Psalm. The ten is divided by five. The first half has ten, the second twelve members. Ver. 1. Hallelujah. I will praise the Lord with the whole heart, in the confidential assembly of the upright and the con- gregation. Ver. 2. Great are the works of the Lord, enquired after according to all their wishes. Ver. 3. Majesty and glory is his work, and his righteousness endureth for ever. Ver. 4. A memorial he has erected for his works, gracious and compassionate is the Lord. Ver. 5. Nourishment he gives to those who fear him, he remembers always his covenant. Ver. 6. The strength of his works he shaved to his people, giving to them the inheritance of the heathen. Ver. 7. The works of his hands are truth and justice, to be depended upon are all his command- ments. Ver. 8. Firm always and for ever, wrought in truth and righteousness. Ver. 9. Redemption he sent to his people, he ar-ranged for eternity his covenant, holy and dreadful is his name. Ver. 10. The beginning of wisdom is the fear of the Lord, good understanding have all they who practice them; his praise en- dureth for ever. Ver. 1. The circumstance that the Hallelujah stands out of the alphabetical arrangement is sufficient to shew that it ought to be considered merely as the key note of the Psalm. Berleb.: "It shews that this is a Psalm which incites to the praise of God." Luther: "It is just as much as when we wish to begin to praise God, we exhort and stir up each other. It is thus that we Ger-mans do, when we are in the church; or when one among us be-gins and says, let us praise God; or when the preacher gives out the first line of the hymn to be sung. Thus David (?) here says to his people, let us praise the Lord, and in particular thus, I thank the Lord with my whole heart." The first clause is a re-petition from Psalms 109:30. In the second clause it is impossible tofind a distinction between privately and publicly, for the whole cycle of Psalms was manifestly designed for use in the public wor-ship of God, comp. especially Psalms 115:8. The public assembly of the righteous (comp. at Psalms 107:42) is at the same time a confi-dence, a confidential meeting (comp. at Psalms 64:2; Psalms 83:4), because the world is shut out from it, the congregation of the Lord is a community by itself. Thus Luther: "I thank the Lord here in this public assembly, where we are in a peculiar man-ner by ourselves, as it were in secret council, and no heathen or stranger must be beside us."-The praise of the Lord, announced in ver. 1, begins with ver. 2. The works of the Lord are pointed out in the first clause as the objects of this praise (comp. Deut. iv. 34, 29:2, Revelation 15:3), those, according to the connection with ver. 1, which he has especially done for the righteous, for his church. In the second clause the הפציהם cannot be the plural of ץפeהA the adjective, for this retains its Zere in the stat. constr.;comp. 40:14. The word signifies always pleasure, satisfaction, desire, even in Proverbs 8:11, "wisdom is better than pearls, and all wishes come not near it," never beauty, preciousness, loveliness, (hence we must reject all such translations, "to be search into in regard to all their beauties," a translation, moreover, which takes דרושים in an arbitrary sense), and the suffix does not denote the object of the desire, but it refers to those who desire. The suffix thus can refer only to the righteous, (comp. הפצו לכל according to his every wish, 1 Kings 9:11); and the translation is, must be enquired after according to their every wish, so that they, when the deeds of the Lord are enquired after or searched into, (comp. the דרש in Psalms 119:45; Psalms 119:94; Psalms 119:155), find a complete answer and satisfaction, there is everywhere a response, there are no questions to be evaded.-On "majesty and glory" in ver. 3, comp. at Psalms 104:1. The righteousness of God is the property by which he gives to every one his own, to the righteous salvation, comp. Psalms 89:14; Psalms 89:16; Psalms 103:6; Psalms 103:17.-In ver. 4, "he hath erected a memorial," points to the wonderful magnitude of the deeds of the Lord. Thus Calvin: "to perform things worthy of being re-membered, and whose fame may never perish." The second clause depends upon Exodus 34:6.-The טרף in ver. 5 denotes properly the booty of wild beasts, and is used only as a poetical term for human nourishment. The food of Israel in the wilder-ness, is what is meant, the manna, and the quails. At the se-cond clause we are to suppose added: as this wonderful provision for his people shews, or as faith draws from its this firm conclusion. This ascent from the individual to the general, stands in accord-ance with the object of the Psalm, which universally considers the past only as a looking glass for the future, the temporal doings of God as the type of his eternal providence.--The הגיד, to shew, in ver. 6, contested by Hitzig, is justified by this, that the doings of God appear to the Psalmist as a matter-of-fact intelligence or proclamation. We are not to translate, "in order to give," but "giving to them;" comp. Ewald, § 280. For the matter-of-fact proclamation is here more exactly described, by which God makes known to his people the strength of his works. The Psalmist re-fers to the putting of the Israelites into the possessions of the numerous and warlike nations who occupied. Canaan, in which he sees a type of the future possession by Israel of the dominion over the whole, world; comp. Isaiah 60:14.-The works of the Lord, in ver. 7, are just as in ver. 2, his deeds; it is with these that the whole Psalm has professedly to do. The command-ments of God (properly his commissions) are made mention of in the second clause (which depends upon Psalms 19:7; Psalms 19:8), only in a subordinate sense, only in so far as light falls upon them from the quality of the works; his commandments are thus to be depended upon, for he who acts in this way cannot lead his people on the ice in regard to his commandments: The commandments coin-prehend here, at the same time, the promises which are con-nected with obedience to them; yea, it is these promises that are here brought chiefly before the mind. The oppressed people thought that they felt themselves here on apparently insecure ground, and in this way their zeal was paralysed. The prophet strengthens the feeble hands, inasmuch as be intimates that the Lawgiver has gloriously vindicated his claim to obedience by his deeds of omnipotence and love.-In ver. 8, the first clause refers to the commandments, and the second to the works. For it is clear as day that we cannot translate "to fulfil with faithfulness and honour," against the sense of the part. pa., the reference of עשוים to מעשיו and the sense of אמת, which only means truth. The praise of the works of God is thus shut in on both sides by the praise of the commandments, which is merely asso-ciated with it and derived from it. The סמוך is properly prop-ped up, next firm, and occurs again in Psalms 112:8. The ישר, is neut. righteous nature, comp. at Psalms 11:7.--The redemption, in ver. 9, is the deliverance out of Egypt. The expression, "he arranged for eternity his covenant," is the general truth as con-firmed by the special deed; comp. at ver. 5.--Ver. 10 contains the conclusion drawn from what had gone before; therefore, be-cause the Lord is so glorious in his works on behalf of his own people, and because his commandments which he has given them are thus so firm, and so, surely to be depended upon, and the re-ward of faithful obedience shall thus so certainly be bestowed, this faithful obedience, the fear of the Lord, is the beginning of wisdom. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, is said in opposition to natural reason, which, linked to what is im-mediately before the eyes, regards the fear of the Lord, which appears for the present to bring forth no fruit, as stupidity, say-ing, either in pusillanimous despair, or in open defiance: "it is in vain to serve God, and what profit is it that we have kept his ordinances, and that we have walked mournfully before the Lord of hosts and now we call the proud happy, yea, they that work wickedness are set up, yea, they that tempt God are even de-livered," Malachi 3:14; Malachi 3:15; comp. Christol. 3. p. 422 ss. We need only to cast our eye upon the historical personality of God, to dissipate those mists which beset the mind, and to find arising in our mind the firm conviction, that in the end it shall be well with the righteous. Thus the fear of God which, on superficial consideration, appears as stupidity, because it is dissappointed of its reward, shall be seen to constitute the highest wisdom. The first clause depends upon the two passages, Proverbs 1:7, "the fear of the Lord is the beginning, ראשית, of knowledge," and Proverbs 9:10. "the beginning, תהלת, of wisdom is the fear of the Lord," on which also Job 28:28 depends: "and he said to men, behold the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom, and depart-ing from evil is understanding." That the ראשית is the be-ginning as to time, is evident from the corresponding term תהלה. The beginning of wisdom, however, its A, B, C is also its sum. The fear of the Lord is childlike, reverential fear, which does not thrust out perfect love, but goes hand in hand with it. For this alone is able to call forth "delight in the commandments ofGod," Psalms 112:1, which appears here as the attendant of the fear of God. The טוב שכל, is from Proverbs 3:4; comp. chap. 13:15. The plural suffix in עשיהם refers to the commandments of the Lord, ver. 7 and 8, a reference which is all the more natural, as the fear of the Lord is equivalent to the fulfilling of his com-mandments, as is manifest by the reference of ver. 10 to verses 7 and 8: great are the works of the Lord, to be depended upon therefore are his commandments, wise therefore is he who seeks reverently to fulfil his commandments; comp. Deuteronomy 28:58, where "to do all the works of this law," and "to fear this holy and dreadful name," are placed together as of equal import, Psalms 112:1. That fear of the Lord which is inoperative, and makes itself known only in superficial emotion, is not considered by Scripture as worthy of the name. That the suffix in תהלתו re-fers to the Lord, is manifest from the reference to the Hallelu-jah at the beginning of this and the following Psalms. The words bring together, in a short compass, what had formerly been said as forming the basis of the two first members; for, such confidence grows up in us out of his glorious deeds in times past, his praise, his renown, lasteth for ever, and thus the apparent stupidity of those who fear him and do his commandments, is seen to be in the end wisdom; Israel shall in due season attain to salvation, to dominion over the world, as has gloriously been fulfilled in Christ. Psalms 112. This Psalm is a praise of God as the true recompenser. In the preceding Psalm, courage had been imparted to those who failed to observe this recompense, by pointing to the glorious deeds of God in times past; and here the recompense to be ex-pected is described at length. There the basis is assigned to the "that" of the recompense, and here to the "how." God will not be wanting to himself;-this is the fundamental thought; -let a man sow faithfully, though it be in tears, in due season he shall reap in joy. This Psalm is immediately connected with the last verse of the preceding one, and may be considered as a commentary onit. In ver. 3, 4, 8, it stands in verbal reference to it, with a de-signed variation in the sense. The formal arrangement in both Psalms is completely the same,-proof enough that we have be-fore us a pair of Psalms. A third Psalms, 113., is added, to make up the collection. Ver. 1. Hallelujah.-Blessed is the man who fears the Lord, has great pleasure in his commandments. Ver. 2. His seed shall be a warrior on the earth, the generation of the righteous shall be blessed. Ver. 3. Fulness and riches are in his house, and his righteousness endureth for ever. Ver. 4. There ariseth in darkness light to the upright, who is gracious and compas- sionate and just. Ver. 5. Blessed is the man who is com-passionate and lendeth, he careth for his affairs with justice. Ver. 6. For through eternity he shall not be moved, for eternal remembrance he shall be just. Ver. 7. Before evil intelligence he is not afraid, his heart is comforted trusting in the Lord. Ver. 8. Firm is his heart, he is not afraid until he see his plea-sure on his enemies. Ver. 9. He scatters abroad, he gives to the poor, his righteousness endureth for ever; his horn is high in honour. Ver. 10. The wicked shall see it, and be angry, gnash the teeth and melt away: the desire of the wicked goes to the ground.-The second clause of ver. 1 describes more ex- actly the fear of God, which may assure itself of salvation, with reference to those who have "Lord, Lord," in their lips, and in deeds deny him,-a reference which pervades the whole Psalm. The pleasure in the commandments of God, from which alone true obedience can come-for mental inclination of one kind can only be overborne by mental inclination of another, and the love for what is impure, can only, be successfully counter-acted by the pure love of the Lord and of his commandments-exists only in those who are in a state of grace; comp. at Psalms 19:7; Psalms 19:10. The "warrior on the earth" (comp. at Psalms 52:1, the sense "powerful" is arbitrarily assumed), ver. 2, is from Genesis 10:8; and even the reference to this passage shews that the בארץ is not to be translated in the land. His seed, the posterity of the man of Judah, Isaiah 5:3. It becomes manifest here that the Psalm has a national reference, in accordance with the preceding Davidic tri-logy, and the remaining Psalms of the cycle. The promise of being a warrior suits well the whole people, to whom power andblessing for overcoming the world, is promised in case of their being faithful to the covenant (comp. Deuteronomy 33:29), but not individuals, very few of whom were ever called to be warriors; with the individual reference also the limitation of heroism to the posterity is strange; the "generation of the righteous" is paral-lel to “ his seed,” which, according to Psalms 111:1, is to be consi-dered as a term) denoting Israel.- His righteousness, ver. 3,-be-stowed upon him by God, whose righteousness remains for ever, on the ground of his eternally abiding subjective righteousness, ver. 9 here, the foundation of salvation, or salvation itself consi-dered as a matter-of-fact justification; comp. Isaiah 54:17; Isaiah 45:24, and at Psalms 24:5. It is thus manifest that the threefold repeti-tion of this word in both Psalms is any thing rather than "a proof of the small inventive power of the author," an objection which rebounds upon the head of the expositor who made it. Berleb.: "Endureth for ever," just as he pays attention to righteousness, not for a few hours or days, but for his whole lifetime," Ezekiel 18:24; Ezekiel 18:20, Luke 1:75 -In ver. 4, the second clause standing in op-position to ישרים, serves to define them more exactly; this was all the more necessary as "the righteous," on the ground of Num 23:10, had become to a certain extent a proper name of Israel, as is manifest from Psalms 111:1. Many expositors refer the predi-cates to the Lord, either: "from the gracious," or "he is gra-cious," &c., appealing to the fact that those predicates always in other passages, knd even in Psalms 111:1, are applied to the Lord. But this is not altogether decisive. According to the actual re-lation of the Psalm before us to Psalms 111., we have to expect here not a repetition put a sacred parody, and it is just because of the common use of these predicates, as applied to the Lord, thatthey are transferred in the passage before us to the righteous among men, who ought to be compassionate, &c., just as, and because he, their heavenly Father, is compassionate; comp. Matthew 5:45, 48. Arnd.: "because a God-fearing heart knows well that all good from above flows from the compassion of God, so meditating upon the compassion of God makes it also compassionate. For that is the true fear of God, which endeavours always more and more to imitate God, and to become like him in his divine perfections." Against the reference to the Lord we have to urge, that the right-eous require to be more particularly described, that ver. 5 is mani-festly an expansion of ver. 4, particularly that the הונן there refers manifestly to הנון in ver. 4, and finally that in the parallel pas-sage, Isaiah 58:7, the rising of the light is in like manner connected with the works of compassion:" "Is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry, and that thou bring the poor that are cast out to thy house, when thou seest the naked, that thou cover him, and that thou hide not thyself from thine own flesh? then shall thy light break forth as the morning, &c., and if thou draw out thy soul to the hungry and satisfy the afflicted soul, then shall thy light rise in obscurity, and thy darkness be as the noon-day." Psalms 97:11 also depends upon this passage of Isaiah.-In ver. 5, the טוב, good = prosperous, Isaiah 3:10, Jeremiah 44:17, corresponds to theאשרי ver. 1.a Several translate contrary to the idiom: "May it go well with the man, he gives and lends." In this case the article could not be wanting. The being compassionate and lend-ing does not come into notice as a blessing, in so far as the right-eous are provided with the means of being so (in this case Ps. 37: 21, 26, would have to be compared, passages from which the expression is most certainly taken), but as a virtue, comp. Proverbs 14:21, "he who is compassionate towards the poor, salvation to him!" ver. 31. The כלכל stands in its usual sense, to nourish, to care for, comp. at Psalms 55:22. The right here, opposi-tion to the manifestations of love with which it goes hand in hand, is that by which a man improves his circumstances, keeps them in good condition. The כלכל has moreover the sense of to hold, and to endure, which are not suitable here; but it has not the sense of disponere (Vulg. Luther), or moderari, nor that of to maintain or to prop up. The exposition "he cares for (even by this) his concerns in the judgment," is inconsistent with the want of the article; also the במשפט, corresponds to the צדיק, as the "is compassionate and lends," corresponds to "gracious and mer-ciful."-Ver. 6 lays down the basis on which rests the declara-tion of the happiness of the compassionate and righteous man, inasmuch as it describes his salvation. The עולם לזכר, corres-ponds to the לעולם, the צדיק to the ימוט לא. Hence "heshall be just" refers to the walk, the conduct, as a just man, a Ven.: "What a little ago he hath expressed metaphorically, he now expresses lite- rally, when he pronounces the man to be happy."For eternal remembrance is equivalent to for all future time, so long as men can remember any thing.--Before evil intelli- gence, ver. 7,-when so grounded he well may. He is not afraid, he need not be afraid because he has in God the sure ground of his salvation. On נכון firm = fearless, comp. at Ps. hi. 10.a--The סמוך, properly propped, in ver. 8, refers back to Psalms 111:8, firm in his heart, in reliance upon the firmness of the commandments of God, and of the promises connected with them for their faithful observers. On the second clause comp. Psalms 54:7. Confidence in hope ceases when sight enters. The עד is to be taken in an exclusive sense.---On the פזר in ver. 9 comp. Proverbs 11:24. It denotes the plentifulness of the giving. On account of the pre-terite, and because the expression, his righteousness endureth for ever, cannot occur a second time in the same sense (comp. ver. 3), the two first clauses refer to the conduct, and the third to therecompense. The righteousness is that which gives to every onehis own, to the poor charity. On "his horn shall be exalted,"comp. Psalms 75:4; Psalms 92:10. In honour, in spite of all the at-tempts of the enemies to cover him with shame.-In ver. 10, in consequence of the circumstances of the times, we are to think of heathen wickedness, or the wicked represents heathenism in hos-tility to the kingdom of God, the world, compare Psalms 107:42, He gnashes with, his teeth, Psalms 35:16; Psalms 37:12, in impotent rage. And melts away, Psalms 68:2. In the last clause the de- sire of the wicked means the object of that desire; comp. Job 8:13, Proverbs 10:28. a Arnd "Look now at the examples,-how Moses says at the Red Sea, stand still and see, &c. How does Jehosaph stand firm as a wall when a hundred thousand men in-vade the land, and he slays them all with one song of praise! How firmly does David stand when hunted by Saul! How overwhelmed is Saul with despair when his land is invaded by the Philistines, and he seeks advice from a witch! What firmness is in Da-niel when in the lion's den! What joy in Stephen! How did the holy Basilius say when Caesar Valens threatened him so dreadfully: such Mormolykia should be set before children! Athanasius, when Julian persecuted him: he is a mist that will soon dis-appear." Psalms 113. The glorious name of the Lord shall be praised, ver. 1-3, inwhom condescension is most intimately connected with exaltation, ver. 4-6, who lovingly undertakes for the poor and the miserable, 7-9. Or: first the glory of the name of the Lord, then the point to which it here comes, first, generally, next, more particularly. Jo. Arnd: "God is particularly to be praised for this, that he takes compassion upon the miserable, graciously regards the hum-ble, and undertakes for the forsaken." The Psalm forming the conclusion of a trilogy, is wholly ruled by the number three; three strophes each of three verses, three times praise in ver. 1, three times the name of the Lord in ver. 1-3. The object is to inspire with courage "the worm Jacob," Isaiah 41:14, the miserable one, over whom all the world goes, Isaiah 54:11, the poor little flock, after the captivity, by lifting up their hearts to their heavenly father, who visits in the loveliest manner the smallest dwellings. The Psalm has a prophetic character. For it points to a time "when the exaltation of the children of God shall take place, and their glory, which is now covered over with a bare cross, shall be revealed." Berleb. B. Ver. 1-3.-Ver. 1. Hallelujah. Praise, ye servants of the Lord, praise the name of the Lord. Ver. 2. May the name of the Lord be praised from henceforth even for ever. Ver. 3. From the rising of the sun to the going down of the same, glori- ous is the name of the Lord.-The servants of the Lord are the righteous, Psalms 111:1, those who fear the Lord, ver. 5, his people, ver. 6. Comp. Psalms 34:22; Psalms 69:36; Psa_136::22, Es. 5:11, Nehemiah 1:10, "they are thy servants and thy people." The expression cannot without some addition be applied exclusively to the Levites. The appellation has respect to the obligation to praise, which is one of the main forms of the service of the heavenly Lord. The name of the Lord is the Lord according to his historical character. The people of God have the privilege of having a God whose name is the product of his deeds. The world which forms a God according to its own fancies, has a nameless God.-The removal of every limit of time in reference to the praise of the Lord in ver. 2, proceeds on the supposition that the Lord continues for ever to reveal his glorious nature, gives through-out eternity always new occasion to praise him. The wishing, resting as it does on this basis, has at the same time the charac-ter of a prophecy. The responsive cry of praise shall succeed the cry of the deed's sounding throughout all eternity.-As מהלל is always used as an epithet of God, praised =glorious (comp. at Psalms 18:3; Psalms 96:4; Psalms 145:3,-the Vulg. correctly laudabile), we can-not in ver. 3 supply "may be" out of ver. 2; the only word that can be supplied is "is." On "from the rising of the sun to its going down," comp. Psalms 1:1. "The Lord who rules over all quar-ters with his hands," who has made known his strength among the nations, Psalms 77:14; who crushed Rahab like one slain, Psalms 89:10, he, a whom it is said in Psalms 89:11; Psalms 89:12, "thine is the heaven, thine is also the earth, the earth and its fulness thou hast founded the north and the south thou has created, Tabor and Hermon rejoice in thy name," makes known his glory not only in one particular corner of the earth, but as far as the earth itself extends. Ver. 4-6.-Ver. 4. Exalted above all heathens is the Lord, in heaven is his glory. Ver. 5. Who is as the Lord our God, who placeth himself thus high. Ver. 6. And looketh thus down deep, in heaven and in earth.-Exalted is the Lord above all heathens, ver. (comp. Psalms 99:2), who are so proud and who oppress Israel so hardly, as the great king over the whole earth, Psalms 47:2. "Over the heaven," instead of "in the heaven"(comp. at Psalms 5, 148:. 13), which itself tells his glory, Psalms 19:1, where the sons of God gives him glory, Psalms 29:1, the strong heroes praise him, Psalms 103:20; Psalms 103:21, the Seraphimsing "holy, holy, holy," Isaiah 6. Several falsely: "out over heaven." That would be out into the empty void.-In ver. 5, 6, the literal translation is: who exalts himself sitting, humbles himself looking, compare Ew. § 280. On the Jod parag. at Psalms 103:3. The infin. with ל, of both verbs, which are always used transi-tively, occupies the place of the accusative. The expression, "who places himself thus high," resumes the contents of ver. 4, in order to add to it the opposite, the deep humility and the condescen-sion of God; compare on this at Psalms 18:35. Israel stands alone in all the old world as possessing a knowledge of this humility. Its foundation is seen in "I know that I am dust and ashes," which meets us in the mouth of Abraham at the very beginning of the nation. Isaiah 57:15, is parallel. Jo. Arnd: "All miserable peo-ple should keep this for their highest protection, and should eter-nally thank God for this grace. For what enjoyment has the great God in those who are little? The high and lofty One in those who are low? The glorious God in those who are despised? The blessed God in those who are miserable?” The expression“in heaven and upon the earth,” is usually considered as connected with what immediately precedes: who looks deep down upon what is in heaven and upon the earth. But the connection ought rather to be: who is like the Lord our God . . . . in heaven and upon the earth! For, according to the first view, "the things which are and are carried on "is arbitrarily supplied; what fol-lows is manifestly an expansion in particulars of the general thought,-there, however, the discourse had been only of the care of God for the miserable upon the earth; the parallel passages are decisive in favour of the view here adopted: Deuteronomy 3:24,"who is a God in heaven and earth who does works like thine, and such as thy great deeds?" Psalms 73:25, "whom have I in heaven, and near thee I desire none upon the earth." Ver. 7-9.-Ver. 7. He raiseth up the poor out of the dust,and out of the dunghill he lifteth the needy man. Ver. 8. Thathe may set him near to princes, near to the princes of his peo- ple. Ver. 9. He makes the barren woman of the house to dwell like a joyful mother of children. Hallelujah.-Ver. 7 and 8 are almost word for word from the prayer of Hannah, 1 Samuel 2:8. The transition to the people is all the more natural as Han-nail, considering herself at the conclusion as the type of the church with which every individual among the Israelites felt him-self much more closely entwined than can easily be the case among ourselves, draws out of the salvation imparted to herself joyful prospects for the people. That "the poor man" and "the needy man "is not the people but only the type and representa-tive of them is manifest from "with the nobles of the people." Out of the dust, compare Psalms 44:25. At ver. 8, Job 36:7. -In ver. 9, at which 1 Samuel 2:5, is to be compared, "the barren woman beareth seven, and she that was rich in children hath wax-ed feeble," we cannot translate "who maketh the barren woman to dwell in the house." For the form of the stat. absol. is alwaysעקרה, and even according to the accents we can only translate the barren woman of the house; the הבית cannot be the accusa-tive, for the language used does not refer to one who is house-less, in which case Psalms 68:6, would require to be compared, but to one who is childless, in regard to whom it is not the that but the how of the dwelling that comes into notice. The barren woman of the house was, for example, Hannah, while Peninah was the fruitful one, the type of the world. The barren woman appears also, in Isaiah 54:1-3, as a type of the church of God in its misery, when the number of its members appears much dimi-nished. It is all the more natural to contemplate the church under this emblema as the types of Sarah, Rebecca, Rachel, the wife of Manoah, Hannah, whose long continued barrenness was removed by divine interposition, and finally of Mary, who brought forth altogether without the aid of a man, have manifestly a typical reference to the church. The trilogy is followed by a tetralogy which forms along with it an heptade, so that it, along with the Davidic trilogy, forms a decade. In the trilogy the Hallelujah occurred four times, here in the tetralogy three times, at the conclusion of Psa 115:115; Psalms 116:116; Psalms 116:117.; thus in the whole heptade seven times. Psalms 114. The power of the world in the times immediately after the re-turn from captivity stood constantly against the Church of God, like a raging sea, an overflowing river, a high hill, a bare barren rock. Those who yielded to despair in looking at this view, the Psalmist leads out of the present into the past, when the earth was compelled to humble itself before the God of Israel, the sea and Jordan overflowing all its banks turned back before him, Sinai moved in its firm foundations, the bare rock was made to send forth water, as a type of what is repeated in all ages, and which faith sees coming again into existence now when the circumstances are so similar to those of Israel when they came out of Egypt. When Israel came out of Egypt, the Lord declared them to be his people by mighty deeds of omnipotence, ver. 1 and 2. The a Arml: "The barren woman is the poor, forsaken, distressed Christian church, whom the false church oppresses, defies, and persecutes, and regards as useless, miserable, bar-ren, because she herself is greater and more populous, the greatest part of the world." sea fled, Jordan gave way, mountains moved, ver. 3 and 4. The Psalmist addresses the sea, &c., and interrogates it as to the cause of this singular terror, ver. 5 and 6. He answers the question himself: the earth trembled before the Lord, who is the God of Israel, and who caused water to come out from the rock, and sal-vation from places most unlikely to give salvation to his people, ver. 7 and 8. As the preceding Psalm forming the conclusion of the trilogy is wholly ruled by the number three, so this one opening the te-tralogy and the fourth in the heptade is wholly ruled by the num-ber four, the signature of the earth, ver. 7. It has four strophes each of four members. Of the great deeds of the Lord which are represented in it as pledges of similar deliverance at the present time, there are four which, along with the three made mention of in Psalms 111. which opens the trilogy, make up seven. The assertion of some recent expositors, that the Psalm before us must be a passover-hymn, rests on no ground. The facts which are celebrated, the yielding of the sea, &c., are not directly connected with the passover. Ver. 1, 2.-Ver. I. When Israel came out of Egypt, the house of Jacob from a people of strange language. Ver. 2. Then was Judah his sanctuary, Israel his dominion.-The de-parture from Egypt in ver. 1 is to be taken in a wide sense; for the facts made mention of in what follows go on as far as the entrance into Canaan. The clause, "from the people of a strange language," points to the oppressive character of the previous abode, the beneficent character of the departure; comp. at the parallel passage, Psalms 81:5. As then, so now, Israel went out from a people of strange language, a people of whom it was said in Deuteronomy 28:49, "the Lord shall raise up against thee a peo-ple from afar . . . whose language thou dost not understand." They must now see a similar confirmation of their election.-In vet. 2 the discourse is not of an elevation of Israel to the rank of children of God taking place in words, but of one in deeds. This is evident from what follows, where the manner in which this elevation ensues is more particularly described, viz. by the open-ing up of the way through the Red Sea, &c. The verbal de-claration took place at Sinai, where the Lord said to Israel: "ye shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy people." Wecannot, however, think of this; for the passage through the Red Sea had taken place previously. Judah represents here the whole people, as Joseph had done in Psalms 81:5. The whole is denoted from that branch which at the time was still flourishing, from that part which was the heir of all ancient reminiscences (comp. at Psalms 76:1), and to which the prophecies concealed in facts were yet to be fulfilled. The connection of Judah with the feminine cannot here be explained from the circumstance that the land is used instead of the people-for Judah had at that time no land-but from the frequent personification of communities as women or as virgins, for example, the daughter of Tyre, in Psalms 45:12, the daughter of Edom, Lamentations 4:21, the daughter of my people, Isaiah 22:4. As the holiness of God denotes his separation from all created being (comp. at Psalms 22:3), the choice of Israel to the sanctuary or holy place of God denotes his separation from the world, and his reception into the territory of God; comp. Deuteronomy 7:6, Exodus 19:5; Exodus 19:6, Christol. 3, p. 431. From the circumstance that the suffixes refer to the Lord, and that the name of the Lord had not previously been mentioned, it has been improperly concluded that the Psalm is more closely connected than it really is with Psalms 113., and that it makes up along with it, in a certain measure, one whole. He who is always present to the mind of the godly, does not require on every occasion to be expressly named. Psalms 87 th also begins with the words "his (city) founded on the holy mountains." The posi-tion of the bare suffix in the passage arises from a particular rea-son. The questions in ver. 5 and 6 would have been anticipated and their appropriateness destroyed, had the Lord been previously mentioned by name as the cause of these great deeds. In the plural his dominions, his states, it is implied that no other peo-ple enjoyed such a preference. The rubric, "states of God," was exemplified in Israel alone. The discourse here is only of the kingdom of grace. "Thus shall Judah even now be anew raised to the dignity of the sanctuary and of the dominion of the Lord," stands in the back-ground. Ver. 3, 4.-Ver. 3. The sea saw and fled, and Jordan, and turned back. Ver. 4. The mountains skipped like rains, the hills like lambs.-On ver. 3, comp. Exodus 14:21, Joshua 3:14-16. "The sea and the Jordan of the heathen world shall in like man-ner flow back at the present time," stands in the back ground. Compare on the sea and rivers as the emblems of the powers of the world, at Psalms 93:93; Psalms 107:23, ss.-Ver. 4 depends, as to ex-pression, on Psalms 29:6, but as to the reality upon Exodus 19:18, "and the whole mountain trembled very much;" comp. Psalms 68:8, "then the earth moved, the heavens also dropped be-fore God, it was at Sinai, before the God of Israel," Judges 5:4, ss., "0 Lord, when thou didst march out from Seir, when you did go forward from the field of Edom, the earth quaked . . . . the mountains flowed down before the Lord." The assertion, "it must be merely taken poetically," is shewn to be a ridiculous one by these passages. The analogy of the three other facts is left unnoticed, and the consideration that it is not a poetic fiction, but only historical facts, that can be appropriate here, is over-looked; everywhere throughout the Psalm the past is employed as allegorical of the future. On the mountains, as symbols of the kingdoms of the world, which the Psalmist sees move along with Sinai, comp. at Psalms 76:4.a In Zechariah 4:7, "who art thou, O great mountains, before Zerubabel? Become a plain!" the great mountain is the Persian kingdom which hindered the building of the temple. Ver. 5, 6.-Ver. 5. What is the matter with thee, thou sea, that thou fleest, O Jordan, that thou turnest back? Ver. 6. Ye mountains that ye leap like rams, ye hills, like lambs?-We cannot translate "what was the matter with thee that thou didst flee?" The constant use of the future is against this, as is also the trembling in the seventh verse, which supposes that the action is not completed. The Psalmist brings the whole scene out of the past into the present, in which lie expects to see itagain repeated. Ver. 5, 6.-Ver. 5. What is the matter with thee, thou sea, that thou fleest, O Jordan, that thou turnest back? Ver. 6. Ye mountains that ye leap like rams, ye hills, like lambs?-We cannot translate "what was the matter with thee that thou didst flee?" The constant use of the future is against this, as is also the trembling in the seventh verse, which supposes that the action is not completed. The Psalmist brings the whole scene out of the past into the present, in which lie expects to see itagain repeated. Ver. 7, 8.-Ver. 7. Before the Lord tremble thou earth, be-fore the God of Jacob. Ver. 8. Who changes the rock into water, the hard stone into a fountain of water.-The Psalmist himself replies to the question addressed to the sea, &c.: shall I say so to you? Thou earth with thy sea, &c. We cannot trans- late: "before the Lord tremble thou still more," for in this case, a Berleb.: "Sinai anti Horeb, together with the neighbouring mountains, leapt as it were by the mighty earthquake when the Lord descended to give the law, and the king-doms shall be also thrown into a mighty movement when the Lord shall come to judg-ment to execute his law." the question propounded in the previous strophe would remain unanswered, and the eighth verse is also against it, for it still refers to the events of the Mosaic time, as prophetic of the future. We are to comp. at ver. 7 and ver. 4, Psalms 97:4; Psalms 97:5.-On ver. 8 comp. Exodus 17:6 Numbers 20:11, Deuteronomy 8:15; Deuteronomy 32:13. The words contain a general thought which, however, is expressed in language borrowed from the facts of the Mosaic time, and of which a similar application is made in Isaiah 41:18; Isaiah 43:2 : who sends continually to his church water out of the hard rock, causes sal-vation to arise in most unfavourable circumstances, so that the power of the world rises against it in vain. Ver. 7. Before the Lord tremble thou earth, before the God of Jacob. Ver. 8. Who changes the rock into water, the hard stone into a fountain of water. The Psalmist himself replies to the question addressed to the sea, &c.: shall I say so to you? Thou earth with thy sea, &c. We cannot translate: “before the Lord tremble thou still more,” for in this case, the question propounded in the previous strophe would remain unanswered, and the eighth verse is also against it, for it still refers to the events of the Mosaic time. In point of form “tremble thou earth” refers to the Mosaic age, but, in reality, to all ages,—as certainly as the Psalmist considers the events of the Mosaic age as prophetic of the future. We are to comp. at Psalms 114:7 and Psalms 114:4, Psalms 97:4-5. On Psalms 114:8 comp. Exodus 17:6 Numbers 20:11, Deuteronomy 8:15, Deuteronomy 32:13. The words contain a general thought which, however, is expressed in language borrowed from the facts of the Mosaic time, and of which a similar application is made in Isaiah 41:18, Isaiah 43:2 : who sends continually to his church water out of the hard rock, causes salvation to arise in most unfavourable circumstances, so that the power of the world rises against it in vain. Psalms 115. After an Introduction, ver. 1, in which the Lord is called upon to vindicate the honour of his name, which was endangered by the miserable condition of his people, the Psalmist contrasts with each other, in ver. 2-4, the God of Israel, who is in heaven, and who does all things according to his own will, and the heathen deities, silver and gold, the work of men's hands, and describes at length the nothingness and feebleness of the latter, a descrip-tion which applies to their worshippers, in ver. 5-8. There rises in ver. 9-11, on he basis thus laid, the exhortation to Israel to trust in the Lord his God, and the confident assurance that he will bless the people, ver. 12-15, HE, who has given the earth to men, and cannot suffer his people to be rooted out from it, or himself to be deprived of praise, ver. 16-18. The Psalm falls into a strophe of seven and one of ten verses. The seven is divided by the three and the four, the ten by the seven (which again falls into three and four) and the three. Je-hovah occurs ten times, Jah twice-in all, therefore, the names of God twelve times. The idea that the Psalm was sung by alternate choruses is without any proper foundation. By the Sept., the Syr., the Vulg., and in several M S., the Psalm is, without and against all rea-son, joined to the preceding one, so that the two together may form one whole. The Psalm was composed at a time when the name of God, the renown of his faithfulness and mercy towards his people,which he had acquired by his early deeds, was exposed to dan-ger, ver. 1, when the heathen could say in triumph, "Where is now their God?" when, in the relation in which Israel stood to the heathen, it was only the consideration of the back-ground which was concealed from the fleshly eye that could afford conso-lation, ver. 3 ss., when there was still only a small number of peo-ple, when the thought of destruction, as far as could be seen, was one which was not very remote, and which required to be com-bated in faith, ver. 16-18, but when the Lord still remembered his people, ver. 12, and by the commencement of deliverance which had taken place had given a foundation on which the hope of complete restoration might rest. All those features suit exactly the time in which we have placed the whole cycle of Psalms to which the one before us belongs, the time, viz., imme-diately after the captivity. The prominent position occupied by the priests leads us also to the period after the captivity. These appear, in every allusion made to them, as the leaders of the people. The concurrence of priesthood and royalty has disap-peared. Ver. 1. Not to us, O Lord, not to us, but to thy name give glory, because of thy mercy, because of thy truth.-The name of God is his fame, Numbers 14:15, his praise which he has acquired by his former deeds, Isaiah 48:9, and which he cannot now give up. The mercy and the truth of God, the manifesta-tions of which form the main ingredients of his name, form the moving and impelling principle in God, which leads him to give glory to his name. As the deeds have proceeded from these, the remembrance of which forms the name, in like manner it is by them that those new deeds must be called forth, which are neces-sary to prevent the dishonouring of the name. Were God not good nor true, there would be no obligation upon him to guard against a false report. In reference to the name of God, comp. at the parallel passage, Psalms 79:9. The "not to us," &c., is equivalent to "not to our merits and claims," or "not because of us;" comp. Daniel 9:18, "not for our righteousnesses, but for thy great compassion," Isaiah 43:22-25, "thou hast not honoured me, O Jacob, &c., I, even I, forgive your transgressions for my own sake," 48:11. The expression is emphatically repeated for the purpose of conveying the impression that Israel is deeplysensible that there is nothing in him which can call forth salva-tion.a On the truth of God at Psalms 30:9; Psalms 54:5. Ver. 2-8.-Ver. 2.-Why should the heathen say, where is now their God; Ver. 3. Our God is in heaven, he does what-ever he pleases. Ver. 4. Their gods are silver and gold, the work of men's hands. Ver. 4. Mouths have they and they speak not, eyes have they and they see not. Ver. 5. Ears have they and they hear not, noses have they and they smell not. Ver. 7. Their hands do not handle, their feet do not walk, they do not speak through their throat. Ver. 8. Like to them are those who make such all who trust in them.-Ver. 2 is literally from Psalms 79:10. It is impossible to doubt that the clause is bor-rowed, as of the contents of the verse which ought properly to be provided with inverted commas, it is only the assertion of the heathen, not the expression "why should they say so," that is illustrated by the contrast drawn between the God of Israel and the gods of the heathen-a contrast which exhibits in all its pitiableness their cry, "Where is their God?" As the God of Israel is omnipotence and their idols feebleness, "where is their God" will in due time descend with terror on their own heads; and the man in the congregation of the Lord would be stupid indeed who should pay any regard to it. A God such as Israel's may conceal himself for a time, and give the world the joy of a fancied victory, but he must always again come out of his con-cealment in the full glory of his being.-Our God is in heaven, ver. 3 (comp. at Psalms 2:4; Psalms 11:4; Psalms 103:19), far exalted above the earth, the placel of feebleness, above the heathen and their idol-trash. On the second clause comp. Genesis 18:14, where even at the very beginning of revelation we find uttered, "is any thing too hard for the Lord?" The parallel passage for ver. 4, the basis, and ver. 5, the development, is Deuteronomy 4:28, "and ye serve these Gods, the work of men's hands, wood and stone (here silver a Calvin: This beginning shews that the faithful, in cases of extremity, flee to God. They do not, however, say in express words what they wish, but indirectly insinuate their request. In the meantime they declare, by way of preface, that they do not adduce any merits of their own or deserve the hope of obtaining what they want from any other source except from this, that God in delivering them promotes his own glory . . . . They are indeed desirous to obtain consolation and aid in their misery, but because they find nothing in themselves worthy of the divine favour, they appeal to him to vindicate his own glory.and gold), which see not, and eat not, and smell not," and are thus inferior to the stupid men who trust in them. Our passage is the locus classicus in the Psalms on the subject of idols, cor-responding to the one in the prophets, viz., Isaiah 44:9-20. It has been maintained that the place which the Psalmist assigns to the heathen idol-worship is a false one. "The Jew, accustomed to no image of the godhead, adopts the error (often intentionally) of considering the idols of the heathen as their gods, whereas they were only symbols of their gods." But the Psalmist has to do not with the view which the heathen took of their gods, but with the thing itself. And in reality and apart from the vain imaginations of their worshippers (seen to be such by their chang-ing character), the heathen gods had no existence beyond that of the images; compare at Psalms 95:3; Psalms 96:5. Further, it has been maintained that the whole description is "feeble by its oneness of tone." It is only so, however, in so far as we do not vividly transfer ourselves into the age in which the Psalms were composed, an age in which, with the exception of one small corner, the whole world did homage to these miserable gods, and in which what now appears trivial and self-evident went in the face of the consent of the whole human race. If any one will keep in view, throughout, the whole descrip-tion, the refined worship of the present age, which, in reality, is the same in substance as the grosser idolatry of ancient times -whether the idols be formed of silver and gold or of thoughts and feelings is a matter of indifference-he will find the descrip-tion to be full of life and interest.-On ver. 5 and 6 compare the opposite description of Jehovah in Psalms 94:9, "He who has planted the ear," &c.-In ver. 7 the ידיהם and the רגליהם, are nomin. absol. On הגה, to murmur, to whisper, comp. at Psalms 90:9. The whispering stands opposed to loud and strong discourse; Michaelis: They cannot even whisper.-Like to them are those who make them, ver. 8,-just as null and feeble, inasmuch without strength they fall from on high and under the judgment of omni-potence. Even though it may appear on a superficial view to be otherwise for a time, yet it remains eternally true, and shall al-ways be confirmed anew by the results: every one is just what his God is; whoever serves the Omnipotent is omnipotent with him: whoever exalts feebleness, in stupid delusion, to be his god,is feeble along with that god. This is an important preservative against fear for those who are sure that they worship the true God. Berleb.: “Are like them, and therefore richly deserve to be treated with insult, when they have the heart to scoff at others who desire to trust in God, and to adhere to him." The expres-sion "who make them" refers naturally not so much to the artifi-cers as to those who get the images made. Ver. 2. Why should the heathen say, where is now their God; Ver. 3. Our God is in heaven, he does whatever he pleases. Ver. 4. Their gods are silver and gold, the work of men’s hands. Ver. 4. Mouths have they and they speak not, eyes have they and they see not. Ver. 5. Ears have they and they hear not, noses have they and they smell not. Ver. 7. Their hands do not handle, their feet do not walk, they do not speak through their throat. Ver. 8. Like to them are those who make such all who trust in them.Psalms 115:2 is literally from Psalms 79:10. It is impossible to doubt that the clause is borrowed, as of the contents of the verse which ought properly to be provided with inverted commas, it is only the assertion of the heathen, not the expression “why should they say so,” that is illustrated by the contrast drawn between the God of Israel and the gods of the heathen—a contrast which exhibits in all its pitiableness their cry, “Where is their God?” As the God of Israel is omnipotence and their idols feebleness, “where is their God” will in due time descend with terror on their own heads; and the man in the congregation of the Lord would be stupid indeed who should pay any regard to it. A God such as Israel’s may conceal himself for a time, and give the world the joy of a fancied victory, but he must always again come out of his concealment in the full glory of his being. Our God is in heaven, ver. 3 (comp. at Psalms 2:4, Psalms 11:4, Psalms 103:19), far exalted above the earth, the place of feebleness, above the heathen and their idol trash. On the second clause comp. Genesis 18:14, where even at the very beginning of revelation we find uttered, “is anything too hard for the Lord?” The parallel passage for Psalms 115:4, the basis, and Psalms 115:5, the development, is Deuteronomy 4:28, “and ye serve these Gods, the work of men’s hands, wood and stone (here silver and gold), which see not, and eat not, and smell not,” and are thus inferior to the stupid men who trust in them. Our passage is the locus classicus in the Psalms on the subject of idols, corresponding to the one in the prophets, viz., Isaiah 44:9-20. It has been maintained that the place which the Psalmist assigns to the heathen idol-worship is a false one. “The Jew, accustomed to no image of the godhead, adopts the error (often intentionally) of considering the idols of the heathen as their gods, whereas they were only symbols of their gods.” But the Psalmist has to do not with the view which the heathen took of their gods, but with the thing itself. And in reality and apart from the vain imaginations of their worshippers (seen to be such by their changing character), the heathen gods had no existence beyond that of the images; compare at Psalms 95:3, Psalms 96:5. Further, it has been maintained that the whole description is “feeble by its oneness of tone.” It is only so, however, in so far as we do not vividly transfer ourselves into the age in which the Psalms were composed, an age in which, with the exception of one small corner, the whole world did homage to these miserable gods, and in which what now appears trivial and self-evident went in the face of the consent of the whole human race. If any one will keep in view, throughout, the whole description, the refined worship of the present age, which, in reality, is the same in substance as the grosser idolatry of ancient times—whether the idols be formed of silver and gold or of thoughts and feelings is a matter of indifference—he will find the description to be full of life and interest. On Psalms 115:5-6 compare the opposite description of Jehovah in Psalms 94:9, “He who has planted the ear,” &c. In Psalms 115:7 the ιγιδν and the ψβμιδν are nomin. absol. On δβδ, to murmur, to whisper, comp. at Psalms 90:9. The whispering stands opposed to loud and strong discourse; Michaelis: They cannot even whisper. Like to them are those who make them, Psalms 115:8,—just as null and feeble, inasmuch without strength they fall from on high and under the judgment of omnipotence. Even though it may appear on a superficial view to be otherwise for a time, yet it remains eternally true, and shall always be confirmed anew by the results: every one is just what his God is; whoever serves the Omnipotent is omnipotent with him: whoever exalts feebleness, in stupid delusion, to be his god, is feeble along with that god. This is an important preservative against fear for those who are sure that they worship the true God. Berleb.: “Are like them, and therefore richly deserve to be treated with insult, when they have the heart to scoff at others who desire to trust in God, and to adhere to him.” The expression “who make them” refers naturally not so much to the artificers as to those who get the images made. Ver. 9-18. Ver. 9. Israel, trust thou in the Lord, who is your help and your shield. Ver. 10. Ye of the house of Aaron, trust in the Lord, who is your help and your shield. Ver. 11. Ye who fear the Lord, trust in the Lord, who is your help and your shield. Ver. 12. The Lord hath been mindful of us, he shall bless, he shall bless the house of Israel, he shall bless the house of Aaron. Ver. 13. He shall bless those who fear the Lord, the small with the great. Ver. 14. May the Lord add to you, to you and to your children. Ver. 15. May ye be blessed of the Lord, the creator of heaven and earth.-Ver. 16. The heaven is heaven for the Lord, and the earth he has given to the sons of man. Ver. 17. The dead praise not the Lord, nor those who go down to silence. Ver. 18. And we will praise the Lord from henceforth even for ever.--Ver. 9 depends upon Psalms 33:20, "Our soul trusteth in the Lord, he is our help and our shield."-In ver. 10, the house of Aaron is spe-cially named, because it was proper that it should go forward at the head of the people in the way of trusting in the Lord. -By "those who, fear the Lord," ver. 11, we cannot, either here or in the parallel passages, Psalms 118:4; Psalms 145:20, understand either the proselytes, unsuitably referring to the צןגןץלוםןי פןםטוןם, of the New Testament, or the laity, but only the whole people. This is evident from ver. 13, where by the great are manifestly meant, by way of pre-eminence, the priests; these, therefore, must be included among the fearers of God. The expression also is used with reference to the whole of Israel in Psalms 112:1; comp. Psalms 22:23, where "the fearers of God" stand parallel to "the seed of Jacob." The particular is thus enclosed on both sides by the general. The peculiarity, however, of our verse, in connection with the 9th, lies in the term employed to designate the general; in which there is indirectly contained a basis for the exhortation to trust in the Lord. This trustis intimately connected with child-like fear of God, reverential awe before him. The man, therefore, who has a right to bear the name of a fearer of the Lord, who does not wish to excommunicate himself from the people of the Lord, must yield obedience to the exhortation of the Psalmist. A com-mentary on the short and hasty expression, "he hath been mindful of us," is furnished by Psalms 116:18, according to which a great deliverance had just been imparted to the people of the Lord; comp. Psalms 107. The cry "remember me, O Lord," which the church had uttered in captivity, is now about to be ful-filled.-The small with the great, ver. 13, the low who give way so easily to despondency no less than the high; comp. Jeremiah 16:6, 2 Kings 18:24, Revelation 13:16; Revelation 19:5, Matthew 18:6-Ver.14 depends upon neut. 1:11; "may the Lord God of your fathers add to you a thousand fold, and bless you as he bath blessed you." This passage, which again depends upon Genesis 30:24, and to which Joab alludes in 2 Samuel 24:3, shews that we can neither dispense with the optative (and there is the less reason for this, as behind the wish there is still a prophecy con-cealed), nor refer the multiplying to the blessing instead of the number of the people as Luther does: "the Lord bless you more and more." For the aggregate body of the church of to the Lord (comp. Psalms 119:87, "they have almost annihilated me in the land") increase of numbers is one of the forms of bles-sing. The "you and your children" indicates that the multiply-ing shall begin immediately but shall be more glorious after-wards. It became most glorious in Christ, comp. Isaiah 10:16 -Ver. 15 alludes to the blessing of Melchisedec upon Abraham, Genesis 19:19, which was uttered in him on behalf of his posterity. The Creator of heaven and earth,-who, as such, is infinitely rich in blessing for his people, in assistance in all troubles, and against all even the most powerful enemies.-As an addition to the ex-pression, "Creator of heaven and earth," the Psalmist, in ver. 16, draws from the fact that God, retaining only heaven for himself, has given up as a free gift, rich in love, the earth to the children of men (comp. Genesis 1:28, "And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful and multiply, and replenish the earth and possess it," chap. 9:1), a ground of consolation in view of the circumstances which threatened destruction to the people ofGod: he cannot therefore permit it to be robbed of the occupants assigned to it by him, to be depopulated (comp. Habakkuk 1:14-47), assuredly not that the choicest of the children of men should dis-appear from the earth.-He shall rather maintain us, is added in ver. 17, 18. because he would otherwise be robbed of the song of praise which only his church on the earth can give him,-the people of God cannot die, because the praise of God would die with them, which would be impossible. In ver. 18, "we shall bless" is equivalent to "he shall give us the opportunity to do so, inasmuch as he maintains us in life, blesses us, ver. 12 and 13, in deeds, in order that thus we may bless him with our lips; comp. Psalms 118:17, "I shall not die, but live and make known the deeds of the Lord." "And we shall" is in reality equiva-lent to "we shall thus." The other constructions of the two verses, such as that which finds them containing a praise of "the grace of God which gives the earth to men in opposition to the miserable inhabitants of the lower world who cannot praise him," are set aside by the circumstance that the position that the dead do not praise the Lord is everywhere else represented to the Lord as a reason for hit to deliver from death; comp. Psalms 6:5; Psalms 30:9; Psalms 88:10-12 Isaiah 38:18; Isaiah 38:19. The passage before us can scarcely be separated from these very striking parallel pas-sages, as it belongs to such a late author, who is not to be sup-posed to strike out a path entirely new. In reference to the דומה silence, comp. at Psalms 94:17. Psalms 116. After an Introduction, ver. 1 and 2, in which the Psalmist de-clares his love to the Lord, and his resolution to call upon him continually because lie has been delivered by him out of great trouble, he describes in the first strophe this deliverance, ver. 3-9, and in the second his thankfulness. The first strophe is com-plete in the number seven, which is divided by a four and a three: I was near destruction, then the Lord manifested his compassion and his grace in my deliverance, ver. 3-6, so that now I am de-livered from trouble and death, and have reached to my rest, ver.7-9.a The second strophe is complete in ten, which is divided by a three and a seven, which last is again divided by a three and a four. I placed in my trouble my trust in the Lord, and the Lord has given me according to my faith, how shall I recompense him for his gift? ver. 10-12. I will offer to him out of a full heart praise and thanks, ver. 13-19, in ver. 13-15 the resolution, ver. 16-19 apparently the accompaniment of the giving of the offerings. The 117th Psalm, which, on account of its brevity, cannot with propriety be considered as occupying an entirely independent position, corresponds, as a Conclusion, to the Introduction, con-sisting like it of two verses. The whole in this case has twenty-one verses, three times seven. In Psalms 116., Jehovah occurs fifteen times, in Psalms 117. twice, in both together therefore we have the important number seventeen. Without the introduction and con-clusion Jehovah occurs fourteen times. In the first strophe of Psalms 116. six times; in the second eight times. The six is supple-mented by the Jehovah of the Introduction to seven, the eight by the conclusion, Psalms 117. to ten. After the church of the Lord has raised itself to hope in his assistance in regard to every thing which at present oppresses her, she comes at the conclusion of the decade with delivered and light-ened mind to her song of thanks for the favour already imparted, which now for the first time reaches its true earnestness when she has cast all her care upon the Lord. That the Psalm does not belong to the times before the cap-tivity, is manifest from the language, especially from the נגדה and the המותה, with the meaningless paragoge in ver. 14 and 15, and the Chald. suffix in ver. 12. The danger from which the Psalmist giving thanks was delivered is repeatedly and expressly described as one of entire destruction,-a description in which it is impossible not to recognise a reference to the Babylonish cap-tivity, as the analogy of all the other Psalms of the group, the. 15th ver., where the plurality concealed behind the unity comes prominently forward (the speaker is the Man of Judah or the Daughter of Zion, therefore an ideal person), and the circum- a The Septuagint and Vulgate recognised the main division to be after ver. 9; they have divided the Psalm at ver. 10 into two poems.stance of the Psalm which manifestly receive a historical interpre-tation, being without a name (which does not readily occur in in-dividual Psalms), reader it impossible not to see the national cha-racter of the Psalm. A special reference to the deliverance from captivity occurs in "thou hast loosed my bonds" of ver. 16; comp. Psalms 107:14. The melancholy character of the joy also, which it is impossible not to notice, is suitable to the occasion: we every where see tears in the eyes of the thankful. Psalmist; thanksgiving suppresses lamentation. The Psalm must at all events have been composed shortly after the deliverance. This is evident from the circumstance that the deliverance is the ob-ject of the festive presentation of thank offerings, also from the great tenderness of feeling, in consequence of which the expressions are somewhat of a stammering character, and, finally, from the present יהושיע in ver. 6. The mention of the house of the Lord in ver. 19, does not necessarily bring us down to the time after the completion of the building of the temple. For the holy city got this name before this, comp. Ezra 2:68; Ezra 3:8. The Psalm however, was certainly sung for the first time after the setting up of public worship, ver. 13, ss., and on an occasion of national thanksgiving,-an o casion later than that assigned to Psalms 107.; comp. the Introduction to that Psalm. Particulars will be obtained from Psalms 118. Ver. 1 and 2, Ver. 1. I love, because the Lord hears my voice and my supplication. Ver. 2. For he inclined his ear to me, therefore I will call upon him as long as I live.-In ver. 1 the future denotes the general truth, which is to be illustrated by the special fact (the preterite in ver. 2). The translation which, after the example of Luther, is commonly given, is: this is delightful to me that the Lord hears my voice. But in favour of the translation given above, the beginning of Psalms 18. is de-cisive: "I love thee with my heart, O Lord, my strength." "For the Lord hears," &c., in the Psalm before us corresponds to "my strength," in that Psalm, and to the development of that expres-sion which immediately follows. This conclusion is all the stronger, as the main division of our Psalm begins with the words with which that Psalm opens. Hence it follows, that, according to our view, the first verse contains the quintessence of the whole Psalm (comp. the view given above of the contents), and that thefirst clause corresponds to the second half of ver. 2, exactly as the second clause corresponds to the first half. The abrupt clause, "I love," is altogether appropriate to the general charac-ter of the Psalm; comp. the similar clause, "I will call," in ver. 2, "the Lord gifts thee," ver. 7, and also the asyndeton, "my voice, my supplication," in the verse before us. There appears to be an allusion to Deuteronomy 6:5, and to the parallel passage, "thou shalt love, אהבת, the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength." The Psalmist testifies that, by the proofs which he had received of the love of God, the fulfilment of this the first and great commandment had become possible to him. In reality, "I love," put by the Psalmist into the lips of the people, has, at the same time, a hortatory character; let us love him because he has first loved us.-It is manifest from Isaiah 39:8, that "in my days," in ver. 2, is to be understood as equivalent to "my life long." I will call upon, giving thanks for his salvation, ver. 13, and praying in all dis-tresses for his assistance, ver. 4. Ver. 3-9.-Ver. 3. The snares of death surrounded me, and the pains of hell found me, I found distress and sorrow. Ver. 4. But I called upon the name of the Lord: O Lord, deliver my. soul! Ver. 5. Gracious is the Lord and upright, and our God is compassionate. Ver. 6. The Lord defends the simple, I was in sorrow and he delivered me. Ver. 7. Return again, O my soul, to thy rest, for the Lord hath gifted thee. Ver. 8. For thou didst deliver my soul from death, mine eyes from tears, my foot from sliding. Ver. 9. I shall walk before the Lord in the land of the living.-Ver. 3 depends upon Psalms 18:4; Psalms 18:5. It is not without design that the church, in the description of her trouble, connects herself with David. He was her great example in distress and deliverance. In Psalms 18 he himself extends his own experience to that of his seed, who, at the time of the com-position of this Psalm, was represented by Zerubabel (comp. Haggai 2:23, Zech. iv.), and, in a certain measure, included in him the whole people; for it was intended that David should, for all eternity, be the soul of the people.-To call upon thename of the Lord, in ver. 4, is a stronger expression than merely to call upon the Lord, and is equivalent to, to call upon him in his historically manifested glory.-Upright is theLord, ver. 5, just because he is gracious and compassionate to-wards his own people; comp. Psalms 112:4. Allusion is made to the fundamental definition of the divine Being in the Law, which had in this instance been so gloriously verified: the idea meant to be conveyed is: as the Lord has delivered my soul, and thus confirmed the truth of his word, which calls him gracious and compassionate. Instead of narrating historically the consequences of the prayer, the Psalmist breaks out into praise of the grace and mercy of God therein made known.-On פתי in ver. 6, comp. at Psalms 19:7. The word denotes, in the first instance, a failing, a want, not a virtue (many translate altogether without good reason: that pure mind towards God which alone expects salva- tion from him), yet assuredly this want is more praiseworthy than the false skill of the world, which always knows to help itself, because it considers every thing to be lawful.a The full form, יהושיע, was probably chosen for the purpose of alluding to the significant name of the first high priest of the new colony, Joshua.-The imper. in ver. 7 stands as in Is. Leviticus 1, invites o the enjoyment of the blessings freely furnished by God, The מנוה, possibly a place of rest, is never inward rest and peace (Luther: Be now at peace, O my soul)-the plu-ral is against this-but the outward rest. The מנוהות in Psalms 23:2 also refers to this, and in Matthew 11:29 the rest is the place of rest. The rest for the soul is the land of the Lord, the temple, the building of which was just begun, the delightful home, together with every thing which it affords for refreshment to the weary wanderer. Hitherto the soul had been restless and wander-ing like Cain, Genesis 4:12. On Lגמ comp. at Psalms 7:4. We may supply "with thy rest," or, what is better, with every thing that is good, comp. ver. 12.b-Ver. 8 and 9 depend upon Psalms 56:13 : a The sense of פתאים was given with perfect accuracy by Calvin: "This word is fre- quently taken in a bad sense for inconsiderate and foolish persons who do not obey right counsel. But now those are called simple who suffer injuries, who are not too skilful in avoiding injuries, who, in fine, are easily circumvented, whereas the children of this world are as strong in sagacity as they are well furnished with expedients for protecting themselves. David therefore confesses himself to be like a child who cannot advise himself, and is not Bible to repel those injuries to which he is exposed. The same is, when believers, in their sufferings, have neither skill nor reason to find out means of escape, God's wisdom is used on their behalf, and the secret guardianship of his provi-dence meets all the dangers which beset their safety." b The pious Bishop Babylas of Antioch comforted himself with our verse in prospect"For thou didst deliver my soul from death, my feet from sliding, that I may walk before God in the light of the living." Even this reference pre-supposes the character of David as an exemplar. The inserted clause, "my eyes from tears," contains a designed and a most significant allusion to Jeremiah 31:16. The promise there given, as to the drying up of tears, was now in the way of being fulfilled. Instead of "in the light of the living," we have here "in the land" (Ezra 3:3); comp. "in the land of the liv-ing," in Psalms 27:13; Psalms 52:5. Ver. 3. The snares of death surrounded me, and the pains of hell found me, I found distress and sorrow. Ver. 4. But I called upon the name of the Lord: O Lord, deliver my. soul! Ver. 5. Gracious is the Lord and upright, and our God is compassionate. Ver. 6. The Lord defends the simple, I was in sorrow and he delivered me. Ver. 7. Return again, 0 my soul, to thy rest, for the Lord hath bestowed gifts upon thee. Ver. 8. For thou didst deliver my soul from death, mine eyes from tears, my foot from sliding. Ver. 9. I shall walk before the Lord in the land of the living. Psalms 116:3 depends upon Psalms 18:4-5. It is not without design that the church, in the description of her trouble, connects herself with David. He was her great example in distress and deliverance. In Psalms 18 he himself extends his own experience to that of his seed, who, at the time of the composition of the Psalm before us, was represented by Zerubabel (comp. Haggai 2:23, Zechariah 4), and, in a certain measure, included in him the whole people; for it was intended that David should, for all eternity, be the soul of the people of God. To call upon the name of the Lord, in Psalms 116:4, is a stronger expression than merely to call upon the Lord, and is equivalent to, to call upon him in his historically manifested glory. Upright is the Lord, Psalms 116:5, just because he is gracious and compassionate towards his own people; comp. Psalms 112:4. Allusion is made to the fundamental definition of the divine Being in the Law, which had in this instance been so gloriously verified: the idea meant to be conveyed is: as the Lord has delivered my soul, and thus confirmed the truth of his word, which calls him gracious and compassionate. Instead of narrating historically the consequences of the prayer, the Psalmist breaks out into praise of the grace and mercy of God therein made known. On τϊι, in Psalms 116:6, comp. at Psalms 19:7. The word denotes, in the first instance, a failing, a want, not a virtue (many translate altogether without good reason: that pure mind towards God which expects salvation from him alone), yet assuredly this want is more praiseworthy than the false skill of the world, which always knows to help itself, because it considers everything to be lawful. [Note: The sense of τϊΰιν was given with perfect accuracy by Calvin: “This word is frequently taken in a bad sense for inconsiderate and foolish persons who do not obey right counsel. But now those are called simple who suffer injuries, who are not too skilful in avoiding injuries, who, in fine, are easily circumvented, whereas the children of this world are as strong in sagacity as they are well furnished with expedients for protecting themselves. David therefore confesses himself to be like a child who cannot advise himself, and is not Bible to repel those injuries to which he is exposed. The same is, when believers, in their sufferings, have neither skill nor reason to find out means of escape, God’s wisdom is used on their behalf, and the secret guardianship of his providence meets all the dangers which beset their safety.”] The full form, ιδεωις, was probably chosen for the purpose of alluding to the significant name of the first high priest of the new colony, Joshua. The imper. in Psalms 116:7 stands as in Isaiah 55:1, invites to the enjoyment of the blessings freely furnished by God. The ξπεη, possibly a place of rest, is never inward rest and peace (Luther: Be now at peace, O my soul)—the plural is against this—but the outward rest. The ξπεηεϊ in Psalms 23:2 also refers to this, and in Matthew 11:29 the rest is the place of rest. The rest for the soul is the land of the Lord, the temple, the building of which was just begun, the delightful home, together with everything which it affords for refreshment to the weary wanderer. Hitherto the soul had been restless and wandering like Cain, Genesis 4:12. On βξμ comp. at Psalms 7:4. We may supply “with thy rest,” or, what is better, with everything that is good, comp. Psalms 116:12. [Note: The pious Bishop Babylas of Antioch comforted himself with our verse in prospect of the martyrdom which he suffered under Decius. “From this we learn that our soul comes to rest when it is removed by a happy death from this restless world.”]Psalms 116:8-9 depend upon Psalms 56:13 : “For thou didst deliver my soul from death, my feet from sliding, that I may walk before God in the light of the living.” Even this reference presupposes the character of David as an exemplar. The inserted clause, “my eyes from tears,” contains a designed and a most significant allusion to Jeremiah 31:16. The promise there given, as to the drying up of tears, was now in the way of being fulfilled. Instead of “in the light of the living,” we have here “in the land” (Ezra 3:3); comp. “in the land of the living,” in Psalms 27:13, Psalms 52:5. Ver. 10-19.-Ver. 10. I believed, therefore I did speak, but I was very much plagued. Ver. 11. I said, in my alarm: all men lie. Ver. 12. How shall I now recompense the Lord for all his gifts to me? Ver. 13. I will take the cup of salvation, and call upon the name of the Lord. Ver. 14. I will pay my vows to the Lord, yea, before all his people. Ver. 15. Precious in the eyes of the Lord is the death of his saints.-Ver. 16. O Lord, for I am thy servant, the son of thy handmaid, thou hast loosed my bonds. Ver. 17. I will bring thank-offerings to thee, and call upon the name of the Lord. Ver. 18. I will pay my vows to the Lord, yea, before all his people. Ver. 19. In the courts of the house of the Lord, in thee, Jerusalem, Halleluja. -The whole second part is occupied with the thanks, as the first part is with the salvation. Ver. 10 and 11 serve only as a pre-paration for the question in ver. 12. I believed, ver. 10, after the example of Abraham, Genesis 15:6, and of David, in Psalms 27:13. The האמין is absolute, just as it is in Isaiah 7:9. The Psalmist, however, has no intention of boasting of his faith, but of giving glory to the Lord who had given him according to his faith. For I did speak,-which is a sure proof of the presence of faith. Con-fession and faith are inseparably connected;a comp. 2 Corinthians 4:13. The Apostle places, after the example of the Septuagint, therefore instead of for: "I believed, therefore I spoke," with-out any material alteration of the sense. What the church of the Lord did speak may be gathered from "I believed" (it was what of the martyrdom which lie suffered under Decius. "From this we learn that our soul comes to rest when it is removed by a happy death from this restless world." a Calvin: Hence we draw a useful doctrine, that faith cannot exist inopperative in the heart, but must rise into action. For the Spirit connects, by a sacred bond, faith of the heart with external confession: "what God hath joined together, let not inan put asunder."was according to the faith), and is particularly described in ver. 11. The future denotes the past time just as the אמצא in ver. 3 and the אקרא in ver. 4. "I was very much plagued," gives the circum-stances in which the faith, and speaking which followed it, existed; immediately upon this, the substance of what was said is particu-larly given in ver. 11. According to the construction of the verse, דבר here and אמר in ver. 11 stand in their usual relation to each other; comp. at Psalms 4:4.a This relation is not attended to in the translation: "I believed although I said; or when I saidI am very much plagued." These senses of כי, moreover, arenowhere to be found. In Exodus 13:17, to which reference hasbeen made for the sense "although," the כי is simply "because." That the way through the land of the Philistines was short, was precisely the reason why Moses did not choose it. Israel neededa longer preparation. Luther has committed a mistake in sub-stituting the present throughout in room of the preterite: I be-lieve, therefore I spoke, but I am very much plagued.-In ver.11, "in my alarm" (properly "in my haste," the peculiar expres-sion from Psalms 31:22), resumes "I was very much afflicted;"I said in my alarm, the alarm induced by that severe affliction;and also "I said all men lie," that is, disappoint the trust placedin them, leave in the lurch those who hope in them (comp. Psalms 62:9; Psalms 108:12) resumes, "I believed for I spoke." From thecircumstance that the speaking here is the expression of the faith,the exact import of the words spoken becomes apparent; it isobvious that behind the negative there is concealed the positive:I place my hope hand confidence not in deceitful men, but on mytrue and faithful God; comp. Psalms 108:8, "it is better to trustin the Lord than to put confidence in men."-In ver. 12, exactlyas in ver. 5, the Sequence is not expressly mentioned but presup-posed: it happened to me according to my faith, how then shallI?-In ver. 13 the cup of salvation (the plural denotes the ful-ness and the variety of the salvation), is a figurative representationof the salvation which had been imparted to the Psalmist. Hewill with this, laying it to heart, come before God, and after theexample of Abraham, who did so after every great instance ofdeliverance, call upon the name of the Lord, the only recompense a Gesell. on the word דבר: �gFor דבר is rarely so placed that the words which are re- ported follow immediately, and לאמר is to be supplied mentally."which poor man can render to God. The cup is a frequent figu-rative representation of what is allotted to each man, his fortune, good fortune, Psalms 16:5; Psalms 23:5, and bad fortune, Psalms 11:6; Psalms 75:8, and at Psalms 60:3. No reference whatever can be under-stood as made to the cup of thanksgiving at the thank-offering, or to the sacrificial feast connected with it. For this cup is a mere fiction.-On the נא in ver. 14 comp. Ewald, �˜ 246. It is here also a particle expressive of wish, and contains in it "my soul forget not."-Ver. 15 points to the ground why the Psalmist considers himself laid under a sacred obligation to give thanks: for dear to the Lord-this he has shewn by my deliverance from death-is the death of his saints (instead of he regards it as im-portant); hence the obligation to bring to him praise and thanks. The words depend upon Psalms 72:14.a-The אנה in ver. 16 is very tender, O yet, Ew. § 262. He prays for permission to give thanks, and considers such permission a great favour, which God, however, imparts to his people along with their election and their deliverance. God must surely permit his servant and his re-deemed to give him thanks, he has himself given him this privi-lege, and in point of fact, by his deeds, has exhorted him to do so. On "the son of the handmaid" comp. at Psalms 86:16. a Calvin: "When we are brought into danger by the permission of God, the thought steals upon us that we are neglected like vile slaves, and that our life is regarded as nothing." Psalms 117. COMPARE THE TO Psalms 116. Ver. 1. Praise the Lord, all ye heathens, praise him all ye nations. Ver. 2. For his mercy over us was great, and the truth of the Lord endureth for ever. Hallelujah.-On exhor-tations addressed to the heathen to praise the Lord on account of his great deeds on behalf of Israel, comp. at Psalms 47:1; Psalms 66:8; Psalms 98:4. His truth endureth for ever-as the present in-stance shows. The emphatic way in which the salvation of the Lord is here spoken of, takes for granted that a full description of that salvation had preceded. Ver. 1. Praise the Lord, all ye heathens, praise him all ye nations. Ver. 2. For his mercy over us was great, and the truth of the Lord endureth for ever. Hallelujah. On exhortations addressed to the heathen to praise the Lord on account of his great deeds on behalf of Israel, comp. at Psalms 47:1, Psalms 66:8, Psalms 98:4. His truth endureth for ever—as the present instance shows. The emphatic way in which the salvation of the Lord is here spoken of, takes for granted that a full description of that salvation had preceded. Psalms 118. The exhortation to praise the Lord because of his mercy towards Israel, ver. 1-4, is followed by a reference to that good deed which had led on to this praise (the Lord has delivered his people out of great trouble), and there is then annexed the expression of unlimited confidence in him, ver. 6-14, who, with the same omnipotent mercy with which he has at the present time come to the help of his people when threatened with destruction, will lead them on to full victory over the heathen world, which still con-tinues to oppress them. After a new introduction in ver. 15-18, which praises the deliverance which the Lord has imparted to his people in prospect of death, then follow, in ver. 19-28, the ex-hortation to open to the people the doors of the sanctuary, in order that they may there give him thanks for his deliverance, a joyful song of triumph for the salvation which has been obtained, and the prayer to the Lord that he would impart his blessing on the important undertaking which gave occasion to the Psalm. The Psalm falls into two strophes, each of fourteen verses, and a concluding verse, in which the end turns back to the beginning. The fourteen fall both times into an introduction of four verses, and a main-division, divided by the five. The concluding verses of both strophes, fourteen and twenty-eight, depend upon Exodus 15:2. The word Jehovah occurs twenty-two times, according to the number of the letters of the alphabet; ten times in the first part and twelve times in the second. That the Psalm has a national reference is put beyond a doubt by ver. 1-4. According to that passage, the singular in ver. 5, and also in the following verses, can refer only to the ideal per-son of the people. For verse 5th gives the reason why Israel ought to praise the Lord. And this reason can be found only in a salvation granted to Israel. That the deliverance for which the Psalm gives thanks is the deliverance from the Babylonish captivity, there can be no doubt. That the Psalm was composed immediately after this deliver-ance is evident from the tenderness of the thanks, which renders it impossible for us to conceive of the time being that of Nehe-miah, as several expositors have done. The destination of thePsalm for use at some important national undertaking, is evi-dent from O Lord help, O Lord cause us to prosper, in ver. 25, according to which the destination of the Psalm, assumed by some, without any tenable ground, for general use at the feast of Tabernacles, is altogether excluded. Ver. 22 makes it apparent that this undertaking was the laying of the foundation-stone of the temple in the second year after the return from captivity. So far we are led on by the Psalm itself. We are brought, however, to a more definite result by the passage, Ezra 3:10; Ezra 3:11 : "And the builders laid the foundation of the temple of the Lord, and they set the priests in their apparel with the trumpets, and the Levites, the sons of Asaph, with symbols to praise the Lord according to the arrangementa of David the king of Israel: and they responded (in so far as each expression of thanks was a res-ponse to the good deeds of the Lord) with praise and thanks to the Lord that he is good, because his mercy is for ever over Israel, and the whole people shouted with a great shout, prais- ing the Lord because of the laying of the foundation of the house of the Lord." 1. The expression, "with thanks to the Lord," &c., indicates that at the laying of the foundation-stone of the temple a song was sung, the kernel of which consisted of those words which begin and end the Psalm before us. The recollec-tion of this was so fresh that even the author of Chronicles de-scribes with similar words the contents of the songs which were sung at the dedication of the first temple, 2 Chronicles 5:13, vii. 3. We are here decidedly directed to the Psalm before us, as the contents of Psa 106:106; Psalms 107:107; Psalms 107:136.., prevent us from thinking of them. 2. The expression, "according to the arrangement of David," contains surprising light as soon as we assume that our Psalm, along with the whole dodecade to which it belongs,b was sung at the laying of the foundation-stone of the temple. The dodecade is opened by three Psalms of a The ידי על, where it is used of persons, signifies always "upon the hands of any one," so that his hands, his deeds, thereby form the foundation; according to the ar-rangement; comp. Gesen. in the thesaur., and especially De Dieu in the Crit. Sacr. on Jeremiah 5:31. b That it is impossible to isolate our Psalm is evident, for example, from ver. 1-4, compared with 115:9-11, the מצר here in ver. 5, and Psalms 116:3, used elsewhere only in the single passage, Lamentations 1:3 אנא in ver. 23, compared with Ps, 115-i. 10, the דתיתני in ver. 13, compared with the מדהי in Psalms 116:8.David's; and these give the tone for the rest. 3. The division also of the priests (and Levites) and the people in praising the Lord, is mentioned in precisely a similar way in the book of Ezra, as it is here in ver. 1-4; comp. Psalms 115:9-11:4. The joyful shout of the whole people, and the weeping of those who had seen the first temple, the singular mixture of lamentation and joy, Ezra 3 :ver. 12, 13, give the key to the character of the dode-cade before us, in which we cannot fail to observe, on the one hand, a sound of melancholy and anguish, and, on the other, a shout of joy over the salvation already wrought out by the Lord. The common idea that the Psalm was sung by alternate choruses is not confirmed by the narrative in the book of Ezra. That narrative merely assigns the first part in the song to the priests and Levites, while the people fall in. Even the Psalm itself contains nothing that can justify or even favour this view. Luther: "This my Psalm, the one which I love. Although the whole Psalter and indeed the whole sacred volume, is dear to me as that which is my only consolation and my life, yet I am particularly pleased with this Psalm, so that it must be called and must be mine, for it has often served me well, and has helped me out of many great troubles." Ver. 1-4.-Ver. 1. Praise the Lord, for he is good, for his mercy endureth or ever. Ver. 2: Let Israel still say: for his mercy endureth for ever. Ver. 3. Let the house of Aaron still say: for his mercy endureth for ever. Ver. 4. Let those who fear the Lord still say: for his mercy endureth for even-The "praise the Lord, &c.," in ver. 1, is literally from Psalms 106:1. The passage there is the original one; the expression is first borrowed in Psalms 107:1. It depends on Psalms 100:4; Psalms 100:5, where all the consti-tuent parts are to be found. On the threefold division in ver. 2-4, comp. at Psalms 115:9-11. Ver. 5-14.-Ver. 5. In the straitness I called upon the Lord, the Lord answered me in a wide place. Ver. 6. The Lord is mine, I am not afraid: what can men do to me? Ver. 7. The Lord is among those who help me, I shall see my pleasure on those who hate me. Ver. 8. It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in men. Ver. 9. It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in princes. Ver. 10. All the heathen surround me, in the name of the Lord I shall cut them down Ver. 11. They surround me, they surround me, in the name of the Lord I shall cut them down. Ver. 12. They surround me like bees, they are extinguished like fire of thorns, in the name of the Lord I shall cut them down. Ver. 13. Thou didst push at me that I might fall, but the Lord helped me. Ver. 14. My strength and my Psalm is the Lord, and he has been my sal- vation.-At the beginning, ver. 5, and at the end, ver. 13 and 14, we have the salvation already imparted to the church of the Lord, the deliverance from impending destruction; and in the mid-dle, in seven verses, (which are divided by the four and the three), we have the confident expectation, rising on this ground, of the completion of the salvation, of the exaltation from the dust of humilation in which Israel was still lying, and of victory over the heathen world by which they were still surrounded on all sides.-On the second clause of ver. 5, comp. Psalms 4:1; Psalms 18:19; Psalms 31:8. The במרהר is not "into a wide place," but "in a wide place." The matter-of-fact answer of the Lord was imparted to the church there. She cried out of the narrow place and the straitness, and she obtained the answer in the wide place.a-Ver 6 is from Psalms 56:4; Psalms 56:11, with this difference, that instead of "I trust in God" there, we have here, "the Lord is to me," from the 9th verse of the same Psalm.-The first clause of ver. 7 is from Psalms 54:4, comp. on the ב at that passage. On the second clause comp. Psalms 54:7. In the contest of David with Saul, the church truly beheld an allegory of her contest with the world.-On ver. 8 and 9 comp. Psalms 62:8; Psalms 62:9. On הסה at Ps. ii. 12. The princes are the possessors of the power of the world (comp. Psalms 146:3), on whom the heathen placed their trust, and to whom Israel stood in opposition. If we realize the condition of Israel at the time immediately after the return from captivity, the small, poor, disorganised, little mass, in view of a whole hostile world, we shall find in the clause before us an expression of real heroic faith, well fitted to put us to shame.-We must not change "all the heathens," in ver. 10, into "heathens of all kinds." The a Luther: Let him learn here who can, and every one shall become even a falcon who may mount on high in such trouble. It is said: I called upon the Lord. Thou must learn to call and not to sit there by thyself, and lie on the bench, hang and shake the head, and bite and devour thyself with thy thoughts, but come on, thou indolent knave, down upon thy knees, up with thy hands and eyes to heaven, take a Psalm or a prayer, and set forth thy distress with tears before God.whole surrounding power of the world was hostile to Israel.a Inthese parts fear and faith beheld the whole. In the name of the Lord,-through his power which has been rendered glorious by the illustration of his deeds, comp. at Psalms 33:21; Psalms 52:9; Psalms 54:1. Theכי is to be taken in the sense of "that:"-it is that I shall cut them down,-an emphatic expression, instead of I shall cut them down; comp. Isaiah 7:7, and Drechler on the passage. The warlike cry, "I shall cut them down," is an echo to Psalms 110. It was only in connection with an entirely new state of things, such as that which was to be introduced by the Messiah, that such hopes, thoroughly foolish in a human point of view, could be realized. The מול with the single exception of Psa 90:6, where the Pil. occurs in the sense of to cut, has always the sense of to circumcise; and this sense is assuredly to be retained here. Victory over the heathen, the "uncircumcised," appears under the image of a forced circumcision; comp. similar allusions to circumcision in Galatians 5:12; Philippians 3:2; Psalms 58:7; Isaiah 1:22; perhaps with reference to the practical irony in 1 Samuel 18:25, 2 Samuel 3:14.--In reference to the relation of the סבוני and the סבבוני in ver. 11, comp. at Psalms 18:5.-"As bees," in ver. 12, is from Deuteronomy 1:44. "They are extinguished" (Luther falsely: they smoke), is a pret. of faith. Fire of thorns,-which quickly blazes up, bit is soon extinguished.-In ver. 13, where the Psalmist returns to the facts of the past, which afford secu-rity for what is to take place in the future, the address is di-rected to the enemy.-Ver. 14 is, like Isaiah 12:2, taken from the song of Moses, the servant of God, Exodus 15:2, the first of the church's songs of thanksgiving, and which forms the foundation for all the later songs till the end of time; comp. Revelation 15:3. That the Psalmist drew from the fountain, and not from Isaiah 12:2, is clear from the circumstance, that the concluding verse of the second main division depends upon the second half of Exo 15:2. The first half of the verse before us denotes the con-stantly abiding relation (my strength and my song, the object of the same, i. e., my mighty and glorious helper), the second the a Luther most significantly points to the real ground of this hostility: "Men can put up with all other doctrines and all other gods, so that no nation and no country will set itself in hostility; but when the word of God comes, then the whole world is up, then tumults and animosities rise on all sides."consequence which proceeded from that relation. As there is not one single well ascertained instance of the suffix having to be supplied from the preceding clauses (the instances adduced by Ewald, § 329, are not tenable), we must have recourse to the supposition, that the Jod of the suffix in זמרת is rejected on account of the יה which follows, after the Syrian fashion, accord-ing to which the Jod is merely written, not pronounced. Ver. 5. In the straitness I called upon the Lord, the Lord answered me in a wide place. Ver. 6. The Lord is mine, I am not afraid: what can men do to me? Ver. 7. The Lord is among those who help me, I shall see my pleasure on those who hate me. Ver. 8. It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in men. Ver. 9. It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in princes. Ver. 10. All the heathen surround me, in the name of the Lord I shall cut them down. Ver. 11. They surround me, they surround me, in the name of the Lord I shall cut them down. Ver. 12. They surround me like bees, they are extinguished like fire of thorns, in the name of the Lord I shall cut them down. Ver. 13. Thou didst push at me that I might fall, but the Lord helped me. Ver. 14. My strength and my Psalm is the Lord, and he has been my salvation. At the beginning, Psalms 118:5, and at the end, Psalms 118:13-14, we have the salvation already imparted to the church of the Lord, the deliverance from impending destruction; and in the middle, in seven verses, (which are divided by the four and the three), we have the confident expectation, rising on this ground, of the completion of the salvation, of the exaltation from the dust of humiliation in which Israel was still lying, and of victory over the heathen world by which they were still surrounded on all sides. On the second clause of Psa 118:5, comp. Psalms 4:1, Psalms 18:19, Psalms 31:8. The αξψηα is not “into a wide place,” but “in a wide place.” The matter-of-fact answer of the Lord was imparted to the church there. She cried out of the narrow place and the straitness, and she obtained the answer in the wide place. [Note: Luther: “Let him learn here who can, and every one shall become even a falcon who may mount on high in such trouble. It is said: I called upon the Lord. Thou must learn to call and not to sit there by thyself, and lie on the bench, hang and shake the head, and bite and devour thyself with thy thoughts, but come on, thou indolent knave, down upon thy knees, up with thy hands and eyes to heaven, take a Psalm or a prayer, and set forth thy distress with tears before God.”]Psalms 118:6 is from Psalms 56:4, Psalms 56:11, with this difference, that instead of “I trust in God” there, we have here, “the Lord is to me,” from the (Psalms 56:9) 9th verse of the same Psalm. The first clause of Psa 118:7 is from Psalms 54:4, comp. on the α at that passage. On the second clause, comp. Psalms 54:7. In the contest of David and Saul, the church truly beheld an allegory of her contest with the world. On Psalms 118:8-9 comp. Psalms 62:8-9. On ηρδ at Psalms 2:12. The princes are the possessors of the power of the world (comp. Psalms 146:3), on whom the heathen placed their trust, and to whom Israel stood in opposition. If we realize the condition of Israel at the time immediately after the return from captivity, the small, poor, disorganized, little mass, in view of a hostile world, we shall find in the clause before us an expression of real heroic faith, well fitted to put us to shame. We must not change, “all the heathens” in Psalms 118:10, into “heathens of all kinds. The whole surrounding power of the world was hostile to Israel. [Note: Luther most significantly points to the real ground of this hostility: “Men can put up with all other doctrines and all other gods, so that no nation and no country will set itself in hostility; but when the word of God comes, then the whole world is up, then tumults and animosities rise on all sides.”] In these parts fear and faith beheld the whole. In the name of the Lord,—through his power which has been rendered glorious by the illustration of his deeds, comp. at Psalms 33:21, Psalms 52:9, Psalms 54:1. The λι is to be taken in the sense of “that:”—it is that I shall cut them down,—an emphatic expression, instead of I shall cut them down; comp. Isaiah 7:7, and Drechsler on the passage. The warlike cry, “I shall cut them down,” is an echo to Psalms 110. It was only in connection with an entirely new state of things, such as that which was to be introduced by the Messiah, that such hopes, thoroughly foolish in a human point of view, could be realized. The ξεμ, with the single exception of Psa 90:6, where the Pil. occurs in the sense of to cut, has always the sense of to circumcise; and this sense is assuredly to be retained here. Victory over the heathen, the “uncircumcised,” appears under the image of a forced circumcision; comp. similar allusions to circumcision in Galatians 5:12; Philippians 3:2; Psalms 58:7; Isaiah 1:22; perhaps with reference to the practical irony in 1 Samuel 18:25, 2 Samuel 3:14. In reference to the relation of the ραεπι and the ρααεπι in Psalms 118:11, comp. at Psalms 18:5.—”As bees,” in Psalms 118:12, is from Deuteronomy 1:44. “They are extinguished” (Luther falsely: they smoke), is a pret. of faith. Fire of thorns,—which quickly blazes up, bit is soon extinguished. In Psalms 118:13, where the Psalmist returns to the facts of the past, which afford security for what is to take place in the future, the address is directed to the enemy. Psalms 118:14 is, like Isaiah 12:2, taken from the song of Moses, the servant of God, Exodus 15:2, the first of the church’s songs of thanksgiving, and which forms the foundation for all the later songs till the end of time; comp. Revelation 15:3. That the Psalmist drew from the fountain, and not from Isaiah 12:2, is clear from the circumstance, that the concluding verse of the second main division depends upon the second half of Exo 15:2. The first half of the verse before us denotes the constantly abiding relation (my strength and my song, the object of the same, i.e., my mighty and glorious helper), the second the consequence which proceeded from that relation. As there is not one single well ascertained instance of the suffix having to be supplied from the preceding clauses (the instances adduced by Ewald, § 329, are not tenable), we must have recourse to the supposition, that the Jod of the suffix in ζξψϊ is rejected on account of the ιδ which follows, after the Syrian fashion, according to which the Jod is merely written, not pronounced. Ver. 15-18.-Ver. 15. The voice of rejoicing and salvation (resounds) in the tabernacles of the righteous: the right hand of the Lord doeth valiantly. Ver. 16. The right hand of the Lord exalts, the right hand of the Lord doeth valiantly. Ver. 17. I shall not die, but live and make known the works of the Lord. Ver. 18. The Lord afflicted me sorely, but he did not give me over to death.--The voice of salvation in ver. 15 is the voice which praises the salvation, that already wrought out and that still hoped for. Tabernacles is repeatedly used as a poetic term for habitations generally, Psalms 78:55; Psalms 91:10. In all probability a part of the people at that time, the second year after the return, still dwelt in tents; at all events the chief habi-tation of Israel still consisted of a tent. On צדיקים righteous,as a name of the Israelites, comp. at Psalms 33:1. "Does valiantly" alludes to Psalms 108:12, comp. Psalms 60:12.-The רוממה, ver. 16, is not the partic. of רמם, but the Pil. of רום, to exalt; Ps. 37:34, in accordance with "it does valiantly," according to which we are led to expect here a description of what the Lord's right hand does, not of what it is.-"I shall not die," in ver. 17, shews that, as far as could be seen, the thought of death to the church was very near; comp. Psalms 71:20, Habakkuk 1:12, Psalms 116:15. She conquers this thought, however, while looking at the de-liverance from death which she had just experienced; I shall not die, because he has not left me to die. The works of the Lord are the glorious deeds by which he shall protect and deliver his people. Ver. 19-28.-Ver. 19. Open unto me the gates of righteous-ness, I will go in and praise the Lord. Ver. 20. This is the gate of the Lord, the righteous enter in by it. Ver. 21. I praise thee that thou didst hear me and hast been my salvation. Ver. 22. The stone which the builders rejected has become the cor-ner stone. Ver. 23. This has happened from the Lord, it is wonderful in our eyes. Ver. 24. This is the day which the Lord hath made, us rejoice and be glad in it. Ver. 25. 0 Lord , help now, O Lord, cause us to prosper. Ver. 26. Blessed be he who cometh, in the name of the Lord, we bless you from the house of the Lord. Ver. 27. The Lord is God, and he hath enlightened us, bind the sacrifice with cords unto the horns of the altars. Ver. 28. Thou art my God, and I will praise thee, my God, I will exalt thee.-The gates, in ver. 19, are the gates of the provisional sanctuary. Almost immediately after the return from captivity, the site of the old sanctuary was undoubtedly enclosed, and as had been the case on a former oc-casion in the days of David, a tabernacle was erected previous to the commencement of the celebration of public worship, Ezr. iii. 1, ss. The gates of the sanctuary are called the gates ofrighteousness, because the fountain of righteousness, i.e., of matter-of-fact justification, or of salvation, for Israel was there, comp. ver. 26.-The righteous go in by it, ver. 20, for the pur-pose, namely, announced in ver. 19, of praising and giving thanks. The Lord, by his righteousness, by their matter-of-fact justifica-tion, pledges himself that he will give them, as Israel had already experienced that he had done, opportunity to praise him in the sanctuary.-The second clause of ver. 21 alludes again to Exodus 15:2, comp. at ver. 14.-The figure in ver. 22 becomes clear, as soon as we acknowledge the national reference of the Psalm, and ascertain correctly the occasion for which it was written. The whole Psalm is taken up with the happy change which had taken place in the circumstances of the people of God. It is this that is treated of in the three verses immediately preceding. The sense therefore can only be: the people of God whom earthly poten-tates have despised, have been exalted by the influence of their God to the rank of a people that shall reign over the world. Jeremiah 51:26 is parallel when it is said of Babylon, the exact counterpart of Israel, the representative of the power of the world: "they shall not take of thee a stone for a corner, nor a stone for a founda-tion," for the building of the edifice of universal dominion. What happened in the type to Israel happened in the antitype to Christ, comp. Matthew 21:42, Acts 4:11, passages which led the older expositors to apply directly the whole Psalm to Christ--an appli-cation, the untenable nature of which is clear as day. The ex-pression "has become" belongs to the view taken by faith, which in this weak beginning, the deliverance of Israel from captivity, sees the glorious end, dominion over the world, just as the exter-nal corner stone, the sight of which suggested the figure, was at the time a corner stone only in idea: there elapsed many a long year, and the work went on through many painful hindrances before the temple was ended, and the corner stone became such in reality. Perhaps at bottom there is an allusion to a contest which had taken place between the builders of the temple (comp. Esr. 3:10, "And the builders laid the foundation of the tem-ple,") and the priests in reference to the choice of the corner stone, and in which the theological principles of the latter had gained the victory over the worldly views of the former. ראש הפנה, the (spiritual) head of the corner, the main stone of the corner, is always the stone usually termed by us the corner stone (comp. Job 38:6), which is also in other passages used as a figure of royalty, comp. the Christol. at Zechariah 10:4. The scrip-tures know nothing of a top stone. Zechariah 10:4 is to be translated "Who art thou, O great mountain, before Zerubabel? Become a plain! And he has brought out (at the laying the foundation stone of the temple, as the following context shews), the main-stone under the repeated shouting (of angels): grace, grace, to it !"-The lifting up of the church from the dust of humiliation to dominion over all the nations of the world, ver. 23, is infinitely more wonderful than any wonders usually so called, which occupy the foreground only for the blind.-The Lord has made the day, ver. 24, in which by his salvation he has given occasion to this fes-tive meeting, has brought about the possibility of laying the form-dation-stone of the temple.-It is evident from Nehemiah 1:11, that we have before us in ver. 25 the formula made use of in implor-ing the divine blessing on important undertakings. In later times this formula was undoubtedly made use of at the Feast of Tabernacles. But no inference can be drawn from this later use as to the origin of the expression.-In ver. 26 the connection usually adopted is, "blessed is he who come in the name of the Lord," i.e., under the protecting care of him who has rendered himself glorious by his deeds. But that the connection ought rather to be "blessed in the name of the Lord is he who cometh is evident, besides the accents (comp. on these Dachsel in hisBibl. accent.), from the corresponding expression "from the house of the Lord," "the house of righteousness," ver. 19, the fountain and the treasury of all blessing, but above all from the phrase, "to bless in the name of the Lord"-the name of the Lord, his historically manifested glory, the fountain of blessing-a phrase which is one of constant occurrence, comp. Deuteronomy 21:5, Numbers 5:27, 2 Samuel 6:18, Psalms 129:8. The expression "who cometh,"a needs no epithet or additional clause. It refers to ver. 19 and 20, where the discourse had been simply of coming. There is not the least necessity in the verse before us to apply it to a separate chorus of priests. The priests and the Levites had the first part in all the singing; and such formulae of blessing were then uttered also by the people, comp. Psalms 129:8, Rth 2:4; the Israelites were far less high-Church than is generally imagined.-The sense of the 27th verse is this: "Jehovah is God in the full sense of the word, and he has really shewn this by bestowing salvation upon us his people, let us therefore do our part and shew our gratitude to him by our offerings." The relation of the two clauses to each other is precisely the same as that of "thou art my God," and "I will praise thee (therefore I will)" in ver. 28. The expression "he shone," or "he enlightened us," does not allude to the Mosaic blessing, Numbers 6:25 -in this case the "countenance" world not be wanting-but to Exodus 13:21 : "and the Lord went before them in a pillar of cloud to guide them in the way, and by night in a pillar of fire to shine or to shine upon them," להם להאיר) comp. 14:20, Nehemiah 9:12). The expression therefore is equivalent to "he hath shone upon us during the night of !our misery, as he did formerly during the na-tural night in the march through the wilderness. In the second clause the "feast" stands instead of the "feast, offering" Theהג is used in this way of the sacrifices of feast in Exodus 23:18, "to eat the feast," מועד, is used instead of "the flesh of the feast-offering." In Deuteronomy 16:2, the "passover" denotes the "sacrifice of the passover;" and in the New Testament, "to eat the passover," is used of the eating not merely of the paschal lamb, but also of the other paschal offerings, John 18:28. "To the horns of the altar," is "till they be sacrified." The horns a The designation of the Messiah ὁἐסקןלוםןע was not taken from the passage before us, but from Malachi 3:1, compare the Christol. 3 p.4138. of the altar are named because they were sprinkled with the blood of the sacrifices. Luther's translation, "adorn the feast with green boughs even to the horns of the altar," has found de- fenders even in recent times. But it must be rejected for the following reasons. 1. The םיתבע never signifies "cords." This sense has been altogether incorrectly assumed in Ezekiel 19:11; Ezekiel 31:3; Ezekiel 31:10; Ezekiel 31:14, comp. against this view the Christol. 3, p. 305, and Hהvernick on his commentary. 2. The whole phrase אסר םיתבעב, occurs in Judges 15:13; Judges 16:11. Ezekiel 3:25, in the sense of "to bind with cords." 3. The horns of the altar, in which the altar as it were culminated, as the horn of the beast is strength and ornament, are constantly mentioned in connection with the blood of the victims sprinkled upon them. 4. The "I will praise and I will exalt," in ver. 28, stands in the same rela-tion to "bind, &c." exactly as in Psalms 116:17, "I will call upon the name of the Lord," does to "I will bring to thee offerings of praise." "I will pay my vows to the Lord," Psalms 116:18 is exactly parallel to the second clause.-Ver. 28 is from Exodus 15:2, comp. at ver. 14. Ver. 29. Praise the Lord, because he is good, for his mercy endureth for ever.-Luther: "Thus it is that we are wont to be-gin again good songs after we have sung them through, especially if we have sung them with pleasure and love.'' Our Psalm concludes what is usually called the Great Hallel, which consists of Psa_113:-118., and which was sung at all the feasts, especially at the Passover and the feast of Tabernacles;- a practice which appears to have been followed by our Lord with his disciples, Matthew 26:30, and which testifies to the deep im-pression which the Psalm must have made on the people at the time when it was originally composed. This practice is deserving of our notice in so far as it must have been based upon a per-ception of the connection subsisting among these Psalms. Psalms 119. The chief song of the feast, the proper dedication song, followed the decade which served as it were as an Introduction to it. A children's sermon forms the conclusion of the dodecade, (comp.ver. 9), an instruction with which the people were dismissed, as they entered upon this new period of their history. Every misfortune, under which they were in part still sighing, had pro-ceeded from their departure from the word of God; faithfulness, therefore, towards the word of God, in deed and in hope, is ex- hibited as the royal road to salvation. According to the remark of the Massorites, ver. 122 is the only one in which no mention whatever is made of any one of the names of the word of God. The praise of this word, the asser-tion that it is the infinitely sure way of salvation, and the only comfort in suffering the determination to be faithful to God's word and law, prayer for the spiritual understanding of the law and for strength to fulfil it, and supplications for the salvation promised in it, form the contents of this Psalm. That the Psalm consists of a collection of individual sayings, and that there is no room for attempting to discover any con-nection, or to tract any consecutive train of thought, is evident a priori from the formal arrangement. This is strictly alphabeti-cal throughout; so much so, that to each of the twenty-two let-ters of the alphabet there are assigned eight verses, each of which begins with the same letter. In accordance with this divi-sion into twenty-two parts, the name Jehovah occurs twenty-two times,-exactly the same number as in the preceding Psalm. The Psalm, according to this its arrangement, is not intended to be read straight forward; if this be done, its want of connection will scarcely fail to be irksome, even to those whose heart is in its right place in regard to the word of God, as praised by the Psalmist; it ought to be used something in the same way in which we use the portions and the doctrinal texts from the Mo-ravian Brethren. The national reference of the Psalm (comp. at Psalms 112:2), ap-pears from ver. 23 46, 161, according to which the princes take counsel against the Psalmist and persecute him, and he is re-solved to speak before kings of the testimonies of God; from ver. 87th, where he complains that he is nearly destroyed out of the land, comp. Psalms 115:14; from ver. 44th, where he promises that he will always an eternally observe the law of God. The mani-fold references, also, which it contains to the great national deli-verances of ancient times, for example ver. 52, lead us to lookupon it as bearing a national character. If we regard the national import of the Psalm as fixed, we must also consider large portions of it which appear, at first sight, to be declarative, viz., the oft-repeated affirmations about zeal in following the law, to bear in reality a hortatory character. The situation is entirely the same as that in the eight preced-ing Psalms. The beginning of deliverance is already present, ver. 26, 32, 50, 65, 93, still it is only the beginning: the Psalmist always finds himself still in death; comp., for example, vers. 17, 25, 40. The church of God is still few in number, ver. 87, it is still severely oppressed by "the proud," the haughty heathen world, for example, ver. 50, and the reproach which lies upon it is dreadful, ver. 39. The tone of the Psalm, like the situation, is common to it with the eight preceding Psalms. It is that of soft quiet melancholy comforted by God. The Psalm may be recognised, by its compass, as being the conclusion of one great whole. It not only possesses the alpha-betical arrangement in common with the Introduction of the Collection, Psalms 111:112., but it is also nearly related to it in thought. In that Introduction, also, praise is bestowed upon the salvation of those who observe the commandments of God. There are, besides, several points of contact, in individual ex-pressions, with Psa_111:-118. A characteristic feature of our Psalm is the deep conviction that we have nothing to do with human strength in keeping the commandments of God, but that God alone must create the will and the power to perform. The church of God had been convinced of this from the beginning; comp. for example, Psalms 90:90; Psalms 19:19; Psalms 19:51. And the circumstances of the people ex-plain the fact that such efforts are made to bring it prominently forward in this Psalm. A sense of need of external deliverance is accompanied, in the case of the well-disposed, by a sense of need of internal salvation; the one goes hand in hand with the other the cross is the best teacher of humility. Ver. 1-8.-Ver. 1. Blessed are they who live blamelessly, who walk in the law of the Lord. Ver. 2. Blessed are they who keep his testimonies, who seek him with the whole heart. Ver. 3. Who also do no unrighteousness, walk in his ways. Ver. 4. Thou hast appointed thy commandments, that we maykeep them carefully. Ver. 5, Oh that my ways were confirmed to observe thy commandments. Ver. 6. Then shall I not be ashamed when I regard all thine ordinances. Ver. 7. I will praise thee in uprightness of heart, when I learn the laws of thy righteousness. Ver. 8. Thy commandments I will keep; for-sake me not too much.-In reference to "confirmed," in ver. 5, comp. at Psalms 51:10; Psalms 78:37.-"To be ashamed," in Revelation 6, is to be disappointed in the hope of salvation.-In ver. 7, the sense is: I will praise thee not superficially, or like the hypocrites, but from the bottom of my heart, when I learn by thy grace thy law, comp. "teach me thy commandments," in ver. 12, 26.-Before the second clause of ver. 8 we are to suppose a "therefore" put in. The prayer is that of one who finds himself in a very desolate con-dition. In the case of the man who faithfully follows the com-mandments of God such a condition cannot be a permanent one. Ver. 9-16.-Ver. 9. By what shall a young man keep clean his way? By conducting himself according to thy word. Ver. 10. With my whole heart I seek thee, let me not wander from thy ordinances. Ver. 11. In my heart I keep thy word, in or-der that I may not sin against thee. Ver. 12. Blessed be thou, 0 Lord, teach me thy commandments. Ver. 13. With my lips I recount all the judgments of thy mouth. Ver. 14. I rejoice in the way of testimonies more than in all riches. Ver. 15. I will meditate upon, thy commandments and look to thy ways. Ver. 16. I delight in thy commandments; forget not thy word. -The purifying ver. 9 stands opposed to the pollution of sin, which covers those young men who give themselves up to their lusts. At the שמר we must supply "way," when he takes heed to it; or it stands absolutely in the sense of "to take heed to himself."--On ver. 11. Amyr.: "For this is the only antidote by which we can protect ourselves against the corruption of our nature."-The antecedent doxology in ver. 12 contains the basis of the following prayer: O Lord, thou who art so abundant in power and in grace towards thine own,-On Revelation 13 comp. Deut. vi. 7. Where the word of God is really in the heart it will alsobe found on the lips.---The word of thy testimonies, in ver. 14, is, according to ver. 27, the manner of life prescribed by the com-mandments of God.--Thy paths, ver. 15, those prescribed by thee and well pleasing to thee. Ver, 17-24.-Ver. 17. Give life to thy servant, so will I keep thy words. Ver. 18. Open my eyes that I may see the wonders in thy law. Ver. 19. I am a stranger on the earth, hide not from me thy commandments. Ver. 20. My soul is broken from longing after thy judgments at all times. Ver. 21. Thou hast rebuked the proud, the accursed ones, who wander from thy or- dinances. Ver. 22. Turn away from me reproach and con-tempt, because I keep thy testimonies. Ver. 23. Princes also sit; they speak against me; thy servant meditateth upon thy commandments. Ver. 24. Thy testimonies are ever my delight, my counsellors.--As the גמל, ver. 17, only signifies "to give as a gift," (comp. at Psalms 7:4) the אהיה must be the thing given, and must stand as a noun: I may live = life. It is the preser-vation of the national existence of the people that is meant, comp. ver. 25, 77.-"The wonders out of thy law," ver. 18, are those pro-ceeding out of it for the enlightened eye, those which it perceives in it. Even the simple practical truths of the law are wonders; and it is on these assuredly that the Psalmist, in the first in-stance, thinks, according to the whole simply practical import of the Psalm. Even these lie beyond the sphere of natural intellect, which cannot be considered as their birth-place, for example, "Thou shalt love the Lord with all thy heart, with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and thy neighbour as thyself."-On ver. 19 Luther is short and good: "I have no inheritance except thy word, therefore forsake me not." Pilgrimage is a figurative term, denoting helplessness and misery, comp., for example, Psalms 39:12. The following of the commandment is for Israel, in these circumstances, the only means of deliverance.-That, in ver. 20, משפטים, is not judgments in the sense of the commandments of God, but his righteous deeds (comp. ver. 39, and especially ver. 52), is evident from the connection with what follows. Even the being broken, which leads to the idea of a very painful desire after a distant good, does not suit the commandments.-Ver. 21 refers to the judgments of God in ancient times upon the proud heathen world, for example upon Pharaoh; comp. Psalms 9:5. Under "Thou didst rebuke," there lies concealed a "rebuke them now," comp. ver. 22. The accursed-whoever does not obey the law of God stands under the curse, comp. Deuteronomy 27:26, Galatians 3:10. -That the גל in ver. 22 is the imperat. ofגלל, to roll away, is obvious from the literal allusion to Joshua 5:9 : as was once the reproach of Egypt.-Thy servant meditates upon thy commandments, ver. 23, and has in that love to them to which salvation is promised a firm shield against all the as-saults of the whole world. The princes are the chieftains of the neighbouring nations who published abroad every thing to injure Israel.-The "even," in ver. 24, is appended to "meditates." They are my caounsellors,-they stand to me in the place of counsellors, I am etter advised by them than if I had the best counsellors and allies,-in opposition to the deliberations of the princes in ver. 23. Ver. 25-32.-Ver. 25. My soul cleaveth to the dust ; quicken me according to thy word. Ver. 26. I have detailed my ways, and thou didst hear me. Ver. 27. Teach me the way of thy commandments, and I will meditate upon thy wonders. Ver.. 28. My soul weeps for grief; raise me up according to thy word. Ver. 29. The way of lies remove far from me, and grant me graciously thy law. Ver. 30. The way of faithful-ness I have chosen; thy judgments I lay before me. Ver. 31. Iadhere to thy testimonies, O Lord, let me not be put to shame. Ver. 32. The way of thy commandments I will run, for thou enlargest my heart.-The first clause of ver. 25 is from Psalms 44:25. -The sense of ver. 26 is, as is manifest on comparing ver. 32: I brought my trouble to thee, and thou didst hear me (comp. Psalms 118:5 : "Out of my distress I cried unto the Lord, the Lord answered me in a wide place," ver. 21), teach me now thy commandments, in order that, by my obedience, I may shew my gratitude. The ways are the concerns, the case.-The prayer and the promise, in ver. 27, depend upon the common ground of the most profound reverence for the divine law and of the desire hence arising to penetrate into its depths. The way of the com-mandments of God is the manner of life prescribed by them. On "thy wonders" comp. ver. 18.-For grief, ver. 28, on account of the many sufferings to which I am exposed in spite of my sincere adherence to thy law. According to thy word,-the promise which thou hast given to thy own people.-The way of lies, in ver. 29, is, as is evident from its opposite, the way of faithful-ness, the way of faithless apostacy and covenant-breaking. For the people of the Lord, who have vowed faithfulness to him,every act of apostacy is a lie. The opposite is expressed in the second clause: "and give me thy law." The הנן with a double accusative is: to favour any one with anything, to give him any thing.-The אמונה, ver. 30, is always faithfulness, never truth. Thy judgments I have laid down,-as the mark and rule of all my actions.-The sense of ver. 32 is: thankful for thy deliverance, I will be careful to follow thy commandments; comp., as really parallel, ver. 26. Thou enlargest my heart is, "Thou makest me glad by thy salvation," (comp. Psalms 118:5, and ver. 45 here), in opposition to the former straitness and trouble, Psalms 116:3. Ver. 33-40.-Ver. 33. Teach me, O Lord, the way of thy commandments, and I shall keep them even to the end. Ver. 34. Instruct me and I shall keep thy law, and observe it with my whole heart. Ver. 35. Guide me in the path of thy pre-cepts, for I delight in it. Ver. 36. Incline my heart to thy tes-timonies and not to gain. Ver. 37. Turn thou away my eyes that I may not see deceit, quicken me in thy way. Ver. 38. Fulfil to thy servant thy word which is to thy fear. Ver. 39. Turn away my reproach which I fear, for thy judgments are goad. Ver. 40. Behold I long after thy commandments, through thy righteousness quicken me.-In ver. 33 and 34, the relation of the prayers and the resolutions is the same as in ver. 27. The עקב stands adverbally as in ver. 112.�Ver. 36:and mayest thou not incline it,-as thou lost to the ungodly, whom thou givest over to the power of their passions as a punishment for sinful indulgence (comp. Romans 1:24),-to gain.-Deceit, ver. 37, is all that in which salvation is sought apart from God, idols, human power, &c.; comp. Psalms 60:11; Psalms 31:6; Psalms 40:4; Psalms 62:9. May all this make as little impression upon the Psalmist as if he saw it not. He is determined to obtain salvation only in the ways of God, by faithfulness to his commandment. Quicken me, out of the death of misery to which I am still given over; comp. ver. 17, 25, 40, 50, Psalms 116:3.-Which is to thy fear, i. e., which is to those who fear thee; comp. Genesis 18:19; 1 Kings 2:4; 1 Kings 8:25. -The reproach is the object of the fear, ver. 39, in so far as, by its greatness, it filled the Psalmist with the apprehen-sion that he would come to a bad end; comp. Job 9:28. For thy judgments are good, not evil, and the time must therefore be at hand when they shall be turned away from thy church andturned upon the world.--"Therefore" is to be understood before the second clause of ver. 40. The desire after the command-ments of God is the distinguishing mark of the righteous, and the pledge of salvation. Ver. 41-48.-Ver. 41. May thy tender mercies come to me, 0 Lord, thy salvation according to thy word. Ver. 42. Give me an answer for those who reproach me, for I trust in thy word. Ver. 43. And take not true discourse altogether away from my mouth, for wait on thy judgments. Ver. 44. And I will observe thy law continually, always and eternally. Ver. 45. And I shall walk in a wide space, for I seek thy command-ments. Ver. 46. And I will speak of thy testimonies before kings, and not be ashamed. Ver. 47. And I delight in thy commandments which I love. Ver. 48. And I lift up my hands to thy precepts which I love; and I meditate upon thy law.-God gives an answer for those who reproach by his gift of salva-tion; for the want of salvation is the object of the reproach.-True discourse, ver. 48, a well-grounded answer to the reproach-ing foes. God takes this away when he does not permit his sal-vation to fail to appear.-The lifting up of the hands, ver. 48, symbolizes the lifting up of the heart; comp. at Psalms 28:2. Ver. 49-56.-Ver 49. Remember to thy servant thy word, because thou hast caused me to hope. Ver. 50. This is my consolation in my misery, that thy word hath quickened me. Ver. 51. The proud hold me greatly in derision, I turn not aside from thy law. Ver. 52. I remember thy judgments from eternity, O Lord, and shall be comforted. Ver, 53. Wrath seizes me because of the wicked who forsake thy law. Ver. 54. Thy laws are my song in the house of my pilgrimage. Ver. 55. I remember thy name during the night, O Lord, and observe thy law. Ver. 56. This I have, that I observe thy precepts.The דבר זכר, in, in ver. 49, is exactly the same as our phrase tokeep one's word. The אשר על, in the sense of "bemuse," occurs in Deuteronomy 29:24. 2 Samuel 3:30. The translation, "on which thou hast caused me to hope," has long since been set aside by the remark that, in this case, the words would have been עליו אשר�In ver. 50, the quickening is, as always in our Psalm, to be understood of external restoration. And as, ac- cording to other passages, the beginning of the quickening andof the salvation was already present, ver. 93, 26, 32, 65, there is no reason for translating "he shall quicken," instead of "has quickened." What the word has already done, is to faith a pledge of what it shall yet do.-The object of the contempt of the proud, ver. 51, that is, of the haughty heathen world snr-rounding Israel, is the contrast between the reality and the idea, the apparently utterly visionary and foolish expectation of the judgment and of the gracious interposition, with which the souls of the Israelites were filled; comp. ver. 42. The Israelites, how-ever, did not permit themselves to be driven away by this re-proach, however well-grounded to natural reason it might appear to be, from their faith and their God; they were not seduced to turn aside from his law.-Israel takes refuge in the past from the present, ver. 52. The glorious judgments of God during the entire long course of history, which are just as many gracious interpositions, afford him a pledge that his God, at his own time, will again come out of his concealment, and that the pro-per relation of the kingdom of God to the world shall be restored. On זלעפה, violent anger, in ver. 53, comp. at Psalms 11. G.�Thy commandments, ver. 54, with the promises annexed in them to obedience, are my song, the object of joyful praise, such as is found in the Psalm before us, in the house of my pilgrimage, the house where I as a pilgrim dwell, i. e., in the condition of help-lessness and misery in which I at present find myself; comp. on the figure of pilgrimage Psalms 39:12.-I remember during the night, ver. 55, to which the pain is nearly allied, and in which it is felt in all its elements, and readiest its greatest height, thy name, thy glorious deeds in the past, ver. 52, and observe thy law, full of hope that thy name shall again flourish.-This is to me, ver. 56, this I have, and in it the hope of salvation; comp. Deuteronomy 6:25. Ver. 57, 64.-Ver. 57. The Lord is my potion, I say that I will keep thy words. Ver. 58. I entreat thee with my whole heart: be gracious to me according to thy word. Ver. 59. I considered my ways, and turned my feet to thy testimonies. Ver. 60. I make haste and delay not to keep thy precepts. Ver. 61. The snares of the wicked surround me, I forget not thy law. Ver. 62. At midnight I rise to praise thee because of the judgments of thy righteousness. Ver. 63. I am a com-panion to those who feared thee and kept thy commandments. Ver. 64. The earth is full of thy mercy, O Lord, teach me thy commandments.-That we must translate, in ver. 57, "the Lord is my portion," or even "0 Lord my portion," (not: I say, O Lord, this shall be my portion that I keep thy commandments), is evident, besides the accents (comp. Dachsel in the Bibl. ac-cent.), from Psalms 16:5; Psalms 73:26; it is also evident, from com-paring these passages, that the sense is: the Lord is my helper and the author of my salvation. This conviction forms an im-portant reason for resolving to keep the commandments of God.On פנים הלה, to supplicate, ver. 58, comp. at Psalms 45:12.�On ver. 59 comp. ver. 26, 67. The punishment of the captivity led the people to repentance.-At midnight, ver. 62, when the Lord went out among the Egyptians, Exodus 11:4; Exodus 12:29, to which pas-sages also Job 34:20 alludes. The משפטים is not as in ver. 7, but as in ver. 20, 52.-A companion, ver. 63, a sharer with them in their efforts, comp. Psalms 16:3. All who feared thee, viz., the pious men who lived in past ages, Malachi 3:4. At ver.64, comp. ver. 12, &c. Do thou of whose mercy the earth is full, shew mercy to me, &c. Ver. 65-72.-Ver. 65. Thou dost good to thy servant, O Lord, according to thy word. Ver. 66. Teach me good under-standing and insight, for I believe in thy commandments. Ver. 67. Before I was afflicted I went astray, but now I keep thy word. Ver. 68, 69. The proud devise lies against me, I ob-serve with my whole heart thy commandments. Ver. 70. Their heart is coarse as fat, I delight in thy law. Ver. 71. It is good for me that I have been humbled, so that I may learn thy commandments. Ver. 72. The law of thy mouth is better to me than thousands of gold and silver.-The good done in ver.65, is the deliverance from captivity, comp. ver. 26, 32, 50.-Onטוב, good, comp. at Psalms 27:13; Psalms 31:19. We are to sup-pose added at "teach me:" by disclosing to me thy law, and writing it on my heart; comp. ver. 12, 64, 68, where the cor-responding expression is: teach me thy commandments.-Ver. 67 refers to the revolution which had taken place in the minds of the people, in consequence of the captivity, compare ver. 71, 75, and at the עניתי, Psalms 116:10. The אמרה was used of thecommandments at ver. 11.-On ver. 68 comp. ver. 12, 64.-Lies, ver. 69, such as the charges of sedition mentioned in Esr. 4:The keeping of the commandments of God, is introduced as the pro-tection against the injurious consequences of slander. More than fat, ver. 70, as a description of spiritual insensibility, hardness, and stupidity, compare at Psalms 17:10; Psalms 73:7. On the second clause comp. ver. 16, 47. Ver. 73-80.-Ver. 73. Thy hands have made me and fashioned me, teach me, so that I learn thy commandments. Ver. 74. Those who fear shall see and rejoice, for I wait upon thy word. Ver. 75. I know, O Lord, that thy judgments are right, and that in faithfulness thou hast afflicted me. Ver. 70. Let thy mercy com-fort me, according to thy word to thy servant. Ver. 77. Let thy compassion come to me, so that I may live, for thy law is my joy. Ver. 78. May the proud be ashamed, for with lies they mortify me, I meditate upon thy commandments. Ver. 79. Those who fear thee shall return to me, and those who know thy testi- monies. Ver. 80. May my heart be blameless in thy command-ments, that I may not be ashamed.--On ver. 73 compare the fundamental passage, Deuteronomy 32:6. Israel is indebted to God for his whole external and internal existence, as it were for his body and soul.-The sense of ver. 74, is, as appears from com-paring the parallel passages, Psalms 5:11; Psalms 34:2; Psalms 52:6, "may those who fear thee obtain occasion for joy by my prosperous for-tune." For I wait upon thy word, and therefore cannot be put to shame.--Ver. 75 alludes to Deuteronomy 32:4 (comp. ver. 73), where God is designated as faithful even in reference to the sufferings of his people. Hence אמונה is the nomin. "as faithfulness," that is, without in the smallest degree violating faithfulness. The knowledge which the church here expresses depends upon convic-tion of sin. The divine government in reference to Israel's suf-ferings is in Deuteronomy 32. based upon Israel's sinfulness.-On ver. 77 comp. ver. 17.-At ver. 78 we are to suppose added: and cannot therefore be put to shame, have therein the assurance of salvation, comp. ver. 80.-Those who fear thee shall return to me, ver. 79, like the friends of Job, who had been perplexed at him, and returned to him when God restored him. The offence which the fate of the church had caused to the fear of God shall disap-pear on the return of the church's salvation.-In thy command-ments, ver. 80, in reference to them. So that I may not be ashamed, disappointed in my hope of salvation. Ver. 81-88.--Ver. 81. My soul thirsteth for thy word, I waitfor thy salvation. Ver. 82. Mine eyes long after thy word, and I say: when wilt thou comfort me. Ver. 83. For I am like a bottle in the smoke, I forget not thy commandments. Ver. 84. How many are the days of thy servant? when wilt thou execute judgment upon my persecutors? Ver. 85. The proud have dug pits for me, who are not according to thy law. Ver. 80. All thy commandments are faithfulness, with lies they persecute me, help me. Ver. 87. They have almost destroyed me in the land, and I forsake not thy precepts. Ver. 88. According to thy mercy quicken me, I will keep the testimony of thy mouth.-After thy word, ver. 82, after the fulfilment of thy promise. What the smoke is for the bottle, which is hung in the smoke, an unsuitable posi-tion for it, and is thereby destroyed and rendered useless, that suffering is for the church. Being completely exhausted by it, she may well hope that the Lord will soon have mercy upon her, when the condition of salvation, zeal in obeying the law, exists in her, and has not been removed, but has been induced by her sufferings.-In yen 84 the prayer for judgment upon the enemies, is grounded upon the brevity of the space that is left for the di-vine recompence, comp. Psalms 39:13. How narrow are the boun-daries by which the existence of an individual or of a generation is shut up-In Ver. 86, the commandments come into notice in reference to those promises appended to them, which never de-ceive.-They have almost destroyed me in the land, ver. 87, as Israel, of whom only a very small remnant now is left, formerly destroyed the Canaanites, 2 Chronicles 8:8. The translation, "to the ground," arose merely from not observing the national refer-ence. The בארץ is just as in ver. 19. Ver. 89-90.-Ver. 89. Eternal art thou, O Lord, thy word stands in heaven. Ver. 90. From generation to generation thy faithfulness endures, thou didst establish the earth and it stood. Ver. 91. For thy judgments they still stand to-day, for every thing must serve thee. Ver. 92. If thy law were not my joy I would have perished in my affliction. Ver. 93. I shall not for-get thy commandments for ever, for by them thou didst quicken me. Ver. 94. I am thine, help me, for I seek thy commandments, Ver. 95. The wicked wait upon me to annihilate me, I observe thy testimonies. Ver. 90. I see an end of all perfection, thy com-mandment is exceedingly broad.-Thy word stands, as it were in heaven, ver. 89, is equally eternal with it, which was erected by thee, and received an eternal existence, comp. Psalms 89:2. -And it stood, ver. 90, comp. Psalms 33:9, in proof of thy glory, and, at the same time, of thy eternal faithfulness.-The subject in ver. 91 a. is the heavens, Ter. 89, and the earth, ver. 90. They stand for the judgments of God, ready to execute these, as obe-dient servants ; as in the days of old, fire frequently came down from heaven, which consumed the adversaries, and hail which slew the enemies of Israel and destroyed their produce. The transla-tion " to thy arrangements, subject to them, they stand even to-day," has against it the standing use of משפטים in the Psalm be-fore us, which always means judgments. The translation "thy arrangements stand even to-day," does not know how to begin with the second clause.-Thy law ver. 92,-with the promises which are connected with true obedience.-By them, ver. 93, inconsequence of the promise appended to them. "thou didstquicken me," comp. ver. 26, 32, 50, 65.-In reference to ver. 95, comp. at Psalms 56:6.-Exceedingly broad, ver. 96, in op-position to the narrow limits within which human perfection is confined. The opposite "broad," skews that in the first clause it is not an end as to time, but an end as to space that is meant, Ver. 97-104.-Ver. 97. How I love thy law. It is my medi-tation all the day. Ver. 98. Thy commandments make me wiser than my enemies, for they remain eternally with, me. Ver. 99. I have more understanding than all my teachers, for thy testi- monies are my meditation. Ver. 100. I understand more than the ancients, for I observe thy precepts. Ver. 101. I keep my feet from all wicked ways, so that I keep thy words. Ver. 102. I deviate not from thy judgments, because thou teachest me. Ver. 103. How pleasant are thy words to my taste, more than honey to my mouth. Ver. 104. From thy precepts I shall get understanding, therefore I hate every lying way.-Than my enemies, ver. 98,-with all their carnal sagacity and cunning, or which, in my simplicity, I deprive myself, Psalms 116:6. They never find, with it all, the way or salvation, to which obedience tothe commandments of God alone furnishes access. The com-mandments form one complete whole; thy commandments = thy law תורה; hence the explanation of the singular of the verb and the היא. For they are eternally with me, and thus the pre-eminence in wisdom over my enemies is secured to me.-The teachers in ver. 99, and the ancients in ver. 100, appear as the depositories of natural knowledge. The man who possesses this in the highest degree stands infinitely below him to whom in divine revelation there has been laid open the fountain of true knowledge. Luther: "Antiquity is no help against stupidity, where it does not accord with the commandments of God."-The teaching in ver. 102 is inward in its character, comp. ver. 33.- The discourse, Ver. 103, comprehends a series of individual pre-cepts: hence the explanation of the plural of the verb. It is evident from ver. 147, and the fundamental passage Psalms 19:10, that the language does not refer to the promises but to the pre-cepts, comp. ver. 67.-On "the way of lies," ver. 104, comp. at ver. 29. Ver. 105-112.-Ver. 105. Thy word is a lamp to my foot, and a light to my way. Ver. 106. I did swear, and I will do it, to observe the judgments of thy righteousness. Ver. 107. I am severely humbled; O Lord, quicken me according to thy word. Ver. 108. Let me free-will offerings of my mouth please thee, O Lord, and teach me thy judgments. Ver. 100. My soul is con-tinually in my hand, and I forget not thy law. Ver. 110. The wicked lay snares for me, but I deviate not from thy precepts. Ver. 111. Thy testimonies I appropriate to myself for ever, for they are the joy of my heart. Ver. 112. I incline my heart to do thy commandments, eternally and without end.-I did swear, ver. 106, at Sinai and in the fields of Moab.-The foun-tain for the oft-repeated, "quicken me according to thy word," ver. 107, is, as appears specially Leviticus 18:5 (comp. Deuteronomy 6:24), where life its promised to the people if they would observe the commandments and judgments of the Lord.-The prayers in ver. 108 are represented as spiritual prayer-offerings. Comp. Ps. I. 14, 5.-My soul is my hand, ver. 109,-we put into our hands what we are resolved to give away (comp. Judges 12:3, 1 Samuel 19:5) -therefore, my life is continually in danger.-The נהל in ver. 111 is to take into possession. There is a reference to the pas-sage of the law, where the נהל is used of occupancy of Canaan, for example Exodus 23:30. The law is a possession of no less value than the land flowing with milk and honey. Ver. 113-120.-Ver. 113. I hate doubtful men, and I lovethy law. Ver. 114. My hiding place and my shield art thou, I wait upon thy word. Ver. 115. Depart from me, ye evil doers, I will keep the commandments of my God. Ver. 116. Uphold me according to thy word, that I may live, and let me not be ashamed of my hope. Ver. 117. Stand by me, so that I shall be delivered, thus shall I look continually to thy commandments. Ver. 118. Thou castest down all who wander from thy com-mandments, for lie is their deceit. Ver. 119. As dross thou dost annihilate all the wicked of the earth, therefore I love thy testimonies. Ver. 120. I am afraid before thee, so that my skin shivers, and I dread thy judgments.-Doubters, ver. 113, the ףאeסe a divided man, ἀםחע הירץקןע, James 1:8.-Depart fromme, ver. 115, is “ you can do nothing with me because, &c.,” compare at Psalms 6:8.-Lie is their deceit, ver. 118, all their cunning and deceit, with which they seek to destroy the godly, leads to nothing.-The judgments, in yes. 120, are the great judgments of the Lord in past ages, comp. Habakkuk 3:2 : “ 0 Lord, I heard thy call (the call of thy great judgments in the days of old), I was afraid." Joyful hope goes hand in hand with fear. Ver. 121-128.-Ver. 121. I practice justice and righteousness, thou shalt not give me up to my oppressors. Ver. 122. Be surety for thy servant, so that it may be well with him, let not the proud oppress me. Ver. 123. Mine eyes long after thy salvation, and after the word of thy righteousness. Ver. 124. Deal with thy servant according to thy mercy, and teach me thy commandments. Ver. 125. I am thy servant, instruct me and let me know thy testimonies. Ver. 126. It is time for the Lord to do it, they break thy law. Ver. 127. Therefore I love thy commandments more than gold andfine gold. Ver. 128. Therefore I approve of every one of thy commandments, I hate every way of lies.- For good, ver. 122, so that it may be well with him, comp. Deuteronomy 6:24; Deuteronomy 10:13; Deuteronomy 30:9. -After the word of thy righteousness, ver. 123, the fulfilment of thy promise, which Thou, the Righteous One, who givest to every one his own, salvation to him to whom it has been promised, hast given.-Deal with thy servant, ver. 124: "What ought tobe done" lies concealed in "according to thy mercy," comp. at Psalms 109:21.-In Ver. 126 the common translation is: it is time for the Lord to work. But this sense is not ascertained. What the Lord has to do, is left out. "They break thy law," by no means compels to think of "the rebellious Jews." In Isaiah 24:5, the transgression of the law and of the commandments of God is laid to the charge of the inhabitants of the world, and repre-sented as the ground of the judgments executed upon them, comp. Romans 2:12, ss. The law has a general human basis ; the book of Job makes it manifest that this was clearly acknowledgedunder the Old Testament. Here we are especially to think of the violation of the righteousness commanded by God, and of love, in the conduct of the heathen towards Israel.-Ver. 127 depends upon Psalms 19:10. Therefore, because of the glory of thy law which had been so much praised in the preceding parts of the Psalm. This general reference is more suitable to the character of the Psalm than the special one to the preceding verse.-Ver. 128 is literally, "all the precepts upon every thing," or whatever they may concern, all without exception, comp. Ezekiel 44:30, and also Numbers 8:16. The connection makes it abundantly evi-dent that the language refers to the commandments of God. The expression rejects eclecticism of every kind in reference to the word of God, in accordance with Matthew 5:17-19. Ver. 129-130.-Ver. 129. Thy testimonies are wondeyful, therefore my soul keeps them. Ver. 130. The opening up of thy word gives light, it instructs the simple. Ver. 131. I open my mouth, and pine, for I long after thy command- meats. Ver. 132. Turn to me and be gracious to me, as it is right for those who love thy name. Ver. 133. Strengthen my footsteps by thy words, and let no iniquity obtain dominion over me. Ver. 134. Deliver me from the oppression of men, so will. I keep thy commandments. Ver. 135. Let thy face shine upon thy servant, and teach Me thy commandments. Ver. 130. Mine eyes become brooks of wafer, because they keep not thy law.-- The opening up of the word of God, ver. 130, is the explanation of the sense of the word imparted by God through his spirit, of which the Psalmist speaks so often and so impressively. To the natural man the doors the word of God are shut. Those who love the name of God, God in his historical glory, have a rightto the manifestations of his grace, ver. 132, not a human but a divine right, resting upon the nature of God, as it is revealed in his word. It is evident from ver. 134 a. that the language in ver. 133 b. refers to the external dominion of unrighteousness, the op-pression of enemies. We must hence refer the strengthening of the footsteps in the first clause to the external condition, comp. Psalms 40:2. Through thy word = according to thy word, ver. 116, by thy faithfulness, in virtue of thy promise.-On ver. 135 a. comp. Psalms 80:3; Psalms 80:7.-The first clause of ver. 136 is from Lam. 3:48, compare Ver. 9:17. We must translate: dissolved in water brooks, like water brooks mine eyes come down, comp. Ew. § 281 e. The whole clause after על, is treated like a noun, as is the case in Isaiah 53:9, on account of their not observing, because they do not observe, namely, in their conduct towards me; comp. the passage already referred to of Lam.: "because of the de-stroying of the daughter of my people," comp. ver. 139. Ver. 137-144.-Ver. 137. Just art thou, O Lord, and right-eous in thy judgments. Ver. 138. Thou hast prescribed thy testimonies, that they are righteous and very faithful. Ver. 139. My zeal consumes me, that my adversaries forget thy words. Ver. 140. Thy word is very pure, and thy servant loves it. Ver. 141. I am small and despised, I forget not thy precepts. Ver. 142. Thy righteousness is an eternal righteousness, and thy law is truth. Ver. 143. Trouble and oppression found me, thy commandments are my joy. Ver. 144. Righteous are thy testimonies for ever, instruct me that I may live. The ישר in ver. 137 refers to the Lord, according to the fundamental passage Deuteronomy 32:4, and the טשפטיך is the accus. Ew. �˜ 281 c.�The testimonies in ver. 138, as is obvious from the first clause, come into notice according to the promise annexed to them, compare at ver. 86, Psalms 93:5. Very faithful, so that they do not de-ceive those who keep them.-On ver. 139 compare Psalms 69:9. That they forget, in their conduct towards me,-Ver. 140 de-pends upon Psalms 93:30. Thy word, according to promise and precept.-Ver. 142 a. is equivalent to "thy righteousness en-dureth for ever," comp. Psalms 115:16, "the heaven is heaven for the Lord." The righteousness of God, the property according to which he gives to every one his own, to his own people salva-tion (compare Psalms 111:3), appears to outward appearance to benow dead. But the Psalmist perceives in faith its eternal dura-tion. Thy law is true; it cannot therefore deceive as to its promises. - At מצא in ver. 143 compare Psalms 116:3. � In-struct me, ver. 144,-in thy testimonies which do not feed those who observe them with vain hopes, but bring to them a sure reward. Ver. 145-152.-Ver. 145. I call with my whole heart; an-swer me, O Lord, so shall I keep thy commandments. Ver. 146. I call upon thee, help me, so shall I keep thy testimonies. Ver. 147. I anticipate the dawning of the day, and cry, I wait for thy words. Ver. 148. My eyes anticipate the night watches, that I may meditate upon thy word. Ver. 149. Hear my voice according to thy mercy, O Lord, according to thy righteousness quicken me. Ver.150. Those are near who hunt after wickedness, they are far from thy law. Ver. 151. Thou art near, O Lord, and all thy commandments are truth. Ver. 152. Long ago I knew out of thy testimonies that thou hast founded them for ever. -On קדם, to anticipate, comp. at Psalms 95:2. Great zeal in prayer is described in the same way in Psalms 88:13 : "But I cry to thee, O Lord, and in the morning my prayer shall anticipate thee." The "thee" is easily supplied from the connection; for it is to God that the discourse is directed. The dawning is the dawning of the morning.-The eyes of the Psalmist anticipate the night-watches, ver. 148, inasmuch as they are awake when the night-watches come; therefore the expression means, "The night-watches find me awake." Comp. Psalms 63:6; Psalms 77:4, Lamentations 2:19. -The judgments of God, in ver. 149, are, those righteous principles which are founded on his own nature, and revealed in his law, according to which salvation must be the portion of the righteous, destruction that of the wicked, comp. ver. 156, 175.-They are far from thy law, ver. 150,-the nearer they are to me, the farther are they from the law.-Thy commandments, ver. 151,-with the promises which accompany them.-Long since, ver. 152, from my first existence. The law itself proceeds throughout on the supposition of its eternal obligation, as it re-ceived its institution from the Lord. The formula, for example, is one of constant occurrence: an eternal commandment for your generations. Ver. 153-160.-Ver. 153. Behold my misery, and deliver me,for I forget not thy law. Ver. 154. Fight my fight, and deliver me, according to thy word quicken me. Ver. 155. Salvation is far from the wicked, for they inquire not after thy command- ments. Ver. 156. Thy compassion is great, O Lord, according to thy judgments quicken me. Ver. 157. Of my persecutors and opponents there are many; I deviate not from thy testimo- nies. Ver. 158. I behold the faithless, and am vexed, who keep not thy word. Ver. 159. Behold that I love thy command-ments; O Lord, according to thy mercy quicken me. Ver. 160. The sum of thy word is truth, and every judgment of thy righteousness endureth for ever.-On "fight my fight," comp. at Psalms 43:1. On "deliver me," Psalms 69:18.-Accord-ing to thy judgments, ver. 156, comp. at ver. 149.--In ver. 158, the prayer that God would put an end to the oppressive sight stands in the back ground. On בגד, at Psalms 25:3. It is used here of faithlessness towards our neighbours; apparently, as in Isaiah 21:2, of the violation of special relations.-The sum, ver. 160, the whole body, Luther: "Thy word is nothing but truth." Ver. 161-168.-Ver. 161. Princes persecute me without cause, and my heart quakes before thy words. Ver. 162. I rejoice over thy word, as one who findeth much spoil. Ver. 163. I hate lies and feel horror at them, I love thy law. Ver. 164. Seven times a-day I praise thee, because of the judgments of thy righteous- ness. Ver. 165. Great peace have they who love thy law, and they find nothing to offend them. Ver. 166. I hope in thy sal-vation, O Lord, and do thy commandments. Ver. 167. My soul holds thy testimonies, and I love them very much. Ver. 168. I hold thy commandments and thy testimonies, for all my ways are before thee.-My heart quakes, ver. 161, with reve-rence, which excludes fear, and goes hand in hand with joyful hope, comp. ver. 120. The words are the glorious promises which the Lord gives to his people and his threatenings against his ene-mies, comp., for example, Deuteronomy 32.-On “ lies,” at ver. 163, comp. at ver. 29.-By the "judgments of the Lord," in ver. 160, we ought to understand that both the righteous actions or judg-ments, and his righteous sayings or his law, are meant, comp. ver. 62, 165.-All my ways are before thee, ver. 168,-thou who art the righteous recompenser knowest them.Ver. 169-176.-Ver. 169. Let my prayer come before thee, Lord; according to thy word instruct me. Ver. 170. Let my prayer come before thee: according to thy word deliver me. Ver. 171. My lips shall stream forth with thy praise, when thou teachest me thy commandments. Ver. 172. My tongue shall respond to thy word, for all thy commandments are righteous- ness. Ver. 173. Let thy hand help me, for I choose thy com-mandments. Ver. 174. I long after thy salvation, O Lord, and thy law is my delight. Ver. 175. Let my soul live and praise thee, and let thy judgments help me. Ver. 176. I went astray like a lost sheep, seek thy servant, for I forget not thy com- mandments.-In ver. 169, 170, the two prayers of the Psalmist, the one for strength to fulfil the law, and the other for external deliverance, are inseparably connected together. The fulfilment of the first is the basis of the fulfilment of the second, comp. Psalms 90:11-17. According to thy word instruct me,--in accordance with thy promise, ver. 25, 65, 107, as given for example in Deuteronomy 30:6 : "And the Lord circumcise thy heart, and the heart of the seed, to love the Lord thy God with all thy heart and withall thy soul, that thou mayest live."-The הביע, ver. 171, is tocause to bubble up, Psalms 19:2; Psalms 78:2.-The ענה in ver. 172 has its usual sense, to respond, comp. Psalms 147:7. Every expres-sion in which we praise God, his word, or his works, is a response. -Thy law, ver. 174, with its promises.-Thy judgments, ver. 175, comp. 149, 156.-The "going astray" in ver. 170 is a figurative expression denoting helplessness; or, the sufferer ap-pears under the figure of one who has gone astray. A lost sheep is one which has escaped from the flock and the shepherd, comp. Jeremiah 50:6. Ver. 169. Let my prayer come before thee, Lord; according to thy word instruct me. Ver. 170. Let my prayer come before thee: according to thy word deliver me. Ver. 171. My lips shall stream forth with thy praise, when thou teachest me thy commandments. Ver. 172. My tongue shall respondto thy word, for all thy commandments are righteousness. Ver. 173. Let thy hand help me, for I choose thy commandments. Ver. 174. I long after thy salvation, O Lord, and thy law is my delight. Ver. 175. Let my soul live and praise thee, and let thy judgments help me. Ver. 176. I went astray like a lost sheep, seek thy servant, for I forget not thy commandments. In Psalms 119:169-170, the two prayers of the Psalmist, the one for strength to fulfil the law, and the other for external deliverance, are inseparably connected together. The fulfilment of the first is the basis of the fulfilment of the second, comp. Psalms 90:11-17. According to thy word instruct me,—in accordance with thy promise, Psalms 119:25, Psalms 119:65, Psalms 119:107, as given for example in Deuteronomy 30:6 : “And the Lord circumcise thy heart, and the heart of the seed, to love the Lord thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul, that thou mayest live.”—δαις, Psalms 119:171, is to cause to bubble up, Psalms 19:2, Psalms 78:2. The ςπδ in Psalms 119:172 has its usual sense, to respond, comp. Psalms 147:7. Every expression in which we praise God, his word, or his works, is a response. Thy law, Psalms 119:174, with its promises. Thy judgments, Psalms 119:175, comp. Psalms 119:149, Psalms 119:156. The “going astray” in Psalms 119:170 is a figurative expression denoting helplessness; or, the sufferer appears under the figure of one who has gone astray. A lost sheep is one which has escaped from the flock and the shepherd, comp. Jeremiah 50:6. ch. 120-134 OR THE PILGRIM BOOK. These Psalms have much in common. The tone never rises in any of them above a certain height, and descends very graduallyfrom that height when gained; they all bear the character of simplicity; with the exception of Psalms 132., which partakes the least of the peculiar characteristics of these poems, they are all of short compass; in all of them, with the exception of the Psalm above mentioned, the parallelism of the clauses is little at-tended to; no one of these Psalms bears an individual character, they all refer to the whole church of God,a with the exception, in some measure, of only Ps. cxxvii., which, without being individual, places before us, in the first instance, the particular members of the church, but which the collector has applied also to the cir-cumstances of the whole community. Finally, all bear in the title the same name המעלות שיר, or as it stands in the title of Psalms 121. למעלות שיר. Five of these fifteen Psalms bear the name of the author at their head, four that of David-viz., Psalms 122:122; Psalms 124:124; Psalms 131:131; Psalms 131:133., one that of Solomon, Ps. 127., ten on the other hand are nameless. The ten nameless Psalms again have a certain peculiar impression stamped upon them, distinguishing them from those above mentioned all of which are connected together by no common tie, but stand isolated from each other. All were sung when the people of God were placed in troublous circum-stances; all are suitable to the relations (these relations come more particularly forward in some of them, especially in Psalms 120:120; Psalms 121:121; Psalms 121:125.) which existed after the deliverance from the cap-tivity, at the time when the building of the temple was inter-rupted, and the contests with the Samaritans were carried on. That Psalms 134., where mention is made of the house of the Lord and the sanctuary, must not be removed from the circle of these relations, is obvious from the remarks which were made at page 381 of this volume, (comp. vol. i., p. 483), according to which even the tent which existed before the erection of the first temple, and stood on its site, was called the house of the Lord, and was considered as the sanctuary. Further, all bear the cha- a Thus Lampe: The identity of the title demands that the subject of all the fifteen Psalms be considered as the same; for it does not permit us to doubt that they have been brought together, and arranged agreeably to a certain plan. It will at once be ad-mitted that the condition of one person or place cannot be made up of the various posi-tions which alternately succeed each other. Sometimes also it is not one person but a whole assembly that speaks, Psalms 122:122; Psalms 123:123; Psalms 123:124., &c. Hence we infer that these songs relate to the state of the universal church, which is termed the Israel of God, Psalms 124:1; Psalms 125:5; Psalms 128:6; Psalms 130:8; Psalms 131:3.racter of pensive melancholy. The fundamental thought in all is: the providence of God watching over his church.a The title must be of some importance in explaining the pecu-liarities which are common to all these fifteen Psalms. Before, however, we can make any use of it we must determine its im-port. This has been very decidedly ascertained. We must, how-ever, limit ourselves to the examination of those opinions which have been most widely disseminated; we cannot allow ourselves to enter upon the views of individuals. 1. The translation, "Step-Psalms" (Sept. ὠהבי פשם ἀםבגבטלשם, Vulg. Psalms of degrees), has found many defenders: it is moreover a very favour-ite one with Jewish expositors. The name of the Psalms is thus supposed to be derived from their being appointed to be sung on certain steps in the sanctuary, according to several, on the fifteen steps between the court of the men and the court of the women. This exposition is the one which is in reality adopted by Luther, who translates: "a song in high chorus." For that he did not, as Gesenius and others suppose, after the example of Saadias, Gaon, and Abenesra, imagine that an elevation of the voice was meant, is clear from his own words in the introduction to these Psalms, where, after rejecting the explanation of Lyra about the fifteen steps of the temple, on each of which one of these Psalms was sung, he says, "I adopt the simplest of all views, and main-tain that these Psalms were so named, because they were sung in a high place, in high chorus by the Levites or priests. . .I consider that these Psalms were sung not by the crowd of peo-ple who were in the temple, but by some distinguished indivi-duals who sung before the rest; they were therefore sung or at least begun from a high place." Luther therefore adopts the idea that מעלות denotes the place where the Psalms were sung, but supposes that place to have been not the steps themselves, but some high place to which the ascent was by steps. No ety-mological objection can be urged against the translation, "Step-Psalms." The fact, however, that some of these Psalms, parti-cularly Psalms 121:121; Psalms 121:122., could not possibly have been sung in the temple, is decisive against this view. a Lampe.: The general argument of these Psalms is the celebration of the faithfulness and the constancy of God in preserving his church in the midst of all the billows of temptation in the sea or this world. 2. Several understand the title as denoting the peculiarity in point of form of these Psalms. This view is in accordance with the hypothesis started by Gesenius, and latterly defended by him in his Thesaurus. He supposes that the title denotes a certain step-rhythm which occurs in these Psalms, the nature of which he describes as follows: "that sometimes the last clause of the verse, more frequently a part of it, carries forward a thought or an expression into the following verse, where it has another turn given to it, is expanded, or receives something added to it." Thus, for example, Psalms 121.: "I direct my eyes to the hills. From whence shall help come to me? My help comes from the Lord, the creator of heaven and of earth. . . . He lets not thy feet slide, thy Keeper sleeps not. Behold the keeper of Israel sleeps not and slumbers not." The hypothesis, however, is unten-able. It is quite true indeed that this Psalm shews something of the kind; but it is by no means true that the series of Psalms is characterised by it throughout, which, if the hypothesis were true, must have been the case. We may compare, for example. Psalms 127:127; Psalms 128:128; Psalms 128:131., cxxvii., where nothing whatever of the kind occurs. It does not occur even once throughout in any one of these Psalms; yea the above-mentioned Psalms, 121., is the only one in which it is at all prominent. The assertion of Gesenius that the term is applied a potiori, irrespective of the fact that the appearances are few in number and weak, is inadmissible on the ground that every separate song bears the name of a song of the Maaloth. Further, we saw that all these Psalms pos-sess a number of characteristic peculiarities in common. We are entitled to expect that the title which is common to them all, should contain a key to the explanation of this fact; and we must regard it as a touchstone for the correctness of any ex-planation of the title that it serves this end. According to this canon the hypothesis in question must be rejected. The re-maining peculiarities of the Psalms can by no means be consi-dered as flowing from the one which, according to it, is indi-cated the title. Next the circumstance that למעלות stands instead of המעלות is quite decisive. This variation, which as-suredly is not accidental, shows in what way the more ambiguous genitive in the other titles is to be interpreted; that "a Song of the Maaloth" is equivalent to a Song for the Maaloth. Afterthese decisive reasons, there is scarcely any need for adding that the explanation in question has nothing whatever to bear it out in an etymological point of view, inasmuch as the assumed figurative use of the מעלות nowhere occurs; and that the name itself would not even be a suitable one, as it would lead us to expect an as-cending progress, a gradation, whereas it is merely a repetition that exists. 3. The translation, "Pilgrim Songs," or songs to be sung on the journey to Jerusalem, has found very many supporters. This translation, which occurs in Theodotion (ἆףלב פחע בםבגבףושע), and in Aq. and Symm. (וἰע פבע ἀםבגבףויע) has the usus loquendi entirely on its side. The verb עלה, is the standing expression for the journey up to Jerusalem (which was considered as the civil and religious metropolis), more on account of its moral than on account of its physical height. The word before us, מעלה, is used itself of the journey to Jerusalem, Ezra 7:9. The title of Psalms 30 :is altogether analogous to the title before us construed in this way: "A Song of the dedication of the house," instead ofa Song intended to be sung at the dedication of the house." The supporters of this exposition are again divided into two parties. (a.) The idea adopted by Ewald is a very old one: that the title points out those Psalms which were sung by Israel on the way home from Babylon. This view is expressly given in the titles of the old Syrian translation, and also by Chrysostom and Theodoret. The consideration, however, is altogether against it, that the return from Babylon is never simply denoted a מעלה, a pilgrimage; Ezra 7:9, which has been appealed to, is not in favour of מעלה being so used, but against it, for the journey homeward of the exiles is not simply termed מעלה, but מבבל מעלה, and even in Ezra 2:1, עלה is more fully defined. This translation, moreover, does not sufficiently justify the use of the plural. The explana-tion of this becomes satisfactory only when the songs are con-sidered as intended for successive pilgrims to Jerusalem. Far-ther, according to this explanation, we must, without any good reason, affirm that the titles of several of these Psalms, according to which, David and Solomon are to be considered as their au-thors, give false information. It follows, at all events, from thetitles, that the collectors of the Canon had other views in regard to the design of these Psalms. In like manner, we must shut our ears to internal reasons, according to which these Psalms really belong to David and Solomon as their authors, or at least to times previous to the captivity. In this case also, it will be impossible to explain the very marked difference to which we have already adverted, between the nameless Psalms and those which bear a name, which, according to this hypothesis, must all be classed together. Finally, even the nameless Psalms, considered in them-selves, by no means favour this hypothesis. Not one of them refers to the circumstances of the returning captives. And on the other hand, several of them, such as Psalms 120., cxxvi., mani-festly refer to the circumstances of the already-settled new co-lony; and it is the more difficult to separate the rest from these circumstances, to which they all at least remarkably correspond, as they are all bound together into one whole by their formal ar-rangement, and by their unity of design, tone, and expression. (b.) Other expositors seek the origin of the appellation in the fact that these songs were sung by the pilgrims who event up. yearly to Jerusalem, at the great festivals. This explanation is undoubtedly the correct one. The עלה, is the usual expression for these festival-journeys; comp. Psalms 122:4, Exodus 34:24, 1 Kings 12:27; 1 Kings 12:28. The המעלות, the journeys to Jerusalem, by way of pre-eminence, can only be those ordinary journeys which were yearly repeated and prescribed in the law; comp. Psalms 122:4. All other journeys to Jerusalem would have needed some expression added to define them. Further, the oldest to all appearance of these pilgrim-songs, that, viz., which was com-posed by David soon after the elevation of Zion to the sanctuary, and af the commencement of the pilgrimages to it, Psalms 122. con-tains two clauses explanatory of the מעלות, corresponding to the explanation of the משכיל Psalms 32., viz., "we will go to the house of the Lord," in ver. 1, and "to which the tribes go up," עלו in ver. 4. The circumstance, moreover, that some of these Psalms have, in accordance with the most manifest internal marks, been used for this purpose, is quite decisive. This is the case with Psalms 121., which, according to ver. 1, was designed to be sung in view of the mountains of Jerusalem, and is manifestly an even-ing song for the sacred band of pilgrims, to be sung in the last night watch, the figures of which are also peculiarly suitable for a pilgrim-song; and with Psalms 122. which, according to the express announcement in the introduction, was sung, when the sacred pilgrim trains had reached the gates of Jerusalem, and halted for the purpose of forming in order, for the solemn proces-sion into the sanctuary, Psalms 134. Besides this we may add finally, that, according to this interpretation, all the common pe-culiarities of these Psalms are easily accounted for. The simpli-city, the want of the parallelism, the artless way of forming a transition by a word retained from the preceding verse, the bre-vity, all these are peculiarities of sacred popular and pilgrim song. The objections which have been urged against this interpreta-tion are insignificant. Thus it has been said, that it is scarcely possible to conceive that such mournful songs as are these Psalms to some extent, could have been sung in the course of the joyful journeys to Jerusalem. Just as if the tone of these festival jour-neys would not be entirely dependent upon the then existing con-dition of the people! No one will deny that the nameless Psalms truly emanated from the innermost feelings of the people at the time when they were originally composed; and the people could at that time find in them only a representation of their own state. Next it is objected that several of these Psalms contain no refer-ence to such a special occasion. But such a reference was not in every case necessary; the contents might be general, and the indicating of the purpose of the Psalms might be attended to only in the form and appearance which they were made to assume; and this is really the case. The practice of travelling to Jerusalem at the festivals had already taken deep root even in the days of David and Solomon. We see this clearly from the conduct of Jeroboam, in 1 Kings 12:28, compare also at Psalms 122. It was hence very natural that David, who employed his gift of sacred song in ministering to all the wants of the people of God, should attend to this matter also, and that Solomon should continue the work. The pilgrimages suffered grievous interruption from the separation of the ten tribes; and it was only in the days of the new colony that they regained their ancient importance. In these days a third pilgrim poet arose to take his place alongside of the two ancient ones,who wrought up his own productions along with those of his pre-decessors into one well-arranged whole, a pilgrim-book. The whole is grouped around Ps. cxxvii., which was composed by Solomon, who stands in middle between the first and the last of the pilgrim poets. On both sides there stands a heptade of pil-grim songs consisting of two Psalms composed by David and five new ones, which have no name. The seven is divided both times by the four and the three. Each heptade contains the name of Jehovah twenty-four times; each of the connected groups, Psa_120:-123 :; Psa_124:--126 :; Psa_128:-131 :; Psa_132:-134., twelve times; this cannot be accidental, and it renders it evident that the collector of the whole must be identical with the author of the nameless Psalms. The unity is not one merely of form, it also refers to the thoughts. The old Psalms are not thrown in loosely; but the author of the nameless Psalms has interwoven them with his own into one whole;-a task which, as the Psalms originated in dif-ferent circumstances and objects, could be accomplished only by resolving not to keep to the main thought, but by laying the em-phasis upon those thoughts which were secondary. Psalms 124 :is the only one which, in regard to its fundamental tone, is peculiarly suit-able for his purpose; it is distinguished from its nameless neigh-bourhood only by its courageous and powerful tone. He takes up Psalms 127. on the comforting side, while the prevailing aspect of it originally was hortatory. In Psalms 131. he sounds the cry,“Wait O Israel upon the Lord," in ver. 3, comp. Psalms 130:7. In Psalms 133., the words, which in themselves are merely subordi-nate, "for there the Lord has ordained his blessing, life for ever more," are brought forward into the foreground. That the author was driven by necessity to this course, that he was obliged to render unyielding materials subservient to his purpose, is mani-fest from this, that the Psalms which have names, and those which have none, though they fit in well enough to each other, cannot have proceeded from the same source. This view is still further confirmed by the circumstance that each one of the Psalms which have names has its own peculiar thought and its own peculiar co-louring, while the nameless ones are all pervaded by the same com-mon fundamental thought, and are all characterised by one common tone. That the collector was not satisfied with a mere externaljuxtaposition of the pilgrim songs is clear also from this, that no Psalm with a name stands at the beginning or end of both heptades, but that the Psalms which have names are rather en-closed and hemmed in by those which have none,-that two Psalms with names never follow each other, that the last Psalm is remarkably suitable for a conclusion to the whole, and was composed to all appearance for the purpose of serving this object. The Introduction to the first heptade consists of a pair of Psa 120:120; Psalms 120:121., which brings us into the relations of the pre-sent, represents Israel's conflict and distress, and his hope in God. The next in the series is a Psalm composed by David, 122., which represents Jerusalem's glory, and expresses wishes and prayers for her salvation. With what is said there about the glory of Jerusalem, and with the wishes and prayers for her sal-vation, the present stands in marked contrast; and Psalms 123 :contains a pathetic prayer for the removal of this contrast. In the second group, faith half lying in the dust, rises up in the be-lieving and magnanimous song of David, Psalms 124., which finds its echo in Psalms 125:125; Psalms 125:126. In the second heptade Psalms 128., forming an appendix to Ps. cxxvii., the one composed by Solomon, pronounces God fearing Israel to be happy. The Lord shall remove (Psalms 129:129; Psalms 129:130.) the misery of the present which appears to testify to the contrary. Let Israel, in obedience to the exhortation of his royal Psalmist David, only wait upon the Lord! Psalms 131.-He shall cause David's horn to bud, and shall prepare a lamp for his Anointed, Psalms 132. He has ordained a blessing for Zion, life for ever-more, Psalms 134. He shall bless his people out of Zion, Psalms 134. If the Pilgrim-book belongs to the time when the building of the temple was interrupted, it stands where it does, exactly in its proper place. It follows a dodecade of Psalms, which were composed on the occasion of the laying of the foundation-stone of the temple.Psalms 120. May the Lord, who has recently delivered Israel out of great trouble, ver. 1, now also deliver him out of the oppression in which he finds himself involved in consequence of slandering wickedness, ver. 2; he will do it, and will recompense on the slanderers their wickedness on their own head, ver. 3, 4. In or-der that he may be the more inclined to do this, the church raises, ver. 5-7, a soft lamentation over the suffering which had been prepared for her, while at peace, by these peace-hating slanderers. -The formal arrangement is very simple. The seven is divided by the four and the three. The situation is exactly described after the deliverance out of great misery, and in a new suffering brought on by slander, which proceeds from those with whom the Psalmist must dwell. That this is Israel is clear from the analogy of the other Psalms of this collection, not one of which bears a purely in-dividual character, from ver. 5, where the dwelling by (not in) the tents of Kedar is most naturally referred to the relation of one nation to another, from the parallel passage, Psalms 123:4, where the language refers to the people. From these firm positions it will not be difficult to ascertain the historical occasion which has been quite correctly fixed by several, and in the best way by Tiling, disquis. de cant. adscensionum, Bremen 1765, p. 66 ss. The church of the Lord, besides open and decided enemies, has to suffer also from false brethren, who, because their preten-sions cannot be fully acknowledged to their satisfaction, are embittered and enraged, and seek revenge by all means, but especially by the weapons of lies and slanders. Israel learned this, after the return from captivity, from the painful conduct of the Samaritans. These still continuing, to all intents and pur-poses, heathens at heart, supposed that a half acknowledgment of Israel's God (an acknowledgment not at all proceeding from the deep root of faith), a God who had not made himself known to them, and whom they served at their own hand, would give them a claim to be participators with Israel in the kingdom of God. When Israel began to build the new temple, they came forward to them, according to Ezra iv., with the proposal, ''We will buildwith you, for we seek your God as well as you." And when Is-rael met their ungrounded claims in an humble, quiet, but decided manner, and said: It is not becoming that you and we build the house of our God, but we alone will build the house of the Lord the God of Israel, "then the people in the land hindered the hand of the people of Judah, and terrified them in building; and hired counsellors against them to frustrate their purpose all the days of Cyrus king of Persia, even until the reign of Darius king of Persia." Exasperated, they endeavoured, by lying accusations, particularly as to the desire for dominion, and the rebellious purposes of the Israelites, to stir up the open heathen, under whose power the Israelites then were living; and they succeeded in this for a considerable time. Still the God of Israel helped them; and in spite of all opposition, the temple and city, as recorded at length in the books of Ezra and Nehe-miah, were brought to a prosperous termination. Ver. 1-4.-A Song of the Pilgrims.-Ver. 1. I cried to the Lord in my trouble, and he heard me. Ver. 2. O Lord, deliver my soul from the lips of lies, from the tongue of deceit. Ver. 3. What shall he give to thee, and what shall he add to thee, thou tongue of deceit. Ver. 4. Sharp arrows of the mighty with genista-fuel.-In ver. 1, it is obvious, on comparing Psalms 119:26; Psalms 118:5; Psalms 116:1; Psalms 116:2; Psalms 116:4; Psalms 116:5; Psalms 115:12, that we cannot translate "I call and he hears," but, as is also most correct in point of grammar, "I called and he heard me," and that the Psalmist places his allusion to answers which he had for-merly obtained before his prayer for further deliverance, for the purpose of quickening his hope and enabling him to pray rightly in faith, James 1:6. The answers already obtained refer, according to the above passages, chiefly to the deliverance from captivity. The צרתה is the more full, sonorous form, as at Psalms 44:26 -My soul, ver. 2,-because the deceitful tongue had ex-posed his life to danger, comp. the constantly occurring expres-sion in Psalms 119., "quicken me," for example, ver. 88, and "de-liver my soul," Psalms 116:4. The Samaritans aimed at destroying the national existence of the Israelites, the centre-point of which was the temple. A "deceit-tongue" is a tongue which is wholly deceit, comp. "I am peace," ver. 7, and in reference to the connection of both verses in the stat. absol. at Psalms 60:3. The רמיה is never anadject.; and the corresponding word שקר is against the idea that it is. That we are not to think of "hypocritical promises to keep peace," but of wicked slandering, is obvious from the parallel passage, Psalms 119:69; Psalms 119:78, Psalms 31:18. The recom-pense also of ver. 4 belongs to the same region.-The prayer is followed by confidence in ver. 3 and 4. This is expressed with lively feeling in the form of an address to the slanderers. The subject to both verbs in ver. 3 is the Lord, who had been ad-dressed in the preceding verse; this is all the more obvious, as allusion is made to the usual form of swearing, "God do to thee and more also," 1 Samuel 3:17; 1 Samuel 14:44, which denotes some very severe and permanent evil, with the change of the "do" into the“give,” used ironically, a use of the word intended to point to the good results of their wickedness which the slanderers had hoped for. The deceitful tongue of the slanderer is the object to which the address is directed. Ver. 4 contains the answer to the question in ver. 3: "He shall give thee," &c. The "arrows of the warrior" corresponds to the "give," and the "genista fuel" to the "add," next to them. On "sharp warrior-arrows," comp. Psalms 45:5, where it is said of the God-warrior: "Thine arrows are sharp, nations fall under thee, they pierce the heart of the enemies of the king." In reference to the genista (Luther falsely: juniper), Robinson, P. 1st, p. 336, says, "The Arabians suppose it furnishes the best wood-fuel." That the term is stron-ger than the preceding one is evident from the two portions of the first clause, the latter of which is stronger than the former. The dealings of God are regulated by the law of retaliation. Slanders had wounded like sharp arrows, and had burned like genista-fuel. -The two verses have been misunderstood in various ways. Luther, who is generally followed, translates: "what can the false tongue do to thee, and what can it effect? It is like a sharp arrow of a strong one, like fire in junipers." He supposes the question to be directed to the caluminated person. "David's design in it is to the stir himself up to take occasion to bring an accusation against the cunning, tongue." But in this case there seems to beno reason for putting the question, as no doubt could exist as to the ruinous effects of the slandering; the undeniable allusion to the common form of swearing is lost; the comparison with sharp arrows of a warrior (and גבור, can only be translated in this way)is too noble a one for slander; and, finally, the analogy of Psalms 52 :is in favour of the address being directed to these slanderers. De Wette translates ver. 3, "What does the tongue of deceit give you, and what does it do for you (the give in a good sense), and considers ver. 4 as descriptive of the ruinous effects of slander. It does no good to you, and it does much injury to others. But the distinction between the deceitful tongue and the slanderer is contrary to ver. 2, and if it existed, the לשון would not be con-strued with the accusative, which can be accounted for only by supposing that the deceitful tongue stands for the slanderers. Then, according to this translation, the allusion to the usual form of swearing is lost; and the גבור also occasions difficulty. Ewald translates: "how shall he punish thee, and how shall he chastise thee, thou deceitful tongue, ye sharp murderer-arrows, with glowing genista-fuel?" But in order to favour this transla-tion it is necessary for us arbitrarily to substitute murderer-arrows for warrior-arrows; arrows and fuel also can scarcely be used as the object of punishment, when they are so frequently seen as the instruments of punishment; comp. in reference to the arrows for example Psalms 7:13, and to fuel, Psalms 140:10; Psalms 18:12; Psalms 18:13.-Ver. 3 and 4 form the highest prophetical point of the Psalm to which the Psalmist had ascended by the two preliminary steps, realization of a former deliverance, and prayer for deliverance from present distress. A popular song cannot long maintain such a height. The Psalmist therefore descends in the second part, and concludes with a simple description of his mournful con-dition in a soft elegaic tone. Ver. 5-7.-Ver. 5. Wo is me, that I tarry under Mesech, dwellby the tents of Kedar. Ver. 6. It is wearisome to my soul to dwell by those who hate peace. Ver. 7. I am peace, but when I speak they begin war.-The literal view of ver, 5 is impossible, as Israel never had any thing to do with Mesech, the Moschi who dwelt in the remotest parts of the world, and as mention is made of two countries most remote from each other in which the Psalmist could not possibly dwell at the same time. Ver. 6 gives the key. According to it Mesech and Kedar are both figurative expressions for such as hate peace. Mesech appears in Ezekiel 38:2 as the chief vassel of Gog, the representative of the heathen barbarian world. Even here the ground of the choiceis that so little is known about him: the more distant, the more fierce. Love of fighting was peculiar to the Arabians, of whom the Kedarenes formed a part. This had been already mentioned in Genesis 16:4 as a characteristic feature of the Ishmaelites.the connection of גור with the accus. comp. at Psalms 5:4.�In re-ference to the רבת in ver. 6, comp. at Psalms 65:9. The soul is named because the suffering deeply affected the Psalmist's heart.-Peace, in ver. 7,-entirely peaceful. When I speak,-I need only to open my mouth, and they seek to find in the most harmless words an occasion for new hostilities. Psalms 121. The Psalm is a simple expression of heartfelt trust in God, the Keeper of his church. We perceive here nothing of the mighty billows and tumults of the inner man who again seeks and finds rest, which Ewald, proceeding on a false construction of ver. 1, would have us perceive; but the Psalmist, or the church in whose name he speaks, from the very first stands above the suffering and looks down upon it from the clear height of trust in God. In ver. 1 and 2 the church speaks itself, (Israel, ver. 4); and in ver. 3-8 is addressed. The remarks made in the introduction to Psalms 91. are applicable to this change. The speaker in ver. 3 ss. is the Psalmist or rather the Spirit, whose organ he is, watch-ing over the church. The advocates of choruses in the Psalms have taken possession of this fact. They want, however, the necessary previous legitimation; and the presumption is not in favour of such external modes of interpretation but against them. The Psalm consists of an Introduction and a Conclusion, each of two; and a kernel of four verses, which are likewise made up of two parts; so that the Psalm throughout is ruled by the number four. The transition from the Introduction to the mainbody is marked by the change of person. The latter is held together by the threefold naming of the keeper of Israel; the Conclusion by the threefold "he shall keep."a The name Jehovah occurs five a In the use of שמר which occurs with marked frequency, there is perhaps an allusion to Samaria, the capital of the then enemies of the people of God, the object being to deprive that name of all its terror. times; three times in the introduction and conclusion, and twice in the main body. With the two of the preceding Psalm, the five, which, as the signature of the half, and of what is unfinished, points to a completion, makes up the seven. This, as is usual, is divided by the three in the introduction and conclusion of our Psalm, and the four. The contents of the Psalm are altogether suitable to such cir-cumstances as are more exactly described in Psalms 120. The con-dition of the people appears as an oppressed one: they look out for help, they are in danger of their foot sliding; they cleave to their keeper, they hope that he will preserve their soul, their very existence is exposed to danger. According to ver. 8 the people appear engaged in an important undertaking, in expecta-tion that the Lord will forward them in it. The title which designates the Psalm as a pilgrim song is con-firmed in ver. 1, according to which the Psalm was intended to be sung in view of the mountains of Jerusalem, which here, in accord- ance with Psalms 120., again appears as the seat of the Lord. It is hence impossible to conceive of the Psalm as having been com-posed during the captivity, as many have done.a The figures also of the Psalm are remarkably suitable for a pilgrim song, the sliding of the foot as an emblem of misfortune, the shadow as an emblem of protection, heat and cold as an emblem of conflict, out-going and incoming as an emblem of undertakings. The idea is a very probable one, that the Psalm was the evening song of the sacred pilgrim band, sung on retiring to rest upon the last evening, when the long wished for termination of their wandering, the mountains of Jerusalem had come into view in the distance. In this case we obtain a suitable connection with the following Psalm, which would be sung one station further on,when the pilgrims were at the gates of Jerusalem. In this case we find an explanation of the fact, that in the middle point of the Psalm there stands the Lord as the keeper of Israel, with refer-ence to the declaration, "I keep thee," which was addressed to the patriarch as he slept on his pilgrimage; and in this case also "he neither slumbereth nor sleepeth," is seen into its true light. a The windows of Daniel who lived during the captivity, were, according to ch. 6:11, opened during prayer toward Jerusalem, in remembrance of its early glory, and in anticipation of its glorious future; he did not however seek help from Jerusalem but from heaven. Ver. 1 and 2.--A song for the pilgrims. Ver. 1. I direct my eyes to the hills. From whence shall come my aid! Ver. 2 My aid cometh from the Lord, the Creator of heaven and earth.-The phrase עינים נשא with אל, cannot be "to lift up the eyes to something high," (Genesis 39:7, Ezekiel 23:27; Ezekiel 18:6, are against this), but only either "to open the eyes" or "to stretch the eyes," according to "where your treasure is there will yourheart be also." The kindred expression נפש נשא or לב withis in favour of the latter view; comp. at Psalms 24:4; Psalms 25:1, also Lamentations 3:41. That the language does not refer to an in-active desire, a mere longing for home, but that the eyes are directed to the hills seeking and expecting help, is evident from the second clause, from ver. 2, and also from the parallel passage, Psalms 123:1, "lift my eyes to thee who dwellest in the heaven," where the omnipotent helper in heaven corresponds to the moun-tains here; comp. also "for my eyes are to thee, O Lord God," Psalms 141:8; Psalms 25:15. The hills are the hills which the speaker has before his eyes. Every doubt on this point is removed by the connection, according to which we can only think of such mountains as could furnish help to the Psalmist. It is Mount Zion that is meant, the hill of the Lord, the seat of his church upon earth; and mountains in the plural are referred to only in so far as this mountain is a particular point of a high mountain range (comp. at Psalms 87:1) which was seen as one whole in the distance. The mountains of Palestine cannot be meant, for these never appear as the seat of the Lord, as the treasure house of help for his people: in Exodus 15:17, the hill is the hill of the sanctuary, the spiritual seat of Israel. Mount Zion, with its sanctuary, every where occurs in the same connection in which the hills are here introduced; comp. for example Psalms 3:4; Psalms 14:7; Psalms 20:2; Psalms 43:3; Psalms 68:16; Psalms 87:1. The parallel passage, also, Psalms 125:2, where the mountains which surround and protect Jerusalem appear as an emblem of God's protection of his people, is decidedly in favour of the mountains of Jerusalem. Luther and others translate the second clause "from which help comes to me." But מאין, is always used interrogatively, "from which?" it is so, even in Joshua 2:4, where the question is only an in-direct and dependant one. The question here, however, is not to be considered as expressive of doubt or uncertainty. Thefirst clause is against this. According to it the Psalmist is per-fectly decided as to where help is to be sought and found. The question is intended, like that in Psalms 120:3; Psalms 24:3, to give occa-sion to the joyful answer announced in ver. 2. As this answer stands in the back ground, the second clause is in reality paral-lel to the first. The verse before us has been misunderstood in various ways. According to many expositors, the Psalmist, as Calvin expresses it, first personates an unbeliever, and represents the weakness natural to the whole human family, and then rises, in ver. 2, to faith: I look round about me on the hills, and seek anxiously for help in every direction, &c. The mountains in this case, according to several, denote every thing in the world which is high and glorious; according to others, specially the potentates and kingdoms of the earth; according to Ewald, regard is to be had to the mountains in the distance, "if from afar in any direction help will come."a This sense, however, is not ex-pressed with sufficient clearness; and the hills themselves are the object of trust and hope. And the analogy of the other pairs of verses is decidedly against this view; the contents of the first verse are everywhere strengthened in the second. Next, ver. 2 would come in too much unconnected; the contrast which all these expositors introduce without any remark could not fail to have been distinctly marked;-"but my help;" others intro-duce before the second clause of the first verse: "yet whence cometh;" finally, the strikingly harmonious parallel passages are decisive in favour of our translation, especially Psalms 123:1; Psalms 125:1; Psalms 125:2.-The name applied to the Lord, the Creator of heaven and earth, in ver. 2 (comp. at Psalms 115:15), points to the inexhaustible abundance of means of help, which he possesses; despair would be madness in any one who has such a God to help him. Ver. 3-6.-Ver. 3. May he not suffer thy foot to slide; maythy Keeper not sleep. Ver. 4. Behold the Keeper of Israel sleeps not and slumbers not. Ver. 5. The Lord is thy Keeper, the Lord is thy shade at thy right hand. Ver. 6. By day the sun shall not hurt thee, nor the moon by night.-The אל, ver. 3, is always the subjective negative, "according to the a Thus Amyr.: "They cast their eyes in every direction upon the neighbouring hills, and look around on every side, to see if any where there appear friendly and auxiliarytroops."feeling and thought of the speaker," Ewald § 310 a. Our verse expresses hope and desire; the following verse furnishes the higher confirmation. The sliding of the foot is a frequent description of misfortune, for example, Psalms 38:16; Psalms 66:9, and a very natural one in mountainous Canaan, where a single slip of the foot was often attended with great danger. The language here naturally refers to complete lasting misfortune. The second clause depends on Genesis 28:15, "Behold I am with thee and keep thee in all thy ways." The application of what was said in the first instance to the patriarch, to his posterity, is all the more natural, as the vision was imparted to the former, as the representative of his whole race. The expression, "I keep thee," is the text on which our whole Psalm is the commentary. The expression, "sleeps not," shows how gross are the imaginations of human unbelief which are here met.-The difference between ver. 3 and ver. 4 does not, as Calvin and others suppose, consist in this, that what is promised in ver. 3, to the individual, is ap-plied here on the subject of the providence of God to the whole people. It is with the whole community that the Psalmist has every where to do. The difference consists simply in the relation of the objective to the subjective negative. In accordance with the former, we find standing here, the word "behold," which, points to some patent, undoubted fact. Luther translates "sleeps not nor slumbers;" the translation commonly given at present is, "slumbers not nor sleeps," Thus Calvin, "If God does not even once slumber, there is the less cause for fearing at any time an ordinary sleep." But the idea that נום signifies to slumber is founded altogether on the false supposition that a climax is to be found in the passage before us, and in the parallel passage, which agrees word for word, Isaiah 5:27, where the same thing is said of Israel's enemies,--a passage which the Psalmist to all appearance had distinctly before his eye, setting the wakeful Keeper in hea-ven over against the wakeful enemies upon earth. In every other passage, it is used of a deep sleep, Nahum 3:18, Isaiah 56:10, Psalms 76:5; and it has this sense also in Arabic. And, on the other hand, ישן signifies to fall asleep; this indeed is its origi-nal and prevailing sense, comp. at Psalms 4:8. Hence we must translate: he does not sleep (generally) and he does not fall asleep.-The shade, ver. 5, is a figurate expression for protec-tion and shelter, more appropriate in the hot east than with us, and especially suitable in the mouth of pilgrims who had hourly experienced the severity of the heat of the sun, and the pleasant refreshment of the shade. Allusion is made, as is apparent, to Numbers 14:9, where it is said of the enemies of Israel: "their shade is departed from them, and the Lord is with us, fear not." The observations made at Psalms 109:6, render it evident that we must translate “at” not "over thy right hand." The right hand is named here also, "because, as it is the organ of action; to stand at the right hand is the most convenient position for one who is determined perseveringly to hinder or to assist." The enemies of Israel stood at his right hand, marring all his efforts; and his God stands at his right hand promoting these efforts. As the shade is a figurative expression for protection, there is no reason for tearing the words from each other, and translating: "he is at thy right hand." According to the common view הכה is supposed to be suitable only to the sun, and to be applied merely by a zeugma to the moon. But the word does not signify to pierce or to burn, but to strike, and applies to the sun only in so far as striking is a figurative expression for injuring; and this is equally applicable to the moon. In Genesis 31:40, to de-vour, is in like manner applied figuratively to heat and cold. But how can injury be applied to the moon? There is no use for spending words upon those who suppose that "this expressionwas caused by the association of ideas from a regard to the par-allelism." The sacred Psalmist gives us no reason to believe that he was not in possession of sound human understanding. Those persons also are as little to be attended to who suppose that the Psalmist hints at "an essential evil influence of the moon." Physical secret doctrines are here not in their place, and are no-where to be found in the Psalms. The key is to be found in Genesis 31:40, where Jacob complains: "the heat consumed me by the day, and the cold by night," comp. Jeremiah 36:30, where it is said of Jehoiakim, "his carcase shall be cast out during the heat by day and the cold by night." Heat and cold serve the Psalmist as figurative expressions for the conflicts to which the people are exposed, because suffering assumed this form in the case of the patriarch, and the pilgrims must have felt themselves, from their situation, peculiarly exposed to it. It cannot appearremarkable that the cold of the night which is so perceptible in the East, is attributed to the moon. The moon, accord-ing to Genesis 1:16, "the great light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night," is the ruler of the night; and every thing belongs to it which happens during its reign, without regard to whether that thing proceeds properly from it, and with-out our laying any stress upon Lampe's remark, "the cold is more intense when the moon shines, than it is during nocturnal rains." Ver. 7, 8.-Ver. 7. The Lord shall keep thee from all evil: he shall keep thy soul. Ver. 8. The Lord shall keep thy outgoing and incoming from henceforth even for ever. The threefold re-petition of the expression, "he shall keep thee," is, according to the correct observation of Calvin, a testimony to the greatness of human unbelief, which needs continually repeated assurances.a Luther has erroneously understood the two verses as expressive of desire instead of assurance. The outgoing and the incoming in ver. 8 denote the commencement of the undertakings, and their completion after the people had returned home. Compare the fundamental passage, Deuteronomy 28:6. In the expression "from henceforth even for ever," the old expositors, taking for granted that the Psalm applies to individuals (a view which even the expression before us is sufficient to disprove), have found a proof of personal immortality instead of the immortality of the church. The consideration that the outgoing and the incoming are appli-cable only to the circumstances of this life might have guarded them against this idea. The passage before us, however, does lead indirectly to this result: God's eternal protection of his church is a pledge that he will graciously take care of its indivi-dual members for ever. A firm faith in personal immortality, or, more correctly, in the eternal salvation of the individuals who have been elected, must grow out of the soil thus well prepared. a He adds: this passage reminds us, if a brief sentence be not sufficient, that whatever occurs in Scripture in different passages on the subject of Providence, ought to be col-lected together. Psalms 122. An introduction of two verses stands instead of a Title, an-nouncing the object of the Psalm. The preceding Psalm was intended to be sung in sight of Jerusalem, and this one at the gates of the city, where the pilgrim train had halted for the purpose of arranging the solemn procession to the sanctuary. The main body of the Psalm is complete in seven verses, and these are divided into portions of three and four. Ver. 3-5 re-presents the glory of Jerusalem, the beautifully built, ecclesiasti-cal, and civil capital of the nation; and ver. 6-9 expresses wishes and prayers for its salvation, intimating that the salvation of Israel, and the maintenance of the beloved house of God, are in-timately connected. The title attributes the Psalm to David as its author; and internal evidence confirms this. The design of the Psalm can only be explained in connection with the times of David. Its design is to conciliate the affections of the people for the new capital; to procure for it that place in their feelings which it occupied externally. Ver. 3 takes for granted that Jerusalem had recently, for the first time, become a beautifully built city; and this was the case in David's time. At all events, the de-scription of Jerusalem, as a city beautifully built, well compacted, adorned with palaces, and fortified, here and ver. 7, points to a time before the captivity. The matter, moreover, is put be-yond a doubt, by the mention of the thrones of the house of David in ver. 5, which presupposes the existence of the kingdom of David, and which it will not do to refer to poor Zerubabel, who never was a king. The use also of the name Israel for the whole people, ver. 4, shews that, at that time, the nation was an undi-vided whole, and the mention of the pilgrimage of all the tribes to Jerusalem, points most decidedly to a time before the division of the kingdom; as after that event Jerusalem ceased to be re-garded by the ten tribes as their religious capital, and the pil- grimages consequently came to an end. It has, indeed, been attempted to evade the conclusions drawn from ver. 3-5, by theidea that the in these verses, merely describes whathad existed in former ages: "the procession of travellers to,the feasts brings vividly before the mind of the Psalmist the days under the ancient kings, when the tribes of Jehovah went up, as they now do again, to Jerusalem." But ver. 7 alone is sufficient to set aside this expedient; according to it, Jerusalem was at that time a splendid strong city, and, accordingly, it will not do to refer ver. 3 to the past. Then this idea violently tears away ver. 3-5 from its connection with the introduction, and with ver. 6-9. A glory which was altogether gone was very ill adapted to call forth lively joy on entering the city. And the exhor-tation to pray for Jerusalem, in ver. 6 ss., is deprived of the basis on which it rests, viz., the description of the glory and national importance of Jerusalem. The reasons which have been adduced against the Davidic origin of the Psalm are of no force. The assertion that ver. 2 is not applicable to David, but only to the pilgrims who approached the city from without, is set aside by the remark, that David here, as he frequently did (for example Psalms 20:20; Psalms 20:21.), sung from the soul of the people. The mention of the house of the Lord, in ver. 1 and 9, does not lead to the time after the building of Solomon's temple, for it is undeniable, that even the early sanc-tuary was known by this name; comp. Psalms 5:7; Psalms 27:27; Psalms 27:4; Psalms 55:14, and at Psalms 30:1. The assertion that pilgrimages to Jerusalem did not come into general use till some time after the reign of David, when uniformity of public worship had been completely established, depends upon the idea which is not at all borne out by history, that the directions contained in the Pentateuch, as to there being only one sanctuary, were not observed till a later age. It has been proved in the treatises on the Pentateuch, and the time of the judges, in vol. 3. of the Beitr., that, during the whole period of the judges, the people had only one sanctuary, and that to it were brought the sacrifices of the whole nation, and that the great festivals, especially the Passover, were cele-brated in accordance with the directions of the law, Exodus 23:15-17; Exodus 34:23; Deuteronomy 16:16. That the sanctuary in Jeru-salem, under David, did in reality come exactly into the place of the earlier one at Shiloh, is clear from the fact, that the ark of the covenant was there "the heart of the Israelitish religion;" and, indeed, the ark of the covenant rising, as it were, from its grave (comp. Beitr. p. 48 ss.), as intimated by the circumstance,that, as soon as it was consecrated, sacrifices were offered before it, 2 Samuel 6:5; 2 Samuel 6:13. The matter finally is put beyond a doubt by the Psalms of David's age, for they speak only of one sanctu-ary, the sanctuary at Jerusalem; comp. at Psalms 15:1. The old tabernacle, indeed, at Gibeon, still continued to exist, but only as a ruin. David did not act like the breakers of images; he respected externally the attachments of the people, but with happy effect he did every thing he could to turn the regard of the people more and more towards Jerusalem:a and the Psalm before us, along with others, served this object-its design being to awaken love, devout love, for Jerusalem and its sanctuary." There are, besides, distinct traces of solemn processions to the sanctuary in the time of David, Psalms 42:4; Psalms 55:14.-The mention of the house of David cannot seem strange. David had founded a new house, instead of the house of Saul, 2 Samuel 3:1. Even before the promise which he received through Nathan, he hoped and wished that he would continue to reign in his posterity (comp. at Psalms 21:4; Psalms 138:3), and after that promise he always looked upon himself as the founder of a family which was to last for ever, for example, Psalms 18:20.-Finally, the assertion that the language is that of a later age, has no further foundation to rest on than the ש occurring twice instead of אשר. This form, however, occurs in a much older song, that of Deborah; and, in the present instance, it need occasion very little difficulty, occur-ring, as it does, in a popular song, which consists of the lan-guage of ordinary life, and may be expected to contain forms which would afterwards appear in written language. As far as concerns the time of composition, the Psalm takes for granted that Jerusalem had already become the ecclesiastical and civil capital. It cannot therefore have been composed before 2 Sam. vi.; but it must have been composed shortly after that period, as its design is to render popular the new institution, to endear to the affections of the people the city "which was the bond of sacred union." a Calvin: "He knew that the safety of the church depended upon their worshipping God in purity, according to the requirements of the law, and also upon their acknow-ledging that seat of royalty which the same God had himself erected." b Ven.: "The scope is to prepare and excite the people to receive Jerusalem as the seat of royalty and religion, to seek to promote its peace and prosperity by all means, and cheerfully to celebrate divine worship there." Ver. 1 and 2.-A Song of the Pilgrims by David. Ver. 1. I re-joice over those who say to me, "we will go to the house of the Lord." Ver. 2. Our feet tarry in thy gates, O Jerusalem. The שמה with ב, ver. 1, constantly occurs in the sense of to rejoice over. The speakers are the object of joy, because of what they say. Every one says to another, "we will go to the house of the Lord," and each one rejoices over the other saying so. Isaiah 2:3, illustrates the clause: "and many nations go and say, come let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob." This passage to all appearance alludes to the one before us; what formerly the pilgrim Israelites said (this is the meaning of the allusion) the heathen nations shall in a future age say to each other. The idea that the Psalmist does not include himself among the pilgrims, but that he gives expression to his joy for the purpose of strengthening the resolution of others, is inconsistent with the expression "to me," and is contrary to the general character of the pilgrim-songs, which contain no-thing of a purely personal nature. That the expression "we will," is not to be considered as uttered at the beginning of the whole pilgrimage, but after the pilgrims had arrived at the gates of Jerusalem; that the going to the house of God here spoken of begins for the first time there, is evident from ver. 2, to which the remark is applicable, "the Psalmist is already in spirit in Jerusalem;" this is still farther evident, as ver. 3 shows that the city was really before the Psalmist's eyes. Solemn processions through the city to the temple occur even in Psalms 55:14; Psalms 42:4; and the expression, "with joy and thanks," in the latter pas-sage shows that during these processions songs were sung in praise of the Lord.a-Ver. 2 cannot be read according to some a Luther: It appears as if David said nothing great when he says: "We will go into the house of the Lord." For when we think only of stones, wood, and gold, we do not properly think of the temple. But the house of the Lord rather means this, that man isin the place in which God, being present, can hear, see, and feel, while there his word and his true worship are to be found. Solomon's temple was not beautiful, because it was adorned with gold and silver; but its true beauty consisted in this, that God's word was heard there, that God was called upon there, that there God was found to be gracious, a Saviour who gave peace and forgave sin. This is what is meant by beholding the tem-ple, not as an ox or an idiot looks at it, not as the masquerading bishops look at the temple." These words drawn deeply from the Scriptures may well be pondered by ex-positors as well as others who cannot comprehend how such expressions as the house or the ample of the Lord could be used before Solomon's temple was built. The Scriptures deal with such matters more intellectually and more spiritually.with marks of quotation. It completes the description of the situation; the pilgrims were already within Jerusalem, and were just going to the house of the Lord. The participle with היה denotes the continuance of the past stretching into the present, Ew. § 168, c., and intimates that a long stay was to be made at the gates where the people, arriving one after the other, assembled, and the procession was arranged. It was only the simple participle that could be used in expressing the present. Only there, in the immediate view of Jerusalem, was the proper place for singing the Psalm. Ver. 3. Jerusalem, thou builded, as a city which is bound to-gether. Ver. 4. There the tribes go up, the tribes of the Lord-the ordinance of the Lord-to praise the name of the Lord. Ver. 5. For the judgment seats, the thrones are established there, the thrones of the house of David.-The whole of ver. 3 is to be considered as an expression of wonder; for the article הבנויה renders it manifest that we cannot with Luther translate, "Jerusalem is built." It is clear as day that we cannot translate with Gesenius and others, "thou who hast been rebuilt." For to build is only used of restoration in those cases where a destruc-tion had been formerly mentioned; and of this there is no trace in the passage before us, and Jerusalem is, according to ver. 7, a fortified city of palaces. We may either take the building in the ordinary sense-in this case the expression must be immediately connected with what follows-or in an emphatic sense, for "thou well-built," (a bad city is as good as not built); thus Nebuchad-nezzar, in Daniel 4:27, says of Babylon, a city which had stood for a hundred years: is not this the great city Babylon which I have built; it is also said of David, 2 Samuel 5:11, "I have built Jeru-salem." The circumstance is decisive in favour of the latter view, that by it we obtain two parallel clauses, in harmony with all the other verses. That the expression "like a city which is bound together (the כ denotes Jerusalem as corresponding to the idea of such a city) is not to be referred to the union effected by David between the two divisions of the city which had hitherto existed apart, the fortress and the lower city, but to the magni-ficent architecture, is evident from the expression "in thy palaces." The first fact besides is altogether doubtful; the passage, 2 Sam. 5:9, "And David built the city round about from Millo (a partof. Zion) inwards," next to the city properly so called (comp. Thenius on the passage) does not refer to the union, but to the planting of the city with splendid houses. Some expositors have, without the least reason, considered the verse before us as expres-sive of the astonishment of the rustics and villagers when they came from the country to the capital for the first time, and com-pared it with its magnificent closely connected rows, of houses, to the irregularly built country villages, interspered with gardens and other spaces. This would be very childish. The object of astonishment is rather that the place which in former days, and up to a very recent period, had been so unsightly, should in such a short time have become a stately city. David leads on the pil-grims and all Israel to see in this a proof of the favour of God resting upon Jerusalem, and a seal of its election. A conclusion altogether similar to the one before us occurs in 2 Samuel 5:12, where, after the narrative of the building of the royal fortress by David, we read, "and David knew (Thenius: he was convinced of it by the prosperous completion of the royal-fabric) that the Lord had established him as king over Israel, and that he had exalted his kingdom, because of his people Israel," comp. also 2 Samuel 5:10, with ver. 9. Exactly in the same way as is done with the first basis here, the preservation of the magnificently-built Jerusalem is con-sidered in Psalms 48:12-14, as a proof of the favour of God resting upon that city.-From the external splendour of Jerusalem the Psalmist proceeds in ver. 4 to its internal glory: he praises its rank as that of the religious metropolis of the nation, the centre of the congregation of God. The additional expression, "the tribes of the Lord," serves to exalt the dignity of the place of meeting. Luther: "he does not say simply the tribes, but he adds to this, viz., the tribes of the Lord, whom the Lord himself has chosen, that they might be his people before all other nations on the earth whose God he will be." The short interjected clause, "a testimony for Israel," instead of "agreeably to the precept given to Israel," serves the same object. The עדות, is frequently used of the whole revelation as given to Moses, comp. at Psalms 19:7; Psalms 78:5, in the passage before us in the same way, as in Psalms 81:5; the precept is meant which required all the males to appear three times a-year in the place of the sanctuary, Ex. 10:13-17, 34:3, Deuteronomy 16:16. For the dignity of the placewas great in proportion to the sacredness of the custom. In re-ference to the name of the Lord (Lampe: "the excellency of his attributes which he has revealed") compare at Psalms 54:6.-Much ingenuity has been expended upon the " for" in ver. 6. It inti-mates that Jerusalem owed its elevation to be the religious me-tropolis of the nation to its antecedent rank as the civil capital. At bottom there lies the view that both were inseparably con-nected; and indeed, in consequence of the intimate union between church and state, the separation would have brought great evils in its train. The law had been already laid down in Deuteronomy 17:8; Deuteronomy 17:9, that the supreme tribunal should be in the place of the sanc-tuary. Jerusalem was first raised to be the civil metropolis, it was the city of David, 2 Samuel 5:9; 2 Samuel 6:16; afterwards, and as the consequence of this, after David had learned from his divine vic-tories that it was agreeable to the will of God, it became the city of God, 2 Samuel 6. As the שמה always means "from that place" (comp. Psalms 76:3), it is a concise form of speech, to be understood as: they have established themselves from that place, and they sit there. The sitting will not suit the thrones. The idea adopted by several is inadmissible, that it is used instead of "standing," and the idea is equally inadmissible that the words should be translated "they sit upon thrones," for the impersonal nomin. will not suit, and the ישב is never construed with the ac-cusative; הכרבים ישב is the sitter of the cherubim. The sim-plest idea is that the thrones for judgment, like our bench of judges, stands for the judicial power. Sitting is usually applied to this. As thrones in the plural are mentioned., we cannot think merely of the royal throne. All thrones, however, belonged to the house of David; for it was under the auspices of that house that all judicial sentences were pronounced. The twelve thrones onwhich, according to Mat_28, the twelve apostles sit judg-ing the twelve tribes of Israel, correspond. Compare also Isaiah 32:1. On the basis of the description of the glory and dignity of Je-rusalem, there rises the mutual exhortation of the pilgrims to pray for it, and the prayer itself. Ver. 6. Pray for the peace of Je-rusalem, may those be at peace who love her. Ver. 7. Peace be in thy bulwarks, quiet in thy palaces. Ver. 8. For my brethren and friends' sakes, I will say: peace be in thee. Ver. 9. Forthe sake of the house of the Lord our God I will seek thy good. In ver. 6 several expositors translate, "enquire after the peace of Jerusalem." This is contrary to the usage of the language (in this case לשלום, would have been the word, Genesis 43:27, and especially Jeremiah 15:5), contrary to what immediately follows, which does not contain any information but intercessory prayer, con-trary to the corresponding expression, "I will seek thy good" in ver. 9, and finally with scarcely a tolerable sense. Allusion is made to the meaning of the name of Jerusalem, which is com-pounded of ירוש, and שלם, a peaceful possession, compare Psalms 76:2, where a similar allusion takes place. Besides, every effort is made in this and the following verse to produce allitera-tions on this name, a name so dear to David, and which he is anxious to render clear to the people, inasmuch as he connects with it the brightest possible ideas.a In the second clause and in ver. 7 there follow the wish and the prayer which had called for in the first clause. That in the expression: may they be at rest who love thee, we are to suppose added "by means of the quiet which is afforded to thee," is evident from the relation to the first clause and from ver. 7, and also from ver. 8, where the peace of Jerusalem appears as the condition of the peace of all Is-rael. Those who love Jerusalem are all true Israelites, for the mark of a true Israelite is love to the place of the sanctuary, the metropolis of the church.-The bulwarks and the palaces stand opposed to each as descriptive of the external circumference and the interior condition, exactly as in ver. 7, and in Psalms 48:13. -In ver. 8 and 9, intercession for Jerusalem is traced up to its source: it flows from love of the brethren and of God. For the well-being of the whole nation depends upon her well-being; and in her is the house of God. The brethren and the friends of the pilgrims are not the inhabitants of Jerusalem alone, but all the members of the people of the covenant. For Jerusalem belonged to them all; it was the beating heart in the body of the congre-gation.b Her peace was, at the same time, the peace of the whole a Ven.: The perpetual alliteration of the words with each other, and of all of them with the name of Jerusalem, produces an elegant effect." b Calvin: "Lest any one should shrewdly object that David is in this way only esta-blishing his own kingdom, he solemnly declares that he is not influenced by any private regard for himself, but that he embraces in his bosom the whole church." people; comp. Jen 29:7, "And seek the peace of the city to which I have led you away captive, and pray for it to the Lord, for by its peace shall be your peace," when, by a kind of parody, in altered circumstances, what is here said of Zion is applied to Babylon. The common translation is, "I will wish peace to you." But that we must rather translate, “ I will say, Peace be in thee,” (comp. Luke 10:5), appears from the doubled ב in ver. 7, accord-ing to which the ב is here also a ב of place. Even " to speak peace" never occurs in the sense of "to pray," or “ to wish for peace;” and the בך according to this view, can only mean "from thee," which will not suit.-In ver. 9, the conclusion turns back to the point with which the Psalm opened, the house of God.a The seeking of good to Jerusalem (comp. Deuteronomy 23:6), the striving and endeavouring to promote it (comp. at Psalms 27:4) is seen in the first instance, and chiefly in the intercession for it thereby occasioned. For our own strength can do nothing here; and the preceding verses had spoken of nothing but prayer. a Calvin: "There is added a second reason, because, unless Jerusalem continue to stand, the worship of God will not remain entire, but will be destroyed. Therefore, if the safety of our brethren be precious to us, if religion lie near our hearts, the safety of the church, as far as it is within our power, must be attended to." Ver. 3. Jerusalem, thou builded, as a city which is bound together. Ver. 4. There the tribes go up, the tribes of the Lord— the ordinance of the Lord—to praise the name of the Lord. Ver. 5. For the judgment seats, the thrones are established there, the thrones of the house of David. The whole of Psa 122:3 is to be considered as an expression of wonder; for the article δαπειδ renders it manifest that we cannot with Luther translate, “Jerusalem is built.” It is clear as day that we cannot translate with Gesenius and others, “thou who hast been rebuilt.” For to build is only used of restoration in those cases where a destruction had been formerly mentioned; and of this there is no trace in the passage before us, and Jerusalem is, according to Psalms 122:7, a fortified city of palaces. We may either take the building in the ordinary sense—in this case the expression must be immediately connected with what follows—or in an emphatic sense, for “thou well-built,” (a bad city is as good as not built); thus Nebuchadnezzar, in Daniel 4:27, says of Babylon, a city which had stood for a hundred years: is not this the great city Babylon which I have built; it is also said of David, 2 Samuel 5:11, “I have built Jerusalem.” The circumstance is decisive in favour of the latter view, that by it we obtain two parallel clauses, in harmony with all the other verses. That the expression “like a city which is bound together (the λ denotes Jerusalem as corresponding to the idea of such a city) is not to be referred to the union effected by David between the two divisions of the city which had hitherto existed apart, the fortress and the lower city, but to the magnificent architecture, is evident from the expression “in thy palaces.” The first fact besides is altogether doubtful; the passage, 2 Samuel 5:9, “And David built the city round about from Millo (a part of Zion) inwards,” next to the city properly so called (comp. Thenius on the passage) does not refer to the union, but to the planting of the city with splendid houses. Some expositors have, without the least reason, considered the verse before us as expressive of the astonishment of the rustics and villagers when they came from the country to the capital for the first time, and compared it with its magnificent closely connected rows, of houses, to the irregularly built country villages, interspered with gardens and other spaces. This would be very childish. The object of astonishment is rather that the place which in former days, and up to a very recent period, had been so unsightly, should in such a short time have become a stately city. David leads on the pilgrims and all Israel to see in this a proof of the favour of God resting upon Jerusalem, and a seal of its election. A conclusion altogether similar to the one before us occurs in 2 Samuel 5:12, where, after the narrative of the building of the royal fortress by David, we read, “and David knew (Thenius: he was convinced of it by the prosperous completion of the royal-fabric) that the Lord had established him as king over Israel, and that he had exalted his kingdom, because of his people Israel,” comp. also 2 Samuel 5:10, with Psalms 122:9. Exactly in the same way as is done with the first basis here, the preservation of the magnificently-built Jerusalem is considered in Psalms 48:12-14, as a proof of the favour of God resting upon that city. From the external splendour of Jerusalem the Psalmist proceeds in Psalms 122:4 to its internal glory: he praises its rank as that of the religious metropolis of the nation, the centre of the congregation of God. The additional expression, “the tribes of the Lord,” serves to exalt the dignity of the place of meeting. Luther: “he does not say simply the tribes, but he adds to this, viz., the tribes of the Lord, whom the Lord himself has chosen, that they might be his people before all other nations on the earth whose God he will be.” The short interjected clause, “a testimony for Israel,” instead of “agreeably to the precept given to Israel,” serves the same object. The ςγεϊ is frequently used of the whole revelation as given to Moses, comp. at Psalms 19:7, Psalms 78:5, in the passage before us in the same way, as in Psalms 81:5; the precept is meant which required all the males to appear three times a-year in the place of the sanctuary, Exodus 23:17, Exodus 34:3, Deuteronomy 16:16. For the dignity of the place great in proportion to the sacredness of the custom. In reference to the name of the Lord (Lampe: “the excellency of his attributes which he has revealed”) compare at Psalms 54:6. Much ingenuity has been expended upon the “for” in Psalms 122:6. It intimates that Jerusalem owed its elevation to be the religious metropolis of the nation to its antecedent rank as the civil capital. At bottom there lies the view that both were inseparably connected; and indeed, in consequence of the intimate union between church and state, the separation would have brought great evils in its train. The law had been already laid down in Deuteronomy 17:8-9, that the supreme tribunal should be in the place of the sanctuary. Jerusalem was first raised to be the civil metropolis, it was the city of David, 2 Samuel 5:9, 2 Samuel 6:16; afterwards, and as the consequence of this, after David had learned from his divine victories that it was agreeable to the will of God, it became the city of God, 2 Samuel 6. As the ωξδ always means “from that place” (comp. Psalms 76:3), it is a concise form of speech, to be understood as: they have established themselves from that place, and they sit there. The sitting will not suit the thrones. The idea adopted by several is inadmissible, that it is used instead of “standing,” and the idea is equally inadmissible that the words should be translated “they sit upon thrones,” for the impersonal nomin. will not suit, and the ιωα is never construed with the accusative; ιωαδλψαιν is the sitter of the cherubim. The simplest idea is that the thrones for judgment, like our bench of judges, stands for the judicial power. Sitting is usually applied to this. As thrones in the plural are mentioned, we cannot think merely of the royal throne. All thrones, however, belonged to the house of David; for it was under the auspices of that house that all judicial sentences were pronounced. The twelve thrones on which, according to Matthew 19:28, the twelve apostles sit judging the twelve tribes of Israel, correspond. Compare also Isaiah 32:1. On the basis of the description of the glory and dignity of Jerusalem, there rises the mutual exhortation of the pilgrims to pray for it, and the prayer itself. Ver. 6. Pray for the peace of Jerusalem, may those be at peace who love her. Ver. 7. Peace be in thy bulwarks, quiet in thy palaces. Ver. 8. For my brethren and friends’ sakes, I will say: peace be in thee. Ver. 9. For the sake of the house of the Lord our God I will seek thy good. In Psalms 122:6 several expositors translate, “enquire after the peace of Jerusalem.” This is contrary to the usage of the language (in this case μωμεν would have been the word, Genesis 43:27, and especially Jeremiah 15:5), contrary to what immediately follows, which does not contain any information but intercessory prayer, contrary to the corresponding expression, “I will seek thy good” in Psalms 122:9, and finally the sense is scarcely a tolerable one. Allusion is made to the meaning of the name of Jerusalem, which is compounded of ιψεω and ωμν, a peaceful possession, compare Psalms 76:2, where a similar allusion takes place. Besides, every effort is made in this and the following verse to produce alliterations on this name, a name so dear to David, and which he is anxious to render clear to the people, inasmuch as he connects with it the brightest possible ideas. [Note: Ven.: “The perpetual alliteration of the words with each other, and of all of them with the name of Jerusalem, produces an elegant effect.”] In the second clause and in Psalms 122:7 there follow the wish and the prayer which had called for in the first clause. That in the expression: may they be at rest who love thee, we are to suppose added “by means of the quiet which is afforded to thee,” is evident from the relation to the first clause and from Psalms 122:7, and also from Psalms 122:8, where the peace of Jerusalem appears as the condition of the peace of all Israel. Those who love Jerusalem are all true Israelites, for the mark of a true Israelite is love to the place of the sanctuary, the metropolis of the church. The bulwarks and the palaces stand opposed to each as descriptive of the external circumference and the interior condition, exactly as in Psalms 122:7, and in Psalms 48:13. In Psalms 122:8-9, intercession for Jerusalem is traced up to its source: it flows from love of the brethren and of God. For the well-being of the whole nation depends upon her well-being; and in her is the house of God. The brethren and the friends of the pilgrims are not the inhabitants of Jerusalem alone, but all the members of the people of the covenant. For Jerusalem belonged to them all; it was the beating heart in the body of the congregation. [Note: Calvin: “Lest any one should shrewdly object that David is in this way only establishing his own kingdom, he solemnly declares that he is not influenced by any private regard for himself, but that he embraces in his bosom the whole church.”] Her peace was, at the same time, the peace of the whole people; comp. Jeremiah 29:7, “And seek the peace of the city to which I have led you away captive, and pray for it to the Lord, for by its peace shall be your peace,” when, by a kind of parody, in altered circumstances, what is here said of Zion is applied to Babylon. The common translation is, “I will wish peace to you.” But that we must rather translate, “I will say, Peace be in thee,” (comp. Luke 10:5), appears from the doubled α in Psalms 122:7, according to which the α is here also a α of place. Even “ to speak peace” never occurs in the sense of “to pray,” or “to wish for peace;” and the ακ according to this view, can only mean “from thee,” which will not suit. In Psalms 122:9, the conclusion turns back to the point with which the Psalm opened, the house of God. [Note: Calvin: “There is added a second reason, because, unless Jerusalem continue to stand, the worship of God will not remain entire, but will be destroyed. Therefore, if the safety of our brethren be precious to us, if religion lie near our hearts, the safety of the church, as far as it is within our power, must be attended to.”] The seeking of good to Jerusalem (comp. Deuteronomy 23:6), the striving and endeavouring to promote it (comp. at Psalms 27:4) is seen in the first instance, and chiefly in the intercession for it thereby occasioned. For our own strength can do nothing here; and the preceding verses had spoken of nothing but prayer. Psalms 123. The Psalm falls into two strophes, each of two verses, expres-sions of desire after God and his aid, ver. 1 and 2, prayer for this after the description of the distress forming the basis on which the prayer rests, ver. 3 and 4. A characteristic feature of the Pilgrim Songs is, that petition throughout occupies a very small space (here the mere "have mercy on us"), and that meditation everywhere prevails. Prayer-songs, properly so called, would have been too far removed from the character of popular songs. Prayer-songs are only suitable to the sanctuary. The Psalm is entirely suitable to the circumstances more fully narrated in Psalms 120.b We are led to these circumstances by the con-sideration that the Psalm was not composed in a state of danger, but in a condition of misery and wretchedness, which, by its con- b The title in the Syriac translation is: It is spoken in the person of Zerubbabel, prince of the captives; and is a supplicatory address. tract with the pretensions of being the people of God, gave occasion to the contempt and mockery of the enemies. The whole surround-ing heathen nations are to be considered as the authors of this contempt, but especially the Samaritans favoured by the Persian government, of whom it is said in 2:19, as in ver. 4, "they laughed us to scorn and despised us" (comp. also ch. 1:3), so that the assertion of De Wette, that the Psalm does not suit the hos-tility of the Samaritans, as the Jews suffered from them hindrance and annoyance, but not contempt, is altogether without founda-tion.-The striking agreement of the beginning with Psalms 121:1 points to the identity of the author. The Psalm begins in the singular (I direct), but the plural, which immediately follows, shows that it is not an individual that speaks, but, in accordance with the common style of the Pilgrim Songs, the congregation of the Lord. Calvin, in appropriate language, shows the application of the Psalm to the church of all ages: "The Holy Ghost, by a clear voice, incites us to come to God as often as not one and another member only, but the whole church, is unjustly and haughtily op-pressed by the passions of her enemies. Ver. 1-2.-A Song of the Pilgrims.--Ver. l. To thee I direct my eyes, O Thou who sittest in heaven. Ver. 2. Behold as the eyes of servants look to the hands of their lords, as the eyes of the handmaid look to the hand of her mistress, thus our eyes look to the Lord our God, till he be gracious to us.-Thou who dwellest in heaven, ver. 1,-far exalted above the earth and all its potentates, omnipotent, infinitely rich in aid for thy people; comp. Psalms 115:3, "Our God is in heaven, he does whatever he will," and the parallel passages quoted there. On the parag Jod, at Psalms 103:3.a-That the אדנום in ver. 2, does not denote, as it sometimes does in other passages, individual lords (the plural is instead of a Luther: This is a strong sigh of a pained heart, which looks round on all sides, and seeks friends, protectors, and comforters, 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 of adversaries who assault me; therefore, I come to thee, O my God, to thee I lift up my eyes, O thou that dwellest in heaven.-He places over against each other the Inhabitant of Leaven and the inhabi-tants of 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."abstract dominion), is clear from the mention of the servants as distinct from the handmaid; it occurs in the sense of masters also in Jerem. 27:4. The hand of the masters and of the mistress can only mean the punishing hand; and the eyes are directed to it in the attitude of entreaty and supplication that the punish-ment may soon come to an end, and pity be shown to the miser-able. This is evident, 1, from the passage from which this figu-rative expression originated. This is, Gen. ch. 16., comp. ver. 6: "And Abraham said to Sarai, Behold thine handmaid is in thine hand, do to her what seemeth good to thee, and Sarai evil-entreated her, and she fled from her. . . . Ver 8 . . . . I flee from Sarai my mistress. Ver. 9. And the angel of the Lord said to her, Return to thy mistress, and humble thyself un-der her hands." 2. From the expression her mistress. If the language referred to friendly gifts and grants, the term used would not denote a severe mistress. From the expression, "till he be gracious to us." This clause leads us to regard the masters and the mistress as not gracious. Now the hand of ungracious domi-nion can only be a punishing hand. From such a hand it is not gifts, but only an amelioration of punishment, that may be ex-pected. These reasons are decisive against the idea of several expositors that the hand is the hand bestowing gifts, as it is at Psalms 145:15; Psalms 145:16; Psalms 104:27; Psalms 104:28. The same remark applies to the view taken by Calvin and others, who explain the looking to the hand as a seeking of protection; the mention of the relation of the handmaid to the mistress is also against this. The passage paints in a striking manner the right position of those who sigh under the judgments of God. They do not rage and murmur, be-cause they know that they suffer what they deserve; but they humble themselves, according to the exhortation of the angel to Hagar, under the hand which afflicts them, and only entreat that they may receive favour instead of justice. Ver. 3-4.-Ver. 3. Be gracious to us, O Lord, be gracious to us, for we are very much filled with contempt. Ver. 4. Our soul was exceedingly filled with the contempt of those at ease, the scorning of the proud.-On the רכת, in ver. 4, comp. Psalms 120:6. The irregularity, that the לעג is marked in a double manner by the art. and the stat. constr. (comp. Ew. § 290), is relieved as soon as we conceive of a comma being placed after it: the con-tempt of the secure. At the גאיונים it is avoided by the inser- tion of the ל which limits the stat. constr. The reading in the text is to be pointed םנiויאEגa. The Masorites who suspected theuncommon form divided the word, and read יונים גאי the proud ones of the oppressors.a a Calvin: But because we see that the church of God, long ago, has been covered with reproach, and pointed at by the finger of scorn, there is no reason why the con-tempt of the world should terrify us, or why the wicked should weaken our faith, while they attack us with their words, nay, cut us with their reproaches. Psalms 124. The church of the Lord acknowledges that she is protected against imminent destruction singly and alone by his help, ver. 1-5. She praises the Lord for this his grace, and, on the ground of it, joyfully acknowledges him as the only object of her trust, ver. 6-8. The Psalm consists of an introductory verse which, at the very beginning, gives marked prominence to the main thought, the "if not;" and a main body of seven verses, divided by the three and the four. The title ascribes the Psalm to David. A situation similar to that described here, that of threatened destruction, assuredly occurred in the time of David, during the Aramaic-Edomitic war ; comp. Psalms 60. Yet David has taken occasion, from this distress, to compose a song which should be useful to the church of all ages in similar circumstances. This is obvious from the want of all special allusions. On behalf of the Davidic origin of the Psalm, attested in the title, and denied by modern expositors without any satisfactory reason, we may urge, that the Psalm is not marked by the mild softness of the Psalms which were composed after the captivity, but has in it as much of David's impetuosity as could exist in a popular song. To this we may add the striking agreement, in particular expressions, with passages of David's Psalms. Luther: "We may well sing this Psalm, not only against our enemies which openly hate and persecute us, but also against spiritual wickedness. For we know, from the teaching of thegospel, that now seven devils beset us, whereas formerly we had only one to fear. But this is not the whole of our danger; a third enemy must rise up against us, within ourselves, whom we carry along with us and tenderly preserve, namely, the sacred venerable woman, our flesh, which incites us to sin at all times and makes disturbance, is contrary to faith, and fights against the spirit in all our members." A Song of the Pilgrimages.--By David. Ver. 1. Had not the Lord remained with us, thus may Israel say.-There occurs here and in the 2d verse an aposiopesis: it would have happened so and so; exactly as in Psalms 27:13, "had I not believed to seethe goodness of the Lord in the land of the living" .comp. at the passage. The ש, is not superfluous, but it is to be explained, "if he had not been who still was ours = whom we still have, comp. at Psalms 56:9. Ver. 2-5.-Ver. 2. Had not the Lord remained with us! when men rose up against us. Ver. 3. Then they had swal-lowed us up alive, when their wrath burned against us. Ver. 4. Then the water had overflowed us, a stream had gone over our soul. Ver. 5. Then the proud waters had gone over our soul. Men, ver. 2,-who, however numerous they may be, are yet to be considered as nothing before the Almighty ; comp. Psalms 56:11, "In God I trust, I fear not what men shall do to me."-On אזי, ver. 3, the ancient and poetic form which occurs only in the passage before us, instead of אז, comp. Ew. 603. Against unneces-sarily changing the sense, this full form and the emphatic three-fold repetition are decisive. The "alive " is to be explained here as in Psalms 55:15, Proverbs 1:12, only from the allusion to the destruction of the company of Korah, Numbers 16:32; Numbers 16:33, where both words, the "swallowing up," and the "alive," occur; the import therefore is, they would have swallowed us up, as formerly the devouring vengeance of Sheol swallowed up alive the wicked of a former age.-The overflowing waters, ver. 4, occur also in the strikingly similar Davidic passages, Psalms 18:16; Psalms 144:7, as an emblem of enemies. On the "stream" (the נהלה, the fullform like אזי), comp. Psalms 18:4.�The proud waters, ver. 5, are here all the more suitable, as it had been spiritual waters that had been spoken of. There is no reason whatever for havingrecourse to the doubtful sense of boiling and boiling over; comp. at Psalms 89:9. Ver. 2. Had not the Lord remained with us! when men rose up against us. Ver. 3. Then they had swallowed us up alive, when their wrath burned against us. Ver. 4. Then the water had overflowed us, a stream had gone over our soul. Ver. 5. Then the proud waters had gone over our soul. Men, Psalms 124:2,—who, however numerous they may be, are yet to be considered as nothing before the Almighty; comp. Psalms 56:11, “In God I trust, I fear not what men shall do to me.” On ΰζι, Psalms 124:3, the ancient and poetic form which occurs only in the passage before us, instead of ΰζ, comp. Ew. § 103. Against unnecessarily changing the sense into the feeble thus, this full form and the emphatic threefold repetition are decisive. The “alive “ is to be explained here as in Psalms 55:15, Proverbs 1:12, only from the allusion to the destruction of the company of Korah, Numbers 16:32-33, where both words, the “swallowing up,” and the “alive,” occur; the import therefore is, they would have swallowed us up, as formerly the devouring vengeance of Sheol swallowed up alive the wicked of a former age. The overflowing waters, Psalms 124:4, occur also in the strikingly similar Davidic passages, Psalms 18:16, Psalms 144:7, as an emblem of enemies. On the “stream” (the πημδ, the full form like ΰζι), comp. Psalms 18:4. The proud waters, Psalms 124:5, are here all the more suitable, as it had been spiritual waters that had been spoken of. There is no reason whatever for having recourse to the doubtful sense of boiling and boiling over; comp. at Psalms 89:9. Ver. 6-8.-Ver. 6. Praised be the Lord that he has not given us over for a prey to their teeth. Ver. 7. Our soul has escaped like a bird from the snare of the fowler, the snare is broken and we are free. Ver. 8. Our help is in the name of the Lord, the Creator of heaven and earth.a-On ver. 6 comp. the Davidic passage, Psalms 28:6, "Praised be the Lord, for he has heard the voice of my supplications," and Psalms 31:22, "praised be the Lord, for he has shewn me wonderful goodness in a strong city." -On ver. 8, Calvin: "he now extends to the perpetual state of the church what the faithful had formerly experienced." Psalms 33:22 is parallel. The name of the Lord is the Lord in the richness of his deeds. On the second clause comp. Psalms 121:2.b a Calvin: He now exhorts the pious to gratitude, and, as it were, dictates words to them. b Luther: "He thus places over against the great danger and conflict omnipotent God, and drowns, as it were, in an anthem, the wickedness of the whole world and of hell, just as a great fire consumes a little drop of water." Psalms 125. The protecting grace of God over his own people is illustrated by two images drawn from the natural situation of the metropo-lis of the church-the people of the Lord is firm like Mount Zion, is surrounded by the protection of the Lord, as Jerusalem is sur-rounded by mountains-and the objection drawn from the cir-cumstances of the times, the dominion of the heathen, under which the people of God groaned, is set aside by referring to a better future, ver. 1-3. Upon the ground of the confidence de-scribed in the first part, there rises in the second, the prayer that the Lord would do good to the true Israel; and to this there is added the solemn exclusion of the false seed from this future salvation, which, in the concluding words, is yet once more sup-plicated on behalf of Israel, ver. 4, 5. The formal arrangement becomes obvious only when we con-sider ver. 1 as the ruling fortress in relation to this and the fol-lowing Psalm, which is bound up with it, so that the two form one pair; and this relation of the first verse to the two Psalms, is all the more necessary, as, in accordance with the common ar-rangement, the two figures in verses 1 and 2 strike too closely upon each other. We thus obtain, for the main body in our Psalm, four verses in accordance with the four repetitions of the word Jehovah,--four as the signature of what is complete on every side, thus pointing, according to the contents, to the protec-tion of God on every side; comp. the clause, "the Lord is round about his people," in ver. 2. The four verses fall into two strophes, each of the same length. The four of this Psalm, and the six of the following, which in common with it has the word Jehovah four times, make up the number ten; the two strophes of that Psalm, when added to the two here, give again the number four. The two Psalms before us are bound up with the Davidic Psalms 124., so that the three form one trilogy. They are all intimately connected together as to their contents. The two latter Psalms are as it were the response which was drawn forth by David's powerful call from the heart of the congregration of God after the captivity. The main tendency of the Psalm, as is that of Psalms 124. and cxxvi., is to strengthen and to comfort; next to this, however, to warn.a Definite historical relations meet us. The church first sang the Psalm under the oppression of heathen rule, ver. 3, but in her own land; from the natural features of that land the figures of her security and of the divine protection were taken. Strug-gling with manifold troubles which might have led her to doubt as to the protecting favour of God, she here rises above these in faith; possessing a good kernel, ver. 4, but at the same time a bad shell, ver. 5; numbering not a few externally among her members who through the necessities of the times had wandered from God, and departed from the path of his revealed will. These circumstances are exactly those which existed after the deliverance from captivity at the time when the building of the temple was interrupted, comp. at Psalms 120:126. To what an extent at that time, in consequence especially of disappointed hopes, corruption again sprang up among the Israelites, is seen a Calvin: In the meantime, however, least hypocrites should promiscuously apply to themselves what is here said, he discriminates between the true and the false Israelites.from the prophecies of Zechariah, of which the Psalm before us may well be considered as a compend in comfort and in threaten-ing; Zechariah, in consequence of these sinners, had occasion given him to announce new serious threatenings of judgment, comp. ch. 5. and 11., Christol. 2 12, 59. In accordance with the title in which the Psalm is termed a pilgrim song, stand the two figures which impress a high sacred-ness upon the view of Zion and Jerusalem as obtained by the pil-grims, and are intended to open up to them the symbolical import of natural objects. A Song of the Pilgrimages.-Ver. 1. Those who trust in the Lord are as Mount Zion, which moves not, stands for ever.-The Psalmists labour with great earnestness to find supports for faith in the visible world, which fights so powerfully against it. It is thus that Mount Zion is in the passage before us consecrated to this object; whoever looks at it in its immoveable firmness, will thereby be led to lay to heart the immoveable firmness of the church. As the point of comparison, according to the express interpretation of the Psalmist, is what is common to Zion with other mountains, its immoveable firmness, any other mountain might have been named. The reason why the Psalmist was led to choose Mount Zion, is, that it was the external seat of the church. He compares the firmness of the church itself to that of her external seat, the immoveableness of the spiritual to that of the material Zion. The figure is destroyed by those ancient and modern expositors who understand by Mount Zion itself some-thing spiritual, the church. The church is rather indicated by "those who trust in the Lord;" and their firmness is likened to that of external Zion. In the expression, "those who trust in the Lord," the emphasis is not laid on the affection of trust, but on the object of the trust, and the meaning is, "those who are protected by the Lord," "the people of the Lord." The sitting, like our standing, is in opposition to lying on the ground; this is the sense in all those passages where expositors translate the word by "to be inhabitated," or "habitable." A sitting city, a sitting country, a sitting house, is one standing upright, not laid on the ground. It is thus that the word here is used of a moun-tain, which stands in immoveable firmness. That we cannot have recourse with Ewald to the arbitrary sense of “ to be inhabitated,”is evident, apart from other considerations, from the fact that "to sit for ever," is marked out by the want of the copula as the nega-tive to which "not to move" is merely the corresponding posi-tive. On "moves not," comp. Psalms 46:5, where it is said of the city of God, "God is in the midst of her, she shall not move." Luther has incorrectly referred the not moving and the sitting to those who trust:-they shall not fall, but shall abide for ever, like Mount Sion. Besides the singular the word "to sit" is against this. Ver. 2. The mountains are round about Jerusalem; and the Lord is round about his people from henceforth even for ever. Ver. 3. For the sceptre of wickedness shall not rest upon the lot of the righteous, so that the righteous put not forth the hand to unrighteousness.-On ver. 2, we may comp. the remarks of Robinson on the situation of Jerusalem: "The sacred city lies upon the broad and high mountain range, which is shut in by the two valleys, Jehosaphat and Hinnom. All the surrounding hills are higher: in the east the Mount of Olives, on the south, the so called hill of evil counsel, which ascends from the valley of Hinnom. On the west, the ground rises gently to the border of the great Wady as described above, while in the north the bend of a ridge which adjoins the Mount of Olives, limits the view to a distance of about a mile and a half." This outward situation of Jerusalem, the Psalmist views with the eye of a theologian, who always lays to heart the thought of the distresses, the conflicts, and the victories of the church, and sees everywhere in external things images of these, for example, in those loud roaring and powerlessly changing waves of the sea, the figure of worldly power in hostility to the church. Led on by him, the faithful, when they looked at the mountains round about Jerusalem, the external seat of the church, saw in them the spiritual mountains of God's protec-tion. Zechariah 2:4; Zechariah 2:5 is parallel.a The idea of the people of God must here be defined from what precedes and follows. It is a Luther: "It is much easier to learn than to believe that we who have by us the word of God and believe in it, are surrounded with Divine aid. If we were surrounded by walls of steel and fire, we would feel secure and defy the devil. But the property of faith is not to be proud of what the eye sees, but of what the word reveals: The only thing that is wanting, therefore, is, that we have no spiritual eyes, and that we follow our carnal eyes only." Berleb.: "This is the best and the most impregnable place of defence; in it thou mayest remain, however long the enemy may lie before it, if thou dust not surren-der thyself." not the whole of Israel according to the flesh, for the wicked were expressly excluded in ver. 5, but it is those who trust in the Lord, ver. 1, the righteous, ver. 3, the upright and good, ver. 4, therefore the Israelites without guile. The others are, according to the declaration of the law, "rooted out from among the people." The genuine and righteous separation, between the visible and the invisible church, belonged even to the Old Testament. Impure portions are mingled with the people of God according to outward appearance, which do not really belong to the body, and are not animated by the living principle. These have no part in the promises of the true church.-The Psal-mist confirms in ver. 3 the affirmation made in the preceding verse, by removing an apparent objection which might be taken from the cross of the righteous, the sufferings which undeniably visit the people of God, and under which they are at present groaning. These sufferings are not permanent. From the oppres-sion of the world the church shall again rise to the glorious liberty of the children of God. The length of the verse shews that the Psalmist here comes to the great question of the day. That the שבט does not here mean the rod of punishment, but the sceptre, the symbol of dominion (comp. at Psalms 2:9; Psalms 45:6), is clear from the parallel expression for the dominion of the heathen, the throne of wickedness, in Psalms 94:20. There is also mention made of the lot, i.e., the possession; the rod of punishment descends upon the persons. The righteous (compare at Psalms 33:1) are not a particular part of the people, but the whole nation, with the ex-ception of those who are only Israelites in appearance.a The ground which the Psalmist adduces for the divine procedure pro-mised to him is, that God spares the weakness of those who be-lieve, because they might easily, if he were to give constant pros-perity to the ungodly world, and constant misery to them, depart from him and be led into apostacy, and might participate in the wickedness of the wicked, saying, "I have in vain purified my heart, and washed my hands in innocency; for I have been plagued continually, and my chastisement has been every morn-ing," Psalms 73:13; Psalms 73:14. The יד שלה with ב is to lay the hand on any one or on any thing, Genesis 37:22, Exodus 22:7; Exodus 22:10. a Berleb.: "The power of sin shall not always be so great in those who repent and struggle against it."At עולתה we cannot think of revenge taken at their own hands, to which the Israelites in present circumstances had nothing to tempt them; the word refers, as is manifest from the opposition of goodness and righteousness, in ver. 4, to wickedness in its widest extent.a a Luther: "Whether the conflict be inward in the spirit, or outward in the flesh, yet the victory shall in the end be ours through Christ, as this very consolatory verse promises. This promise, however, is to both parties incredible, both to us who suffer and to those who persecute us. For what can be so false as it is, if thou askest counsel at thine own understanding. The contrary is the case. Look at Christ, he is not so forsaken on the cross as that the rod and the sceptre of the ungodly are upon him. Thus it has been also with the prophets, apostles, and other martyrs. If we will look now with our eyes we will see many things otherwise than the words represent them to be. Therefore the Holy Ghost brings us to his word and thoughts, and bids us reflect not upon what we suffer and see on earth, but upon what he is purposing in heaven. . . But we must carefully attend to this, that we do not name to God any time for deliverance. God may try us even to the very uttermost. When matters have reached the last extremity, so that nothing is before our eyes but pure despair, then he delivers us, and gives life in death, and makes us blessed in the curse." Ver. 4, 5.-Ver. 4. Do good, O God, to the good, and to those who are upright in heart. Ver. 5. But those who turn aside to their crooked ways the Lord will let them go with evil doers, but may peace be upon Israel.-The prayer in ver. 4 goes forth out of the basis of the confidence, which had been expressed in the first part, and there stands in the background, "the Lord shall do good." It is thus that the future in ver. 5 is connected with the imperative. The טוב is connected with its verb, in order to point out the intimate connection between the being and the treatment. On ישר, righteous, i.e., to act righteously, compare at Psalms 25:8; Psalms 33:1. The conduct, in conformity to the rule as it was laid down to Israel in the divine law, is here represented as necessary not only in reference to outward actions, but also in reference to the heart, comp. Psalms 7:11. The law demanded from the Israelites the unqualified love of God and of their neighbour, and proclaimed to them, "thou shalt not covet." Those who in the passage before us appear under the name of the good and the upright in heart, are in ver. 5 named Israel; just as in Psalms 73:1 Israel is identified with those who are of a pure heart. It is here very manifest how unjustly the Psalmists have been charged with looking upon things in a national point of view, how very far removed they are from the Jewish delusion, that the mere fact of outward descent and of circumcision, gives any preference overthe heathen,-a delusion which in other forms has been renewed even in the Christian church. The Scriptures every where look upon the heart.-The הטה in ver. 5 means properly to cause to turn away the feet or the steps, to turn aside. Thus, Isaiah 30:11,Job 23:11. The עקלקלות is the acc., as it stands with verbs of motion. It occurs only in Jul 5:6, with the ארהות left outin this passage, and denotes there crooked ways, in opposition to the straight running main roads, bye-paths, or private roads. A walk according to the commandments of God is compared to the public roads, and a walk according to the lusts of the unre-newed heart to the bye-ways, comp. Deuteronomy 9:16, "Ye make haste to depart from the way which the Lord hath commanded you," Malachi 2:8; Malachi 2:9.a "He will let them go with" is equivalent to he will let it happen to them as to the evil-doers. They have associated themselves in conduct with evil-doers; God therefore will associate them in punishment with "them, in spite of their freedom from external idolatry, and in spite of their external re-ligion, on the ground of which so many, afterthe captivity, ex-pected, with unrenewed hearts, to share in the promises of God, and wondered and murmured when their hopes were not gratified. The evil-doers are not the heathen, neither are they the public apostates, in opposition to those who secretly apostatised, but they are the whole class, from which the individuals who really belong to it sought in vain to separate themselves, in reference to God's dealings, and to prepare for themselves a different lot; comp. at Psalms 26:9; Psalms 28:3. The Israel on whose behalf peace is prayed for at the conclusion, as also in Ps. cxxviii., appearing in consequence of the removal of the sceptre of wickedness, ver. 3, are the pure gold of Israel, which remains after the removal of the dross, to be separated by judgment; comp. Isaiah 57:19, "Peace, peace, saith the Lord, to them that are far off; and to them that are near, and I heal," with ver. 21, "There is no peace, saith my God, to the wicked." a Lampe " These are emphatically termed their obliquities, because they proceed from the wickedness of their own hearts." Psalms 126. The congregation of the Lord acknowledges with thanksgiving the great things which he has already done to her, how he has, by her deliverance, filled her with triumphant joy, ver. 1-3. She entreats him that he would not allow his work so gloriously begun to be interrupted, and also further that he would have pity upon her misery, and expresses the firm hope that her pain shall be turned into joy, ver. 4-6. The Psalm exactly suits the situation which lies at the bottom of all the Pilgrim Songs which have no name:-comp. the intro-duction to Psalms 125. in regard to its relation to that Psalm. The great deliverance which the church has recently experienced, ac-cording to ver. 1-3, can scarcely be sought in any thing else than in the restoration from captivity, even although the definite re-ference to it, which many expositors find in ver. 1, rests upon a manifestly false exposition, and although it is only by a similar exposition that ver. 4 contains a prayer for the completion of the restoration. Ver. 4-6 refer to the mournful circumstances which existed in the new colony before the completion of the building of the temple. The special references are, as is usual, only slightly indicated. The sacred Psalmists were deeply impressed with the conviction that they sang for the church of all ages. The Psalm always finds a new application, in those circumstances of the church in which joyful hopes, awakened by a previous deliverance, are in danger of being frustrated; it was also composed for the sake of expressing the feelings of the individual believer, in whom sin threatens, after his first love, to become again powerful. It guides us to prepare, out of the lively realization of the grace already received, a sure foundation for prayer and hope in refer-ence to grace yet to be bestowed. A Song of the Pilgrimages.Ver. 1-3.-Ver. 1. When the Lord turned himself to the turning of Sion we were like men in a dream. Ver. 2. Then was our mouth full of laughter, and our tongue full of joy; then they said among the heathen: the Lord has done great things for them. Ver. 3. The Lord has done great things for us; we were glad.-After the example of Abenesra and Kimchi, Luther refers the whole stropheto the future deliverance: "if the Lord . . . shall deliver, we shall be." But as the futures in ver. 2 are surrounded by pre-terites at the beginning and end, we must translate them also of the present. On שוב with the accus., to turn back, comp. at Psalms 14:7; Psalms 85:4, Isaiah 52:8, "They see eye to eye, as the Lord turneth back to Sion." The שיבה which only occurs in the pas-sage before us (comp. in reference to the form Ew. 146 c.) is the same in point of import with הבAוש, Isaiah 30:15, "By re-turning and rest ye shall be established," returning in a spiritual sense, conversion. Allusion is made in a marked manner to the phrase, which frequently occurs, and which is used immediately after in ver. 4, שבות שב, which, as was shewn at Psalms 14:7, never means anything else than to turn back to the captivity or to the misery of his people. The expression is intended to intimate that the Lord returns to his people then, when they return to him. He returns as it were to the return of his people, as we read in the fundamental passage, Deut. 30:2, 3, "When thou returnest to the Lord thy God, . . . the Lord thy God returns to thy captivity, and turns thee back, and assembles thee out of all the nations whither the Lord thy God has scattered thee," and in ver. 9 and 10, "For the Lord shall return to thee to rejoice over thee, . . . when thou shalt return to the Lord thy God with thy whole soul." Prominence is also given frequently in other passages to the intimate connection between the return to the Lord and his favour, comp. Deuteronomy 4:30, Isaiah 10:21; Isaiah 10:22; Isaiah 59:20, Nehemiah 1:8. There is, therefore, no reason to maintain with seve-ral expositors that שיבה is of the same import as שבות (the circumstance that the two roots, שבה and שוב are never inter-changed is decisive against this) still less to change the שיבה into שבות. In the שיבת there was contained, at the same time, the theological view as to the former suffering. "We were like men in a dream" is commonly explained: the happiness expe-rienced by us was so great that we, not trusting our own eyes, regarded the reality as a dream. But the expression is not we "believed that we dreamed," but "we were like men in a dream," and thus the words can only refer to the excess of joy in which the delivered captives were out of themselves, out of their senses, and like men intoxicated or dreaming. This view also suits the connection better. The whole of the first strophe is occupiedwith the representation of the former joy. The pain at pre-sent endured forms the counterpart to this joy in the second strophe, the removal of which is entreated from God and hoped for.a-The use of the future in ver. 2 cannot lead us to refer what is there said to a future time, as a special reason for that use occurs in the reference to the passage, Job 8:21, "He shall yet fill thy mouth with laughter and thy lips with joy,"-a reference which is all the more obvious, as Job is manifestly not only the representative of individual suffering righteous men, but at the same also the type of the church, so that the promise im-parted to him was very appropriately fulfilled in her. The second half of the verse, as well as the first, has an old basis to reston. The peculiar expression, לעשות יהוה הגדיל, is literallyfrom Joe 2:21. It points to the promise of deliverance from trouble which had been given long before to the people when the trouble approached. This reference to an important fundamental passage, explains the repetition of the words. The enemies ap-pear in this under the image of swarms of grasshoppers. The Psalmist sees through this transparent covering. a Lampe: "The pious have assuredly great cause for joy when they are delivered from a captivity which oppressed not their bodies only, but also their souls." In the second strophe, ver. 4-6, we have first the prayer in ver. 4, and after that the hope in ver. 5 and 6.-Ver. 4. Turn back, O Lord, to our captivity, as the streams in the south. Ver. 5. Those who sow in tears shall reap in joy. Ver. 6. They go and go in weeping, bearing the seed-draught, they come and come in joy, bearing their sheaves.-The explanation of the phrase שבות שב, ver. 4, which alone is the correct one, not "to turn back the captives or the captivity," but "to return to the captivity, the miserable condition" (comp. at ver. 1), procures immediately for the second clause the proper explanation: asstreams (return) in the south. נגב is the dry south division of Canaan, without any fountains, Joshua 15:19, and thus all the more dependant upon the rain-streams, the disappearance of which filled every place with sadness; comp., in reference to these rain-streams, Job 6:15 ss. The point of comparison, according to ver. 1-3, and according to ver. 6, is the joy over the reappear-ance of what had been so painfully amissing. A similar figure occurs in Psalms 68:9. The Masorites, instead of שבות, readשבית, which is only another form. In other passages they re-verse the matter. The sowing and the reaping, in ver. 5, is a figurative expression for undertakings and their results. This expression was occasioned by the comparison in the second half of the preceding verse. What not unfrequently happens in the dry south, that those who, in a season of drought, in consequence of the disappearance of the rain-streams, sow in grief and anxiety, reap in joy, inasmuch as the rain-streams return, cause the crop to spring up and to grow, always happens in the kingdom of God: undertakings begun in a time of grief are brought by the return of the Lord to a joyful issue. Although the natural cir-cumstances lie at the bottom, we cannot maintain that the words, in the first instance, were used in reference to these, and only admit of being applied to something higher: for the unlimited generality of the affirmation here made does not suit the natural circumstances. The language used is from the first used of spi-ritual sowing. Besides, we cannot overlook the fact that the expression, "those who sow," is limited, from the context, in which only the people of the Lord had been spoken of: those who sow among the people of God, or we who sow. In the world there is much sowing in tears without any reaping in joy; and the verse before us; falsely applied, instead of the call "Repent," assumes, in the case of the world, the character of false comfort. Paul Gerhardt's hymn shews that he understood the sense cor-rectly: "God's children sow very mournfully and in tears, but at last the year brings that for which they longed for; harvest comes when they make sheaves, then all their bitter sorrow be-comes loud joy and laughter." Ezra 6:16 shews how the words were fulfilled in those to whom they were in the first instance addressed, how the general truth, so consolatory for the church of God, was in their case realized: "And the children of Israel. . . kept the dedication of the house with joy, ver. 22; and they kept the feast of unleavened bread seven days with joy; for the Lord had made them joyful, and turned the heart of the King of Assyria to them, so that they were strengthened in the work on the house of the Lord." Compare, in reference to the dedi-cation of the wall of the city, Nehemiah 12., especially ver. 43: "and great sacrifices were offered that day, and they were joyful, for God had made to them great joy, so that both women and chil-dren rejoiced, and the joy of Jerusalem was heard afar of."-The subject in ver. 6 is the sower. The infin. absol. in both verbs denotes the continued existence of the pain and also of the joy, comp. Ew. § 280. b.a הזרע משך is properly the draught of seed which the sower takes with his hand out of the seed box. In Amos 9:13, הזרע משך is the sower, properly he who draws the seed, draws it out of the seed box. The משך occurs in the sense of drawing also, in Job 28:18, "wisdom draws stronger (in the scales) than pearls," is heavier than they. Psalms 127. "Every thing is dependant upon the blessing of God:" in every work of man a prosperous issue does not come from his own efforts, but from the Lord. This is the contents.b The Psalm falls into two strophes-God secured a dwelling, protection, nourishment, ver. 1 and 2, and posterity, ver. 3-5. The Psalm is governed by the number three, as the number of the Mosaic blessing; Jehovah occurs thrice, in the first strophe שוא is thrice used, there are three things in which one's own striving avails not, and the third strophe consists of three verses. The superscription attributes the Psalm to Solomon, and inter-nal reasons go to confirm the correctness of this. It is character-istically distinguished from the nameless Psalms of degrees, and so as to mark its connection with an earlier time; it exhibits no trace of the mournful depression by which they are pervaded, the language is more vigorous, and while they throughout refer to the whole of the community, the individual is here directed to the true source of blessing. The theme of the Psalm suits Solomon, who chiefly occupied the domestic-civic territory, as Calvin justly a Luther correctly: "The prophet intends to announce a perpetual truth by the repe- tition of a little word, when he says they go, they go! For there is no end of the weeping until we are laid in the grave, although a little while is given to rest." b Calvin: It was his purpose to humble the foolish confidence of men, who, forgetting God, have the audacity to attempt any thing, in dependance only on their own wisdom or strength. . . . Whatever they attempt shall come to nought, unless prosperity be granted of mere grace. . . . For even the division which many conceive of is wicked, by which a man who has acted vigorously, leaving half of the praise to God, takes the other half to himself, but the blessing of God alone ought to be extended over the whole, and to enjoy the dominion.remarks; insomuch that expositors of a super-ecclesiastical spirit, have sought to thrust in by force the reference to the church, which they missed in the body of the Psalm itself (for example, Lampe). The striving after the worldly good expressed in the conclusion, ver. 4 and 5, is not less suitable for Solomon as the author, than for its destination as a popular and Pilgrim Song. It is also a confirmation of Solomon's being the author, the coin-cidence which the idea of the Psalm presents with the Proverbs; comp. especially the strikingly parallel passage, Proverbs 10:22, "The blessing of the Lord it maketh rich, and labour adds no-thing thereto." Finally, we recognize in ver. 2 an allusion to the personal relations of Solomon, in the words: “ So gives he to his beloved in sleep.” According to 2 Samuel 12:25, Solomon re-ceived the name Jedidiah, the beloved of the Lord, and the pro-mise made to him of the divine blessing was, according to 1 Kings iii. 5-14, given when he was asleep. The Psalm is primarily intended for such as think too highly of human efforts, a fault which is particularly apt to betray itself in the prosperous. (Hence Tilling remarks, not without reason, that the Psalm pre-supposes the Jewish commonwealth to have been in a flourishing condition.) At the same time, since it points to the divine blessing as the one source of prosperity, it is rich in consolation to those who are in adverse circumstances, paralyzed in their activity. It would undoubtedly be this bearing of the Psalm which would be more particularly contemplated when it was used after the exile, straitened and annoyed as the new co-lony was in many respects by the Samaritans. Ver. 1-2.-A Song of the Pilgrimages.-Ver. 1 If the Lorddoes not build a house, its builders labour in vain; if the Lord does not guard a city, the watchman wakes in vain. Ver. 2. It isin vain for you who rise early, to delay sitting, to eat the bread of trouble; so gives he to his beloved in sleep.-That in ver. 1 the discourse is of an actual house-building, not of carefulness forthe good of the family, is manifest already from the juxtapositionof the house and the city, and then from ver. 2, to the subject ofwhich we can hardly find a transition if we understand the build-ing of the house in a figurative sense. The בו belongs not toבוניו, but to עמלו. The contrast in the second member is notof public as opposed to private affairs; but of protection as op-posed to the dwelling. The security of the city comes into con-sideration in so far as it conditions the security of the individual. The watchman is, as in Psalms 130:6, the common night-watch. That we are not to think of "all those, whose part it is to care for the welfare of a city, therefore also magistrates and rulers," is clear from שקר alone, which signifies only to wake in the sense of watching; comp. Psalms 102:7, Proverbs 8:34. The Psalmist has here before his eyes those who strive and labour without God. Hence, he renders only the one side prominent. He would have spoken quite otherwise, if he had had in his eye such as, in false confidence on God, indolently lay their hands on their bosom. It is not working, which since the fall is of divine ordination, and foresight, that are condemned, but only the pernicious error, quite destructive of prayer, that one can succeed in accomplishing some-what without the divine aid.-In ver. 2 the sitting, in contrast to the standing or rising up for the purpose of working, is the resting: they hasten to go to work, and delay to leave off from it; comp. Psalms 139:2, Lamentations 3:63, Beat. 6:7, 15:19. The exposition of sitting by: at work (Luther: and sits long at it), with, which Isaiah 5:11 is to be compared, has, besides this passage, the fact against it, that sitting at work was unusual according to the simple manners of the Israelites. Bread of trouble is bread which is eaten amid hard labour. The words rest on Genesis 3:17 : "In bitter labour shalt thou eat of it" (the produce of the earth), and ver. 19: "In the sweat of thy brow shalt thou eat bread,"- a reference which shows that it is not the Psalmist's intention here to reprove over-driven and excessive toil. כן So, agreeably to that, Job 9:35, 1 Kings 10:12, what they in vain strive to have accomplished through their hard toil. שנא, for שנה, is not the accusative, but the preposition is omitted, as is frequently the case with words that are in constant use, for example, ערב,בקר, to which שנה here is poetically made like. The exposi-tion: he gives sleep, instead of, in sleep (LXX. Vulg.), gives an unsuitable meaning. For the subject is not about the sleep, but the gain. Sleep is not put in opposition to labour in itself (this is common to the beloved of God with the ungodly, comp. on Psalms 60:5; to rise up early, and to be late in sitting down again, to eat the bread of trouble, is the general destination and duty of men, without complying with which no one can hope for a bless-ing; against laziness the strongest condemnation is uttered in the Proverbs, comp. 6:9, 10, 31:15, 27, as indeed the whole of the Old Testament, is decidedly opposed to a vicious Quietism); but to labour as a source of prosperity and well-being. The righteous have sleep as a source of good, in a way that the ungodly have not, for they resign themselves to it when their work is faithfully done; they receive it without any effort of their own; by night the blessing comes to them they know not how; while the others accomplish nothing by the labour they undergo, and have no profit by all their pains. Ver. 3-5.-Ver. 3. Lo, the gift of the Lord are sons, reward is the fruit of the womb. Ver. 4. As arrows in the hand of a hero, so are sons of youth. Ver. 5. Happy he who pins his quiver full of them; they shall not be put to shame, when they speak with their enemies in the gate.-The Lo, in ver. 3, points to a new and particularly strikingly example of the principle, that all de-pends on the Lord's blessing. Children, in whom a pious spirit has always recognised a gift of the Lord-comp. Genesis 33:5; Genesis 48:9 - are thought of last, because the possession of them is only then a piece of good fortune, when a secure dwelling-place and an adequate support, ver. 1 and 2, have already been provided נהלת יהוה prop. the inheritance of the Lord. Mich. Sicut alias bona parentum in liberos descendant, Proverbs 19:14. The expression: fruit of the womb, refers to Genesis 30:2, Deuteronomy 7:13, where, precisely under the use of this expression, the blessing of children is derived from God alone. The expression, reward, or hire, taken from Genesis 30:18, where Leah, in the birth of a son, sees a reward granted to her by God, and in consequence bestows on him the name of Issachar.-In ver. 4 and 5, the Psalmist points to the greatness of this divine gift, the worth of a blooming posterity. Sons of youth are not youthful sons, but sons begotten in youth; comp. Genesis 37:3, Isaiah 54:6. Such are peculiarly strong, Genesis 49:3, and come then to the height of their vigour, when the declining parents need their protection. They are com-pared to arrows, because they provide defence against the attacks of enemies.-It is unnecessary in the words: they shall not be ashamed, ver. 5, to regard the fathers as the subject. That the sons should not be ashamed, or put to the worse, when managing the affairs of their fathers, was quite appropriate as a ground forextolling the prosperity of the latter. את דבר, speak with, as in Genesis 45:15, Exodus 25:22. The gate was the place of busi-ness; comp. on Psalms 69:12. There the strength of the sons should be put forth in support of the father's rights; and how necessary it was, even in strictly judicial matters, appears from many passages, for example, Job 5:4. Psalms 128. The sentiment of the Psalm is, that the fear of God and right-eousness never lose their reward. As the preceding Psalm, so also this is ruled by the number three: two strophes, each of three verses, and Jehovah thrice. The subject is not, like Psalms 127., the individual fearer of God, but the ideal person of the fearers of God, the god-fear-ing Israel, who are also frequently personified elsewhere, for example, in Lamentations 3:1. This is clear from the expression in ver. 5: behold the good of Jerusalem, from the conclusion in ver. 6: Peace be upon Israel,-from the fact, that all the nameless pilgrim-songs refer to the whole of the community, as generally all post-exile Psalms, to the number of which, the flat and broken discourse of this Psalm, and its want of vigour and eleva-tion, indicate that it ought to be referred; finally, from the cir-cumstance, that all the original passages alluded to in it refer to Israel. In a time of trouble and distress the fear of God appeared to be deprived for ever of its reward. This appearance threatened to injure it. An antidote against the disheartening sadness which would then be apt to insinuate itself upon Israel, is pro-vided in our Psalm, on which, as is justly remarked by Tiling, the 8th chapter of Zechariah may be regarded as a commentary. "Happy is the fearer of God, say I, for consolation amid circum-stances, which seem loudly to declare the reverse. Fear ye not, let there only be no failure in you, God never fails. Sing, pray, and go in the way of God, only perform faithfully thy part, and thus shall the rich blessing of the Highest be renewed to you every morning." Ver. 1-3.-Ver. 1. A song for tke pilgrims. Happy is every onethat fears the Lord, that walks in his ways. Ver. 2. The labour of thy hands wilt thou eat, it is well with thee, and thou hast good. Ver. 3. Thy wife is a fruitful vine in the interior of thy house, thy sons are as olive plants round about thy table.-Every one, in ver. 1, means not merely the God-fearing Israelite of earlier times, but also that of the present. The fear of God will give proof of its reality by walking in the ways of God, so that no one, upon the ground of the mere appearance of such a thing, may lay claim to the promised reward.-The first member of ver. 2 carries an allusion to Deuteronomy 28:33, comp. Leviticus 26:16, where it is threatened to the covenant-breaking Israel, that enemies should eat up the fruit of their land, and all their labour. In regard to כי, comp. on Psalms 118:10 : Zechariah 8:10, ss. forms a commentary on it. אשריך isfrom Deuteronomy 33:29. טוב stands as neutr., and occupies the place of a noun.-On ver. 3, comp. Zechariah 8:5 : "and the streets of the city shall be full of boys and girls playing upon its streets." In like manner here also is a numerous, happy, and flourishing posterity promised to the apparently decaying Israel. Taken in regard to individuals, the promise will not altogether suit. Upon ירכתים, the innermost, comp. on Psalms 48:2. The green olive-tree as an image of joyful prosperity also in Jeremiah 11:16, Psalms 52:9. Ver. 4-6 .-Ver. 4. Behold thus will the man be blessed, who fears the Lord. Ver. 5. The Lord will bless thee out of Zion, and see the prosperity of Jerusalem all the days of thy life. Ver. 6. And see thy children's children. Peace upon Israel.-Out of Zion, ver. 5, comp. on Psalms 20:2. The imper. see is used in ver. 5 and 6 in the sense of a promise, as in Psalms 37:3; Psalms 37:4; Psalms 37:27; Psalms 110:2. Jerusalem is the centre of light for the whole land. In Psalms 122., which was composed by David, the well-being of the whole people was already connected with his salvation. If, therefore, Jerusalem was seen flourishing, the whole people must have been so too.- A commentary on ver. 6 is to be found in Zechariah 8:4 : "There shall yet old men and old women sit in the streets of Jerusalem, their staff in their hand, because of the fulness of their years." In times of calamity men die comparatively early. What is here promised to the ideal person of the God-fearing Israel, must take effect in a multitude of particular individuals. On ver. 6, last clause, comp. Psalms 125:5. Psalms 129. Numerous and severe oppressions have come upon Israel, but the Lord has delivered his people out of them all, ver. 1-4. From what has been done, faith concludes, in ver. 5-8, regarding what will be done; however proudly Israel's enemies may shine at present, their end is destruction.-As the two preceding Psalms are ruled wholly by the number three, so this Psalm, and the next one also, is ruled by the number four: two parts, each of four verses, which are again combined as pairs. The Psalm suits perfectly well to the time to which all the nameless pilgrim-songs belong, the period after the return from the exile. At that time the experience related in ver. 1-4, was far richer than formerly; the youth of the people, according to ver. 1 and 2, was long past and gone; and the intermediate posi-tion between the deliverance already obtained, and the still exist-ing oppression, corresponds exactly to the situation of Israel at the period in question. Still it were too much to affirm that the Psalm, viewed merely by itself, must of necessity belong to this period. Ver. 1-4.-Ver. 1. A song of the pilgrims. They have often op-pressed me from my youth, so says Israel. Ver. 2. They have often oppressed me from my youth, but they have not prevailed over me. Ver. 3. Upon my back plowed plovers, drew long their furrows. Ver. 4. The Lord is righteous, cuts away the cords of the wicked. רבת in ver. 1, as in Psalms 123:4; Psalms 120:6. The youth of Israel was spent in Egypt, comp. Hosea 2:17, der. 2 2, 22:21, Ezekiel 23:3. Says Israel, comp. Psalms 124:1; Psalms 118:2.-The repetition in ver. 2, serves the purpose of connecting the oppression and the deli-verance immediately with each other. The plowers are named in ver. 3, because, as the plough the earth, so the whip tears up the back. Long furrows = long stripes and wounds. For מענות, plur. of מענה furrow, 1 Samuel 14:14, the Masorites would, without just cause, read the nowhere else occurring מענית. The ל is not the sign of the accus., but ך`יראה is properly to appoint length.-The redemption of Israel is derived in ver. 4 from the righteousness of God, who gives to every one his own, to the righteous deliverance. Viewed in regard to its kernel, Israelstood to the heathen world, which was hostile to it, in the re- lation of the righteous to the wicked. The cords, according to Psalms 2:3, are those with which Israel was bound, and mark the hostile supremacy, the sceptre of maliciousness in Psalms 125:3. According to the others, it is the image of the preceding verse which is carried out here. They understand by עבות the plough-cords. The enemies are disposed to continue the plowing onwards; then God suddenly cuts asunder the cords of the plough, and thereby separates the cattle from the plough. But the plough-cords would have required to be more exactly described, and the exposition has a forced character. Ver. 5-8.-Ver. 5 They shall be ashamed and turned back all who hate Zion. Ver. 6. They shall be as the grass of house-tops, which withers before it is pulled up. Ver. 7. With which the shearer fills not his hand, nor the binder of sheaves his arm. Ver. 8. And the passers by do not say: The blessing of the Lord be upon you, we bless you in the name of the Lord-The fut. in ver. 5 and 6 may either be taken as a wish, or as expressive of hope and con-fidence. The distinction is unessential; for the wish also would have sprung from the ground of confidence. Lampe: "From the past he passes into the future, because this is the tendency of faith, that it may learn the faithfulness of God from his former ways."-The expression, grass of the house-tops, in ver. 6, is borrowed from Isaiah 37:27, where it already occurs of the enemies of the Lord and of his people. Their past prosperity is suitably marked by a comparison with the grass, which on the flat roofs of the oriental houses can easily take root, but, having no depth of soil, must soon wither. It is a proof of living faith, that the poor little flock can behold the world under this image, even when it is shining in its glory. שלף is used impers. Before it is pulled up, as to meaning, corresponds to: they shall be taken away without hands, in Job 34:20, and the expres-sion: without hands, in Daniel 2:34.-Ver. 7 and 8 only serve to complete the image of the despicableness of the grass of the house tops, which was to be henceforth consecrated as an emblem of the nothingness of the enemies of the kingdom of God, and to place it vividly before the eye. In ver. 8 we have the customary salutation, with which the passers by greeted the shearers, or there are here united together two standing forms of the same.Of greeting and greeting back again, comp. Rth 2:4, we must certainly not think; for the whole is put into the mouth of those who pass by. Psalms 130. From the deepest distress the church cries to the Lord, ver. 1 and 2, praying that he would in his compassion forgive their sins, through which they had been thrown into trouble, ver. 3 and 4. They have a strong conviction that he will do this, and wait, full of faith, in longing expectation for the fulfilment of his promise, ver. 5, 6, and in this believing expectation upon the Lord, who is rich in mercy toward his people, and will redeem Israel from all his sins, the Psalmist admonishes them to continue waiting. In ver. 1-6 the Psalmist speaks in the name of Israel, in ver. 7 and 8, to Israel. The distinction is only a formal one; for even in ver. 1-6 behind the I a thou is concealed, the indirect exhor-tation is followed only at the close by the direct. Comp. on this exchange of the I and the thou, the Introd. to Psalms 91. The doc-trine is this: the people of God should not murmur nor complain in their suffering, but pray to their compassionate Lord and Sa-viour, that he would forgive their sins, and save them from the deserved punishment of these, and rest in the assurance that he will do so. This is the royal way by which we may attain to peace in affliction, and rise from that to joy. The formal arrangement is entirely the same as in Psalms 129. We have two strophes, each of four verses, that of the prayer and that of the hope, and each strophe falls again into two subordi-nate divisions of two verses. With the preceding Psalm this forms a whole of two parts, ruled throughout by the number four; four strophes, each Psalm with four pairs of verses, each' strophe with four verses. The threefold occurrence of Jehovah in the preceding Psalm, and the fourfold here, make up the number seven, and with the threefold use of Jehovah in Psalms 128. comprise the number ten. The number of the whole names of God in our Psalm (Jehovah four times, Jah once, Adonai thrice), corresponds to the number of the verses. The Psalm entirely accords with the situation which is commonto all the nameless pilgrim-songs: Israel is plunged in deep dis- tress. The adj. קשב, in ver. 2 points to a late time, as it occurs besides only in the Chronicles, and likewise סליהה in ver. 4, which is found elsewhere only in Daniel and Nehemiah. Ver. 1-4.-Ver. 1. A song of the pilgrims. Out of the depths I cry to thee, Lord. Ver. 2. Lord, hear my voice, let thine ears be attentive to the voice of my supplication. Ver. 3. If thou, Lord, wilt mark iniquities, Lord who shall stand? Ver. 4. For with thee is forgiveness that thou mayst be feared.-Great misery appears not unfrequently under the image of deep waters, comp. Psalms 40:40; Psalms 69:69; Psalms 69:2; Psalms 69:14, Isaiah 51:10, Ezekiel 27:34 ; and of this we are cer-tainly to think also here, although the more closely defining ים or מים is awanting. It is to be supplied from the well-known passages referred to. מעמקים is always used of water-depths.--On the words: to the voice of my supplication, ver. 2, comp. Psalms 28:2. Ver. 1 and 2 contains only, in general, the request that God would hear the supplicating prayer: the object of that, the forgiveness of sins, is first more exactly defined in ver. 3.עון שמר signifies not to preserve sin, but to observe sin, to take account of it, Job 10:14; Job 14:16, comp. Psalms 90:8 : "for our iniqui-ties thou placest before thee, our secret sins in the light of thy countenance." The standing, in contrast to the sinking down of the guilty from anguish and the fearful expectation of things which are coming upon them-comp. Christol. on Malachi 3:2 -or even under the heavy burden of the divine punishment, comp. Nahum 1:6, q. d., who then must not go to perdition! The כי preserves in ver. 4 its common signification. For the expression: if thou wilt have respect to our iniquities, of the preceding verse is q. d. have not respect to my sins, and let me not go to destruction, is only a covert prayer for the forgiveness of sins, and one which is grounded here. The production of the fear of God is marked as the aim of the bestowal of the forgiveness of sins. The forgive-ness of sin is the most glorious manifestation of the divine glory; the treasures of his love, compassion, and fidelity (he has guaran-teed them to his own, of whom alone the discourse is here), are displayed in it, and the mind must, through the apprehension of these, be filled with childlike reverence at the greatness and holi-ness of God (this is here designated by fear, Lampe: "for since it follows pardon, it can no longer proceed from the fear of punish-went.") The merely punitive righteousness would not awaken the fear of God but destroy it. Calvin: "the apprehension of divine judgment without the hope of pardon strikes terror, which necessarily gives rise to hatred." Ver. 5-8.-Ver. 5. I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and I hope in his word. Ver. 6. My soul waits upon the Lord more than watchmen for morning; watchmen for the morning. Ver. 7. Hope Israel upon the Lord, for with the Lord is mercy and much redemption with him. Ver. 8. And he will redeem Israel from all his iniquities.-The expression: my soul waits, in ver. 5, is stronger than: I wait. I long from my heart. The word is, according to Ps. 119:74, 81, 82, 114, 147, the word of promise. The Psalmist waits and hopes, that he might obtain the fulfilment of it in his own experience.-At the beginning of ver. 6 the verb is to be supplied from the preceding verse. מן is prae. To the watchman the night is very long, and so is to the distressed the night of weeping. Anxious longing loves repetition. Luther falsely: from one morning watch to another. The redemption from iniquity, ver. 8, is accomplished by the removal of their con-sequences. That we must not give to עונות the sense of punish-ment or sufferings, appears already from ver. 3. Psalms 131. The people of the Lord should be free from all high-flying thoughts and ambitious projects and enterprises, and in childlike humility should expect their salvation only from him, so shall they be safe. The national reference of the Psalm is clear from ver. 3, where Israel is addressed. Accordingly it must also be Israel, not the Psalmist, that appears speaking in ver. 1 and 2. The supposi-tion, that in these verses the Psalmist represents his own dispo-sition, and then in ver. 3 exhorts the people to cherish the same, has the analogies against it: in other places, where a similar ex-change of the I and the thou occurs, the distinction is only that of an indirect and a direct paraenesis, so that the expression: my heart is not high must import as to its meaning: Israel, let notthy heart be high; comp., besides, on the preceding Psalm. Then the supposition of a general reference of ver. 1 and 2 is already required by the general analogy of the pilgrim-songs. Finally, ver. 3 does not simply call to the disposition represented in ver. 1 and 2, but gives to the subject of the two first verses an essen-tial supplement; so that it will not suit to set off ver. 1 and 2 by themselves--there without high-mindedness, here waiting in faith upon the Lord. The Psalm is ascribed in the superscription to David, and bears, notwithstanding its small compass, the clear marks of having such an origin. That it must have been composed in a season of pros-perity and abundance for the people, is shewn by the protestation against cherishing high-minded thoughts and undertakings. The danger in this respect arises only from prosperity; in times of trouble, such as those succeeding the Babylonish exile, they van-ish of themselves. Then, the childlike humility and unpretending disposition, growing out of living faith, which here gives utterance to itself, is most characteristic of David, who here, in order to chew Israel how it should be, gave a representation of his own inner man, how it actually was. Finally, ver. 1 carries a close reference to Psalms of David.-The affirmation, that the word: Israel, wait upon the Lord, is borrowed from ver. 7 of the Post-exile Psalms 130., precisely reverses the relation. The author of that late nameless Psalm has undoubtedly borrowed it from this earlier one, and done so from regard to the place it occupied in the series, as immediately before the latter. Ver. 1-3.-Ver. 1. A song of the pilgrims. Of David. Lord, my heart is not high, and my eyes are not proud, and I walk not in great things, and those too wondeiful for me. Ver. 2. Truly I smoothed and silenced my soul, like one weaned by mother; like one weaned is my soul with me. Ver. 3. Wait, Israel, upon the Lord, from this time even for ever.-We must not overlook the address to the Lord, with which ver. 1 immediately begins, q. d. Lord; thou who art exalted, and regardest the lowly, and the proud knowest afar off, Psalms 138:6, I do not shut the gate against thy grace, by cherishing a heart that is haughty, &c. Pride, haughtiness, appears generally as the result of prosperity. So already in Deuteronomy 32:15. Of Uzziah it is said in 2 Chronicles 26:16, "And when he was strong his heart was high;" ofHezekiah, in 2 Chronicles 32:25, "And Hezekiah repaid ill the gift. which had been done him, for his heart was high, and there went forth wrath upon him, and upon Judah and Jerusalem." Pride has its seat in the heart, and betrays itself especially in the eyes. Comp. in particular the parallel passages in Psalms of David, Ps. xvi 1:27, "For thou helpest the poor people, and the lofty eyes thou bringest down;" Psalms 101:5, "he who has proud eyes and is high-minded, him will I not suffer." The הלך with ב of the pathway on which one moves or walks; not: non ingre-dior res magnas, Gesen.; but: I do not walk in them, my course does not lie in them, I have nothing to do with them. The Piel marks the continued going, proceeding onwards, Too wonder-ful for any one is every thing that lies above his power and sphere. The people of God can never give up their claim to the dominion of the world. This has been always kept in view through the word of God, from the first period of their existence. But it is one thing to hope in meekness and humility for that which God has promised, and another thing with one's own hand either to attempt high things, for which no warrant or promise is given in the word of God, or to seek in that way to accomplish what has this ground to rest upon. The difference is rendered palpable in the case of David himself. With thankfulness and joy he took from the hand of God the gift of the kingdom. But he resisted every temptation to seize, with his own hand, what God had promised in his own time to bestow upon him. He waited quietly till God had removed his predecessor out of the way. Further, David's heart nourished itself on the still more glorious promises which he received after his ascension to the throne, as Psalms 18. shews: he was far from that false humility which declines what is offered by God. But he himself moved neither hand nor foot to precipitate the fulfilment. He constantly confined himself merely to defence, and never launched out upon wars of conquest. And if at any time a spirit, of pride rose up within him, as it did at time numbering of the people, he presently returned in genuine repentance to a state of unconditional de-pendance upon the Lord, and a quiet waiting for his salvation; comp. on Psalms 30 :That such a posture of heart is the true way to salvation, that one only attains to the great, when one does not walk in the great, most distinctly do we learn this from Da-vid's example. In ver. 2 the לא אם is to be taken as a solemn asseveration. Only he who can protest after the manner of the Psalmist here, can become partaker of the blessing thence aris-ing. שוה to make like, to even, or smoothe, Isaiah 28:25, by the removal of false elevations, comp. Isaiah 40:4. The silencing refers, according to the connection, specially to the stilling of the motions of pride. The point of comparison between the soul and the weaned = the small child (comp. Isaiah 11:8; Isaiah 28:9), is the unpretending humility. Exactly parallel is Matthew 18:3, "ex-cept ye be converted and become as little children," and ver. 4, "whoever therefore humbles himself as this child." As one weaned, not as such an one smoothes and silences, but that it is like, or I am like it. The mother brings the image of the little child vividly before the eye, and she is specially thought of on account of the עלי, upon me, for with me; comp. on Psalms 42:4. According to the idea now generally prevalent, the weaned must form the contrast to the suckling, with its constantly restless de-sires after its mother's breast. But by the connection the Psalmist cannot, as this view supposes, wish to express the ab-sence of passion and desire in general, but only freedom from the violent emotions which the lofty spirit awakens, to which also the connection of silencing with evening or smoothing, corres-ponding to the פבנויםןץם in Matthew, points:--גמול is, accord-ing to the usus loquendi, not the child just weaned, but the small child in minority; the restless desire continues still with the weaned, and the freedom it possesses is the farthest thing pos-sible from being properly a characteristic of it; the mother's milk is not specially marked as an object of this desire, and is only assumed to be so by these expositors.-In ver. 3 there is opposed to the lofty enterprising after high things by one's own hand, a still and confident waiting upon the Lord, who will never leave and forsake his Israel, and his salvation. Israel must from this time, even for ever, wait upon his God, so will he be glori-fied by him from this time, even for ever. For such as put their confidence in God, them he abandons not, while he casts down those who are full of confidence in their own hearts. Psalms 132. David zealously laboured, and earnestly applied himself, to prepare a settled place for the sanctuary of the Lord, ver. 1-5. And this striving accomplished its end, ver. 6-9. This God should and will recompense for him in the revivification of his dead race and kingdom, true to the promise, which had been given to him, on account of his zeal, ver. 10-12. For, he has chosen Zion, the good of which is inseparably connected with David's posterity, and promised, that David's kingdom must continually flourish there, and rise nobly superior above every misfortune. The Psalm falls into two chief divisions, the grounding of the prayer and hope; and the prayer and hope itself. The Psalm is to be referred to the times of the new colony from its namelessness alone: all nameless pilgrim-songs belong to these times. It participates also in the character of these nameless Psalms: as it is a cry to God, to listen to them from the midst of their distress. Its starting point and ground is formed, as in Psalms 89., by the depressed state of David's race and kingdom. In its form, too, it bears the character of a later time. The individual parts are light, the connection is not with-out difficulty. The ביתי אהל and יצועי ערש, in ver. 3, the expression: we heard it, for, of it, in ver. 7, could scarcely have proceeded from an older writer. The Psalm revives again, especially in times of great depres-sion to the church. It teaches her to hope in such times, when nothing is to be hoped for, and the rather, as the hope expressed in it concerning the revivication of David's kingdom, on the basis of God's word, though amid circumstances of despair, has been so gloriously fulfilled in the manifestation of Christ. Ver. 1-5.-Ver. 1. A song of the pilgrims. Remember, Lord, for David, all his trouble. Ver. 2. Who swore to the Lord, vowed to the strong one of Jacob. Ver. 3. I will not come into the tabernacle of my house, nor ascend the couch of my bed. Ver. 4. I will not give sleep to mine eyes, nor slumber to mine eyelids. Ver. 5. Till I find a place for the Lord, a dwelling for the strong one of Jacob.-The commencement is taken from the prayer of Solomon at the consecration of the temple, 2 Chronicles 6:42 : "Lord God,turn not away the face of thine anointed, remember the pious deeds, הסדים (comp. 2 Chronicles 35:26), of David, thy servant." A verbal allusion is made at the beginning of the second part, in ver. 10, to the first half of that verse. It is the writer of the Psalm who refers to the passage in Chronicles, as Lampe justly notices, not the reverse, as most modern commentators. David's trouble (ענות) Inf. nominasc. in P�.) was an internal one. The Lord had then no dwelling. The sacred tent was without the ark of the covenant, a body without a soul; and the ark was at Kir-jath-jearim, deposited as in its grave, without any rites of wor-ship, well-nigh lost sight of; comp. on Psalms 78. David him-self says, in 1 Chronicles 13:3 : "We did not seek after it in the days of Saul." David tormented himself with anxiety to have this afflicting state of things brought to an end. He was dragged hither and thither by a diversity of thoughts; he was afraid that possibly the anger of the Lord was not yet passed away, that still the time of grace had not arrived; and this fear especially took possession of him, when the misfortune occurred at the first at-tempt to introduce the ark; comp. 2 Samuel 6:9 : "And David was afraid of the Lord that day, and said, how shall the ark of the Lord come to me?" Meanwhile the earnest desire of David to have the dwelling of his God in his capital soon again pre-vailed over this fear, and would not allow him to rest till he had accomplished the desired end. Scarcely was this object gained, when the new desire awoke in David's bosom for the erection of a solid temple, with which God was well-pleased, though he did not permit its being carried into execution by him personally. As a reward for this sincere care about his house, the Lord granted to David the promise of perpetuity to his own house, which he is here besought anew to fulfil, at a time when he seemed to have forgotten both it and the occasion of it, the godly zeal of his servant.-The designation of God: the Strength of Jacob, in ver. 2 and 5, is taken from Genesis 49:25.-Ver. 3 and 4 is to be explained from 1 Corinthians 7:29; 1 Corinthians 7:30 : David dwelt in his house as if he did not dwell in it (comp. 2 Samuel 7:2), and slept unsoundly. Tent is used poetically for dwelling. Ver. 6-9.-Ver. 6. Lo! we heard of it in Ephratah, we found it in the forest-field. Ver. 7. Now would we come to his dwell-iny, pray before his footstool. Ver. 8. Arise, Lord, into thy rest,thou and thy mighty ark. Ver. 9. Let thy priests be clothed with righteousness, and let thy saints rejoice.-We have here before us the words which David spoke when his care for the sanctuary of the Lord had reached its immediate end, by the con-secration of the sanctuary in Zion, after the introduction of the ark of the covenant.-The expression in ver. 6: We heard of it, the ark, which is not expressly mentioned, indeed, in the preced-ing context, but presents itself to the eye of the speaker and the people, is q. d.: We knew of it only by hearsay, no one went to see it, it was almost out of mind, comp. Job 42:6, Psalms 18:44. Ephratah is always the ancient name of Bethlehem, and every other explanation is to be regarded as arbitrary. There David spent his youth, while he had as yet only heard of the invisible ark of the covenant. According to the current exposition, Eph-ratah must stand here for Ephraim, and the words must refer to the residence of the ark at Shiloh. But the אפרתי, the Eph-raimite, in Judges 12:5, etc., is far from showing that Ephratah can stand for Ephraim; that is a pure abbreviation, which can have no place here; to say: we heard in Ephratah, for we heard that it is, would be very hard; Ephratah must rather be the place where the report of it was heard; at Shiloh the ark was anything but lost sight of, it was rather the centre of the whole nation, nor was it raised by David himself above the dignity which it there possessed; also at the time here spoken of, the Lord, according to ver. 5, had no dwelling, while in Shiloh the ark was in the sacred tent. The expression: We found it, points to the circumstance, that the ark had been lost. In the forest-field, at Kirjath-jearim, a forest-town, where the ark was depo-sited after its return from the land of the Philistines. The forest-field is thought of, because the ark did not stand in the city, but in the suburbs, 1 Samuel 7:1, 2 Samuel 6:3; 2 Samuel 6:4, buried in darkness and solitude.-Ver. 7 must not, with Maurer, be referred to the assembling of the people at Kirjath-jearim to bring away the ark: for there neither had the Lord a dwelling, nor was suppli-cation made to him. The words rather refer to the dedication-festival at Zion. On the ark as the footstool of the Lord, see on Psalms 99:5.-Ver. 8 and 9 are taken almost literally from Solo-mon's prayer at the dedication of the temple, to which allusion had also been made in ver. 1 and 10. It is said there in 2 Chron.7:41: "And now arise, Lord, into thy rest, thou and thy mighty ark. Let thy priests, Lord, be clothed with salvation, and thy saints rejoice in goodness." What Solomon then spoke is here, on a similar occasion, put into the mouth of David. In the ex- pression: thou and thy mighty ark, David points to the circum-stance, that the introduction of the ark into the new sanctuary might justly be regarded as the introduction of the Lord himself. The ark was no mere symbol, but an image and pledge of the real presence of God with his people. Calvin: "For it was not a dead or empty ghost, but really showed that God was nigh to his church." The prayer, in ver. 9, joins on immediately to ver. 8, having special reference to the ark as the mighty. The right-eousness is the matter-of-fact declaration of righteousness and jus-tification, which is contained in the bestowal of salvation; comp. on Psalms 23:3; Psalms 24:5. Too hastily have some concluded, from the corresponding תשועה, in the original passage, and ישע in ver. 16, that צדק here means precisely salvation. Ver. 10-12.-Ver. 10. For the sake of David thy servant! Turn not away the face of thine anointed! Ver. 11. The Lord has sworn to David truth; he will not turn from it: I will set for thee on thy throne the fruit of thy body. Ver. 12. If thy sons will keep my covenant, and my testimony, which I will teach them, then shall also their sons sit for ever upon thy throne. -That after: David thy servant, in ver. 10, a mark of exclamation is to be inserted-that we are to supply: hear our prayer, avert our misery, or perhaps: fulfil that prayer of his which is given in ver. 9, is clear from the original passage in 2 Chronicles 6:42 : "Lord God, turn not away the face of thine anointed, remember the piety of David thy servant"-where likewise there are two independent members-and also from ver. 1, which is resumed here again. What the Lord should do on account of David, or how he should for David's sake hear his prayer, or the prayers of the, church, is first more exactly indicated in ver. 11, 12: there was failing a shoot of David, and along therewith a channel for the divine blessings, comp. the words of Solomon in 1 Kings 8:25 : "And now, Lord God of Israel, keep to thy servant David, my father, what thou saidst to him; there shall not fail a man from before me, who sits upon the throne of Israel." For the sake of David is, according to the preceding context, and accord-ing to the standing use of this formula, in the history of the kings of Israel, 1 Kings 11:12; 1 Kings 11:13; 1 Kings 15:4, 2 Kings 8:19, &c., q. d. because David was acceptable to thee through his godly zeal, the fruit of his living faith; and the remark of Stier: "it does not presuppose, perhaps, any personal desert in the historical David, but means the gracious promise made to David in 1 Kings 8:24-26," is to be rejected. That the anointed of the second mem-ber is no other than David, is evident from the parallelism, from ver. 1 and ver. 17, and also from the original passage. We are not to think of a living king for this reason alone, that the non-existence of such formed the very starting-point of the Psalm. David had prayed in the preceding context. Of another anointed there is no trace in the whole Psalm. The face of the anointed is the humbly suppliant one, comp. on Psalms 84:9. With this David stands before his race and people in all necessi-ties, and God can never, forgetting his faith and pious zeal, turn away his supplication.-The church should the less doubt of the fulfilment of the prayer respecting salvation expressed in ver. 10, as the Lord had pledged himself to it by a solemn oath: to doubt concerning it is to blaspheme God. He has sworn, as it were in answer and recompense to David's oath. Mention is also made of the swearing in Psalms 89:4; Psalms 89:36. There, just as here, faith clings in a time of trouble to this promise of God. On the word: truth, comp. 2 Samuel 7:28, where David says, "Thou art God, and thy words are truth." The condition of the preserva-tion of the seed of David is brought out in ver. 12, in order to explain the apparent contrariety between the idea and the reality, which presented itself to the eye. It was explained by the cir-cumstance that the condition was not fulfilled. But whenever this hindrance should be removed, then should the promise also come into force. In the original passage, 2 Samuel 7., in ver. 14 and 15, it is expressly said, that the non-fulfilment of the con-dition might prove indeed a suspension, but never a withdrawal of the promise, which cannot possibly fall into abeyance for ever. On זו, comp. Ew. 183. a. The teaching of the testimony of God, of his law revealed by Moses, is an internal one, made throughthe spirit, comp. Psalms 90:90; Psalms 19:19; Psalms 51:143:10, "teach me to do thywill," 94:12, and especially Psalms 119., which is throughout per-vaded by the conviction, that in the keeping of God's command-ments nothing can be effected, that God alone can here give the will and accomplish the result. In ver. 13-18 the prayer has respect to the restoration of the race of David, and a foundation is laid for the hope of this, by referring to the divine choice of Zion, the good of which was in-separably bound up with the seed of David. As truly as God has chosen Zion, so certainly must he also raise up for David a branch, through which, to his people concentrated there, he will impart salvation. For the principle: without David no salva-tion for Zion, stands fast for ever.-Ver. 13. For the Lord has chosen Zion, he has selected it for his habitation. Ver. 14. "This is my rest for ever, here will I dwell, because I have se- lected it. Ver. 15. Its food will I bless, its needy satisfy with bread. Ver. 16. And its priests will I clothe with salvation, and its saints shall shout for joy. Ver. 17. There will I make sprout for David a horn, prepare a lamp for mine anointed. Ver. 18. His enemies will I clothe with shame, and upon him shall his crown flourish."-The sense of ver. 17 is this: there shall I (in all times of weakness) make sprout a horn for David, grant to him new power, prepare (in all times of darkness) a lamp for mine anointed, accomplish for him perpetually deliverance in misfortune. The promise here uttered found its most glorious fulfilment in Christ; however, we must not understand the de-claration as exclusively Messianic, we must not conceive precisely Christ to be meant by the horn and the lamp. Against this is the original passage, Psalms 18:28, where the lamp is the image of prosperity, and also Ezekiel 29:21 : "In that day will I make a horn to sprout to the house of Israel," q. d. I will grant him power against his enemies, where the Messianic explanation is unsuitable (see Hävernick); further. Psalms 75:4, and the passages quoted there. It is a further confirmation of this view, that the promise, which is rested upon here, does not point to the Messias alone, but to the whole line of David's seed, as is clear already from 1 Kings 11:36. That David is the anointed, is manifest from that very place: "And to his son will I give one tribe, that David my servant may have a lamp always before me in Jerusa-lem," and the parallel passages.-For flourishing, in ver. 18,several, who cannot see their way through the figurative expres-sion, would arbitrarily substitute shining; comp. Isaiah 28:1. The suff. refer to David, who ever reigns in his posterity. Psalms 133. The Psalm is a celebration of brotherly harmony, the loveliness of which is represented under a double image. The behold! with which it begins, shews that the Psalmist had before his eyes a lovely meeting of brethren, and thence took occasion to direct attention to the blessing of such a meeting. That this meeting has a religious centre, is manifest at once from the whole charac-ter of the Psalm itself, and shines out with special clearness from the comparison made with the priesthood, in ver. 2. Accordingto ver. 3, it refer to the assembling of the people at Zion, as that was wont to take place since the time of David at the great festivals, especially at the Passover. With this the superscrip-tion entirely coincides.-The Psalm forms a side-piece to Psalms 122., which sought to form in the people a heart for the new capital, or rather to lend words to the heart of the people, already filled with love to it. David brings here to the consciousness of the people the glory of the fellowship of the saints, which had so long fallen into abeyance, and the restoration of which had begun with the setting up of the tabernacle in Zion, after it had been interrupted during the entire period in which the ark had been buried as in its grave at Kirjath-jearim.--The supposition that the Psalm refers to the unity of the remnant who had come back from exile, rests upon an arbitrary rejection of the superscription, and an overlooking of the fresh, original, pregnant character of the little Psalm. It is against the supposition also, that the mournful character which pervades all the post-exile Psalms, does not meet us here. The Psalm manifestly proceeds from a pros-perous condition for the people of God, on which the eye of the Psalmist lingers with delight. The people of God, according to ver. 3, rejoice in the possession of life and blessing, on account of the good specially mentioned by the Psalmist and generally. Ver. 1-3.-Ver. 1. A Song of the Pilgrims. Of David. Behold how good and how lovely it is, that brethren also dwell together. Ver. 2. As the good oil upon the head, flowing down upon the beard, the beard of Aaron, wit down upon the border of his garments. Ver. 3. As Hermon's dew, which descends upon the mountains of Zion; for there has the Lord commanded the blessing, life for evermore.-Brethren, ver. 1, were all the chil- dren of Israel toward each other, because they were all sons of God. This also is not to be overlooked or impaired. The bro-therly relation had constantly existed, but what should have fol-lowed upon this, their feeling themselves to be brethren, and, as such, living harmoniously together, this for a long time had been wanting. The good oil, ver. 2, is the holy anointing oil, for the preparation of which directions are given in Exodus 30:22 ss. It consisted of olive oil, mixed with four of the best spices. The predicate good does not refer simply to the physical quality of this oil. The Psalmist views it with a spiritual eye, and, so viewed, it served as an image to him of what was most glorious and lovely; it was the symbol of the spirit of God; comp. Chris-tol. on Daniel 9:24; Bahr Symbolik 2 s. 171. On the expres-sion: on the head, comp. Exodus 29:7; Leviticus 8:12; Leviticus 21:10. Aaron stands here not simply for the high-priest, but rather as the venerable father of the whole priesthood, whose dignity was still further increased by the goodness of the oil. The image is not taken from what was then visible, but from scripture; comp. Exodus 29:7; Exodus 40:13. There is no reason to look away from the person of Aaron, and it is indeed very doubtful, whether the later high-priests were anointed, and whether the anointing of Aaron was not rather the first and the last, available for all times. To the goodness of the high-priest's anointing belonged its copiousness; flowing down upon the beard, through which the anointing of the high-priest was distinguished from that of the priests. Only with Aaron was the oil richly poured out upon the head: the common priests were merely streaked with oil upon the forehead; see Bהhr. שירד, refers to the beard, not to the anointing, which must not flow down upon the holy garments, but was only intended for the hair, from that of the head to that ofthe long beard. פי is the opening or border at the neck of the garment.-The point of comparison in ver. 3 has been falsely made out by several. It is fixed by the: how good and how lovely, in ver. 1. In the oil the goodness is expressly marked asthe point of comparison. So that the lovely specially remains for the dew. The passage is to be taken thus: Hermon, Hermon’ s dew= lovely dew. The dew is the more lovely the more glorious the place where it falls, as, in ver. 2, the goodness of the oil was heightened by the dignity of the person who was anointed with it. The question, how could the dew of Hermon descend upon the mountains of Zion, is consequently disposed of. Brotherly unity resembles, a lovely dew, which descends on the hills of Zion, where this unity is so strikingly exemplified. The local שם, there, refers not to the brotherly unity, but to the place mentioned immediately before, the hills of Zion. To Zion, which comes here into consideration as the then bearer of the kingdom of God, be-longs blessing and prosperity generally, therefore also the bless-ing and prosperity connected with brotherly unity, such as is not to be found in the world, nor grows on the soil of nature, but only in that of grace, which is confined to the kingdom of God. Psalms 134. Ver. 1 and 2 contain a call to the servants of God to praise him and supplicate his aid, followed in ver. 3 by the pronounc-ing of a blessing. That the Psalm has a dramatic character, appears from the transition from the plural to the singular, and still more deci-sively from the circumstance, that the pronouncing of a blessing in ver. 3 cannot proceed from the same person, as the entreaty at the Lord to bless in ver. 1 and 2. But the determination of the persons speaking cannot possibly be left to caprice, or any sort of conjecture. It must discover itself with certainty from the Psalm itself. Now who it is that speaks in ver. 1 and 2 is clear from the superscription, according to which the Psalm is a pilgrim-song. Hence, it can only be the community represented by the pilgrim-bands. This addresses the servants of the Lord, who were assembled at evening in the house of the Lord. The address in ver. 3 can only be directed to those who had them-selves addressed in the preceding verses, the people, and must have proceeded from those who had then been addressed, the priests. The matter also agrees with this, which just consistsof the Mosaic blessing, that could only be pronounced by the priests. Accordingly the outline of the Psalm may be given more ex-actly thus: the pilgrim bands present themselves on the evening of their arrival at the temple, and call upon the servants of the Lord, who were there at the time of the evening sacrifice, to praise the Lord in their name and that of the people, and to pray to him. Coming with such a state of mind, they could not remain long without the blessing, therefore the priests answered them by pronouncing that. Such a Psalm was most fitly appropriated as the close of the whole pilgrim-book; so that the collector of it, who was at the same time the author of all the nameless pilgrim-songs, undoubtedly placed this Psalm purposely at the end, or composed it with a view to its forming the conclusion of the whole. So already Lampe: forte ille, qui fasciculum canticorum graduum collegit-hoc canticum tanquam aptum epilogum addidit. That the Psalm was composed in a time of depression, appears from the call to praise and to supplicate the Lord (see the expo-sition), and the "creator of heaven and earth," of the conclusion, which points the church in their felt impotence to the almighti-ness of their Lord. The important doctrine which is imprinted on the Psalm, is, that in the depressing and difficult circumstances of the church of God, the sure way to obtain the blessing of the Lord is to bless him. Ver.1-3.-Ver. 1. A Song of the Pilgrims. Behold, bless the Lord, all ye servants of the Lord, ye who stand in the house of the Lord by night. Ver. 2. Lift up your hands to the sanctuary, and bless the Lord. Ver. 3. The Lord bless thee out of Zion, the creator of heaven and earth.-The behold in ver. 1, the echo of that in the preceding Psalm, shews that the subject is a business immediately in hand, that it has to do with what was real, and must be done upon the spot. The expression, indeterminate in itself: Ye servants of the Lord, which might even be applied to the whole body of the people, receives its more specific determi-nation from what is added: who stand in the house of the Lord. That we are not to think of the Levites, is evident from the an-swer in ver. 3; to bless the people was a privilege of the priests. To bless the Lord, is, as to its import, as much as, to praise andglorify him. But the word itself is to be retained on account of its correspondence with that in ver. 3: the Lord bless thee. This also renders it manifest that the people are here to be understood as calling upon the servants of the Lord to praise the Lord in their (the people's) name and from their soul. Else, if ver. 1 and 2 were regarded as a mere reminding of the priests to dis-charge the duty of their office, the address and answer would run into each other. The praise of God, as this answer shews, is no idle service; it is only a veiled and indirect prayer, he is praised as the one that ran and will help. The service of the priests ter-minated with the offering of the evening sacrifice. Even with the Levittical singers there is not found a trace of their being heard by night. 1 Chronicles 9:33 has been improperly brought as a proof to the contrary. The expression: by night, can be referred with less difficulty to the evening service, as it is used of this also in Psalms 92:2. Upon the lifting up of the hands, ver. 2, as the gesture of prayer, symbolizing the elevation of the heart, comp. on Psalms 28.: "while I lift up my hands to thy most holy oracle." Luther falsely: in the sanctuary.-At ver. 3 we are to supply, according to what has been remarked: because thou thus blessest the Lord. That the people are addressed, is clear from the parallel passage, Psalms 128:5. Only in that case does the Psalm form a suitable conclusion to the whole pilgrim-book. That the future is to be taken optatively-not: he will bless thee-is clear from the of deniable reference to the Mosaic blessing, Num. vi. 24. The exiression: creator of heaven and earth, comp. Psalms 121:2; Psalms 124:8 forms the counterpoise to the depth of misery and weakness in which the community of God was sunk. Psalms 135. The Psalmist exhorts all to praise the Lord, ver. 1-4, and then declares his glory, in nature, ver. 5-7, in his wonderful works for Israel, ver. 8-12, which will again repeat themselves in the future and raise them out of their wretched state, ver. 13, 14, contrasts with him the vain idols and their equally vain worshippers, ver. 15-18, and finally returns again to call upon men to praise God, ver. 19-21. The Psalm falls into three strophes, each of seven verses. The seven in the two first, which also correspond in this, that the Jehovah in each of them is used six times, is divided into three and four, and in the last into five and two. The Jehovah there occurs thrice. The same number of times also is the Halleluiah used in the Psalm, with which it begins and ends. It is impossible to avoid perceiving that the Psalm stands in immediate connection with the preceding one. In regard to the subject, it is related to that as the execution to the plan. The call at the beginning to the servants of the Lord, who stand in the house of the Lord to praise him, corresponds to Psalms 134. i. 2; and the conclusion in ver. 21 bears respect to 134:3.a It is besides also characteristic of this Psalm, that it leans strongly upon the earlier writings, especially on Psalms 115. As the latter belongs to the time when the foundation of the second tem-ple was laid, and Psalms 134. probably to the time when the build-ing suffered interruption, so the present one will bring us down to a period somewhat later in the affairs of the new colony. That the Psalm was composed in view of the threatening and opposing power of the world, is clear from the manifestations of God in the past, over which the Psalm lingers with peculiar fond-ness in ver. 8-11. The main design of the Psalm, as intended to console and encourage, to drive away all grief and all fear, by ex-tolling God's praise, discovers itself in ver. 13, 14, where, on the ground of what the Lord had done in former times, the hope is raised of his displaying his glory in the future for the good of his people. As the representation of the glory of the true God has its bearing on the salvation of Israel, so the representation of the vanity of idols reflects upon the impotence of their worshippers-- comp. ver. 8. a Amyrald already remarks: "This Psalm has so much in common with the preceding one, that they both alike contain an exhortation to praise tin Lord. This, however, dif-fers from the other, in that the former contains a simple exhortation, while here the ex- hortation is accompanied, and as it were supported, by the mention of certain works of God, which are specially deserving of being celebrated; in the other the exhortation is addressed to the Levites alone, in this it chiefly, indeed, belongs to the priests and Le- vites, yet so as, at the same time, to embrace the whole Israelitish people. Ver. 1-7.-Ver. 1. Halleluiah. Praise the Lord, praise ye servants of the Lord. Ver. 2. Ye who stand in the house of the Lord, in the courts of the house of our God. Ver. 3. Praise theLord, for the Lord is good, sing praise to his name, for he is lovely. Ver. 4. For the Lord chose Jacob to himself, Israel fortreasure. Ver. 5. For I know that the Lord is great, and our Lord more than all gods. Ver. 6. Whaterer he willed he did, in heaven and on earth, in the sea and all floods. Ver. 7. Who makes the vapours to ascend from the end of the earth, changes lightnings into rain, brings forth the wind from his chambers.-The halleluiah at the beginning announces in one word the subject of the Psalm. That under "the servants of the Lord," in ver. 1, not merely the priests are to be understood, as in Psalms 134., but the whole people, is rendered more evident from the mention of the courts in ver. 2, and from the conclusion in ver. 19, 20, where the whole of the Lord's servants are distri-buted into their several parts, priests, Levites, and believers. But the difference between this and Psalms 134. is of no great moment. For there the priests must praise the Lord as from the heart of believer; and that here too the priests stand at the head is manifest from ver. 19.-Ver. 4 gives the reason for the call now addressed to praise the Lord. God had chosen Israel, and among them had especially unfolded his goodness and his glory, so that they, above all other people, had matter and occa-sion for glorifying and praising him. What in the sequel is said in celebration of his praise is chiefly drawn from the special mani-festations he had given of himself in his dealings toward Israel. Upon סגלה, not property in general, but something particularly precious and valuable, kept apart from all other property, see Christol. p. 439.-For I know, ver. 5, such rich proofs has he given to me of his glory.-ver. 6 rests upon Psalms 115:3; ver. 7 upon Jeremiah 10:13; Jeremiah 51:16.-From the end of the earth, ver. 7, comp. Psalms 61:2, the earth to its farthest limits, the whole earth, which can never withdraw itself from his mighty working-comp. Genesis 4, Jeremiah 51:16. The lightning is turned into rain, in so far as the storm dissolves itself in rain. Ver. 8-14.-Ver. 8. Who slew the first-born in Egypt,both of man and of beast. Ver. 9. And sent signs and wonders into thee, O Egypt, against Paraoh and all his servants. Ver. 10. Who slew many nations, and killed mighty kings. Ver. 11. Sihon, king of the Amorites, and 0g, king qf Bashan, and all the kingdoms of Canaan. Ver. 12. And gave their land for aninheritance for an inheritance to Israel his people. Ver. 13. Lord, thy name endures for ever; Lord, thy memorial endures for ever and ever. Ver. 14. For the Lord will judge his people, and will repent himself of his servants.-The expression: in thy midst, Egypt, in ver. 9, is formed after: in thy midst, Jerusalem, in Psalms 116:19.--Thy name, ver. 13, which would go down, and thy memorial which would perish, if thou didst not freshen them up by thy deeds of omnipotence and love.-Ver. 14 rests with intentional literality upon Deuteronomy 32:36. On the expression: he will repent himself of his servants, comp. on Psalms 90:13. Ver. 8. Who slew the first-born in Egypt, both of man and of beast. Ver. 9. And sent signs and wonders into thee, O Egypt, against Pharaoh and all his servants. Ver. 10. Who slew many nations, and killed mighty kings. Ver. 11. Sihon, king of the Amorites, and Og, king of Bashan, and all the kingdoms of Canaan. Ver. 12. And gave their land for an inheritance for an inheritance to Israel his people. Ver. 13. Lord, thy name endures for ever; Lord, thy memorial endures for ever and ever. Ver. 14. For the Lord will judge his people, and will repent himself of his servants. The expression: in thy midst, Egypt, in Psalms 135:9, is formed after: in thy midst, Jerusalem, in Psalms 116:19. Thy name, Psalms 135:13, which would go down, and thy memorial which would perish, if thou didst not freshen them up by thy deeds of omnipotence and love. Psalms 135:14 rests with intentional literality upon Deuteronomy 32:36. On the expression: he will repent himself of his servants, comp. on Psalms 90:13. Ver. 15-21.-Ver. 15. The idols of the heathen are silver and gold, the work of men's hands. Ver. 16. Mouth have they and speak not, eyes have they and see not. Ver. 17. Ears have they, and hear not, and there is also no breath in their mouth. Ver. 18. They who make them are like them, all who trust in them. Ver. 19. Ye of the house of Israel, bless the Lord, ye of the house of Aaron bless the Lord. Ver. 20. Ye of the house of Levi, bless the Lord; ye who fear the Lord, bless the Lord. Ver. 21. Blessed be the Lord out of Zion, who dwells at Jeru-salem. Halleluiah.-Ver. 15-18 literally corresponds with Psalms 115:4 ss., with one important exception in the second part of ver. 17, which indicates the exercise of a freedom along with the de- pendence manifested.-Like them, ver. 18, equally vain and im-potent.-On ver. 19, 20, comp. Psalms 115:9-11; Psalms 118:2-4. No-thing is peculiar here but the separate mention of the Levites.- The conclusion, ver. 21, alludes to the conclusion of the preceding. Psalm. There: he blesses thee out of Zion; here: let him be blessed out of Zion. The praise proceeds from the same place from which the blessing issues. For Zion is the place where the community dwells with God. On the expression: the dweller at Jerusalem, comp. Psalms 76:2. Psalms 136.. The very close agreement of this Psalm with the preceding one is a proof of their having proceeded from the same hand. As the-former, so also this seeks to rekindle the hope of the church of God by pointing to the glorious manifestations of God in natureand history; and the very same facts are selected from history. Peculiar to this Psalm is the repetition in each verse of the gene-ral principle: for his mercy endures for ever, which it was sought to impress deeply upon the hearts of the people. There is no proper ground for the supposition, that this repetition was sung by a second chorus of Levites, as of such alternate choruses gene-rally there are no certain traces in the Psalms. According to Psalms 135., the priests, the Levites, and the fearers of God, all took part in the praising of God; and it is most natural to suppose, that the people joined in tile repetition. The words of the repeti-tion itself are borrowed from Psalms 118:1, as is also the whole of the first verse. Ver. 1-3.-Ver. 1. Praise the Lord, for he is good, for his mercy endures for ever. Ver. 2. Praise the God of gods. for his mercy endures for ever. Ver. 3. Praise the Lord of lords, for his mercy endures for ever.-By the mercy of the Lord is specially to be understood his mercy or favour toward his people. Ver. 2 and 3 rest upon Deuteronomy 10:17, "For the Lord your God is the God of gods, and the Lord of lords." The giving of praise thrice is intentional. Ver. 4-9.-Ver. 4. Great wonders did he alone, for his mercy endures for ever. Ver. 5. Who made the heavens with wisdom, for his mercy endues for ever. Ver. 6. Who stretched out the earth above the waters, for his mercy endures for ever. Ver.7. Who made great lights, for his mercy endures for ever. Ver.8. The sun to rule the day, for his mercy endures for ever. Ver. 9. The moon and the stars to rule the night, for his mercy endures for ever.-The reiteration: for his mercy endures for ever, refers; as the commencement shows, to what is always to be supplied: Praise Lord. It is the thought, which must conti-nually arise when the wonderful works of the Lord are to carry the power of consolation, prophetic import. The mercy of the Lord endures for ever, and as it must perpetually unfold itself anew to his people, when sunk in distress, so all it has done in former times contains a consolatory promise for the future.-Upon the waters, comp. on Psalms 24:2. Ver. 4. Great wonders did he alone, for his mercy endures for ever. Ver. 5. Who made the heavens with wisdom, for his mercy endues for ever. Ver. 6. Who stretched out the earth above the waters, for his mercy endures for ever. Ver. 7. Who made great lights, for his mercy endures for ever. Ver. 8. The sun to rule the day, for his mercy endures for ever. Ver. 9. The moon and the stars to rule the night, for his mercy endures for ever. The reiteration: for his mercy endures for ever, refers; as the commencement shows, to what is always to be supplied: Praise Lord. It is the thought, which must continually arise when the wonderful works of the Lord are to have consoling power, prophetic import. The mercy of the Lord endures for ever, and as it must perpetually unfold itself anew to his people, when sunk in distress, so all it has done in former times contains a consolatory promise for the future. Upon the waters, comp. on Psalms 24:2. Ver. 10-15.-Ver. 10. Who slew the first-born in Egypt, for his mercy endures for ever. Ver. 11. And brought out Israel from their midst, for his mercy endures for ever. Ver. 12.Through a mighty hand and outstretched arm, for his mercy endures for ever. Ver. 13. Who divided the Red Sea into pieces, for his mercy endures for ever. Ver. 14. And made Israel go through, for his mercy endures for ever. Ver. 15. And Pha-raoh and his host thrust into the Red sea, for his mercy endures for ever. Ver. 16-22.-Ver. 16. Who led his people in the wilderness, for his mercy endures for ever. Ver. 17. Who slew great kings, for his mercy endures for ever. Ver. 18. And killed mighty kings, for his mercy endures for ever. Ver. 19. Sihon, king of the Amorites, for his mercy endures for ever. Ver. 20. And Og, king of Bashan, for his mercy endures for ever. Ver. 21. And gave their land for an inheritance, for his mercy endures for ever. Ver. 22. For an inheritance to Israel his seriant, for his mercy endures for ever. Ver. 16. Who led his people in the wilderness, for his mercy endures for ever. Ver. 17. Who slew great kings, for his mercy endures for ever. Ver. 18. And killed mighty kings, for his mercy endures for ever. Ver. 19. Sihon, king of the Amorites, for his mercy endures for ever. Ver. 20. And Og, king of Bashan, for his mercy endures for ever. Ver. 21. And gave their land for an inheritance, for his mercy endures for ever. Ver. 22. For an inheritance to Israel his servant, for his mercy endures for ever. Ver. 23-26.-Ver. 23. Who in our low estate remembered us, for his mercy endures for ever. Ver. 24. And redeemed us from our adversaries, for his mercy endures for ever. Ver. 25. Who gives food to all flesh, for his mercy endures for ever. Ver. 26. Praise the God of heaven, for his mercy endures for ever.--Ver. 23 and 24 refer, like the immediately preceding Psalm, Psalms 115:12, Psalms 107:16; Psalms 107:18; Psalms 107:26, to the redemption from Babylon.-The goodness of God to all flesh, in ver. 25, shows, that He can-not possibly leave his chosen in humiliation and distress, comp. Psalms 104., where the thought only indicated here, is enlarged upon. Calvin: "At length he extends the fatherly providence of God indiscriminately, not only to the whole human race, but to all animals, so that it might not appear wonderful, he should be so kind and provident a father toward his own elect, since he does not reckon it a burden to provide for oxen and asses, swans and sparrows. Since, therefore, men so far surpass the inferior ani-mals," &c.-The God of heaven, in ver. 26, is the Almighty. Psalms 137. The Psalm falls into three strophes, each of three verses. The two first represent Israel's deep sorrow during the time of their exile from the Lord's land, in which all joyful song was silent;for how could they well sing and rejoice themselves, at a distance from Zion, the city of their God, with which their whole soul was bound up. The third strophe invokes God's anger upon the authors and instigators of such distress-in the first instance on the hostile, though nearly related people of Edom, then on Ba-bylon, the immediate executrix of the destruction, which had now received the due recompense in her own destruction, but was still destined to receive heavier judgments. The proper sentiment of the Psalm lies in the last strophe. The two first were only intended to introduce and assign the mo-tive for the wishes and prayers expressed in it. With the two preceding Psalms this forms a trilogy. Those were designed to inspire the hope of Israel's salvation, this to awaken hope regarding the full execution of judgment upon the enemies, the delay of which would have been not less trying to Israel than that of their own salvation. Both points are very commonly combined together, in particular, in the prophecies of Zechariah, which, as the following investigation will shew, were separated from this Psalm only by the space of a few years. That the Psalm was sung after the return from Babylon, is evident from the words in ver. 1-3, "we sat, we wept," &c., comp. also in the, preceding Psalm, ver. 23 and 24. But we are carried lower down still by another date, the reference to Baby-lon as the destroyed in ver. 8. Although the first taking of Babylon, under Cyrus, laid the ground of its later complete ruin, yet there was still no destruction properly connected with it. Its walls and gates remained uninjured. It was at the second cap-ture, by Darius Hystaspis, which was effected after a siege of twenty months, probably in the sixth year of Darius, hence eighteen years after the first (see Prideaux Connection B. iii.), that Babylon's hundred gates were laid waste, and her lofty walls prostrated, and that women from other nations had to be brought in as into a depopulated city. It is to this event that the state-ment must refer. For it was this which properly formed the first and the last destruction. Afterwards the city, of itself, fell more and more, till it sank altogether; comp. Gesenius on Is. i. p. 460. We have, therefore, a period, before which the Psalm could not have been composed. But, on the other hand, we must con-tinue to stand precisely at this period, and must not descend lower into the times after the exile. We have still before us here the generation that had been in exile. The expressions, indeed, "We sat, we wept," are of themselves not decisive for that, but the whole tone of the Psalm shews, that the speakers are not such as knew of the exile merely by hearsay. The state of exile still appears vividly before the eye of the people, and in the foreground of their contemplations. Still fresh, and not obliterated by any later sufferings, is the thought of what had been suffered at the hands of Edom and Babylon; and these two, Edom and Babylon, have still not come to the lowest depth of misery, the divine justice has still farther to manifest its retri-butive dealings toward them. Finally, the general tone, so highly excited and confident, shews, that an event lay in the present-that, namely, to which the predicate: thou destroyed, points-through which the hope of the full execution of the judgment an-nounced by the servants of the Lord was very powerfully quick-ened. It is of importance, for the right understanding of this Psalm; as well as of the two preceding, that we should realize the posi-tion of things at the beginning of the government of Darius. For the ascertaining of this, it will be enough to quote what was said in the Christology on the vision of Zec 1:7-17 : "That the angels are sent to spy out the condition of the earth, and that they return with the answer, that the whole earth is at rest, is designed to symbolize the thought, that it is now time for the accomplishment of the promises in favour of the covenant people, and the threatenings against their enemies. There reigned in the second year of Darius a general peace; all the nations of the former Chaldean kingdom enjoyed a peaceful and uninterrupted prosperity. Even the Babylonians had again well-nigh recovered from the disadvantages which the capture of their city by Cyrus had brought upon them; the city continued to be rich and pros-perous. Judea alone, the seat of the people of God, presented a mournful aspect; the capital still lay for the most part in ruins; no protecting walls surrounded it; the building of the temple, which had been some months before recommenced, at the exhor-tation of Haggai, had hitherto been obstructed by difficulties, which the dispirited people despaired of being able to overcome;the number of inhabitants was but small, and the greatest por-tion of the land still lay waste. It required a large measure of faith, under such circumstances, not to doubt either the faithful-ness of God to his word, or his omnipotence. His promises to the covenant people had only begun, and that in a small degree, to be fulfilled by their return; his predicted judgments upon Babylon extended farther than to a mere capture of the city, and even this beginning of their fulfilment had apparently ceased, since the city was continually regaining its former prosperity. To counteract the temptations which this state of things neces-sarily occasioned, and which were fitted to unnerve all theocratic energy, was the object of this prophecy." In the sixth year of Darius the courage of the Israelites was raised by two circum-stances; first, the successful termination of the temple building, seventy years after its overthrow, the dedication of which was kept with joy, Ezra 6:16, then the conquest of Babylon, where-by its entire destruction, as foretold in prophecy, was brought much nearer, seventy years after the destruction of Jerusalem. These two events form the starting-point for this trilogy of Psalms. On the foundation of these does the joyful hope rise, which is expressed in them, respecting the prosperity of Israel, and the execution of judgment on the adversaries. This suppo-sition of itself explains the buoyant and courageous tone by which these Psalms are distinguished from the melancholy and depres-sion that appeared in the decade of Psalms which belong to the period when the building of the temple was interrupted (the nameless pilgrim-songs). Ver. 1-6.--Ver. 1. By the water streams of Babylon, there we sat and wept when we thought upon Zion. Ver. 2. Upon the willows which are there we hung our harps. Ver. 3. For there they who held us captive desired of us words of song, and of our plundered ones joy: "Sing its songs of Zion." Ver. 4. How could we sing the song of the Lord in a strange land. Ver. 5. If I forget thee, Jerusalem let my right hand forget, Ver. 6. Let my tongue cleave to my gums if I remember not thee, if I do not raise Jerusalem to the top of my joy.-That Babylon, ver. 1, is not the city, but the kingdom, appears from ver. 2. The streams of Babel are the Euphrates and Tigris, the Chabo-ras, in the neighbourhood of which the colony resided, in whichEzekiel laboured, the Ulai or Eulaeus, Daniel 8:2. The ques-tion: why did they sit beside the streams, must neither be dis-posed of by the remark, that Babylon was a land rich in streams, for it was not this to such an extent that it could simply have been designated from its streams; nor must it be answered by mere conjectures of one kind and another, without any proper ground existing for them in the context. The peculiar reason for the children of Israel being represented as sitting at the streams is the weeping. An internal reference of the weeping to the streams, must therefore have been what gave rise to the re-presentation of the sitting. Nor is this reference difficult to be discovered. All languages know of brooks, or streams of tears, comp., in scripture, Lamentations 2:18, "Let tears run down like a river day and night," 3:48; also Job 28:11, where inversely the gushing of the floods is called weeping. The children of Israel placed themselves beside the streams of Babel because they saw in them the image and symbol of their floods of tears. To a certain extent Daniel 8:2; Daniel 10:4, are analogous, as, according to them, Daniel had his vision in great streams, for the ground there also lies, in an internal respect, which the place of abode has to what moves his soul: the great waters are to him-correspond-ing to the sea in ch. 7:2-the symbol of masses of people, with the commotion and conflict of which his soul was occupied; comp. on Psalms 46:3; Psalms 46:93. On the other hand, the passages so often brought into comparison here, of Ezekiel 1:1; Ezekiel 3:15, are not similar. For the Chaboras does not come there specially into consideration as the place of prophecy, but the mention of it serves only as a geographical description of the dwelling-place of those among whom the prophet laboured. The שם gives prominence to the place of sojourn. The remembering of Zion is no patriotical one in the ordinary sense; it comes into view, not so much as the civil as the spiritual capital of the people-as the place where the Lord dwelt with his people. To be separated from Zion was to be separated from God, the source of all life and all joy; comp. on Psalms 42:43 : How could they avoid weeping, who were shut out of his holy fellowship? God lost, all lost.-The willows, in ver. 2, are mentioned in connection with the streams. The stiff. in בתוכה, points to Babylon. The harps are brought into notice as accompaniments of joyful song. (Michaelis: Ci-thararum olim in soleninioribus gaudiis usus erat, Genesis 31:27; 1 Samuel 10:5; 2 Samuel 6:5; unde earum cessatio ingentem etpublicum luctum describit, Isaiah 24:8; Ezekiel 27:13; Apoc. 18:22; Job x 10:31; Lamentations 5:15.) This, besides, must ren-der Zion dumb, because, while the church could only there enjoy nearness to her God, this joy forms the condition of every other joy. Whoever robs her of that must henceforth speak no more to her of joy. It sounds like bitter contumely, though it should be meant for good.-The often tortured כי, in ver. 3, is not to be limited to the subject of this verse, but extends to ver. 3-6, in the relation they bear to ver. 2: We let our harps repose, for our oppressors desire, indeed, a song from us and music, but we de-clined giving then it. The שיר already of itself means, not song in general, but song of joy or praise; comp. on Psalms 42:8; Psalms 42:83. supers. Here the more exact import is further deter-mined by the שמהה, joy. The cheerful songs are meant whichwere sung at Zion especially during the feasts. The desiring of such songs is not to be considered as "a scornful demand of the rude conquerors, for the purpose of making sport to themselves." For, in that case, why should they have desired precisely cheer-ful songs, joy? Plaintive songs would have been still better suit-ed to the purpose; and in the answer no respect is had to such a bad design; only this thought is brought distinctly out in it, that away from Zion they could not sing and enjoy themselves. The desire rather proceeds from the wish, that the Israelites might reconcile themselves to their lot, that they would forget the old and true Zion, which the enemy had taken from them, and would not restore, and would in their imaginations find a new one in Babylon, would feel at home in the land of their banishment. Let one compare how the King of Assyria sought to make the bitter exile sweet to Israel in Isaiah 36:17. The תולל, is the Chal. form for שרלל. This always signifies plundered, imprisoned, comp. at Psalms 76:5, also Micah 1:8, where the prophet typifies beforehand the fate of the people as led away into captivity-comp. גלו in ver. 16. How impossible it is to explain the word here satisfactorily, so long as one proceeds on the groundless sup-position, that it as an active signification, is clear from this alone, that not on of all the attempts of this kind have been able to attain to general acceptance. The expressions, "theywho held us captive," and "our plundered," point to the absurdity of the demand, since they desired what their own conduct had rendered it impossible to give. It was not otherwise than if a person should insist upon another singing, whose throat he had already gagged.-Ver. 4-6 contain the answer to the demand of the sons of Babylon, though not addressed to these themselves. We are to supply: But we said. The song of the Lord, ver. 4, the joyful, as the Babylonians had desired it, in the foreign land, where it rather becomes us to weep, than to sing, as it would im-ply a renunciation of Zion as our proper spiritual home. The reason for the refusal is given still more plainly in ver. 5, 6, to sing and rejoice in the foreign land were a shameful forgetting of Zion. Accordingly such interpretations as this: such conduct would have been a culpable desecration, are at once to be re-jected. No trace also is to be found of such superstition. The Israelites certainly often sung their sacred songs (only not joyful-- ones) in the foreign land, and an entire series of them was even composed there.-To the words in ver. 5: let my right hand forget, something must be supplied from the context. We are not, therefore, to explain this: let it forget me, which besides affords no good sense; but rather, the playing on the stringed instrument, ver. 2, for of this, whether the right hand should be applied to the purpose or not, was the point in question. Then, the punishment also perfectly accords with the misdeed, as in Job 31:22 : If I, misapplying my right hand to the playing of joy-ful strains on my instrument, forget thee, Jerusalem, let my right hand, as a punishment, forget the noble art; and then also ver. 6 fits admirably to what goes before: May my misemployed hand lose its capacity to play, and my tongue, misemployed in singing cheerful songs, its capacity to sing.-The cleaving of the tongue to the gums, ver. 6, as a mark of dead silence, is found also in Job 29:10. If I remember thee not, singing joyful melodies. The head or summit of joy is, as it were, the cham-ber, in which Jerusalem was entertained. As to the sense, it formed itself the top, comp. Isaiah 2:2. Some give a constrained meaning: if I do not set Jerusalem higher than my highest joy; ראש the sense of the best, for worst. Ver. 7-9.-Ver. 7. Remember, Lord, to the sons of Edom the day of Jerusalem, who then said: clean off, clean of even to the ground for it. Ver. 8. Daughter of Babylon, thou destroyed one, happy for vim, who recompenses to thee thy gifts, which thou has given us. Ver. 9. Happy for him, who takes thy little children and dashes them on the stone.--In respect to the ma-licious joy of Edom at the destruction of Jerusalem, and its pun-ishment, see the prophecy of Obediah, Lamentations 4:21; Lamentations 4:22, Jeremiah 49:7-22, Ezekiel 25:12, ss, Their hatred was the more deserving_of recompense, because they were connected by a near tie with Israel. The Lord has now remembered to them for a longtime the day of Jerusalem: they have disappeared without leaving a trace behind. The Psalmist only prays for that which the Lord had often declared was to be done, what lay grounded in the eter- nal laws of the recompensing divine righteousness. (Calvin: "It is to be noted, that the prophet does not here rashly break out into curses and threats, but that he only acts as a divine herald to confirm former predictions.-Now, by the impulse of the spirit, he prays God, that he would shew in reality that the prediction had not been uttered in vain. And when he says, Remember Jehovah, he calls the promise to the recollection of the pious, that persuaded of God's acting the part of an avenger, they would calmly and patiently wait for the issue.") The Pi. of ערה properly, to strip bare. The expression seems to be taken fromHab_3:13.-In regard to the proper author of Israel's misery and distress, Babylon (comp. in reference to the: daughter of Baby- lon, on Psalms 45:12), the Psalmist points through the predicate: thou destroyed, to the circumstance, that the beginning of God's vengeance had already laid hold of her, and connects therewith the wish for its completion. At the end of ver. 8 a double point of reflection presents itself. The dashing of the children is the recompense for the gifts, which they had given Israel, and which, according to the eternal laws of divine retribution, must neces-sarily return upon the giver-comp. Isaiah 13:16; for the very thing they had one to Israel, they afterwards practised before the eyes of the Palmist, with inhuman barbarity among them-selves, not sparing those who were nearest and dearest to them.a Instead of finding fault with the writer, we should rather be a Prideaux Connect on B. iii.: "To make their provisions last the longer, they agreed to cut off all un necessary mouths among them; and therefore drawing together all the women and children, they strangled them all, &c."edified by his energetic acknowledgment of the divine retributive righteousness, which is also taught, precisely as here, by our Lord in Matthew 7:2. For what is said here is only an indivi-dualizing of the sentiment uttered there: "with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again." The most tender human compassion is not excluded by this mode of contemplation. שדודה has been greatly tortured, but it can only signify: thou destroyed-not thou spoiler, nor thou to be spoiled; and it refers only to a desolation that had already taken place; not: which I in spirit see as already spoiled, for had that been the meaning, it would have been more pointedly marked. Upon גמל, see on Psalms 7:4. We have now in Psa_138:-145., a cycle of Davidic Psalms, called forth by David's reflection upon the promise in 2 Sam. vii., and by the anxiety, which filled him, regarding his posterity. In them he accompanies his offspring through their future history, and presents to them the anchor of safety in the storms, which he knew from his own experience certainly awaited them. We have here a prophetic legacy of David, corresponding to his last words in 2 Samuel 23. That these Psalms close the series of Davidic Psalms, is certainly not accidental, but is in unison with their internal character, and the time of their com-position. In Psalms 138., David sets the promise before the eyes of his family. In Psalms 139., he presents to their view, for their consolation and incitement, the all-present God. In Psalms 140., he brings still more closely to them the circumstances of danger that lay before them. In Psalms 141., he strengthens them against the internal dangers with which the external necessity threatened them. In Psalms 142:142; Psalms 142:143., he shews them how they were to sus-tain themselves, if matters came to an extremity with them. Psalms 144. forms the transition from the prayer-songs to the song ofpraise, with which in Psalms 145. the whole is concluded. There manifestly exists a correspondence between Psalms 138., the re-joicing on account of the promise of the Lord, and Psalms 145., the rejoicing on account of its fulfilment; the lamentations and prayers are inclosed by praise and thanksgivings. The appropriateness and connection of these Psalms is acknow-ledged to some extent even by those who have deprived them-selves of the vantage-ground of the superscriptions. Thus Ewald says of Ps. 111.-43: "a series of songs so similar in matter, and so much of one stamp, that one can hardly doubt that they were the production of the same poet." Koster agrees and adds: "I take them for a supplement of the old Davidic songs. For in place of the liturgical expansive character of the preceding Psalms, we are here at once brought back to the lively alterna-tion of feelings which prevailed in Psalms 3 :ss." Hitzig remarks on Psalms 140.: "The three following Psalms are of a quite similar kind, and appear to have been composed by one author much about the same time." Seventy-two Psalms of David have gone before. These eight bring up the entire number to eighty. We may perhaps regard Psalms 138. as the governing castle; and the remaining heptad as divided into three and four. The section would then be marked by the extended superscription of Psalms 142. Psalms 138. The Psalmist, who from the superscription was David, praises the Lord for the high and glorious promise, which in his loving-kindness he had granted him, giving his own faithfulness in pledge for its fulfilment, ver. 1-3; announces that sometime after its fulfilment, all kings of the earth would praise him on account of that promise, ver. 4-6; and, leaning on the promise, utters forth the joyful assurance that he would go on to the very end of the world victorious over all evil, and bringing his enemies under him, ver. 7 and 8.-The Psalm falls into three strophes, the two first of three, the last of two verses, but which together have six members. Ver. 2, which marks the great object of the song, stands prominently out by its great length. The Psalm belongs to that chain of Davidic Psalms, which was called forth by the promise in 2 Sam. vii., and which rest upon it, Psalms 18:18; Psalms 21:21; Psalms 61:61; Psalms 61:101.-iii., 110., comp. Psalms 72:72; Psalms 89:89; Psalms 89:132 :That the promise here celebrated is no other than that, is clear as day. Here, as well as there, the subject handled has respect to a promise of blessing of surpassing greatness,-the idols, which could exhibit nothing similar, must retreat before it ashamed,ver. 1; the Lord has glorified himself more by it, than by all his earlier wonders, ver. 2; all kings of the earth will one day praise the Lord on account of it. Farther, here as well as there, we have to do, not with a particular blessing, but with a chain of blessings, which reaches even into eternity, ver. 8. Finally, the promise has here the same subject as there. This is described more pointedly here in ver. 6 and 7: God elevates the oppressed David above all height, revives him in the midst of trouble, brings down all his enemies. If the Psalm refers to the promise in 2 Sam. vii., there can be no doubt of the correctness f the superscription, which ascribes it to David. For he, on whom the promise has been conferred, himself stands forth as the speaker. It is a proof also of David's authorship, the union, so characteristic of him, of bold courage, see especially ver. 3, and deep humility, see ver. 6. And in proof of the same comes, finally, the near relationship in which it stands with the other Psalms of David, especially those, which likewise refer to the promise, of the everlasting kingdom, and with David's thanksgiving in 2 Sam. vii., the conclusion of which: "And now, Lord God, the word which thou hast spoken upon thy servant and upon his house, that fulfil even to eternity, and do as thou hast spoken," remarkably agrees with the conclu-sion of our Psalm. In the times when David's race was greatly depressed, this Psalm must have been very consolatory for Israel. It was a pledge to them, that one day this race, and with it the people, would be quickened from death to life. Ver. 1-3.-Ver. 1. Of David. I will praise thee with my whole heart, before the gods will I sing praise to thee. Ver. 2. I will worship toward thy holy temple, and praise thy name, on ac- count of thy mercy and thy truth; for thou hast made glorious thy word, above all thy name. Ver. 3. When I called, thou answeredst me, thou gavest me in my soul proud strength.-On ver. 1, comp. Psalms 18:49; Psalms 101:1, where the ascription of praise refers to the same object; also 7:17, 54:7, 57:9. The ex-pression: with the whole heart, as in Psalms 9:1, points to the sur-passing greatness of the benefit received, which filled the whole heart with thankfulness, and did not proceed, as it were, from some particular corner of it. Corresponding also, bearing respectlikewise to the greatness of the benefaction, is the expression: before the gods -demanding of these, whether they would verify their godhead by pointing to any such boon conferred by them on their servants. The benefit which could afford such a demonstra-tion, and give occasion and ground for raillery, must have been a surpassingly great one. The expositions: before the angels , which never bear the name of Elohim, and be-fore God, who is directly addressed, and besides throughout the whole Psalm is named Jehovah, are to be rejected. As a proof of the true godhead of the Lord, in contradistinction to idols, the fact in question is also considered by David in his thanksgiving, in 2 Samuel 7. (comp, ver. 22: "The Lord God is great, for no one is like him, and there is no god beside him"), then the frequently used there Jehovah-Elohim, q. d. Jehovah, thou who, from the evidence of this fact, and of everything else which thou hast done for Israel, and to which those can point to nothing like (comp. ver. 23, Deuteronomy 4:7; Deuteronomy 4:34), art alone true God. Against the expla-nation: before God, is also Psalms 135:5. That the Psalmist addresses the Lord without naming him, shows, that his whole soul was really full of him.-On the words: I will worship toward thy holy temple, ver. 2, comp. the literally coinciding parallel passage, Psalms 5:7. The latter shows that we are not here to think of heaven. Pa allel there is the expression: "I will come into thy house," Loving kindness and truth are here united as in Psalms 25:10; the loving-kindness, which the promise guarantees, the truth which will be verified in its fulfilment, and which was already pledged by anticipation; comp. 2 Samuel 7:28 : "Thou art God, and thy words are truth."-Above all thy name, above all through which thou ha t hitherto manifested thyself. The word of the Lord is his word of promise, comp. Psalms 18:30. To make the word glorious, not simply "to exhibit it as faithful by the ful-filment," but according to Psalms 18:50, as much as to confer a glorious promise; comp, the expression, "all this greatness," maximum hoc et summum beneficium, Mich., 2 Samuel 7:21. It is substantially said thereby, that the bestowal of the promise rises above all he earlier deeds of the Lord among his people, with which the goodness promised to David is also, in 2 Samuel 7:22 ss., compared. It would be a ridiculous hyperbole, if we were to think of an other promise than that in 2 Samuel 7. In theprayer of David, in 2 Sam. vii., the singularity of what God had done to him is the principal idea. Luther's translation: for thou hast made thy name glorious above all through thy word, breaks up arbitrarily the connection of כל with שמך, and just as arbi- trarily supplies a through.-The first number of ver. 3 is to be explained according to the parallel passages, Psalms 21:3; Psalms 21:5; Psalms 61:5, according to which the promise in 2 Samuel 7. was the answer of a prayer to David: he prayed to God, that he might live in his posterity, and this desire was richly fulfilled by God. As the first member marks the fact of the answer, so the second marks more exactly the how: God has filled David's soul with strength and vigour, by the promise of the everlasting supremacy of his seed, and of the protection they should experience against all the assaults of the world. רהב In Hiph., to make proud, עז accus. with power. The high spirit of David is not of such a kind as goes before a fall; for it rests upon God, upon his word and power, comp. Psalms 18:29, "By thee I run through troops, and by my God I leap over walls." Luther, who renders: "When I call upon thee, do thou hear me, and give great strength to my soul," has quite mistaken the sense. Ver. 4-6.-Ver. 4. All kings of the earth will praise thee, when they hear the words of thy mouth. Ver. 5. And sing upon the ways of the Lord, that great is the glory of the Lord. Ver. 6. For the Lord is lifted up, and looks upon the lowly, and knows the proud from afar.-Beside the present praise of a particular king, there is placed here the future praise of all the kings of the earth. What is to be understood by the words of the Lord, in ver. 4, is to be determined from ver. 2. Accordingly we are not to think of the doctrine of Jehovah, but of his promise granted to David. That we must not substitute for the words, without anything farther, the fulfilment, is self-evident. Still it is only through the fulfilment that the promise makes such an impression upon the kings, only when they were able to compare the history with the prophecy, and had the wonderful faithfulness of the word of God before their eyes. The kings are to be thought of as those who are converted to the service of the true God. This appears from the nature of the subject (from others no such ascription of praise was to be expected); it is expressly declared in ver. 5; and according to other passages also David gives adear announcement of the future conversion of all the kings of the earth to the Lord-compare Psalms 68:29, "Because of thy temple at Jerusalem will kings bring presents unto thee; ver. 31, "Princes will come out of Egypt, Ethiopia shall soon stretchout her hands to God,” Psalms 102:15, "And the heathen shall fearthe name of the Lord, and all the kings of the earth thy glory,'' according to which Psalm, it was precisely the fulfilment of the promise given to David, the glorious work of the elevation of the humbled David, which the Lord would employ as the chief means for drawing the hearts of sinners to himself. Accordingly, in the expression in ver. 5: upon the ways of the Lord, entering upon them, the thought is to be thus made out: upon which they will be led by the consideration of this glorious work. The way of the Lord is such a walk as is conformable to his law, and well, pleasing to him. The exposition: And sing of the ways of the Lord, for great is the glory of the Lord, is to be rejected, because verbs of singing never, and verbs also of saying very rarely, are united with ב of the object. It would certainly not have been thought of if the announcement of a future conversion of all kings to the Lord had not been inconvenient. In ver. 6 the lofty elevation of the Lord forms the ground, on account of which he lifts up the lowly, brings down the proud; not: and yet; but: and therefore. By the lowly is to be understood such a person, as at the same time feels his lowliness; as also under the proud, he who is such in his own eyes, are to be thought of; comp. Psalms 101:5. In regard to the thing meant, the lowly is David and his stem, the high is the power of the world lifting itself up against him; comp. ver. 7. For, as the elevation of the lowly David above all his enemies shews, the Lord in his glorious majesty beholds the lowly, whom the world generally regards as forgotten by him, and lifts him up; and eyes the proud from afar, from the distant heights of heaven, into which their pride has driven him, and casts them down; so that the lowly can triumph over them, as the prototype David in respect to Saul. The verse is of a genuine Davidic character; comp. Psalms 18:27, "for thou helpest the poor people, and thou bringest down the lofty eyes;" 2 Samuel 6:22, where David says, "And I will be still less than thus, and will be lowly, שפל, in my own eyes, and with the maidens of whom thou speakest, will I come to honour," Psalms 131:1. Ver. 7-8.-Ver. 7. When I walk in the midst of trouble, thou revivest me; against the wrath of mine enemies thou stretchest forth thy hand, and deliverest me with thy right hand. Ver. 8. The Lord will complete for me, Lord thy mercy endures for ever; the works of thy hands thou wilt not forsake. On the expression: when I walk, in ver. 7, comp. Psalms 23:4. (Calvin already beautifully remarks: "here David declares, how he would trust that God would prove a saviour to him; namely, by restor-ing life to him when dead, if that should be necessary. It is a pas-sage worthy of being well noted. For, as the flesh is tender, every one would fain preserve his own secure against the darts of evil; hence, nothing more painful, than to fight hand to hand with the enemy in constant danger of death. Nay, as soon as sonic trouble has risen up in our way, we presently become appalled, as if our difficulties would render all deliverance from God impossible. But this is the true property of faith, in the very darkness of death to behold the light of life, nor only to lean upon the grace of God, as able to rescue us from all that annoys, but as able every moment to quicken us anew in the midst of death. Whence it follows that God exercises his people by a perpetual conflict, so that having one foot in the grave, they may fly for refuge un-der his wings, and there enjoy tranquillity.") On the expres-sion: thou revivest me, compare Psalms 30:3; Psalms 71:20. תושיעני is the second person, as in 2 Samuel 22:3, and ימינך accus., comp. Psalms 17:13; Psalms 60:5. On the first member of ver. 8, compare Psalms 57:2, Philippians 1:6. The beginning is all that the Lord had hitherto done for David, including the promise imparted to him. The completing has its topstone in Christ, in whom David was raised to the supremacy of the world. On the expression: thy mercy or favour endures for ever, comp. 2 Samuel 7:13; 2 Samuel 7:26, Psalms 103:17. The works (not the deeds) of the hands of the Lord, indicate all that he had till now accomplished for David, from his deliverance from the hand of Saul till the bestowal of the promise. God lets none of his works lie unfinished, least of all one so gloriously be-gun. As true as he is God he must bring it to a glorious con-summation. Ver. 7. When I walk in the midst of trouble, thou revivest me; against the wrath of mine enemies thou stretchest forth thy hand, and deliverest me with thy right hand. Ver. 8. The Lord will complete for me, Lord thy mercy endures for ever; the works of thy hands thou wilt not forsake. On the expression: when I walk, in Psalms 138:7, comp. Psalms 23:4. (Calvin already beautifully remarks: “here David declares, how he would trust that God would prove a saviour to him; namely, by restoring life to him when dead, if that should be necessary. It is a passage worthy of being well noted. For, as the flesh is tender, every one would fain preserve his own secure against the darts of evil; hence, nothing more painful, than to fight hand to hand with the enemy in constant danger of death. Nay, as soon as sonic trouble has risen up in our way, we presently become appalled, as if our difficulties would render all deliverance from God impossible. But this is the true property of faith, in the very darkness of death to behold the light of life, nor only to lean upon the grace of God, as able to rescue us from all that annoys, but as able every moment to quicken us anew in the midst of death. Whence it follows that God exercises his people by a perpetual conflict, so that having one foot in the grave, they may fly for refuge under his wings, and there enjoy tranquility.”) On the expression: thou revivest me, compare Psalms 30:3, Psalms 71:20. ϊεωιςπι is the second person, as in 2 Samuel 22:3, and ιξιπκ accus., comp. Psalms 17:13, Psalms 60:5. On the first member of Psa 138:8, compare Psalms 57:2, Philippians 1:6. The beginning is all that the Lord had hitherto done for David, including the promise imparted to him. The completing has its topstone in Christ, in whom David was raised to the supremacy of the world. On the expression: thy mercy or favour endures for ever, comp. 2 Samuel 7:13, 2 Samuel 7:26, Psalms 103:17. The works (not the deeds) of the hands of the Lord, indicate all that he had till now accomplished for David, from his deliverance from the hand of Saul till the bestowal of the promise. God lets none of his works lie unfinished, least of all one so gloriously begun. As true as he is God he must bring it to a glorious consummation. Psalms 139. God, thou who knowest all things, and art everywhere present, searchest me and knowest me, ver. 1-12. For thou hast formed me, ver. 13-18. Before thee, to whom my heart lies open, I pro-test that I have no fellowship with the wicked, but that I hate them in my heart, and I pray that thou wouldst keep with me the everlasting favour promised to me, from which I have not excluded myself by any guilt of my own, ver. 19-24. The Psalm falls into four times three pairs of verses. That the Psalm is not accidentally placed beside the preceding one, that it rather unites with it by an internal connection, ap-pears most distinctly from the relation of the "lead me upon the everlasting way" of the conclusion here, with the "Lord, thy mercy (toward David and his race) endures for ever," at the close of Psalms 138. Besides, the מרהוק, in ver. 2, also refers back to that Psalm, as do also ver. 9-12; comp. them with ver. 7 there. If this relation is rightly ascertained, then the view to be taken of the present Psalm is the following. The preceding Psalm praises the Lord on account of the promise of everlasting favour which had been granted to David. Here David comes forth be-fore the Lord, shewing himself here as always deeply penetrated by the conviction, that the righteous alone can partake in salva-tion, comp. on Psalms 26., and protests before him, as the searcher of hearts, that he had not made the promise void through his guilt. David peaks here not merely in his own person, but in that of his whole race; and so the Psalm is an indirect exhorta-tion to his successors on the throne, and, at the same time, to the people, whose predominant spirit was represented in them. The Lord's favour endures for ever--so David exclaims to them-but take good heed that ye allow yourselves in no sin, nor act con-trary to the commands of God. For only if ye can comfort your-selves by submitting to the trial of the Omniscient, only if ye can confidently address to him the "search me and know me," can ye hope to have a share in this salvation. If, on the other hand, you are among the wicked, you can never hope to escape the avenging hand of the Almighty, comp. on ver. 7 and 8. The consideration of the divine omniscience and omnipresence,however, has not merely this admonitory import, which is the only one commonly brought out by interpreters-(in that point of view Psalms 101. exactly corresponds, and the introduction there ought to be compared; there also the other analogies from the Davidic Psalms are produced)-but it has also a consolatory import; and the overlooking of this has done great harm to the exposition, and led the way to a mistaken view of a series of passages, where it decidedly comes out; comp. especially ver. 9-12, ver. 13-16. The Psalmist grounds upon the declaration thou searchest me and knowest me, in the conclusion which exhibits the practical result, not merely the prayer, "search me and know my heart," but also the farther request, "lead me in the everlasting way." The Omniscient knows not only our guilt and innocence, he knows also the straits of his people. The All-present is not only always at hand with his judgments to chastise the apostate, but also there with his salvation to support the faithful. There can be no doubt about these two references. But a third, which has been discovered by some, is to be rejected, viz., that David invokes God for judgment on the wicked. Through-out the whole Psalm, and especially at the beginning and the close, which contain the sum, the Psalmist has to do only with himself, and such a turning toward what is without, would have been a violation of its character; the more so as he speaks only of the wicked as such, not of his wicked enemies; ver. 19-22, the verses in which they are mentioned, contain rather a protes-tation of innocence on the part of the Psalmist, in the form of a renunciation of the wicked, and a declaration of his sincere and cordial hatred toward them. The Davidic authorship of the Psalm is attested, besides the superscription, the contents, and connection with Psalms 138., by the various points of contact it presents with the other Psalms of David, and by the depth and original character of the feelings described. An objection has been sought by several in the Chal-daisms that occur, but an explanation is given of these in ver. 6, 17, and 18. Penetrated by the loftiness of his subject, the Psalmist shuns also in the form what is of common and daily use. Ver. 1-6.-Ver. 1. To the chief musician, of David. Lord thou searchest me and knowest. Ver. 2. Thou knowest mysitting down an my rising up, thou understandest my thoughts afar of. Ver. 3. My way and my couch thou markest, andart familiar with all my ways. Ver. 4. For there is not a word upon my tongue, lo, Lord, thou knowest it all. Ver. 5. Behind and before thou dost beset me, and layest upon me thy hand. Ver. 6. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, highand I cannot reach it.-Ver. 1 contains the sum of the wholePsalm. At the word: thou knowest, we are not simply to sup-ply me-also in ver. 23, it is not the suffix, but my heart, whichis found-but all that is here generally to be known, all that be-longs to the subject in hand: the expansion of the idea is givenin what follows, where the expression, “ thou knowest,” againreturns. For the very purpose of pointing to this relation, theknowing here is left without its object. The matter on which thesearching and knowing are employed is not merely the guilt orinnocence of the Psalmist, although this come more immediatelyinto view-comp. in reference to this the parallel passages, Psalms 44:21, Job 13:9,--but also his position and state: Godknows also "the necessities of the soul,” “ he knows thy painand domestic sorrows, and the time when to come to thee.” --Thesitting in ver. 2 denotes rest; the rising up, the raising of one’ sself to go to work-comp. Psalms 127:2 -q. d., what in a state ofrest or of activity, I think, feel, speak, act, and how it goes withme. Understood thus, the mention of the thought in the secondmember is quite suitable. בין with ל to have insight in regardto something. רע in the signification of thought only here, andin ver. 17; in a hind place, often quoted in support of the same,Job 36:33, it is used in its common acceptation, friend. Afar off, according to some, must mean: long before they come intomy mind. But that we must rather explain: the far distancebetween heaven and earth sets no bounds to thy knowledge, isclear from Ps. Exodus 18:6, and from Jeremiah 23:23, "Am I a Godnigh at hand, saith the Lord, and not a God afar off?" Schmid:"as if being in heaven I should not know the things which aredone on earth," pomp. ver. 24. David utters here a contradictionagainst the error of ungodliness seeking to banish God into hea-ven, as expressed in Job 22:12-14, "Dwells not God in theheight of heaven? and behold the stars, how high they are.Therefore thou sayest, How doth God know? Can he judgethrough the darkness? The clouds are a covering to him, and he seeth not; and he walketh in the circuit of heaven." God's being in heaven is, according to the view of Scripture, no limitation of God, but a designation of his absolute being: not merely although, but just because God is in heaven, he is not far from every one of us. Calvin: "God is not shut up in heaven, as if he delighted in an idle repose (as the Epicureans feigned), and neglected human affairs, but though we live at a great distance from him, still he is not far from us."-The רבע in ver. 3, is the poetical form of רבץ reappearing again in the Chaldee. This never sig-nifies the lying, but always the couch, the place of rest. To this also agrees the ארה, not the going, but the way, the poetical ex-pression for the common ך`רד used in the second member. My way and my resting-place, for, me as I feel and act on the way and in the place of my rest, what I there do and experience. By the way, also, is not merely to be understood the deeds, but also what hap-pens. זרה, properly, to sift them, poetically, to prove, to know-Luther's translation: thou art about me, is grounded upon the false Rabinical derivation from רזe crown.�The grounding (for) is givenin ver. 4 only by a further expansion. It is only when the pre-ceding context is viewed in a mistaken light, that something higher is found here than there. We must not explain: For there is still no word; but the expression: Lo, Lord, thou knowest it all, rather stands, as Luther correctly perceived, for, which the Lord does not all know. In ver. 5, the Psalmist already proceeds fromthe territory of the all-knowing, to that of the all-present-an easy and gentle transition, since, according to the view of Scripture, the omniscience of God is founded in his omnipresence. To the: behind and before, there is supplied from the last member: from above; so that I am on all sides surrounded and environed by thee, can do nothing, and suffer nothing, without being seen by thee, and being always in thy power, either to be punished or assisted.-Before the Psalmist advances farther in the representation, begun in ver. 5, of the divine omnipresence, lie breaks out in ver. 6, into admiration of this superhuman glory, so far exceeding even all human conception; comp. Romans 11:33. The reading of the text היA.אiל;פiis the feminine of יאiל;פi, wonderful. The Masorites would sub-stitute for this the fem. of the uncertain form פליא. There is a similar wrong Kri in Judges 13:18. Comp., on the expression:it is too wonderlful for me, Deuteronomy 30:11, to which perhaps an allusion is made, and Proverbs 30:18. The knowing must, accord-ing to several interpreters, be the divine; but then neither the suffix nor the article would have been used. What is meant is rather, the human knowledge of the divine omniscience and omnipresence, which always infinitely falls short of its infinite object, and worships before it, without being able to penetrate its depth. Ver. 7-12. Ver. 7. Whither shall I go from thy Spirit? Andwhither shall I gee from thy presence? Ver. 8. If I ascend into heaven, thou art there; and if I should make any bed in hell, behold thou art there. Ver. 9 Take I the wings of the morning-dawn, would I dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea; Ver. 10. Even there would thy hand lead me, and thy right hand hold me. Ver. 11. And if I say: Surely the dark-ness shall crush me, then at night was the light about me. Ver. 12. Even the darkness darkens not before thee, and the night shines as the day; darkness is as the light,-Ver. 7 and 8 cut off all hope of deliverance from the sinner, by pointing to the omnipresence of God. The the tight is to be supplied: If I had cause to fear thy judging eye, and thine avenging hand, and to hide myself from them. Amos i 10:2 is to be compared: "If they (the sinners) should break trough into hell, there will my hand take them; if they climb up to heaven, thence will I bring them down." The Spirit of the Lord is his power and presence operating in the world; comp. in Psalms 106:33, the history of the creation, and Psalms 33:6. Incorrectly some: the Spirit who knows all things. הציע Is denom, from יצוע, to make a couch, bed, or something for a bed; precisely as here in Isaiah 58:5, and the Hiph. Isaiah 14:11, Esther 4:3, comp. Ewald § 122. The accus. שאול, finds in this an obvious explanation. Job 26:5; Job 26:6 is to be compared. On ver. 9, 10, comp. Psalms 55:6; Psalms 55:8 : "Oh that I had wings like a dove, then would I fly away and abide. Lo! I would fly far off, I would lodge in the wilderness. I would make haste to a refuge from the strong wind, from the tempest." This very similar passage shews, that we are not to think of a desire of being at a distance from God as the motive for flight, but the desire of escaping from the enemies. To the same result also are we conducted by the ex-pression: "thy hand will lead me," under which we can thinkonly of a friendly leading; compare Psalms 73:24; Psalms 23:3; Psalms 5:8; Psalms 27:11, &c., and of this Ps. ver. 24. (Falsely, therefore, many: minus tua, ex qua elabi conarer.) The right hand also is to be regarded as that which is ready to help, comp. Psalms 18:16. That in both members: thy hand will lead me, and: thy right hand will hold me, God's omnipresence is applied for the consola-tion of the helpless, apparently quite excluded from his aid, yet still, wherever he may be, secure within the territory of God, still farther appears quite clearly from the reference which they carry to ver. 7 of the internally related Psalms 138.: "Against the wrath of mine enemies do thou stretch forth thy hand, and deliver me with thy right hand." Hence ver. 7, where the Psalmist speaks of his fleeing from the presence of God, belongs not to the whole section, ver. 7-12, but only to ver. 8, with which it is united into a pair. The morning-dawn is brought here into no-tice in respect to the speed with which its rays dart from one end of the earth to the other. Such extraordinary means needed to be called into requisition, in order to reach the distant end, that could not be attained in the common way. It is better to trans-late: take I (comp. the had I in Psalms 55:6) than lift I, with com-parison of Eze 10:16, In order to lift up wings, one must still first have them. The uttermost parts, the ends of the sea, are at the same time the ends of the earth. As the furthest point in the breadth, stands here in connection with the furthest depth and the furthest height in ver. 8, for the purpose of expressing the thought, that in the whole universe there is no point whereGod is not present. The usage, according to which ים also meansthe western regions, is not to be thought of.-Ver. 11 and 12 become plain, as soon as we adhere, in the explanation of ישופניitself to the more certain usage, and are not driven hither and thither after conjectural meanings. שוף signifies, in the two other passages where it occurs, Genesis 3:15, Job 9:17, unquestion-ably to bruise, and this signification, which the LXX. (ךבפבנᾰפחףוי) and the Vulgate (conculcabit) retain also here, will be found quite suitable, when we do not miss the proper interpretation of the two preceding verses, and are not led generally to suppose, that the Psalmist had in view only a one-sided application of the divine omnipresence. The darkness is here brought into consi-deration, not as a sort of covering for the heart and actions ofmen from the presence of God, or from his avenging hand, as in Job 34:21; Job 34:22, Jeremiah 23:24, but as exposing to danger, from being that in which robbers and murderers execute their designs. Besides darkness in this natural sense, respect is also had to darkness in the very common figurative sense; comp. Isaiah 1:10, "Whoever walks without light, let him trust upon the name of the Lord, and stay himself on his God;" so that the words in Psalms 138:7, "When I walk in the midst of trouble," are quite parallel. Thine all-seeing eye, thine almighty hand, is at work also in the deepest darkness, where no human eye pene-trates, no human hand avails: Thou, the all-present, to whom the contrasts of heaven and earth, earth and hell, one's set-tled home and the end of the earth, import nothing, so neither do the contrasts of light and darkness. Thou art with me when I walk through the valley of death-darkness, and deliverest me from it. What is generally found in the passage in a direct man-ner may certainly be deduced from it. If helpless innocence, veiled in darkness, is not concealed from God, neither assuredly can guilt be so, when attempting to hide itself in darkness. ך`א, only, has here the import of a strengthening particle, comp. Psalms 58:11; Psalms 68:22. It points to this, that the crushing power of darkness appears to stand as a thing beyond all doubt. Luther renders the second member: so must the night become also light about me. But according to ver. 9 and 10 the minor is more properly begun at ver. 12. The light about me, the light that encircles me for my protection. Upon ך`ישהה, in ver. 12, always to make dark, to darken, never to be dark (Luther: even darkness is not darkness to thee) comp. on Psalms 105:28. Before thee, so that thou couldst not see through it. In reference to the double כ at the end, see Ew. �˜ 347. Ver. 13-18.-Ver. 13. For thou host my reins in thy power thou wert over me in my mother's womb. Ver. 14. I praise thee on this account, that I am greatly distinguished; wonder- ful are thy works; and that my soul well knows. Ver. 15. My strength was not hid from thee, when I was made in secret, when I was woven in the depths of the earth. Ver. 16. Thine eyes saw me, when I still was unprepared, and in thy book were they all written, the days which were still to be, and of which none then was. Ver. 17. And how precious are to me, O God, thythoughts, how great is their sum! Ver. 18. I will number them, there is more of them than the sand, I awake and am still with thee.---The for in ver. 13 does not refer specially to what imme- diately precedes, but to the fundamental thought which pervades the whole section, ver. 1-12: thou searchest and knowest me. This is proved by the fact that man already belongs to God from the first beginnings of his existence, that God glorifies himself in his first formation, and has even then pre-arranged all his des-tiny. How could such a being be strange to God! How could his heart be hidden from him! or his troubles be unknown, indif-ferent, or accidental! It appears that the: for thou, here refers back to the thou in ver. 2. The reins are known as the seat of the desires and feelings, the region where sinful passion boils, and where pain also plants its seat. This region God has in his power as the creator of man, as is more fully declared in what follows, and so nothing can be concealed from him which passes in this secret workshop. קנה always signifies to possess, to hold posses-sion of, never to make. תסכני is rendered: thou hast covered or protected me, by the LXX., Vulg. Pesch.; Luther: thou wast over me. It is commonly translated now: thou hast woven me, with comp. of Job 10:11. But ך`כס signifies always to cover, and, what is decisive, it is used thus in the closely-related follow-ing Psalm, ver. 8. This signification is quite suitable here also. The covering and protection consists, according to what follows, in the oversight and protection, which is exercised by God in re-gard to the germ of life, which is perfectly impotent in itself. How could he, who had manifested these, be indifferent and care-less in respect to the work of his hands, comp. Ps. xxii, 9, Job-x. 12. Let him, whom sinful lust or despair in regard to God's omniscence and omniprescence would cause to err, ascend to the original of his being, and he will be ashamed of himself, and re-verently adore.-Ver. 14 does not form a sort of side-thought, but the more glorious the formation of man is, so much the stronger the proof of God's absolute omniscience and omnipresence, so much the more striking the testimony it furnishes against those who abandon themselves to sin, under the idea that God sees not and judges not, or surrender themselves to despair, sayingMy way is hidden from God, Job 10:9-11. The roots פלא andפלה are never interchanged, comp. on Psalms 4:3; Psalms 17:7, but theyare nearly related both in form and meaning. נוראות found also in David's mouth in Psalms 65:5, 2 Samuel 7:23; and else-where, is used here adverbially, as נפלאות in Job 37:5. עצם, in ver. 15 undoubtedly signifies strength in the two other places where it occurs, and is there also in the female form. This meaning is therefore to be retained also here. But: my strength, is a poetical expression, for: my bones or skeleton, םצ,ע,, so namedfrom the strength connected with it, with the addition perhaps of the sinews, which, together with the bones, make up the strength of the body-comp. Job 10:11, "with bones and sinews hast thou interwoven me." It was not hidden from thee, for thou hast pre- pared it for me, since thou bast woven me together with bones and sinews. By the depths of the earth Sheol is indicated, comp. Psalms 63:9. As no trace is to be found of the pre-existence of man in Sheol, as here also the subject discoursed of is the bodily formation of main, while to the Sheol could belong in that case only the soul, and the Psalmist, finally, has to do here only with what took place in his mother's womb, there must, therefore, be supposed an abbreviated comparison: in a place, so dark and concealed as the depths of the earth. Similar is Job 1:21, "Naked came I out of my mother's womb, and naked shall re-turn to it again," in a state resembling the former. As the point of comparison in the parallel: in the hidden, is expressly an-nounced, the assertion is to be rejected, that the comparison pointsto the region of the dead as to the womb of a resurrection-life." גלם in ver. 16 of the still unformed embryonic mass. The suff. in כלם is used by way of anticipation, and refers to the days. If this should appear too bard to any one, he can with Hupfeld understand by גלם, the ball of the thread of life, and to this refer the suffix. For, the other constructions are too violent and constrained. The יצר (here P�) is elsewhere also often used of the divine pre-determination, as contrasted with its execution and its actual introduction. The days are brought into consideration here partly in respect to themselves, compare Job 14:5, "Seeing his days are determined, the number of his months is with thee," partly also in respect to the events which they contain for men, comp. Psalms 56:8. And there was not one among them, the days pre-determined by thee. It is not worth while to inquire what the Masorites meant by their Kri, לו. The consolatory tendency ofthe Psalm comes here distinctly out. If our whole being is by God pre-arranged, how then can any thing befal us, which he has not in his hand, which he does not see, or in regard to which he is unable at the proper time to administer help to us?-The thoughts of God in ver. 17 are of him, as the searching and know-ing, judging and helping in regard to all that lives upon the earth. In reference to the expression: precious = glorious, comp. on Psalms 45:9; Psalms 36:7 : "How precious (glorious) is thy goodness, 0 God"-one of the passages very nearly related to this, the more so, as among the thoughts, the saving and helping have here also an important place. Against the explanation: how pre-cious, how hard to be reached, how difficult are they, the paral-lelism already decides. Of the four members of the two verses, ver. 2 and 3, 1 and 4 correspond, as Ewald has excellently re-marked. In the second member of ver. 18 the Psalmist does not praise his zeal in maintaining fellowship with God, and meditat-ing upon his thoughts, but the glorious riches of these thoughts themselves, which so chain him, that he cannot isolate himself from God, that God is not merely his thought by day, but also his dream by night. A thinking, which is not interrupted even by sleep, which renders dreams also of service, must be stirred by some mighty object. Psalms 16:7; Psalms 63:6 are related. Ver. 19-24.---Ver. 19. If thou only killest, God, the wicked, and ye men of blood depart from me. Ver. 20. Those who name thee for crime, bear away for lies as thine enemies. Ver. 21. Shall I not hate, Lord, thy haters, and abhor those that rise up against thee? Ver. 22. I hate them in right earnest, they are enemies to me. Ver. 23. Search me, God, and know my heart, try me and know my thoughts. Ver. 24. And see if there be with me any way of trouble, and lead me in the way of eternity. As the אם ver. 19 is not a particle of desire, compare at Psalms 81:9, there is to be supplied: it will be agreeable to me, I will cordially praise thee, or something similar. That the Psalmist declares himself content with the overthrow of the wicked, skews how little he partici-pates in their feeling, and prepares the way for the confident de-mand: Search me, God, and know my heart, in ver. 23. Men of blood, a common expression with David, comp. 5:6, 26:9, Leviticus 23, passages which have only to be looked at to see whatshould be made of the remark: "Men of blood, on account of their libations of blood." On the words: depart from me, q. d., get you away, I have nothing to do with you, we are not to comp. Psalms 6:8; Psalms 119:115, but Job 21:14 : "And they (the wicked) say unto God, depart from us," and Matthew 7:23. Luther falsely: And the blood-thirsty must depart from me, as if the Psalmist called in God's help against the wicked, through which the whole train of thought in the Psalm is destroyed. In ver. 20 ימרו is from אמר, with the dropping of א, as in 2 Samuel 19:14. They who speak to thee, with poetical boldness, for, they who use thy name-comp. 40:11. That we must explain: for crime, for the promotion of that, not criminally (Luther: slanderously) appears from the second member. In this member, נשוא is put by a poetical transposition for נשאו, comp. Psalms 8:7. It unquestion-ably rests upon Exodus 20:7, to which also Psalms 24:4 alludes: thou shalt not bear the name of the Lord to a lie, that is, thou shalt leave it unmixed with lies, not use it for the confirmation of a lie-comp. on Psalms 24. Accordingly the suffix is here to be supplied from the first member, bear thee away for lying and deceit. The two members stand in the same relation to each other, as the two members of Psa 24:4; only that the position there is an inverse one: who does not bear away his soul to a lie, and swears not to deceit. As thine enemies (the ער, enemy in 1 Samuel 28:16, and Daniel 4:16, not Isaiah 14:21), for every one is an enemy of the Lord, who mixes him up with sin, and degrades him into the means of compassing his bad ends. Luther's translation: and thine enemies raise themselves without cause, is dissipated by the one consideration, that נשא never signifies to raise one's self. Besides, there is naturally only one particular manifestation brought out here of the corruption of the wicked, in order to characterize them as such.-The expression: shall I not hate, in ver. 21, presents the hatred as something entirely natural to the true servant of God, a thing be understood by him of itself, and consequently a necessary mark of a gracious state; q. d., how could I do otherwise than hate them? Calvin: "When he says that the despisers of God were hateful to him, he vindicates by this eulogium his own integrity, not because he was himself free from all failings, but because, devoted to the cultivation of piety, he thoroughly adhorred all impiety. For never does thelove of piety sufficiently flourish in our hearts, unless it begets in us a hatred of crimes, such as David here declares. Then, if that zeal for the house of God burns in us, of which David speaks in Psalms 69:9, it will be inexcusable coldness in us, if we tacitly allow not only his righteousness to be violated, but also his sacred name to be insolently trodden under foot by the wicked? Upon תקומם, abbreviated from מתקומם, comp. Ewald �˜ 160, a.�In ver. 22 Luther translates quite erroneously: therefore are they hostile to me, instead of: therefore are they enemies to me, I judge and consider them as such; because they are God's enemies, they are also mine; which alone suits the connection.-With such feeling, as he has expressed in ver. 19-22, with such hearty abhorrence of the wicked and in respect to them, the Psalmist can call upon God, by way of consolation, to search and prove him, even to the lowest depths of his heart, ver. 23. He knows that this inquisi-tion and trial, to which at all events he is subject, and which he cannot escape, ver. 1, will establish for him a favourable result. -עצב, ver. 24, means heavy work, so in Isaiah 48:5 my work, for the idols, which I have laboriously made; parallel: my carved work, and my graven work-the trouble, pain. The way of pain is the way, which leads to pain. Such a way of pain, a painful course and manner of life, including what is experienced as well as done, belongs to those whose heart departs from the living God, and who walk in the wickedness of their heart, comp. Psalms 16:4. The Psalmist had no reason to apprehend such a way, so far as the passage, ver. 19-22, contains the language of truth. The contrast to the way of pain forms the way of eternity-the way that leads to eternity. There is an allusion to the close of the preceding Psalm: Lord, thy favour (toward me) endures for ever; q. d. upon the way, which leads to the blessed eternity promised me by thee (the endless continuance and prosperity of the Davidic stem and kingdom), which I have not lost through any guilt of mine, Psalms 140. The Psalm is composed of five verses as the beginning, and five as the conclusion. It is twice divided by three and two. In themiddle a strophe of three verses, the proper heart of the Psalm, distinguished by the use of the name Jehovah four times, which, with the occurrence of it thrice in the beginning and the conclu-sion, make altogether seven times. Ver. 2-6 represents in two onsets after a short prayer the wickedness of the enemies; and the danger which threatened the Psalmist from them. The middle strophe, ver. 7-9, presents the distress to God. The conclusion declares in two applications the firm hope of the Psalmist regarding the overthrow of the enemies, and the deliverance of the oppressed. The beginning and the conclusion, the distress and the deliverance, together make up the number ten. The authorship of David is attested, not only by the super-scription, but also by the dependance manifested throughout on the Psalms of David, and only on these, in connection with a vigorous originality, which does not admit of deriving this de-pendance from mere imitation; it rather arises from the striving of David to direct and bring all earlier brooks of consolation and support into one bed. That the Psalm stands in close connection with those around it, that it also refers to the future destinies of David's seed, is clear from this, that it has in common with them the strong compression of speech, the predilection for rare words, and generally a more elevated tone, as also several peculi-arities; and, besides, from the mention of war in ver. 2, and time martial preparation in ver. 7, which excludes a reference to merely private circumstances. After having placed before the eyes of his struggling posterity the great promise, and therein presented them with the true anchor for the storm, Psalms 138., David had further in Psalms 139. conducted them, both for their admonition and their com-fort, into the presence of the all-seeing and ever-present God. Now, he brings them into nearer contact with the prospective circumstances, sets before their eyes the frightful danger, which threatened from their enemies, and teaches them to view these as in the light of God. Just as here David triumphs also in 2 Samuel 23:6; 2 Samuel 23:7, over the future enemies of his seed and kingdom foreseen in the Spirit, and besides this Psalm the following also rest upon the presupposition of heavy trials and dangers awaiting the kingly house and kingdom, viz., Psalms 18., and the two trilogies, Ps,_101:-103. (comp. Introd. 102.) and Psa_108-110. Whoever is exer-cised with the cross as David was, and has had such experiences of the malice of men, he can never abandon himself, in regard to the future prospects of his race, to fantastical illusions of a per-petually untroubled prosperity, it will be a matter of satisfaction to him if only the Lord will bring all to a glorious issue at last. The old opinion, that the Psalm refers to the relation between David and Saul, has a certain measure of truth for its foundation. David has here, as also in Psalms 109., borrowed the colours from this relation: in Saul, the most powerful and malignant enemy of the past, he beholds the type of the future enemies of his seed. We find, in particular also here a strong emphasis upon calumny and false accusations, which is characteristic of the Sauline Psalms. Besides, it is precisely from these Psalms that this Psalm more especially borrows. To the Chief Musician, a Psalm of David.-Ver. 1-5.-Ver. 1. Redeem me, Lord, from wicked men, from the man of vio-lent deeds defend me, Ver. 2. Who meditate evil in their heart, every day they gather themselves for wars. Ver. 3. They sharpen their tongues like serpents, the poison of adders is under their lips. Selah. Ver. 4. Preserve me, Lord, from the hands of the wicked, from the man of violent deeds defend me, who pur- pose to overthrow my goings. Ver. 5. The lofty conceal gins and cords for me, they spread out the net on the way, they lay traps for me.-The man of violent deeds, in ver. 1, is an ideal person, as also in Psalms 18:48 "from the man of violent deed (in 2 Samuel 22:49, as here, the stronger plural, המסים deliver thou me." Still, the Psalmist there, and probably also here, has Saul especially in his eye, who was the type of all the future ene-mies of David, as he was also the most formidable and malig-nant of the past. In Psalms 52., for example, the character of Saul is drawn in a quite similar manner, to the character of the man of violent deeds here. On תנצרני, compare Psalms 12:8.גור in ver. 2, in the sig. to gather themselves, as in Psalms 56:6; Psalms 59:3. The other explanations are to be rejected on the ground alone of these two parallel passages, which, in a Psalm like the present, are of special weight. The rendering: raise themselves up = גרה is, besides, not grammatically certain; and the expla-nation: they inhabit war, for they are constantly in it, is not na-tural, and also without analogies. מלהמות, accus., for wars, is used only of wars in the proper sense, not of altercations.-In the first member of ver. 3, the parallel passage, Psalms 64:3 : "who sharpen their tongue like a sword," shews that we must not ex-plain: as the serpent sharpens its tongue; but only: with like venom as the serpent, as, indeed, this point of comparison is ex-pressly mentioned in the second member. Comp. regarding it Psalms 58:4. Peculiar here is only the עכשוב, which does not occur elsewhere. On the expression: under their lips, comp.: under his tongue, in Psalms 10:7.-The beginning of the second onset, in ver. 4, is marked, not only by the preceding Selah, but also by its repeating the beginning of the first, with only some small devia-tions. On the last member, comp. Psalms 56:13.-The lofty, in ver. 5, points back to Psalms 138:6. The image of the net and of the pit is particularly dear to David, comp. Psalms 31:4; Psalms 57:6; Psalms 64:5; Psalms 142:4. The heaping up of so many names here serves to bring together all that had formerly been said and complained of regarding hostile plots. David sees the past, with its horrors, reviving again in the future. But the past has also taught him, where the help is to be found. Ver. 6-8.-Ver. 6. I said to the Lord: thou art my God; hear, Lord, the voice of my crying. Ver. 7. The Lord God is my salvation-strength; thou coverest my head in the day of armour. Ver. 8. Grant not, Lord, what the wicked desires; yield not to him his will, they will lift up themselves. Selah.-- The first member of ver. 6 is taken verbatim from Psalms 31:14. In the first member there, literally: I trust upon the Lord. On the second member comp. Psalms 5:1; Psalms 28:2; Psalms 28:6.-On the first member of ver. 7, comp. Psalms 62:1; Psalms 62:11. My salvation-strength, upon which I, in myself impotent, ground all my hope of salvation. On the expression: thou coverest-the preterite marks the past stretching into the future-comp. Psalms 5:11; Psalms 139:13. The head, because there the stroke is deadly, comp. 1 Samuel 28:2, and Psalms 60:7. The day of armour is the day of battle.-On the first member of ver. 8, comp. Psalms 27:12 : "Give me not over to the will of mine enemies." On זממו comp. Psalms 31:14, xxxvii. 12. On the expression: they shall lift or elevate them-selves, comp. Ps. lxvi, 7, and, as regards the matter, Deuteronomy 32 : Ver. 9-13.-Ver. 9. The head of those that compass me about -the injury of their lips will cover them. Ver. 10. Burning coals will be thrown upon them, into the fire will he precipitate them, into water-floods, that they rise not up again. Ver. 11. The man of the tongue, will not prosper in the land, the man of wicked violence, he will pursue him, thrust upon thrust. Ver. 12. I know, the Lord maintains the right of the poor, the judg-ment of the needy. Ver. 13. Surely the righteous will praise thy name, the upright shall dwell before thy face.-In ver. 9, the head of the enemies, with its destructive covering, forms the con-trast to the head of the Psalmist, with its covering of loving-kind-ness, in ver. 7. To bring prominently out this contrast, the ראש is placed first in the nomin. absol. מסבי is plural of בסaמe, surrounding, which is determined here by the connection tobe a hostile one, comp. 2 Kings 23:5; it is not the partic. in Hiph.; for this has a transitive meaning, comp. Jeremiah 21:4. The injury of their lips is the injury which they sought to inflict by their calumnious malice. Psalms 7:16 is exactly parallel. In the last word the reading of the text is ומס.eכaי; without iod. Thevan only serves the purpose of drawing attention to the marginal note, which gives the regular form, according to the rule of Hil-ler: Joth medianum in altera lectione quiescens post chirec aut tzere, in altera defectum, in symbolo vel in vau convertitur vel trausponitur, comp. on Psalms 74:11.-ימיטו, in ver. 10, they bend, for, one bends, or throws down, comp. Psalms 55:3, occupies, as very often happens, the place of the passive, which is substi-tuted on the margin. Coals, comp. Psalms 18:12; Psalms 18:13. While, in the first member only, the punishment itself is represented, in the second the author of it, the Lord, is distinctly mentioned. Deep waters are suitably placed beside the fire, comp. Psalms 66:12, Isaiah 43:2. מהמרות, which occurs only here, is to be ex-plained, by comp. with the Arabic, of such, and not of deep pits in the earth, with Luther and others.-The counterpart to the man of the tongue, in ver. 11, is formed by the man of wicked violence, and by means of this counterpart, the tongue is more nearly cha-racterized as malignant. On this account alone רע must not, in respect to the accents, be separated from המס. On the expression: he will not prosper, comp, Psalms 101:7; Psalms 102:28. The subject in יצודנו is the Lord, as also יפלס in ver. 10, comp. Psalms 35:6.--Onver. 12 comp. Psalms 9:4. Calvin: "All now think me miserable, because, while exposed to the pleasure of wicked men, I am not immediately rescued by the hand of God. I do not, however, abandon myself to despair; because I know it to be the part of God to undertake the cause of the poor."--On the expression: with thy face, in ver. 13, comp. Psalms 16:11:61:7. Psalms 141. The Psalmist entreats from the Lord power to withstand the internal dangers with which he was threatened from the assaults of a hostile world, the temptation which pressed upon him to murmur against God and his providential dealings, and to pass over into the path of prosperous simmers, ver. 1-4. In ver. 5-7 he brings to his recollection the reasons which might fortify him against such a temptation: what he had hitherto suffered was the gracious and gentle chastisement of a righteous God, and in his time the wheel will turn, the enemies be appointed to destruc-tion, the death of the Psalmist change into life. Finally, in ver. 8-10, he prays that the Lord would bring such hopes into fulfilment, by giving deliverance to him, and overthrowing the enemies. The whole is completed in the number ten, which falls into seven, divided by four and three, and three. The name Jehovah is thrice used. The superscription, which ascribes tke Psalm to David, is con-firmed by the close affinity it bears to the Psalms of David in connection with undoubted originality. The pregnant brevity of the language extorts, even from De Wette, the confession: "I consider it, with Psalms 10., to be one of the oldest." That the Psalm, like the whole cycle to which it belongs, refers to greater relations than those of a private individual, is evident from the expressions, "their judges," and "our bones," in ver. 6 and 7. It is also fitly assigned to this cycle on the ground, that ver. 9 and 10 connect themselves with the preceding Psalm, while ver. 6 refers to Psalms 138:4; and, lastly, on account of the predilection peculiar to this cycle for rare words and unusual forms The centre of the Psalm is formed by ver. 3 and 4, especially the latter, to which also its disproportionate length already points. David would fortify his successors upon the throne, and their people, against the strong inward temptations which the coming cross was sure to bring with it, temptations which had pressed hard upon himself during the troubled past, and the dan-ger of which he well knew from his own experience. Ver. 1-4.-Ver. 1. A Psalm of David. Lord, I cry to thee, make haste to me, give ear to my voice when I cry to thee. Ver. 2. Let my prayer prosper before thee as the incense, the heaving of my hands as the evening meat-offering. Ver. 3. Set, Lord, a guard to my mouth, keep the door of my lips. Ver. 4. Incline not my heart to an evil thing, to commit deeds in wicked- ness with evil doers, and let me not eat of their dainties.- Ver. 1 and 2 form the introduction, not to the whole Psalm, but to ver. 3 and 4. For only there are purposes concealed behind the prayer, of which the second member of ver. 2 speaks. To the same result conducts also the formal division of the Psalm, according to which, ver. 1 and 2 are closely united to ver. 3 and 4, while they would form a strophe by themselves as an intro-duction to the whole Psalm. On the expression; I cry to thee, ver. 1, comp. 17:6. On the expression: make haste to me, which shews that the temptation against which the Psalmist prays for support in ver. 3 and 4, which lay heavy upon him, and even in idea was ready to overwhelm him, comp. Psalms 22:19; Psalms 70:2; Psalms 71:12. On the words: give ear to my voice, Psalms 140:6; and on: for. I cry to thee, 4:1.- תכון, in ver. 2, is to be taken, after Psalms 140:11, in the sense of: let it prosper. We must not explain as an incense-offering, but as (spiritual) incense, spiritual frankincense. The smoking, sweet smelling incense is in scripture the standing symbol of the prayer of believers, which is precious before God-comp. Apoc. v. 8, viii. 3, 4, Luke 1:10. The Psalmist conies forth here as an ex-positor of the Mosaic law, in which the offering of incense every morning and evening (Exodus 30:7 ss.) symbolized prayer, and re-minded the faithful of their obligation to present it, and the blessing which arises from it. He who prayed brought to the Lord the substance of this incense-offering. With the presenta-tion of the true incense he connects that of the true meat-offering.The meat-offering, the nourishment presented to the Lord by his people, is in the law the symbolical representation of good works, which were thus exhibited as objects of desire, and commendation for God's people, comp. Psalms 40:7. A heart, disposed to good works, the Psalmist presents to the Lord in ver. 3 and 4, where he prays for power to perform such, for preservation from the de- ceitfulness of sin. כפי משאת is now commonly understood, after the example of Luther, of the lifting up of the hands as a jesture in prayer, but we must, rather explain: the heaving or the offering, the gift of my hands. The signification of present or offering, for משאת, is perfectly certain; and is the rather to be retained here, as מנהה has also originally the same signification, and as משאת is specially used of the gift of food, which one man presented to another, Genesis 43:34, 2 Samuel 11:8. The mincha was such a gift of food. The signification: the lifting up, never elsewhere occurs, and from the form alone the word could scarcely have that meaning. Finally, it is a decisive matter-of-fact ground, that the lifting up of the hands, prayer, has nothing to do with the meat-offering. The question is asked, why the meat-offering of the evening should here in particular be named. This question is often quite falsely answered, in particular by those, who with Kimchi suppose, that the Psalm was intended to be sung in the evening, in opposition to the character of this whole Psalm-cycle, which excludes the idea of such specialities. We are guided into the right track by the fact, that whenever, excepting in the Pen-tateuch, the meat-offering is more exactly determined, it is only the evening one that is named-comp. 1 Kings 18:29; 1 Kings 18:36, where it is carefully to be remarked, the evening meat-offering is simply named the meat-offering. Daniel 9:21, Esra 9:4, 5. A farther light is afforded by 2 Kings 16:15 : "And the king Ahaz commanded Urijah, the priest, and said, Upon the great altar present the burnt-offering of the morning, and the meat-offering of the evening." Hence, it would seem, that the burnt-offering was regarded as having the most prominent part in the morning sacrifice, with the meat-offering only as an appendage, so that the whole was named from the burnt-offering, while, on the other hand, in the evening sacrifice the meat-offering was re- garded as having the chief-place-good works had rightly their first-place assigned them at the end of the day-and the wholenamed from it. Accordingly, the meat-offering of the evening here does not form a contrast to the meat-offering of the morning, but it occupies the place of the meat-offering generally.-In ver. 3 the Psalmist prays for preservation from the danger of sinning in word, which the temptation brought with it; and in ver. 4 from that of sinning in deed. Psalms 39:1, and what was said there, form a commentary on ver. 3. The subject is not, as Calvin and others suppose, respecting hard speeches against the enemies, but of impatient, irreverent complaints against God, a quarrel with him, an expression of doubt respecting his power, righteousness, and grace. The reasons, which ought to have prevented him from making such complaints against God, to which the human heart is much inclined the conviction that the sufferings were a deserved and fatherly chastisement, the propsect that the wicked would at the proper time come to a frightful end, while his suf-ferings would bear a rich harvest of joy, these things are brought to remembrance by the Psalmist in ver. 5-7. שמרה, only here, guard, נצרה, the imperat. in Kal with He parag., and Pagesh euphon., as in Proverbs 4:13. דל is only here used for דלת, gate, (comp. Micah 7:5 : keep the doors of thy mouth.) Frequently in poetry the masculine form is employed in place of the other-wise common feminine, and reversely, as presently in ver. 9 מקשות. We must not conclude from the poetical employment of such forms, that they were in current use. The same freedom is also taken by the poets with verbs in forming conjugations not found elsewhere; for example, the Hithpo. in ver. 4, comp. on Psalms 18:26. On the expression: incline not, in ver. 4, comp. on Psalms 119:36. Weakening and evacuating the import, many ren-der it: do not permit it to be inclined, suffer it not to be prone. With the obstinately wicked, God actually inclines the heart to evil things, though the guilt always remains with themselves and their perverse wills. The heart is named as the source of actions. The subject is the heart here, as in the preceding verse it is the words. Under the "evil thing," and "deeds in wickedness," we must not think specially of revenge against his enemies. The com-parison of numerous parallel passages in the Psalms, for example Psalms 10:10; Psalms 27:27; Psalms 49:49; Psalms 49:73., and the consideration of the last words ofthis Psalm itself, shew that the discourse is rather of an apostacy to wickedness in general. Whoever has lost his way respectingGod, because not perceiving his righteous retribution, to him the temptation lies very near of seeking to make good his salvation by himself, without troubling himself farther with the heavy and irksome restraints of the divine law. The dainties of the wicked (מנעמים only here) are not "their treacherous speeches," also not "their temporal enjoyments and delicacies," as such, but the prosperity and fulness, which they acquire through their mis-deeds, and a regard to which might so easily lead others to par-ticipate in the same-compare the graphic delineation of these dainties of the wicked in Psalms 73. As here under the image of delicate food, so there in ver. 10, this prosperity is represented under the image of a copious drink, which is sipped up by the thirsty. Var. 5-7 contains the grounds on which the purposes and vows of the Psalmist, concealed under the prayers of the first strophe, rests. Ver. 5. The righteous smites me in kindness and chastises me, oil for the head my head refuses not. If still, then, I shall pray against their wickednesses. Ver. 6. Their judges shall be thrown down in the force of the rock, for they hear my words that they are sweet. Ver. 7. As when one with the plough cleaves the earth, so are our bones scattered on the brink of hell. צדיק in ver. 5, properly the righteous one, God (to whom already Amyrald rightly referred the word) in his property as righteous, or according to his righteousness. This he manifests towards his own, in that he tempers zeal with mercy, and does not surrender them to such overwhelming destruction, as is appointed to the wicked, but only to fatherly chastisement -comp. the expression in Psalms 143:1 : Hear me after thy righ-teousness. הסד, which belongs to both verbs, is acc., which de-scribes more minutely the way and manner of the striking and reproving-comp. Jeremiah 31:3, where the word is used precisely in the same way, Ew. § 279, 100. Chastisement, indeed, always proceeds from the principle of anger; but behind the anger there is concealed for the righteous mercy, which causes the manifesta-tion of anger itself, and watches regarding it, that it should not exceed the proper limits, which separate the righteous and the wicked from each other--compare the full elucidation of what is here only briefly indicated in the speech of Elihu, Job 36:5 ss. and in the New Testament, Hebrews 12:6. Thewhole of this first member rests upon 2 Samuel 7:14; 2 Samuel 7:15 : "I will be to him a father, and he will be to me a son. If he fails, I will chastise him with the rod of men, and with the stripes of the children of men; but my loving-kindness shall not depart from him, as I caused it to depart from Saul, whom I removed from before thee," (compare on the meaning of the passage Psalms 89:33; Psalms 89:34, where in like manner a refer-ence is made to it.) It is also from this original passage, as to the substance, that the word הלם, to beat, strike, peculiar to the passage before us, is derived. For it rests on this, that there the chastisement appears under the image of a beating. The refer-ence borne to that original passage is so far of importance, that it furnishes a testimony for the correctness of the import we at-tach to this Psalm, and to the whole cycle it belongs to, as bear-ing upon the destinies of David's offspring. The oil of the head is always the oil, with which on festive occasions persons were wont to anoint themselves before sitting down to meat, the oil ofjoy, comp. Psalms 23:5; Psalms 45:7; Psalms 104:15, Matthew 6:17. יני is Fut. Hiph. of נוא, for יניא, compare Ew. �˜ 224, b. נוא has everywhere but one signification, that of keeping off, hindering, which it preserves also in Psalms 33:10 : "The Lord holds off the thoughts of the people," viz., from gaining their end, q. d., he brings them to nothing. Every exposition is, therefore, to be rejected as arbitrary, which does not take the word here in this signification. The sense of the words: oil of the head refuses not my head, is this: because I discern through the clouds of the divine anger the sun of the divine mercy, I will not abandon my-self to sorrow and despair, after the manner of the world, when the hand of the Almighty rests upon it, but I will, and can, and must be joyful in the midst of tribulation-this is my precious privilege, of which I shall never bereave myself. Such an utter-ance of joy in the midst of suffering is thoroughly Davidic, comp. Psalms 4:7, "thou givest joy in my heart more than in the time when their corn and their wine abound," 63:3, 42:8. The words re-fer to the eating of dainties, or fine morsels on the part of the wicked, at the end of ver. 4. The Psalmist has still his joy even in suffering, his festive entertainment, so that he does not need to hanker after their sinful enjoyments, can give up to them their ill-gotten goods, comp. Psalms 4:7. In the last member the רעות are not sufferings, but acts of wickedness, comp. Psalms 140:2, "who imagine mischiefs in the heart." The words: if still, are not to be supplied from the preceding: if still he chastises me; but from the following: if still their wicked actions proceed, if they over-step the due measure of paternal chastisement. So, or then my prayer (comp. on the ו Ew. �˜ 335), then have I a mighty weapon for prayer to my God against them, since he, indeed, uses the wicked as a rod of chastisement for his people, but constantly says to them in his own time: hitherto shalt thou come but no farther; comp. Psalms 69, .13, 109:4. The verse before us has had the misfortune of being generally misunderstood. Quite erroneous is the translation of Luther: Let the righteous smite me in a friendly manner, and chastise me, this will be as good to me as a balsam on my head, for I pray continually, that they may not do me hurt. So also the translation of De Wette and others: Let the righteous smite me, it is love, let him punish me, an ointment of my head, declines not my head; he repeats: still my prayer is against their wickedness, q. d., from friends I can indeed suffer what is not pleasant for my improvement, but the malice of ene-mies I cannot bear: Against the connection, into which thethought would be, as it were, cut in, against the accents and thenatural connection of the words: oil of the head refuses not myhead, against the signification of הלם, which is never used of"striking with words, blaming," against the radical passage in 2Sam. vii.; instead of the ו in ותפלתי, there would then be re-quired a stronger particle bringing prominently out the contrast. We pass over other arbitrary things, as their refutation has al-ready been given in the positive grounds advanced for our expo-sition.-With the last words of ver. 5: then is my prayer against their wickedness, ver. 6 and 7 connect themselves, and describe the consequence of this prayer, the overthrow of the wicked, and the deliverance of the righteous, and thereby furnish a tempta-tion to the second rod. The שמט, in ver. 6, signifies to let loose, then to let fall down, to throw down; comp. 2 Kings 9:33, where it is used of Jezebel. בידי signifies as certainly in the power, as בידי in ver. 9 out of the power. The judges are, therefore, thrown from the rock (which is not expressly said) upon the rock or against the rock-הסלע אל, Psalms 135 :ii. 9; so that the rock receives and crushes them; comp. 2 Chronicles 25:12, where in awar against Edom, as it appears, a premature practical appli-cation was made of this passage. The judges are the possessors of the world's power, who rebel against the kingdom of David; comp. Psalms 2:2; Psalms 2:10, where also in ver. 9, as here, a dashing in pieces is threatened to the enemies of David's kingdom. The second half alludes to Psalms 138:4 : "All the kings of the earth will praise thee, O Lord, when they hear the words of thy mouth." My words, by which I invite them to submit themselves to the Lord's anointed, comp. Psalms 2:10-12. Brought to discretion by the injuries they had received, they would find precious to them these hitherto despised words. The enemies of the kingdom of David are the subject in שמעו, to which the suffix refers in: their judges. That they precious, for, as precious.-In ver. 7: like one who ploughs and cleaves, is q. d., as when one by ploughing cleaves the earth. פזר occurs in Psalms 53:5, in the sense of scat-tering, and that, too, in connection with bones. לפי at the mouth, or opening, Joshua 10:18; Joshua 10:22, Proverbs 8:3. The bones are scattered, as it were, at the mouth of Sheol, into which the souls have des-cended. Several understand by the mouth of Sheol its devouring rapacity; comp. Isaiah 5:14; Michaelis: ad us osque mortis devo-raturae. Sheol, however, may well be regarded as devouring souls, but not bones. The sense of the passage is this: as in ploughing the tearing up of the earth is not the ultimate design, but only the means to a fruitful result, only serves the purpose of making the earth yield its produce; therefore, with an equally beneficent design, or in order that, through the present injury, new life may arise, our bones also are scattered about. While the enemies are conducted from life to death, ver. 6, we are con-ducted from death to life. We have here the first germ of Isa 26:19, Ezekiel 37. How untenable the views of this verse are, which deviate from the one now given, and find in it only an ex-pression of sorrowful lamentation, is clear already from remarks such as those of De Wette "After the preceding wish this thought follows inconveniently," and from the manifold arbitrary explanations of כי, at the beginning of ver. 8, which those diffe-rent views have given rise to. (Hitzig: indeed, Ewald: however, Tholuck: but, Stier: nevertheless; Maurer leaves it its common signification, for, but refers it to ver. 4, 5!) That the substance of the verse must be of a joyful and consolatory kind, is renderednecessary by its connection with the preceding verse, and equally so with the following one. The prayer, which, in ver. 8, is grounded upon the declarations contained in this verse, is directed to the preservation of the being, and of this, therefore, must the discourse also be in the declaration before us. As the prayer in ver. 8-10 has a double object, self-preservation and the des-truction of the enemies, so has also the declaration according to the view we have given of it. Ver. 8-10.-Ver. 8. For to thee, Lord God, are our eyes, upon thee do I trust, pour not out my soul. Ver. 9. Preserve me from the power of the snare, which they have laid for me, and from the pits of the evil-doers. Ver. 10. Let the wicked fall into their nets altogether, till I pass over.-On the first member of ver. 8 comp. Psalms 25:15; on the expression: upon thee I trust, Psalms 31:2. ערה in Hiph. to be poured out, Isaiah 32:15, in Pi. to pour out, Genesis 24:20; and so also in Hiph., and indeed precisely as here of the soul, in Isaiah 53:12 : "because he has poured out his soul to the death." The expression passed over to the soul from the blood, in which the soul is. The soul or the life is here not that of the individual, but of the family, and consequently also of the people, whose existence was rooted in that of the anointed house-comp. Lamentations 4:20. Luther falsely: expel not. That the fut. in ver. 10 is to be taken as a wish, and not as a prophetical announcement, is clear from the connection with the preceding context. The suff. in מכמירו refers to the ideal person of the wicked: in their own net, comp. Psalms 140:10, vii. 15. To יהד the enemies altogether, comp. 40:15, we must supply from the first member: let them fall in. Luther, without injury as to the sense, has drawn this much tortured יהד to the first member. Till I pass over, Vulg. donec transiero, viz. un-hurt by the nets. The destruction of the enemies brought about by their own machinations must proceed till they have been com-pletely annihilated, and David has become entirely free. Psalms 142. The superscription reads: an instruction of David. When hewas in the cave. A prayer. On משכיל instruction, comp. at Psalms 32. This designation is here proved to be original by the conclusion of the Psalm, which, in conformity with that, points to the general import of what primarily applied only to David, thus corresponding to the relation which ver. 8 bears to the super-scription in Psalms 32. The: in the cave, refers not to some particular cave, but only indicates that the Psalm contains cave-thoughts-comp. at Psalms 57. On תפלה, not prayer generally, but supplicatory prayer entirely-comp. on Psalms 102. supers. 141:5.That the situation indicated in the superscription was not the proper occasion of the Psalm, but that David here only applies what he then experienced for the edification of others, appears not simply from the expression, "an instruction," in the front of the superscription, out of which the following words: when he was in the cave, derive their more definite import, but still more from the fact, that the Psalm stands in close contact with the rest of the cycle of which it forms a part (comp., for example, ver.3, with 141:9, 140:5, 143:4) and the exposition. David sees in his desperate condition, when he was in the cave, a type of the future condition of his race and of the church. His cave-reflections he sets before them as an instruction. When it might come with them to an extremity-this is the posture of affairs contemplated, and such must come, for it cannot go other-wise with the son than with the father, they too must have their Saul to withstand-they should still not despair, but pour out their complaint before the Lord. The whole is completed in the number seven, divided by the four and three. The name Jehovah occurs three times, twice at the beginning of the first, and once at the beginning of the second strophe. Ver. 1-4.-Ver. 1. I cry to the Lord with my voice, I make supplication to the. Lord with my voice. Ver. 2. I pour out my complaint before him, and skew before him my distress. Ver. 3. Because my spirit is overwhelmed in me, and thou knowest my path upon the way that I should go they hid snares for me. Ver. 4. Look to the right hand and lo! there will no one know me, every refuge is lost for me, no one con- cerns himself for my soul.-On קולי ver. 1, comp. Psalms 3:4. To the Lord-who once so gloriously listened to the progenitor, when he was hopelessly lost. On the second member comp.Psalms 30:8. On ver. 2 comp. the superscription of Psalms 102., a Psalm of David: "Prayer of the miserable when he is in distress, and pours out his complaint before the Lord;" also Psalms 62:8; Psalms 64:1. -Ver. 3 declares what caused the Psalmist to go with supplication and prayer to the Lord. This was the deep pros-tration of spirit corresponding to his desperate condition, coupled with the conviction that God knew his way, and, as is further mentioned with the view of presenting a more exact and extended description of it, the dangers which threatened him in the way--comp. Psalms 1:6. Others, after the example of Luther, elevate the connection between this verse and the preceding, and take the vau in ואתה as the mark of a conclusion from the former mem-ber: when my spirit is overwhelmed, then thou knowest my path, for then the thought comforts me, that thou knowest. On עטף, comp. at Psalms 102. supers., 107:5, 77:3. In regard עלי, in me, comp. at Psalms 42:4. That we must explain: which I should go, not: which I go, appears from Psalms 143:8.-The right hand is named in ver 4, because, being the instrument of action, it is the most suitable place for any one who would either effectually hin-der or support one-comp. on Psalms 109:5; Psalms 121:5. There is no one that knows me, will know, they all make themselves strange, and no one extends to me assistance, comp. Psalms 38:11. The consideration of this mournful helplessness, which, according to ver. 3, lay open before God as the omniscient, must move him to come forth as the present help in trouble. "When there is no longer any one on earth, in whose aid thou canst confide, then will he be thy comforter, and will look on thee for thy good." מנוס,refuge, as 59:16. Ver. 5-7.-Ver. 5. I cry to thee, Lord, I say: thou art my confidence, my portion in the land of the living. Ver. 6. At-tend to my supplication, for I have become very thin; deliver me from my persecutors, for they are too powerful for me. Ver. 7. Bring my soul out of prison, that men may praise thy name; the righteous shall compass me about, when thou dealest kindly with me.-The beginning of the second strophe, in ver. 5, takes up again the beginning of the first. On the expression: thou art my confidence, comp. Psalms 62:7; Psalms 71:7. On: my por-tion, q. d. my helper and bestower of salvation, comp. on Psalms 16:5; Psalms 73:26. On: in the land of the living, at 27:13, Psalms 52:6.-On the words: attend to my supplication, ver. 6, comp.37:1, 61:1. I have become very thin, comp. Psalms 79:9, rests, as it appears, on Judges 6:6, "and Israel was very thin before Midian." On: deliver me from my persecutors, comp. Psalms 7:1. The allusion to this passage warrants us to read be-tween the lines: thou, who didst once so wonderfully answer the same prayer. On: for they are too powerful for me, comp. Psalms 18:17. -On: bring me--out of the prison, comp. 25:17: "Bring me out of my distresses," and 143:11 : "Thou wilt bring my soul out of distress." Upon the prison as an image of trouble and distress, see on Psa_:107:10. There is, perhaps, an allusion to the history of Joseph, q. d., lead me out of dis-tress, as formerly in the type Joseph was delivered from the pri- son, comp. on Psalms 105:17 ss. My soul, the distressed, ver. 3, the endangered, 141:8. That the expression: to praise thy name, comp. Psalms 17, 140:14, must , be explained: that men may praise, I in company with the righteous, not with Luther: that I may praise, appears from the following words. כתר means in Hiph. only to surround, comp. Habakkuk 1:4, Proverbs 14:8; as also in Pi. comp. Psalms 22:12, with the single exception of Job 36:2, where the Arabic usage is employed. בי marks the tender fellow-feeling with which they surround him, pressing closely upon him. The allusion to the sympathy of the righteous, in regard to the deliverance granted to the Psalmist, is one of fre-quent occurrence with David; comp., for example. Psalms 40:16; Psalms 35:27. On גמל with על, to give, to deal kindly, comp. on Psalms 13:6; Psalms 103:10. Psalms 143. The Psalm is completed in the number twelve, and falls into two main parts, each of six verses, divided by Selah-the first (after an introductory prayer in ver. 1 and 2) containing a re-presentation of the distress and the complaint, the second con-taining the prayer and the hope. The six is again divided by the three, so that the whole falls into four strophes, each of three verses. To the number of verses corresponds the fourfold Jeho-vah, which makes up the number seven, when added to the three-fold use of the name in the preceding Psalm. So also the num-ber of the preparatory petitions, ver. 1 and 2. To the numberof particular strophes corresponds the threefold mention of theloving-kindness of the Lord, and of his righteousness and truth, which is also thrice noticed. It corresponds to the division intotwo halves, that the Psalmist twice designates himself, in ver. 2and 12, as the servant of the Lord. The whole number of versescorresponds to the twelve times utterance of prayer and hope in the second part, in each verse a double one, with the exceptionof ver. 7, where there are three petitions, and of ver. 9, where there is only one-in each strophe six petitions, correspondingto the number of verses in the two divisions. The representationof the distress in the first division, ver. 3-6, presents ten parti-culars, in the first strophe three, in the second seven, accordingto one of the two ordinary divisions of the ten. In like mannerthe second part presents a tenfold grounding of the prayer andhope, in each strophe a fivefold one, according to, the other of thetwo ordinary divisions of the ten, 2. 2. 1.-1. 2. 2. In unison with the superscription, the Psalm bears evidence throughout of David's spirit and David's mode of expression. It isalmost wholly composed of the sounds of complaint, supplication, and hope, which had already been uttered in the earlier Davidic Psalms (only in such), and had sunk deep into the heart. These clear brooks were drawn from all sides into the channel of this smooth-flowing Psalm, which was designed to provide quickening for the fainting souls of David's race during future times of op-pression. With so much of dependance the Psalm still bears throughout the character of originality, not merely where the dependance ceases, as in ver. 2, which has become of such im-portance for the church, and to which the Psalm owes its place among those of the penitential class, though, from its predomi-nant tendency, it does not belong to that class, but also in the dependant passages themselves, in the thoughtful and artificial manner of their collection, which could only have proceeded from the person, out of whose breast the utterances originally welled forth. There is nowhere any trace of "a flat compilation;" all is feeling and life. Along with this there is the repose and self-possession of one who does not find himself immediately involved in the distress, but looks down upon it as from a high tower, andprays and intercedes for the afflicted of his seed, as Moses of old did upon the Mount. That the Psalm must not be viewed apart from those that sur-round it, is clear already from the connection with Psalms 142. , comp. ver. 4 here with ver. 3 there, ver. 8 with ver. 3, and ver. 11 with ver. 7. That David calls himself so expressly at the beginning and the end, the servant of God, establishes a connec-tion with 2 Sam. vii., where, in David's thanksgiving, this appel-lation occurs almost every verse. Ver. 1-6.-Ver. 1. Lord, hear my prayer, attend to my sup-plication, in thy faithfulness hear me, in thy righteousness. Ver.2. And enter not into judgment with thy servant, for be-fore thee no one living is righteous. Ver. 3. For the enemypersecutes my soul, crushes to the ground my life, makes me to dwell in dark places like one eternally dead. Ver. 4. Andwearied is my spirit with me, my heart is confounded to me in my body. Ver. 5. I think of the days of old, I reflect upon allthy doing, meditate upon the work of thy hands. Ver. 6. Istretch forth my hands to thee, my soul is to thee as a faint land. Selah.--ver. 1 the hearing is rested upon a double foundation, the faithfulness and righteousness of God, corresponding to thedouble prayer in the first half of the verse. The appeal tothe faithfulness presupposes, that the Psalmist had received defi-nite promises from God, comp. 2 Samuel 7. Righteousness givesto every one his own; to the righteous-and only such must ven-ture, after Psalms 139., to take into their mouth the words of thisPsalm-in spite of their failings, the forgiveness of which is itselfthe work of divine righteousness (comp. on Psalms 51:15) salvation;to the wicked destruction. In Psalms 36:5; Psalms 36:6, righteousness andfaithfulness are united together.-Enter not into judgment withthy servant, ver, 2, on account of the human infirmity, which stillalways cleaves to thy people, along with the righteousness whichthey also possess as the indispensable condition of salvation. ThePsalmist had appealed in ver. 1 to the divine righteousness. Theappeal to this has for its foundation a consciousness of personalrighteousness, compare on Psalms 17:1. But with the mention ofthis there is quite naturally introduced also the thought of itsgreat imperfection, and on this account the Psalmist betakes him-self to the forbearance and pardoning mercy of the Lord, whichcan never be withdrawn from his servants, which he must grant them precisely according to his righteousness (comp. on Psalms 19:13), not because they could demand it, but because he would otherwise deny his own nature. The accuser goes into the judg-ment with the accused Job 9:32; Job 22:4; but here the accuser is, at the same time, judge, and appears as such in the second mem-ber. God does go in point of fact into judgment with those who have offended against him, by suspending over them desolating punishments. The expression: with thy servant, contains the grounding of the prayer; with his servants God cannot go into judgment; he chastens them indeed, but he does not give them over to death. No one living, no servant even, who constantly needs the forgiveness of his sins, and must perish, if thou dost not grant it to him, 1 Peter 4:18. The passage before us has pro-duced impressions also upon the territory of Scripture. There is an entire series of similar expressions resting upon it in the book of Job; for example, 9:2, 14:3, 15:14, then Romans 3:20.-The for in ver. 3 grounds the preceding prayers: not that merely in ver. 1, but the one also in ver. 2. For the request: enter not into judgment, is as to the meaning., q. d., surrender me not on account of my failings to destruction. On the first member comp. Psalms 7:5. The Psalmist must, in spite of his innocence (comp. Psalms 139.) suffer what, according to that fundamental passage, could permanently and conclusively rest only upon those who are laden with guilt. The fem. form היה, in the sig. of life only poetically, occurs in this sig. also in another Psalm, of the time of David, Psalms 78:50. In regard to the dark places in the third member, compare on Psalms 88:6. What is only briefly indicated here, is there enlarged upon in ver. 3-6, a passage in other respects also containing various marks of dependance. This third member is literally borrowed in Lamentations 3:6. As a commen-tary on the words: dead of eternity, or eternally dead (Gauss: "who lie in the long-continuing night of the grave and of death, out of which no return can be found to this life,") those in Psalms 88:5 may serve: "whom thou rememberest no more, and they are cut off from thy hand," q. d., who have for ever ceased to be the objects of thy providential care. Several: as those who have been long dead; but whether long ago or recently makes no difference. Luther falsely: as the dead in the world,-On the first member of ver. 4 compare Psalms 142:3. שמם, to be prostrated in soul, faint, compare Psalms 40:15.-From the connection the mention of God’ s active energy in the bestowal of salvation upon his people during the past, the wonders he wrought for their deliverance, cannot be as an object of hope (several: sperans quod mini etiam none ita sis facturus) as in Psalms 44:1-3, but only a doleful one, as in Psalms 22:3-5. For we find ourselves here in the region of sorrow. In the dependant pas-sage also, Psalms 77:5, the remembrance of the past serves, not to mitigate, but to increase and deepen the pain. On the second and third members, comp. the dependant passage, Psalms 92:5.--The second member of ver. 6 rests upon Psalms 63:1 : "My soul thirsts after thee in a dry land, and faints without water." As a parched land stands related to the rain, so my soul to thee, and to thy salvation. The relation is only indicated in a general way. The more exact description would have been: as faint land thirsts after the rain, so thirsts my soul after thee. Stier: "faint land mixes the image in a lively manner, since properly only שPנעיפה a faint, languishing soul, could be used." Ver. 7-12. Ver. 7. Make haste, hear me, Lord, my spirit is exhausted, hide not thy face from me, otherwise I shall be like those that go into hell. Ver. 8. Let me hear in the morn-ing thy loving-kindness, for on thee I trust, make known to me the way, wherein I should go, for to thee I carry my soul. Ver. 9. Deliver me from mine enemies, Lord, to thee I hide myself. Ver. 10. Teach me to do thy will, for thou art my God, let thy spirit, the good, lead me upon a plain land. Ver. 11. For thy name's sake, Lord, wilt thou quicken me; in thy righteousness wilt thou bring my soul out of trouble. Ver. 12. And in thy loving-kindness wilt thou extirpate mine enemies, and destroy all, who make war against my soul, for I am thy servant. On the words: make haste, hear me, in ver. 7, comp. 102:2, 69:17. On: for my spirit is exhausted, through the heavy, long-continued suffering, Psalms 39:10 : "Through the blow of thy hands I am exhausted;" on the second half, Psalms 102:2; Psalms 28:1. The prayer in both members is grounded upon this, that mat-ters had now come with the Psalmist to an extremity. Where this is the case with the servants of God, there the divine help cannot be longer withheld. In ver. 8 and 9 the prayer rests uponthe heartfelt confidence which the Psalmist entertained toward God, on the principle, that whoever places his confidence in God, he cannot be abandoned by God. On the expression: let me hear, ver. 8, through a matter-of-fact speech, a proof of loving kindness, comp. Psalms 51:9. On: in the morning, Psalms 59:16. That in the prayer: make known to me the way wherein I should go, the discourse is not of a moral guidance, but that the way is the way of salvation from trouble, appears. from Psalms 142:3, and the radical passage, Psalms 25:4. Calvin: "When he seeks that the way should be made patent to him, in which he should walk, the matter is to be referred to his anxieties. For it signifies, that he stood as it were astonished, incapable of lifting a foot, unless by having a way of escape divinely laid open to him; as if he should say: Lord, all the desires of my soul are borne upwards to thee; therefore in a time of so great perplexity do thou administer counsel to me." The words, "On thee I trust," and "to thee I carry my soul," are taken from Psalms 25:1; Psalms 25:2. On: deliver my soul from my enemies, in ver. 9, comp. 59:1, 142:6. The se-cond member literally: to thee I cover or conceal myself; כסה to cover one's self, Genesis 38:14, Deuteronomy 22:12, Jonah 3:6. The unusual and strange manner of expression was called forth by the reference had to Psalms 27:5 : "for he conceals me in his tabernacle at the time of adversity, he covers me in the secret of his tent," and Psalms 31:20, "Thou hidest them in a taber-nacle from the strife of tongues." The כסה here is the trans-posed סכה there. The allusion points to this, that God must conceal those who conceal themselves with him. It is commonly explained: for I discover myself to thee, or confide myself in se-cret. But the expression: to conceal to any one, for to discover one's self to him, is very hard, (besides, the parallel: I confide, I carry my soul, in ver. 8, shews, that here also the discourse must be of confidence), and what then could be the meaning of: con-fide in secret? The matter in hand here was a secret grief, for the distress of the Psalmist lay open to all the world. The cor-rect view was already given by Calvin.-In ver. 10 many exposi-tors find only a prayer for moral strength, others only a prayer for the granting of deliverance. Both views are beset with dif-ficulties. The first member cannot without violence be under-stood otherwise, than of moral instruction, and the bestowal ofstrength--comp. Psalms 40:9, nor can we without violence fail to recognize in the "good Spirit," the Spirit, which teaches the well disposed to do good. But it is at the same time impossible to understand by the leading upon a plain land something else than external preservation and prosperity. The leading is already of itself a standing term for leading upon the path of salvation-comp., for example, Psalms 139:10; Psalms 139:24; and the parallel and fundamental passages in the Psalms of David for the whole man-ner of speech, leave no shadow of doubt upon the subject-comp. v. 8, 27:11, and 26:12, "My foot stands upon the plain," where the plain stands opposed to a difficult piece of ground, full of steep rocks and pits. The exposition: pathway of manners, righteousness, is therefore decidedly to be rejected. The dif- ficulties connected with both the expositions may be removed by the following view. David's proper regard is directed to the ob-taining of deliverance, which is the object of all his prayers in the preceding and following verses. But he shows himself throughout deeply penetrated with the conviction, that the foun-dation of the deliverance is righteousness-that it never can come, where this foundation is wanting, but that it of necessity must come, where this foundation exists. He knew, also, that nothing could be done here by one's own power-comp., for example, Psalms 19:19; Psalms 19:51. Hence he prays here, expanding his views farther, that the Lord would (internally) teach him to do his will, convinced that this first gift must necessarily draw the second in its train, that of salvation; so, he prays, that the good Spirit of God would make him good, and consequently would guide him upon the path of salvation. We must explain: Thy Spirit, good, q. d., which is a good one, or, and indeed the good, as opposed to the evil spirit, to the dominion of which Saul was given up in righteous judgment, and which hurried him onward into sin and perdition -comp. 1 Samuel 16:14; 1 Samuel 16:15; 1 Samuel 18:10, and corresponding to the Holy Spirit in Psalms 51. The good Spirit works good in those who partake of the gift.-The expression: for thy name's sake, ver. 11, is a standing one with David-comp. 23:3, 25:11, 31:3, 109:20. On: thou wilt quicken me, comp. Psalms 138:7. On this: after thy righteousness, ver. 1, and Psalms 31, 1. On the last words, Psalms 142:7; Psalms 25:15; Psalms 34:17.-On the first member of ver. 12, comp. Psalms 31:16; Psalms 18:40. האבדת, thepret., as an expression of confidence, to which the Psalmist rosefrom the prayer through the intermediate stage of hope (thefut. in the preceding verb), points distinctly to Deuteronomy 7:24. Onthe last words: for I am thy servant, Calvin says: "By naminghimself the servant of God, he by no means extols his own ser-vices, but rather commends the grace of God, to which ought to be referred what he had done with acceptance. For not by our own prowess or labour is this dignity acquired, that we should be reckoned among the servants of God, but it depends on his free election, which even before we were born has graciously appointed us to the number and rank of his people." Psalms 144. Thanks be to the Lord, my helper in all trouble, ver. 1 and 2; thanks, that he should have so regarded a poor mortal, ver. 3 and 4; Lord, manifest thyself to me now as a helper in trouble by giving deliverance from the wicked, my enemies, ver. 5-8. I thank thee for the help, which is certified to me through faith, ver. 9 and 10. Nay, deliver thou me from the hand of the sons of strangers, and let thy blessing return to rest on thy people, ver. 11 and 12, ver. 13 and 14. An epiphonem forms the close in ver. 15. The Psalm is ruled by the numbers ten and seven. Ten verses complete the first part of the whole, which falls into two divisions. This contains, in ver. 1 and 2, ten predicates of God, three and seven, the last divided by four and three. In like manner, ten request to God in ver. 5-7, divided precisely as the predicates. To this significance of the number ten for the first part, allusion is pointedly made in ver. 9.-The whole contains, apart from the epiphonem, which, as usual, stands outside the formal arrange-ment, seven strophes, each of two verses. Seven blessings are prayed for in the second part, four in ver. 12, 13 (valiant sons, beautiful daughters, full store-houses, numerous flocks), and three in ver. 14 (labouring oxen, no breach and diminution, no cry).-The number of the names of God, Jehovah four times and Elo-him once, corresponds to the number of verses in the second part (the Elohim for the epiphonem), and the strophe of the first part. In unison with the superscription, David comes forth speaking, comp. especially ver. 2, which alone suffices to dispose of the sup-position, that Israel is the speaker here; and the declaration: who constrains my people under me, cannot, without great vio-lence, be brought into accordance with that supposition. David, as the author, appropriates also from Psalms 18. It is an arbitrary supposition, that here a transference is made to Israel of what was then said originally of David. The confirmation which the super-scription here derives from the contents, comes also in support of the whole cycle, to which the Psalm belongs. An objection has been brought against the Davidic authorship from the "traces of reading" it contains. But one would require to consider more exactly, what sort of reading is here to be thought of. It is only the Psalms of David which form the groundwork of this. But that it is one of David's peculiarities to derive from his earlier productions a foundation for new ones, is evident from a variety of facts (comp. Introd. to Psalms 108.), which, if any doubt might still be entertained on the subject, would obtain a firm ground to stand upon in this Psalm, which can only have been composed by David. Then the way and manner of the use made of such ma-terials is to be kept in view. This is always of a spirited and feeling nature, and no trace anywhere exists of a dead borrowing. That we cannot think here of such an one, that the appropriation of the earlier did not proceed from spiritual impotence, but rests upon deeper grounds, is manifest from the consideration of the second part, where the dependance entirely ceases, and where even the opponents of the Davidic authorship have not been able to overlook the strong poetical spirit of the time of David. They betake to the miserable shift of affirming, that the Psalmist had borrowed this part from a much older poem now lost. The situation is that of an oppression through mighty external enemies. As this Psalm rests upon Psalms 18., which was com-posed by David toward the end of his life, after he had obtained deliverance from all the perils of war, it cannot be referred to the personal relations of David; David rather transports himself here, as in the whole of the cycle, into the future of his race. This Psalm forms the transition front the two prayer- Psalms, 142., to the song of praise, 145. The cloud of adversity begins already to disperse, and the sun of salvation is on the eveof breaking forth. Ver. 9 and 10 shew that the Psalmist already stands on the threshold of praise and thanksgiving. The cry from the deep has ceased; at the very commencement, the ex-clamation, "Let the Lord be praised," etc. breathes the spirit of victory, and leads on to the: "I will praise thy name," in Psalms 114. Ver. 1-10.-Ver. 1. Of David. Praised be the Lord, my rock, who instructs my hands for battle, and my fingers for war. Ver. 2. My kindness and my fortress, my strong tower and my deliverer to me, my shield and on whom I trust, who constrains my people under me. Ver. 3. Lord, what is man, that thou takest knowledge of him, the son, of the mortal, that thou re- gardest him! Ver. 4. Man is like to vanity, his days are as a flying shadow. Ver. 5. Lord, bend thy heavens and come down; touch the mountains, that they may smoke. Ver. 6 Lighten with lightning, and scatter them, send forth thine arrows and confound them. Ver. 7. Stretch out thy hand from the height, redeem me, and deliver me from many waters, from the hand of the sons of the stranger. Ver. 8. Whose mouth speaks deceit, and whose right hand is a right hand of lies. Ver. 9. God, a new song will I sing to thee, upon the psaltery of ten strings will I play to thee. Ver. 10. Who gives salvation to kings, who re-deems David his servant from the hurtful sword.-The words: Praised be my rock, ver. 1, is taken from Psalms 18:46, comp. ver. 2; the second member rests on Psalms 18:34. There the sub-ject is not David as an individual, but the whole seed of David. Accordingly, we must here also translate, not instruct, but only instructs. In ver. 1 and 2 the Psalmist lays a firm and solid foundation by pointing to the relation in which he stands to his God. On this, after he has celebrated in ver. 3 and 4 the depth of the divine condescension, he grounds, in ver. 5, the prayer, that he might act agreeably to that relation, as it had partly been confirmed by past experience, and partly by the promise in 2 Sam. vii., that he might beat down his enemies.-The Psalmist calls God, in ver. 2, his kindness, because he was nothing but kindness toward him; comp.: my kindness-God, for my gracious God, in Psalms 59:17. The five following predicates, and therefore the half of the ten predicates in ver. 1 and 2, are taken from Psalms 18:2, where the predicates of God, in like manner, as in thisverse, are completed in the number seven. To מפלטי there is here, precisely as in the text in 2 Sam., added לי. The expression: and on whom I trust, is abbreviated from: my God is my rock, in whom I trust, which is found there. The designa-tions of God, in Psalms 18:2, contain not only the expression of thanks for the past, but also that of hope for the future; they mark a standing relation, out of which the future salvation must, with like necessity, proceed, as the past had already done; hence we must explain here, not: the Lord was, but only: the Lord is. David had this great advantage, that what, had already been accomplished, had been in no respect obtained by his own power and prudence, but only through the help of God. And it was in this that the vitality of his hope respecting the future destiny of his race rooted itself. The last member rests on Psalms 18:43, "Thou deliverest me from the strivings of the people," where in 2 Sam. we have my people, and, in ver. 48, "and con-strains peoples under me." The עמי, my people, rendered certain by 2 Sam. only presents a difficulty when the Davidic composition is denied, and the idea is carried through at all ha-zards, that Israel speaks in the Psalm. In that case also, it is necessary to resort to the unfortunate supposition of a "rare plural form" (comp. on the contrary at Psalms 45:8), or of an error in the text. The reference to both passages at the same time shews, that here by the people of David his subjects generally are to be understood (comp. Ps. ii., where it is described, how God con-strains the people of the anointed under him.) To the people of David belongs also, according to Psalms 18., a wide heathen terri-tory; and that we are here to think pre-eminently of this, is ma-nifest from the circumstance that the sentence before us forms the foundation for the subsequent prayer for victory in respect to "the sons of the stranger."-The relation of ver. 3 and 4 to ver. 1 and 2, was already quite correctly and profoundly discerned by Calvin; while more recent expositors with their interpretation: "God be praised, who helps me-man without God is helpless" (where is this found?) have entirely erred from the right path. David, after having declared what God was to him, considers, after the example of Jacob: Lord, I am too little for all thy loving-kindness, &c., what he himself is, and while he brings into view his own nothingness, and that of mankind generally, the adorablegreatness of the divine grace first comes prominently into its pro-per light, and he can with full inwardness embrace it in his heart. Humility is the mother of confidence. That this view is the cor-rect one, is plain from the original passage, Psalms 8:5, and from the beginning of David's prayer in 2 Sam. vii.: "Who am I, Lord God, and what my house, that thou hast brought me so far; and that is still too little to thee, Lord God, and thou hast spoken to the house of thy servant for a long time yet to come, and thus thou dealest with the man, Lord God." To know, is q. d., to take notice. For the first member of ver. 4, comp. Psalms 62:9; Psalms 39:5; Psalms 39:6; and for the second, Psalms 103:15; Psalms 102:11. He, whose being is confined within such narrow limits, cannot be any thing great and glorious, he cannot have any thing which could make him worthy of the divine favour and loving-kindness.-What the Lord is for David, that it behoves him now to prove by fact; hence the prayer in the two strophes, ver. 5, 6, and 7, 8. The first member of ver. 5 rests upon Psalms 18:9 : "And he bowed the heavens and came down." The preterite there lays an excel-lent foundation for the imperative here. What the Lord had once done for him during the persecution from Saul, formed a pledge for what he here prays the Lord still to perform. In reference to the second member, comp. on the dependant passage, Psalms 104:32. The mountains are here also brought into notice as the symbol of kingdoms.-Ver. 6 rests on Psalms 18:11 : "and he sent out his arrows and scattered them, lightnings (here, the singular as in Sam.; the Psalmist has throughout both texts before him, which may also be regarded as a proof, that both must have pro-ceeded from David), much, and confounded them." The allusion rests also here upon the consideration, that all God's acts are pro-phecies. The verb ברק occurring only here, was probably formed for the occasion.-Ver. 7 rests on Psalms 18:16 : "He sends from the height, takes me, draws me out of many waters." Peculiar here is the: thy hands, and the פצה, elsewhere to open, here in the rare sig. of setting free, which is elsewhere found only in the dialects. The sons of the stranger, is an expression taken from Psalms 18:44; Psalms 18:45.-On the first member of ver. 8, comp. Psalms 12:2; Psalms 41:6. By the right hand every one thinks primarily, not of an oath, but of shaking hands, 2 Kings 10:15, and to this points also here the parallel passage, as the deceit of the month,mentioned there, also consists in false assurances of friendship. We may compare: "the sons of the stranger feign to me," in Psalms 18:44, conceal their hatred under the appearance of love. This representation of the character of the sons of the stranger rests upon many personal experiences through which David had passed.-Ver. 9 rests on Psalms 33:2; Psalms 33:3 : "Sing praise to him on the psaltery with ten strings. Sing to him a new song." The new song must here be a song of thanksgiving to the Lord for the new manifestations of favour which David had already received in faith: the church of God, which in faith anticipates the future, possesses the great privilege of being able to thank God even before the benefit has been actually received, and to celebrate his praise, comp. on Psalms 75. Everywhere, when a new song is spoken of, the song itself is meant in which the expression is found. And so here also the new song is primarily our Psalm, which begins at the very outset with "God be praised," and is full of triumphant confidence; so that, behind the prayer, thanks-giving everywhere discovers itself; and in the last strophe it comes freely out. But the continuation and completion of the new song is given in Psalms 145. The mention of the psaltery of ten strings-comp. on Psalms 33.-contains an allusion to the formal arrangement of the Psalm: on every string a verse.-The words: thou who givest salvation to kings, ver. 10, signify, in accordance with 33:16, "a king is not helped by his great might," that it is from God, not from their own power, that all the salvation flows which is experienced by kings. It forms the preparation for the second member: thou who, since it is from thee that all salvation comes which is obtained by kings, the sup-posed gods of the earth, &c. We must not translate with the Vulgate: thou who hast redeemed, but only: thou who redeem-est. The redemption is a continued one, comp. ver. 1, 2; and here it is spoken of in reference to a still future preservation; פצה, alludes to the פצני in ver. 7 and 11. Already, on account of the parallel נותן the participle can only indicate the present. That the phrase: David his servant, stands for me his servant, is abundantly manifest from the of David, in the superscription, and from ver. 1 and 2, according to which no other than David speaks here. The Psalmist expresses his name David, so that it might be clear from the first that the song composed by him, ac-cording to the superscription, also spoke of him. Precisely inthe same manner does David speak of himself in the third per-son in Psalms 61:6; Psalms 63:11, and especially in Psalms 18:50, 2 Sam. 7:26. The expression: his servant, joins on to Psalms 143:2; Psalms 143:12, and contains the ground of the deliverance. In regard to thesword, comp. on Psalms 22:20. Ver. 11-15.-Ver. 11. Redeem me and deliver me from thehand of the sons of the stranger, whose mouth speaks deceit, and whose right hand is a right hand of lies. Ver. 12. That our sons may be as plants, vigorously shooting up in their youth, our daughters like projectures, hewn as a palace. Ver. 13. Thatour garners may be full, supplying one kind after another, our sheep increased to thousands, to ten thousands in our streets. Ver. 14. That our yoke-oxen may be loaded, no breaking and no loss, and no cry in our streets. Ver. 15. Happy the people with whom it goes thus, happy the people of whom the Lord is its God.-The beginning of the second strophe, ver. 11, is from ver. 7 and 8. The אשר in ver. 12, in the sig. of so that, comp.Deuteronomy 4:40, Ew. § 327, a. Hence, every thing which is men-tioned in this and the next verse, must be regarded as a conse-quence of the deliverance from the enemies, in ver. 11. In times of war there are pale countenances and emaciated forms, sickly and dying children. Remarks, such as those of Amyrald, "All these things are to be chiefly referred by Christians to spiritual blessings," have truth in them, but would have found little res-ponse in such periods as those of the thirty years' war. A false spiritualism has led various expositors of name into the mon-strous supposition, that ver. 12-14 form a discourse of worldly-minded strangers! That the comparison with plants refers to the fresh vigorous increase, appears from מגדלים, not educati, but made, or become great, powerful. As this refers to the sons, so must מהטבות refer to the daughters, not to the corners�comp. the תיוiזA in Zechariah 9:15 (falsely some: corner pillars);hewn = as hewn. The comparison indicates the beauty. Pa-lace is the general, corners the particular: after the fashion (comp. the תבנית in Psalms 106:20) of a beautiful palace with its fine projectures, the shining points of its beauty. The com-parison is of the simplest kind possible.--ןז in ver. 13, kind, sort.-- סבל in ver. 14 always means to bear, therefore in Pi., to make to bear, to load, in P�. to be laden. Oxen were not only used for ploughing, thrashing, and drawing, but also for bearing burdens, comp. 1 Chronicles 12:40, which passage is peculiarly fitted to throw light on the verse before us. Laden oxen presuppose a rich abundance of produce. The exposition: that our cattle may be prolific, vanishes before the one consideration, that אלוף does not signify oxen or cattle in general, but only taught oxen. The rendering: that our princes might be upright, is quite arbitrary. Along with the sheep oxen are very fitly named, as in Ps. viii., but not princes; nor does אלוף mean prince in general, but it is the peculiar designation of the Edomite princes, and occurs only in Zechariah, when the language had become dead, catachresti-cally in a general signification, 9:7, 12:5, 6-see Christol. there; the meaning of standing upright is taken from the air. What is said positively in the first member: All abundance and fulness, is said negatively in the second: no disastrous loss. פרץ is never used of breaking in, but always of breaking, or breach in the passive sense, also in Job 16:14. Here, as in Judges 21:15, 2 Samuel 6:8, breaking, rent, is = hurt; Geier infortunium quo felicitatis nostrae integritas laceratur. Nothing going out, is, according to the connection with פרץ, with which it forms a member, and according to the following, as much as, no diminu-tion or loss. It is not allowable to supply a definite noun to it. No cry, over breach and diminution, comp. Isaiah 24:11 : "There is a cry over the (failing) wine on the streets."-The Epiphonem in ver. 15 rests upon Psalms 33:12. The relation of both mem-bers to each other, which is quite missed by Luther, who shoves in a but at the beginning of the second, is clear when one sup-plies at the end: for to those, with whom it thus goes well, though it may be through many tribulations, there shall be a blessed state at last. Ven.: "There is subjoined a celebration of the blessedness of a people rejoicing in these benefits, and, at the same time, the fountainhead of this felicity is indicated." Psalms 145. This Psalm is a song of thanksgiving and praise on the part of the house of David and the Church after all their tribulationshave come to a close. It is parallel to Psalms 103. The Psalm is an alphabetical one, and hence the thoughts must be expressed from the first in the form of a close organization; they must not stand loosely in an alphabetical Psalm. The alphabetical arrange-ment is exact, excepting that the letter ב is entirely omitted. It scarcely deserves notice, that in the Alexandrine version this ano-maly is removed by the introduction of a nun-strophe. From the whole character of that version, in general, and in particular that of the Psalms, it is at once manifest what is to be thought of this ad-dition, of which none of the other ancient translations know any thing, the occasion for which also so readily occurred, and which was so cheaply obtained-being plainly borrowed from ver. 17, and the pisto<j at the commencement from the nun-strophe of the alphabetical Psalms 111. The ground of the anomaly is the same with that which occasioned the deviations from the alpha-betical arrangement in Ps. xxxvii., which was also composed by David. Along with the alphabetical arrangement the Psalmist observed a division of the whole into three strophes, each of seven verses, and it was necessary, on this account, that one of the twenty-two letters of the alphabet should be left out. A break between from seven to seven verses manifestly has place, which is especially marked, at the end of the first seven verses. To the three-number of the strophes corresponds the threefold three-number of the name of Jehovah, and in like manner the three-number of the glorious attributes of God celebrated by the Psalmist: greatness, goodness, righteousness. In unison with the seven-number of the verses of each strophe, the Psalmist declares seven times the purpose of praising God's glory (six times in ver. 1-6, once in ver. 21). The declaration, that the pious shall praise the Lord, occurs ten times. In the superscription: Praise-song of David, תהלה standsonly here as the designation of a Psalm employed in the superscrip-tion (corresponding to שיר in Psalms 68. etc.), comp. Psalms 33.,in manifest reference to תפלה, in Psalms 142. supers. and 143:1.In the kingdom of David there constantly follows on the תפלה, aתהלה; upon the crying to the Lord out of deep distress, a giv-ing praise and thanks to the Lord. The return of תהלה, in theconcluding verse is a proof of the originality of the superscription;of which, indeed, the delicate reference to the תפלה does notpermit us to doubt. Ver. 1-7.-Ver. 1. I will extol thee, my God, thou king, and praise thy name for ever and ever. Ver. 2. Continually will I praise thee, and celebrate thy name for ever and ever. Ver. 3. Great is the Lord and very glorious, and his mighty deeds are unsearchable. Ver. 4. One race praises to another thy works, and thy mighty acts they proclaim. Ver. 5. Upon thy beautiful majesty and glory, and upon thy wonders will I meditate. Ver. 6. And of the terribleness of thy frightful deeds they speak, and thy wonderful works will I proclaim. Ver. 7. The memory of thy great goodness they celebrate, and rejoice over thy righte- ousness.- On: I will extol thee, ver. 1, comp. Psalms 30:1 : "I will extol thee, for thou hast lifted me up." The latter stands also here in the back-ground. On: thou king, q. d. thou, who truly art our king, thou who givest salvation to kings, and deliverest thy servant David, Psalms 144:10, comp. Psalms 20:10; Psalms 24:8; Psalms 24:10; Psalms 29:9. Calvin: "By calling him his king, he com-pels himself and all earthly princes to keep their proper place, that no elevation of a worldly kind may obscure the glory of God." David feels it a happy thing for himself, that he not merely knows the address: thou king, but that he can use it for himself. He would despair, if it were not so with him. On the second mem-ber, comp. Psalms 34:1. The reference to the commencement of both Psalms is certainly not accidental. The expression: for ever and ever, has often been explained in an unsatisfactory way; Calvin: although he should live for many ages; Geier: as well in this as in the future life. The right view at once suggests itself, when it is perceived that David speaks here, not as an in-dividual, but as the representative of his race. As such he has a security for everlasting continuance, for the perpetual enjoy-ment of the divine favour, comp. Psalms 138:8; and so long as his being lasted in the loving-kindness of God, he must also con-tinue to give praise.-On the first member of ver. 2, comp. Psalms 68:19; on the second, Psalms 69. ver. 3, the rich mean-ing of the name of God is more nearly described. The first member is literally borrowed in Psalms 48:1, and should there be marked as a quotation. Upon מהלל, comp. on Psalms 18:3. Onגדלה, never greatness, always great, comp. on Psalms 71:20; great = his great deeds, corresponding to the works and themighty deeds in ver. 4. On: unsearchable, comp. Psalms 40:5 : "I will declare and speak of them (thy wonders), they are not to be numbered."-The fut. in ver. 4, and also in ver. 6, 7, are to be taken according to ver. 10, 11, not as a designation of what should be done, but as a simple announcement of what is done. Allusion is made to the fulness and plenteousness of the deeds of God, and the powerful impulse lying therein to the constant celebration of praise. On the first member, comp. Psalms 19:3. The works of God are here, as in ver. 17, the glorious displays of his mercy and righteousness.-On the first member of ver. 5, Geier: "By this accumulation of words, the incomparable glory and majesty of God is set forth." Remarks like the following: "In such a heaping up of synonymes, the poetical power shows itself to be sinking," are natural if one cannot sympathize with the thankful heart of David, and his striving after a suitable mode of expres-sion for his exuberant feeling. But for its refutation, it is suffi-cient to point to Psalms 18:2; Psalms 62:7. In reference to the expres-sion: the matters of wonder, comp. Psalms 65:6; Psalms 105:27.-The Kri גדלתך, the singular, in ver. 6, has arisen from a comparison with ver. 3, and from the wrong impression, that גדלה means great-ness. The correctness of the text is confirmed by the parallelנוראות; the expression: thy mighty deeds, points back to the beginning of ver. 3, and shows that the whole intermediate mat-ter belongs to the idea of God's greatness, There follow then, in connection with this, the goodness and righteousness, in ver. 7; so that the three-number of the glorious properties of God celebrated, in the Psalm, already fully appears in the first hep-tade, which bears a sort of introductory character.-The -רבטוב, in ver. 7, is a kind of compound noun much-goodness. On בVט goodness = the essential goodness, the goodness of being in the Lord, comp. on Psalms 25:13. That the רב is an adjec. ap-pears from Psalms 31:19, Isaiah 63:7. הביע prop. to cause to splutter forth, Psalms 19:3; Psalms 59:7. רנן with the accus. also else-where in David, Psalms 59:16; Psalms 51:15. Ver. 8-14.-Ver. 8. Gracious and compassionate is the Lord, patient, and of great goodness. Ver. 9. Good is the Lord toward all, and is merciful in all his works. Ver. 10, Praise thee,Lord, all thy works, and thy saints bless thee. Ver. l 1. Of the honour of thy kingdom they speak, and talk of thy power. Ver. 12. In that they make known to the children of men his mighty deeds, and the glorious majesty of his kingdom. Ver. 13. Thy kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and thy dominion lasts for ever and ever. Ver. 14. The Lord upholds all who fall, and raises up all the bowed down.--On ver. 8, see Psalms 103:8. In place of the רב there, we have here גדול, with allusion to ver. 3 and ver. 6 to the greatness of God in the common sense = his almightiness, corres-ponds the greatness of his love. Toward all, ver. 9, how much more, therefore, toward his own, to whom the praise of the general goodness of God everywhere has respect. On the second member, comp. Psalms 103:13. His works, even the young ravens, Psalms 147:9, how much more, then, his works in the kingdom of grace, Psalms 138:8, the kingdom of David set up by him.-Praise thee, ver. 10, either with the mouth, or at least through their very being, comp. Psalms 19:2 ss., Psalms 103:22.-On: of thy kingdom, ver. 11 , comp. Psalms 103:19. The kingdom of God is his govern-ment of the world. The glory of it becomes especially conspicuous in this, that he raises the dominion of his anointed over all the kingdoms of the world, comp. Psalms 138:6.-Thy kingdom is a kingdom, of all eternities, ver. 13, and so must also the king-dom of thine anointed be an eternal one, and will survive all the transitory kingdoms of this world, however highly they may puff themselves up. On this passage rests Daniel 3:33; Daniel 4:31, where Nebuchadnezzar repeats what he had received from Daniel, the zealous inquirer into the import of the ancient scriptures, comp. 9:2. On the first member of ver. 14, comp. Psalms 37:17; Psalms 37:24. The two partic. supply the place of nouns, from which the ל, is to be explained, more rare than the accus., which was put in the late imitation, Psalms 146:8. All that fall, all the bowed down, that is, among the righteous. Ver. 15-21.-Ver. 15. All eyes wait on thee, and thou give them their food in its season. Ver. 16. Thou openest thine hand, and satisfiest all living with what they wish. Ver. 17. Righteous is the Lord in all his ways, and holy in all his works. Ver. 18. Nigh is the Lord to all who call upon him, to all who call upon him in truth. Ver. 19. He does what they that fear God desire, and hears their cry, and helps them. Yes. 20. The Lord pre-serves cell who love him, and all the wicked he destroys. Ver. 21. The praise of the Lord shall my mouth speak, and all flesh shall praise his holy name for ever and ever.-Ver. 15 is almost liter- ally borrowed in Psalms 104:27. The all is of his works or creatures, ver. 9, all living, ver. 16. How can he, Who fills all desire on earth, allow his elect to wait on him in vain?-To רצון, in ver. 16, corresponds in the dependant passage, Psalms 104:28, "they are satisfied with food," the טוב; the former, therefore, must also denote that with which they are satisfied-comp. besides Psalms 103:5. That we must explain: with wish - that which they wish, is mani-fest from ver. 19, a passage which we may the rather bring into comparison, as here also the proper regard is directed toward the fearers of God: how can he, who satisfies all with what they wish (comp. Acts 14:17, "filling our hearts with food and gladness") abandon those who fear him? The ground-passage is in Deuteronomy 33:23 : "Naphthali is satisfied with what he wished," שבערצון, where, according to the general tenor of the words there spoken, that is specially applied to a particular part of God's people, which holds good of the whole.-On הסיד, ver. 17, comp. on Psalms 4:3. The love of God towards his own is rooted in his righteousness, according to which he gives to every one his own; and remarks such as those of Geier: "let the wonderful inter-mingling of the divine justice and mercy be noted," miss the right point. It is not according to the Biblical mode of contemplation to think presently of a punishment, as soon as one hears of righte-ousness. On ver. 18 comp. Psalms 34:18; Psalms 34:6. The truth forms a contrast to lies, semblance, hypocrisy; it is the true, inter-nal, and heartfelt righteousness.-On ver. 19, comp. Ps. xxxiv.15, 37:40. In the place of those who fear the Lord, in ver. 19, come ver. 20, those who love him, to shew that the fear is not of a slavish, but of a childlike sort. Psalms 146. It is happy for Israel that he trusts, not like the heathen upon men, but upon the Lord his God, ver. 1-5, for God alone can and will help, he is a deliverer of the poor and needy, and governs for ever, ver. 6-10. The whole number of verses, ten, is divided bythe five. The predicates of God are twelve, four times three. The name Jehovah occurs thrice in the first half, thrice in ver. 7, and thrice in the remaining verses of the second half. That this Psalm forms the close of the dodecade, beginning with Psalms 135., has already been mentioned.a That it is not con-temporaneous with the immediately preceding Davidic Psalm, with which it is placed in intentional connection through the bor-rowing here in ver. 8, of ver. 14 there, but was only set next to it in order, is clear from the ceasing of what is so usual there, the resting on the Davidic Psalms, and from the traces it contains of a late post-exile period-the halleluiah: which is never found in Psalms that bear the name of David-comp. Introd. to Psalms 104., where it first occurs, and Psalms 105., the borrowing of ver. 1 and 2 from Psalms 104., which was composed after the exile, and of ver. 3 from Psalms 118., which was sung at the laying of the foundation of the second temple. That the Psalm was composed in a period of depression for the people of God, is indicated by the predicates given to God, which are all of a kind fitted to elevate the dis- tressed, to console the afflicted, and give them confidence in their God. The right, view regarding the time of composition was al-ready recognized by the LXX. in their: Haggaei et Sacharariae, which both the Vulgate and the Syriac repeat. Still, much stress cannot be laid on this, as they give the same superscription also to the following Psalms. Ver 1-5.-Ver. 1. Halleluiah. Praise, my soul, the Lord. Ver. 2. I will praise the Lord, while I live, play to my God, so long as I am in being. Ver. 3. Trust not in princes, in the son of man, in whom there is no salvation. Ver. 4. Goes his breath forth, then he returns back to his earth, on the same day his thoughts perish. Ver. 5. Happy he, whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the Lord his God.-As the halleluiah, so also the expression: praise the Lord, my soul, in ver. 1, is taken from Psalms 104. Ver. 2 also rests upon ver. 33 of that Psalm.-On ver. 3 comp. Psalms 118:8; Psalms 118:9. According to this fundamental pas-sage, the princes are to be regarded as heathenish, the possessors of the world's power; and the address is not directed to Israel, who rather appears here as the speaker, but to the world, comp. Psalms 75:4; Psalms 75:5. A dissuasion from something, to which the Israel- a See at p. 542. ites from the circumstances of the time had no temptation, has also an unnatural appearance. In the second member the folly of confidence in princes is shewn by allusion to the evanescent species of beings to which they belong, however loftily they may carry themselves. In whom there is no salvation, neither for themselves, nor for others: man, be he beggar or king, has no salvation in himself, but must first receive it from above-comp. Psalms 144:10.-On ver, 4 compare Psalms 104:29 : "Thou gatherest their breath, then they expire, and return again to their dust." The reference to this passage is put beyond a doubt by the pecu-liar expression: to his earth. According to this fundamental passage we are not to explain: it goes forth, but goes forth. The thoughts which go to the grave with the dying man, are his vain projects. Calvin: "Like that frenzied Macedonian Alexander, when he heard there were more worlds, wept that he had not yet obtained the mastery of one, but shortly afterwards had to con-tent himself with a sarcophagus." With the descent to the grave perishes also the hope placed on him.-Happy he, ver. 5, = happyI, in opposition to the world. The בעזרו is to be explained, ac- cording to the fundamental passage, Psalms 118:7 : under his help,for, among the number of his helpers. אל properly strength, in contradistinction to human weakness and evanescence. Ver. 6-10.-Ver. 6. Who made heaven and earth, the sea and all that therein is, who truth keeps eternally. Ver. 7. Who executes judgment for those who suffer oppression, who gives bread to the hungry. The Lord looses the prisoners. Ver. 8. The Lord opens the eyes of the blind, the Lord raises up the bowed down, the Lord loves the righteous. Ver. 9. The Lord protects the strangers, widow. and orphan he raises up, and the way of the wicked he bends. Ver. 10. The Lord reigns eternally, thy God, Zion, for ever and ever. Hallelujah.-With ver. 6 begins the grounding of the אשרי in allusion to what the Lord is to his own, and grants to them, first by unfolding that which is con-tained in "the God (strength) of Jacob, and Jehovah his God"-his power to help them, according to his almightiness, as dis-played in the creation of the world, against the sheer impotence of the highest earthly powers-and then his will. The latter is pledged to the people, to whom he has given such precious declara-tions and such glorious promises, through his truth-comp. onPsa_85:10.-On the first member of ver. 7 comp. Psalms 8:6. By the persons oppressed is meant here also, his own people in all their oppressions. On the second member comp. Psalms 37:19; Psalms 107:5; Psalms 107:9. The hungry represent generally all who stand in need of help. Those in prison or chains are such in the proper sense, and those also who are in the prison of distress, Psalms 107:8. -The first member of ver. 8 alludes to Isaiah 35:5. To open the blind, stands here for, to open their eyes, which comes the more naturally out, as פקה is most commonly used of the eyes. (according to Stier twenty-one times.) The blind are the natu-rally blind, and such as cannot discern the way of salvation, with-out wisdom and help; blindness occurs as an image of want of wisdom and support in Deuteronomy 28:29, Isaiah 59:10, Job 12:15. The second member is from Psalms 145:14.-In reference to the stranger, the widow and the orphan as representatives of persons in a miserable condition, ver. 9, comp. on Psalms 68:6; Psalms 68:7. In the background stands: and therefore also his poor people. The way is the lot, the fate, comp. on Psalms 1:6. He bends their lot, q. d., he transfers them into a depressed condition.-It is by no means accidental, that ver. 10 begins with the tenth letter of the alphabet. The first member is taken from Exodus 15:18. The everlasting kingdom of God is presented, in contrast to the short continuance of the kingdoms of this world. The people who have such a king, can already behold great realities, and should not presently sink into despair, if all does not go accord- ing to their wish. All's well that ends well. That the four following Psalms constitute one whole, is clear from the Halleluiah at the beginning and the close of each of them, by which they also connect themselves with the close of the pre-ceding cycle; from their entirely joyful tone without any back-ground of lamentation in contradistinction to all the other Psalms belonging to the period after the exile, a tone to which the Psalms before us were directed, both from their position and their whole character and contents; from the peculiar combination of thepraise of God in nature, with the praise of his grace toward his people; finally, from the circumstance of their being throughout pervaded by a reference to a great salvation, which restores Israel. The starting point shines out with the utmost clearness in Psalms 147., which opens the cycle. The establishment of Jerusalem and its security toward what is without, appears there as the oc-casion. In Psa_148::14, it is the elevation of the people and the invigoration of their courage. In Psalms 149. we are told of a great salvation, which the Lord grants to his people. This Psalm and the following one proclaim their destination to be sung on the occasion of a great festival of thanksgiving and joy in the temple. All these references find their explanation when it is under-stood that the Psalms in question were composed for the consecra-tion of the walls under Nehemiah, of which Neh. treats in ch. 12. What Jerusalem was before Nehemiah-an open, thinly in-habited village, exposed to all manner of insults from the neigh- bouring people-and how much Judah owed of its greatness to the favour obtained through his interposition, has already been set forth at length in my Christol. Th. ii., s. 524, ss. Supposing, then, that these Psalms belong to the age of Nehemiah, we can easily understand how the tone of lamentation should at once disappear from them, which through all the earlier post-exile Psalms intermingles even with the joy; here again the people show themselves right glad of their existence. The connection of the point displayed in Psalms 148., the invigoration of the courage of the people and the elevation of their state, with the erection of walls mentioned in Psalms 147., is rendered plain by Nehemiah 1:3 : "The remnant are in great affliction and reproach, and the wall of Jerusalem is broken through, and its gates are burnt with fire;" where their "being in great affliction and reproach;" and "the walls being broken through and the gates burnt," stand to each other in the relation of effect and cause--comp. also Neh. ii. 17, where the building of the walls of Jerusalem, and their being no longer in reproach, are placed in causal connection; then also ch. 6:15, 1.6, where the completion of the building of the walls is represented as to its effect on the surrounding people: "And the wall was finished--and when all our enemies heard thereof, all the heathen, which were around us, were afraid, and their courage failed them, for they perceived that this work was of God." On the supposition of that being the occasion we can also under-stand the warlike tone, which meets us in Psalms 149. It was at the building of the walls that Judah again, for the first time after the Babylonian catastrophe and with good success, drew the sword against the heathen. At the same time this Psalm throws light on the origin of reports among the heathen, such as those men-tioned in Nehemiah 6, 7.-With Psalms 146. the prayer of the Levites in Nehemiah 9:6, remarkably coincides: "Thou hast made heaven, the heaven of heavens, with all their host, the earth and all that is therein, the sea and all that is therein; and thou preservest all, and the host of heaven worships thee." With Psalms 147:19, comp. Nehemiah 9:13; Nehemiah 9:14; Nehemiah 10:29. With Nehemiah 12:27 : "And at the dedication of the walls of Jerusalem they sought the Levites from all places, and brought them to Jerusalem, to keep the dedication in gladness with thanksgiv-ing, with singing, with cymbals, harps, and psalteries," comp. Psalms 147:7; Psalms 147:150., where all the three instruments are mentioned. Also with ver. 35 and 41, according to which at the feast of dedication the trumpets were blown by the priests, comp. Psalms 150:3. The joyful and exulting tone of the four Psalms finds its commentary in Nehemiah 12:43, "And they offered on that day great sacrifices, and rejoiced, for God had given them great joy, and also the wo-men and children rejoiced themselves, so that the joy of Jerusa-lem was heard even afar off." [By some oversight, the general Introduction to Psa_135:-146. was omitted at its proper place, and we therefore give it here at the close of the cycle.] We have now a group of twelve Psalms, sung after the pro-sperous completion of the temple, and probably at its dedication, consisting of three new Psalms at the beginning, and one at the end, Psalms 146., which enclose in the middle eight Psalms of David. The extremities of the group are pointedly marked by the cir-cumstance of the first and the last Psalm in it, having Halleluiah at the beginning and the end, and also from the first and the lastPsalm being otherwise very strikingly related to each other at the beginning and the end. That the eight Psalms marked with the name of David cannot stand here, in an isolated and indepen-dent state, but must have been arranged into a cycle of a later period, is clear from the express declaration of the collector, after Psalms 72., according to which no more Psalms of David were to be expected in a separate or independent form. And that the author of this cycle has not satisfied himself with prefixing a tri-logy of new Psalms for these Psalms of David, but that Psalms 146 :also forms a component part of the cycle, is already clear, even apart from the manifest and intentional connection which Psalms 146. has with Psalms 145., from the fact, that all the other mixed groups (Psalms 101.-vii., Psa_108:-19., Psalms 120.-xxxiv.) supply at the close a testimony from the present. The tendency to console and elevate the people of God, is com-mon to the whole group. In Psalms 135:135; Psalms 135:136.., this is done by pointing to the glorious deeds of God in nature and history, which guarantee the return of prosperity to Israel. Psalms 137 :quickens the hope of the already-begun execution of God's judg-ment upon the enemies; Psalms 146. presents the Lord as the al-mighty and faithful helper of his suffering people. It is common to the two first Psalms, and the last Psalm of the group, that the consolation and the encouragement are administered in the form of praise to God. The intermediate Davidic Psalms place the glo-rious promise made to David, and along with him also to the people, of the everlasting kingdom of his seed in the fore-ground, accom-pany, the seed of David and the people in a consolatory style, through the assaults of the world, which threatened to bring the promise to nought, and conclude with a solemn: Lord God, we praise thee, on account of its final, glorious verification. No period was more suitable for the appropriation of this Davidic cycle of Psalms, than that in which the Davidic stem was, poorly enough, represented by Zerubbabel, whose humbled condition also gave occasion to the prophets of that period, Haggai and Zechariah, to lay a firmer and deeper hold on the rich promises given to the race of David. For the more exact determination of the time, see what is said on Psalms 137. Psalms 147. The peculiar object of this song of praise and thanksgiving are the acts of kindness which the Lord had just imparted to his people. Other proofs, however, of the glory of God were also drawn into the circle of praise, because the particular receives its proper elucidation only from its connection with the whole, the soul also rising to its right elevation only when it comes to con-template the great whole. The Psalm consists of two decades. The one, divided by five, is contained in ver. 2-11. The second is formed by the three verses of the introduction and conclusion, ver. 1, and ver. 19, 20, and by a strophe of seven verses, divided by three and four, ver. 12-18. Jah and Jehovah occur seven times. The historical circumstances which the Psalm presents are the following:-the people are gathered from the dispersion, ver. 2; Jerusalem is built, ver. 2; fortified and secured against all hos-tile assaults, ver. 13, 14. Against the supposition of its belong-ing to the time of the Maccabees, though ver. 13 and 14, even by themselves considered; could hardly be explained from 1 Mac. 13:10, the connection in which the fortification of Jerusalem stands here with the gathering of the people from their disper-sion, is at all events decisive. Such a connection only existed in the time of Nehemiah (already Grotius: optime congruit in tem-pora Nehemiae): the leading of God, which began with the bring-ing back of the people, and which is brought into notice here only at the beginning, but does not form a part of the circumstances that properly gave rise to the Psalm, as represented in ver. 12-14, reached its conclusion in the erection of the walls under Nehe-miah (the city had first to be built by him again, comp. Nehemiah 2:5, where Nehemiah said to Artaxerxes: "Send me to Judah, to the city of the sepulchres of my fathers, that I may build it.") In the time of the Maccabees, the return from the exile lay much too far back for being drawn within the circle of this song. We therefore need not fall back on the general grounds, which decide against the composition of any Psalms in the time of the Mac-cabees.a a Let ver. 2 and ver. 13 and li of this Psalm be compared with Jesus Sirach 49:13: Ver. 1. Halleluiah; for it is good to sing praise to our God, because he is lovely, praise becomes. Three commencements of Psalms are here intentionally brought together. The first mem-ber rests on Psalms 92:1, the beginning of the second on Psalms 135:3, "Praise the Lord, for the Lord is good, sing praise to his name, for he is lovely" (comp. on the loveliness of the Lord at Psalms 27:4), and the last words are from Psalms 33:1, "Rejoice ye righteous in the Lord, to the upright becomes praise." The ex-planation: because this (the singing) lovely, praise is comely, overlooks the second original passage, cuts up in an unseemly manner the second member, and supposes that the second כי is co-ordinate with the first-a supposition about which one must be very cautious. זמרה; inf. Pi. with ה parag.; זמר to celebratein song, as in Psalms 7:17. Ver. 2-6.-Ver. 2. The Lord builds Jerusalem, gathers the scattered of Israel. Ver. 3. He, who heals those that are bro-ken in heart, and binds up their pains. Ver. 4. He determines the number of the stars, he names them all by name. Ver. 5. Great is our Lord and rich in power, and incomprehensible is his understanding. Ver. 6. The Lord lifts up the meek, and brings down the wicked to the ground.-The Psalmist begins, in ver. 2, immediately with his proper subject, what the Lord had done to his church, The second member rests upon Isaiah 11:12, lvi. 8. What the prophet had foretold of the then still far off dispersion, and of the gathering out of it, which was still farther off, now stands fulfilled before their eyes; comp. Psalms 107:3. At the close of the salvation-period, as it began with the deliverance from exile, and ended with the setting up of the walls under Ne-hemiah, the whole of the salvation wrought for the people of God. passed before the thankful soul.-On ver. 3 comp. Psalms 34:18; Psalms 103:3, Isaiah 61:1. What is spoken apparently in quite general terms receives its limitation to the people of the Lord by its con-nection with what precedes, on which it already formally leans. The pains are spiritual wounds.-In ver. 4, the Psalmist turns from the consideration of the work of God on earth to heaven, so that God might be more clearly recognised in the former, "Nehemias, whose renown is great, who raised up for us the walls that were fallen down, and set up the gates and the bars, and raised up our ruins again;"-a passage which plainly seems to allude to ver. 13 of the Psalm. that the thanks given to him might be the more cordial, and the hope of his future salvation might be more deeply rooted. That the Psalmist has properly and alone to do with that which the Lord had accomplished for his people, and what they had further to expect from him, is evident alone from the way and manner, in which here, what refers to the power of God in nature, is compassed round by that which arises from his relation to his people. מנה stands here as in Genesis 13:16, Numbers 23:10 (see my work on, Balaam, p. 91 ss.), Isaiah 65:12, in the original sig. of determining, which is demanded by the ספר, that excludes the sig. of numbering. Still, however, the discourse is not here of the determination of the number of the stars before their creation, but of the numbering of those that have been made, which, according to Genesis 15:5, alluded to here, lies beyond the province of the human mind. Beside the num-bering stands the naming, which presupposes an intimate ac-quaintance with the peculiar properties of each star, of which the name is the reflex. The original foundation of the whole passage is in Isaiah 40. "Who brings out, numbers their host, calls them all by names, on account of the fulness of his power, and because he is mighty in strength, not one is missing." As there allu-sion is made to the Lord's relation to the stars for the purpose of consoling his afflicted people-comp. ver. 27, "Why sayest thou, 0 Jacob, my way is hid from the Lord," &c.-so here it is men-tioned with the view of raising the spirit of thanksgiving among the redeemed.-On ver. 5, comp. besides Isaiah 40:26, also ver. 28, "unsearchable is his understanding." The understanding of God comes here into consideration so far, as in consequence of it he ever has at command an infinite fulness of ways and means for helping his own. Ver. 2. The Lord builds Jerusalem, gathers the scattered of Israel. Ver. 3. He, who heals those that are broken in heart, and binds up their pains. Ver. 4. He determines the number of the stars, he names them all by name. Ver. 5. Great is our Lord and rich in power, and incomprehensible is his understanding. Ver. 6. The Lord lifts up the meek, and brings down the wicked to the ground. The Psalmist begins, in Psalms 147:2, immediately with his proper subject, what the Lord had done to his church, The second member rests upon Isaiah 11:12, Isaiah 56:8. What the prophet had foretold of the then still far off dispersion, and of the gathering out of it, which was still farther off, now stands fulfilled before their eyes; comp. Psalms 107:3. At the close of the salvation-period, as it began with the deliverance from exile, and ended with the setting up of the walls under Nehemiah, the whole of the salvation wrought for the people of God passed before the thankful soul. On Psalms 147:3 comp. Psalms 34:18, Psalms 103:3, Isaiah 61:1. What is spoken apparently in quite general terms receives its limitation to the people of the Lord by its connection with what precedes, on which it already formally leans. The pains are spiritual wounds. In Psalms 147:4, the Psalmist turns from the consideration of the work of God on earth to heaven, so that God might be more clearly recognised in the former, that the thanks given to him might be the more cordial, and the hope of his future salvation might be more deeply rooted. That the Psalmist has properly and alone to do with that which the Lord had accomplished for his people, and what they had further to expect from him, is evident alone from the way and manner, in which here, what refers to the power of God in nature, is compassed round by that which arises from his relation to his people. ξπδ stands here as in Genesis 13:16, Numbers 23:10 (see my work on, Balaam, p. 91 ss.), Isaiah 65:12, in the original sig. of determining, which is demanded by the ρτψ, that excludes the sig. of numbering. Still, however, the discourse is not here of the determination of the number of the stars before their creation, but of the numbering of those that have been made, which, according to Genesis 15:5, alluded to here, lies beyond the province of the human mind. Beside the numbering stands the naming, which presupposes an intimate acquaintance with the peculiar properties of each star, of which the name is the reflex. The original foundation of the whole passage is in Isaiah 40:26, “Who brings out, numbers their host, calls them all by names, on account of the fulness of his power, and because he is mighty in strength, not one is missing.” As there allusion is made to the Lord’s relation to the stars for the purpose of consoling his afflicted people—comp. Isaiah 40:27, “Why sayest thou, O Jacob, my way is hid from the Lord,” &c.—so here it is mentioned with the view of raising the spirit of thanksgiving among the redeemed. On Psalms 147:5, comp. besides Isaiah 40:26, also Isaiah 40:28, “unsearchable is his understanding.” The understanding of God comes here into consideration so far, as in consequence of it he ever has at command an infinite fulness of ways and means for helping his own. Ver. 7-11.-Ver. 7. Answer to the Lord with a song of praise, play to our God on the psaltery. Ver. 8. Who covers the heaven with clouds, who prepares rain for the earth, who makes grass to grow on the mountains. Ver. 9. Who gives to the beast his fodder, to the young ravens that cry. Ver. 10. He has not de-light in the strength of the horse, nor pleasure in the legs of a man. Ver. 11. The Lord has pleasure in those that fear him, those who wait on his mercy.-All here is spoken in celebration of the Lord's mercy, which manifests itself thus also in respect ofhis church. But she roams, in seeking for proofs of the mercyshe has received from the Lord, through the whole circle of hisbenevolent agency, which extends even to the smallest of his crea-tures, so that the feeling may be more deeply impressed, andalong with thanksgiving hope also invigorated. But the wholeruns out in praise of the Lord's loving-kindness toward his own,in like manner as all had proceeded from him. Answer (comp. onPsa_119:172) to the Lord, who has addressed us in so friendlya manner by bestowing on us his salvation.-The clouds arereferred to in ver. 8 only in so far as they produce the rain, whichis one of the instruments of blessing. In regard to the question:why precisely the mountains are mentioned, comp. on the originalpassage, Psalms 104:13.-On the first member of ver. 9 comp. Psalms 104:14; Psalms 104:27; Psalms 104:28. The young ravens are introduced here, partly asbeing creatures of an unprofitable and disagreeable kind, partlyon account of their croaking (Bochart: corvus vocem clamosamhabet et obstreperam tanquam importuni flagitatoris),which seemsto call upon the heavenly Provider for help. We must nottranslate exactly with Luther: who call upon him; however, thecroaking should certainly be regarded as a sort of unconsciouscrying to the Creator for help, comp. Job 38:41, where theyoung ravens cry to God, Psalms 104:21; Psalms 145:15.-Ver. 10 and 11rest upon Psalms 33:16-18. The horse stands here, as there, asa representation of the kind, over against him man. In the legsof a man, and their strength, this is to be supplied from the firstmember-comp. also: through his great strength, in Psalms 33:16. How glorious is God's loving-kindness! In contrast to theworld, which expends its love only on the strong, from whom itcan expect recompense and returns of favour, he has no pleasure in the heathen world ever boastful of its might, but in Israel pros-traced on the ground in its impotence, yet looking with the eyeof faith to him, that he will lift it up from its depression in thedust, as he had already begun to do-comp. ver. 12 ss. Ver. 12-17.-Ver. 12. Praise, Jerusalem, the Lord; praiseZion, thy God. Ver. 13. For he has strengthened the bars ofthy gates, blessed thy children within them. Ver. 14. Who makespeace in thy borders, satisfies thee with the fat of the wheat.Ver 15. Who sends his discourse upon the earth, his word runsvery quickly. Ver. 16. Who gives snow like wool, hoarfrostscatters like ashes. Ver. 17. He casts forth his ice like mor-sels, who can stand before his frost? Ver. 18. He sends out his word, and causes it to melt, makes his wind blow, then the waters flow.-In ver. 13 and 14 first security in respect to what is without, then the blessing within. On ver. 14 comp. Psalms 81:16. In ver. 15-18 there is probably not only an allusion to the omnipotence of God as manifested in nature not less than in the government of his people, but at the same time an allegorical re-presentation of this government, so that the Psalmist perceived in the operations of God in nature the image of his administra-tion in grace-in the snow, hoar-frost and frost, an image of the now no longer existing time of trouble, in the spring, ver. 18, an image of the returning salvation; comp. the similar figurative representations in Psalms 107. In ver. 15, the discourse and word of God are represented as servants, which he sends upon the earth to execute his will. Their quick course marks the speedy result of what takes place in the will.-The comparison denotes, in ver. 16, 17, generally the ease with which God accomplishes the greatest things, not otherwise than man the least, such as causing some locks of wool to fly, or scattering a few ashes. Those things are taken which present some kind of resemblance to the snow, hoar-frost, and ice. The great flakes of ice are compared with the morsels of bread which man throws out to his domestic animals. The question: Who can stand before his frost? Israel had known to put from painful experience. The suff. in ימסם, ver. 18, refers to the snow, the hoar-frost, and the ice. The wind is the thawing breeze. Ver. 19. He declares to Jacob his word, to Israel his statutes and judgments. Ver. 20. He has done so to no heathen, and judgments know they not. Halleluiah.-This epiphonem points to the ground of the special care which God exercised over Israel, which had now again manifested itself. Israel was the people of the Revelation, the only people on the broad earth which stood under the supremacy of the divine will, as expressed by way of command in the laws of Moses. The heathen knew not, as they did, any rights, and hence were without God, ver. 20. For what they called by that name was only the shadow of that which really deserved it, a sad mixture of right and wrong. Ver. 19. He declares to Jacob his word, to Israel his statutes and judgments. Ver. 20. He has done so to no heathen, and judgments know they not. Halleluiah. This epiphonem points to the ground of the special care which God exercised over Israel, which had now again manifested itself. Israel was the people of the Revelation, the only people on the broad earth which stood under the supremacy of the divine will, as expressed by way of command in the laws of Moses. The heathen knew not, as they did, any rights, and hence were without God, Psalms 147:20. For what they called by that name was only the shadow of that which really deserved it, a sad mixture of right and wrong. Psalms 148. The occasion of the Psalm is brought distinctly out in its con-clusion. According to this, it was called forth by a great act of divine beneficence, whereby God had raised his people from the dust of depression, and filled them anew with power and energy. The grateful hearts of the people were thus opened to all other manifestations of the glory of God, and they praise him in the manner, that he ought to be glorified, for all that in heaven and on earth bears the traces of his glory. In respect to heaven, commencement is made with the angels, and then, passing through the intermediate stage of the stars, the clouds are at last dis-coursed of. In respect to the earth, the Psalmist begins with the deepest parts, the sea, the more appropriately, as, in the first part, the waters above the earth had last been spoken of; then he ascends up to the highest, to the manifestations in the region of air, ver. 8, whence he again descends to the earth, beginning at the highest point, the mountains, and last of all discourses of man. The Psalm consists of a main part of twelve verses, divided by six, containing the call addressed to all creatures to praise God, and a conclusion of two verses, announcing the occasion of the Psalm; so that the whole consists of fourteen verses. The call to praise God is delivered in all twelve times, in the first part nine times, three times three, and in the first verse three times. Ver. 1-6.-Ver. 1. Halleluiah. Praise the Lord from the heavens, praise him in the heights. Ver. 2. Praise him, all his angels, praise him, all his hosts. Ver. 3. Praise him, sun and moon, praise him, all shining stars. Ver. 4. Praise him, ye highest heavens, and ye waters which are above the heavens. Ver. 5. Let them praise the name of the Lord, for he commanded, and they were created. Ver. 6. And he established them for ever and ever, gave them a law which they never transgress. To the expression: from the heaven, in ver. 1, stands opposed that in ver. 7: from the earth. It primarily determines only the place from whence the praise must issue; the persons celebrating the praise are first described more nearly afterwards.-The hosts of God, in ver. 2, are the sun, moon, and stars, which in ver. 3 are in-dividually named-comp. on Psalms 103:21. In the first member the spiritual, in the second the materal portion of the heavenly servants of God is given. The latter praise God through their very being-comp. on Psalms 103:21. The only thing peculiar here is the call to praise God. But this merely expresses the satis-faction of the Psalmist regarding that, which is done at any rate. -The heavens of heavens in ver. 4, just as in Deuteronomy 10:14; Deuteronomy 10:1 Kings 8:27, where they are named by way of gradation be-side the heavens generally, Psalms 68:33, Nehemiah 9:6, are the highest heavens. The explanation: ye heavens everywhere, Luther: "all heavenly regions, however vast and infinite," Maurer, has no justification in the usus loquendi. We have the less reason for setting aside the allusion here to a gradation in the heavenly regions-comp. 2 Corinthians 12:2 -since an indirect one already lies in the mention made of the angels, the stars, and the clouds, which cannot properly be ascribed to one and the same region. The waters above the heavens can only be, according to the ori-ginal passage, Genesis 1:7, the clouds-comp. on Psalms 104:3. Of other heavenly waters scripture knows nothing; they know nothing of the "celestial fire-watery ether." If, therefore, we hold it as certain, that in the first member, the highest heavens are men-tioned, in the second, the clouds, we must also hold, that the pa-rallelism is not a mere synonym, but that the highest regions of heaven and the lowest are set in opposition to each other. The mere heaven, as contradistinguished from the highest heaven, can only be the lower heaven.--Those, who must praise the Lord, are six, in unison with the number of verses in the half strophe. In ver. 5, 6, reference is made to the grounds on account of which they should praise.-The first member of ver. 6 excludes all change in what has been made, that would be contrary to the will of the Creator, from whom the different parts of creation can never emancipate themselves to all eternity-comp. on Psalms 102:27. On the second member comp. Job 38:10 : "And I gave it (the sea) an unchangeable law, and set bars and bolts;" and Job 14:5, where, in regard to the period of man's life, it is said: "thou host made his law, which he does not transgress." From allusion to the latter passage, it is probable, that the singular יעבור has arisen, in which the parts of creation mentioned are united into one whole. The law is, according to these parallel passages, thesphere of being, which is appointed to each part of creation, and in which it is held by the divine omnipotence; as, for example, the stars must pursue their course, the upper and lower waters must remain continually distinct. In regard to the reference of לאיעבור to the several parts of creation, comp. besides Psalms 104:9, Jeremiah 5:22. Ver. 7-12.-Ver. 7. Praise the Lord from the earth ye whales and all floods. Ver. 8. Fire and hail, snow and smoke, stormy wind which fulfils his word. Ver. 9. Mountains and all hills, fruit-trees and all cedars. Ver. 10. Wild beast and all cattle, creeping things and all feathered fowls. Ver. 11. Kings of the earth and all peoples, princes, and all, judges the earth. Ver. 12. Young men with young women, old with young.-Those, who should praise the Lord in the water and the air, are seven; those upon the land are four times four-the four being the signa-ture of the earth.-In reference to תינים, in ver. 7, comp. on Psalms 74:13. The reason of their being named in particular, is, that by their gigantic size they more especially proclaim the om-nipotence of God's creative power. The same end is served by the description of leviathan in the Book of Job.-In ver. 8 fire and smoke, which elsewhere are inseparably united, are separated, in order to give to the fire as its attendant the cold hail, and to the dark smoke the white snow. The accompaniment to the fire shews, that by the fire we are not to understand lightning, which would besides have been more closely described. קיטור is in ac-cordance with the accompaniment of the fire, with Genesis 19:28, Psalms 119:83, and with the sig. of the verb, the common smoke, not fog, nor vapour,-as if the Psalm had been written in West-phalia! The stormy wind, which, with all its wild impetuosity, that apparently obeys no rule and no law, still executes the com-mands of God not less than the angels, Psalms 103:20.-The cedars are named in ver. 9, because they especially proclaim the creative power of God through their greatness and majesty; on which ac-count they are called the cedars of God in Psalms 80:10.-Kings are named in ver. 11 at the head of men, because God has espe-cially glorified himself in them. But they are not alone a living proof of the greatness of God, rather all, down even to the least, shew forth his glory.-The old, ver. 12, in whose long life is con-tained a series of proofs of the divine greatness, the young, whose fresh vigour is a matter-of-fact praise of God. Ver. 13-14.-Ver. 13. Let them praise the name of the Lord, for his name alone is extolled, with his splendour earth and heaven are crowned. 14. And he lifted up the horn of his people, the renown of all his saints, the children of Israel, the people that is near to him. Halleluiah.-The expression in ver. 13: earth and heaven, shews that the injunction: let them praise him, belongs not merely to ver. 7-12, but to ver. 1-12; comp. Psalms 104:27. On the second member comp. Psalms 8:2.-He lifted up the horn of his people, ver. 14, which before was sunk in the dust, Job 16:15, comp. on Psalms 92:10. Instead of: he lifted up the renown of all his saints, which till now had been covered with shame, Luther falsely: all his saints must praise. The ex-pression: the people that is near him, comp. Leviticus 10:3, Ezekiel 42:13, furnishes the ground of the divine goodness, as in Psalms 147. ver. 19, 20. The people, that is near him, may indeed be left by the Lord for a short period, but he must constantly re-ceive them again in his great goodness. Psalms 149. The Psalmist calls the people, in ver. 1-5, to thanksgiving for a great deliverance which they had experienced, and expresses, in ver. 6-9, the hope of a future victory over the slavish heathen world, rising on the ground of their present strength and eleva-tion.-The Psalm consists of an introduction of one verse, and two strophes, each of four verses. The Jehovah and Jah occur four times. Ver. 1. Halleluiah. Sing to the Lord a new song, his renown in the congregation of the saints. His renown, which he has ac-quired by raising the renown of his saints, Psa_148::14. The beginning of the Psalm, therefore, purposely joins itself to the close of the preceding one. Ver. 2-5.--Ver. 2. Let Israel rejoice in his Maker, the chil-dren of Zion be joyful in their king. Ver. 3. Let them praise his name in the dance, with timbrel and psaltery play to him. Ver. 4. For the Lord has pleasure in his people, he adorns the meek with salvation. Ver. 5. Let the saints be joyful in honour, exult upon their beds.-His Maker, ver. 2, who has proved him-self to be such in giving-deliverance:-That ענוים, ver. 4, signi-fies not afflicted, but, as always meek, is clear from the oppo-site to it, the wicked, in Psalms 147:6. On רוצה, connp Psalms 147:10; Psalms 147:11. The expression: in honour, in ver. 5, marks, as in Psalms 112:9, the state that had given rise to the joy. The honour in which they now rejoiced, forms the contrast to the shame with which they had hitherto been covered, Nehemiah 1:3, and Neh. iii. 36. Upon their beds, where before in the loneliness of night they consumed themselves with grief for their shame comp. Hos. vii. 14. Ver. 2. Let Israel rejoice in his Maker, the children of Zion be joyful in their king. Ver. 3. Let them praise his name in the dance, with timbrel and psaltery play to him. Ver. 4. For the Lord has pleasure in his people, he adorns the meek with salvation. Ver. 5. Let the saints be joyful in honour, exult upon their beds. His Maker, Psalms 149:2, who has proved himself to be such in giving-deliverance: That ςπειν, Psalms 149:4, signifies not afflicted, but, as always meek, is clear from the opposite to it, the wicked, in Psalms 147:6. On ψεφδ, comp. Psalms 147:10-11. The expression: in honour, in Psalms 149:5, marks, as in Psalms 112:9, the state that had given rise to the joy. The honour in which they now rejoiced, forms the contrast to the shame with which they had hitherto been covered, Nehemiah 1:3, and Neh. 3:36. Upon their beds, where before in the loneliness of night they consumed themselves with grief for their shame comp. Hosea 7:14. Ver. 6-9.-Ver. 6. The praises of God in their mouth, and a two-edged sword in their hand. Ver. 7. That they may execute vengeance on the heathen, punishment. among the people. Ver. 8. To bind their kings with chains, and their nobles with fetters, of iron. Ver. 9. That they may execute upon them the judg-ment whereof it is written. Such honour have all his saints. Halleluiah. רומם in ver. 6, praise, song of praise, as in Psalms 66:17. As formerly at the work-comp. Nehemiah 4:11 : "with the one hand they did their work, and with the other they held the sword"-so now also after the completion of the work they still carried weapons in their hand while giving thanks and praise. Nehemiah 12:31 ss., gives notice of a great military procession to the temple at the consecration of the walls.-That they may execute vengeance, ver. 7, namely, as God wishes it to be done and at the time appointed. Israel had experienced a great deliverance, but his state was still far from that which became the people of God and was promised them. They were still servants in the land, which the Lord had given to their fathers, that they might eat its fruit and enjoy its food-compare the description in Nehemiah 9:36; Nehemiah 9:37. The new elevation of the people's consciousness, in which for the first time, after a long period, the warrior spirit was again revived, filled them now with a hope that rose superior to present appearances, the hope of dissipating what still remained of evil in their condition. This hope, legitimate in every respect, and, as to its substance, resting upon an everlasting foundation (for the people of God can never in the nature of things continue long ina servile condition), which is sufficient to put to shame our pusil-lanimity, primarily received, as it was certainly meant to have its primary fulfilment in an external manner, an external fulfilment in the time of the Maccabees, the proceedings of which had their root in what had been done by Nehemiah. Unspeakably more glo-rious, however, and beyond what they themselves understood, was the vengeance which Israel exercised in the days of the Messiah, when they took the sword of the spirit in their hand, and thereby prevailed over their heathen neighbours. The earlier external revenge, as Calvin suggests, was but a shadowy prelude to this. The judgment whereof it is written, ver. 9, not in Deuteronomy 7:2, for the passage refers to the entirely peculiar relation to the Ca-naanites, but in Deuteronomy 32:41 ss., where the discourse is of the judgment, which the Lord would execute upon the future oppres-sors of his people, after the period of chastisement had gone by. There, as here, mention is made of judgment, of vengeance, and of the sword. The conclusion, like the beginning, brings to the remembrance the close of the preceding Psalm. An honour is this still more glorious than the renown which they already en-joyed the second half, as it were, of that. Ver. 6-9.-Ver. 6. The praises of God in their mouth, and a two-edged sword in their hand. Ver. 7. That they may execute vengeance on the heathen, punishment. among the people. Ver. 8. To bind their kings with chains, and their nobles with fetters, of iron. Ver. 9. That they may execute upon them the judg-ment whereof it is written. Such honour have all his saints. Halleluiah. רומם in ver. 6, praise, song of praise, as in Psalms 66:17. As formerly at the work-comp. Nehemiah 4:11 : "with the one hand they did their work, and with the other they held the sword"-so now also after the completion of the work they still carried weapons in their hand while giving thanks and praise. Nehemiah 12:31 ss., gives notice of a great military procession to the temple at the consecration of the walls.-That they may execute vengeance, ver. 7, namely, as God wishes it to be done and at the time appointed. Israel had experienced a great deliverance, but his state was still far from that which became the people of God and was promised them. They were still servants in the land, which the Lord had given to their fathers, that they might eat its fruit and enjoy its food-compare the description in Nehemiah 9:36; Nehemiah 9:37. The new elevation of the people's consciousness, in which for the first time, after a long period, the warrior spirit was again revived, filled them now with a hope that rose superior to present appearances, the hope of dissipating what still remained of evil in their condition. This hope, legitimate in every respect, and, as to its substance, resting upon an everlasting foundation (for the people of God can never in the nature of things continue long ina servile condition), which is sufficient to put to shame our pusil-lanimity, primarily received, as it was certainly meant to have its primary fulfilment in an external manner, an external fulfilment in the time of the Maccabees, the proceedings of which had their root in what had been done by Nehemiah. Unspeakably more glo-rious, however, and beyond what they themselves understood, was the vengeance which Israel exercised in the days of the Messiah, when they took the sword of the spirit in their hand, and thereby prevailed over their heathen neighbours. The earlier external revenge, as Calvin suggests, was but a shadowy prelude to this. The judgment whereof it is written, ver. 9, not in Deuteronomy 7:2, for the passage refers to the entirely peculiar relation to the Ca-naanites, but in Deuteronomy 32:41 ss., where the discourse is of the judgment, which the Lord would execute upon the future oppres-sors of his people, after the period of chastisement had gone by. There, as here, mention is made of judgment, of vengeance, and of the sword. The conclusion, like the beginning, brings to the remembrance the close of the preceding Psalm. An honour is this still more glorious than the renown which they already en-joyed the second half, as it were, of that. Psalms 150. We have here a full-toned call to the praise of God, quite ap-propriate to the close of this Psalm-cycle and of the whole Psalter, in which, especially toward the end, in the Psalms belonging to the time of Israel's-depression, the praise of God forms the pre-dominating element. The Psalm falls into three strophes, each of two verses. In the first strophe the discourse is, of where praise is to be given, in heaven and on earth, and on what account, because of the greatness of God, and his glorious deeds; then, in the se-cond and third strophe, wherewith, viz., with all that has sound and voice. In unison with the three-number of the strophes stands the three-number of Jah. The הללו, praise, occurs twelve times; the instruments of the praise of God are ten, three in ver, 3, four in ver. 4, three in ver. 5, 6.a a Both was already noted by Amyrald as remarkable and significant. The sig. of the number ten be rightly determines thus: "nothing might be awanting to the perfect Ver. 1-2.-Ver. 1. Halleluiah. Praise the Lord in his sanc-tuary, praise him in his mighty stronghold. Ver. 2 Praise him on account of his mighty deeds, praise him according to his great glory.-In ver. 1, several would understand by the sanctuary the heavenly one. But קדש is never used of that; the reference to the earthly place of honouring cannot, for the sake of what fol-lows, be dispensed with, and the connection of heaven with earth in the call to praise God, is found also in Psalms 148., the subject of which is here again briefly resumed. In his mighty, comp. Psalms 68:34, stronghold, where the hosts of heaven, the angels, and sun, moon, and stars, praise him. Ver. 3-6.--Ver. 3. Praise him with sound of trumpets, praise him with harp and psaltery. Ver. 4. Praise him with timbrel and dance, praise him with stringed instruments and pipes. Ver. 5. Praise him with loud cymbals, praise him with cymbals of jubilee. Ver. 6. Let every thing that has breath praise the Lord. Halleluiah.--In ver. 4, the pipe, עוגב, as a wind instru-ment, forms a contrast to the stringed instruments. There is no trace elsewhere to be found of the pipe being used in the public worship of God; and the only instruments in use for blowing upon were the trumpets, comp. Introd. to Psalms 5. Beyond doubt, the pipe, which otherwise did not belong to the temple service, was brought into requisition here, only because the feast had at the same time the character of a popular rejoicing. In like manner also timbrels and dances. The timbrels were mentioned also in Psalms 68:25, and in 2 Samuel 6:5, where we find a similar enumeration of the musical instruments: "David and the whole house of Israel played there before the Lord." As here also, the extraordinary was brought into play, and it was, besides, difficult to make out the number ten, we may the rather expect, that the usual instruments would be reckoned up; and we thus, from our Psalm, arrive at the result, that the sacred music was extreme simple, and the readiness of many expositors to find in every dark word of the superscriptions a new musical instrument, is very ill applied.-In ver. 5, cymbals of the hearing are audible, high-sounding cymbals. As the first member marks the sound, so the second marks the joyful character of the tone. This was the pe- celebration of God's glory:-the tenth number denotes, according to the of scripture, complete fulness of anything."culiar character of the cymbals, which were used only at festivals of a joyful kind, comp. 2 Samuel 6:5, Ezra 3:10, Nehemiah 12:27. תרועה, jubilee, comp. Psalms 27:6; Psalms 89:15, Numbers 23:21. נשמה, breath, ver. 6, denotes very often that which has breath --here, in contrast to the dead instruments, comp. Genesis 14:21.At the sacred feasts there was not merely playing but also sing-ing, comp. Psalms 68:25, Nehemiah 12. As the life of the faithful, and the history of the church, so also the Psalter, with all its cries from the depths, runs out in a Halleluiah. Ver. 3. Praise him with sound of trumpets, praise him with harp and psaltery. Ver. 4. Praise him with timbrel and dance, praise him with stringed instruments and pipes. Ver. 5. Praise him with loud cymbals, praise him with cymbals of jubilee. Ver. 6. Let every thing that has breath praise the Lord. Halleluiah. In Psalms 150:4, the pipe, ςεβα, as a wind instrument, forms a contrast to the stringed instruments. There is no trace elsewhere to be found of the pipe being used in the public worship of God; and the only instruments in use for blowing upon were the trumpets, comp. Introd. to Psalms 5. Beyond doubt, the pipe, which otherwise did not belong to the temple service, was brought into requisition here, only because the feast had at the same time the character of a popular rejoicing. In like manner also timbrels and dances. The timbrels were mentioned also in Psalms 68:25, and in 2 Samuel 6:5, where we find a similar enumeration of the musical instruments: “David and the whole house of Israel played there before the Lord.” As here also, the extraordinary was brought into play, and it was, besides, difficult to make out the number ten, we may the rather expect, that the usual instruments would be reckoned up; and we thus, from our Psalm, arrive at the result, that the sacred music was extreme simple, and the readiness of many expositors to find in every dark word of the superscriptions a new musical instrument, is very ill applied. In Psalms 150:5, cymbals of the hearing are audible, high-sounding cymbals. As the first member marks the sound, so the second marks the joyful character of the tone. This was the peculiar character of the cymbals, which were used only at festivals of a joyful kind, comp. 2 Samuel 6:5, Ezra 3:10, Nehemiah 12:27. ϊψεςδ, jubilee, comp. Psalms 27:6, Psalms 89:15, Numbers 23:21. πωξδ, breath, Psalms 150:6, denotes very often that which has breath—here, in contrast to the dead instruments, comp. Genesis 14:21. At the sacred feasts there was not merely playing but also singing, comp. Psalms 68:25, Nehemiah 12. As the life of the faithful, and the history of the church, so also the Psalter, with all its cries from the depths, runs out in a Halleluiah.