COMMENTARY
ON
THE PSALMS
BY
E. W. HENGSTENBERG,
DR AND PROFESSOR OF THEOLOGY IN
VOL.
III.
TRANSLATED BY THE
REV. JOHN THOMSON,
AND
REV. PATRICK FAIRBAIRN, SALTON.
T. &L T. CLARK,
SEELEY AND CO.; WARD AND CO.;
JACKSON AND WALFORD, &C,
MDCCCXLVIII,
1848
Digitized by Ted Hildebrandt,
ADVERTISEMENT.
THE present Volume of the FOREIGN
THEOLOGICAL LIBRARY
has
been enlarged considerably beyond the regular size, in order
to
comprize the whole of the remainder of HENGSTENBERG on
the
PSALMS. Of the portion contained in this volume, it may be
proper
to state that the translation, as far as the close of Psalm
cxxvi.,
is by Mr Thomson, the remainder by Mr Fairbairn. The
Treatises
at the close have a separate paging, from its having
been
found convenient to print that part of the translation before
the
rest could be got ready for the press. By some accident the
short
general introduction to the group of Psalms, cxxxv.—cxlvi.,
was
omitted at its proper place between Ps. cxxxiv. and cxxxv.;
and
it has been inserted at the close of the group, at p. 546.
The
translators have not thought it necessary to append any
notes
or explanations of their own, with the exception of a brief
statement
at the close of the Treatises, for which the translator
of
that portion is alone responsible.
ERRATA.
In Ps. cxx., p. 412; Ps. cxxi., p. 418; Ps.
cxxii., p. 426; Ps, cxxiii, p. 432, for
Pilgrims
read Pilgrimages.
THE
BOOK OF PSALMS.
PSALM
LXXIX.
THE
main division of the Psalm contains twelve verses. These
are
divided, as is frequently the case, into three strophes, each
consisting
of four verses. Ver. 1-4 contains the representation
of
the misery:—the land of the Lord has been taken possession
of
by the heathen, the temple
desecrated,
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 lxxiv.; 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
2 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
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
Ps.
lxxiv., 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
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. vii. 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 kata> to>n
lo<gon o{n e@graye: sa<rkaj o[si<wn k.t.l. The Syrian translation: " ac-
cording
to the word which the prophet has written." This is the usual way of
quoting
Scripture:
comp. Harless on Eph. iv. 8. Hitzig translates falsely: 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.
PSALM LXXIX. VER. 1-8. 3
ject
the titles are unable to explain this similarity admitted by
themselves,
which obtains among all the Asaphic Psalms, even
among
those which were composed at different eras. If we fol-
low
the title the reason of this is clear as day. The descendants
of
Asaph looked upon themselves as the instruments by which
the
Asaph of David's time, their illustrious ancestor, continued
to speak, and therefore they
very naturally followed as closely in
his
footsteps as possible: the later descendants, moreover, would
always
have the compositions of their more early, ancestors before
their
minds. The unity of the persons named in the titles is
connected
with the unity of character by which all these Psalms
are
pervaded. Any one who composed at his own hand, and did
not
look at his ancestor or the early or contemporaneous instru-
ments
of that ancestor, could not have adopted it.
Ver. 1-4.—Ver. 1. 0 God, the heathen have come into
thine inheritance, they
have polluted thy holy temple; they
have laid
the bodies of thy
servants for food to the fowls of heaven,
the flesh of thy saints
to the wild beasts of the earth. Ver.
3.
They have shed their blood like water
round about Jerusa-
lean, and the was no one
to bury.
Ver. 4. We have become
a reproach to our
neighbours, a scorn and derision to them that
are round about us.—On ver. 1, Calvin: The
Psalmist says,
the
order of nature is, as it were, inverted; the heathen have
come
into the inheritance of God." Berleb.: "Faith utters a
similar
complaint in its struggles: the heathen have made an
inroad
into my heart as thy inheritance."
The pollution of the
temple
by the heathen presupposes its previous pollution by the
Israelites: comp. Ex. v. 11, xxiii. 38. Ps. lxxiv. 7, is
parallel.
On
vtyH
in ver. 2, comp. at Ps. 1. 10. That the Crx is to be
understood
of the earth and not of the land is obvious from the
term
in contrast heaven.—The expression,
"and there was none
to
bury," points to a great and general desolation, such as did
not
exist at any other period except during the Chaldean inva-
sion.—Ver.
4 is from Ps. xliv. 13.
Ver. 5-8.—Ver. 5. How long, 0 Lord, wilt thou be angry
for ever? shall thy
jealousy burn like fire! Ver. 6. Pour out
thy floods of wrath upon
the heathen who know thee not, and up-
on the kingdoms which do
not call upon thy name. Ver. 7.
4 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
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 Ps. lxxiv. 9; xiii. 1. On the second clause, Deut.
xxix.
19. Ex. xx. 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
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. Deut. xxxii. Ez. xxxviii. 39.b—The
sing. lkx
in ver. 7
denotes
the one soul which animates the many
membered body of
the
enemies of the
doms
referred to in ver. 6 served the king of
better
to take hvn
in the sense of pasture than of habitation:
comp.
the tyfrm
in ver. 13: they eat up
and
lay waste his pasture, his land. Ver. 6 and 7 are repeated
almost
word for word in Jer. x. 25. It has been alleged in
favour
of Jeremiah being the original author, that the prophecy
was
uttered before the destruction. But
this reason is of no
weight.
The prophecy, which designedly bears no particular
date,
was, at least in its present form, written after the 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
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 (Dan. xi. 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."
PSALM LXXIX. VER.
5-8. 5
a
presumption in favour of Jeremiah borrowing--it being his
usual
manner to do so; that in this chapter there are manifestly
references
to other Psalms, the preceding verse being borrowed
from
Ps. vi. 1, (comp. 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
in
ver. 3, (
funde,
see Ps. lxix. 24),—comp. ver. 10; that the difficult singu-
lar
lkx
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.—Mynwxr in ver. 8, where it
stands alone, sig-
nifies
nothing else than ancestors, not antiquity. The reference to
Lev.
xxvi. 45, which it is impossible not to observe, is altogether
against
the exposition, the former sins: "and I remember to
them
the covenant of their ancestors whom I brought out of the
their
God,"—God does not remember the sins
of their ancestors,
but
according to his own promise, the covenant
which he made
with
them. Comp. also Lev. xxvi. 39, where instead of "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.
Lam. v. 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 themselves
against
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-
6 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
enced
that their wickedness was incurable:" comp. Is. lxv. 7.
On
Mdq to surprise, comp. at Ps. xxi. 4.
Ver. 9-12.—Ver. 9. Help us, 0 God, our Salvation, for thy
name's glory's sake; and
deliver us and pardon our sins for
thy name's sake. Ver. 10. Why 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, 0 Lord.—In the 9th verse the
church implores
the
Lord to redeem that pledge of similar future deeds, which she
got
in his early dealings. The name, and the honour of the name,
i.
e., his glory (comp. at Ps. xxix. 1, 2), are in reality the
same:—for
the sake of thy historically manifested glory (comp.
at
Ps. xxiii. 3), for the purpose of now verifying this in sight of
the
blaspheming enemies, and to their terror.—The first half of
the
10th verse is word for word from Jo. ii. 17, and this passage
again
rests on Ex. xxxii. 12. Num. xiv. 13 ss. Deut. ix. 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 Myg is
written
without the Vau: comp. at Ps. lxxiv. 11. "Before our
eyes,"
is from Deut. vi. 22. "The vengeance of the blood of thy
servants"
points back to "He will avenge the blood of his ser-
vants,"
in the conclusion of the Song of Moses, in Deut. xxxii.
43.—In
ver. 11, the whole people appears under the emblem of a
prisoner.
At the first clause we ought to add: as
it once did in
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,
PSALM LXXX. 7
having
no connection whatever with history. On "according to
the
greatness of thine arm," comp. Num. xiv. 19. Deut. iii. 24.
Inward
greatness is meant, energy. The htvmt 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
Ps. lxxii. 4.—On "in their lap," ver. 12, comp. Is. lxv. 6-7.
Jer.
xxxii. 18. Luke vi. 38. Their reproach,
inasmuch as they
say,
Where is their God? ver. 10.
Ver. 13. And we are thy people and sheep of thy pasture,
therefore we shall
praise thee for ever, recount thy praise through
all generations. The verse is expressive
of confidence: "we shall
praise
thee" being equivalent to "thou shalt give us occasion to
do
so;" comp. Ps. xliv. 8. In reference to "the sheep of thy
pasture,"
comp. at Ps. lxxiv. 1.
PSALM LXXX.
The Psalmist prays for help on
behalf of the oppressed church,
particularly
on behalf of Joseph and Benjamin, ver. 1-3, and
describes,
in mournful language, their oppression in ver. 4-7.
In
ver. 8-13,
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 the
8 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
covenant,
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
—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
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: u[pe>r tou? ]Assuri<ou. 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.
PSALM LXXX. 9
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
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 Ps. lxxiv. and lxxix., 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 Ps. lxxviii. 67, in opposition to
here
used for the whole of
the
time existed. Even in Obed. ver. 18, the house of Joseph
denotes
the ten tribes (comp. Caspari), and, in like manner, in
Amos
vi. 6, Joseph is used only of the ten tribes; comp. Ch. B.
Michaelis.
3. In ver. 2, the tribes on whose behalf the help of
God
is supplicated are Ephraim, Benjamin, and Manasseh.
Every
thing here depends upon determining whether, in the divi-
sion
of the state into two kingdoms, the Benjamites adhered to
(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
refers
to the misery of the whole people, there can be no reason
assigned
why Benjamin is named here, and not
the
other hand, maintain that, with the exception of
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 (Gen. xliv. 27-29), and were
10 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
united
to each other in the tenderest affection, Gen. xliii. 29-
30-34.
In travelling through the wilderness we find them as
here
united to each other; comp. Num. ii. 17, &c., x. 21-24. It
is
clear, from 2 Sam. xix. 21, that the bond of union between
Joseph
and Benjamin was very close even in David's time: in
this
passage Simei says that he comes first of the whole house of
Joseph.
Further, Benjamin is the very last tribe who can be
supposed
to have entertained any friendly feeling towards
inasmuch
as the honour and pre-eminence which belonged to it
during
the reign of Saul was transferred to
xxii.
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
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 xii. 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
as
understood: so far as it remained faithful to
ing
to 1 Kings xi. 13, 32, 36, xii. 20, it was only the single
tribe
of
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 xii. 17, the only individuals not Jews who submitted
to
the government of Rehoboam are "the children of
dwelt
in the cities of
link
between xii. 21 and the passages above quoted, and gives to
the
former the necessary limitation. Further, if we join Benja-
min
to
for
Simeon, who is commonly reckoned among them, manifestly
PSALM LXXX. 11
cannot
be counted. That tribe, according to Gen. xlix. 7, ought
to
be found like Levi, broken up into pieces; according to Jos.
xix.
1, "its inheritance was in the midst of the tribe of
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
nally
were situated within the tribe of
in
the list of these cities, Bach. § 409. They must necessarily
have
held fast by
was
quite natural that they should amalgamate with
this
is sufficient to explain the fact that they are nowhere men-
tioned
as a part of the
two
kingdoms they became extinct as a tribe. This peculiar
state
of matters explains 1 Kings xi. 30, &c., according to which
the
whole number of the tribes was twelve, of which one remained
faithful
to the house of David, and ten took part with Jeroboam.
Now,
if we leave out Simeon, it becomes necessary to take in
Benjamin,
in order to complete the number ten.—It is, therefore,
evident
that the three passages above quoted represent
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 lx
pointing
out the object (comp. at title of Ps. vi.) we have lf in
the
two fundamental passages, The lilies
are an emblem of what is
lovely
(comp. at Ps. xlv.), here, as in Ps. lxix., of the lovely salva-
tion
of the Lord, his tvfvwy: comp. hfwvn with which the re-
frain
generally ends, the peculiarly prominent word of the Psalm,
and
the htfvwy,
in ver. 2. The tvdf, which, on account of the ac-
cusative,
cannot be connected with Mynww, signifies always law
a 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
12 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
(comp.
at Ps. lx. 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 lxxviii. 5, lxxxi. 5. That it is used in the
same
sense here also, that the Psalmist designates his poem a
law, because he does not
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 Ps. lx., where the original
itself
from which the Psalmist merely copies, is named tvdf,
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 tvdf is to be got from the
word
immediately preceding, on the lilies:
"a law which treats
of
the way of obtaining deliverance."a The Jsxl tvdf, cor-
responds
to the Jsxl lykWm an instruction of Asaph in
Psalms
lxxiv. and lxxviii.; but it is a stronger and more em-
phatic
expression: comp. also, Hear, my people,
my law in Ps.
lxxviii.
1.
Ver. 1-3.--Ver. 1. 0 thou Shepherd of
leadest Joseph as the
sheep; thou who sittest enthroned upon the
cherubim, shine forth. Ver. 2. Before Ephraim, and Benjamin,
and Manasseh, stir up
thy strength and come for help to us.
Ver.
3. 0 God, lead us back, and cause thy
face to shine, and us
to be delivered.—The "thou
Shepherd of
at
Ps. xxiii. 1), refers to Gen. xlviii. 15; xlix. 24, where in
Joseph's
blessing God is named the Shepherd of Israel. The
expression,
"who leadest Joseph," &c., is the development of the
first
clause, and marks directly that part of
time
stood particularly in need of the shepherd care of God. In
the
second clause prominence is given to the omnipotence
of God
as
the second foundation of the deliverance, just as in the first
his
care for his people had been especially dwelt upon. It is
omnipotence
that is indicated by, "thou sittest enthroned upon
the
cherubim:" comp. at Ps. xviii. 10. The cherubim of the
sanctuary
are the emblem of the earthly creation. God's sitting
above
these indicates that this sublunary world with all its powers
is
subject to him and serves him. "God
of hosts" corresponds
a Venema: that the pious,
when placed in dreadful trouble, might be instructed in
the
true way of obtaining deliverance and salvation.
PSALM LXXX. VER. 4-7. 13
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 Ps. 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
the
pillar of cloud and the pillar of fire: comp. Deut. xiii. 21, 22,
"and
the Lord went before them," &c. Thy
strength:—which
now
slumbers,—comp. Ps. lxxviii. 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 bvw in Hiph. is to lead back
(comp.
Gen. xxviii. 15, where Jacob, who in his exile beyond the
Euphrates,
and in his restoration to
his
people, is addressed by God, I bring thee
back to this place,
Jer.
xii. 15; xvi. 15; xxx. 3): and there is no ground whatever
to
depart from this usual sense here; more especially as in the
12th
and 13th verses we find a lamentation expressed in 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, Dan.
ix.
25: comp. the Christology, p. 2, p. 456. "Cause thy face
to shine," is demanded as a
fulfilment of the Mosaic blessing,
Num.
vi. 25: comp. at Ps. iv. 6; xxxi. 16.
Ver. 4-7.—Ver. 4. 0 Lord God, God of hosts, how long
dost thou smoke against
the prayer of thy people? Ver. 5.
Thou feedest them with
tear-bread, and givest them drink in a
great measure full of
tears.
Ver. 6. Thou placest us for conten-
tion to our neighbours,
and our enemies make merry. Ver. 7. 0
God, God of hosts, bring
us back, and cause thy face to shine
upon us, and us to be
delivered. A
heaping up of the names of
God
similar to that in ver. 4, occurs also in the first verse of the
fiftieth
Psalm, another of the Psalms of Asaph. In prayer,
every
thing depends upon God, in the full glory of his being,
14 THE
BOOK OF PSALMS.
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
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. Ps. xxiv. 10. It is manifest
from,
comparing the fundamental passage, Deut. xxix. 19, and
the
parallel Asaph. passage Ps. lxxiv. 1, that the smoke comes
into
notice only as the attendant 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. Ps. cxli. 2. Rev. v. 8; viii. 3, 4. Is. vi. 4, "the
house
was full of smoke," Beitr. iii. 644. The smoke of prayer,
according
to Lev. xvi. 13, should smother the fire of the wrath
of
God: but instead of this, God opposes the smoke of his anger
to
the smoke of prayer. In ver. 5, tear-bread is not at all bread
destroyed
by tears, but bread composed of tears. This is mani-
fest
from the parallel passages: comp. at Ps. xlii.3, and the second
clause:
as the tears are drink there, they
must be bread here.
It
cannot always be, that the Shepherd of Israel, of whom it is
said,
Ps. xxiii. 5, "thou preparest before me a table in presence
of
my enemies, . . . my cup 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
hqwh is
constantly construed with the accusative of the per-
son
and the thing; but it never occurs with b, before the thing.
The
"measure" is thus the thing that is given to drink (the wylw
as
the name of a measure occurs only in one other passage, Is.
xl.
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 Ps. xliv. 13, on which also Ps. lxxix. 4 depends.
The
neighbours are always the petty tribes in the immediate neigh-
bourhood
of
syrians
and Egyptians), who always availed themselves of those
occasions
when
PSALM LXXX. VER. 8-13. 15
give
vent to their hatred. The Nvdm the object, the butt of
rage
expressed in actions, but especially in bitter contempt,
"where is now their God?" &c. The vml as the dat. comm.,
i.e.,
according to the heart's desire.
Ver. 8-13.—Ver. 8. Thou broughtest a vine out of
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 Gen. xlix. 22, where Joseph,
to
whom the eye of the Psalmist is continually directed, appears,
in
reference to his joyful prosperity, as a wall tree by a fountain,
whose
branches rose high above the walls. The difference is
only
this, that here instead of the fruit
tree, the vine is intro-
duced,
after the example of Isaiah in ch. v. 1-7, where
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. Hos. xiv. 7, "They
shall
grow as the vine."—That the fysh in ver. 8 is to be
taken
in
its usual sense, to cause to depart,
which it maintains even in
Job
xix. 10, is evident on comparing the Asaphic passage, from
which
it is immediately borrowed, Ps. lxxviii. 52, and the funda-
mental
passages, Ex. xii. 37; xv. 22, on which this depends.
An
affirmation may be made in regard to the spiritual, which
could
not be applied to the natural vine.
"Thou didst remove the
heathen" is taken from Ps.
lxxviii. 55, which again depends upon
Ex.
xxiii. 28; xxxiii. 2; xxxiv. 11. The sons of Asaph always
follow
in the footsteps of their father. The
"plant" is from Ps.
xliv.
2, to which allusion is also made in ver. 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?" On
16 THE
BOOK OF PSALMS.
hnp in Ps. vii. "to clear," "to
clear out," in ver. 10, comp.
the
Christol. 404. It corresponds to "the clearing out of the
stones"
of Is. v. 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 Gen. xxviii. 14, where
it
is said in the promise to Jacob, "thou stretch out on the west
and
on the east, on the north and on the south," and especially
Deut.
xi. 24, "every place which the sole of your feet shall tread
upon
shall be yours, from the wilderness and
river,
the river
boundaries:"—comp.
Josh. i. 4. God had in former times glori-
ously
fulfilled the promises contained in these passages. hlc
and
hypnf
are in reality both accusatives governed by vsk
Pü;
the mountains which were covered with
the shadow of
the
vine are the mountains on the south of
try
of
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 Ps. lxxv. 7
as
the southern boundary, in the same
way as the mountains are
here
spoken of as the most southern portion of the land. The
cedars of God (comp. at Ps. xxxvi. 6)
which the boughs of the
vine
ascend and cover, are, as usual, those of
xxix.
5; xcii. 13; civ. 16), which formed the north boundary
of
Canaan: comp. Ps. xxix., where
of
Kadesh stand opposed to each other as the northern and
southern
boundaries of
the
river,
to
the ground: and his boughs were cedars of God,—which
would
bring out a monstrous figure.—The hrx to pluck (else-
where
only in Song of Sol. v. 1), applies not to the grapes but to
the
branches:—the luxuriance of the branches formed the subject
of
the preceding description; and the opposite of that state is
described
in this clause, as it is in Is. v. 5, Ps. lxxxix. 40, 41.
All who pass by time way: Berleb.: "for example, Pul, Tiglath-
pileser,
Salmanasser, Senacherib."— The boar
from the forest
(comp.
Jerem. v. 4) is according to the analogy of Ps. lxviii. 30.
Ez.
xxix. 3, where the hippopotamos and the crocodile are em-
PSALM LXXX. VER. 14-19. 17
blem
of Pharaoh, and Ez. xvii., where the eagle indicates Ne-
buchadnezar,
descriptive not of the enemies generally, but of the
king
of
Asaph.
Ps. 1. 11, the only other passage where it is used of
beasts),
denotes the whole mass of the nations serving under
him.a
Ver. 14-19.—Ver. 14. 0 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 be-
ginning
of the prayer in the main division, ver. 14 is connected
with
the beginning of the prayer in the introduction, ver. 1. The
hnk; ver. 15, is the imper. of Nnk, to make firm, comp. the pro-
per
noun, vhynnk,
whom Jehovah hath established. It is
con-
strued
first with the accusative, and afterwards with lf, 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 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 pre-
viously
been spoken of. The Son of the second
clause is just the
spiritual
vine. The translation, a shoot,
according to Gen. xlix.
22,
is not only against ver. 17, but also against the sense, as it
is
not any particular shoot, but the whole vine that is here spo-
ken
of. The Cmx 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 doubt-
ful
passage, Is. xliv. 14. The singular,
of rare occurrence else-
where,
here and in ver. 17, is accounted for by the allusion to
the
name of Benjamin, whom the Psalmist here considers as the
representative
of all
a Berleb: The beasts
represent, in the inner man, the destructive passions by which
the
vineyard of the soul is torn up and consumed.
18 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
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: Gen. xliv. 20, "his father loves
him,"
and Deut. xxxiii. 12, "the beloved of the Lord," are to
be
considered as explanations of the name. In so far as Jacob
gave
this significant name to his son, under the guidance and in-
spiration
of God, it was a pledge of the divine love and help for
him,
and, at the same time, for all
woven.
The subject in "they perish," in ver. 16, is the chil-
dren
of
18,
"our heart has not turned back, nor have our steps declined
from
thy paths."
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. Ps. lxxix. 6), but they promise better; if the Lord
will
bring them back unto life (Ps. lxxi. 20), they also will walk
in
a new life. The guilt of
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.
PSALM LXXXI.
The exhortation to celebrate the
passover with joyful heart,
ver.
1-3, is followed by the basis on
which it rests, ver. 4-7:
the
passover is the festival of
Lord
and God, from great trouble and deep misery. While the
first
part points to what the Lord has done for
describes
the position which
their
Lord: inasmuch as the Lord, who brought
its
imaginary deities,—a preposition, however, to which
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.
PSALM LXXXI. 19
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
Psalm
was composed by Asaph. We shewed already, at Ps.
lxxiv.,
that we must adhere to the Asaph who belonged to the
age
of David, in all the Psalms which bear this name, except in
those
cases in which the contents of the Psalm render this im-
possible.
In the present instance this is not the case. "The
contents,"
observes Köster, "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 Jsvhy in ver. 5, and
to
the participle after vl in ver. 13. But that the retention of
the
h
of the Hiph. (Ew. §. 284), is not at all characteristic of
the
language of later times, is evident, among other passages,
20 THE
BOOK OF PSALMS.
from
Ps. xlv. 17, and from 1 Sam. xxii. 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 vl is characteristic
of
a later idiom; comp. 2 Sam. xviii. 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,
Ps.
1., lxxiii., lxxviii. (even Hitzig believed that he heard in the
warnings
here the voice of the author of the seventy-eighth
Psalm),
and lxxxii. To this we may add the striking connection
between
ver. 8 here, and Ps. 1. 7.
Ver. 1-3.—Ver. 1. Sing 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 Ps. xlvi. 1. The Lord mani-
fested
himself as the strength of his people on their deliverance
from
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. Ex. xii. 1, 2: "And
the Lord said
to
Moses and Aaron in the
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 Lev. xxiii. 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, Ex. xxxiv. 18: "The
feast
of unleavened bread shalt thou keep, seven days shalt thou
PSALM LXXXI. VER. 1-3. 21
eat
unleavened bread, at the time of the month Abib" (comp. on
the
passage the Beitr. p. 361 ss. on Abib p. 364), Deut. xvi.
1:
"Observe the month Abib, for in the
month Abib the Lord
thy
God brought thee out of
Beitr.
p. 365. According to the common
construction, wdH sig-
nifies
the new moon; throughout the
Pentateuch, however, it
invariably
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 hsk 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
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
Num. x. 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 wdH 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 Prov.
vii. 20, and also from the Syr. (See Gesen.), that hsk denotes
in
general the full moon, and not at all, as has been supposed, specially the
feast of ta-
bernacles.
22 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
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. ii. p. 565.
Beitr.
iii. p. 80. The feast of tabernacles never has this name,
not
even in 2 Chron. v. 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 under
Hezekiah;
for this took place, according to 2 Chon. xxx. 2, con-
trary
to the usual custom, in the second
month. The account of
this
celebration, however, is so far of importance to rev. 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 Chron.
xxx.
21, 22.
Ver. 4-7.—Ver. 4. For it is a law 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
right
for the God of Jacob correspond. God, by the deliverance
which
he has wrought out, has acquired a right
to the thanks of
pointed
law of the passover, to implement this right.
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 xvh 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
Hvdf a
testimony, next a law, comp. at
Ps. xix. 7, lxxviii, 5.
23 PSALM LXXXI. VER. 4-7.
Joseph
occupies the place of
period
of the residence in the
every
thing to Joseph, "the crowned one among his brethren,"
Gen.
xlix. 26; their whole existence there was founded on the
services
which Joseph had rendered to
according
to which, the oppression of
king,
who did not know Joseph. It was only during this period
of
his existence that
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
Ps.
lxxvii. 15 and lxxx. i. The suffix in vtxcb refers to Jo-
seph.
"Out of
occurs
in the Pentateuch; comp. Ex. xi. 41, "All the armies
of
the Lord went out from the
xxii.
5, Deut. ix. 7; particularly in connection with the feast of
the
passover, comp. Ex. xxxiv. 18, "Thou shalt keep the feast
of
unleavened bread, seven days shalt thou eat unleavened
bread
as I have commanded thee at the time of the month Abib,
for
in the month Abib thou wentest out of
Egypt." Here, how-
ever,
the expression is "over
sense
in which it occurs in Job xxix. 7, "When I went out to the
gate
over or across the city." This over is more expressive than
out of. The marching out
appears all the more glorious, inas-
much
as the marching extended over the whole country, across
dren
of
tians;"
comp. Ex. xiv. 8.a Many expositors have suffered them-
selves
to be led astray by the lf. They translate: when he.
(the
Lord) went forth against the
to
Ex. xi. 4, "About midnight I go out in the
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
ing
to the first-mentioned rendering, "where I heard a language
a Calvin: The people, led
on by God, traversed freely the whole
sage
having been afforded them in consequence of the broken and terrified state of
the
inhabitants.
24 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
unknown
to me," an expression which denotes more exactly the
oppressive
nature of their previous condition, and the unspeakable
benefit
arising from their deliverance; comp. Ps. cxiv. 1, "When
strange
language." Finally, in the continuation in ver. 6 and 7,
the
language refers entirely to the deliverance out of
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
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
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. Böttcher, 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
I
hear now, the oracle referred to in ver. 6-16. But a compa-
rison
of the parallel passages, Ps. cxiv. 1, which is particularly
decisive,
Deut. xxviii. 49, "The Lord will bring upon thee a
people
from afar, . . . . a people whose language thou
dost
not understand," Is. xxxiii. 19, and Ju. v. 15, leaves
no
doubt whatever as to the correctness of the interpreta-
tion
given above. Farther, the description of the miserable
condition
in which
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. hpW
never
signifies a particular discourse, but a way of speaking, a
language;
comp. Böttcher.--As the difference in regard to the
speaker
(in ver: 6 and 7 it s the Lord that speaks, while pre-
vious
to this the Psalmist, or
PSALM LXXXI.
VER. 4-7 25
spoken
in the name and spirit of the Lord) is one merely of form,
and
as, in reality, verses 6 and 7 merely continue the train of
thought
of ver. 5 (when the Lord removed, or, then the Lord 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. Ex. vi. 6, 7, "I
the
Lord bring you out from under the burden of the Egyptians."
The
basket dvd is,
according to the parallelism, the burden-
basket. Baskets of this kind
were found in the sepulchral vaults
which
have been opened in
nished
drawings and descriptions: the Israelites used them for
carrying
from one place to another the clay and manufactured
bricks:
comp.
"I
heard thee in the thunder-cover," in ver. 7, comp. Hab. iii. 4,
"And
there (in the lightning-flash which surrounds the Lord at
his
appearance) was the hiding of his power." As in that 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,"
Ex. xx. 18, the storm. There is no need for assuming
that
the Psalmist alludes, specially and exclusively, to Ex. xiv.
24,
according to which, while the Egyptians were passing through
the
sea, the Lord looked upon their chariots from the pillar of
fire
and cloud, and thus completed the deliverance of the Is-
raelites.
It is a common figure of poetry to represent the Lord
as
riding forth in a storm, mighty against his enemies, and on
behalf
of this people; comp. Ps. lxxvii. 16-18; Ps. xviii. 11:
--and
hence the Psalmist has assuredly before his eyes
the
whole series of Egyptian plagues. At the last clause, I
proved thee at the water
of Meribah,
Luther says correctly:
"he
makes mention of the waters of strife in order that he may
remind
them of their sins." The words do not properly belong
to
the train of thought in the preceding context, which is 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."
26 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
stance
very like the expression of an idea which had started up
uncalled
for. This apparently arbitrary reference to
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, Ez. xvii. 1, &c. (comp. on the rela-
tion
which this narrative bears to that at Num. xx. 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
wide, I will fill it. Ver. 11. But my people does not listen to
my voice, and
given them over to the
wickedness of their heart, they walk in
their own counsels.—On ver. 8, comp. Ps.
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 Mx 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 Ex. xxxii. 32 ; Ps. xxvii. 17 (comp. at the passage),
Luke
xix. 42; xix. 9 (see Koenöhl on the passages).—Ver. 9
and
10 depend on Ex. xx. 2, 3. It has been very unjustifiably
maintained
that the first commandment stands instead of the
whole
decalogue. This would deprive the thought of all point.
It
was only their fathers' God, their country's God, that had ma-
nifested
himself in the past as
xxxii.
12, "the Lord alone did lead him, and there was not with
him
one God of the stranger)," and thus he is still rich in help
for
them; therefore they should even now serve this one God only.
—Ver.
10 is in reality connected with ver. 9 by a "Because." The
expression,
"who led thee out of the
PSALM L.XXXI. VER.
10-16. 27
from
Deut. xx. 1. The words, "Open thy mouth wide, I will
fill
it," are equivalent to "I am rich for all thy necessities, even
for
thy boldest wishes," as is evident from their development in
ver.
14-16.—In ver. 11, 12, the Lord complains that
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
fested
no particular deeds of kindness, &c.” Allusion is made to
Deut.
xiii. 9, where it is said, in reference to him who should
entice
unto
him nor hearken unto him."
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.
24.
2 Thess. ii. 10, 11. The bl tvryrw (not hardness
but
wickedness of heart) is here and
everywhere else where it occurs,
Is.
iii. 17; vii. 24, taken from Deut. xxix. 19. To walk in their
own counsels is to regulate the life
according to them, according
to
the passions of their own corrupted hearts instead of the com-
mandments
of the holy God, comp. Jer. vii. 24; Is. lxv. 2: "a
rebellious
people who walk in a way that is not good,
after their
own thoughts."
Ver. 13-16. Arnd.: "The blessed God in his great fatherly
love
and faithfulness cannot leave them, he must repeat his 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
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.
28 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
---The
vl,
ver. 13, denotes the condition notwithstanding the
consciousness
that it is not realized: if my people heard, which
they
do not: comp. Ewald, 627. Is. xlviii. 18. The
ways of
the Lord form the contrast to
their own stupid and ruinous plans,
ver.
12.—The phrase "to turn the hand upon," ver. 14, is, when
taken
by itself, an indefinite one, to turn it to the object of 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 there
hrcb.—The first half of ver. 15 depends on Deut.
xxxiii. 29:
"thy
enemies shall feign to thee" (comp. at Ps. xviii. 44.) The
allusion
to this passage shews that the vl is to be referred to
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
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 Sam. vii. 24.
The
tf
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 Deut. xxxii. 14 (the fat of the
wheat is instead of
the
best of the wheat), the second clause
from Deut. xxxii. 13,
and
he caused
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-
PSALM LXXXII. 29
gether
unusual and supernatural (out of the hard
barren rock) is
evident
from the parallel clause in Deut., oil
from the flinty rock,
and
also from the passage, Job. xxix. 6, which in like manner
alludes
to the passage in Deut.: "when I bathed my feet in milk
and
the hard rock was changed for me into streams of oil."
PSALM LXXXII.
God appears in the midst of his
church for judgment upon the
gods
of the earth, the judges who bear his image, ver. 1, pun-
ishes
them on account of their violation of justice, and exhorts
them
to a better conduct, ver. 2-4. Still they persevere in
their
want of understanding, in their walk in darkness, and every
thing
is in confusion, ver. 5. The definite sentence is there-
fore
passed upon them, intimation of their destruction
is made
to
them, ver. 6 and 7. In conclusion, the Psalmist expresses in
ver.
8 his desire for the appearance of the Lord to judgment.
The formal arrangement is very
simple. The main division is
complete
in seven, which is again divided into a four and a three,
the
preceding judgment, and the final decision. To the main
division,
which is throughout of a prophetical character, there is
appended
a lyrical conclusion, in which the Psalmist expresses
his
wish for that which he had already announced as just impend-
The question arises, whether the
wicked rulers against whom
the
Psalm is directed are internal or external. The last view is
the
one generally entertained. The Psalm is considered as di-
rected
" against the potentates of
captivity;"
"the miserable, the poor," &c. are viewed as the Is-
raelites.
But the only argument in favour of this view depends
upon
a false interpretation of ver. 5 and 8; and there are nu-
merous
and decisive reasons in favour of the reference to inter-
nal
relations. Just at the very beginning God appears for judg-
ment
in the "congregation of God," and there calls to account the
wicked
judges who must therefore belong to it. The name
Elohim
and sons of God which is given to them, is never used in
the
Old Testament of heathen magistrates. It presupposes the
30 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
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,
Is. iii. 13-15, a passage nearly related to our Psalm, and
which
may serve as a commentary to it: "the Lord standeth up
to
plead, and the Lord standeth to judge the 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. i. 17-24.
Jer.
xxii. 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 Deut. i. 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 Is. iii. Still
though
the Psalm was in the first instance called forth by exist-
ing
relations, yet being destined for all ages, it undoubtedly ad-
mits
of being applied to kings in the discharge of their duty as
31 PSALM LXXXII.
judges,
in so far as they are guilty of that perversion of right
here
imputed to them: comp. Jos. xxii. 1, ss.
The following remarks are designed
to lead to a deeper insight
into
the meaning of the Psalm. Nothing can be more unground-
ed
than the assertion which in modern times has been repeatedly
made,
that the God of the Old Testament is a being altogether
strange
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. iii. p. 605, that this commandment belongs to the
first
table: thou shalt fear and honour. God, first in himself,
second
in those who represent him on earth, and 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 Lev. xix. 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 Ex. xxii. 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 Chron. xxix. 23,
"and
Solomon sat upon the throne of Jehovah." But it was in
connection
with the office of judge that the stamp of divinity was
most
conspicuous, inasmuch as that office led the people under
the
foreground of an humble earthly tribunal to contemplate the
background,
of a lofty divine judgment; "the judgment is God's,"
Deut.
i.. 17, whoever comes before it, comes before God, Ex.
xxi. 6; xxii. 7, 8.
32 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
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 xxxiv. 19, and it must have
awakened
a holy fear of becoming liable to his judgment. For
there
could be no doubt that as they judged in God's stead, the
heavenly
Judge would not suffer them to go unpunished should
they
misuse 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 Deut. i. 17,
solemn
admonitions are addressed to judges, grounded on the
lofty
position assigned to their office. Comp. 2 Chron. xix. 6, 7,
where
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 of
PSALM LXXXII. 33
flesh
did not see, God, God among the gods, and brings him out
to
their dismay from his place of concealment.
There is a deviation so far from the
language of the law of
Moses,
that there the name 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 Ex. iv. 16, as the re-
presentative
of God for Aaron, is called his god; and in like manner
a
god to Pharaoh, ch. vii. 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 Ex. xxii. 9. They employed
this
saying as a cloak and shield for their wickedness, against the
preachers
and the prophets; and gave themselves great airs
while
they said: wilt thou punish us and instruct us? Dost thou
not
know that Moses calls us Gods? Thou art
a rebel, thou
speakest
against the ordinance of God, thou preachest to the
detriment
of our honour. Now the prophet acknowledges and
does
not deny that they are gods, he will not be rebellious, or
weaken
their honour or authority, like the disobedient and 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,
Rom.
xiii. 2, points out the consequences of this; and experience
amply
confirms his statement. But again; just as on the one
hand
he restrains the discontent of the populace, and brings
34 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
them
on account of it under the sword and under law, so does he
on
the other hand restrain the magistracy, that it shall not abuse
such
majesty and power for wickedness, but employ it in the 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 bcn
is,
"he is placed,"
he
comes forward," as in Is. iii. 13. The sphere of the judging
is
described in general terms in the first clause, and is more par-
ticularly
defined in the second. The general description refers to
the
ground of this special judging act on the part of God because
riess,
no abuse of an office which bears his name, he must judge
his
degenerate office-bearers.a hvhy tdf, the congregation,
of
Jehovah, in lxrWy tdf, the congregation of
ample
Ps. lxxiv. 2), hdfh, the congregation, are standing ex-
pressions
for the people of God. The Psalmist places lx in-
stead
of the Jehovah of the first expression, for the sake of the
allusion
to the second, and also because lx is more allied to
Myhlx. Several
deny the reference to
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.
PSALM LXXXII. VER. 1-4. 35
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 hdf never signifies an assembly or a college,
but
always a community, a congregation. By Elohim
several
would
understand the sons of God, the angels: God holds a
judgment
(upon the judges) in the midst of his heavenly court.
But
in this way the fundamental thought of the Psalm which
seems
placed at its head in marked antithetic expressions, God
judges the Gods, is destroyed; Elohim
is never used for angels,
(comp.
at Ps. viii. 5, Gesen. on the word), and there is no reason
why
it should be so used here, the same appellation applied to
God
and to the angels manifestly leading to confusion; it is
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 Lev. xix. 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. Deut. i. 17: Ye shall not respect persons
in
judgment. The lf stands here in some measure as an ad-
verb,
exactly as Myrwym in Ps. lviii. 1: comp. at the passage.
Gesenius
in his Thesaurus has proved, in a thorough discussion
which
in fact exhausts the subject, that the phrase Mynp xWn
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
Ps. iv. 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. Is. i. 17: judge the father-
less,
plead for the widow. The poor,—comp. Ex. xxiii. 3. The
fatherless,--comp. Ex. xxii. 21.
Luther "Every prince should,
a
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.
36 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
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 Ps. xiv. 3), viz., the sacred
duties of their office,
which
had been inculcated upon them in ver. 2-4. Comp.
indicates
moral bewilderment, comp. Prov. ii. 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.
PSALM LXXXII. VER.
5-7. 37
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 Jo. x. 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 Ps. ii. 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, since
children
of God is an appellation which in Scripture is applied to
holy
believers. Answer: it is just as great a
wonder that he
should
bestow upon such wicked people his own name; yea, it is
rather
a greater wonder that he should call them gods. But it all
lies
in the word: I have said. For we have often remarked that
the
word of God sanctifies and deifies all things to which it is
applied.
Wherefore we may call such situations as have had im-
pressed
upon them the word of God, in every respect holy divine
conditions,
although the persons are not holy. Just as father,
mother,
preacher, minister, &c., are in every respect holy divine
situations,
although the persons who are in them may be knaves
and
rogues. Thus inasmuch as God stamps the office of magistry
with
his word, magistrates are correctly called gods, and the chil-
dren
of God, on account of their divine condition, and the word of
God,
although they are really vile knaves, as he complains that they
are."—The
7th verse does not at all refer in general to 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 with
38 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
the
Old Testament practice throughout, and especially that of
the
Psalms in similar cases, a threatening of violent death, of a
cutting
off in the 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 (lpn is always used of a violent death, Ps.
xci. 7; Ex. xix. 21; Jer. viii. 12, and in the full
form, "to fall
by the sword," in Jer. xxxix.
18, and in other passages), by
which
the general expression of the first clause, "ye shall die,"
which
is accompanied only by the words "like men," is rendered
definite.
The expression, "like men," "after the manner of
men"
(comp. at Ps. xvii.), intimates to the gods of the earth,
who
fancied themselves to be above all other men, that as far as
death
is concerned, they are subject to the general lot of hu-
manity.
The expression, "as one of the princes" (comp. 1 Kings
xxii.
13; xix. 2. Obed. ver. 11), reminds them of the numerous
examples
in early times of similar dignitaries who were removed
by
the judgment of God. The connection 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, 0 God, judge the earth, for
thou art
Lord over all the
nations.—The
wish of the Psalmist, or of the
church,
in whose name he speaks, refers, in the first instance, to
God
is only an instance of what is general, the Psalmist calls
upon
him to appear to judge the world: comp. at Ps. vii. 7,
8;
lvi. 7; lix. 5. The Lord appears also,
in the parallel pas-
sage,
Is. iii. 13, to judge the nations. The
call made upon God
to
judge the earth is based upon the fact, that all its nations are
subject
to him, and responsible to him, no less than
peculiar
hlHn
of the Lord, and, therefore, the immediate
object
of
his judgment. lHn, with the accusative is, "to
possess," and
with
b
"to have a possession:" comp. Num. xviii. 20; Deut.
xix.
14; Num. xxxiv. 29. (Böttcher is wrong, Proben. p. 184.)
PSALM LXXXIII. 39
PSALM LXXXIII.
The short prayer that God would
help, ver. 1, is followed, in
ver.
2-8, by a representation of the trouble which occasions the
prayer:
first, in ver. 2-4, the doings of the
enemies,--they roar,
they
take crafty counsel, they aim at nothing less than the entire
destruction
of
fewer
than ten nations assembled around Ammon and
the
centre-point, are united against
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
40 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
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 Chron. xx. is
not
historically correct. 1. Here, as on that occasion, it is the
same
nations, upon the whole, that meet us. The Edomites, the
Moabites,
and the Ammonites, whom alone the author of Chro-
nicles
expressly names, are not 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
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
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 Mynvmfhm 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
the
country east of that stripe which is bounded on the north by
serts
of Arabia, whose hordes had in former times made
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-
PSALM LXXXIII. 41
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 Chron. xx. 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
quietly
entered Canaan from the east, as
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
formerly
done to the Canaanites. It was no ordinary marauding
expedition;—the
intention was completely to root out
and
to take entire possession of his lands. The enemies of Jeho-
saphat,
according to 2 Chron. xx. 11, had the same object in
view.
That they had so is obvious from the quality of the booty
which
was found in their tents. They had set out, as
of
old, with bag and baggage. 5. The mention of the Amalekites
among
the enemies of
come
down to times later than that of Jehosaphat. The last re-
mains
of the Amalekites were, according to 1 Chron. iv. 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
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 Chron. xx. 14, that the Spirit
of
the Lord came upon Jehasiel, of the sons of Asaph, in the
42 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
midst
of the assembly. This Jehasiel is probably the author of
the
Psalm. 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 Ps. xlviii., the Psalm is called a song
of praise (comp. on
ryw, at Ps. xlii. 9); and it is such in reality,
although it bears
the
form of a prayer,—a song of triumph
sung before the 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
Chron. xx.—a notion which even our Psalm, in common with
Ps.
xlvii. and xlviii. (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 Neh. iv. 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. v. is negatived by the following considera-
tions:—At
that time, there was no combination among the
neighbouring
nations; each acted by itself: these nations at that
time
did not set out for the purpose of extirpating the Jews ge-
nerally; they only rose up
against those who were dwelling in
PSALM LXXXIII. VER.
2-4. 43
the
midst of them: there is no passage where the Syrians are
designated
by the name of Assyrians; they never were, like the
Chaldeans
and the Persians, the successors of the Assyrians in
the
dominion of
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
Neh.
iv. and 1 Macc. v. are of importance so far, that they show
how
intense and permanent was the hatred of the neighbouring
nations
against "the people of God," and, consequently, go far
to
confirm the credibility of 2 Chron. xx., and the historical 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
important
and formidable of these are assuredly sin
and Satan,
from
whom we most especially long to be delivered."
Title: A Song of praise, a Psalm of Asaph. Ver. 1. 0 God,
keep not silence, be not
dumb, and be not still, 0 God.—That
ymd signifies not rest, but silence, is
evident from "thine enemies
make
a noise;" in ver. 2, and from the following word, wrHt,
comp.
at Ps. xxviii. 1. The word also signifies to be silent, in
Is.
lxii. 7, as is evident from the 6th verse.
Ver. 2-4.—Ver. 2. For lo, thine enemies make a noise, and
those who hate thee lift
up the head.
Ver. 3. They make 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 viii. 28, “And Midian was humbled
by
the children of
—In
the first clause of ver. 3, the translation generally given is:
they
make artfully the plots in the councils. But as Myrfh in
44 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
other
passages means to act cunningly, and dvs does not exactly
indicate
counsel or deliberation; it is better to consider dvs
as
standing in the accusative, just as bl does in ver. 5, and
jmw in ver. 18, comp. Evr. § 483: in reference to
confidence
comp.
at Ps. lxiv. 2, confidential intercourse which they carry on.
The
expression, "the hidden ones of God," instead of "those
under
his protection," is explained by Ps. xxvii. 5; xxxi. 21.—
On
ver. 4, Calvin: "it is as if they had formed the daring pur-
pose
of annulling the decree of God in which the eternal exist-
ence
of the church lies founded." The yvgm is away from a peo-
ple,---so that they
shall be no more a people: comp. Jer. xlviii.
2;
Is. vii. 8.—There are five terms employed in these three
verses,
descriptive of the doings of the enemies. The 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
rites. Ver. 7. Gebal, and Ammon, and Amalek;
with the inhabitants of
them; they stretch out
their arm to the Sons of
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
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 yk indicates a
more
full exhibition of the relations alluded to in the preceding
verses;
and it is not co-ordinate with the yk in ver. 2. The bl
stands
like the dvs
in ver. 3, and the dmw in ver. 18, in the
accusative.
The expression "with the heart" supplies a commen-
tary
to Ps. lxiv. 5,6, and denotes the earnestness and zeal of their
plans;
the heart, with the whole fulness of its purposes, plans,
and
wickedness, is engaged in the matter. Several expositors
refer
erroneously to dHx bl with one
heart,
in 1 Chron. xii.
PSALM LXXXIII. VER. 5-8. 45
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
been
pressed into the service by them,—so that these three names
should
be looked upon as if printed in large characters. That the
arrangement
is to be explained in this way is evident from the
otherwise
inexplicable separation of
the
Edomites were not a wandering but a settled people, we
must
either understand by "tents" camp-tents, or "tents" is to
be
considered as a poetical expression for habitations, founded on
the
dwelling of the Israelites in the wilderness: comp. Jud. vii.
8;
1 Kings xii. 16. The Edomites, who are associated with the
Ishmaelites,
dwelt, according to Gen. xxv. 18, next to the Assy-
rians,
and therefore, in the
of
try
by the tribe of Reuben: comp. 1 Chron. v. 10, 19-22. They
removed,
in all probability, farther south, into that part of Ara-
bia
which adjoins
allies
in this league. On the right side of Ammon there was
Gebal,
in all probability an Idumean district, and on the left,
Amalek,
who appears here, as on a former occasion, Judges iii.
13,
in a state of alliance with him: “and he (Eglon, the king of
To
the seven nations, who formed the main body, there are
added
other three. First, the Philistines, who are not, indeed,
expressly
named in Chronicles, but concerning whom it is taken
for
granted, that those who always embraced the opportunity of
a
war raised against the Israelites by other nations, would not
lose
this opportunity of gratifying their deep-seated hatred. The
inhabitants
of
Philistines.
The merchants were induced merely by cupidity to
join
in this movement, as the tradesmen of
xxxviii.
13. They are universally to be found
wherever there is
any
thing to be earned. In Amos, also, i. 6-10, the Philistines
and
the Tyrians appear in compact with each other, and with the
Edomites,
in their purposes of hostility towards the
Israelites;
and
the passage in Joel iv. 4, &c., shows how natural is this ad-
dition
of the Tyrians to the Philistines, where we find it repre-
46 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
sented
in prophetic vision that the Philistines, along with the
Tyrians
and Sidonians, avail themselves of the opportunity of a
war
raised against
and
their cupidity.—The Assyrians are
mentioned last, being at
the
greatest distance, and engaged only indirectly and partially
in
the enterprise. According to Gen. xxv. 18, they were the
neighbours
of the Arabian sons of the desert, yea, according to
Gen
xxv. 3, they had Arabic elements in the midst of themselves,
so
that it is, therefore, antecedently probable that they should be
found
taking part in this great movement of the Arabic tribes.
The
Assyrians finally, as the associates from the most remote
east,
stand opposed to the 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
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.a
Ver. 9-12.—Ver. 9. Do to them as to Midian, as to Sisera,
as to Jabin, in the
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 iv. and v., and the
victory
of Gideon over the Midianites from Judges vii. and viii.
He
begins with the latter as the more glorious of the two. But
in
expanding the general subject of the 9th verse, in ver. 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.
PSALM LXXXIII. VER.
13-15. 47
(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
xx.
22, 23, with Judges vii. 22. The glorious victory over
Midian
appears also in Is. ix. 4, and Hab. iii. 7, as the emblem
and
pledge of glorious deliverances yet to come. The effort to
exhibit
the individuals named, standing as much apart as pos-
sible,
"as Sisera, as Jabin," not
"and Jabin," is explained
by
the
reference to the seven nations. On "in the
comp.
Judges iv. 7, 13; v. 21.—Endor ver. 10 (comp. Robin-
son,
vol. iii. 468. 77), which appears here as the proper place of
the
discomfiture of the Canaanites, is not expressly named in the
book
of Judges. In the second clause there is an abbreviated
comparison,
as is obvious from the other passages where this
same
comparison occurs, drawn out, for example, 2 Kings ix. 37,
"and
the carcase of Jezebel shall be as
thing upon the face of
the
field," Jer. ix. 21. Is. v. 25.—The "their nobles" In ver. 11,
is
expository of "them." Oreb
and Seeb were, according to
Judges
vii. 25; the commanders of the
Midianites, Sebah and
Zalmunah,
Judges viii. 5-10; xii. 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
2
Chron, xx. 11, "they have come to cast us out of thy posses-
sion
which thou hast given us to inherit," Ps. xlvii. 4.
Ver. 13-15.—Ver. 13. My God, make them like the whirl,
like the stubble before
the wind.
Ver. 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 Ps. lxxvii.
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.
48 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
18),
like the stubble," in ver. 13, is equivalent to "like
the
stubble which is, whirled round and carried off:" comp. Is.
xvii.
13, a passage which depends on the verse before us.—As
fire, ver. 14, as
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, 0
Lord. Ver
17. Let them be put to shame
and terrified for ever,
and blush and perish.
Ver. 18. And may
they know that thou with
thy name, 0 Lord, art 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. Ps. lxix. 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. Ps. lix. 13; 1 Sam. xvii. 46. The jmw,
is
the accus., just as the bl in ver, 5, and the dvs 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.
PSALM LXXXIV. 49
to
thy name," i. e., "for the sake
of thy name:" thou who
rich
in deeds, glorious. The name, the
product of the deeds, is
what
belongs to the Lord, above all others who are called lords
and
gods these are all nameless; the
names which they bear
are
mere names, shells without kernel. That we are not to give
the
first half of the verse a sense complete in itself—and know
that thou alone hast the
name Jehovah—is
evident from the
parallel
and in all probability dependant passage, Is. xxxvii. 16,
where
Hezekiah says: Jehovah, Sabbaoth, God of
Israel, thou
art
God Ha-elohim, alone for all the kingdoms of the earth,
2
Kings xix. 19.a The Eljou is the predicate here just as Elo-
him
is there.
PSALM LXXXIV.
The Psalmist pronounces himself
happy in the possession of the
highest
of all blessings, that of dwelling in the house of God, 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 Is. xxxvii. 20 is to be
supplemented from both these passages: and
all the kingdoms
of the earth may
experience that thou; 0 Lord, alone (art God).
50 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
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 Ps. xl. and xliii., where the case is exactly
the
same.
The Psalm gives very slight
intimation as to the situation of
the
Anointed. That he was in a calamitous
situation is 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. 5
and
12, and who has walked blamelessly, vers. 5 and 11, yea he
stands
as the teacher in
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 Ps. xlii. 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. xlii. and xliii. 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 in
PSALM LXXXIV. 51
common:—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 Ps. xlii. 6,
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 Ps. xlii. 5, ver. 7 with Ps. xliii. 3, ver. 9 with Ps.
xliii.
5.a
The sons of Korah perform here as in
Ps. xliii. 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 had
ceived,
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 Ps. lxiii., 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 several
apartments,
and the habitations and sanctuaries of the Lord are
a Even Ewald acknowledges
that Ps. xlii., and Ps. lxxxiv., 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?
52 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
mentioned
in other Psalms which manifestly belong to the times
of
David, Ps. xliii. 3, lxviii. 35. The same cannot be said of
"courts
" in ver. 2 and 10. The tabernacle, and therefore pro-
bably
also the tent erected by David for the ark of the covenant
on
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 Ps. lxv. 4, which was composed by
David;
again in Is: i. 12, "who hath required this of you that
ye
tread my courts," Ps. xcii. 13, c. 4: the one of the two courts
of
Solomon's temple was the court of the
Priests, and it therefore
cannot
be meant as included. Finally, it is only by adopting a
false
rendering that ver. 3 can be considered as making any men-
tion
of birds nests in the sanctuary; the same may be said of
ver.
5 ss., in regard to pilgrimages,—it is without any good rea-
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 learn
PSALM LXXXIV. VER.
1-4 53
from
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
Ps.
xlii.
Ver. 1-4.—Ver. 1. How beloved are thy dwelling-places, 0
Lord, (Lord) of Hosts. Ver. 2. My soul longeth and even
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, 0
Lord of Hosts, my king and my God.
Ver.
4. Blessed are those who dwell in thy
house, they shall
still praise thee.—The dydy in Ver. 1 signifies
always beloved and
never
lovely; comp. at Ps. xlv. 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,
Ps.
xxvii. "One thing I desire of the Lord, that do I seek after,
that
I may dwell in the house of the Lord." The Psalmist loves
the
habitations of the Lord; because he is sure of finding safety
and
protection there: comp., among other passages, Ps. xxvii. 5.
The
term 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. Ps. xxvii. 1, “Nothing
can
go entirely wrong with him whom the Most High has resolved
to
aid."--The longing and fainting, in ver. 2, do not at all 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. Nn.eri is of frequent oc-
54 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
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 Mg
does,
not indicate a climax; but, as is frequently the case (comp.,
for
example; Ps. cxxxvii. 1) is a mere particle of addition. The
soul, heart, and flesh are exceedingly appropriate, when
used
together,
as expressive of the whole than, and therefore, as
indicating
the intensity of the desire (comp. at Ps: lxiii. 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 Ps. xxvii. 4; xxxvi. 8; lxv.
4,
and the parallel passages referred to there. The court is spe-
cially
spoken of here, as in Ps. lxv. 4; xcii. 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 Nnr with
lx, 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 yh lx comp. at Ps. xlii.
2.—The simple thought of
ver.
3 is this: the dwelling in thy house, confiding relationship
to
thee, secures: thy grace, with confidence and protection. The
"bird"
and the swallow is the Psalmist himself, the rvrz need
not
to be very exactly defined; the connection in which it is used
defines
nothing except that from the parallel rvpc, and the ge-
neral
sense of the passage, it must denote a little, helpless bird:
PSALM LXXXIV. VER.
1-4. 55
comp.
Ps. xi, 1, where David calls himself a "little bird," Ps. lvi.
Title
(comp. lv. 6), where he calls himself "the dumb dove of
distant
places," 1 Sam. xxvi. 20, where he calls himself a flea, and
compares
himself to a partridge on the mountains. There is an
abbreviated
comparison: like a little bird, which, after a long
defenceless
wandering, has found a house (Matth. viii. 20) in
which
it may dwell securely, a nest to which it may entrust with
confidence
its dearest possession, its young, thus have I, a poor
wanderer,
found safety and protection in thy house, 0 Lord. Jo.
Arnd:
"David gives thanks to the Lord for
this, and says, my
poor
little soul, the terrified little bird has now found its right
house,
and its right nest, namely, thy altars; and if I had not
found
this beautiful house of God, I must have been for ever-
flying
about, out of the right way. I would have been like a
lonely
bird on the house-top, like an owl in the desert, Ps. cii:,
like
a solitary turtle dove; give not thy turtle dove into the
hands
of the enemies," says Ps. lxxiv. The Mg does not connect,
the
whole passage with what goes, before (comp. Ew. § 622, Ps.
lxxxv.
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 into
notice
as a place of safety for the bird, for the little bird itself, the
nest,
as a place of safety for its most precious possession. On rwx
for
"where" comp., Ew. § 589. The jytvHbzm tx is the accus.
as
at 1 Kings xix. 10, 14. The plural refers to the altar of burnt-
offering,
and the altar of incense-offering: comp. Num. iii. 31.
The
altars are specially mentioned instead, of the whole house;
because
there the relation to God was concentrated. There the
soul
brings forward its spiritual offerings, which constitute the
soul even of material
sacrifices, and hears the much-loved 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 Ps. v. 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 their
56 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
courses,
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 tx
would not
have
been
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 Ps. xxvii. 4, not those who regularly repair
to
it, but the inmates (Jer. xx. 6) of God's house in a spiritual
sense.
As the Psalmist, according to what has been said before,
belongs
to their number, in praising their happiness, he praises
at
the same time his own: happy, therefore, also I. In the
second
clause, the ground of this praise is given: for
they shall
still (even though for the
present they may be in misery) praise
him; he 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," Ps. 1. 15, 23, and also lxxix. 13. It is usually
translated:
always they praise thee. But with this construction
the
use of dvf
in the parallel passage, Ps. xlii. 6, is not attended
to.
Besides, dvf
never means always. Gen, xlvi. 29 is
to be trans-
PSALM LXXXIV. VER. 1-4. 57
lated:
and he wept still upon his neck when
Ruth
i. 14, the dvf, "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:
Ps. 1. 23, "whoso offereth praise (= has his strength
in
thee) and whoever prepares a way, to
him will I show the
salvation
of God;" Prov. xvi. 17, "the highway of the upright
(in
opposition to the pathlessness of the wicked) is far from evil
&c."
and Is. xl. 3, 4, "prepare the way of the Lord, make straight
in
the heath a pathway for our God; every valley is exalted, and
every
hill shall be made low, and every steep place shall be made
plain;
and the rugged place shall become a valley:" comp. the
proof
given in the Christol. p. 395, that by the figurative
language
of the preparing of the ways we are to understand
the
zeal of moral effort as referred to in that passage. Both of
these
conditions of salvation are united,
as they are here, in Ps.
xxvi.:
the second has prominence given to it, for example, in Ps.
xv.;
Ps. xxiv. As in the 12th verse, "who trusts in thee" cor-
58 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
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
The
pilgrimages are in no respect suitable if the connection be
viewed
correctly. tvlsm 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 Ps. ii. 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 regard
to
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 xkb the sense of weeping;
and even
the
Massorah remarks that the x at the end stands
instead of h.
Others,
on the ground that the form with the x 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 Ps. lxviii.
14
is similar to this. Then, against the idea that the Baca tree
grows
only in dry places, that the
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
"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.
PSALM LXXXIV. VER.
1-4. 59
in
all probability, be given up. As nothing remains left of them
except
the name, the naming of them is flat and trifling enough.
In
the parallel, and, in all probability, fundamental passage, Ps.
xxiii.
4, there occurs also an appellative: even though I walk
through
the valley of the shadow of death: comp. also Ps. cxxvi.
5,
6. The sweet fountain of salvation
stands in marked, con-
trast
to he bitter fountain of weeping. A valley of weep-
ing also occurs in
Burkhardt ii. p. 977. Gesell.: "after
you
have advanced two hours, the valley for an hour gets, the
name
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
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 Mg stands as in
ver.
2. The hFfy
is the fut. in Kal as at Lev. xiii. 45, Jer.
xliii.
12. The verb signifies always in Kal to
be covered, even
in
Lev. xiii. 45,
which
any one is covered, here tvkrb, the plural, pointing to the
fulness
and multiplicity of the blessing. hrvm is the instructor,
the
teacher, 2 Kings xvii: 28; Is. xxk. 20; Prov. v. 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, but
who
also directs others to this, instructs them. This was David's
for
example, Ps. xv., Ps. lxii. 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.
60 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
blessing.
For the hrvm
signifies always "teaching," or "teach-
er,"
never "rain," or "early rain," which is always hrvy, with
the
single exception of Joel ii. 23, where, however, hrvm is used
in
the sense of the early rain, only on account of the similarity
in
sound to the hrvm, which occurs immediately before in its or-
dinary
sense; comp. the Christol. on the passage. The hFf
occurs
only once in Hiph., in Kal throughout quite generally.
The
tvkrb,
would not have stood without the preposition, had it
not
been that hFf
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
hxry,
in ver. 7 is power, might, ability; comp. "In God we
shall
get ability, and he will tread down our enemies," in Ps. xl.
12.
From strength to strength, the
Berleb.; from one degree of
strength
to another. Comp. Jer. ix. 2, Ps. cxliv.
3. The sub-
ject
in hxry,
is, as is apparent, the teacher. The lx 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
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 Ps. xliii. 3.a
The prayer in ver. 8-14 follows the meditation.—Ver. 8. 0
Lord, God, God of hosts,
hear my prayer, accept it, 0 God of
Jacob. Selah. Ver. 9. Thou, our shield, behold now, 0 God,
and look upon the face
of thine anointed. Ver.
10. For a
day in thy courts is
better than, a thousand (elsewhere). 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. 0 Lord of
hosts, blessed is the
man who trusteth in thee.—"Our shield" in
ver.
9 (comp. at Ps. iii. 3) shews, as "God of Jacob" in ver. 8
had
already done, that in the one person the whole people is ex-
posed
to danger. It is emphatically placed foremost, because on
a Luther, after the
example of the Septuagint, as if the reading were lxe, translates
"the
God of Gods," and therefore wholly misunderstands the passage.
PSALM LXXXIV. VER. 8-42. 61
it
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
xix.
16, "0 Lord, thine ear and hear, open, 0 Lord, thine
eyes
and behold," where the object to be heard and seen is more
particularly
described. "The whole 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. Ps. xviii. 50, cxxxii. 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 the
world,
and in pursuit of its pleasures. At the
expression, "I
will
rather, lie at the door," like Lazarus at the door of the rich
man,
I will rather be content with the most despised place in the
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.”
62 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
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 Ps: iv. 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 Ps.
xxvii. 1; still there oc-
cur
the passages, Is. lx. 19, 20, Mal. iii. 20, Rev. xxi. 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 Ps. xlix. 16; and on "walk in a blameless," for as a
blameless
man, at Ps. xv. 2.
PSALM
LXXXV.
The contents of the Psalm are made
up of a prayer on the
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 Ps. lxxxi.,
is
to be supplied from the title; and we are thus reminded of
Hab.
iii. 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.
PSALM
LXXXV. 63
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 tvbw bw 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
Ps.
xiv. 7; and this translation is especially demanded here by
the
vnbvw,
in ver. 4, and the bvwt, in verse 6. The clause at
the
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, Lev.
xxvi.
4, appears to indicate that the distress had arisen from a
failure
of the crops. We are hence entitled to draw the conclu-
sion
that the Psalm was designed for the use of all times of pro-
tracted
distress—of all times in which men did not witness the ful-
filment
of the promise of Levi xxvi. 3-13; the bringing to re-
64 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
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 Ps. ix., and also in Ps. xl.: compare also Ps. lxxxiii. 9-1.
There
cannot be given any more solid foundation for a prayer in
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, 0 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, 0 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 bywh stands in ver, 3,
absol. to cease from, as
in
Ez. xviii. 30,32. It is evident from Ez. xiv. 6, that this usage
is
properly 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 Ex. xxxii. 12, where Moses says to God: turn
back
from the fierceness of thy wrath. This prayer was at that
time
graciously heard.—The bvw, with the accusative has always
the
sense of to turn back: compare at Ps. xiv. 7. The vnmf
be-
longs
to the verb: make it in our case to cease; compare vmfm,
from beside him, so that it is no
longer near him, in Ps. lxxxix.
33.
To connect the noun with the verb of indignation by the Mf,
is
not usual.
Ver. 5-7.—Ver. 5. Wilt thou then be angry with us for ever?
PSALM LXXXV. 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, 0 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," Ps. xxx.
5: comp. Ex. xxxiv.
3,
6.—The bvwt
in ver. 6 cannot, from ver. 1 and 5, be con-
strued
as an adverb, it rather stands in immediate connection with
vnyyHt: on this word comp. Ps. lxxx. 18; Deut.
xxxii. 39;
Hos.
vi. 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. Ps. v. 11, xl. 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. lxh is equi-
valent
to "our God," comp. Ps. 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. xxvi. 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. Ps. lxxx. 18.
Inasmuch
as this was always imperfect, the
people of the Old
Testament
never obtained full possession of the blessings here
promised.—The
j`x
in ver. 9 is the particle of assurance: comp.
at
Ps. lviii. 12.--On the 10th and 11th verses many errors have
been
fallen into in regard to the subject matter, from not 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 Ps.
xxv.
10; xl. 11; lxi. 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 Ps. xxiii. 3.—The righteousness
springs out of the
earth, ver. 11, as to its consequences, in the rich
increase, which
God,
always consistent in word and deed, gives to the land;
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."
PSALM LXXXVI. 67
comp.
“our land gives its increase,” ver. 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."
Is.
xiv. 8 is parallel and probably dependent upon this passage:
“drop
down ye heavens from above, and let the skies pour down
righteousness,
let the earth open, and let it bring forth 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 goes
forth before him and
makes her footsteps a way.—On the second
half
of the 12th verse comp. Ps. lxvii. 6. Here as there the
words
are from Lev. xxvi. 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, Is. li. 10), and thus
we
are enabled to walk in the ways of righteousness and salva-
tion,
comp. at Ps. xxiii. 3.
PSALM
LXXXVI.
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.
68 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
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
hlpt
at Ps. xc., 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 of
Korah
from the soul of David, when they accompanied him in
his
banishment. This was manifestly the case with Ps. xlii., xliii.,
and
lxxxiv., and the composition by the Sons of Korah, which it
was
necessary should be there expressly marked, as Ps. xlii. and
xliii.
open the series of the Korahitic
Elohim-Psalms, and Ps.
lxxxiv.
the series of the Kor. Jehovah-Psalms, is in the case before
us
determined with equal certainty by the position of the Psalm in
the
middle of the Korahitic Psalms, from which, the title got its
necessary
supplement. The prayer, however, is
David's, not
PSALM LXXXVI. VER.
1-5. 69
only
because it was intended for him, and was sung from his
soul,
the Korahites did no more than give back to him what
they
had got from him; but also because the poem is throughout
interwoven
with quotations from the Davidic Psalms. This fact
is
much more easily explained if we suppose one of the sons of
Korah
rather than David himself to have been the author. It
must
have gone to David's heart to have been comforted with
words
which he had either addressed to his own afflicted soul in
troubles
which the Lord had gloriously averted, or with which he
had
comforted others. The tenderness of
feeling which charac-
terizes
the other Psalms which the sons of Korah sang to their
afflicted
king, is so very marked in this case that it is impossible
to
overlook it.
It has been objected to the Psalm
that the sentiment 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 Ps. xvii., xviii: 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, 0 Lord, thine ear, hear me, for
I am miserable and poor. Ver. 2. Protect
my soul, for I am
pious, deliver thy
servant, 0 thou my God, who trusts in thee.
Ver.
3. Be gracious to me, 0 God, for I cry to
thee continually.
Ver.
4. Rejoice the soul of thy servant, for
to thee, 0 Lord, I
draw my soul. Ver 5. For thou; 0 Lord, art good and 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 dysH
comp. at Ps. iv. 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:
70 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
thee,"
in ver. 4, is to be considered as understood with marks of
quotation.
It forms the beginning of Ps. xxv.—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, 0 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, 0 Lord, and there is nothing
like thy work. Ver. 9. All the heathen whom thou hast made
shall come and worship
before thee, 0 Lord, and give the glory
to thy name. Ver. 10. For thou art great and doest wonders,
thou, 0 God alone.—The plural feminine
from tvnvnHt, 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 Ex. xv. 11, "who is like thee, 0 Lord, among the
gods,"
and Deut. iii. 24, "where is there a god in heaven and upon
the
earth, who does according to thy works and according to thy
great
deeds. On "among the gods," Calvin: "Should any one
assert
that it is unseemly to compare God to the empty fictions,
the
answer is easy, the discourse is accommodated to the ignorance
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."
PSALM LXXXVI. VER. 6-10. 71
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, Ps. xviii. 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.
Zeph.
ii. 11, "and men shall worship him, every one from his
place,
all the isles of the heathen," Zech. xiv. 9, 16, and the
Christol.
on the last passage. How should such a God not hear
the
supplication of his servant! The expression, "whom thou
hast
made," 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. Ps. xx. 28, where the announcement that the
heathen
shall, at a future period, do homage to the Lord, is
founded
on the fact that he alone is lawful King of the earth.
We
here see what a fulness of prophetical matter, and of joyful
expectation
of the dawning of the day of knowledge, even in the
midst
of the dark night of error which covered the earth, was
furnished
by the sound doctrines in regard to the creation,
which
meet
us, 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.
72 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
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, 0 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, 0 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, 0 Lord," in ver. 11, is borrowed word for
word
from Ps. xxvii. 11. As the quotation here is undoubtedly
designed,
the way of the Lord must have the same meaning here
which
it has there—viz., his guidance, the way
of salvation along
which
he leads his people. The Psalmist had already, in fulfil-
ment
of the prayer of Ps. xxvii. 11, learned this way externally,
but
he prays, judiciously applying the sense of Ps. xxvii. 11, that
the
Lord would teach him inwardly also,
still more perfectly this
way,
would lead him heartily and fully to appreciate the grace
which
had been vouchsafed to him as being the only ground on
which
hope can grow. The truth of God is
always the truth (comp.
Ps.
xxx. 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 Ps xxv. 5. To walk in
the truth of God sig-
nifies,
according to the fundamental passage, Ps. xxv. 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, Ps. xxv. 5, as thou hast
richly
manifested this in my experience, so may I also turn to my
own
words (Ps. xxvi. 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 the
PSALM LXXXVI. 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, Ps.
xii. 2, James iv. 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
Ps. 13, where,
in
a Psalm of David's, composed at this time, we read: "for
thou
hast delivered my soul from death, so that I walk before
God
in the land of the living;" comp. also Ps. xviii. 5, "the
cords
of hell compassed me about, 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.
Deut.
xxxii. 22.
Ver. 14-17: the developed
prayer.—Ver. 14. 0 God, the
proud rise against me,
and the band of the violent stands
against my soul, and
they do not set thee before their eyes.
Ver.
15. And thou; 0 Lord, art a God, compassionate
and
gracious,
long-suffering, and of great mercy and truth. Ver.
16.
Turn thyself to me, and be gracious unto
me, give thy
strength to thy servant,
and help the son of thine handmaid.
Ver.
17. Perform to me a sign for good, that
those may see it
who hate me, and be
ashamed, because thou, Lord, assistest me,
and comfortest
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 Mydz,
proud, occurs instead of Myrz, strangers, barbarians (comp. at
Ps.
xix. 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,
74 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
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 Ex. xxxiv. 6. "Towards
thine
own" must be supplied;
comp. ver. 5.—The son of an hand-
maid,
ver. 16, is a home-born slave; comp. Ex. xxiii. 12. As it is
incumbent
upon the servant that he serve the Lord, it is the duty
of
the Lord to help and protect the
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. Ps. xvi. 2. In
the last words (not, while
thou
helpest me, in this case the tenses would not be preterites),
the
Psalmist grounds his prayer upon confidence,
with an expres-
sion
of which the Psalm appropriately closes. The preterites are
to
be explained by the strength of the faith which anticipates the
future.
PSALM LXXXVII.
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 by
PSALM LXXXVII. 75
its
new citizens.) If we search deeper, it is manifest that the
numbering pervades the words as well as the verses. The whole
is
grouped 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 wyxv wyx is considered as one word, and in
like
manner the hb-dly).
If we consider the 7 and the 5 as the
broken
12, the whole becomes characterised by the 7 and the 12,
the
signature of the covenant, and of the people of the covenant.
The
seven is, according to common rule, divided by the three
and
the four. Everything here agrees too harmoniously toge-
ther
to admit of the arrangement being the result of chance.
The
view is one of considerable importance in more respects
than
one. Thus it attests the originality of the Title in
ver.
1, and, consequently, of the titles generally; for the title
forms
part 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 of
76 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
salvation,
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 Ps.
lxviii.
lxxii., 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
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
could
not have been named, as it is here, as being, next to
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
pear,
ver. 31, 32, as the representatives of the might of the
world:
in
Further,
the name Rahab, haughtiness, pride,
by which
is
here designated, occurs for the first time in Is. xxx. 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 Ps. lxxxix. 11,
depend,—the
name does not occur in Is. li. 9, 10:
comp. at Ps.
lxxiv.
13. Isaiah indicates pretty clearly that he is the author
of
the name, when he says: 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
forbids
us again to descend to a period later than that event.
The
name "haughtiness," "pride," was suitable only so long as
be
explained in this way is manifest from Job ix. 13; xxvi. 12;
Is.
li. 9; comp. at Ps. lxxiv. 13, besides Is. xxx. 7); the word
is
never applied to a ferocious aquatic
animal, a sea monster;
by
the battle at Karkemish or Circesium on the
PSALM
LXXXVII. 77
haughtiness
of
name
appears, indeed, in Ps. lxxxix. 11, but only in reference to
the
haughtiness and pride of the past,
the incarnation of which
was
Pharaoh in the time of Moses: but here the allusion is that
even
this still haughty and proud power shall take upon itself the
yoke
of the Lord,—Rahab,—
pride.—Further,
it is evident from Ps. xlvi., lxxv., lxxvi., which
were
all composed at this time, that the Psalm-poetry received a
mighty
impulse from the events under Hezekiah, and was at that
time
awakened out of its long 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 the
people
received their adequate expressions. This Korahitic
Jehovah
Psalm is intimately connected with that Korahitic
him-Psalm,
not only in spirit and tone, which it possesses in com-
mon
with Ps. xlviii. and xlviii., the ancient models after which the-
Korahitic
Psalms of the time of Hezekiah were composed, but
also
in particular expressions, such as the praise of
Ps.
xlvi. 4, 5,with ver. 1-3 here), the name "the city of God,"
which
is given to it here (comp. ver. 4 there with ver. 3 here), and
the
words "he establishes it," here in ver. 5, and there in ver. 5.
—If we suppose the Psalm to have been composed
on the occasion
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 of
of
Sion more than all the dwellings of Jacob," is seen in its true light,
for
this preference for Sion was at that time verified—its
gates
remained
closed upon the enemies, while all the rest of the 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 the
78 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
ground
for the sake of Sion; the heathen shared in a blessing
which
was in the first instance imparted to her. That they were
not
wholly hardened against this favour,
but that they responded
to
the exhortations of Asaph, "Let them bring gifts to the
Dreadful
One," Ps. lxxvi. 12, is evident from 2 Chron. xxxii. 23,
"And
many brought gifts to the Lord to
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
"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 i. ii. p. 105), and Torhaka,
king
of the Ethiopians, was, according to Is. xxxvii. 9, in the
train
against Sennacherib. The king of
power
the spiritual eye of the prophets had already before this
time
beheld in the fore-ground of the future, and whom they had
represented
to themselves as the heir of the decaying Assyrian
(comp.,
for example, Is. xxxix. 23, 17; Micah iv. 10), sent a pre-
sent,
after the Assyrian catastrophe, to Hezekiah, and sought to
enter
into closer terms of friendship with him. Isaiah, in chap.
xiv.
29, threatens the Philistines with dreadful misery from the
Assyrians,
and it is evident, from chap. xx. 1, that this threaten-
ing
was fulfilled.—Rich Tyre would, in
all probability, come in
next
after Judah.—Thus, therefore, every thing unites in favour
of
the assumption of the composition at the time referred to, in
favour
of which it may still be added that some passages remind
us
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 vtdvsy, ver. 1, refers not to
Sion, which every
where
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
PSALM LXXXVII. VER. 1-3. 79
that
every one would immediately think of him, even when he
was
not expressly mentioned, the Lord; comp. ver. 2 and 5,
and
Is. xiv. 32, liv. 11, where the founding
of Sion by the Lord
is,
in like manner, mentioned. We cannot translate: his found-
ing, for the noun hdvsy, 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. dsy
with
b of
that on which it is founded in Is. liv. 11, "I will found
thee
on sapphires." As in other passages Sion is always spoken
of
only as the holy mountain of the Lord (comp., for example,
Ps.
ii. 6, xliii. 3), and as the Psalmist, throughout the whole
Psalm,
has to do, not with the whole of
Sion,
The
Psalmist speaks of mountains, because
Sion is one part of a
mountain
range, comp. Robinson ii. 15. The whole was indebted
for
its dignity to this particular part. The sanctity of the 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," Ps. lxviii. 16.
The
praise which is here bestowed upon Sion belongs peculiarly
to
the
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. Ps. lxxviii. 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. Is. lx. 18.
—"There
is spoken," in ver. 3, stands instead of "men speak."
The
tvdbkn 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:
80 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
because
the Lord protects thee, wonderfully maintains thee, shall
at
a future time wonderfully increase thy citizens; comp. the
glorious
praise of Sion in Ps. xlviii. and xlvi. which may serve as
a
commentary. Of thee:—comp. on rbd with b
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.
Ps. xlviii. 3, "God is known in her palaces for a refuge."
“Thou
city of God” (comp. Ps. xlvi. 4, xlviii. 1) contains the
ground
of the fact that there is said something glorious of Sion
or
in Sion.
Ver 4-7.—Ver. 4. I announce Rahab and
who know me, behold
Philistia and
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
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
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 rkyzH,
is
to mention, to announce, as Ps. xx. 7; xlv. 17; lxxi. 16;
PSALM LXXXVII. VER.
4-7. 81
lxxvii.
11; Jer. iv. 16. The yfdyl is as
my knowers, such as
know me, like ywpHl
xcy to go
out as a free man, Ex. xxi. 2.
On
to know the Lord, compare at Ps.
xxxvi. 10; Isaiah xix. 21
is
parallel: "And the Lord shall be
known to the Egyptians,
and
the Egyptians shall know the Lord in that day." The 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. Is. xix. 19, &c., is, for
example,
really parallel; where
which
we have here
serve
the Lord, and
xliv.
5, "this one shall say I am the Lord's, and this one shall
call
himself by the name of the God of Jacob, and this one shall
subscribe
with his hand unto the Lord, and surname himself by the
name
of
we
must supply: this shall be said by them; compare rbdm in
ver.
3, and rmxy
in ver. 5. This supplementary clause is indi-
cated
by the quotation given of the words
which these utter: this
one
was born there. Tyrus had already been named in Ps. xlv. 12,
as
among the nations which shall in future times turn to the Lord
and
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 Ps. lxviii.
31;
lxxii. 10. Berleb: of which the eunuch of Queen Candace,
Acts
viii. 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
xi. 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 touched
82 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
upon
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 rmx with l
compare
iii. 2;
lxxi.
10. We may also translate here, "to
Sion," although in
point
of form the address is not directed to Sion. The wyx
wyxv is to be considered as one noun, and signifies each and every
one (comp. Esth. i. 8 ;
Lev. xvii. 10, 13),—man is added to man,
nation
to nation, comp. at ver. 4. He, he himself and no other,
not
a weak human being. The Most
High—comp. Ps. xlvii. 2.
--In
ver. 6, which Luther has wholly misunderstood, rps has its
usual
sense, to count, compare 2 Sam. xxiv.
10, where it is used
of
David numbering the people. The Lord numbers the nations
1,
2, 3, &c., and in doing so, in assigning in the case of each the
reason
why he counts it in, he makes the remarks: this one was
born
there. The bvtk is not a noun (no such noun occurs), but
an
infinitive: in the noting down of the
people—not when he
notes
down, but when they are noted down. The Lord merely
presides at the taking up of the
lists, and intimates who are to be
marked
down. There lies at the foundation a reference to the
usual
enumeration and citizen-rolls, compare Ez. xiii. 9, which
gave
a poor and 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
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;
PSALM LXXXVII. VER.
4-7. 83
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
did
on a former occasion after their passage through the
Ex.
xv. 20, 21, express their gratitude to the Lord and to his
church.
In such joyful processions the singers here first named
occupy
the chief-place; compare at Ps. lxviii. 25. What these
did
with their lips, the ring-dancers expressed in music and by
mimicry;
compare Ps. cxlix. 3; cl. 4, "let them praise his name
in
the dance." As: the one no less
than the other. llH is a
verbal
noun from lvH,
compare tvllvHm, the ring-dancers in
Jud.
xxi. 23, which, according to ver. 21, is to be derived from
lvH. Ps.
xxx. 11, and the example of David, 2 Sam. vi. 16,
render
it manifest that the ring-dance was not confined to young
women,
but was also engaged in by men. The
fountains are the
fountains
of salvation, which revive the thirsty
soul and the thirsty
land;
compare Ps. lxxxiv, 6; Is. xii. 3, "with joy shall ye draw
water
out of the wells of salvation." In Ezekiel, chap. xlvii.
there
flows a fountain proceeding out of the sanctuary in Sion,
spreading
the blessings of fertility and life through the wilderness
into
the Dead
pare
on the representations of the blessings of the kingdom of
God
by the emblem of a stream, at Ps xxxvi. 8; xlvi. 4. The
jb 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 Is. xlv. 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
whole
world Then for the first time God, who had hitherto been
known
only by one family, was called upon in the different
languages
of all nations. Then the world, which had hitherto been
84 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
miserably
rent in pieces by the innumerable sects of superstition
and
error, was gathered together into a holy unity of faith."
PSALM LXXXVIII.
The Psalmist, in ver. 1 and 2, prays
suppliantly for help;
grounds
this prayer, ver. 3-9, upon the fact that he is sunk in
the
deepest misery, and standing on the verge of complete de-
struction,
at the gates of death; and intimates in ver 10-12 that
God
cannot possibly 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 Ps. lxxxix. 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 ix. and x., xlii. and
xliii.,
and many other pairs of Psalms, form one whole consisting
of
two parts. 1. The Title of Ps.
lxxxviii. furnishes more than
one
reason in favour of this. Its disproportionate length, so very
striking,
becomes explained at once as soon as it is viewed as
belonging
to one great whole. In the 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 Ps. lxxxix.,
“an
instruction of Ethan the Esrahite.” By this we are un-
questionably
led to the idea that the above are the titles of the
two parts respectively, and that the preceding
portion of the title
of
Ps. lxxxviii. is the title of the whole.
Finally, the ryw 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 Ps. xlii. 8,
a Amyraldus on Ps.
lxxxix.: 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.
85 PSALM LXXXVIII.
lxxxiii.
title. Now if we refer the title entirely to Ps. lxxxviii.,
it
is impossible to tell what to make of it. The Psalmist is so
completely
unmanned by a sense of his misery, that he can
scarcely
adopt the language of prayer, and certainly not that of
praise.
On the other hand, if we refer the title
to the whole of
both
Psalms, the term is quite appropriate. Ps. lxxxix. begins,
with
manifest reference to the title, with the words, "I will sing
the
grace of God," and bears from ver. 1 to ver. 38 throughout the
character
if a song of praise.a This character belongs to the
whole, as soon as it is
recognised as a whole. The introductory
and
concluding portions, dark in themselves, are illuminated by
of
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 by
praising
God. 2. If we separate Ps. lxxxviii. from Ps. lxxxix.,
it
stands alone in the whole book of Psalms. All expositors re-
mark
with one voice, that such a comfortless complaint no where
else
occur throughout its entire compass. Stier, for example,
says:
"the most mournful of all the plaintive Psalms, yea so
wholly
plaintive, without any ground of hope, that nothing like
it
is found in the whole Scriptures." The fact is all the more
striking,
that the Psalm begins with the words, "0 Lord, thou
the
God of my salvation," after which one certainly might ex-
pect
any thing else rather than a mere description of trouble, in
which
the darkness is thickest at the close,
contrary to the usual
practice,
for in all other cases the sun breaks through the clouds
at
the end, if it had not done so before:—the peculiar feature of
this
Psalm is that it ends entirely in night. The importance of
these
facts is obvious from the circumstance that Muntinghe
has
been
led by them to adopt the idea that the Psalm is merely a
fragment
of a larger one—an idea utterly destitute of probability;
for
we have no such thing as fragments either in the book of
Psalms
or indeed within the whole compass of the literature of
the
Old Testament. As soon as the connection between Ps.
lxxxviii.
any lxxxix. 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
86 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
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 Ps. lxxxix., ver. 38-51, strikingly agrees with
Ps.
lxxxviii. 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.
Ps.
lxxxix. 47, 48, ought especially to be compared with Ps.
lxxxviii.
10-12. 4. If we consider both Psalms as one, we ob-
tain,
by counting the rich title of Ps. lxxxviii., the significant
number
seventy.
It may be urged against the unity of
both Psalms, that in Ps.
lxxxviii.
it is a private individual who speaks, but in Ps. lxxxix.
it
is the people, or, according to the idea of others, an oppressed
king
of the family of David; that in Ps. lxxxix. the sufferings
distinctly
arise from enemies, which in Ps.
lxxxviii., 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 the
PSALM LXXXVIII. 87
whole
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 Ps. lxxxix., 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 Sam. vii. 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
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 we
88 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
have
before us a proper church-song. The tvnfl tlHm lf
has
been already explained at Ps. xiv., vol. i. p. 206. That "of
the
sickness" is to be interpreted of sickness in a figurative sense
as
equivalent to severe suffering—a sense in which the word is
frequently
used, as, for example, Is. i. 5 ; Ps. liii. Title—is evi-
dent
from the term which is appended as an explanation, tvnfl,
denoting
the afflicting cause: comp. ver. 8, 15, Ps. xc. 15, cii.
23,
cxix. 75, or that in which the distress consists of it. If we
connect
these words with the ryw 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 Ps. lxxxviii. It bears the name of Instruction
or
a didactic Psalm (at Ps. xxxii.
Title), and the Psalm gives
direction
not to allow our sorrows to prey upon 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 Ps.
xlii.), it is obvious that
Heman the Esrahite, who is named here, and Etham the Esra-
hite, who is named in Ps.
lxxxix. 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 l
is
here, as in other passages, the l auctoris; but it denotes the
imaginary, and not the real author—a sense in which it may,
naturally
be understood in those cases in which the real author
had
either been named or otherwise indicated, as in Ps. lxxxvi.
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. iii. 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. tvdvhl in 1 Chiron. xvi. 41,
xxv. 3, Ges. on the
word),
an ideal name, devised by David,—and hence we may ex-
plain
the variety in the form: comp. Ps. xxxix. Title. These
PSALM LXXXVIII. 89
men
were not at all ordinary musicians: they were also, what
they
must have been to enable them to be founders of the sacred
music,
divinely inspired sages. In 1 Kings iv. 31, it is said of
Solomon:
"And he was wiser than all men,
than Etham the
Esrahite,
and Heman, and Kalkol, and Dardah," and in 1 Chron.
xxv.
5, Heman is called "the king's seer in the words of God."
Both,
however, were not composers of Psalms.
The Sons of
Korah
were at this time desirous, on the one hand, of honour-
ing
their own poem, and of strengthening its impression by pre-
fixing
to it the names of these celebrated men next after their
own,
and, on the other hand, of perpetuating the memory of these
men,
who appeared to such disadvantage, compared with their
"brother"
(I. Chron. vi. 24) Asaph, who is so often named in
the
titles of the Psalms;—they wished "to raise up seed" to the
childless
and sages. In doing so, they had the example of David
before
their eyes, who, in Ps xxxix. Title, had named Jeduthun for
the
purpose of honouring him, and handing his name down to
posterity,
not indeed as the author, but as the chief musician
(comp.
at the passage), and also the example of their ancestors,
who
had on several occasions sung from the soul of David: comp.
for
example, xliii., lxxxiv., lxxxvi.—Heman is here, and
Ethan
in Ps. lxxxix., called the Esrahite.
We learn the import
of
the term in 1 Chron. ii. 5, "and the sons of Serah: Simri, and
Ethan,
and Heman, and Chalcol, and Darah" (we have the same
names
in 1 Kings v. 11, with the unimportant difference of Dar-
dah
instead of Darah). The x 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
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
according
to the express and well-defined intimations given in 1
Chron.
vi. 18 ss., xv. 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 Chron. vi. 29-32 (comp. xv. 17, 19) was a Levite
90 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
of
the family of the Merarites, a son of Kisis, 1 Chron. vi.
29,
or, according to another form of the name of Kusaja,
xv.
17,a as Asaph, according to 1 Chron. vi. 24-28, was a
Levite
of the family of the Gershonites. Hence Heman and
Ethan
could have been reckoned as belonging to the family of
Serah,
only in the sense that they dwelt in this family, as "stran-
gers
and sojourners" (comp. Jud. xvii. 7), and were incorporated
with
it, as citizens. And there are not wanting examples of
Levites
being spoken of as belonging to the family of which, in
their
capacity as citizens, they formed part. Thus Samuel the
Levite,
1 Sam. i. 1, is called an Ephraimite; and, in Jud. xvii.
7,
there follows immediately after the words "of the family of
comp.
Beitr. P. iii. 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 Ps. lxxviii. 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 Ps. lxxxviii. consists of seven verses, which are
divided
into a four and a three, ver. 3-9, and 10-12.
Ver. 1, 2.—Ver 1. Lord God, my saviour, I cry in the day
time, in the night
before thee.
Ver. 2. Let my prayer come be-
fore thee, incline thine
ear to my cry,—On
the "my salvation-
a In 1 Kings v. 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: Skilful
in leading down the
sacred dance:
comp. "daughters of music," Eccl. xii. 4.
PSALM LXXXVII. VER. 3-9. 91
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 Ps. xxii. 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 Mvy here must stand for Mmvy, or
Mvyb. 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 hlylb,
follows.
Forced translations, such as "at the time when I am
during
the night before thee," are foundered by the fact that Mvy,
in
parallel in hlyl 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, 0 Lord, every day, I stretch
out to thee my hands.—Instead of "my
life stretches to sheol,"
in
ver. 3, Ps. cvii. 18, has "to the gates
of death." The first
clause
of ver. 4 is from Ps. xxviii. 1, with the change of ytlwmn
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."
92 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
into
ytbwHn.
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. Deut. xv.
16,
"I will not go out from thee, because I love thine house,
and
I am happy with thee." But, with the heavenly master,
freedom is pre-eminently an
evil; to be the servant of God is the
highest
happiness; comp. Ps. lxxxvi. 16. For his service is joy,
because
his yoke is easy and his burden is light, his command-
ments
are more precious than gold, yea, than much fine gold, are
sweeter
than honey and the honey comb (comp. the praise of the
divine
commandments in Ps. xix.); and, what is of special conse-
quence
here, God gives to his servants a great reward, Ps. xix.
12;
he not only demands service from
them, he also cares for
them
with tender fatherly love, feeds them at his table, and holds
his
protecting hand over them; comp. Ps. xxiii. Over against
these
rich blessings, which the service of God brings with it,
there
is the mere naked freedom remaining for those who have
been
removed from the service of God—a poor thing. Allusion
is
made, as is obvious, to Job iii. 19, "and the servant is (there
in
the world of spirits) free from his master;" it may be a fortu-
nate
thing to become free from an earthly master, but to be 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 wpH in He-
PSALM LXXXVIII. VER. 3-9. 93
brew
(Hävernick on Ez. xxvii. 20). In Ez. in the above men-
tioned
place wpH ydgb is "glorious coverings;" comp. 1 Sam.
xvii.
25, where ywpH,
which generally denotes not the "set free,"
but
the "free man," signifies a "free lord;" magnificence can-
not
be wanting. In 2 Kings xv. 5, 2 Chron. xxvi. 21, tyb,
tywpH or tvwpH 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 Ps. lxxxiv. 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, Ps. xxxi.
22,
"I am cut off from thine eyes," cut off, and consequently
withdrawn
from thy gracious look. We have already, at Ps. vii.
5,
adverted to the idea which lies at the foundation of the whole
verse
that the dead are no longer the
objects of the loving care of
God.
In Old Testament times 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
94 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
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 ver 6, is sheol,
deep under the earth,
compare
on rvb
of sheol at Ps. xxviii. 1, the "lower places of the
earth,"
in parallel with "sheol," in Ps. lxiii. 9, Ez. xxvi. 20,
and
"the lowest hell" in Ps. lxxxvi. 13. The "dark places"
are
as usually (compare at Ps. lxxiv. 20) the dark places of sheol.
The
Psalmist, a living corpse, is as good as brought to that place.
On
tvlcm,
in other passages tvlUcm water-deeps, compare at
Ps.
lxix. 2.—The "waves" in ver. 7 are the tumultuous sea-waves
of
trouble and pain, compare at the fundamental passage, Ps.
xlii.
7. The jyrbwm
is the acc. according to thy waves—with
them,
compare Ew. § 485. The Selah is
appended to tynf, 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
Ps. xxvii. 10; xxxviii. 11; lxix. 8. (Job xix. 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 Gen. xliii. 32,
xlvi.
34, (compare Ex. viii. 22), according to which
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 Lam. iii. 7, 9, "shut up by misfortune,
I can find no
way
of escape," but "shut up by public reproach, which keeps
me
in the house like a prisoner, I do not go out, I stir not from
the
door," with reference to Ps. xxxi. 11, "they who see me in
the
street flee from me," and especially to Job xxxi. 34, where
Job
is expressing his willingness to
suffer in case of his guilt
what
he must now suffer unwillingly, says, "I should be afraid
before
a great multitude, and the contempt of families should
terrify
me, and I will be silent and not go out of doors."—On
PSALM LXXXVIII. VER. 10-12. 95
bxd in ver. 9, compare Deut. xxvii. 65. Instead of
"the eye,"
Luther
without any reason has the "person," compare at Ps. vi.
7;
lxix. 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 Ps. vi.
5.
For it is to the living only and not to the dead that he can
shew
wonders; and it is the living only that can praise him:—
"Make
haste therefore and help me, ere I go to
the land of dark-
ness when 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
to
proclaim entire destruction, proceeds on the supposition that he
does
this. The xlp
stands collectively, compare at Ps. lxxvii. 11.
The
mention of wonders points to the
national reference of the
Psalm.
The Rephaim were a Canaanitish giant-race,
whose
name
was applied to the shades of the lower world. Contact with
these
is something terrible for the sufferer; the spirits of the de-
ceased
are represented to the imagination as possessed of a gigantic
form,
compare 1 Sam. xxviii. 13, where the witch of Endor, on
the
appearance of Samuel, says, "I behold Gods ascending out
of
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 xpr
signifies
to heal and nothing else, and that it is altogether foreign
to
the Hebrew to consider Rephaim a term applied to the shades
96 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
as
bearing an agreeable sense. The Mvq, 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 Ps. lxxviii.
6. The language
refers
to what takes place in death, not after
death. The jvdvy
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 Ps. xxx. 9), partly because of the want of
opportunity
for its manifestation, and partly because of the want
of
ability to praise him.—The "land of forgetfulness" in ver. 12,
is
not the land where one is forgotten (Ps. xxx. 12), but the land
where
one forgets, Luther: "where one remembers nothing,"
compare
Eccl. ix. 5, 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.
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, 0 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,
PSALM LXXXVIII. VER. 13-18. 97
mine acquaintances—the
place of darkness.—"In
the morning,"
in
ver. 13, denotes the great earnestness in prayer: comp. at Ps. v.
3,
lvii. 8. The Mdq is to surprise, comp. at Ps. xxi. 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. Ps. xlii. 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 rfn 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."
says,
in. Ps. cxxix. 1, in language which corresponds exactly to
the
clause before us," "they have oft oppressed me from my youth
up."
The oppression in
Hos.
xi. 1) in consequence of which he was brought to the very
verge
of destruction, so that he might with truth say, "I am mi-
serable
and ready to expire from my
youth," just as the anti-
type,
the Lord who was born in a stable (=
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 hnvpx is from Nvp, 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 yniUttum;.ci, which nowhere else
occurs, is formed
out
of the Piel, which occurs elsewhere, by the Psalmist himself,
for
the purpose of alluding to the tvtymc of Lev. xxv. 23,
"the
land
shall not be sold for annihilation
(so that the right of the
possessor
shall not be wholly annihilated) for the land is mine, for
98 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
ye
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:—
j`wHm signifies always, even in Is. xxix. 15,
xlii. 16, not
darkness, but a dark place, and it occurs in this sense,
and is
even
applied to the darkness of sheol 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 xvii. 14, "I call the grave my father, and
the
worm my mother and sister."
PSALM LXXXIX.
The Psalmist, in language of joy and
praise, calls to remem-
brance
first the promise of God which secured the perpetual 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 Ps.
lxxxviii.
Ver. 1-4. The Church resolves that
she will eternally praise
the
mercy and the faithfulness of the Lord, because these shall
a Ewald takes another
view: he, however, has nothing except a false rendering of
Hos.
iv. 18 to refer to in support of his view of the import of the form. That
passage
should
be translated: they love the "prayer," as a description of their
insatiable avarice,
which
always puts "give" into their mouth,
PSALM LXXXIX. VER. 1-4. 99
eternally
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," Is. lv.
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 Mlvf here and in ver.
2,
37 is for Mlvfl,
compare at Ps. lxi. 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 Ps. lxxii. 5,
and
a similar figurative expression, Ps. cxix. 89, "thy word
stands
fast in heaven." The heavens have emphatically the
foremost
place assigned to them in the 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 see
100 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
the
remarks made in this commentary at Ps. xviii. 28-47 (vol.
i.
p. 310-323), upon which also Ps. xxi., lxi., cxxxii., lxxii.,
cx.,
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 Ps. lxi.; and we may learn from this Psalm not only in
general
how in the church's most troublous times we may conquer
that
fear with which the visible aspect of affairs fills us, by 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.
First, ver. 5-7: The omnipotence and
faithfulness of God are
devoutly
praised even by the angels, his heavenly congregation.
Ver.
5. And the heavens praise thy wonders, 0
Lord, and thy
truth in the assembly of
the saints.
Ver. 6. For who in the
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 Heb. vi.
such
causes are assigned. 0 blessed people, for whose sake God swears! 0 miserable
people,
who will not believe God even when he swears!"
PSALM LXXXIX. VER. 5-7. 101
clouds is like to the
Lord, who comes like to God among the
sons of God? Ver. 7. God is very terrible in the confidence of
the 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). Ps. xxix. 1, 2, is a parallel, and in all probability
the
fundamental passage, where in like manner the praise of God
by
the angels appears as an evidence for the infinite 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
Deut.
xxxiii. 2, 3, the name of the "holy ones," i. e., the sacred
and
the glorious (comp. at Ps. xxii. 3), for the purpose of pointing
to
their dignity, which serves for a
basis on which to lay the glory
of
God, to whom they are devoutly subordinate. The holy ones in
heaven
stand opposed to the weak mortals of earth whose praise
has
not much to say. The expression, "the assembly
of holy
ones,"
points to the congregation of God upon the earth, which,
in
its weakness, sings his praise.—In ver. 6, 7, the fact that even
the
holy ones praise God, is grounded on the infinite superiority
of
God above the most glorious creatures.a In ver. 6, qHw,
cloud,
the singular only here, and in ver. 37, in other passages,
MyqHw, is employed poetically for the heavens.
On the Bne
Elim, sons of God: comp. at
Ps. xxix. 1. The agreement in
this
very singular expression, shews that the Psalmist had this
passage
distinctly before his eyes. The thrice repeated Jehovah,
also,
in ver. 5 and 6, is assuredly designed.—In ver. 7, the lx
stands
in reference to its appellative sense, the
strong one. "The
confidence of the holy ones"
(comp. at lxxxiii. 3, lv. 14), denotes
the
confidential community to whom God vouchsafes to intrust
his
secrets, Job i. 6, ii. 1, though not his deepest ones, 1 Pet. i.
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."
102 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
tance
between him and them; comp. Job iv. 18, xv. 15. God
does
not cease to be, even to his holy ones, the object of fear.
As
the dvs
is masculine, and does not exactly denote assembly,
the
hbr
cannot be an adjective, "in the great
assembly of the
holy
ones," but only an adverb, "very much," as at Ps. lxii. 2;
comp.
dvxm in
Ps. xlviii. 1. Those who are around
God in
heaven
stand opposed to those who are so on earth; comp. Ps.
lxxvi.
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
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. 0
Lord, God
of Hosts, who is mighty
as thou art, 0 Lord, and thy faithful-
ness is round about
thee.
Ver. 9. Thou rulest over the pride
of the sea, when its
waves swell thou stillest them. Ver. 10.
Thou 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
( stands ), mercy and
truth go before thy face.—On hy, in ver. 8,
comp.
at Ps. lxviii. 4. The Jah as the concentration of Jehovah,
is
the more emphatic word. The second vocative, moreover, would
have
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., for
PSALM LXXXIX. VER. 8--14. 103
example,
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 tvxg is not "the lifting up," but the
"pride,"
as "thou rulest " shews; comp. tvxg in Ps. xlvi. 3.
The
figurative expression is chosen with reference to what it re-
presents,
the pride of the sea of the people. A reference to this
also
explains the fact, that in such representations of the omni-
potence
of God, the subjugation of the waves of the sea is dwelt
upon
with peculiar delight; comp. at Ps. xlvi. 3, lxv. 7. It has
been
already intimated in the summary, that the whole arrange-
ment
of the clauses of this paragraph can only be explained on
the
supposition, that the Psalmist regards the sea a symbol of
the
power of the world.a The xvw
is a noun
abbreviated from
the
infinitive of xWn; comp. the xyw of Job xx. 6.—From the
ordinary
sea the Psalmist turns, in ver. 10, to the sea of the na-
tions.
He mentions
famous
humbled enemy of God and his people in past times;
after
this, as
and
the reality meet together; and after this he turns generally
to
the enemies of God. By the name Rahab, here applied to
appellative
sense, pride, haughtiness, tvxg, 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.
Ps. lxxxviii. 5.—On lbt, land,
in opposition to sea, as
Crx, earth, in opposition to heaven; comp. at the
fundamental
a 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:
0
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."
104 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
passage,
Ps. xxiv. 1, 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
and
Hermon on the other, can only be considered as representa-
tives
of east and west; comp. Ps. xlii. 6. They were well fitted
to
represent these on account of the manifest traces of the creat-
ing
power of God which they bear. They rejoice,
because their
very
existence is a matter-of-fact praise. In
thy name,—over
it,
over the deeds of thy glory which have been done on them;
comp.
ver. 16, and on "the name of God," for example, at Ps.
xliv.
5.—In ver. 13, according to the connection of arm, hand,
and
right hand, according to "thy mighty arm," in ver. 10, and
according
to ver. 21, we cannot explain: thine is might with
power,
but only: thine is an arm with strength, a strong power-
ful
arm.--In ver. 14, Nvkm is not foundation,
basis,—this sense is
neither
ascertained nor suitable; what should it mean? thy king-
dom stands through
righteousness? who would overthrow it then,
if
God were not righteous?—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 Mdq
signifies
to go before, to come before, Mynp Mdq occurs in the
sense
of to come before the face, Ps. xvii. 12, xcv. 2. It is not,
therefore:
mercy and truth step before thee, or stand before
thee,
but: they go before thee; comp. at Ps. lxxxv. 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: 0
Lord, in the light of thy countenance they
shall walk. Ver. 16. In thy name they rejoice always, and
through thy
righteousness they are glorious. Ver. 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
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
PSALM LXXXIX. VER. 15-18. 105
and
trumpets (comp. Num. x. 1 ss.), at the regular periodical
festivals,
and on extraordinary occasions, such as in war;
comp.
Num. x. 9, Jos. vi. 5, 20, 1 Sam. iv. 5, 6, 2 Sam. vi.
15,
the treatise "on Balaam," at Num. xxiii. 28, where Balaam
says
of
We
are not justified, with many, in limiting the joyful sound
to
the festivals, or in interpreting it exclusively of the sound of
the
trumpet, comp. at Ps. xxvii. 6. The relation of the two
clauses
of the verse to each other, as is also the case in Ps.
lxxxiv.
4, is that of cause and consequence, not: who walk, but:
who
shall walk in the light of thy countenance, in the splendour
of
thy grace; comp. at Ps. iv. 6; xliv. 3; xliii. 3. The face of
the
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 loveliness
still
in the countenance of an angel. But the highest loveliness
is
in the countenance of God. Just as parents look joyfully upon
their
little children, and when they are learning to walk guide
them
with their countenance and eye, so does the merciful God
to
those who love him."—In ver. 16, "in thy name," as is mani-
fest
from the parallel clause, "through thy righteousness" is to
be
understood as equivalent to "over it," "over thy glory mani-
fested
in guiding them," comp. at ver. 1. 2.
The righteousness of
God
is also here that property by which he gives to every one his
own,
salvation to his people. The vmvry 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 Ps. xxvii. 6.—As
it
is undoubted that trxpt can only signify "an ornament"
(comp.
Ps. lxxviii. 61, the Christol. on Zech. xii. 7), and zf only
"strength,"
"might," we can only translate in ver. 17: for thou
art
their mighty ornament; comp. "the arm of thy strength,"
for
"thy strong arm," in ver. 10, "the ark of thy strength,"
instead
of "the strong ark," Ps. cxxxii. 8. The vmzf looks
back
to zft,
in ver. 13. On "thou liftest up our horn," comp.
at
Ps. lxxv. 10; xcii. 10. The Keri Mvrt "our horn is
high,"
has
been introduced only by an unseasonable comparison of vmvry
in
ver. 16, and of Mvrt in ver. 24.—In ver. 18 the confidence
which
had been expressed in the preceding verses is grounded
upon
the mighty assistance of the Lord. How can he do other-
106 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
wise
than be surety for him, when
and
as
in Ps. xlvii. 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
l never stands in this way before a nominative,
and the thought
is
not sufficiently suitable, as the joyful confidence in the salva-
tion
of God expressed in ver. 15-18 is in this way wholly dis-
joined
from the person of the anointed, around which the whole
Psalm
revolves. In reference to the appellation of God, "the
Holy
One of Israel," comp. at Ps. lxxi. 22; lxxviii. 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 the
PSALM LXXXIX. VER. 19-28. 107
paragraph
ends here, and that ver. 29 belongs to what follows,
is
evident from the circumstance that there it is the seed of the
anointed
that is spoken of, while here it is only one person that
always
meets us, the ideal person of the anointed, the royal family
of
David represented by him.—The "at that time," in ver. 19,
connects
the paragraph with ver. 3 and 4. NvzH, appearance is
the
term applied to the revelation of God made to and by Nathan
in
1 Chron. xvii. 15, comp. the NvyzH in 2 Sam. vii. 17. In
its
original
form the promise was directed to David. But it is made
very
manifest in 1 Chron. xvii. 15, and 2 Sam. vii. 10, that it was
intended
not only for him but also for the people. This view of the
promise,
as intended for the people, is the only one that is kept
before
our eye 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 jydsH in the plural. The singular
owes
its existence, as in Ps. xvi. 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,
108 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
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 Jud.
xiii.
5, when it is said of Samson: he shall begin to deliver
out
of the hand of the Philistines. On the term, "a man of war,"
compare
2 Sam. xvli. 10, all
man
of war. David was a powerful young
man, (compare Ps.
lxxviii.
31, 63—Luther falsely a chosen one), at the time when
his
selection became possessed of vitality in his deed of heroism
against
Goliath. Still we must not limit ourselves to David as
an
individual. We must rather consider him as the 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 Sam. xvi. 13, the form under
which
the gifts of the Spirit were imparted to him, which were
developed
in the most glorious forms in Christ who at the same
time
was anointed in him.—"With whom my hand shall be esta-
blished"
in ver. 21 (compare ver. 37; Ps. lxxviii. 37), is to be con-
sidered
as equivalent to "my hand shall be continually with him,"
ver.
24, 1 Sam. xviii. 12, 14, 2 Sam. v. 10.—In ver. 22 the xywih is
"to
act like a creditor," Hwvn, “to oppress.” The
second clause
is
quite literally taken from 2 Sam. vii. 10, "neither shall the
children
of wickedness afflict them any more as in the beginning."
What
is there said of the 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 Is.
xliii. 2. The sea and the
rivers
generally are meant as in Ps. xxiv. 2. The Psalmist en-
larges
the promise, as the language of prophecy had already done,
PSALM LXXXIX. VER. 29-37. 109
with
special reference to Ps. lxxii. 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
and
the
ready
referred to in Ps. lxxii., and in the prophets, the clause,
"the
highest over the kings of the earth" in ver. 27 and the
plural
"the rivers," which cannot be explained by connecting the
Tigris
with the
On
"He will call me my father," ver. 26, compare 2 Sam. vii. 14,
and
the investigations at Ps. ii. 7.—The first-begotten
in ver. 27,
as
in Ex. iv. 22, where
true
David is thus named, is at the sametime the only
begotten. In
the
second clause, what is said in Deut. xxviii. 1 (compare xxvi.
19)
of the people, "and the Lord thy God make thee higher than
all
the nations of the earth," is transferred to the anointed in
whom
and through whom the people were to obtain their lofty
destination.
Here also we must ascend to Christ, compare Ps.
lxxii.
11, 12; it was only a feeble type of the fulfilment that was
witnessed
in David, compare 1 Chron. xiv. 17.
Ver. 29-37.—Ver. 29. And I set upon eternity his seed, and
his throne like the days
of heaven.
Ver. 30. If his sons forsake
my law and walk not in
my statutes.
Ver. 31. If they profane
my ordinances and
observe not my commandments. Ver. 32.
I visit with the rod
their iniquity, and with stripes their sin.
Ver.
33. But my mercy I will not withdraw from
him, nor
break my faithfulness. Ver. 34. I will not profane my 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
the
Psalmist removes every thing which appeared to endanger that
perpetuity,
by dwelling upon the one verse, 2
Sam. vii. 14, what had
obtained
a very peculiar importance in consequence of the history,
the
manifest dreadful sins of the family of David, which seemed to
imply
total rejection.--On ver. 29, compare 2 Sam. vii. 12; Ps.
lxxii.
5, 7, 17. The expression as "the days of heaven" is taken
110 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
from
Deut. xi. 21, where there is promised to the people in case
they
remain faithful to the covenant, a continuance "on earth as
the
days of heaven."—In ver. 30 and 31 the strongest 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 Sam. vii. 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 Prov. xxiii. 13, 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 xi. 36, 2 Kings viii.
19,
Is. xxxvii. 35, 2 Chron. vi. 42), so that it always remained
in
possession of the favour of God, notwithstanding the fall and
rejection
of many of its individual members, in like manner the
church
is chosen in Christ and the sins of its members may hurt
themselves but cannot injure it. Notwithstanding the fall of a
whole
generation, it always flourishes again and under the most
inexorable
judgments which are not removed by the appear-
PSALM LXXXIX. VER.
29-37. 111
ance
of Christ, but rendered more severe, compassionate grace
is
always concealed. —In reference to the rqw, with b in ver.
33,
comp. at Ps. xliv. 17.—The llH in ver. 34 signifies,
as
it
always does, to profane. The covenant
sworn by God was
a
holy one, comp. at Ps. lv. 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 Deut xxiii.
24
(comp. Num. xxx. 13), "whatever has gone out of thy lips
thou
shalt perform and do." God desires, on the part of his 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 tHx 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
Ps.
xxvii. 4,—if I have anywhere sworn
anything to him, I have
sworn this. The thing sworn, and,
according to the second
clause
(on which we may compare Num. xxiii. 19; 1 Sam. xv. 29),
the
thing to be kept inviolate, follows in ver. 36 and 37. On "in
my
holiness," (Gesenius, manifestly falsely: in my sanctuary)
comp.
Ps. lx. 6.—The "before me," in ver 36, is "under the
sheltering
covering of my favour."—The constant
witness, in ver.
37,
is the moon. As God has connected with his own duration
the
continued existence of the family of David, so has he, in like
manner,
given a constant witness which would convict him of un-
faithfulness,
should he permit this family to fall to the ground.
As
long as the
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 Nmxn
in
parallel with Nvky cannot signify "to be depended upon,"
but
only
"constant," as in ver. 28.
112 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
With the joyful assurance of the
everlasting continuance of the
family
of David, and, therefore, of her own deliverance, the church
proceeds
to contemplate the actual state of matters at the present
moment.
(Ps. xliv. 9, and following verses, are 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. hls
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 the
PSALM LXXXIX. VER. 38-45. 113
crown
was the official badge of the king, as the anointed of the
Lord.
There stood also upon it, though in an
invisible form,
what
was visible on that of the high priest, "holiness to the
Lord,"
Ex. xxviii. 36, xxix. 6. In reference to Crxl on the
ground,"
comp. at Ps. lxxiv. 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 rcbm) have been
demolished,
comp. Job xvi. 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
hrdg 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, Ps. lxxx. 12, "Why hast thou broken down its
wall
(i. e., the wall of thy vineyard)?" It is quite obvious that
this
is the fundamental passage. In that
passage "its wall" (its
fence)
is an 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 Is. v. 5; The expression in the 41st verse, "all
who
pass by the way," is also borrowed from the eightieth Psalm.
Those
quotations in the Psalm before us from the eightieth Psalm,
quotations
which 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 htHm. But
this
sense
is not well ascertained, and the ordinary sense, terror, is
also
here very suitable: thou causest his fortifications to be
terrified
before the enemy, and to be removed; comp. Jer.
1,
"the fortification is confounded and dismayed."—In
ver.
41, "the passers by" are the nations of the Asiatic kings
who
visited
surrounding
nations who, on a former occasion, approached
David
and Solomon with reverence, and paid tribute; comp.
2
Sam, viii. 2; 1 Kings v. 1; now they despise the anointed
of
the Lord in his disgracefully degraded condition, comp.
Ps.
lxxx. 6; lxxxviii. 8.—In ver. 42 the Psalmist complains
that
the anointed of the Lord missed the fulfilment of the
114 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
prayer,
"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 Sam. i. 22, "the
sword
of Saul returned not empty." The
sword returns back
ashamed
when it does not pierce. The rock or the stone (comp.
at
Ps. xviii. 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 rvc means
always a stone, even in Jos. v. 2, 3.
--In
the first clause of ver. 44, the suffix is to be supplemented out
of
what precedes, comp. the tynf in Ps. lxxxviii. 7: thou hast
caused
him to cease from his purity, thou hast robbed him of his
splendour,
comp. Ez. xxxiv. 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 xxxiii. 25. Old
age,
as the season of feebleness, here referred to in connection
with
the anointed, is in other passages spoken of in connection
with
the church in the same view, comp. at Ps. lxxi. 9, 18, Hos.
vii.
9, "Old age whitens his hair, and he knows it not." In
Christ
the family of David returned to the strength of youth,
which
had 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, 0 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
PSALM LXXXIX. VER. 46-51. 115
hand of sheol? Selah. Ver. 49. Where are thy early tender
mercies, 0 Lord, which
thou didst swear to David in thy faith-
fulness? Ver. 50. Remember, Lord, the reproach of thy ser-
vant, that I bear in my
bosom all the many nations. Ver. 51,
That thine enemies
reproach, 0 Lord, that they reproach the
footsteps of thine
anointed.—On
"how long—always," in ver.
46,
comp. at Ps. xiii. 1; lxxix. 5.a ver.
47 and 48, the
prayer
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 in
the
book of Job, for example, vii. 6, "remember that my life is
a
breath, mine eye will not return to see good," xiv. 1, s., comp.
at
Ps. xxxix., lxxviii. 39. It would be hard if God were to fill up
entirely
with sufferings, in the case of his own people, the short
span
of time which man has to live.b The first clause of ver. 47
is
to be explained: remember, I, what life, i. e., what I have to
live,
how short my existence is; comp. the fundamental passage,
Ps.
xxxix. 5, "behold as an hand-breadth thou makest my days,
and
my life is as non-existence before thee." Some hasty critics
would
read instead of ynx, ynvdx, O Lord. But the Psalmist is
not
so prodigal of his addresses to God, and the ynx cannot be
dispensed
with, more especially as the dlH, properly exist-
ence or continuance, does not exactly point out human life.
Even
in the fundamental passage the
language used does not
apply
to human life generally, but to the life of the Psalmist,
who
speaks here in the name of every individual member of
the
church. In the second clause hm lf stands in its usual
sense,
why; xvw, adverbially, in vain, as Ps. cxxvii. 1, 2. We
should
supposed added: as would be the case, wert thou to give
a Arnd: "Is it not
an odd thing that when we see a fire break out we are terrified
and
run, and every man looks after what is his own, yet no man will be terrified at
the
fire
of the wrath of God? Whereas every man should rather help to quench the wrath
of
God by prayer and true 'repentance, and after this consider that he has a
gracious
God,
and one who is not angry with him. And if this were so it would be well with 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, beloved
Christians,
there is a high, immeasureable, noble way and disposition in the most high
God,
there is such great long-suffering and compassion with him, that when a man
holds
up
before him his nothingness and his deep misery, he does not punish us as we
have
well
deserved, but thinks, what should I do with poor dust and ashes, why should I
be
angry
with dust."
116 THE BOOK. OF PSALMS.
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 xxvi. 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 (Ps. lxxix. 1), in the reproach
which
she suffers from them.—Ver. 51 is still dependant upon
"remember
" in ver. 50. The rwx 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 (Ps. lxxvii. 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, Ps. xlii.–xlix.,
Asaph,
Ps. 1., then his own Elohim Psalms; the third book, the
Jehovah
Psalms of his singers, Asaph, Ps. lxxiii.-1xxxiii., the
sons
of Korah, Ps. lxxxiv. lxxxix. 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."
PSALM XC. 117
PSALM XC.
The Psalm consists of two main
divisions, one of meditation,
which
is complete in ten, and one of prayer
in seven. The ten
of
the first part is divided by 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: 0 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 which
prominence
had been given in the second strophe,
(because the
prayer
to be based upon the first strophe is
dependant upon the
fulfilment
of the one to be referred to the second):
May God
grant
that we may know his wrath, reflected to us as in a mirror
in
the transitory nature of our being, in its entire magnitude, and
our
own sins in all their depths, and that thus we may have a
wise
heart, which is afraid of sin, and lays hold upon the 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 oppressed
118 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
the
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. For
hlpt denotes only prayer in the proper sense,
supplicatory
prayer;
and Delitsch maintains without any ground at Heb. 1,
that
it denotes "prayer in its widest, most comprehensive sense,
all
kinds of addresses to God," 1 Tim. ii. 1. It occurs only in
the
titles of such Psalms as xvii., lxxxvi., cii., cxlii., in which
prayer
even in point of form constitutes the most prominent part;
and
even in the prayer of Habakkuk the prophet, the "accept
the
prayer of our distress" in ver. 2, forms the middle point round
which
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 whom
PSALM XC. 119
among
the moderns we may add Meyer and Stier, that they have
made
every effort to remove it. But it remains in spite of all
these
attempts, attempts which cannot be made without 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. ii. page 52.
The title designates the Psalm as a prayer of Moses the man
of God. The last designation is
no empty title, it points to the
dignity
of the person as affording a security for the importance of
his
word. Luther: "As one who has such
a duty assigned to him
by
God, so that we should believe in him and in his 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, Rom. i. 1, it is
not
pride but a necessary recommendation of his office." David
designates
himself in the titles of Ps. xviii. and xxxvi. as the ser-
vant of the Lord, (compare the remarks
made there), and in 2
Sam.
xxiii. 1 he calls himself "the man who was highly exalted,
the
anointed of the God of Jacob." Notwithstanding as this 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
Deut.
xxxiii. 1, (compare the designation of Moses in the mouth
of
a cotemporary, Josh. xiv. 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."
120 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
the
corresponding designation, "the servant of the Lord" in Deut.
xxxiv.
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 Deut. xxxii.
(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."
PSALM
XC. 121
given
to the doctrine of death as the wages of
sin is especially
characteristic,
a doctrine which is not of frequent occurrence in
Scripture,
and especially not so in the Psalms, and which is pro-
claimed
as distinctly and impressively as it is here, only in the
Pentateuch,
Gen. ii. and iii., and in those ordinances of the
ceremonial
law which threaten death.
The reasons which have been adduced against the composition
of
the Psalm by Moses are of very little weight. The objection
that
ver. 10, where the length of human life is limited to seventy,
or,
at the most, eighty years, stands opposed to Deut. xxxiv. 7,
according
to which Moses reached the age of 120, is disposed of
by
the remark that Moses, throughout the whole Psalm, does not
speak in his own name, but in that of the people. It is obvious
from
Deut. xiv. 22, 23, that among the Israelites at that time the
exceptions
to the general rule, as 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 Num. xiv."
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 our
melancholy
necessities;" no glass was more suitable than this
for
giving a view of the common condition of human life. Finally,
the
assertion that the Psalm could not have been composed by
Moses,
because it resembles the other Psalms in language and
general
poetical structure, is an a priori assertion,
which may be
met,
with at least as much force, by another, that Moses, "the
fountain
out of which all the prophets have drunk divine wisdom,"
gave
at first the tone no less for prophecy, Deut. xxxii. and
xxxiii.,
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.
122 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
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! Köster 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.
0 Lord, thou art a dwelling-place to us
for ever and ever.
Ver.
2. For before the mountains were brought
forth and thou
didst create the earth
and the land, and from eternity to eter-
nity, thou art, 0 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, 0 Lord; ver. 2-5 its basis.
The
Nvfm
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 Ps. xci. 9,
and
in Deut. xxxiii. 27, "God is a dwelling-place of old, and
underneath
are the everlasting arms,"—the feminine form is used
there
hnvfm,
the masculine here as at Deut. xxvi. 15. Even in
Paul
Gerhardt, God is named, "My house in whom I safely
dwell."
Isaiah iv. 6 shows where the point of 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, and
PSALM XC. VER. 1-5. 123
are
in this way defined," Ew. 262, or by the rdv rdb, which
is
used as frequently of the future as
it is of the past, comp.,
for
example, Ps. xlix. 11. And against it we may urge, first,
that
by this translation the connection with what follows is 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 Deut.
xxxiii.
27. Finally, at the time of Moses; the history of the
people
had been too short as yet to admit of the expression, from
"generation
to generation" 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 Gen. xlix. 26, “the mountains of old and the eter-
nal
hills,” of Deut. xxxiii. 15, Num. xxiii. 7, Hab. iii. 6. Crx
the
earth is in opposition to heaven, lbt the fruit-bearing land,
(comp.
at Ps. xxiv. 1, lxxxix. 11),—a purely poetical word, the
corresponding
term in the Pentateuch being hwby—is the oppo-
site
of "the sea." In regard to llvHtv, after setting aside
the
arbitrary
change llaOHt,
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. Gen. i. 11,12), 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 Crx
124 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
and
lbt—the
earth was created by God on the second, and the
land
on the third day; and the earth is fruit-bearing only as
lbt--that in this case, to be brought forth, and to
bring forth,
are
placed most naturally together, as cause and effect (comp.
Deut.
xxxii. 18: "the rock that bore thee
thou hast despised,
and
thou has forgotten God who brought thee forth:" God in this
passage
is, in like manner, termed llvHm, with reference, in the
first
instance, to
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 lx
is
not to be taken with Calvin, Ewald, and others, as a predi-
cate:
thou art God; but like yndx, in ver. 1, as an address:
thou
art, 0 God. As in the following verses man's feebleness
and
helplessness are deduced from the brevity of his life, so, from
the
eternity of God, his exclusive Godhead is here deduced, just
as
in Is. xliv. 6, "I am the first, and I am the last, and (there-
fore),
besides me there is no God." If we take lx 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
xkd,
according to most expositors, is a substantive, a poeti-
cal
term for the "dust," properly what
is beat to pieces. But as
xbd 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 df,
rather lx,
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 Num. xxiv. 20;
PSALM XC. VER. 1-5. 125
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 Gen. iii. 19 undeniably alluded to here,
"till
thou return to the dust from which thou wast taken, for
dust
thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return," exactly as in
Ps.
civ. 29, "they return to their dust," Job x. 9, " thou wilt
bring
me to the dust," xxxiv. 15, Ps. ciii. 14. Luther explains
otherwise,
and is followed by Tholuck: "It
proceeds on this,
that
like as men daily die because of sin, so others are daily born
always
in the same condition as those who have died." But be-
sides
the positive grounds which have been adduced on behalf of
the
translation given above, we may urge the vbvw, 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,
Ps. cii. 26), and expresses what is perfectly well known,
needs
no refutation. It is evidently not this that has led to its
rejection,
but something wholly different, as Stier has openly ac-
knowledged:
"Should not Moses, the man of God,
have known
what
is after death? Or if he knew it, is there any other pas-
sage
in this Psalm in which it is expressed?"—Luther has given
more
correctly the sense of ver. 4 than most modern expositors:
"Moses
exhorts us to rise above time, and to look upon our life
with
the eyes of God, so shall we assuredly say, that all the life
of
man is scarcely one hour long, even though it last the longest."
The
"for" shows that the verse serves to ground the assertion
indirectly
contained in ver. 3, as to the perishable and brief life
of
man. To man his life appears long; comp. "teach us to num-
ber
our days," of ver. 12. He who has the number of seventy
years
before him, supposes that an eternity has been measured
126 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
out
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 Pet. iii. 8, "be not ignorant that one day is
with
the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one
day."
The Lord looks upon time with altogether different eyes
from
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 yk
rbfy 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 the
PSALM XC. VER. 1-5. 127
climax,
to the day which is spread out at
greater length over
labour.
It is clear that, in ancient times, the night was divided
into
three watches; in Judges vii. 19, mention is made of the
middle watch. And Ex. xiv. 24,
where the morning watch is
spoken
of, renders it evident that this division existed in the
time
of Moses.—In the fifth verse the Psalmist proceeds in the
description
of the transitory nature of human life. The Mrz, to
flow as a stream (in Ps. lxxvii. 17,
hence Mr,z,,
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 ryq Mrz, “a rain-torrent of a wall," which car-
ries
away walls, in Is. xxv. 4. Luther: "It
is a fine full figure,
by
which is illustrated how the whole human family is driven
away,
as when a sweeping torrent of rain carries 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. Ps. lxxiii. 20, "like a dream on awak-
ing,"
Ps. xxxvii. 6, "only as an image walks man." The sleep
and
the morning stand opposed to each
other. The expression,
"as
grass," is 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 JlHy, 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 which
128 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
springs up. This destroys the
obvious opposition between the
sleep and the morning (by
which the interpretation of the sleep,
as
the sleep of death, is set aside), and has, besides, against it,
the
fact that JlH,
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,
Hab. i. 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 Cycy, JlH
and
wby is
also here, as in JlHy in ver. 5, man,
the figurative
flower,
comp. Job xiv. 2, "like a flower he withers and is cut
down,"
Ps. ciii. 15, "as for man his days are as grass, like a flower
of
the field so he flourisheth; for the wind passeth over it and it is
gone,
and its place knows it no more." The blossom of man is so
short
that it does not deserve to have a whole member of a verse
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 llvmy
is
the Pil. from lvm. As God is throughout addressed, he can-
not
be the subject; we must consider the verb as used imperson-
ally,
comp. 2 Kings xxii. 38, xxi. 36; Ez. xli. 7. In reality,
however,
God undoubtedly is the agent who cuts down. To
be
cut off, which alone the form
of the verb can denote, is more suit-
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, Ps. xxxvii. 2, and
PSALM XC. VER.
6-10. 129
Job.
xiv. 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. Gen. ii. 17;
to
the passage before us, the terrible judgments by which those
who
proudly rebelled against the Lord in the time of Moses, were
annihilated
(comp., for example, Num. xvi.), are only a reflec-
tion
and an image of the common lot of humanity; there hap-
pened
then, visibly and impressively, what is always going on
secretly
and unobservedly. The wrath of God eats away our
life
until after a little while it has completely consumed it. It is
a
remarkable peculiarity of revelation, that in this way it throws
the
blame of death upon men; for verse
8th shows that the wrath
of
God presupposes and has for its foundation the guilt of men.
If
we do not see in death the wages of sin, our melancholy existence
must
necessarily awaken perplexing thoughts of God, and stifle all
noble
and child-like love towards him. The hlk is to disappear,
to
be annihilated. We are terrified,
namely, before that dreadful
death
which destroys us; compare Ps. civ. 29, and the noun hlHb,
of
sudden death, Ps. lxxviii. 33, Is. lxv. 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 Jer. xvi. 17; Heb.
iv. 13), or from want of hat-
red
of sin, proceeding from that easy good nature which rationalism
ascribes
to God. Instead of tw the Keri has the correct reading.
In
the second clause, the reading vnmlf, our secret, our secret
sin, is better supported
than the plural vnymlf, compare Job
xx.
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
Ps. xix. 12; 1 Cor. iv. 4, 5. Luther: "We
should by all
130 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
means
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.? 0 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 rvxm
according
to most expositors signifies here light.
But Gen. i.
makes
a distinction between rvx light
and rvxm
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 hnp in ver.
9
is to turn round, to turn away, compare Jer. vi. 4. All our
days disappear, so that it is soon
over with our whole life.
"Through
thine anger" belongs in reality also to the second
clause.
In this the hlk is not "to bring," but "to bring
to an
end."
The hgh
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, Ez. ii. 10, Job. xxxvii. 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. Gen. xxv. 7,
xlvii.
8, 9), and as Mymy 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-
PSALM XC. VER. 6-10. 131
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 Köster, "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 hrvbg 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 bharo
occurs only
here the noun, how-
ever
bhara
occurs in the sense of pride in Job
ix. 13, xxvi. 12,
and
the adjective bhArA proud
in Ps. xl. 4. The pride of the
days,
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 Nvx always means
wickedness, p. 112, ss.;
Delitzsch, on Hab. i. 3, iii. 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 Gen. xlvii. 19, and also that of Lamech, Gen. v. 29,
agree
with what is here said as to the condition of human life.
Luther:
"The whole of life therefore is
trouble and labour, with
the
single exception that these evils are alleviated by faith and
hope
in the divine compassion in the case of those who have been
born
again, and are new creatures." For
we are driven rapidly
132 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
away 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 not
the
misery but the transitory nature of
human life. The zg
is
usually
translated, it goes away, it passes away. But as zg in the
only
other passage where it occurs with certainty (Ps. lxxi. 6 is
doubtful),
Num. xi. 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 zg
in
the sense of to pass away—the bhr 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 wyH
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.—On
ver.
11, Luther: "From this point he
shews why and for whose
known
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, and
are
in perpetual danger, yea, certain prospect of eternal death,
and
yet do not feel all this nor know it sufficiently. Who can
sufficiently
express such stupidity!" The expression "who knows
the
power of thy wrath," equivalent to "thy wrath as it is made
its
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-
PSALM XC. VER. 11,
12. 133
wise,
and the prayer that God would alter
it, which in ver. 12
rises
out of the lamentation. The fdvh there refers manifestly
to
the
fdvy
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 Deut. ii.
25,
Ps. v. 7), and on the other hand there is only one passage which
can
be referred to in the sense of dreadfulness—viz., Ez. i. 18, a
writer
who supplies so many anomalous expressions, and even in this
one
passage the above sense depends upon a false 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 fdvh
to
the fdvy
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 Nk
on which
134 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
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 xbnv 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 the
knowledge
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 xybh
never signifies "to carry away," "to obtain,"
but
always "to make," "to bring." The most natural con-
struction
is to supply with Abenesra Nnbrqb or vnb, into our
inward parts or into us. The translation "that we may bring
forward
as the best offering" would be
admissible only if
xybh, were a word commonly applied to sacrifices,
which it
is
not; only in this case jl would be wanting. Süsskind
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 xxviii. 28,
in
keeping the words of his covenant and doing accordingly, Deut.
xxix.
9, and thus preparing for him the way to fulfil the prayer
in
ver. 13-17, that he would, at least within the boundary of our
brief
life-time, manifest his favour, and withdraw his punishing
hand.
In ver. 13-17, the second prayer:
after the knowledge of the
brevity
of our existence, and of the greatness of his wrath, and
upon
the ground of this, and of the repentance called forth by it,
may
God impart to his church favour and deliverance inside this
narrow
existence, instead of the punishment and misery which
she
is now suffering.—Ver. 13. Turn back, 0
Lord, how long!
and let it repent thee
of thy servants.
Ver. 14. Satisfy us in
the morning with thy
mercy, and grant that we may rejoice
and be glad all our days. Ver. 15. Make us glad like to the
days in which thou didst
afflict us, the years when we saw evil.
PSALM XC. VER. 13-17. 135
Ver.
16. Show to thy servants thy doing, and
thy glory to their
children. Ver. 17. And may the beauty of the Lord our God
be upon us, and the work
of our hand confirm upon us, yea,
the work of our hand
confirm!--The
“turn back,” in ver. 13,
is
to be supplemented out of "let it repent thee" of the second
clause,
"of the wrath which now lies upon thy servants" (comp.
Ex.
xxxii. 12, "Turn back from the
fierceness of thy wrath, and
let
it repent thee of the evil concerning thy people," Jer. iv. 28),
and
also out of the relation to what goes before, where the church
had
prayed that he would make her turn back from the wicked-
ness of her heart. The MHn
has, in
Niph. and Hithp., only a
double
sense, to comfort one's self, Gen.
xxvii. 42, xxxvii. 35,
and
to repent, Num. xxiii. 19, Deut.
xxxii. 36, "And it re-
pented
him of his servants," MHnty vydbf lfv--on which Ps.
cxxxv.
14 depends—and Ex. xxxii. 12, 14, "And it repented
the
Lord of the evil which he had said he would do to his peo-
ple"—to
this Jo. ii. 13 refers, the preceding passage is taken
from
the Pentateuch--Jud. ii. 18; Jer. xv. 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 have
compassion
on." Of the two ascertained senses, the one to
repent is the only one that is
suitable here; and it is also
confirmed
by the two remarkably accordant parallel passages
from
the Pentateuch, Ex. xxxii. 12, and Deut. xxxii. 36-
in
the former passage, the Niph. is a very marked point of
connection,
and the same may be said of "for thy servant " in
the
second, to which the "of evil for thy people" in the first
serves
as a commentary. In reference to the sense, Calvin cor-
rectly
remarks: "According to the usual phraseology of Scrip-
ture,
God is said to repent, when, after
dissipating sadness and
giving
again occasion for joy, he appears as if he had changed;"
comp.
on the repentance of God, the Beitr. P. iii. p. 453 ss. In
reference
to "in the morning," in ver. 14, comp. at Ps. lix. 16.—
In
reference to the stat. constr. tvmy; and tnvw; in ver. 15, comp.
Ew.
500. The tvmy
very remarkably occurs only here and
in
Deut. xxxii. 7; in other passages it is always Mymy. There
it
occurs in like manner as here, in connection with tvnw, and
manifestly
this connection has occasioned the peculiar termi-
nation.
Jo, Arnd: "For we have seen it in those who have
136 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
lived
before us. How didst thou gladden Noah after the flood,
Lot
after the destruction of
the
famine, Joseph after his imprisonment, and the children of
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, Ps. xcii. 4, "For thou makest me glad, 0
Lord,
by thy deed; I rejoice over the works of thy hand." If it
were
so, we must conceive him to be thinking upon the posses-
sion
of
Lord,
in ver. 17, comp. at Ps. xxvii. 4; may it
be upon us is
equivalent
to, may it be made known in our experience. By "the
work
of the hands," according to the parallel passages of the
Pentateuch,
we cannot suppose any particular undertaking, but
only
the collective doings to be meant;
comp. Deut. xiv. 29,
"that
the Lord thy God may bless thee in all the work of thine
hands
which thou doest," xvi. 13, xxiv. 19, xxviii. 12, xxx. 9.
"To
confirm" is "to bring about," "to accomplish." The vnylf,
—because
the promoting comes from above.
PSALM XCI.
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 a
PSALM XCI. 137
three,
a division which strikes as particularly well marked in the
second
strophe, where the three last verses contain an address of
God, in which he assures
the righteous man of his salvation, and
with
which the whole suitably ends. But there is also manifestly
a
break in the first strophe at ver. 7. The seven, as the 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 and
138 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
bald.
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
rmx 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 rmx, 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
PSALM XCI. VER. 3-9. 139
"in
the covert," comp. Ps. xxvii. 5; xxxi. 20, 1 Sam. xix. 2.
Arnd:
"The defence of God means a place
of concealment, a
secret
little place where a man hides and covers himself in public
general
troubles. And the Holy Ghost intends thus to comfort
us,
if a man can conceal a friend in a secret hidden place in the
time
of trouble, much more can God." The names of God, "the
Most
High," "the Almighty," represent the basis of that 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, as
it
exists in a personal God. On shade =
protection, comp.
at
Ps. xxxvi. 7; lvii. 1. On ysHm comp. Ps. lxxi. 7, and
on
ytdvcm
Ps. xviii. 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
Ps.
cxxiv. 7. Security, in the highest sense, is in these words
promised
to the believer against the plots of Satan, as the most
dangerous
and destructive enemy, comp. 2 Tim. ii. 26. The
hvh denotes wickedness
here as in Ps. lvii. 1; lii. 2, 7; xciv.
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 Hos. xiii. 14, the pestilence
is
a figurative expression for destruction, and in Is. xxviii. 2, the
storm
of the disease is a ruinous storm like a disease. Accord-
ing
to the common translation rbd is pestilence in the
proper
sense,
and tvvh
in the sense of misery, occupies the place of an
adjective;
thus Luther: "from the destructive pestilence." But
according
to our translation tvvh corresponds to wvqy; not only
in
the first half of this verse, but also in vers. 4 and 5, the lan-
140 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
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
hsHt 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 Ps. xxxvi. 7,
comp.
also Ps. lxi. 4, and Ruth 12. In reference to "his
truth,"
comp. at Ps. lvii. 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, Prov. iii. 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 Song of Sol. iii. 8,
where
every one of the warriors around Solomon's bed has his
sword
at his side, "because of fear in the night," possible hostile
stratagem,
for it is this only that can be met by the sword, Job
xxi.
9, xv. 21. It is not the Psalmist, but merely a part of his
expositors,
that lead us here into "an unsafe spiritual region."
The
Old Testament knows nothing of spectres. The arrow is
the
arrow of the enemy (comp. Ps. lviii.
7); and there is just as
little
reason for thinking of the sun-stroke, or of any thing of a
like
nature here, as there was in the first clause for thinking of
spectres.
As oppression from enemies always stands so much in
the
foreground throughout the Old 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 wgy is not specially disease, but evil, or destruc-
tion
in general. The words are as much connected with ver. 2-5
PSALM XCI. VER. 10-16. 141
as
with ver. 6. The expression leads rather to warlike relations
than
to the spreading of a contagion, comp. Ps. xxvii. 3. In
reference
to the thought comp. Ps. xxxii. 6.—In ver. 8 many ex-
positors
take qr
as a particle of assurance, only = surely,
comp.
at
Ps. xxxii. 5. Then the thousand and the ten thousand in
ver.
7 are to be regarded as the enemies of the Psalmist (or of
the
Church in whose name he speaks), whose destruction implies
his
deliverance. Ps. xcii. 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 Ps.
xc. 1.
Ver. 10-16.—Ver. 10. There shall no evil befal thee, and no
plague shall come near
thy dwelling.
Ver. 11. For he gives
his angels charge over
thee, that they guard thee in all thy
ways. Ver. 12. They shall bear thee up in their hands that
thou dash not thy foot
upon a stone. Ver. 13. Thou
shalt
trample upon the lions
and the adders, tread on the young lions
and the dragons. Ver. 14. Because he cleaves to me, I will
deliver him, 1 will set
him on high, because he knows my name.
Ver.
15. He calls upon me, I will answer him;
I am with him
in trouble, I will
deliver him and honour him. Ver. 16. I will
satisfy 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 Ex. xii. 23, the exemption of
judgment
upon the Egyptians.—In ver. 11, the hvc with l
is "to
give
charge in reference to any thing," as Num. viii. 20. The
angels
appeared in similar circumstances in ancient times, Gen.
12,
"behold a ladder stood upon the earth, and its head
reached
to heaven, and the angels of God ascended and descended
upon
it," where we find a figurative representation of what was
to
happen to the whole chosen family and its individual mem-
bers
at all times. There is neither here, nor any where else in
Scripture,
the least mention made of guardian
angels. The com-
missions
of God are entrusted to the whole angelic host; and
there
is the less room for thinking here of guardian angels at-
tached
to individuals, as the Psalmist, throughout the whole
Psalm,
has his eye especially upon the whole community, although
what
is said is, at the same time, so expressed, as to be suitable
142 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
also
to individual members.—In ver. 12, the stone
is spoken of in
prosecution
of the figure of the way. We can
neither here, nor
in
the fundamental passage, Prov. iii. 23, translate " thy foot
strikes
not," but only "thou strike not thy foot." For the Jgn
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 Matth. iv. 6, consisted in
keeping
this out of view.—The lions and the serpents, in ver.
13,
represent the two kinds of dangers to which the righteous
man
is exposed, viz., open violence and secret cunning. The
Berleb.
B. "as the Israelites, when they travelled through the
wilderness,
Deut. viii. 15, Samson, Judges xiv. 5, 6, David,
1
Sam. xvii. 34, 35, and Daniel, Dan. vi. 23, gained victories
over
lions; such power of victory was specially promised to the
disciples
of Christ, Luke x. 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 Ex. xx. 12, and Deut. v. 16, where
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,
Gen. xxv. 8, Job xlii. 17, David, 1 Chron. xxiii. 1), would
we
not be ashamed at the sight of a venerable old man in Christ,
if
we did not recognise, in a long life spent in the favour of God,
a
blessing of God? The 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. Ps. 1. 23.
PSALM
XCII.
The Psalmist, or rather the church,
in whose name he speaks,
expresses
readiness to praise God, ver. 1-4, and then praises,
proceeding
to this duty, first, in general, the greatness of God in
PSALM XCII. 143
the
annihilation of the wicked, ver. 5-7. He next paints this
more fully, ver. 9-15, and also as
intimately connected with it,
the
salvation of the righteous.
The Psalm divides into two strophes,
each of seven verses, the
first
of which is divided by 4, 3, and the second by 3, 4. The
first
contains the introduction and the thesis; the second the
development.
In the middle, in ver. 9, we have an 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., xlix., lxxiii., God's
retributive
righteousness, which brings destruction to the wicked
and
salvation to the righteous. But the way and manner of
treatment
are different. The Psalmist does not come forward
here
teaching and exhorting, as he does in Ps. xxxvii. and xlix.,
nor
in view of the church contending and conquering, as in Ps.
lxxiii.;
with holy skill he leads, as it were, the saints into the
midst
of the praise of God, and teaches them, by it, to gain the
victory
in their conflicts. The Psalm is fundamentally, as is
manifest
particularly from its conclusion, ver. 16, of a consoling
and
soothing character; the consolation, however, is imparted in
the
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 Lev. xxiii. 3,
there
was held "a holy convocation;" as Ps. lxxxi. 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, 0 Lord." Among these works, however, one of the
greatest,
not less great than the creation of the heavens and the
earth,
is his preservation of his church in the midst of the evil
world.
It is in accordance also with the title that the Psalm
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 the
144 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
same
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
temple.
The Psalm, by its formal
arrangement, is manifestly nearly re-
lated
to Ps. xci.—in both there are 16 verses, in both two
strophes
each of seven verses, divided by 3 and 4, and in both
Jehovah
occurs seven times. There is a resemblance also in
other
respects—the subject-matter and the tone, which is that of
soft
tenderness, never rising above a certain height—the 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 Ps. lxxiii.
is
obvious from ver. 6, when compared with Ps. lxxiii. 22. More
exact
information as to the date of composition, will be gathered
from
Ps. xciii., which, with it, makes up one pair.
Ver. 1-7.—Ver. 1. It is good to praise the Lord, and to sing
to thy name, 0 thou Most
High.
Ver. 2. To make known in
the morning thy mercy,
and thy faithfulness in the nights. Ver.
3.
Upon the ten strings and upon the harp,
with musing upon
the guitar. Ver. 4. For thou makest me glad, 0 Lord, by thy
doings, over the works
of thy hands I rejoice. Ver. 5. How
great are thy works, 0
Lord, very deep are thy thoughts. Ver.
6.
A stupid man knows not this, a fool
understands it not. Ver.
7.
When the wicked spring up like grass, and
all evil-doers
flourish, it is the case
that they shall be recompensed for ever and
eternally.—The "(already) in
the morning," (comp. lxxxviii.
13,
lvii. 8, v. 3), and the "(still) in the nights" (comp. at Ps.
xvi.
7), indicate the great zeal in praising God, for his mercy and
truth,
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-
PSALM XCII. VER. 1-7. 145
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. Ps. xxxiii., whose introduction is
nearly
allied to ours, and was probably modelled after it. Next
we
have especially the (ten stringed) harp, and the (ten stringed)
guitar.
On "musing upon the guitar," comp. at Ps. ix. 16. For
the
sake of the symmetry, the not very obvious term ylf 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 Ps. xc. 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. Ps. xl. 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 xi. 8, Is. lv. 9, Rom. xi. 33.—
This
depth is seen especially in this, that the apparent end of
the
thoughts of God is so often seen to be the real beginning of
their
realization. When every thing appears to be gone, and
146 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
wickedness
completely to triumph, the salvation of the righteous
and
the destruction of the wicked suddenly break forth.—On
ver.
6 comp. Ps. lxxiii. 22. Were God's
thoughts less deep and
glorious,
did he repay the wicked at every particular 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. Ps. xxxvii. 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, 0 Lord. This verse
forms
the summit-point of the Psalm. God is the concrete and
the
personal height, = "he is holy," in Ps. xxii. 3, never depth,
as
is imagined always by ungodliness, and in times of conflict also
by
the godly; the appearance of depth is
rather the 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.
PSALM XCII. VER. 9-15.
147
Ver.
9-15.—Ver. 9. For behold thine
enemies, 0 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
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 iv. 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 Num. xxiii. 22, xxiv. 8, where it is
said
of
xxxiii.
17, "the horns of the buffalo are his horns, with them he
shall
push the people together to the ends of the earth." Parallel
passages
are Ps. lxxv. 4, 10, lxxxix. 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 llb,
Nmwb, is the constant expression for "to pour
out oil." The
verb
is transitive, as it always is. The object, the head (comp.
Ps.
xxiii. 5, "thou anointest my head with oil"), might very
naturally
be omitted, as it was only the head that was anointed,
comp.
at Ps. xxiii. 5, xlv. 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,
148 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
the
verdant olive tree is as it were still seen, Ps. lii. 8.—The
doubled
b in
ver. 11 cannot be considered as pointing out the
object.
For it is only hxr, and not, at all Fybh that occurs
with
b
in the sense of "to look upon any thing with pleasure,"
and
fmw
never stands with b, 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 take
b 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. Bähr Symb. i.
p.
446 ss.), for the purpose of denoting the joyful prosperity of
the
curtains
of the sanctuary and of the court of the tabernacle, Bähr,
p.
376. Flowers and blossoms were specially the insignia of the
priesthood
to denote its joyful prosperity, Bähr, p. 365. The
opening
blossoms (comp. Keil on the
as
the symbol of the increase, the blossoming, and the prosperity
of
the
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 understand
PSALM XCIII. 149
the
external sanctuary; in it, however, the servants of God dwell
spiritually with him, and are cared
for by him with paternal love;
comp:
Ps. lxxxiv. 3: on the "courts" at the same passage.
There
lies at the bottom an abbreviated comparison; these spi-
ritual
trees flourish in the house of God as the natural trees when
they
are planted in a rich soil, Is. v. 1, or by rivers of water,
Ps.
i. 3.—Ver. 15 rests upon Deut. xxxii. 4, "the rock, his work
is
perfect, for all his ways are judgment, a God of truth and 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 Ps. xxv. 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
Ps.
xviii. 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 Ps. xviii. 2.
In
whom there is no unrighteousness" corresponds to "upright."
The
v
in xlv
stands with a certain emphasis, comp. on this use of
the
copulative Thes. p. 396, c. c. Instead of the rare form
htlf, (comp. Job v. 16), the Kri has the usual htAlAv;fa.
PSALM XCIII.
The might of the world threatens to
shake the earth, and, with
it,
the
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, 0 Lord," in Ps. xcii. 8, the kernel and
150 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
middle
point of that whole Psalm, has already led commentators
to
notice a near connection with Ps. xcii. Next, there is "the
tautological
nature of the language, the sense being spread over
two
clauses, the first of which sinks down to the vocative of Je-
hovah
" (Hitzig), in ver. 3, to be compared with Ps. xcii. 9. We
have
still further the circumstance, that the number five of the
verses
of our Psalm, the signature of the half
makes up, with
the
fifteen of Ps. xcii., the number 20; and that the five times
repeated
Jehovah (Jehovah is spoken of and addressed in alter-
nate
verses), makes up, with the seven repetitions of Ps. xcii.,
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 Ps. xlvi. The temple appears in ver. 5 as threa-
tened. The result here
obtained applies equally, not only to Ps.
xcii.,
but also to Ps. xci.; comp. the introduction to Ps. xcii.
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 Sam. xv. 10, 1 Kings i. 11, 13, 2 Kings ix.
13.
This allusion makes it plain that the language does not
apply
to the constant government 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 the
PSALM XCIII. VER.
1-2. 151
same
result, also, by the parallel passages, Ps. xcvi. 10, xcvii. 1,
xcix.
1, where the same form occurs; the language in all these
passages
refers to the coming of the Lord in his kingdom. In
like
manner, in Is. xxiv. 23, where the discourse is likewise of
the
kingdom of glory: "the moon is
ashamed, and the sun is
ashamed,
for the Lord of hosts reigns on
rusalem,
and before his ancients there in glory," comp. Obed.
ver.
21, Zech. xiv. 9, and especially Rev. xi. 17, xix. 6. Be-
sides
this, the rzxth,
"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
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
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 wbl
is
"to put on," as in Is. li. 9. The majesty with which the
Lord
clothes himself, forms the opposition, the antidote against
the
majesty and pride of the world; comp. Ps. lxxxix. 9, xlvi.4.
The
second wbl
cannot be referred to the preceding one: majesty
152 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
he
puts on, the Lord puts on. For, in this case, there would be
nothing
but a flat repetition. And we cannot construe: the
Lord
puts on power, he is girded (therewith), for the zf is con-
nected
by the accusative with rzxth. The easiest plan is to
suppose
that the Psalmist begins the sentence, "he puts on
strength"
(comp. the zf wbl, in Is. li. 9), and then suddenly
changes
it, because the strength corresponding to the sword ap-
pears
still better as a girdle (comp. at
Ps. xlv. 3, lxxvi. 10); he
puts on—girds on
strength.
The Jx also, deduces the conse-
quence
surely to be determined from what precedes:
etiam. The globe (comp. on lbt at Ps. xc. 2), together
with
the
shaken
to its deepest foundations; comp. Ps. xlvi. 2, 3, 6. But
by
the coming of the Lord in his kingdom it shall be again estab-
lished.
He will display, in preserving it,
the same omnipotence
which
he displayed in creating it; comp. Ps. civ. 5, "he has
founded
the earth, it moves not for ever." This allusion to 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 Ps. xcvi. 10. On the clause,
"it
shall not move," comp. Ps. xlvi. 5.—In ver, 2 the Psalmist
places
the newly erected throne of wickedness,
Ps. xciv. 20, over
against
the eternal throne of God, which shall survive the former
as
long as it has preceded it. The Nvkn is "he
establishes," "he
grounds
firm;" comp. 2 Sam. vii. 13, 16, 1 Kings ii. 45. The zxm,
is
properly "from there," or “then,” next "from of old;" Prov.
viii.
22, Is. xlviii. 3, 5, 7. The throne of wickedness has no
"then;"
it is of yesterday, like a mushroom sprung out of the
earth.
The eternity is not the bare but the
omnipotent eternity,
comp.
at Ps. xc. 2. He who is in this way the first is also the
last,
Is. xli. 4, xliv. 6, Rev. i. 17; he remains when all the
powers
of the earth fall in the dust.
Ver. 3, 4.—Ver. 3. The floods lift up, 0 Lord, the floods lift
up their voice, the
floods lift up their 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. at
PSALM XCIII. VER.
5. 153
Ps.
lxxxix. 9, and also Ps. cvii. 23 ss.; and in our Psalm, the
design
of which is to impart consolation in the conflicts occa-
sioned
by the threatening power of the world, it is everywhere
before
the eye of the Psalmist. The fundamental passage here,
also,
is Ps. xlvi. By the floods are meant
the waters of the sea;
comp.
Jon. ii. 4, and probably, also, Ps. xxiv. 2, where the floods
are
parallel with the seas. That we are
here chiefly to think of
these
is obvious, from the circumstance, that the 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 "the
waves
of the sea." The ykd properly the "collision of the
waves,"
corresponds to the Myrbwm in ver. 4, the "breakers."
On
"the Lord in majesty is more glorious than the voice," &c.,
in
ver. 4, comp. "more glorious art thou than mountains of
prey,"
in Ps. lxxvi. 4. The voice of the
floods is thus expressly
brought
forward with reference to the voice
of the Lord, the
thunder,
as the outward proof of his glory, infinitely exalted
above
that of the sea; comp. Ps. xxix. As the thunder sounds
louder
than the loudest noise of the sea, so the Lord is infinitely
more
glorious than the sea, infinitely more glorious than the
power
of the world symbolized by it;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, 0 Lord,
becomes thy house for ever.—On "the testi-
mony."
and "the testimonies" of the Lord, as expressive of the
Mosaic
Law, compare at the fundamental passage, Ps. xix. 7,
"the
testimony of the Lord is sure," Ps. xxv. 10, lx. Title,
lxxx.
Title, cxix. 24. Here, according to the connection, we can
only
think of the promises of the law,
comp. Ps. xciv. 12,
"blessed
is the man Whom thou instructest and teachest out of
thy
law," by which assurance is given to his people of everlast-
ing
existence and of deliverance from all troubles. It follows
from
the glory of the Lord, as described in ver. 1-4, that these
promises
are unconditionally sure. The correct
interpretation
a The symbolical action
of our Lord, Mark iv. 37 ss., depends on passages such as the
one
now before us.
154 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
which
many commentators have failed to see, (Luther: thy word
is
right doctrine), lies at the foundation of the passages in the
Apocalypse,
xix. 9, xxi. 5, xxii. 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. Ps. xxxiii. 1), must be preserved for
it
by himself. It is becoming in God that he take care that it
be
not desecrated by impious hand, comp,
Ps. lxxiv., lxxix. 1.a
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
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
Ps. xxiii. 6: "I dwell in the house of the Lord for ever," jrxl,
Mymy, 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."
PSALM XCLV. 155
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 Ps. xciii., xcii., and even in
xci.,
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 Ps. xcii., the parallelism, the fundamental pas-
sage
Ps. xxiii. 6, and also "the for length of days," and finally
the
wdq
which does not signify maintenance of holiness but
holiness.
PSALM XCIV.
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
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 fypvh,
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 will
156 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
not
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 (Ps. xci.–c.), is manifest from the
anadiplosis
characteristic of these Psalms, ver. 1, 3-23 (compare
the
introduction to Ps. xciii.), from the sympathy expressed with
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
tone,
ver. 6, according to which
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 for
PSALM XCIV. VER. 1. 157
the
church before it entered upon that painful journey. It is an-
tecedently
probable that the voice of the spiritual "watchman
of
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 Deut. xxxii. 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 fypvh
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 hfypvh, as in Ps. lxxx. 1; as in the
fundamental
passage, Deut. xxxiii. 2 (comp. at Ps. 1. 2), the
158 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
form
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 Ps. 1. 2, "from Sion—God
shines:"
Ps. xciii., xcvii., xcix. also begin with the preterite,
"the
Lord reigneth," comp. Ps. xcvi. 10. In these passages
"the
Lord reigneth," and in the Psalm before us, "the Lord
shines,"
are presented to the noisy onsets of the world. The firm,
confident
expectation of an 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, 0 Lord, how long
shall the wicked triumph. Ver. 4.
They sputter, speak
impudent things, they brag, all the evil-
doers. Ver. 5. Thy people, 0 Lord, they crush and oppress
thine inheritance. Ver. 6. Widow and stranger they put to death,
and they murder the
orphan. Ver.7.
And say: the Lord sees
not, and the God of
Jacob observes not.--On
the "lift thyself
up,"
i. e., "show thyself mighty," at ver. 2, comp. at Ps. vii. 6.
Luther:
"Because he only is judge and
avenger, the pious pray
that
he would lift himself up, that is, that he would set himself
on
high on his seat as judge and show his work, not allow himself
to
be so oppressed as if he were nothing." On lvmg comp. at
Ps.
vii. 4, to present gifts = to recompense. The fundamental
passage
is Ps. xxviii. 4, "give them their gifts," comp. also Ps.
lxxix.
12. In reference to the Myxg, 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 Ps. lix. 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 in
PSALM XCIV. VER.
2-7. 159
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 qtf, here, in which case even "they
speak"
would be flat. In reference to "they speak impudence,"
comp.
at the fundamental passage, Ps. lxxv. 5. The Hiph. of
rmx occurs only here, and, in all probability, was
formed by the
Psalmist
himself from the four Hithp. in Ps. xviii. 25, 26. We
must,
however, all the more on this account, keep by the above-
ascertained
sense of rmx
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. Ps xcii. 7, 9.—They oppress, ver. 5,
as
formerly Pharaoh in
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 Ps. lxviii. 5, owes its origin to those passages
in
the law in which the widow and the fatherless are mentioned
as
objects of the tender care of God, and as such are specially com-
mitted
to the loving treatment of
"He
defends the right of the fatherless and the widow, and loves
the
stranger," Ex. xxii. 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
able?
he must also punish the wicked heathen who oppress his
160 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
own
people in their affliction—On ver. 7, comp. Ps. x. 11, 13,
xiv.
1, lix. 7.
Ver. 8-11.—Ver. 8. Yet mark, ye fools among the people,
and, ye stupid, when
will ye become wise?
Ver. 9. He who
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
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. On
Myrfb comp. Ps. lxxiii. 22; on the whole
verse, Ps. xcii. 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 their
PSALM XCIV. VER. 8-11. 161
innermost
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 rsy,
occurs in the sense of to summon, to warn, a
sense
which it bears more frequently than that of punishment. It
occurs
in ver. 12, exactly in the same way, comp. Ps. ii. 10, and
Prov.
ix. 7, "he that reproveth a sinner begetteth to himself
shame."
Gen. xx. 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
Rom.
i. 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
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. Is. xl.
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 hmh is also against it. The mascu-
162 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
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,
Ps.
xxxix. 5, 11, "all men are only vanity," lxii. 9, "only
nity
are the children of men," lbh is used of men themselves.
Ver. 12-15.—Ver. 12. Blessedness to the man whom thou, 0
Lord, admonishest, and
teachest him out of thy law. Ver. 13.
To give him rest against
the days of adversity till the pit shall
be dug for the wicked. Ver. 14. For the Lord will not reject
his people; and his
inheritance he will not forsake. Ver. 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
Deut. xxxii. Lev. xxvi.—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. Ps. cxii. 8, "his heart is estab-
lished,
he is not afraid till he see his desire upon his enemies,"
Ps.
xlix. 5, "wherefore should I fear in the days of evil, when
the
iniquity of my treaders down compasses me about?"—In
PSALM XCIV. VER.
16-23. 163
ver.
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.
Ju vi. 13, Is. ii. 6),
as
a righteous punishment for forsaking him.
Deut. xxxii. 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, Hab. i. 14, inasmuch as the wicked have the
upper
hand, the wicked devour the man who is more righteous
than
he, Hab. i. 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 vyrHx
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 Is. xiv.
Ver. 16-23.—Ver. 16. Who rises up for me against the evil-
doers? Who stands up for
me against the workers of iniquity?
Ver.
17. Had not the Lord been my help, my
soul had soon
inhabited silence. Ver. 18. If I say "my foot slides," thy
mercy, 0 Lord, holds me
up. Ver.
19. In the multitude of my
Thoughts within me, thy
consolations delight my soul. Ver. 20.
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.
Ps. xxv. 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 bcyth to put oneself down in a place, to
step
forward, comp. at Ps. ii. 2.—The hmvd in ver. 17, like the
164 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
hymvd in the Davidic Psalms, is silence, comp. at Ps. lxii. 1.
Silence
is what reigns in the noiseless kingdom of the dead, comp.
Ps.
xxxi. 17, hmvd
does not denote the place of silence
either here
or
in Ps. lxii. 1. Silence itself appears poetically as a habitation.
We
must translate: my soul would soon inhabit silence (comp. in
reference
to the Ffmk,
Ps. lxxxi. 14, and to the praeterite Ew.
§
135), not: has already inhabited, for
that the Ffmk cannot
signify.—In
reference to the sliding of the foot in ver. 18, comp.
at
Ps. lxvi. 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 jrbty is not Pü. 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 tvvh "wickedness," comp. at
Ps.
xci. 3. As a law,—properly "upon
law," the lf, being not
unfrequently
a reference to the rule which this particular case
follows,
comp. Ges. Thes. p. 1025. Ew. § 217. Is. x. 1, ought
to
be compared as a parallel passage to the whole verse. The
sceptre of the wicked, in Ps. cxxv. 3,
corresponds to the throne
of iniquity: 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 lmf, 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."
PSALM XCV. 165
PSALM XCV.
The Psalmist exhorts the church of
the Lord to praise with
full
heart God who alone is God, the Lord of the whole earth,
ver.
1-5, devoutly to fall down before him, ver. 6, not to harden
the
heart, which ought to be obedient to him, as their fathers did
once
in the wilderness, and thereby shut themselves out from the
land
of promise, ver. 7-11.
The whole is complete in ten, which
is divided by the five.
In
the middle there is an intercalary verse, which forms as it
were
the beating heart of the Psalm, contains the result gathered
out
of the first half, and forms the point of transition to the second.
A false division has often been
occasioned by laying too great
stress
on the fact that the Lord is introduced speaking in ver.
8-11.
This is really a matter of no importance; and there is
hence
no sufficient reason for violently applying this change to
regulate
the formal division.
The emphatic allusion to the example
of the fathers, who, by
their
hardness of heart, shut themselves out from the land of
promise,
and especially the fact that the Psalm terminates with
this
allusion, have long ago given rise to the idea that the Psalm
must
have been composed in circumstances similar to those of the
Israelites
in the wilderness, in view of a glorious manifestation
of
the salvation of the Lord. This view is 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 Ps. xciv. 1. All
doubt
disappears on comparing Ps. xcvi., which is bound up with
our
Psalm so as to form one pair; comp. the introduction to that
Psalm.
The reference also to the Messianic salvation was clearly
and
profoundly acknowledged by the author of the Epistle to the
Hebrews:
whose le<gwn e]n Dabi>d, 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;
166 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
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, Matth. xxiv. 36,
and
which shall come on us as a thief in the night and as travail
upon
a woman with child, as the people of the Old Testament did
to
the first. The Psalm; moreover, has a peculiar significance for
our
times, in which there is so much to call up the thought that we
are
on the eve of some great 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 Ps. xviii. 2—Ps. xcii. 16, xciv.
22,—In
reference to the Mdq to anticipate, in ver. 2 (Vulg. praeoc-
cupemus
faciem ejus) comp. Ps. xxi. 3, lxxix. 8, lxxxviii. 13, "in the
morning
my prayer shall anticipate thee," and on the whole phrase
Mynp Mdq also Ps. xvii. 13, lxxxix. 14. Calvin: "He demands
haste
in order that he may testify to believers that they should fulfil
PSALM XCV. VER.
1-5. 167
this
their duty with pleasure and zeal. This exhortation presup-
poses
that indolence which is natural to us when God calls us to
render
thanks." Ps. lvii. 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 Ps. xcvi.
4,
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,
Ps. xcvi. 2, 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 Ps. xcvi. 5,
where as a supplementary
idea
heaven is spoken of. In reference to the earth, the deepest
depths
and the highest heights are first placed in opposition in
ver.
4, and after that in ver. 5, the sea and the dry land. rqHm
is
what is sought for, the concealed deep, in opposition to what
meets
the eye; comp. Mvht rqH the
searching of the flood, the
innermost
bottom of the sea, in Job xxxviii. and Jer. xxxi. 37,
"when
the heavens above were measured, and the foundations of the
earth
were searched (or explored)."
"On hpfvt,
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
Num.
xxiii. 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 is
168 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
still
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
author
of his being, in every respect generally human, and speci-
ally
Israelitish comp. in reference to the latter the fundamen-
tal
passage, Deut. xxxii. 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
fathers tempted me,
proved me, and still saw my doing. Ver.
10.
Forty years was I disgusted with that
people and said :
they are people of
erring heart, and they know not my ways.
Ver.
11. So that I swore in my wrath : they
shall not come to
my rest.—in reference to the people of his pasture in ver. 7,
comp.
at Ps. lxxx. 12, lxxiv. 1. Sheep of his
hand are such as
he
guides and protects with his hand, comp. Ps. xxiii. 3, 4, c. 3.
The
"to-day" stands emphatically foremost, intimating that the
present
is a time of great decision. As the Mx is always a con-
ditional,
and never an optative particle (comp. at Ps. lxxxi. 8), we
cannot
translate "would that you heard," but must rather, as
also
with the Mx
in ver. 11, supply the proposition, "thus he will
bless
you his people." The Mx occurs not unfrequently
in this
way,
for example, Ps. lxxxi. 8, "Hear, 0 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."
PSALM XCV. VER. 7-11. 169
testify
to thee, 0
must
supply, "it will go well with you." In Zech. vi. 15, "and
it
happens, if ye listen to the voice of the Lord your God," there
must
be supplied, "ye shall share in all these good things, and
Messiah
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, Ex. xxiii. 21, 22, is much
more
worth comparing, where the clause wanting is added: "be-
ware
of him (the angel whom the Lord will send before you, and
who
will lead you to
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
eve
of a new leading through the wilderness into
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,
Ps. lxxxi. 8, the accents, the change of person and the fmw,
with
b,
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 Ex. xvii. 1, ss.; not however to
Num.
xx. 1, ss. For it is only in the former passage that the place
has
the name Massah and Meribah, comp. Beitr. 3., p. 379.
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 and
170 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
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
rwx in the sense of where, ver. 9. comp. at lxxxiv.
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,
Num.
xiv. 22, "for all the men who saw my glory and my signs
which
I did in
me
these ten times, and did not hearken to my voice." The Mg,
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 rvd, race,
is meant here the whole
generation,
in opposition to separate corrupt individuals, comp.
Deut.
i. 35, "There shall not one of these men of this evil gene-
ration see the good
land," &c., ii. 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
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, Deut. xxix. 3, "And the
Lord
did not give you an heart to know, and eyes to see, and ears
to
hear, till this day;" before this the discourse had been of the
great
wonders and signs of the Lord on behalf of his people, and
of
his gracious guidance, corresponding to "his ways" here.—On
the
rwx,
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.
PSALM XCVI. 171
spoken
of went forth, when, after the sending forth of the spies,
the
rebelliousness of the Israelites rose to formal revolt. The
Mx is taken from the fundamental passage, Num.
xiv. 23, "if
they
shall see the land which I sware unto their fathers," ver. 30,
"If
ye shall come into the land for which I have lifted up my
hand
to make you dwell in it," Deut. i. 35, "if one of these men,
this
wicked generation, shall see the good land," &c. The hHvnm,
a
place of rest, and their rest, comp.
at Ps. xxiii. 2, must, ac-
cording
to the fundamental passage, where the land
corresponds
to
it, and according to Deut. xii. 9, "For ye are not yet come to
the
place of rest, and to the inheritance
which the Lord thy God
gives
thee," have the former sense.
The close of the Psalm is
serious
and gloomy. The Psalmist anticipates that the melan-
choly
example of the past will be repeated in the future yet once
more,
that
his
visitation.
PSALM XCVI.
Let the whole earth praise the Lord,
who has bestowed upon
it
glorious salvation, ver. 1-3, for he is in his glory worthy of
this
praise, ver. 4-6. May all the families of the heathen wor-
ship
and reverence the Lord, ver. 7-9. For he has entered upon
his
dominion over all the earth, and all nations stand under his
righteous
and salutary government, to the joy of the whole world,
ver.
10-12. At the conclusion, in ver. 13, there is the sum of
the
whole Psalm: the Lord cometh to judge the earth.
The thrice-repeated
"give," in ver. 7 and 8, corresponding to
the
thrice-repeated "sing" of the beginning, divides the Psalm
into
two halves, each of six verses. These are divided again
into
two strophes of three verses. The three is marked out as
the
fundamental number by the three-fold "sing" and "give."
The formal arrangement announces
that the Psalm, along with
the
one that precedes it, forms one pair. The extra verse 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, a
172 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
significant
number. The contents also lead us to the same result,
the
relation of Ps. xcv. to Ps. xcvi. The connection of both is
seen
in Is. ii. 5, where, on the announcement of the reception of
the
heathen into the
exhortation
to
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 Ps. xciv., in reference to the misery with
which
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 these
PSALM XCVI. VER. 1-6. 173
prophecies,
at a time when they were advancing with rapid strides
to
a period of severe suffering. It is the less possible to overlook
this
connection between the poetry of the Psalms and prophecy,
as
we observe in prophecy itself a transition to Psalm-poetry.
We
may compare, for example, Is. xii. and Hab. iii.
The exhortation "sing to the
Lord a new song," could only be
responded
to by the heathen after the salvation which forms the
subject
of the poem had arisen. Behind the exhortation, 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
fraught
with importance to us, not only in regard to its general
thought,
but even as to its very language. It is a missionary-
hymn for all ages of the
church; and it becomes more and
more
appropriate to our times in proportion as the heathen
begin
to respond to the call, "Sing to the Lord a new song," and
in
proportion as we find in the melancholy condition of the church
at
home occasion to look with a hopeful eye towards the heathen
world.
On the relation of the Psalm to 1
Chron. xvi. 23 ss., comp. at
Ps.
cvi.
Ver. 1-6.-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 and
174 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
glory are before him,
might and beauty in his sanctuary.—On
the
"new song," ver. 1, comp. at Ps. xxxiii. 3. The first clause,
however,
is not at all borrowed from this passage, but from Is.
xlii.
10, "Sing unto the Lord a new song,
his praise from the
end
of the earth." This is clear from the literal agreement;
from
the circumstance that the following
words of Isaiah are
re-echoed
in the second clause here: that the exhortation is
here,
as in Isaiah, addressed to the heathen,
which is not
the
case in Ps. xxxiii., that the whole contents of the Psalm,
as
also those of Ps. xcviii. which begins with the same words,
are
nearly allied to the second part of Isaiah; that in our
Psalm,
as also in Isaiah, the irrational creation is, imme-
diately
after the rational, exhorted to praise God, and that the
sea
and its fulness, in ver. 11, is literally borrowed from Is. xlii.
10.
The verbal reference to Isaiah is designedly placed at the
beginning, for the purpose of
pointing out the prophetical foun-
tain
from which the lyric stream has flowed. The new song oc-
curs
in a more developed form in Rev. v. 9, 10. On the last
clause
of ver. 2, comp. is. lii. 7, "how beautiful upon the moun-
tains
are the feet of the messenger of joy, . . . . who maketh
known
salvation, who saith to
Lord
reigneth here in ver. 10), and also ver. 10, "all the ends of
the
earth see the salvation of our God." The rwb, in its reference
to
the future Messianic salvation, is peculiar to the second part of
Isaiah:
dvbk,
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.), Is. lx. 6,
"all
they of Seba shall come and make known the praise of the
Lord,"
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
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, Is. xl. 5.
PSALM XCVI. VER. 1-6. 175
“For,”
ver. 4, is "as his glory and his wonders shew." The
first
half is literally from Ps. xlviii. 1. The second half alludes
to
Ps. xlvii. 2. Ps. xcv. 3, xcvii. 9, xcix. 2, are parallel. The
gods are those whom the
heathen had hitherto served. Dread-
ful,
at the time when the Psalm was composed, was the 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
country
had its own particular gods, they obtained also in other
places
acknowledgment, only the true God was deprived of his
honour
. . . . 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
Mylylx is, as is evident from Job xiii. 4, Zech. xi. 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 with
him,
they are Mylylx.” But, in opposition to this, we have the
two
fundamental passages of the Pentateuch, Lev. xix. 4, "ye
shall
not turn you to the Elilim, and ye shall not make to your-
selves
molten gods;" xxvi. 1, "ye shall make no Elilim and
carved
image, and a molten image ye shall not set up,"—passages,
at
the foundation of which there lies the supposition, that the
heathen
gods have no other than a material existence, and in
which,
consequently, the basis is laid down on which may rest
the
assertion of their nullity. In the passage, Is. xli. 24, which
serves
as an exposition of the Elilim, "behold ye are of nothing,"
is
preceded by "ye do 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-
176 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
out
the second part of Isaiah against idol-worship. In the New
Testament,
the non-existence of heathen gods is expressly
taught,
1 Cor. viii. 4-6. 1 Cor. x. 19-21, does not prove 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
Ps. xcv. 4, and on his power over the earth.—On dvh and
rdh, majesty and glory, in ver. 6, comp. at Ps.
xlv. 3. Before him,
—as
his inseparable attendants, comp. Job xli. 14. On trxpt,
ornament, glory, at Ps. lxxi. 8. The hvdH, 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,
Ps.
xxix. 9, Ps. xi. 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 Ps.
lxxviii.
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.
Ps.
xxix. 1, 2, "give to the Lord ye sons of God, give to the
Lord
glory and power; give to the Lord the glory of his name,
worship
the Lord in holy beauty." The quotations from this
PSALM XCVI. VER. 7-12. 177
Davidic
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
Gen.
xii. 3, "and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in
thee."
The quotation from Ps. xxix. 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 hHnm xWn is used of the bringing of gifts of alle-
giance
to earthly sovereigns, in 2 Sam. viii. 2, "and the Moabites
became
David's servants, and brought gifts;" comp. at Ps, lxviii.
29,
lxxii. 10, lxxvi. 11. The courts, Ps.
xcii. 14, c. 4.—The
trembling, ver. 9, is the natural
feeling induced by a sight of
the
glory of God, even in those who have nothing to fear;
comp.
"may both joy and trembling be now found in me,"
in
the sacramental hymn, "Adorn thyself 0 blessed soul." The
trembling, more than 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 Ps. xciii. 1, "The
Lord reigneth,
he
is clothed with majesty, he is clothed, the Lord girdeth him-
self
with power, therefore the earth standeth
firm, it does not
move." The government
of the Lord shall again make firm the
earth,
which had been shaken to its innermost basis by the sins
of
men (comp. Ps. lxxv. 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.
178 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
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," Is. ii. In Ps. xciii. 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 Ps. xciii., Is, xxiv. 23, also Is. lvii. 7,
"who
saith to
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
Is. xi., Ps. lxxii. The Lord shall even by the "God-
warrior,"
Is. ix. 5, judge the nations in righteousness.—The lgt
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 Is.
xliv.
23, lv. 12. There is no necessity for supposing a reference
to
a participation by the creation itself, as in Rom. viii. 21. The
living
creatures in this case would have been named first. The
earth
standing in the middle is in 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 Ps.
xcviii.
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 zx in Is. xxiv. 5, 6,
Ps.
cxxvi. 2.a
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,
a Already Muis: This
particle denotes flame time, and looks far forward.
PSALM XCVII. 179
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 Ps. xcviii. For such an expression of emotion does
not
admit of repetition, and would appear artificial. The Fpw,
as
is manifest from the fundamental passage Is. ii. 4, particu-
larly
from the construction with Nyb, and the parallel Hykvh, 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.
PSALM
XCVII.
The Lord appears for judgment in
terrible majesty; ver. 1-3,
and
this judgment is exercised by him: all nations behold his
glory,
ver. 4-6. This serves to put to shame the worshippers of
false
gods, but it affords to
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 Lord
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."
180 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
reigneth,"
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
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
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 the
PSALM XCVII. 181
world."
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 Ps. xviii. 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, Ps. xviii. 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."
182 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
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
(Ps. xci.-c.), leads to the same result.
The more exact consideration of the
allusions and quotations
in
this Psalm, and of the whole little collection to which it be-
longs,
is of importance in another point of view. It 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
Ps. xciii. 1, xcvi. 10, and "may the earth rejoice," at Ps.
xcvi.
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. Deut.
xxxii.
43, at Ps. xciii. 49, Ps. xlvii.); 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
shut
up within the narrow boundaries of
would
extend even to the Gentiles."
PSALM XCVII. VER.
1-6. 183
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 Myyx on the basis of Gen. x. 5, and espe-
cially
of Ps. lxxii. 10, is a favourite expression of Isaiah, parti-
cularly
in the second part, (in the first part xxiv. 15); who dwells
with
peculiar delight upon the relation of the heathen world to the
approaching
glorious revelations of the Lord. Chapter xliv. 10,
12,
is particularly appropriate where the islands and their inhabi-
tants
are exhorted to sing to the Lord because of his deeds on
behalf
of
appear
as participators of the salvation.—The first clause of ver.
2
is taken from Deut. v. 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. Ex. xix. 16,
18, Ps. xviii.
9,
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.
Ps. 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
Ps. lxxxix. 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. Ps. 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,"
184 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
is
to be understood only virtually, "as soon as they present them-
selves
before him," (comp. at Ps. xviii. 8, Delitzsch on Hab. iii.
5),
for ver. 1-3 have to do only with the appearance of the Lord;
in
itself the effects which flow from it are first described in ver.
4-6.—Ver.
4. is from Ps. lxxvii. 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
Ps.
lvii. 18 is the original passage. On htxr, comp. Ps. lvii.
16.—On
ver. 5 comp. Micha i. 4, "and the mountains flowed
down
under him and the valleys were cleft, as wax before the
fire."
The preter. stands there also proph. The words which
there
belong to the declaration of the judgment upon
here
employed as part of the description of the judgment upon
the
heathen world, of which that upon
prophecy,
comp. 1 Pet. iv. 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 iv. 13.—The first half of ver. 6 is from Ps. 1.6. The
heavens
make known the righteousness of God there, in so far as
his
judging word making known his
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
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 Is. xl. 5, "and the
glory
of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it;"
comp.
lxvi. 18, xxxv. 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, 0 Lord. Ver. 9.
For thou, Lord, art the
Most High over the whole earth, highly
PSALM XCVII. VER. 7-12. 185
exalted 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. Is. xlii. 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,"
xliv.
9. vvHtwh
is, according to Ps. xcvi. 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 Mylylx, and the observations
made at Ps.
xcvi.
5), only for the purpose of exhibiting the Lord as triumph-
ing
over them; comp. Ex. xii. 12, Num. xxxiii. 4, "and upon
their
gods has the Lord executed judgment;" xix. 1, "be-
hold
the Lord rideth upon a swift cloud, and cometh to
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, Heb. i. 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;
"
cause
of thy judgments," to which passage, also, Isaiah alludes
in
chap. xl. 9. Hears it, namely, that
the Lord judges, as he
did
on a former occasion, under the king, whose name was so
gloriously
verified. The daughters of
tion
to Sion, the remaining cities of
186 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
allude
to the name of Jehosaphat, "because of thy judgments,
0
Lord," we are not to comp. Ps. xcvi. 13. The discourse there
is
of an entirely different judgment.—On the first half of ver. 9,
comp.
Ps. lxxxiii. 18, from which it is taken word for word: our
passages
serves to confirm the interpretation there given. On
the
second half, comp. Ps. xlvii. 9, "the princes of the nations
are
gathered together to the nation of the God of Abraham, for
the
shields of the earth are God's: he is highly exalted." The
conclusion is borrowed from both
Psalms. It is 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. Ps.
xxxiv.
13, Rom, xii. 9, 2 Tim. ii. 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,
Ps. cxii. 4, "light arises, Hrz, 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 Ps. xxxii. 11, which, in that passage,
also
forms the conclusion; and the second half from Ps. xxx. 4.
PSALM
XCVIII.
In the first strophe, ver. 1-3,
after a short exhortation to
praise
the Lord, the object of the praise is given,—the Lord has
redeemed
his people in a wonderful manner. The second strophe,
ver.
4-6, shews how this praise is to be rendered: all means
a Ven.: "Now light is said to be scattered when
the rising sup spreads his rays
plentifully
in every direction."
PSALM XCVIII. VER. 1-3. 187
which,
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 rmzm,
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. iii. does to chap. i. and
ii.,
and as Is. xlii. 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 rmzm, the originality of which is attested by
the
doubled vrmz
and the hrmz
in ver. 5 and 6: it is manifestly
with
reference to the title that such strong prominence is given to
the
rmz.
In favour of this view we may urge
first, the contents
of
the two Psalms, second, the analogy of the title of Ps. c., which
is
related to Ps. xcix., exactly as ours is to Ps. xcvii., and third,
the
formal 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
and
only towards the conclusion points, as an addition, to Ps.
xcvi.,
to salvation for the whole earth as
closely bound up with
this.
Ver. 1-3. The object of the praise
of the Lord.—Ver. 1. Sing
to the Lord a new song,
for he 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
188 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
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 Ps. xcvi. The
exhortation here also is directed
not
to
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 Ps. xcvii.—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
lix.
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 lxiii. 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 Ps. xcvii., 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
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. Jud. vii. 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."
PSALM XCVIII. VER.
4-6. 189
many
for me to give the Midianites into their hands, lest
vaunt
themselves against me, and say, Mine own hand hath saved
me."
"His holy arm" is from Is. lii. 10: "And the Lord has
made
bare his holy arm" (in the deliverance of Sion) comp. xl.
10,
li. 9. The "holy" is awful,
infinitely removed above every
creature,
comp. at Ps. xxii. 3.—Ver. 2 and 3 depend upon Isaiah
lii.
10: "The Lord has made bare his
holy arm before the eyes
of
all nations, and all the ends of the earth see the salvation of
our
God." The references to this passage run through the three
verses
which mark out the object of the song
of praise, and the
whole
strophe must manifestly be regarded as an expansion of
that
fundamental prophetical passage. His
righteousness: comp.
Ps.
xcvii. 6. For the people of the Lord, salvation is the expres-
sion
of his righteousness, which gives to
every one his own: he
has
promised them salvation; comp. "his faithfulness," in ver. 3
and
Rom. xv. 8, 9.—The first half of ver. 3 alludes to Is. lxiii. 7.
Mercy and faithfulness: comp. Ps. xcii. 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
Ps. xcvii. 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 Ps. lxvi., a Psalm which belongs to the
time
of Hezekiah, only that Myhlxl: is there; comp. also Ps,
xlvii.
"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
liar
to Isaiah, comp. xiv. 7, xliv. 23: "break
out, ye mountains,
in
joy" (the material fundamental
passage), xlix. 13, liv. 1;
still
more so, however, is the "break out and rejoice," comp.
lii.
9: "break out and rejoice together,
ye ruins of
—the
formal fundamental passage. On vrmz comp. Ps. xlvii. 6.
—The
hrmz lvq, is from. Is. li. 3.—On "before the Lord the
190 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
King,
comp. Is. vi. 5. It looks back to the expression, "the
Lord
reigneth," jlm, in Ps. xcvii. 1, and is equivalent to
"be-
fore
the Lord who has now set up his kingdom, and brought the
whole
earth under his subjection."
In the last strophe, ver. 7-9, who should
rejoice: in the pre-
ceding
one the intensity, here the extent of the joy.—Ver.
7. Let the sea roar and its fulness, the
world, and them
who dwell upon it. Ver. 8. Let the streams clap their hands,
and the 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 Ps. xcvi. 11. The roaring
suits the fulness of
the
sea as well as the sea itself: it is used, Job xxxix. 25, of
the
loud shout of the human voice. In so far as it is applied to
the
sea it denotes its solemn roar, The second clause is literally
from
Ps. xxiv. 1.—The clapping of the hands is an expression of
joy,
comp. for example Ps. xlvii, 1, and was employed as such
especially
at the commencement of the reign of earthly kings,
comp.
2 Kings xi. 12: "and they clapped the hands, and said
long
live the king." The fundamental passage is Is. lv. 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 Ps.
xcvi.
13.
PSALM XCIX.
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 points
PSALM XCIX. 191
in
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," Is. 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, Ps. xci.–c., it is most closely con-
nected
with Ps. xcv. 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 Ps. lxxviii. 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.
192 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
Ver. 1. The Lord reigneth, the nations tremble, he who sitteth
upon the cherubim, the
earth, shakes.—On
"the Lord reigneth,"
comp.
Ps. xciii. 1, xcvi. 10, xcvii. 1. The futures are not opta-
tives,
but are to be taken prophetically as at Ps. xciii. 1, xcvi. 10.
Otherwise,
instead of Fvnt, 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 Ps. xcvi.
9.
By alluding to the future trembling of the people the Psalmist
designs
to furnish a means of strength to the church trembling at
the
present and the immediately future periods; the nations who
now
proudly rise up against the Lord and his kingdom, and before
whom
the heart of the people is moved like the moving of the
trees
before the wind.b The church of the Lord may have trouble
and
sorrow for a time, but the promise of Deut. ii. 25, will always
in
the end be fulfilled; "I will this day begin to give thy terror
and
thy fear over the nations which are under the whole heaven
who
hear of thy report and tremble and quake before thee."
When
her king appears it is the world's
turn to tremble. Perhaps
allusion
is made to the other sense of zgr "to be
angry," Ps, iv.
4.
The Mymf,
stands poetically without an article. That the
nations
generally are meant is evident from the parallel, "the
earth,"
and the last verse of Ps. xcviii., and also. Ps. xcvi. 7-10.
Before
the second clause, we must supply "the Lord reigneth;"
and
"who sitteth upon the cherubims" equivalent to the God of the
whole
earth," Ps. xcvii. 5, (comp. at Ps. lxxx. 1) belongs in reality
to
both clauses. The two clauses, therefore, are equivalent to "the
Lord
who sits upon the cherubim reigneth, therefore the 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."
PSALM XCIX. VER. 2-5. 193
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 Sam. iv. 4, 2 Sam. vi.
2,
2 Kings xix. 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. Ps. xlviii. 1. The discourse is not of the greatness
of
the Lord in general, but of that greatness which he acquires by
the
glorious revelation of the future.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 Ps. c.) The nations had been
last
spoken of, and if the subject had been changed there would
have
been some intimation of it given. In the lyric part, the 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
praise
for all nations, as in Ps. xcviii. 3, 4; comp. also Ps.
lxxxvi.
9, "all nations shall come and worship before thee, 0
Lord,
and give glory to thy name." The expression, "shall praise
thy
name," is equivalent to " shall praise thee glorious by thy
deeds."
The "great and terrible" is from Deut. x. 17, "for the
Lord
thy God is the God of gods, the Lord of lords, the great
God
and terrible," comp. xxviii. 58,
"that thou fear this name
a Ven.: "He shews that he is
the exalted and most powerful King and avenger of
his
people in
194 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
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. Ps. xxii. 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 zf means nothing else than
strength,
not splendour or fame, &c. (comp. at Ps. xxix. 1), and
occurs
even in this sense in other passages of this series of Psalms,
Ps.
xciii. 1, xci. 6, 7. On "who loveth
right," comp. Ps. xxxiii. 5,
xxxvii.
28, "for 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.
Ps. lxviii. 10), is to bring his
righteous
way to a firm standing: this happens when God judges
righteously,
comp. at Ps. lxxv. 2, lviii. 1, xcvi. 10. The last
words
allude to 2 Sam. 15: "and David was
king over all
What
was there said of
in
future times in all its truth by his invisible true King,—comp.
PSALM XCIX. VER. 6-9. 195
"and
the strength of the King."—On
"exalt," in ver. 5, comp.
Ps.
xxx. 1, xxxiv. 3. The exhortation to worship
occurs also
in
Ps. xcv. 6, xcvi. 9, xcvii. 7. The footstool
of the Lord is
every
where the ark of the covenant, which
he who sitteth upon
the
cherubim touched as it were with his feet, comp. 1 Chron.
xxviii.
2, "to build an house where the ark of the Lord rested,
and
the footstool of our God," Ps. cxxxii. 7, Lam. ii. 1, "the
place
of my foot," Is. lx. 13. Even Is. lxvi. 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 hvHtwh,
is
an expression of constant occurrence, with the l of the object
to
whom worship is due; and it occurs in this way in Ps. xcvi. 9,
xcvii.
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. Is. xlv. 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. 0 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 the
196 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
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 ver. 7 and 8. The observations made at Ps. liv. 4 are
applicable
to the b. 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 sxrq
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. Ex. xix. 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, Lev. viii.
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.
Ex.
xvii., for example, shews that Moses exercised this priestly
function,
when by his intercession for the people he decided the
contest
against Amalek, Ex. xxxii. 31, 32, Ps. cvi. 23. Samuel
fulfilled
this calling especially when the Israelites were oppressed
by
the Philistines, comp. 1 Sam. 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-
PSALM XCIX. VER. 6-9. 197
sible
to mistake, to the books of Samuel. The lesson, therefore,
here
imparted to
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,
Ex.
xxxiii. 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, Deut.
xxxi.
15, but also to Aaron, Num. xii. 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.
Ex.
xxv. 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
Ps.
xciii. 5. "He gave the law to them," is from Ex. xv. 25,
where
Moses, as a reward for his faithfulness to the Lord, and
especially
for having maintained his faith in temptation, 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 passage
198 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
already
quoted, for example, shews how Moses obtained the law
as
a reward for his faithful following of the commandments of
the
Lord, and Num. xii. 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 Sam.
viii.
6 ss., and also towards Saul, 1 Sam. xv. 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 Mtynf, which is a repetition
of
Mnfy in ver. 6, refers to those previously named. On
the other
hand,
the suffixes in Mhl and in Mtvlylf 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, in
PSALM XCIX. VER. 199
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 tvlylf,—the word, which is used of
the
actions of men only in a bad sense, denotes always only sins
properly
so called, never mere inadvertencies (comp. at Ps. xiv.
1);
in Ps. liii. it is explained by lvf, 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
Mtvlylf 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. Deut. i. 37, iii. 26, iv. 21,
Beitr.:
the history makes no mention, even of sins of infirmity;
in
the case of Samuel. The transition to the people is all the
more
easy, as the persons named had a representative character,
for
they did not pray for themselves but for the people, obtained
hearing
and forgiveness on their behalf, and as they are here set
up
as an example for the people. The whole verse is a para-
phrase
of Ex. xxxiv. 7, from which the xWn 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.
lf
is to be supplied to the Mqn. In this
case even
the
lx
is better explained, with which the word Mqn, is not any
where
else joined. Allusion is made especially to the punish-
ment
of the whole congregation, Num. xiv. 20-23, as the great-
est
example of the wrath of God against evil-doers, comp. Ps.
xcv.
11. The exhortation, "exalt the Lord our God," &c., has
its
basis not less in the reference to the inexorable judgment of
God,
than in that to his forgiving grace. In both
appears
as the awful and the holy God, infinitely exalted both
above
the love and above the wrath of human passion.
the
act of forgiving them, ought to be celebrated,—this, however, is foreign from
their
case."
200 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
PSALM
C.
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 Ps. xcix.
exactly as Ps. xcviii. is to
Ps.
xcvii. It is the lyrical portion of the divided whole, the
Psalm
in the Psalm. This is pointed out by the title, "a Psalm
for
the praise of the Lord," on account
of the glorious mani-
festations of his nature
announced in Ps. xcix., whose origi-
nality
is guaranteed by the hdvtb and the vdvh 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 Ps. xcix.: it is assuredly
with
design that it is put at the end of the whole series, the
ecumenic
character of which becomes very obvious in it at the
close.a
Ver. 1. Shout for joy to the Lord all the world.—Comp. Ps.
xcviii.
4. The Crxh lk stands there, and in the fundamental
passage,
Ps. lxvi. 1, undoubtedly, of the whole earth. By the
a The connection with
Psalm xcix. was, upon the whole, correctly seen by Brentz
"The
hundredth Psalm very seasonably follows the ninety-ninth. For, in the one,
there
is contained a commendation of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the majesty of his
kingdom;
and, in the other, an exhortation, short, indeed, but joyful, to praise and
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.”
PSALM C. VER.
2-5. 201
"shout"
is understood specially the shout of a
king, comp. at
Ps.
ii. 11; the "serve," therefore, of the following verse, is com-
prehended
under the "shout." The 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 Ps. ii. 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 Ps.
lxxii.
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
Ps. xlvi. 11, which
passage,
again, depends upon the fundamental one, Deut. vii. 9.
Know
that I am God, exclaims God in Ps. xlvi. to the proud
heathen,
on the ground of the annihilation of Senacherib's army
before
the gates of
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."
202 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
the
"he has made us," there must in reality be supplied a “for,”
comp.
ver. 5. Ps. xcix. contains the filling up instead of the
general
expression:—we are indebted to him for the entire glory,
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.
Ps. xcviii. 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, Ps. xcv. 6, which shows that the
hWf, stands in an independent position,—but
"his people and
his
pasture-sheep" (comp. Ps. xcv. 7), as in opposition to the
suffix
in vnWf 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 vl for xl substituted,—a reading
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
ready
done for
that
Jehovah is God. Ez. xxix. 3, is exactly parallel to the
text-reading,
where Pharaoh says: my river is my own, and I
have
made myself.a --On "to his courts," in ver. 4,
comp. Ps.
xcii.
14, xcvi. 8; on "bless his name," Ps. xcvi. 2; and, on the
whole
contents of the verse, Is. lvi. 7, "my house shall be called
an
house of prayer for all nations," and chap. lx., where the pil-
grimages
of all the nations of the earth to the sanctuary of the
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 Hävernick 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.
PSALM C. VER. 2-5. 203
tion
of all the nations of the earth in the
appears
here as it does in the prophets in an Old Testament
form
and dress: the nations of the earth praise the Lord in loud
harmonious
chorus in the same sanctuary in which now only the
weak
song of praise of a single little nation is heard. But that
this
dress even under the Old Testament itself was known as such,
is
evident from passages such as those of Is. lxvi. 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. Ps. xxv. 8, "good and
upright is the Lord,"
xxxiv. 9, lxxxvi. 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. Is. liv. 8, 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
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.
204 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
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:
Psalm
xci., an expression of joyful confidence in the help of God
in
all troubles and dangers; Ps. xcii., the greatness of God, which
brings
on the destruction of the wicked, and the salvation of the
just;
Ps. xciii. is then opened with the watch-word, "the Lord
reigneth,"
which henceforward is uttered on all sides, and applied
for
comfort and exhortation. The whole ends in the exhortation
addressed
to the whole earth to serve the Lord and to praise him,
and
to give him glory for the 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.
PSALM
CI.
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-
PSALM CI. 205
vants
to be careful, and to take zealous care, by rigid observance
of
righteousness, to root out the wicked from the city of
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
Ps. ci.–ciii., 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 Ps.
ciii.,
which begins with the words, "praise the Lord, 0 my soul,
and
all that is within me his holy name" (comp. especially ver.
6,
8, 11, 17); and that Ps. cii., "the prayer of the miserable when
he
is afflicted and pours out his complaint before the Lord," is the
full
expansion of the cry, "when wilt thou come to me."
The plan and connection of the three
divided whole, in a few
words,
is this: if my children only remain in the ways of the
Lord,
Ps. ci. 2-8, they may confidently call upon him in all
trouble,
Ps. cii.; and the end of the song shall always be: praise
the
Lord, 0 my soul, Ps. ciii.
The passage which contains the whole
substance of our Psalm,
is
expressly indicated in Ps. ciii. 17, 18, "the mercy of the Lord
206 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
endureth
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
Ps.
xviii., 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 Ps.
xviii.,
(comp. vol. i., p. 311, ss.), Ps. xxi., 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, 0 my soul." Our
Psalm
is hence an indirect exhortation to
the successors of David
on
the throne, and to the
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 Ps. ci.-ciii.,
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 Psalm ci.,
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.
PSALM CI.
VER. 1. 207
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.
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
the
nation. At all events, therefore, the Psalm must belong to a
period
later than that referred to at 2 Sam. vi. 2. The Psalm
has
for its basis the promise made to David by Nathan, 2 Sam.
vii.
It was by this promise that David first got the assurance,
that
unlike Samuel he would continue to reign in the 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, 0 Lord,
will I sing praise.—Many
expositors give:
I
will, as well-pleasing to thee, 0 Lord, sing of the mercy and
righteousness,
which I will manifest in my government. But
against
this we have the parallel and derived passage, Ps. lxxxix.
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, hvhyl rmz, is expressed on the basis
of
Jud. v. 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. Ps. xiii. 6, xviii. 49, ix. 11, xxx:
4,
12, xxxiii. 2, lxviii. 4 (where, in a peculiar manner, the ex-
pression
in Jud. v. 3 stands forward as the fundamental passage)
208 THE BOOK OF PSALMS
lxxi.
22, 23; still further, that in the following part of the Psalm
there
are no traces whatever of the mercy
which the king intends
to
show, for that ver. 6 contains no such is clear as day, the
choice
of trustworthy persons as servants of the king appears
there
only as the 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 Ps. ciii. For every where, where a si-
milar
expression occurs, and, in particular, previous to this, in
the
fundamental passage, and, in like manner, in Ps. lxxxix., 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
lykWh,
to act wisely, pru-
dently, in opposition to the
stupid conduct of the heathen, comp.
at
Ps. xiv. 2. lykWh 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,
Ps.
cxix. 99. David had himself practised
what he enjoins his
posterity,
and recommends as the sure means of salvation. We
read
in 1 Sam. xviii. 14, 15, where the words, in all probability,
are
taken from the lips of David, "And David walked wisely in
all
his ways, and the Lord was 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 h of effort.
It
regulates the following futures, and shows that they too are to
be
taken in the sense of resolutions and purposes. The Mymt
PSALM CI. VER. 2-4 209
as
a predicate of the way, occurs in Ps. xviii. 30, 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. Ps. xviii. 23, 25, xv. 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 Ps. cii. depends upon Ex. xx. 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 Ps. cii., which makes itself known as the expansion of
the
cry, "When wilt thou come to me?" by the clauses at the
very
beginning, "Lord, hear my prayer, and let my cry come
before
thee," according to which the coming of the Lord here can
only
be such a coming as goes hand in hand with the coming of
the
cry of the miserable to him. A host of different interpreta-
tions,
like Luther's entirely arbitrary one, "with those who be-
long
to me," are set aside by the simple remark, that ytm is never
any
thing else than an interrogative "when;" it is so even in
Prov.
xviii. 35; comp. Michaelis on the passage. The 8th verse ren-
ders
it impossible to think of the coming of the ark
of the cove-
210 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
nant. On the "in the
blamelessness of my heart," comp. the
three
dependant passages, Ps. lxxviii. 72, 1 Kings iii. 14, where
the
Lord says to Solomon, "And thou, if thou shalt walk before
me
as David thy father walked," "in the blamelessness of his
heart,"
Prov. xx. 7, "The righteous walks in his 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 lfylb rbd, the wicked action, in ver. 3,
comp.
at Ps. xli. 8. The MyFs, is not an adjective, but a subst.,a
comp.
Prov. xxi. 3, "to execute righteousness and judgment is
more
pleasant to the Lord than sacrifices." The MyFw occurs
in
Hos. v. 2, undoubtedly in the sense of departureb from God and
from
his commandments, comp: the Fvw = hFw, Ps. xl. 4, and
the
latter word, Num. v. 12, 19. "It shall not cleave to me," is
from
Deut. xiii. 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.
Ps.
xviii. 26. Prov. xi. 20 is made up of this clause, and of ver.
2:
"An abomination to the Lord are
those of a perverted heart,
but
such as are blameless in their way are his delight," comp.
also
xvii. 20, "He who is of a perverted heart finds no good."
In
the second clause, we cannot translate the wicked
man, but
only
the wicked thing (Ps. xxxiv. 16, lii.
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.
a
jectively.
b
PSALM CI. VER. 5-8. 211
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. Ps. xv.
3.
David had himself, in Saul's time, experienced the ruinous
consequences
of slander prevailing in the court. The reading in
the
text is yniw;Olm; the part. in
which
comp. Ewald, § 211); the reading in the margin yniw;lAm;, the
part,
in Pi. instead of yniw;lam;, like UHc;rAt;, Ps. lxii. 3. This
peculiar
expression was, in all probability, formed by David him-
self
as a denom. from Nvwl. The verb occurs elsewhere only in
Prov.
xxx. 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 Ps. xv.
3.
The very determined expression, "I will extirpate," suits
very
well in David's mouth. High eyes and a proud heart are
also
joined together in Prov. xxi. 4. The latter of these terms
is
expressive of high-minded self-conceit,
and not of desire (Ew.),
as
is manifest from Prov. xxviii. 25, where to the wide-hearted
we
find opposed the man who trusts in the Lord, and love of
strife appears as the outward
expression of wide-heartedness;
comp.
ch. xv. 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 lkvx xl, I cannot, I am not
grown for it, it is
beyond my strength,
comp. Is. i. 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 of
212 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
a
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. Prov. xii. 3,
where
sliding stands opposed to being
established. Should liars
succeed
in stealing into the king's house, they shall not, at least,
obtain
there a lasting abode.—On Myrqbl, every morning, in
ver.
8, comp. Ps. lxxiii. 14. It points to the unwearied zeal of
the
king, renewed every morning in rooting out the wicked. The
words
have, in the first instance, the sense of an impressive 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 Jer. xxi. 12: "0 house of David,
thus
saith the Lord, execute judgment in the morning." And as
the
house of David reached its apex in Christ, the words have also
the
force of a prophecy. The second clause points to the basis on
which
the zeal displayed in recompensing the wicked rests: a king
who
has been placed over the people of the Lord has been laid under
obligations
of a peculiarly binding nature. The city
of the Lord
is
Sion or
lxxxvii.
3. This was from the time the sanctuary
was settled
there,
in a spiritual sense the abode of the whole of
at
Ps. xxviii. 4, lxxxiv. 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.”
PSALM CII. 213
PSALM CII.
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, 0 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 hlpt,
comp.
at the title of Ps. xc. The remark there made, that hlpt,
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 hlpt; in ver. 1 it stands
in
parallel to the cry. On JFf comp. at Ps. lxi. 2. On
"when
he
pours out," comp. Ps. lxii. 8, "trust in him at all times, ye
people,
pour out your heart before him" with its cares and sor-
rows.
On Hyw
comp. at Ps. lv. 2, lxiv. 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.
214 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
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 Ps. ci. and ciii., comp
at
Ps. ci. 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 Ps. ci., 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
Ps. ciii., ver. 15-17.
The suppliant prays and hopes
sometimes for himself and
sometimes
for Sion. The obvious explanation of this is, that the
king
is the personified aggregate of the people, and especially
that
the prosperity and sufferings of
bound
up with the fate of the family of David. Comp. in
reference
to this the very characteristic passage, Lam. iv. 20,
"Our
breath, the anointed of the Lord was taken in their pits of
whom
we said, Under his shadow we shall live among the nations."
The reference to the family of David
is intentionally less pro-
minent
here and also in Ps. ciii. than it is in Ps. ci. The title
itself
shews that next to its main design in connection with Ps.
ci.,
it was generally designed for suffering righteousness.
The representation, which here lies
at the bottom, of severe
sufferings
awaiting the royal family and Sion, must be 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 prospects
PSALM CII. VER. 1-10. 215
for
the future are cast after the mould of his own personal ex-
perience.
Ver. 1-10.—Ver. 1. 0 Lord, hear my prayer and let my cry
come to thee. Ver. 2. Hide not thy face from me, in the day
when I am in trouble
incline to me thine ear, in the day when
I call hear me speedily. Ver. 3. For my days vanish like
smoke and my bones glow
like a firebrand.
Ver. 4. My heart
is smitten like grass
and withered, for I forget to eat my bread.
Ver.
5. On account of the voice of my sighing
my bone cleaves
to my flesh. Ver. 6. 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 Ps. iv. 1, xvii. 1. On "Let my cry
come
to thee," comp. Ps. ci. 2, and Ps. xviii. 6, "And my cry
comes
before him into his ear." This prayer, bearing upon the
future,
has for its foundation what, according to that passage,
David
had already experienced. In the
ticularly
in the
the
preterite.—In ver. 2, after "hide not thy face from me" (lit.
Ps.
xxvii. 9, comp. Ps. there must be a point, because as
"incline
thine ear to me" (comp. Ps. xvii. 6, xxxi. 2) corresponds
to
"answer me," "in the day when I am troubled," (Ps. lix. 16,
comp.
xviii. 6, lxix. 17), corresponds to "in the day when I call"
(Ps.
lvi. 9). On "hear me speedily," comp. Ps. xxxi. 2. David
designedly
puts into the lips of his suffering family the same
words
which had already been heard when uttered by him in his
own
trouble. Behind the fore-ground of simple petitions there
is
everywhere concealed a rich back-ground of invitations to hope
and
confidence.—On the first half of ver. 4 comp. Ps. xxxvii. 20,
"For
the wicked shall perish, and the enemies of the Lord vanish
away
as the joy of lambs, as smoke (properly "into smoke," as
here)
they vanish away," Ps. lxviii. 2. There appears to be a
decided
reference to this passage: the sufferer complains that the
lot
which belongs only to the wicked appears to fall upon him
notwithstanding
his righteousness, Ps. ci. Where this last exists,
216 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
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 dqvm signifies neither fire nor a
hearth,
but something that is burnt, a firebrand;
the feminine
hdqvm, Lev. vi. 2, used of the whole heap of
fuel, corresponds to
the
plural, firebrands, in Is. xxxiii. 14. The rHn is burnt, has
been
kindled, Ps. lxix. 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. Ps. vi. 2, xxxi. 10,
xlii.
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. Jer. xx. 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 (Ps. cxxi. 6),
or
in any other way, comp. Jon. iv. 7, "And the worm smote the
gourd,
and it withered." What the sap is for plants, which is
withdrawn
when they are smitten, that nourishment is for the
heart
of men, comp. Ps. civ. 15, "Bread strengtheneth man's
heart;"
Gem xviii. 5,—without nourishment, it is as if it were
struck,
and were withering away. The yk corresponding to the
Nm ver. 5, is hence altogether suitable as an
affirming particle,
and
we cannot translate with Luther; "so that I forget," comp.
1
Sam. xxxiii. 20, where it is said of Saul, "There was no
strength
in him, for he had eaten no bread that whole day and
that
whole night." On "I forget to eat my bread," i. e., all
pleasure
in eating has left me, comp. Ps. cvii. 18, "Their soul
abhorreth
all manner of food," 1 Sam. xx. 34, where Jonathan
eats
nothing in consequence of distress about David, 1 Sam. i. 7,
where
it is said of Hannah, "she wept and ate nothing," 1 Kings
xxi.
4.—On "because of the voice of my sighing," in ver. 5,
comp.
Ps. xxxi. 10, "For my life is spent with grief and my
years
with sighing," Ps. xxxii. 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 Ps.
xxii. 17. But this is mani-
PSALM CII. VER. 1-10. 217
festly
to accommodate not to expound. There, and in the
dependant
passage, Job xix. 20, "My bone cleaveth to my skin
and
to my flesh," that state of weakness and relaxation of the
bones
is manifestly described, which is brought on by severe pain
and
long continued distress, when they lose their force and vi-
gorous
power of motion; comp. the opposite in Is. lviii. 11, lxvi.
14,
and the parallel passage: they cleave on, hang upon the flesh
as
the feeble and exhausted tongue does in a beast of burden,
comp.
also Ps. cxxxvii. 6, (where qbd occurs also with l) and
xxii.
15.—In the second half of the first
strophe we have the
loneliness
of the sufferer—enemies all round, and nowhere in the
whole
world a helper—as in the first his misery.—As the dqw
in
ver. 7 signifies to watch only in the sense of to keep watch, we
must
assume that there is an abbreviated comparison: I watch as
constantly
as one who stands upon the watch, comp. Ps. lxxvii. 6.
The
watching according to the connection and the comparison is
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. Ps. xlii.
10.
The part in Poel llvhm, occurs in Song of Sol. ii. 2
in
the sense of mad. Here "my mad
ones," with a word to be
supplied
from the first clause, stands instead of "my mad enemies."
They swear by me, inasmuch as they say:
may God let it go
with
you or me as it does with that miserable man, comp. Num.
v.
21, 27, Jer. xxix. 22, Is. lxv. 15, Ps. xliv. 14.—In ver. 8, 9,
we
have the ground of the reproach of the enemies against the
solitary
one, his deep misery.a The mourner sits on the ground
as
descriptive of his low state and his being struck down, Is. iii.
26,
or lays himself upon it, Ps. xliv. 25, where are dust and ashes,
(Is.
xlvii. 1, lii. 2), which are swallowed by him who lies or sits
there;
comp. Is. lxv. 25, "the serpent, dust is its meat," and
the
phrase "to lick the dust of the 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 xxx. 19, xlii. 6, partly interchanged
with
it, as Job ii. 8 and ver 12. Instead of "I mingle my drink
with
weeping," some read "I weep instead of eat," comp. at Ps.
xlii.
3, lxxx. 5; here the tears fall into the drink.—On "because
of
thy wrath and anger," in ver. 10, comp. Ps. xxxviii, 1, 3. In
the
second clause the expression is taken from a storm of wind,
which
first lifts up the object which it seizes, and then dashes it
to
the ground; comp. Job xxvii. 21, "an east wind carrieth him
away,
and 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, 0
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 repetition
which
resumes the subject, and finally from the ynx
to which
the
"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
Ps.
lxii. 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, Ps. cix. 23, cxliv. 4.
The
discourse, according to the preceding context, does not relate
"generally
to the sudden destruction of the transitory life of man,"
but
to the destruction which specially threatens the family of
David
and the
also
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,
PSALM CII. VER.
11-47. 219
but
a sitting as king, a sitting on a throne,
comp. at Ps. xxix.
10,
"the Lord sitteth as King for ever," and Ps. ix. 7, "and the
Lord
is enthroned for ever." Though the 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 Ps. xxx. 4. Allusion is
here
made to the historical manifestations of the exceeding love
of
God towards his people and towards David, in whom the whole
people
were comprehended for eternity under one head. God
can
never disown his own manifested character. Lam. v. 19 de-
pends
on our verse, "And thou, 0 Lord, sittest for ever, thy
throne
is from generation to generation."—On "thou shalt rise,"
in
ver. 13, comp. Ps. iii. 7, xii. 5, lxviii. 1. On "thou shalt
have
mercy on Sion, Ps. ciii. 13. By the point
of time (comp.
at
Ps. lxxv. 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 Hcr, in ver. 13, with the accus. is to find
pleasure
in ally thing, Ps. lxii. 4; Job xiv. 6; Ps. lxxxv. 1.
That
the stones and the dust of Sion are not to be considered here
220 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
as
materials for its new erection (Luther, for thy servant would
be
glad that it were rebuilt, and would see with pleasure its stones
and
lime prepared) is manifest from the "mourned over." We
are
hence by stones and dust to understand the ruins and the rub-
bish,
comp. Neh. iii. 34, iv. 4. There lies at the foundation a
comparison
of the
in
ruins, and probably there is a special allusion to Lev. xiv. 45,
where
it is said of the leprous house, the type of the unclean
church,
"And he destroys the house, its stones,
and its wood, and
all
the dust of the house, and brings it out before the city to an 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 Ps. lxix. 35, vol. ii.
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
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,
Ps. lxviii. 28 ss. Is. lix. 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.
PSALM CII. VER. 18-27. 221
the
heathen shall be moved to fear the Lord, relate not to an ex-
ternal,
but to an inward sight. The rfrf, 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;
Ps
xxii. 4, lxix. 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
nations assemble all
together and the kingdoms to serve the
Lord. Ver. 23. He has weakened in the way his strength,
shortened my days. Ver. 24. I say: My God, take me not
away at the half of my
days, thy years continue for ever and
ever. Ver. 25. Thou hast of old founded the earth, and the
heavens are the work of
thy hands.
Ver. 26. They shall perish
"and thou
remainest, and they shall all like a garment wax
old, like to a vesture
thou changest them, and they shall be
changed. Ver. 27. And thou art he, and thy years have no
end.—On ver. 18, comp. Ps.
xxii. 30, "it shall be told of the
Lord
to the (future) generation," xlviii. 13, lxxviii. 4, according
to
which parallel passages we cannot translate "may it," but
only
"it shall be written." The xrbn Mf is, according to the
dlvn Mf in Ps. xxii. 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 Ps. xxxiii. 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 Ps. xiv. 2. The fundamental passage is Deut. xxvi.
15,
“look from thy holy habitation, from heaven, and bless thy
people
used
hqnx
in ver. 21, in all only four times, is probably a word of
David's
own formation, comp. Ps. xii. 5. In reference to the ynb
htvmt, the
dying, comp. at Ps. lxxix. 11. There can be the
222 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
less
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, Ps. xviii. 4, 5.
On
ver. 21 compare Ps. xxvi. 7. Those who
make known are partly
Lord.—On
ver. 23 compare Ps. xxii. 27, lxviii. 32, ii. 11. The
second
half of the strophe begins, apparently only in ver. 23, with
a
renewed complaint. This serves merely
as the foundation
and
ascent to confidence. That this way
is the way of life, is
manifest
from ver. 24, compare Ps. lv. 23. Allusion is made, as ap-
pears
to Ex. xviii. 8, "and all the travel that had come upon them
by
the way, and how the Lord delivered them" (compare Numb.
xvii.
27, 28, xx. 14); and the sense is, as on a former occasion, in
the
way through the wilderness. David and
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. Ps. ciii.
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 yHk instead of vHk. 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, Ps. ciii. 5. The hlf 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 hlf, is used as referring to this in
Gen.
xix. 28, Jer xlviii. 15, where it is used instead of to go
away in smoke. To be hurried off in
the middle of their days is
the
lot of the wicked (compare Ps. Iv. 23), from whose way of
thinking
the Psalmist had separated himself in Ps. ci., and on
the
ground of which he here prays that he may not be involved
in
their fate. The second clause in reality is connected with the
first
by a "for." It contains the basis
of the prayer uttered
there:
for thou art eternal, and therefore also thy mercy and
PSALM CII. VER. 18-27. 223
grace
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 Ps. viii. 3, xix. 2,
xxiv.
2, xxxiii. 6. Reference is not made here to the fact of the
creation
of the world, in proof of the eternity of God—for the
subject
after ver. 24 and 27 is not the eternity but the 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.—Is. li. 6 depends upon ver. 26: there are other
undoubted
traces in the second part of Isaiah of use having been
made
of Ps. ci.-ciii. 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
JlH is
to perish, as in Ps. xc. 5, 6, in
Hiph. to change.
The
change refers not to the origin of a new heavens and a new
earth,
Is. lxv. 17, lxvi. 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
(Matth.
xix. 28), that is here contemplated, only death, not the
resurrection
and the glorification. Many expositors, on the ground
of
such passages as Job xiv. 12, where in popular language this
last
hidden event is overlooked, or apparently derived (similar
passages
occur also in the New Testament, comp. Matth. v. 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-
224 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
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. liv. 10, Matth. xxiv. 35, Luke xxi. 31, and the proper
classical
passage in the New Testament, 2 Pet. iii. 7, 10, 11. The
foundation
of this doctrine, to which the 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
"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, Deut. xxxii.
39,
"Behold now, I am he," or in the parallel passage, Is. xliii.
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 Is. lxv. 9. The exposition, "if not we, yet,
at
least, our children," is contrary to the fresh spirit of faith of
Scripture,
and without analogy. Shall dwell,—in opposition to
those
who wander about without roof or home, comp. at Ps. lxviii.
6,
more exactly, "dwell in the land of the Lord," Ps. xxxvii.
29,
lxix. 35, 36, with which concluding verse, the one before us
is
very strikingly connected. On "before thee," comp. Gen.
xvii.
1, Ps. lxxxix. 36; the clause "shall be established," Ps.
lxxxix.
37, ci. 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.
PSALM CIII. 225
PSALM CIII.
Praise the Lord, 0 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.
0, my highly favoured soul, do thou also praise him who
rules over the whole world,
and is praised by the whole world,
ver.
19-22.
The Psalm, in regard to number, is
an alphabetical one, har-
monised
in such a way as that the concluding 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 Ps. cii.—David
here
teaches his posterity to render thanks,
as there he had
taught
them to pray: the deliverance from
deep distress which
formed
there the subject of prayer, forms here the subject of
thanks—and
with Ps. ci.; 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-
226 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
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, 0 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
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. Ps. xxxiv. 2, 3. The thrice repeated
“praise,”
properly "bless," (twice at the beginning and once at
the
end), to which the thrice repeated "praise" in ver. 20-22,
corresponds,
stands in reference to the three-membered Mosaic
blessing,
Num. vi. 24-26: the soul, which has experienced the
strength
of the "bless thee," is exhorted to "bless;" he who has
been
blessed and refuses to bless has sunk from the state of a
man
to that of a beast. 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. This
for
the future should be thy only employment." On brq the
inward part, comp. at Ps. v. 9. The
inward part where the
heart
is (comp. Ps. xxxix. 3, "my heart was hot within me),
stands
here in contrast to what is external, the mere lips, with
which
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. Ps. lxii. 4, "with the mouth they bless,
and
with their inward part they curse." The plural of the brq
PSALM CIII. VER. 1-10. 227
and
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 Ps. lxxxvi. 11, 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
Ps. xxii. 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 still
address
our forgetful heart on all occasions. Ah! may we still
impress
upon our souls on all occasions, by the help of the Holy
Ghost,
forget not what good things the Lord has done for thee!
Yea,
"forget not" should always be rung in our hearts, because
they
so early forget. Allusion is made to the words of Moses,
"forget
not the Lord thy God who brought thee out of the land
of
15.
On lmg,
to bestow gifts, compare at Ps. vii. 4. "All his
gifts,"
stands in reference to "all that is in me." It is only he
who
has given sparingly that feels satisfied with half thanks. On
the
first clause of ver. 2 compare Ps. xxv. 11, li. 9, and lxxxvi.
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, Deut.
xxix.
22, "when they see the plagues of this land and the sick-
nesses which the Lord hath laid
on it," and Ex. xv. 26, "If thou
wilt
hearken to the voice of the Lord thy God, . . . I will not
228 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
send
upon thee the sickness which I
brought upon the Egyptians
(in
reference to the plagues of
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 Ps. xvi. 10,
xxx.
9, to which the Psalmist had been very near, comp. “my life
is
near to hell,” Ps. lxxxviii. 3, lxviii. 20, xlviii. 14. The pre-
ceding
Psalm complains of impending danger
of death, and hopes
in
it. Thy life—he, the God of thy life,
Ps. xlii. 8. Who crowns
thee, Ps. lxv. 11, with kindness and compassion, Ps. xxv.
6, xl.
11.—In
ver. 5 all translations are to be set aside as arbitrary,
and
not worth mentioning, which take ydf in any other sense
than
in the only one which is ascertained, and which also occurs
in
Ps. xxxii. 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 Ps.
lvii.
8), and from the fact that to satisfy
the soul as the seat of
the
desires and wishes, is a phrase of constant occurrence, comp.
Ps.
cvii. 9, "for he satisfies the longing soul, and fills the hungry
soul
with good," Is. lxiii. 11, "God satisfies in thirsty places thy
soul,"
Ps. lxiii. 5, xxv. 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, Lam. v. 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 Is. xl. 31, which is commonly appealed to,
but
that it is rather the powerful flight of the eagle that is there
PSALM CIII. VER. 1-10. 229
referred
to, "they mount up on wings like the eagle, they run
and
are not weary," is evident from the parallel, to fly, run,
march. The want of the copula
before the second clause, 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
Ps. lxviii. 5. The tvqdc,
righteousnesses, is manifestations of
righteousness, as MyFpwm
is
right actions.—The ways of the Lord in
ver. 7 are his safe
guidance,
and the making known is a matter-of-fact one; comp.
at
Ps. xxv. 4, "thy ways, 0 Lord, make known to me," instead of
"manifest
to me thy safe guidance,"—our passage serves to con-
firm
the interpretation given there, Ps. lxvii. 2. All these passages
depend
upon Ex. xxxiii. 13, where Moses says to the Lord, "if I
have
found grace in thy sight, make known to me thy ways, and let
me
know thee." Moses speaks there in name of the people whose
soul
he was. The import of the prayer is, that the Lord would make
him
the object of his safe guidance, and make himself known in it.
The
prayer is heard. God promises that he himself will go before
him
and will lead him to rest. The reference of our verse to this
fundamental
passage 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
fydvy
in the sense of a preterite; God always makes known
his
ways to Moses,—the discourse even in the whole paragraph is
of
what God does continually. His mighty
deeds, Ps. ix. 11,
230 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
ixxviii.
11,—Ver. 8 depends upon Ex. xxxiv. 6, comp. the repe-
tition
just as literal in Is. ii. 13, Ps. lxxxvi. 15, and the refe-
rences
as entirely undeniable in Ps. lxxviii. 38, cxi. 4, Nah. i. 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. Ps, xxx. Is. lvii. 16, depends
upon
the first clause: "for I will contend for ever." The circum-
stance
that the tmxv
of the fundamental passage is omitted, shews
how
close is the connection here with the preceding
clause. The
second
clause depends upon Lev. xix. 18, "thou shalt not be re-
vengeful
nor bear any grudge rFt xl, 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. Nah. i. 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 Lev. iii. 5, 12.—That the preterites in ver. 10,
and
also the preceding futures, are to be translated as presents,
and
refer to the constant doings of God, is evident from ver. 11-
14,
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 Lev. xxvi. 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 lmg, to give, in ver 2.
with
the
lf is
to gift, as here, at Ps. xiii. 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 and
PSALM. CIII. VER.
11-22. 231
its 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, 0 my
soul.—In ver. 11 the point of
comparison
is infinity.a The verse is independently allied to
the
two Davidic passages, Ps. xxxvi. 5, lvii. 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 Ps. xxii.
3),
which calls forth child like and unreserved obedience to his
revealed
will. The region of God's fatherly love extends only so
far
as this does. The Psalmist 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. Deut. xxx. 3. What is
there
said of
are
identical with
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 Ps.
lxxviii.
39, lxxxix. 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 rcy, 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."
232 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
vi.
5, viii. 21, Deut. xxxi. 21, and here, according to the reference
to
the fundamental passage, Gen. ii. 7, his physical nature. Ac-
cording
to this passage, "and the Lord God formed
rcyyv
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. rvkz 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 Ps. xc. 1-5 (the transitory
nature,
and the miserable condition of life on earth, leads us to
God
as our only refuge), that David without doubt drew it from
Moses.
The eternal word of the Lord in Is.
xl. 6-8 is opposed
to
men as grass, just as his eternal mercy
is here. That the
borrowing
is on the side of Isaiah is clear from the references in
which
the peculiar 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, rev.
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 Ps. viii. 4)
perishes
as quickly as the grass. How could this breath help,
protect,
heal itself! Comp. Ps. xxxvii. 2. Like a
flower of the
field so he flourishes, for as short a time as
the flower of the field
flourishes
does his existence last; comp. Ps. xc. 6, and the de-
pendant
passage Job xiv. 2, "as a flower he fades and is cut
down."—The
yk 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 (Gen. xli. 6, 23, Jon. iv. 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
vb refers to the spiritual flower, man. On
"and he is not," comp.
PSALM CIII. VER. 11-22. 233
Ps.
xxxvii. 10. His place, namely in
those who come into his
room,
knows him not, would not know him if
he were to return,
so
completely is he unknown and forgotten. The second clause
is
quoted word for word in Job vii. 10.—Ver. 17 and 18 depend
upon
Deut. vii. 9, 11: the faithful God, who keepeth covenant
and
mercy for those who love him, and keep his commandments,
for
a thousand generations. . . And 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
Ps.
xxv. 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, 0 my soul, the Lord,
who
rules over all places with his hands, whom angels above
praise
with their song, whom sun, moon, stars, and all his works
praise.
All serves to lay the foundations for this.—On the first
clause
of ver. 19, comp. Ps. ii. 1, ix. 7, ix. 4. The throne of
God
in heaven stands in contrast to the throne of those who are
usually
called kings, the throne of David itself upon the earth,
the
state of feebleness.—On ver. 20, comp. xxix. 1, 2. The 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
us,
to awaken it to praise God.a The rbg is always a war-
rior,
comp. at Ps. lii. 1. The clause "to listen to the voice
of
his word," comp. Deut. xxvi. 18, xxx. 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.
234 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
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 Ps. xxiv. 10. Here the angels are specially excluded by
ver.
20. Ps. xix. 1 ought to be compared where in like manner
the
heavens and the firmament are enjoined to make known
the
glory of God, which in fact they by their very being praise.—
My soul, ver. 22, thou who hast
received so many special proofs
of
the glory of the Lord, 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."
PSALM CIV.
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 his
PSALM CIV. 235
works
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 God
are
connected together in one Psalm, which deduces from what
God
does in the former, what he will do
for the latter. In the
first
part, ver. 2-5, the strophe of four verses is occupied with the
fundamental
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.
236 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
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
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 Ps. xxix.,
where
the Psalmist describes the greatness of God in a thunder-
storm,
for the purpose of preparing for the church a shield
against
all painful 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-
PSALM CIV. 237
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, 0 my
soul," at the beginning and at
the
end of the Psalm, as also in Ps. ciii., has given occasion to
many
expositors to take up the idea that the title "by David"
applies
also to this Psalm. But these reasons are of no force.
The
expression, "praise the Lord, 0 my soul," may equally
well
be a borrowed one, and really bears the character of such, as
it
stands pretty loose, and the two
Psalms have no such near con-
nection
as to lead us to view it as a bond of
connection between
them.
That the position after Ps. ciii. not only can, but must be
explained
by the later Psalmist appending it to that Psalm, and
that
the transposition of the Davidic Psalms from their natural
place
in the collection of David's, Psalms 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 Ps. ci.-
ciii.—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.
238 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
The Psalm before us stands nearly
related to the one which
follows,
to which again the cvi. 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! 0 Lord my God thou
art very great, majesty
and glory hast thou put on. The two
clauses
of the verse may be considered as separated by a colon.
The
exhortation to praise God is immediately followed by the
praise
of God in its most general extent. The, "My (
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 Ps. xcvi. 6. The wbl, to put on, occurs at
Ps.
xciii. 1, Is. li. 9. He put on these at creation; he makes it
known
in creation, which is continually prolonged in the 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. Ps. xciii. 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.
PSALM CIV. VER. 2-5. 239
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 Tim. vi. 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, Gen. i. 6-8. Like a curtain,—with the same ease, by
his
mere
word, with which a man spreads out a tent-curtain, Is. liv.
2.
Is. xl. 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. i. 7: "God
made
the vaulted sky and divided between the waters which are
under
the vault and the waters which are above the vault." The
waters
above are the materials with which, or out of which, the
structure
is reared. To construct out of the moveable waters a
firm
palace, the cloudy heaven, "firm as a molten glass," Job
xxxvii.
18, is a magnificent work of divine omnipotence. The
citadel
of cloud gets the name of the upper
chamber of God, as
being
the upper part of the fabric of the world; the under one is
the
earth, "the under-lower" of ver. 5. The translation is quite
240 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
at
fault which gives: "who builds above
the waters his upper
chamber,"
who prepares for himself a habitation in that part of
heaven
which is uppermost, and furthest removed from mortal
eye.
The Psalm is occupied only with the unfolded
glory of
God
with that which all see with their eyes, and which God
does
for the benefit of his creatures, and the concealed throne
of
God is not at all referred to; according to ver. 13, the
rain
comes out of the upper chamber of
God. The clouds ap-
pear
as the chariot of God, because he drives them about at his
pleasure,
as a king his car. The wind, which is not at all men-
tioned
in the history of the creation, is joined with the clouds
in
the third clause, because they both operate together in bad
weather.
This clause depends on Ps. xviii. 9, Who
drives for-
ward, &c.,—to whom, as
to their governor, the winds are as 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.
Ps. cv. 32. "For
his
messengers" stands first, according to the analogy of Gen. vi.
14,
"for cells make the vessel," for the sake of the contrast to
the
chariot and the upper chamber of God. This departure
from
the usual arrangement has given occasion to the translation
"he
makes his angels winds and his servants flames of fire,"—
a
translation, however, to be set aside for the 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, Ps. cv. 32, cxlviii. 8, "(praise
the
Lord) fire and hail, snow and smoke, stormy wind who obey
his
word." The citation, Heb. i. 7, 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 Ps. ciii. 20. The
maxim,
"known from company" applies even here. He who has
PSALM CIV. VER. 6-18. 241
such
companions can in no wise be placed on a level with the
Lord
of glory. Even in ver. 5 we still find ourselves within the
range
of the second day. It was not till after the work of that
day
was ended that the earth had a separate existence. What
is
here said of the earth corresponds to
what was said of the
heaven
in the first clause of ver. 3. As the upper
part of the
fabric
of the world stands firm, though it has only water instead
of
beams, so is it with the lower, the
earth is held as firm by the
omnipotence
of God, without a foundation, as if it had one; he
has
given to the earth, which is propped up by nothing, a firm
existence,
like a building which rests on a solid foundation. Ps.
xxiv.
2 is not to be compared; for the discourse there is of the
earth
in a limited sense, of the division of land and water; but
Job
xxvi. 7, "he hangs the earth upon nothing;" comp. ver. 8
there,
"he binds together the water in his thick clouds, and the
cloud
is not rent under them," with ver. 3 here, and also Job
xxxviii.
4-6.
Ver. 6-18,—Ver. 6. The flood thou 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 the
valleys, to the place
which thou hast founded for them. Ver. 9.
A boundary thou didst
set, they pass it not, they turn not again
to cover the earth.—Ver. 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 by
242 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
the
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 Ps. xciii.—The suffix in vtysk, 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 Crx
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 they
were
on a later occasion by the deluge (Gen. 19, 20), by which
the
earth was brought back to its original condition.—The expres-
sion
"the waters shall assemble in one place," Gen. i. 9, appears
in
ver. 7 as a rebuke of God, because
God is the enemy of disorder,
and
because the water stood in an attitude of hostility to the 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 Matth. viii. 26. The
thunder
is called the word of God, because it is just as terrible as
his
word is. On zpH, to
hasten for fear, at Ps. xxxi. 22.—The
clause,
"they (the waters) go up to the mountains, down to the
valleys,
to the place (till they finally got to it) which thou hast
founded
for them," ver. 8, contains a graphic description of the
effect
of the divine rebuke and thunder: thrown into a state of
tumultuous
excitement the waters quickly 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,
PSALM CIV. VER. 6-18. 243
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 Ps. cvii. 26, "they go up to heaven, down to the valleys,"
whose
Mymw,
and tvmvht
are accusatives; the unquestionable
reference
of the second half of our verse to the waters, according
to
the fundamental passage in Gen. i. 9, "let the waters under
heaven
be assembled in one place;" and the circumstance that
in
ver. 9 the water is the subject as it must also be in ver. 8. It
is
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 dsy, stands here as in ver.
5, Ps. cii.
25,
in the sense of to found: God, as the
master-builder of the
world,
founded the sea (as he did heaven and
earth), as the place
of
habitation for the waters and for the 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.
xxxviii. 8-11. The exception of the flood
cannot break the
rule;
and comes into notice here, as according to Gen. ix. 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 Gen. i.
11,
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,
244 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
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 lHn,
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
Joel iv. 18, "and a fountain
shall proceed from the house of
the
Lord, and water the
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 vtyH
at Ps. 1. 10)
stand
in opposition to domestic animals,
the cattle of ver, 14.
On
"they break their thirst,"
comp. rbw,
corn, because it
breaks
the hunger.a—The birds
of heaven of ver. 12 are from Gen.
i.
30; ii. 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. Matth. vi. 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 hqwm in ver. 13 corresponds to
the
vqwy,
in ver. 11: "he gives drink even to the mountains."
This
division of the watering occurs in Gen. xlix. 25, "with
blessings
of the heaven above, with blessings of the deep which
resteth
below." The mountains are especially
named because
they
are entirely assigned to the rain; comp. Deut. xi. 11, where
it
is said of
a It is in favour of this
explanation that the corn bears this name in a particular man-
ner
in Gen. xlii. ss., comp. especially xli. 57, xlii. I.
PSALM CIV. VER.
6-18. 245
drinketh
in water of the rain of heaven," in opposition to
which
is watered by the
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 the
hdbf signifies always labour, service, (in this sense ver. 23)
never
use, need, not even in Num. iii. 31,
36 the mere bwf
is
not enough—it belongs to cattle as
food, Gen. i. 30, and
needs
an adjunct which corresponds to the "bearing seed" in
Gen.
i. 11, 29, and limits the expression to "corn"; finally, the
fundamental
passages, Gem ii. 5, "to labour
the ground," iii.
23,
iv. 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 Gen, i. 12, "And the earth brought
forth grass bearing
seed;"
comp. Job. xxviii. 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 wvnx, weak,
frail, full of care, comp. the reference at
Ps. viii. The Psalmist
hereby
intimates why God has provided for him these means of
cheerfulness
and strength, how lovingly God has had regard for him
in
adopting these means to his necessities. The lhc is to rejoice,
in
Hiph., to make to rejoice, to make joyful;
comp. Prov. xv.
13,
"a joyful heart makes a good countenance," where also as
here
the article is poetically wanting. With
oil—the oil of glad-
ness,
Ps. xlv. 7, xxiii. 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,"
246 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
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 lhc here
is
equivalent to rhc, 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. Ps. xxiii. 5, Matth. vi.
17, "anoint thy head, and
wash thy face." The
small difference in the shade of meaning in
lhc in the translation given above need occasion less
difficulty, as
the
word was selected because of the reference of rhc to oil: the
rhc does not cause the lhc but the wine (it is not
the shining but
the
wine that brightens the face), Böttcher, 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
between
the bread and the wine, which however here as in other
passages
are united together as one noble pair, Ps. iv. 7, Gen. xiv.
18,
xxvii: 28. Against this, however, there is the lyhchl, 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
Gen. xviii. 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 Ps. xxxvi. 6, the
highest
mountains, which proclaim in the loudest terms the crea-
tive
power of God; the cedars of Lebanon are also, in Ps. lxxx. 10,
called,
as being the kings of the trees, the
cedars of God: in the
fundamental
psssage, Num. xxiv. 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. 12
PSALM CIV. VER. 19-30. 247
and
the second clause. The little birds and the stork, i.e., birds great
and
small.--It has been already observed in the introduction that
ver.
18 stands out of the 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 hsHm
is
not to be supplied in the first clause, but serves only to show
the
force of the l in that clause. On the second clause, comp.
Prov.
xxx. 26. Shall not he who points out to
the wild goat and
the
spring mouse their little abode, and leaves none of his 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
(comp.
Matth. viii. 20), they had no place of refuge, no spot upon
the
wide earth which they could call their own; comp. with the
middle
verse here the 23d verse of Ps. cv.
Ver. 19-30.—Ver. 19. He made the moon to divide the time,
the sun knows 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, 0
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.
248 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
19-23,
by the distinction made by the sun and moon, the work of
the
fourth day, Gem i. 14, ss., between day and night, God makes
provision
for the different portions of his creatures, the beasts of
the
forest to whom the night belongs, and man whose is the day.
Shall
he who bears such loving care for the lions forget Sion?—
For
appointed times, ver. 19, (compare
the dfvm,
point of time,
Ps.
lxxv. 2, cii. 13), that there may be such,
that these may be
marked
by it, namely and particularly, the difference between day
and
night. It is clear from the second parallel clause, and from
the
expansion in ver. 20-23, that this fundamental difference on
which
the others depend is here also brought particularly into
view;
comp. "to divide 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. xvbm is not the act of
coming
but the place, Ez. xxvi. 10,
"the approaches to a con-
quered
city;" wmw xvbm, the place where the sun goes down,
Ps.
1. 1, cxiii. 3, in opposition to wmw Hrzm, 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 viii. 12, "they run to and fro
to
seek the word of the Lord." From God
who is their proper
provider,
and who therefore prepares for them the night in which
they
may seek their nourishment, compare Job xxxviii. 39. If
God
thus cares for the wild beasts of the forest, and provides for
the
hungry lions their food, shall he permit his chosen 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,
PSALM CIV. VER. 19-30. 249
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 iv. 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
vbr hm
in ver. 24, is not "how great,"—that is vldg
hm, Psalm xcii. 6—but "how many are,"
compare Psalm. iii. 2.
The
Nynq,
is not a creature, but as always a possession, compare
Ps.
cv. 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 Köster, our verse should
250 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
come
after ver. 26, and be appended tover. 27: the Mlk 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 wmr,
of
sea-animals, used only here, is taken from twmrh, Gen. i. 21,
comp.
Ps. lxix. 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. Gen. xlix. 13); while the leviathan, pre-
senting
the appearance of a ship, represents the animals.
The
masculine
Nvklhy,
is to be explained from the personification of
the
ships as active wanderers (comp. Gen. iv. 7), as we speak of
a
quick sailor. At the second clause, we are not to comp. Job
xl.
29, but ver. 20: "And all beasts of
the field sport there."
The
translation, "whom thou hast made to sport with him,"
suits
well for Jarchi, but not for our day. According to the 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 Mlk 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 xxxiv. 14, 15. Had the strophes been originally
separated
by an outward mark, the temptation to apply the Mlk
PSALM CIV. VER.
19-30. 251
only
to what immediately precedes would never have existed.
Ps.
cxlvii. 9 is really parallel to our verse. On "at their time"
comp,
Ps. i. 3, cxlv. ver. 28, the very rare word top Fql, 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,
Ex. xvi. 4, 5, 16. This reference intimates that all
nourishment
is bread from heaven, Ps. cv. 40, in
accordance with
Deut.
viii. 3, according to which the Lord gave manna to the
Israelites,
for the purpose of impressing upon them this great
truth.—In
ver. 29, the hiding of the countenance denotes the
withdrawal
of God's compassionate care. On "they are terri-
fied,"
comp. at Ps. xc. 7. On "Thou assemblest their breath or
spirit,"
(not thou takest away) comp. Job xxxiv. 14, 15, "If he
would
regard him, he would gather to him his spirit and breath:
all
flesh would die at once, and man would return to the dust."
According
to the doctrine of 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, Num. xvi.
22,
xxvii. 16, Heb. xii. 9; comp. Gen. i. 2, ii. 7, Ec. xii, 7,
"The
spirit returns to God who gave it." The abbreviated fu-
ture
is to be explained, as in ver. 20, properly gather
in instead
of
if thou gather in. The vfvgy, alludes to the mighty
confirma-
tion
given to the position here expressed by the deluge, comp.
Gen.
vii. 21, 22: "All flesh died that moved upon the earth,
bird,
and cattle, and wild beast, . . . and every man: every
thing
in whose nostrils was the breath of life . . . died."
The
expression "return to their dust" depends on Gen. iii. 19,
"until
thou return to the dust from which thou wast taken, for
dust
thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return,"—They are cre-
ated, they as the whole, or
the whole classes of creatures, are
again
called into being, comp. the xrb in Ps. cii. 18. The face
of the earth (from Gen. vii. 4,
"I destroy every living thing from
the
face of the earth," 6, 7) is renewed,
viz. by this reproduction
of
living creatures, but, at the same time, by the removal of every
other
desolation. The period after the flood furnishes us with
the
most visible picture of such a renewal,
as it exists after every
ruinous
catastrophe, and in a certain measure each spring. These
renewals
of the earth furnish a type and a
pledge of the renewal
252 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
of
the condition of the church, until the final perfect regenera-
tion, Matth. xix. 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, Gen. i. 31,
to
which allusion is here made, "And God saw every thing which
he
had made, and behold it was very good." The 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, Ps.
xix.
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, Ps. lxviii. 15)
cannot
frustrate the purposes of redemption. The
mountains
smoke,—with fire, the wrath
of the Lord which kindles their foun-
dation;
Deut. xxxii. 22, Ex. xix. 18, "And Sinai smoked
wholly
because the Lord descended upon it in fire . . . .
and
the whole mountains shook exceedingly," (the first clause)
PSALM
CV. 253
—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 Ps. lxiii. 4), but
in
harmony with the second clause, "so long as have I yet to
live,
ere death shut my lips for his praise, the night cometh when
I
can no more praise," comp. Ps. vi. 5, lxxxviii. 10, cxv. 17, 18,
xxx.
9.—“My meditation shall be acceptable to him,” ver. 34, ac-
cording
to the connection, the parallel and Ps. cv. 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 Num. xiv. 35: "the whole company of
the
wicked who are assembled against me shall come to an end in
the
wilderness and shall die there." The fate which in a former age
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
Ps.
cii.
PSALM CV.
In ver. 1-7, we have the theme: the
judgments and the won-
ders
of God in the past as the foundation
of joyful hope for the
future. Next the development:
God always remembers the pro-
mise
of the permanent possession of
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
254 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
from
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
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
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
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
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
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,
"
the
whole Psalm; he speaks at great length of the wonders and
signs
by which
little
notice of what was done subsequent to this, throwing it
PSALM CV. 255
merely
into the conclusion, and treating of it very briefly and
superficially.
All these facts are sufficiently explained
as soon as we assume
the
composition of the Psalm to belong to the period of the Ba-
bylonish
captivity,—a period which extends its sway even to the
cvi.
Psalm, with which ours is inseparably connected. At this
period,
the promise of
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
in
order to bestow upon him, at the first, his inheritance, must
also
deliver him out of the
order
to restore to him his lost inheritance.
A more perfect connection with Ps.
civ. 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 civ. 34, in ver. 16 comp. with civ. 15. Both Psalms
have
for their common object to comfort sorely-afflicted
The
civ. Psalm draws the consolation from "meditating upon the
wonders
of God in nature, our Psalm in history
The connection of the Psalm with the
cvi., which, beginning
and
ending with the Hallelujah, embraces
the two Hallelujahs of
the
preceding Psalms, is effected by the last verse, in which the
ultimate
design of
obeying,
on their part, the commandments of God. The follow-
ing
Psalm enters at length into a description of the position
which
here
comes into contact, in particular expressions, with ver. 22 of
Ps.
cvi.
The historical character of our
Psalm is common to it with
Psalm
lxxviii.; 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-
256 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
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. Ps.
xxxiii.
2. Call on his name,—on him according
to his historically
manifested
glory (comp. at Ps. lxiii. 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, Gen. xii. 8, xiii. 4. On
"Make
known among the nations," comp. Ps. xviii. 49, lvii. 9.
The
mighty deeds of God are those out of
which his name grows.
On
"glory ye," ver. 3, comp. Ps. xxxiv. 2, "My soul shall glory in
the
Lord." His holy name:—this he
has acquired by his glo-
rious
deeds on behalf of
affords
security, and, therefore, it forms for
glorying.
The world glories in its horses and chariots against
the
thing
better in which to glory. Let the heart rejoice in midst of
deepest
trouble; comp. Ps. xxxiii. 21, "For our heart rejoices
in
him because we trust in his holy name." To seek the Lord
is
equivalent to "to trust in him," Ps. lxix. 6.—Enquire at the
Lord and his might, ver. 4, stirred up by
the glorious manifesta-
tions
of these in times past, whether they will not help you even
now;
comp. Ps. xxxiv. 4, lxxviii. 34, 2 Chron. xvi. 12, and, in
PSALM CV. VER.
8-12. 257
reference
to his might at Ps. lxiii. 2,
lxxviii. 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 Ps. xxiv. 6, xxvii.
8.—Think upon, ver. 5,—and forget not, Ps.
lxxviii 11.—His won-
derful works which he
has done,
Ps. lxxviii. 4, 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
judicial
decisions of God in the case of
tians,
or of the
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
the
Judge of the earth, Ps. xciv. 2,
Ver. 8-12.—Ver. 8. He remembers eternally his covenant,
the word which he
ordains for a thousand generations. Ver.
9.
Which 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
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
It
is manifest from ver. 42 that the rbd is still governed by
258 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
rkz, and that therefore the relative must be
supplied "for he
remembered
his holy word with Abraham his servant." Which
he ordained,—set forth like an
inviolable law, ver. 10. To or
for a thousand, innumerable generations—a verbal allusion to
Deut.
vii. 9, "who keepeth covenant and mercy for those who
love
him to a thousand generations," comp. Ex. xx. 6,—In
ver
9-11, the covenant and the word are more particularly de-
scribed;
in reference to those who first received
them in ver. 9 and
10
(the language depending on Deut. xxix. 12, "as he spoke to
thee,
and as he swore to thy fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob,"
comp.
Deut. iv. 31), and in reference to their 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 trk
is
also in Hagg. ii. 5 connected with the rbd instead of the other-
wise
common tyrb,
"the word which I concluded with you when
I
led you out of
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 Gen. xxvi. 3, where
God
says to Isaac, "Sojourn in the land, and I shall be with
thee
and bless thee, for to thee and to thy seed I will give all
these
lands, and fulfil the oath which I swore to Abraham thy
father."—On
dymfh
with the accusative of the thing, and the
dative
of the person, vet. 10, compare at Ps. xxx. 7. The ex-
pression,
"And he appointed to him," is equivalent to "and he
remembered
the oath which he appointed." On qHl Ven.: "that
it
might retain perennial vigour like some solemnly proclaimed
decree."
Allusion is made to Gen. xxviii. 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 Gen. xxxv. 12, where he says to
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
Ps.
lxxvii. 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-
PSALM CV. VER. 13-22. 259
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 Chron. xvi. 19,
when
ye were in your fathers, this
allusion is directly applied
to
present circumstances. Allusion is made to Gen. xxxiv. 30:
"And
I am few in number, and they may
easily gather them-
selves
together against me, and slay me and I shall be destroyed,
I
and my house." The Ffmk 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
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
only
this hand which turned away all danger from the patriarchs.
He punished kings for
their sakes,--Pharaoh,
in Gen. xii. 17,
and
Abimelech in xx. 3, ss., to whose case chiefly the allusion is
made,
as is evident from the reproof quoted in ver 15. On "touch
not,"
ver. 15, comp. Gen. xxvi. 2, where Abimelech says of Isaac,
260 THE BOOK OP PSALMS.
"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 xix. 16, Is. lxi. 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.
Gen. xli. 38, where Pharaoh says of Joseph, "Can we
find
such a one as this is, a man in whom the Spirit of God is?"),
the
bearers of my revelation. The parallel and the whole 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 Gen. xx. 7, where God says to Abimelech, "And
now
give the man back his wife, for he is a prophet, and if he
pray
for thee thou shalt live." The xybn means properly the
"God-spoken:"
the nature of prophecy is a divine address. The
language
already used in ver. 11 refers to this; Gen. xv. relates
how
Abraham received such addresses in both the forms peculiar to
prophecy,
vision and dream. Isaac had a prophetical dream at
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 xybn 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
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. Ps. civ. 15, "And
bread
supporteth man's heart." The words are from Levit. xxvi. 26,
"if
I break for you the staff of bread," on which Is. iii. 1 depends.
PSALM CV. VER. 13-22. 261
—At
the first clause of ver. 17, comp. Gem xlv. 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, Gen. xxxvii. 34. The exceeding
copiousness
of detail with which the Psalmist speaks of Joseph
gives
rise to the idea that he had before his mind a counterpart
to
Joseph in the
that
he alluded to the ten tribes, who are spoken of by the name
of
Joseph in Ps. lxxx. 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
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 Gen. xl. 3;
comp.
also xxxix. 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,
xxxix.
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," Ps. cvii. 10. The Keri, his
foot, depends on
the
miserable ground that the fetter is
singular. That the lzrb
is
the accusative is clear from the simple ground that it is mas-
culine.
The whole person is denoted by the soul,
(at Ps. ciii.
5),
because the soul of the captive suffers still more than the
body.
Imprisonment is one of the most severe trials to the soul.
Even
to spiritual heroes, such as a Savonarola and St Cyran (Ste
Beuve
hist. de Port. royal, P. i.), the waters often go over the
soul.—The
word of Joseph (the suffix refers
every where to
Joseph
in this connection) is that by which he interpreted to the
a It has been maintained without any
reason, that rsx also signifies to make cap-
tive,
to keep in custody any one not bound. Custody without bonds was not common.
262 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
royal
servants their dreams in prison; comp. Gen. xli. 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, Gen. xli. i. The word
of the Lord in
the
second clause is, according to ver. 11 and 42, the promise of
the
possession of
the
preceding residence in
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 Ps. xviii. 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.
Gen.
xli. 40, 41, and as the most exactly accordant fundamental
passage,
xlv. 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 Gen. xli.
44, "without thee
no
man shall move his hand or his foot in all the
but
especially ver. 40, "thou shalt be over my house, and all
my
people shall kiss thy mouth." Besides we have vwpnb,
which,
according to the lbkb, in ver. 18, and the usual sense of
the
b after
the verb of binding, Ps. cxlix. 8, must be explained
with his soul, so that the
soul is what binds the fetter. On the
second
clause, comp. Gen. xli. 39, where 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, Gen. xlv. 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 the
PSALM CV. VER. 24-28. 263
highest
honour, ver. 17-22. He sojourned,
Gen. xlvii. 4. In
the land of Ham, Ps. lxxviii. 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
made it dark, and they
resisted not his word.—On
ver. 24,
comp.
Gen. xvii. 6, xxviii. 3, Ex. i. 7, 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 Ps. li. 5.a He turned, ver. 25,
(comp.
1 Sam. x. 9), in order that he might furnish an opportu-
nity
for the display of his wonderful power. In like manner,
according
to Isaiah xliii. 17, God led out Pharoah and his hosts
to
pursue the Israelites. The Hiph. of lkn occurs elsewhere only
in
Gen. xxxvii. 18, where it is used of the wicked plots of
Joseph's
brethren against him. It corresponds to the hmkHtn
in
Ex. i. 10.—Ver. 27 is according to Ps. lxxviii. 43. The
things of his signs,—the whole
number of them, Ps. cxlv. 5,
and
at Ps. lxv. 3.—The sending of darkness
in verse 28 is
to
be taken in a figurative sense the impending 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."
264 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
sure
and misery; the Egyptians were, in this sense, covered with
darkness
from the first to the last plague. The second-last
plague
in
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
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 Is. xlv. 7, "Mak-
ing
light and creating darkness, making peace and creating evil,"
1.
3, "I will clothe the heaven in darkness." The j`ywHh never
means
" to be dark," always "to make dark," comp. Am. v. 8,
"He
makes the day dark into night," also Ps. cxxxix. 12, Jer.
xiii.
16, "before he make it dark." The 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 hail
PSALM CV. VER. 29-38. 265
for 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
the
omissions being the fifth and the sixth, the destruction of the
cattle
and the boils, and the ninth, the darkness, the same which
are
omitted in Ps. lxxviii. 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. Ps. lxxviii. 44, Ex. vii. 18, 21, are to be compared.
—On
the second clause of ver. 30, comp, Ex. vii. 28. Their
kings,—because
the king represented kings, and dwelt in the
king's
palace.—In ver. 31, the little gnats,
which are wholly
omitted
in Ps. lxxviii. (comp. on Mynk
precedence
of the larger flies, Ps. lxxviii.
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, Gen. i.
29.—In
ver. 32, the allusion to Lev. xxvi. 4, "And I give you
rain
in its season," shows that Ntn is to be taken in the
sense of
to give and not to make for anything:--he gave to them as
their
rain,
or instead of the mild fertilizing rain which he gives to his
people
in its season, destructive hail with lightning, a fine gift if
266 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
they
would consider it as such. On the second clause, comp. Ps.
lxxviii.
48.—In reference to the vine, in ver.
33, comp. at Ps.
lxxviii.
47.—In ver. 34 qly the licker, stands in parallel with the
locust,
as does lysH,
the gnawer—both poetical epithets of the
locust;
comp. the Christol. 3, p. 351.—On ver. 35, comp. Ex. x. 5.
—In
ver. 36, the divine vengeance proceeds from the food of man
to
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 Ps. lxxviii. For
the
same reason, the ravages which the hail made among the
cattle
are not alluded to. Ps. lxxviii. 51 is to be compared:
"He
smote all the first born in
strength
in the tents of Ham." The borrowing here cannot fail
to
be observed.—With, silver and gold,—the
silver and golden
vessels
of the Egyptians, which they received from them at their
departure
as presents; comp. Beitr. 3. p. 507
ss. The second
clause
depends upon Ex. xiii. 18, "And the children of
went
strong out of the
38,
comp. Ex. xi. 1, xii. 31-33, according to which Pharaoh sent
away
the children of
said,
We shall all die." On the second clause, Ex. xv. 16, Deut.
xi.
25.
Ver, 39-45.—Ver. 39. He spread out a cloud for a covering,
and fire during the
night to give light.
Ver. 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.
Num. x. 34, ought to be compared: "And the cloud of
the
Lord was over them by day, when they
rose up from their
encampment."
In the burning wilderness the cloud was a pro-
tection
to the congregation of the Lord against the sun (comp.
Is.
iv. 5, 6, an emblem of the protection of the favour of God
PSALM CV. VER.
39-45. 267
which
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
hlyl) is an adverb is evident from Num. ix. 16,
"The cloud co-
vered
it and the appearance of fire by night," where, as here,
"by
day" is omitted; and also from Ex. xiii. 21. Ps. lxxviii. 14,
ought
to be compared.—The lxw. in ver. 40 is impers. they
asked. In reference to the quails, comp. Ps. lxxviii. 26, 27, and
the
manna, ver. 22-25. The bread of heaven is from Ex. xvi. 4;
comp.
Ps. lxxviii. 24, 25. On "He satisfies them," comp. Ex.
xvi.
3, 8, 12.—On ver. 41, comp. Ps. lxxviii. 20, on hyc Ps.
lxxviii.
17, on rhn ver.
16.—For he remembered, ver. 42, Ber-
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
sage
is Ex. ii. 24, "And God remembered his covenant with
Abraham,
and with Isaac, and with Jacob;" comp. "which he
confirmed
with Abraham," ver. 9. We cannot translate "to
Abraham,"
for the word is not one which God merely uttered, but
one
which he gave.—On ver. 44, comp. Ps.
lxxviii. 55.—On ver.
45,
Deut. iv. 40, xxvi. 17, Ps. lxxviii. 7. The observance of
the
commandments of God by Abraham appears even in Gen.
xviii.
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
possession
of Canaan, and these commandments
fully
violated; the word of God, therefore,
regarding the posses-
sion
of
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.
268 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
PSALM CVI.
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
ver.
6-12, in the wilderness, ver. 13-33, and in
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
taining
ten verses, the transgressions in the wilderness,
ver. 13-
22,
and ver. 24-33, and the third, containing likewise two, the
transgressions
in
from
the two last by an intercalary verse, ver. 23, which this
Psalm
has in common with Ps. civ. and cv. The fourth strophe,
corresponding
to the decade of the beginning and the conclusion,
is
divided by a five and a five, while the second is 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;
PSALM CVI. 269
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.
ix., 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
Ps. cxiii., which is connected in a similar manner with Pss. cxi.
and
cxii.—in manifest connection with the simple Halleluja of
Pss.
civ. and cv.
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 Ps. cv., to which ver. 3
here
alludes in the intimation made of the dependence of the pos-
session
of
—to
remove the enemy which threatened to rob the people of the
help
of which they had been assured by nature, Ps. civ., and by
history,
Ps. cv., 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
270
THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
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
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: "0 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 Chron. xvi., there is given a
Psalm-piece, consisting of the
beginning
of Ps. cv. (yet.. 1-15), the whole of Psalm xcvi., 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."
PSALM CVI. VER. 1-5. 271
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 Chron. xvi.
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 Chron. vi. 18, 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 Sam. xxii.,
pledge
himself to give a faithful transcript of another man's
labour,
but has rather published expressly an abstract by himself;
and
we must therefore expect it a priori
to be given with that
freedom
which is manifested in selecting from Ps. cv. only the
beginning,
and from our Psalm the beginning and the conclusion.
Ver. 1-5.—Ver. 1. Halleluja, praise the Lord, for he is
good, for his mercy
lasts for ever.
Ver. 2. Who can express
the mighty deeds of the
Lord, shew forth all his praise. Ver.
3.
Blessed are they who keep judgment,
practise righteousness
at all times. Ver. 4. Remember me, 0 Lord, with the favour
272 THE BOOK OF PSALMS
of 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 Ps. cv. The enduring
of the
goodness,
= the being good of the Lord, is the eternal duration of
his
mercy; compare at the fundamental passage, Ps. cv.—The
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. Ps. xl. 5, lxxi. 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 Ps. cv. 45, ciii. 18, ci.;--
the
import being, "Blessed the people, if they only." The
church
does not allow herself to be incidentally turned aside by
this
important "if," but proceeds onward from praising the
mercy
of the Lord; ver. 4 and 5, to pray that that mercy may be
imparted
to her. After she had offered up such a prayer, 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 Dan. ix. 4, is appended to the words, “he keepeth
covenant
and mercy for ever, for those who love him.” In ver.
4
it is not the Psalmist himself that speaks, but the present 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 Psalm
shows
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
yvg ver.
5,
is
used also in other passages of
for
example, Zeph. ii. 9. The inheritance of
God is
pare
Deut. ix. 29.
Ver. 6-12.—Ver. 6. We have sinned with our fathers, we
have transgressed, we
have done wickedly.
Ver. 7. Our fathers
in
PSALM CVI. VER. 6-12. 273
multitude of thy tender
mercies, and rebelled at the sea, at the
that he might make known
his strength.
Ver. 9. And rebuked
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 viii. 47, in the prayer of Solomon at the dedica-
tion
of the temple, and also in Dan. ix. 5, in the same order
and
in a similar connection. 1 Kings viii. 47 is undoubtedly the
fundamental
passage. There occurs also an undeniable reference
in
ver. 46 to the prayer of Solomon, which the 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
lxxviii.
8, 12), are next given in detail, in ver. 7-33, and their
own
sins or those of
compare
Ps. lxxviii. 11, 42; on hrmh at lxxviii. 17. The ex-
pressive
mention of the locality is intended to direct attention to
this
the first place where
after
the omnipotence and the grace of God had been made known
to
them in the ten plagues of
description
of the locality allusion is made to Ex. xv. 4, "the
chariots
of Pharoah and his host he cast into the sea,
and his chosen
warriors
were drowned in the
referring
to the
be
accounted for only by its coming after the more exact word
lf. But for it, the rebellion must be conceived of
as having
taken
place in the sea.—For his name's sake,
ver. 8,—compare
Ps.
xxiii. 3, xxv. 11.—He rebukes, ver.
9, compare civ. 7. On
"as
the wilderness," concisely, for "as one goes through the
wilderness,"
compare Is. lxiii. 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 Ex. xiv. 31; on the second clause com-
pare
Ex. xv. 1. That
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
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
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
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 iv.
48.
On "they hasted," comp. Ex. xxxii. 8, "they have turned
aside
hastily from the way which I commanded them." His works,
comp.
Deut. xi. 3, 4, Dan. ix. 14. For his
counsel, "inasmuch as
he
had already determined when and how he should help them,"
Berleb.:a
—On ver. 14 comp. Num. xi. 4, "And the mixed mul-
a Calvin. "The haste of our
desires is astonishing, so much so that we can scarcely
PSALM CVI. VER. 13-22. 275
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.
Ps.
lxxviii. 18.—On "he gave them their desire," ver. 15, comp.
Num.
xi. 18, ss., Ps. lxxviii. 29, "he gratified their appetite,"
The
Hlwyv,
and thus sent, even by this; comp. at
Ps. lxxviii.
30.
The wpn
is the animal, food needing soul; comp. at Ps.
lxxviii.
18, cvii. 18, Num. xi. 6, "And now our soul is dried up."
This
soul, while it desired to be satisfied and filled by this bounty,
got
its wish, but at the same time 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.
Num. xvi. 1, ss. On "Aaron the holy one of the Lord"—
"holy"
does not denote a moral property but the office which he
held,
his nobility, comp. at Ps. xvi. 3—comp. Num. xvi. 3, where
the
rebels say, "the whole congregation, they are all holy, and
wherefore
do ye exalt yourselves above the congregation of the
Lord,
ver. 5, in the morning the Lord will 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. Num. xvi. (the people of Korah there are
the
associates belonging to the tribe of Reuben, of him the chief
ringleader),
xxvi. 10, Deut. xi. 6. These were swallowed up by
the
earth. On the first clause comp. Num. xvi. 32, "and the
earth
opened her mouth," which is here
to be supplied, Deut. xi.
6;
on the second, Num. v. 33, "and the earth covered them."
The
second punishment fell upon the Levitical
portion, with
Korah
at their head, comp. Num. xvi. 35, xvii. 5, xxvi. 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."
276 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
Aaron,
Lev. x. 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.
Is. xiv. 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 Ex. xx. 4, 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 Ex. xxxii. 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. Deut. iv. 6-8, x. 21, "he is
thy
praise (thy glory), thy God, who hath done to thee this great
and
terrible thing which thine eyes have seen." The tynbt is from,
Deut.
iv. 16, 17. On the whole verse comp. Jer. ii, 11.
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 xiv. 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
as
given in Ps. cv. 27, se. In the land of
Ham, Ps. cv. 23, 27.
The
end of the strophe turns back to its beginning in ver. 13.
Ver. 23. And he said he would destroy them, had not
Moses his chosen stood
before him in the breach, to turn
away his wrath that he
should not destroy them. The length
of
this verse harmonises with its important position. Long
verses
occur in our Psalm only where prominence
is intended
to
be given to some important point. On "he said," not "he
thought,"
Deut. ix. 13, comp. ver. 8. Before "had not" we
are
to supply, "this would really have happened." To stand in
the breach—like a warrior who
covers with his body the broken
PSALM CVI. VER.
23-24. 277
part
of the wall of a besieged city, comp. Ex. xiii. 5, xxii. 30.
The
weapon with which Moses defended the spiritual city is in-
tercessory
prayer, comp. Ex. xxxii. 11-44, Deut. ix. 18, 19. In
reference
to the bwyh turned away, comp. Ps. lxxviii. 38,
and
the
fundamental passage, Num. xxv. 11, "Phineas turned away
my
anger from the children of
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, Ex.
xxxii.
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
itish
idolatry, ver. 28-31, and the offence at Meribah, ver. 32, 33.
The
transgressions of the fathers reach the amount of seven; in
278 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
the
first strophe, one in
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, 0 foolish
people,"
in Deut. xxxii. 6. In the books of Moses, also, the
sevenfold
temptations are set over against the sevenfold wonders
and
signs, Num. xiv. 22.—On "they despised," ver. 24, comp.
Num.
xiv. 31, "the land which you despised." hdsh never
signifies
a wish or a desire, but always beauty;
comp. the Chris-
tol.
p. 354, and Jer. iii. 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 Ex. iii. 8, "a
good
and large land, flowing with milk and honey," Deut. xi.
11-15.
They believed not his word, by which
he repeatedly
promises
that he would give them the land, but rather the word
of
the faithless spies; comp. Ps. lxxviii. 22, 32.—The first clause
of
the 25th Verse is from Deut. i. 27; the second from Num.
xiv.
22.—That the lifting up of the hand in ver. 26 is the gesture
of
swearing (several falsely: he lifted
up his hand against them)
is
evident from Num. xiv. 30, "ye shall not come into the land
while
I have lifted up my hand (comp. Gen. xiv. 22, Ex. vi. 8) to
make
you dwell in it," in connection with the express mention of
swearing
in the case referred to in Num. ver. 28, Deut. i. 34, ii. 14.
On
"that he had made them fall," comp. Num. xiv. 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, Lev. xxvi., Deut. xxviii.; it was, however,
implied
in the determination against the fathers, and is here with
propriety
deduced from it. The lyphl 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, Lev. xxvi. 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 Myvgb
corresponds exactly to rbdmb. The wilder-
ness
was not more destructive for the fathers
than residence
among
the heathen shall be for the children;
the latter is also in
PSALM CVI. VER
24. 279
Ps.
cvii. spoken of as typified by the former. The second clause
is
from Lev. xxvi. 33, "And I will scatter you among the hea-
then.”—The
first clause of ver. 28 is from Num. xxv. 3, comp,
ver.
5.—They bound themselves is explained
by "to walk after
Baal-peor"
of Deut. iv. 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,
Num. xxiii. 28, at the foot of which
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 Cor. xii. 2, in
opposition
to the living God, Jer. x. 10, Num. xxv. 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 Jer. x. 3-10, Ps. cxv. 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.
Num. xxv. 18, 19, Ps. lxxviii. 58. The two members are
related
to each other as cause and effect; and because they thus
provoked
him, therefore. The Crp is to break in, Ex. xix. 24.
—Ver.
30 agrees as to expression, still more literally with Num.
xvii.
13, "And he (Aaron) stood (propitiating) between the
living
and the dead, and the plague was stayed," and also with
the
fundamental passage concerning Phinehas, Num. xxv. 8.
The
llp
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
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, Num. xxv. 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 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.—
280 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
At
ver. 31 we should compare for the expression Gen. xv. 6, the
only
passage where it occurs, and for the subject, Deut. vi. 25,
xxiv.
13, at Ps. xvii., xxiv. 5. The language does not refer to
the
first justification, but to the second, to the good works of one
already
in a state of grace, by which he obtains from God, who
recompenses
every one according to his works, a reward of grace,
as
Phinehas obtained on the present occasion the priesthood for
his
family, comp. Num. xxv. 13. At the expression, "for all
generations
for ever," we are to consider that 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
Deut.
xv. 17, Lev. xxv. 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 Ez. xiv. 14, 20, according to the
relation
of our Psalm to Dan. ix., where Daniel in a very special
manner
stands in the breach on behalf of his people, and accord-
ing
to the manifest allusion to Daniel previously made in the pre-
ceding
Psalm.—On the waters of Meribah, ver.
32, compare at Ps.
xcv.
8. For their sakes, because their unbelief called forth the
failure of faith on the part of
Moses, comp. Deut. i. 37, iii. 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 Num. xx. 10, "Hear, ye rebels, shall we bring water
for
you out of the rock." His spirit,
not the Spirit of Moses,
(Luther,
for they vexed his heart), but the Spirit of God. For
hrmh with the accusative does not mean to vex or to
embitter,
but
always to rebel against any one (comp. at Ps. lxxviii. 17,
56),
and occurs in this sense even in ver. 7, 43 of the present
Psalm;
the words, "to rebel against the Spirit of the Lord,"
correspond
to "to rebel against the words
of God," Ps. cvii. 11,
Or
against his month. "They
rebelled," stands in reference to "ye
PSALM CVI. VER. 24. 281
rebels,"
of the fundamental passage. The spirit
of the Lord is
mentioned
as his power and presence watching over
Is.
lxiii. 11, "who put his Holy Spirit in the midst of them," ver.
10,
"And they rebelled and vexed his Holy Spirit," Eph. iv. 30.
The
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
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.
xxiii.
32, 33, xxxiv. 11-15.--They mixed,
ver. 35, in spite
of
the fresh warning of Joshua, Jos. xxiii. 12, 13. A commen-
tary
is furnished by Jud. iii. 6, "And they took their daugh-
ters
for wives, and they gave their own daughters to their sons,
and
they served their gods," comp. Deut. vii. 3. Berleb.: "Ah!
how
common is such a mixture even among the pious at this
day!"
On the second clause, comp. Deut. xviii. 9, xx. 18.—For a
282 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
snare, ver. 36, for a cause
of misery, inasmuch as it called down,
upon
them the wrath of God, comp. Ex. x. 7, Deut. vii. 16.—On
"they
offered their sons," ver. 37, 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 Mydw
occurs only here and in the fundamental
passage,
Deut. xxxii. 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. Hence
the
word is not derived from ddw to
destroy, nor from to
be black, but from to rule. They are the ku<rioi in 1
Cor.
viii. 5, the prutaneij ko<smoj qeoi>, in
word
for the prosaic Baal; comp. with the above passage in Deut.,
Jud.
ii. 11, 12, where we have first "they served Baalim," and
afterwards
"they walked after other gods." The bad sense
which
the word has in Syriac owes its existence to the influence
of
Christianity, "The gods of
ponding
expression.—"They shed innocent blood," in ver. 38, de-
pends
upon Deut. xix. 10, "Innocent blood shall not be shed in
thy
land which the Lord thy God giveth thee for an inheritance,
otherwise
the guilt of blood shall be against thee." Which they
offered,—contrary to the strict
commandment, Deut. xii. 31,
xviii.
10. On "the laud was polluted with blood," comp. Num.
xxxv.
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. Ex. xxxiv. 16, Lev. xx. 5, xvii.
7,
Num. xiv. 33.—On ver. 40, comp. Ps. lxxviii. 59, 62.—On
ver.
41, Jud. ii. 14. The second clause is according to Lev.
283 PSALM CVI. VER. 44-48.
xxvi.
17.—On the second clause of ver. 42, comp. Jud. iii. 30, viii.
28.—The
frequent deliverances in ver. 43 are
those during the
judicial
(Jud. ii. 16) and the regal period. By
their counsel,—
their
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, Lev. xxvi. 39, "they pine away
also
by their evil doings," where instead of jkm we have here
qqm, comp. also Ez. xxxiii. 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, 0 Lord our God,
and gather us from the
heathen that we may praise thy holy name
and boast of thy praise. Ver. 48. Praised be the Lord the God
of
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, Ex. iv. 31, the object being
to
be supplied out of what follows. The seeing is the opposite of
overlooking,
comp. Ex. ii. 25. "In the trouble to them" (comp. Ps.
xviii.
6) is here, as in Ps. cvii. 6, from Deut. iv. 30, "in the trouble
to
thee when all these words strike thee."—On the first clause of
ver.
45, comp. Lev. xxvi. 42, "and I 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 Deut.
xxxii. 36,
"And
it repented him of his servants," comp. at Ps. xc. 13. In-
stead
of the singular Ods;Ha,
his mercy, the Masorites read the
plural
unseasonably referring to ver. 7. The mercies of the Lord
are
always the manifestations of his
mercy, comp. at Ps. lxxxix.
2,
also Is. lxiii. 7, comp. Ps. cvii. 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, Num.
xiv.
19, "pardon still thy people according to the greatness of
284 THE BOOK OF PSALMS
thy
mercy," comp. Ps. v. 7, lxix. 13, Neh. xiii. 22. A similarly
bad
Kri is to be found in Lam. iii. 32.—Ver. 46 depends upon
1
Kings viii. 50, comp. 2 Chron. xxx. 9. The operation of God
referred
to here was seen in facts such as that "he gave Daniel
favour
and pity in the face of the keeper of the eunuchs," Dan.
i.
9, and 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 xxv.
27,
so that generally the former bitter hatred against
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. vnybvw,
in Ps. cxxxvii. 3,—from the reference to the
fundamental
passages of the Pentateuch, which treat of the grace
of
God towards the people in captivity,
and to 1 Kings viii.—
There
rises on the ground of the compassion of God, manifested
already
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 Deut.
xxx.
3; comp. ver. 4, "And the Lord turn back to thy captivity,
and
have mercy upon thee, and gather thee from among all the
nations
among which the Lord thy God has scattered thee,"—a
passage
to which Isaiah alludes in ch. xi. 12, when he beheld in
spirit
the captivity as already present, and also Micah in ch. ii.
12.
That the 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 Ps. cvii. 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 Ps. xxx. 4. The Hiph.
PSALM CVII. 285
of
Hbw,
to glory in a thing, occurs only here
and in Chron. xvi.
35
= llhth
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. Ps. xlviii. 11, and Ps. cv. 3, "boast yourselves in
his
holy name."—In ver. 48 the common translation is: "and
let all the people say Amen." But that the translation
ought to
be,
"and the people say," is evident from the fundamental pas-
sage,
Deut. xxvii. 15, "And the whole people answers and says,
Amen,"
and from 1 Chron. xvi. 36, where, instead of rmxv we have
vrmxyv, 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 Ps. civ., that this doxo-
logy
differs from that at the end of the other books, Ps. xli., lxxii.,
lxxxix.,
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,
Ps. ci.-cvi., and that it was made by the compiler to
serve
a second purpose, namely, to form the
conclusion of the
fourth
book.
PSALM
CVII.
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 of
286 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
all
lands. These gracious deeds are celebrated, in ver. 4-32,
under
different images: of those who wander up and down in the
wilderness,
hungry and thirsty, and now were led to an inhabited
city,
ver. 4-9; of those bound with fetters in dark prisons, who
are
now set at liberty, ver. 10-16; of those sick, who are now
healed,
ver. 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
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
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
the
Lord upon the newly-erected altar; comp. Ezra iii. 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,
PSALM CVII. 287
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. iii. 12; although, at that time, upon the
whole,
the joyful feeling still prevailed. The machinations of the
enemies
then came into view. Instead of this, the comparison is
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 Ps.
cvi. The similarity of the
beginning
points to this. Thanks are given
here, ver. 3, for
what
forms there the object of desire,
ver. 47. The praise of the
Lord,
which, in Ps. cvi. 47, is promised; should salvation be 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 Ps. civ. and ciii., and are to be explained by suppos-
ing
that another Psalmist, at a later period, appended our Psalm
to
the group Ps. ci.–cvi., and thus completed the number seven,
the
first and last word of which is the mercy
of the Lord. Even
the
other points of connection are not of such a kind as 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 Ps. civ.–cvi. 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, Ps. civ.–cvi.,
joined
to the Davidic one so as to form one whole, existed as a
previously
completed group, before the number seven was com-
pleted
by the addition of our Psalm, and that the cvii. was added
as
a later supplement. We are led to the same conclusion by
the
last verse of Ps. cvi., which manifestly belongs, not merely to
288 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
this
Psalm, but to the whole group, by the indirect testimony of
the
compilers, who would assuredly not have separated what is
inseparably
connected together, by elevating the conclusion of
Ps.
cvi. to the rank of the conclusion of the fourth book; and,
finally,
by the want of the Hallelujah in Ps. cvii.; whereas, had
the
connection of Ps. civ.—cvii. been original and absolute, 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
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
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.
PSALM CVII. VER.
1-3. 289
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, Ps. cvi. 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 Is. lxii. 12, lxiii. 4. The rc, according to ver. 6,
13,
Ps. cvi. 44, is not opponents, but trouble, which is here per-
sonified
and represented as a dangerous enemy, which has
in
its hands. Throughout the whole Psalm, the discourse is not
of
enemies, but of trouble.—That ver. 3 refers to the return from
the
captivity is evident from Ps. cvi. 47, and from the reference
to
the fundamental passages in Is. lvi. 8, but especially xliii. 5,
6,
"From the rising of the sun will I bring thy seed, and from
the
going down of the sun I will assemble thee, I will say to the
north,
Give up, and to the south, Keep not back," and xlix. 12,
"Behold,
these come from afar, and behold these from the
north
and from the sea and from the
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 enquire
290 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
whether
the exiles returned from all these different places. From
supposing
that the four quarters of heaven must be here fully
named,
every possible attempt has been made to make out that
My, which can denote only such a sea as represents
a quarter of
the
heavens, viz., the west, or the
the
south. The correct view, however, is, that the Psalmist here,
like
the prophet in ch. xlix. 12, is content with naming the places
according
to the number of the quarters of
heaven, without
exactly
naming each quarter. The omission of the south, and
the
substitution instead of it of the sea, on which the scattered
exiles
returned from
68),
might be occasioned by the circumstance that there was no-
thing
in that quarter but a wilderness. The omission of the north
in
Ps. lxxv. 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
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
wilderness;
for example, xl. 3, xliii. 19, 20. Comp. on other
typical
applications of the march through the wilderness, the
Christol.
on Hos. ii. 16. The desert of the way
(comp. Nvmywy
of
the Arabic wilderness, Deut. xxxii. 10, Ps. lxviii. 7, lxxviii.
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
jrd
with what follows, we have, besides this parallel pas-
sage,
the accents and the want of the article in Nvmywy. The
bwvm signifies only seat, place of abode. It is obvious, from
PSALM: CVII. VER. 4-9. 291
ver.
36, that allusion is made to
sense,
because it was the city of
the
whole people; comp. at Ps. ci. 8.—The hunger,
and thirst,
and
the fatigue thereby induced (comp.
the JFf
Lam. ii: 19,
Ps.
lxxvii. 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. Ps. cxxxvii. shows us what
corresponded
in the spiritual wilderness to the hunger and the thirst.
—The
subject in ver. 8 is, "those thus led." The l
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.
Is. xxix. 8. To satisfy, by
delivering from thirst, occurs
also
in Ps. civ. 13, 16. With good, Ps.
ciii. 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 Is. ix. 1. The
dark
prison, as an image of the misery, occurs also in ch.
292 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
xlii.
7, xlix. 9. On "the shadow of
death," at Ps. xxiii. 4,
That
the ynf denotes
the misery of the past, and that, therefore,
the
discourse is of iron = iron fetters,
Ps. cv. 18, only in a
figurative sense, is evident from
ver. 41, and from the funda-
mental
passage, Job xxxvi. 8, "And if they be bound in fetters
and
be holden in cords of affliction," where, according to the con-
nection,
the discourse is only of suffering generally, and not of
literal
imprisonment and fetters.—On vrmh, in ver. 11, comp.
Ps.
cvi. 7, 33, 43. There is a paronomasia between vrmh and
yrmx and between tcf and vcxn. 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
v. 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
Is.
xix. 17, Luke vii. 30, and Ps. cvi. 13—or the counsel which
the
Lord gave them; in this case, we must comp. Prov. i. 25, and
2
Kings xvii. 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. Ps. cxvi. 16, where it is said, "Thou hast
loosed
my bands," in reference to deliverance from captivity.--
Ver.
16 depends upon Is. xlv. 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
Mylyvx
of the
first
clause corresponds to the vnfty of the second: fools,
because
of
their evil way, i. e., those who, by their wicked conduct, became
PSALM CVII. VER.
23-32. 293
fools,
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 Ps. cii. 4 have supposed, but severe
sick-
ness, under the figure of
which the suffering is here spoken of,
(comp.
at Ps. ciii. 3) is manifest from ver. 20, "He healed them,"
and
from the fundamental passage, Job xxxiii. 20, where it is
said
of the sick man, "His life abhorreth food and his sold dainty
meat."
On the second clause comp. Job xxxiii. 22, Ps. lxxxviii.
3;
on the gates of death, at Ps. ix.
13.—The word of the Lord,
by
which he procured the salvation of
quences
(comp. Ps. xxxiii. 9, Matth. viii. 8) appears here under
the
figure of the physician whom he sends to heal the sick, comp.
at
Ps. xxx. 3. That the pits are
equivalent to the graves in which
they
were almost already lying, is evident from ver. 18, and from
the
fundamental passage, Job xxxiii. 28, "he has delivered my soul
from
the grave and my life sees the light," (instead of MHw, there,
and
in ver. 22, 24, 30, we have here the rare form htytw,
which
only occurs again in Lam. iv. 20); comp. Ps. ciii. 4, "who
delivers
thy life from the pit."—The thank-offerings,
ver. 22,
occur
here, according to the second clause, chiefly in connection
with
what constitutes their essence, thanks; comp. at Ps. 1. 14,
23.
Ver. 23-32.—Ver. 23. Those who cross the sea in ships, do
duty in many waters. Ver. 24. They see the works of the
Lord, and his wonders in
the deep.
Ver. 25. And he spoke
and stilled a storm of
wind which lifted its billows. Ver. 26.
They go up to heaven,
down to the floods, their soul is melted in
trouble. Ver. 27. They dance and stagger like a drunken man
and are at their 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 the
standing
emblem of the world; comp. at Ps. xlvi., and at
Ps.
xciii. 3, civ. 6, ss. The
294 THE BOOK OF PSALMS
has
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 a
figure
is, in Mark iv. 36, ss., Matth. viii. 23, ss., Luke viii. 22,
ss.,
embodied in a symbolical action.a Those interpreters who
could
not understand the figurative representation, have, in some
cases,
been obliged to have recourse to strange expedients. This
is
the case with those who suppose that the Psalmist has before
his
mind, not as is the case throughout the whole preceding part
of
the Psalm, the whole church, but a few of its members, who,
during
the captivity, were obliged to have recourse, as a tempo-
rary
occupation, to a seafaring life!—The works
and wonders
of
the Lord upon the deep, ver. 24, are such as are described in
the
following verses, the glorious deliverances which he imparts
to
his own people when they are sent by him on the sea of the
world,
and are overtaken by a fierce storm of oppression.—On
"he
said," ver, 25, comp. Ps. cv. 31. The suffix in "his bil-
lows,"
does not refer to the sea, My,—for the language in
the im-
mediately
preceding clauses had not been used of it, but of the
deep—but to the Lord; comp. "all thy waves and thy
billows
go
over me," in Ps. xlii. 7.—On ver. 26, comp. Ps. civ. 8. To
the floods—the usual place which
these occupy. In trouble--
coml.).
Gen. xliv. 29. Melts—comp. Ps. xxii.
14, xlii. 4.—On
ver.
28, Berleb.:—"To the Lord, I mean, men learn then to
cry,
according to the common saying: whoever
cannot pray let
him become a sailor."—The Mqy, in ver. 29, the
abbreviated
future,
instead of the common form (comp. ver. 33, Ps. xviii.
10),
not he quieted, he calmed—this sense
is not attested—
but
he put it, like the dymfh in ver. 25, into a calm, he changed
it into a calm, or even he restored it; comp. Amos ix. 12.
The
hmmd
is not a gentle breeze, but always silence (galh<nh,
viii.
26), even in 1 Kings xix. 12. Seasons of rest and
revival
had already been spoken of in that passage under the
figure
of a calm after a storm. The suffix in "their waves,"
does
not refer to the sea, of which, in
the plural, no mention
had
been made, but to the sailors, to
whom the suffixes in the
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.
PSALM CVII. VER.
33-42. 295
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 qhw, in ver. 30 occurs only
in
Jon. i. 11, Myh qtw,
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 zvHm is
that
of Gousset from zvH=hzH to see, the object looked at, the
mark.—It is obvious from
ver. 22, that in ver. 32 we are to think
of
a public assembly for the worship of God in the then existing
sanctuary
of the nation; comp. at Ps. xxii. 22, 2 Chron. xx. 3-5.
On
the second clause, comp. at Ps. i. 1. The elders
are the
overseers
of the people (comp. Ps. cv. 22), the heads of the tribes
of
Judah and Benjamin, Esr. i. 5, the guides of the congregation
in
conduct, and also in praise.
Ver. 33-42.—Ver. 33. He changes rivers into a wilderness,
and fountains of water
into dry ground.
Ver. 34. A fruitful
land into salt, on
account of the wickedness of its inhabitants.
Ver.
35. He changes the wilderness into a
water-pond, and dry
land into streams of
water.—Ver.
36. And maketh the hungry
to dwell 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,
296 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
"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 Mwy,
in
ver. 35, in its reference to the one in ver. 33), and those of the
church
to flow copiously; or,
the
Lord is watered.--Ver. 33 and 34 are usually referred to
mental
passages render it obvious that the whole passage refers
to
paring
Is. xliv. 26, 27, we find the same two positions occurring
in
an inverted order: "Who saith to
habitated,
and to the cities of
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 Is. xxi. 1,
of
the sea" (see the Christol. p. 98), in Jer. 1. 38, "a drought
is
upon her waters, they shall be dried up, for it is the land
of
graven images," li. 36, "And I dry up her sea, and make
her
springs dry." As the sea is the image of masses of people,
the
water of streams and of fountains represents happiness, pros-
perity,
and fortune; comp. the Treatise on Balaam, at Num.
xxiv.
6, 7. The streams in ver. 33
comprehend the surrounding
country.
On the second. clause, comp. Deut. viii. 15, Is. xxxv.
7,
to the latter of which passages allusion is made. It is there
PSALM CVII. VER.
33-42. 297
said
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
tory
into a salt sea and a salt soil on which nothing grows.
Comp.
Deut. xxix, 22, and Ez. ch. xlvii., where
Gomorrha
appear as a type of the world throughout the whole
of
a symbolical picture.
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, Is. xiii. 19, "And
the
beauty of kingdoms, the haughty ornament of the Chal-
deans,
shall be destroyed by God like
—Ver.
35 is literally from Is. xli. 18, "I will make the wilder-
ness
a pool of water, and the dry land springs of water;" comp.
xxxv.
7, "And the parched ground shall become a pool, and the
thirsty
land springs of water," xliii. 20, and, in opposition, the
world,
xlii. 15, "I will make the rivers islands, and I will dry up
the
pools." Allusion is made to the water 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 hWf in ver. 37 is
to make, comp. Ps. lx. 12. The increase is the year's harvest,
comp.
Lev. xxv. 16.—The hbr in ver. 38 is not only to increase,
in
reference to the number of the people, but also to improve, to
prosper, Deut. xxx. 16, comp.
also ver. 41. The Fyfmh is from
Lev.
xxvi. 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 xii. 21—the quotation is marked
298 THE
BOOK OF PSALMS.
by
the circumstance that the participle there stands in a string of
participles,
while here it is the only one that occurs in the whole
strophe—,
the second 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
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 xxi. 11, "They send
forth
their children like sheep." Whoever comes out of great
misery
is thankful even for such beginnings of salvation, as
may
be, for the first time, seen in the above description.—
1.
The second clause is from Job v. 16. The wickedness
here
is
heathen wickedness, wicked
sons
of
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.
PSALM CVIII. 299
PSALM CVIII.
The Psalmist, or rather the church
of the Lord in whose name
he
speaks, expresses her firm confidence in her God, and praises
him
because of the fulness of his mercy and truth, ver. 2-6; en-
treats
him to impart his salvation, and founds this prayer upon
the
firm ground of the word and promise of God by which
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
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 Ps. lvii.
7-11,
and the second and third from Ps. lx. 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 Psalm lx. Besides, we
have
to add the analogy of all the other doubled Psalms; comp.
at
Ps. xiv., viii., xi., lxx. In addition, it may be observed, that
300 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
while
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 with
these
words transferred to the present occasion.
David employed this variation of the
60th Psalm as an intro-
duction
to a trilogy which should represent the contest and the
victory
of
rael's
family. In this connection the Psalm loses its original
special
reference:
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 Ps. lx., 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, 0 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, 0
Lord, and play to thee among the people.
Ver.
4. For great from heaven is thy mercy,
and even to the
clouds thy truth. Ver. 5. Praise to thee, 0 God, in the heaven,
and upon the whole earth
glory to thee.—In
ver. 1, the second
"my
heart is fixed," of Ps. lvii. 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,
PSALM CVIII. VER. 1-5. 301
not
only the mouth, but also the soul, whose praise is acceptable
to
God, because it is glory, comp. Ps. xxx. 12, 1, 5. In Ps.
lvii.,
"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
riation:
instead of "even to heaven" in Ps. lvii., we have "down
from
heaven," in reference to " praise to thee in heaven," of ver.
5.
The lf 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, lfm, 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
Manasseh is mine, and
Ephraim the strength of my head,
my lawgiver. Ver. 9. Moab is my washing pot, on
cast my shoe, over
of
"hear us," in Ps. lx.,
there stands, "hear me." It is the
church
of the Lord that speaks; both expressions, therefore, are
in
reality the same,—In the eighth verse the 60th Psalm has
ylv, and mine.—In
verse 9th the 60th Psalm has:
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
prayer
for the same. Ver. 10. Who will bring me
to the strong
city, who conduct me to
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
liantly, and he will
tread down our enemies.—In ver. 10 we
have
the usual rfbm
instead of the rare rvcm.—In ver. 11 the
htx is left out: (will) not God (do it); and then there is the
sudden
transition to the address.
THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
PSALM CIX.
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 Ps. lviii.
It
constitutes the individual physiognomy of the Psalm; and to
destroy
it would require much more attention to be paid to the
exposition
than has hitherto been done. Still it is to be admit-
ted,
if not in a figurative yet in an individualizing sense. The
Psalm
belongs, as is manifest from its destination to the public
worship
of God (to the chief musician), to
those also whose lives
are
exposed to dangers arising from other causes.
The subject of the Psalm is the
suffering righteous man; comp.
ver.
31. The Psalm may be applied directly to every
individual
in
this situation. But that it may be referred, even according to
PSALM CIX. 303
the
view of the Psalmist, also to the circumstances of the people,
is
obvious from its connection with Ps. cviii., in which the people
of
God are introduced speaking. That the Psalmist had before
his
eyes at the same time the Davidic family,
and especially Him
in
whom that family was destined to reach its summit, that the
Psalm,
as it proceeds from David as situated in the time of Saul,
has
him also for its object (as he existed in his seed), can admit of
no
doubt, if we compare the last verse
of the Psalm with the first,
and
also with the fifth of the cx. The points of contact are of
such
a kind that they leave no doubt as to the originality of the
connection
with each other of both Psalms, and moreover as to
the
fact that we have here before us, as in Ps. ci.–ciii., a Davidic
trilogy
of Psalms. Here we have the help of
the Lord imparted
to
his anointed in trouble, and there it
is the glory of the Lord
made
known after deliverance: here he stands at his right hand
to
deliver him from those who condemn his soul, there his address
is,
"Sit thou at my right hand."
This threefold reference of the
Psalm has only the character
of
three rays, proceeding from the
centre of the righteous man.
The
undeniable existence of this reference here throws a vivid
light
upon the other Psalms of David which describe the suffering
righteous
man; comp. at Ps. lxix., lxx., lxxi. The cii. Psalm in
the
preceding Davidic trilogy is analogous; for at first sight it
seems
destined only for the private use of the suffering righteous
man;
but in reality it serves another purpose.
The originality of the title which
ascribes the Psalm to David,
is
confirmed by the corresponding titles of the two Psalms, be-
tween
which the Psalm before us stands, and with which it is 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
304 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
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 Ps. lxix.), 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
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."
PSALM CIX. VER. 1-10. 305
judgments
upon Judas and Judah, which contain in them a wish
as
assuredly as the will of Christ is in accordance with the will of
God;
it overlooks also the expressions of Paul, "The Lord smite
thee,
thou whited wall," Acts xxiii. 3, and "Alexander the cop-
persmith
did me much evil, the Lord reward him according to his
deeds,"
2 Tim. iv. 14.
Several expositors, giving up the justification of the Psalm,
have
in vain endeavoured to find out some defence.
The Psalm
is
either edifying or it is injurious in its tendency; it is either
holy
or abominable. We hold decidedly by the former alterna-
tive,
after the example of the Apostle who found in this Psalm a
prophecy
of Christ, Acts i. 20. The man who considers the view
which
lies at the basis of our Psalm as objectionable, robs 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
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,
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.
306 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
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, Deut. x. 21,
"he
is thy praise, and thy God Who has done with thee this
great
and terrible thing which thine eyes behold;" comp. Ps.
xxii.
3, 26, xliv. 8, and the dependent passage, Jer. xvii. 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. xxviii,
1,
xxxv. 22. God is here called upon not to be silent in view of
the
words of the enemies threatening
destruction.—The subject
in
ver. 2 is, as always in what follows, "the enemies," "the
wicked."
It will not do to make the mouth the
subject because
Htp 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 Matth. xxvi. 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 MHln
with the accusative, only here, is to
contend
with. The swords with which
they fight are their tongues;
comp.
Ps. lv. 21, lvii. 4. The language used in the Psalm refers
only
to false accusations, not to deeds. On "without a cause,"
comp.
Ps. xxxv. 7, 19.—"For my love they are enemies to me,"
ver.
4, found its full truth in Christ. As the Psalmist in the
whole
paragraph describes how he is treated, not how he feels,
the
expression, "I am prayer," cannot mean, "I am 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, Ps. cxx. 7; "I cry
wholly
for help;" comp. on hlpt, at Ps, xc. 1, and Ps. lxix. 13)
PSALM CIX. VER. 1-10. 307
David)
was wholly prayer when he went forth over the Mount of
Olives
weeping, and with his head covered, 2 Sam. xv. 30. On the
whole
verse, and on ver. 5, comp. Ps. xxxviii, 20, xxxv. 12, 13.—
The
singular in ver. 6-19 refers, as it always does in similar cases,
to
the ideal person of the wicked. Place
over him (comp. dyqph
With
lx,
Gen. xxxix. 5, xli. 34), as his superior, and judicial au-
thority,
for the righteous punishment of the shameful abuse of his
judicial
powers, his hdqp, ver. 8; comp. Is. lx. 17, 2 Chron.
xxiv.
11;—comp. Ps. xli. 1, 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. ii. 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. Ps. cx. 5 shows that the lf
Nymyl (Zech. iii. 1, Job xxx. 12) is here not
what oppresses, what
hinders,
the right hand from every exertion, paralyzes all efforts of
the
man laid hold of, but that it in reality resembles the Nymyl
in
ver.
31, the only difference being that the Nymy 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.
Books
of Moses) is evident from the literal reference in which the
verse
before us stands to the second
fundamental passage of Satan,
Zech,
iii. 1; the enemy of our Psalm, a Psalm in which NFW, 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 the
NFw, 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
Chron. xxi.;—terms which were originally appellatives, come in
308 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
the
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 should
come
in the same way. The dyqph shews, especially when the
vtdqp 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. Prov. xxviii. 9, "he that turneth away his ear
from
hearing the law, even his prayer shall be abomination," Is.
i.
15, Ps. lxvi. 17, and the passages quoted there.—In the ex-
pression,
"may his days be few," in ver. 8 (MyFfm is not an ad-
jective
but a substantive, fewnesses), we
have expressed as a
wish
what in Ps. Is 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 hdqp
ways
oversight, e]piskoph<, Acts i. 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 hdqp ver. 6: the individual in office
who
abused his office for wickedness, shall by a wicked superior
be
punished in body and life, and shall thus lose his office.
We
have in the whole half strophe a regular progression of
thought:
the wicked man is set over him, ver. 6, he is 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" passes
PSALM CIX. VER. 11-20. 309
into
the territory of the next strophe.—On "may his sons wan-
der
up and down," ver. 10, comp. Ps. lix. 11, "let them wander
by
thy strength, i.e., in their children; they are put to death
themselves
there also. On "and beg," compare Ps. xxxvii. 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 wqn in ver. 11 occurs in Ps.
xxxviii.
12, in the sense of to lay snares, to
catch. The stran-
gers are in opposition to
the members of the family, Deut. xxv.
5.
The jwm
in ver. 12, as in Ps. xxxvi. 10, lxxxv. 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 NnH, to be compassionate,
in
Ps. xxxvii. 21, in connection with giving, Prov. xxviii. 8, NnvH
Myld, is one
who has pity in a way of charity upon the poor.
310 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
The
first clause of ver. 13, according to the parallel passages, Is.
xxxvii.
37, for a futurity has the man of peace,
and ver. 38, the
futurity of the wicked is
cut off--comp.
on tyrHx
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 Deut. xxix. 20, and the Lord shall blot out his
name
from under heaven," comp. Ps. ix. 8. The blotting out of
the
name follows the extinction of the family,
comp. Dent. xxv.
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 Ex. xx. 5. The unusual hvhy lx = ynpl
Occurs
in Num. x. 9; dgn in ver. 15 of the Psalm before us.—
On
ver. 15 comp. Ps. ix. 6, xxxiv. 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 of
him."—The
rkz xl,
in ver. 16 stands in reference to the rkzy, 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 Ps. lxix. 26.
The
hxkn
is the Part. Niph. of hxk, to be
struck down; which
root
occurs also in Ps. x. 8, 10; it is allied to xbn, to be struck,
comp.
at Ps. xxxv. 15.—In ver. 17, several translate, "may it
come,"
and "may it be far from him," and refer to the optatives
in
ver. 19. But this reason is not quite decisive. Declarations
and
wishes are much more intimately connected than the common
exposition
assumes that they are, which sees here nothing else
PSALM CIX. VER.
21-31. 311
than
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. Prov. viii. 36, "those who hate
me
love death." Others by the curse understand the curses
which
he utters against the miserable man. The 28th verse is
decisive
in favour of this latter view, "they curse, do thou bless
so
is 2 Sam. xvi. 12, where David, when Shimei curses him, says,
"Perhaps
the Lord will look upon my evil (the evil which has
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 dymt 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. Is. xvii. 14,
liv. 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, Ps.
xxxi.
13, xl. 14, liv. 4, therefore those who
seek to murder me by
wicked accusations.
Ver. 21-31.—Ver. 21. And do thou, Jehovah, Lord, for me
for thy name's sake;
because thy mercy is good, deliver thou
me. Ver. 22. For I am miserable and poor, and my heart is
312 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
pierced 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, 0 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,''—hWf only means to
make, to do, never, to
act; it is to be supplied
here as in 1 Sam. xiv. 6, "perhaps the
Lord
will do to us," from the common phrases "to do mercy,"
or
"to do good to any one:"
this may be done much more easily
here
than in 1 Sam. xiv. 6, because the thing to be supplied is
in
reality contained in the clause, "for thy name's sake:"—do
to me for thy name's
sake what is suitable to thy name, to thy
historically manifested
mercy.
Ps. cxix. 124 is exactly similar,
"do
to thy servant (mercy) for thy mercy's sake;" and Jer, xiv.
7,
"though our sins testify against us, do thou Lord for thy
name's
sake (the work of thy name)." On the second clause
comp.
Ps. lxiii. 3, and especially Ps. lxix. 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 Ps. xl. 17,
comp.
lxix. 29. My heart is pierced within me,—by
the sword
of
pain; comp. ver. 16, Ps. lv. 4, "my heart trembles within me,"
in
deep pain, sore anguish.—On the first clause of ver. 23 comp. Ps.
cii.
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 jlh (a verb which properly has no Niph.) which
occurs
only in this passage, denotes a suffering, a forced going. The
PSALM CIX. VER.
21-31. 313
locusts, when the wind seizes
them, are irresistibly carried off, and
disappear
without leaving a trace behind; comp. Ex. x. 19,
Joel
ii. 20, Nah. iii. 17. Such comparisons of the sufferer to
small
helpless creatures are peculiarly characteristic of David;
comp.
here Ps. cii. 7, xi. 1, lvi. 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 Ps. lxix. 10, xxxv. 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 (a]fani<-
zousi ta> pro<swpa a[utw?n, they make their faces invisible, not
shining, Matth. vi. 16. Comp. bzk, to lie, used of waters that
sink
into the ground in Is. lviii. 11, and dbg, to be faithless,
applied
to a brook dried up, Job vi. 15. The Nm in Nmwm is not
to
be construed in a privative but in a causal sense, as is obvious
from
the corresponding word Mvcm. 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 Nmw always means oil, ointment, even in Is. x.
27,
never, as Gousset has acknowledged, on Nwd, 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. Deut. xxviii.
20,
and
xiv.
2, "Mourn, and put on thy mourning apparel, and anoint not
thyself
with oil," 2 Sam. xii. 20, "and David rose up from the
earth,
and washed himself, and anointed himself, "and also the
16th
verse of the same chapter, "And David sought God because
of
the child, and David fasted, Matth. vi.
16, 17." 2. The wHk
never
signifies to take away, to become lean,
but always to de-
ceive; Job xvi. 8, the only passage
to which an appeal has been
made,
is not to be translated my leanness rises against me,"
314 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
but
my deceit, the hypocrisy, of which by my sufferings I am
apparently
convicted, 3. The Nm in Nmwm must be taken cau-
sally
in accordance with Mvcm.—On the first clause of ver. 25,
comp.
Ps. xxii, 6, xxxi. 11. And I,—in this
miserable condi-
tion,
who ought rather to be an object of sympathy. On the
second
clause, comp. Ps. xxii. 7. The shaking
of the head is
there,
as it is here, a denial of the existence of the sufferer, a de-
claration
that his state is completely desperate.—On ver. 27,
comp.
Ps. lix. 13, "Annihilate: them that they may no longer
exist,
and that it may be known that God is ruler in Jacob even
to
the ends of the earth." Men may know
(and thus learn to
fear
thee) that this my deliverance is thy
hand, a work of thy
hand,
which exhibits the stupidity of the ungodly strengthened
as
it is in them by their exemption from punishment, as feeble-
ness.—That in ver. 20 we
cannot translate. " may they curse,
but
only "they curse," = "though they curse," is manifest from
the
vmq,
On "thy servant," compare Ps. xix. 11, xxvii. 9.—
On
ver. 29 compare Ps. lxxi. 13. It is a resumption from ver.
18
for the purpose of placing it alongside of the salvation of the
servant
of God with which alone this strophe is concerned. The
comparison
of the garment—lyfm a long robe, podh<rhj accord-
ing
to Josephus--intimates that they are to be covered with
shame
from head to foot.—On ver. 30, compare Ps vii. 17 (also
the
conclusion of the Psalm), ix. 1, xxxiv. 1, lxix. 30. On the
second
clause Ps. xxii. 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, Ps. xvi. 8.
On
"his soul," ver 20.
PSALM
CX.
Luther calls this Psalm "the
true high main Psalm of our
beloved
Lord Jesus Christ;" our Lord himself attests that it was
composed
in the Holy Ghost; and there is no other 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,
PSALM CX. VER. 1-7. 315
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-
316 THE
BOOK OF PSALMS.
ment
and the ark of the covenant were brought to
This
is evident from ver. 2, according to which the Lord extends
the
kingdom of his Anointed from
Melchisedec,
the royal priest of
royalty
and the priesthood in the Anointed, in ver. 4. David,
further,
must already have been in possession of the promise made
to
him according to 2 Sam. vii. by Nathan, of the eternal 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
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 of
PSALM CX. VER. 1-7. 317
the
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 ii. 30, by whom, as he himself says in 2 Sam.
xxiii.
2, the Spirit of the Lord spake, and on whose tongue the
word
of the Lord was, knew that this promise would reach its
height
in the Messiah, of whom there had
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."
318 TIE BOOK OF PSALMS.
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 the
Messiah,
Christ, as. ruler over his enemies;
and, in like manner, this
point
exerts its influence-upon the form in which the victory of the
offspring
of David over his enemies is celebrated,—a form which
occurs
elsewhere even in the New Testament, in the Apocalypse.
It
is a matter of indifference to us how far David recognised this
form
as such. It is not 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, Ps. ix. 7, lxviii. 18, xxix. 10 (comp. Ps. ii. 4,
xi.
4), the symbol of his dominion over heaven and earth, and
PSALM CX. VER.
1-7. 319
every
thing in them; comp. Ps. ciii. 19, "the Lord has prepared
his
throne in heaven, and his kingdom ruleth over all." The
right hand of the mighty 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
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
in
the whole
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
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," Matth. xix. 28. He who is invested with this honour
by
the Lord of heaven and earth, he whom he calls to sit at the
right
hand of his throne, and thus proclaims as his vicegerent and
representative,
is thereby elevated far above every human 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
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." The
320 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
word
is all the more full of comfort, as Christ not only sits at the
right
hand of God for himself, but also raises his people to the
same
place with him, even now in time, and more gloriously still
in
eternity, as John says in the Apocalypse: "To him that
overcometh
will I grant to sit down with me on my throne, as I
overcame
and sat down with my father on his throne;" and Paul,
2
Tim. ii. 12, "If we suffer, we shall also reign with him." But
that
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 definite
PSALM CX. VER.
1-7. 321
object
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 Rev. i. 16, proceeds
out
of the mouth of the Son of Man. The Lord will send this
rod out of Sion, the
ancient seat of the royal family of David,
which
reached its height in the Anointed, in order that, wielded
by
his mighty hand, it might wheel round among the enemies,
and
strike them to the ground. The "rule thou" is, in its 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, the
322 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
Lord
has said, "sit thou at my right hand," &c., “therefore the
Lord
shall send.” &c., the order is here inverted, "thy people,
willing
gifts," &c., "for the
Lord has sworn." The Psalmist
wished
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 hbdn 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
Lord
at the erection of the tabernacle, which was entirely built
out
of such gifts. "Speak," thus said the Lord at that time to
Moses,
(Ex. xxv. 2), "to the children of
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 willing
PSALM CX. VER. 1-7. 323
offering
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,"
Eph. iv. 23, 24,—a maxim intended to ring in the ears of
every
one who draws near to the holy God. The combatants are
here
clothed in holy attire, because the contest is no ordinary one;
it
is one in which it is necessary to put off the old man with his
works,
and in which not one thing even can be done by those who
go
forward in the spotted garments of the flesh; "it is a bearing of
the
cross, a holy warfare," where 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, Ex. xix. 6, 1 Pet. ii. 9. In this holy
attire the youth-dew of the king appears, his
youthful dew, his
youthful
soldiery, who in their holy garments resemble the dew in
beauty.
The soldiery of the king consists in part of old grey 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 a
324 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
priest
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 Lev. xvi., where we have a description of the
ceremonies
which took place on the great day of atonement, on
which
were concentrated the main duties of the office of high
priest.
David felt his weakness painfully on this point. He
might
indeed by his transgression bring
judgment upon the people
(2
Sam. xxiv. 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,
PSALM CX. VER. 1-7. 325
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
there
lies beloved
will
bring it about that God will act towards them the same part
that
he acted towards
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 so
326 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
that
they can lift up their head along with their captain. What
is
wanting to the enemies of the Lord,
is the brook in the way,
"the
well of him that calleth." But he to whom this well is
given
cannot give way to despair, though he may at times be
mournful
and hang his head. The clause at the
conclusion, "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 be
followed
only by such an end. The warrior lifts up his head in
triumph
after all his enemies have been cast down to the ground;
"and
his soldiers shout victory, and proclaim him to be a hero
who
keeps field and heart." This shall happen, in the most 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," Rev. xi. 15. "But may God help us,"
—to
conclude with the words of Luther—"to remain with this
Lord,
and to be found thankful to him, and to sing this Psalm to
him
with right faith and joy. To this our beloved Lord and
Saviour
alone be praise, glory, and honour, along with the Father
and
the Holy Ghost, one God, for ever. Amen."
Having given this general exposition
of the Psalm, we would
now
subjoin some explanations and additions on particular points.
First
by way of Introduction.
The composition of the Psalm by
David is attested by the
title.
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, Matth.
xxii.
41-46, Mark xii. 35-37, Luke xx. 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
Ps.
ii. is also in favour of its having been composed by David.
This
is denied only by those to whom its
admission would be uu-
PSALM CX. VER.
1-7. 327
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
dvdl 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 Matth. xxvi. 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 ii. 34, vii.
55, 56; 1 Pet. iii.
328 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
22;
Rom. viii. 34 ; 1 Cor. xv. 24 ss.; Eph. i. 20-22; Phil. ii,
9-11;
Heb. i. 3, 13, 14, viii. 1, x. 12, 13. It is not necessary,
however,
in opposition to these men, to call in authorities which
they
hold to be of no value. We are able, independently of these,
and
entirely on the force of internal evidence, to 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
Ps. cviii., 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
Psalms,
xx. xxi., 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.
PSALM CX. VER. 1-7. 329
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
right
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
"He
has chosen Solomon to sit upon the throne of the kingdom
of
the Lord over
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 yrdhb to read yrrhb "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,
yrdhb,
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, in
common
wars, in sacred garments. IV. The king, according to ver.
4,
is to be a priest for ever after the manner of Melchisedec. It
has
been maintained, that the predicate of priestly royalty might
be
applied to every one of the Israelitish kings, inasmuch as they
all
held the highest authority in ecclesiastical matters, arranged
the
festivals, offered sacrifices, &c., more especially David, who,
at
the bringing in of the ark of the covenant, 2 Sam. vi., acted
entirely
as the high priest, was dressed in 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-
330 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
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.
xxvi. 16-21,—and which alone had to do with what formed
the
peculiar kernel of the priestly office; the
expiating the sins of
the
people. David assuredly wore, at the bringing in of the ark,
a
linen ephod; but this, so far from being identical with what
was
peculiar to the high priest, was in direct opposition to it; it
was
the dress only of those who held a subordinate place in the
service
of God (comp. the Beitr. 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
Sam. vi. 17, "And David brought burnt offerings before the
Lord,
and peace offerings;" but that David offered these himself
is
about as clear from this passage, as that he brought himself to
or
that he built the altar with his own hands may be proved from
2
Sam. xxiv. 25. Even in the law, the offering of sacrifices is
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 Jos. viii. 30 ss.
The
blessing is, in the law, not confined
exclusively to the priests,
but
only the priestly form of benediction in Num. vi. David,
though
not a priest, blessed the people of God with the same
right
with which Moses, the man of God, blessed the children
of
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 never
PSALM CX. VER. 1-7. 331
has
applied to it in the Old Testament such a name, and the
highly
expressive language, "the Lord has sworn, and will not
repent,"
points to something altogether unusual, and so contrary
to
the existing state of things, that it required the strongest 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, lii. 15, presents a
sin-offering,
liii. 10, intercedes for sinners, ver. 12. Zechariah
also,
in a prophecy referring to the Psalm before us, ch. vi. 9:45,
foretells
the union in the Messiah of the priestly andAingly
(comp.
the Christol. 2 p. 69 ss.), and in a passage before
this,
ch. iii. 8, represents the Messiah as the true high priest.
332 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
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 Mlvfl, other-
wise
than at Ps. xxi. 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 Nkvf, the in-
vestigations
in Christol. P. ii. p. 427 ss,
The reasons against the Messianic
view are of no consequence.
It
has been said: 1. The Psalmist speaks to the king and high
priest
as to a 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 Sam. xxiii.,
Ps.
ii., xlv., and lxxii. 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," Matth. xvi.
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, Is. xiii. 4.
The relation already referred to in
our introductory remarks at
Ps.
cix., 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 ta> ei]j xristo>n
paqh<mata,
PSALM CX. VER. I. 333
the sufferings of Christ, and the Psalm before
us, ta>j meta> tau?ta
do<caj the glory
that should follow;
comp. the passages in Cor-
derius
in the Catena, in which, however,
they err in interpreting
Ps.
cix. exclusively of the Messiah.
Ver. 1. The Mxn 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 Sam. xxiii. 2, it follows: "the
Spirit
of the Lord speaks by me, and his word is in my tongue." It
occurs
in the mouth of David, besides Ps. xxxvi. 1, where the Mxn
hvhy is parodied, in 2 Sam. xxiii. 1. In that
passage the ex-
pression
is dependant upon Num. xxiv. 3 (comp. the Treatise on
Balaam,
p. 133); and that the passage before us possesses a
similar
dependance is evident from the circumstance that here the
discourse
opens the piece—a form which, besides the passage
before
us and 2 Sam. xxiii., occurs only in Prov. xxx. 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 Ps.
cviii.
also he speaks in the name of the Lord.—Dan. vii. 13, 14,
forms
the most ancient commentary upon "Sit thou at my right
hand."
There the Son of Man comes on the clouds of heaven to
the
Ancient of Days, to the heavenly throne of God, "and there
is
given to him dominion, and glory, and majesty, and all 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
Matth.
xxvi. 24, connects with the one before us, the real import
of
which he explains in Matth. xxviii. 18, "From henceforth ye
shall
see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of Omnipotence,
and
coming in the clouds of heaven." Even there the Son of Man
rules
from heaven over the earth. It is constantly taken for granted
in
the New Testament that the throne of God, at whose right
hand
the king sits, is only the heavenly
throne; comp. Acts ii.
34,
Eph. i. 20-22, Heb. 13, 14. In reference to the right
hand,
as the seat and symbol of power and might, comp., for
example,
Ex. xv. 6, "Thy right hand, 0 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-
334 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
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 ii. 19,
as
"the mother of the king;" as such she shared, in a certain
sense,
fully in his dominion. Even at table,
those who sat at
the
right hand of Saul were the individuals who shared in his
dominion,
generally his son Jonathan, who held under him the
place
which he would willingly have held also under David (ac-
cording
to 1 Sam. xxiii. 17, "And he said to David, Fear not,
for
the hand of Saul my father shall not find thee, and thou shalt
rule
over
his
absence, Abner; comp. 1 Sam. xx. 25, and Thenius on the pas-
sage:—it
was a totally different thing, however, to sit on the throne.
That
in Ps. xlv. 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
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: assidet
i.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 vii.
55, 56, where Stephen sees Jesus
standing at the right hand of
God, and from Rom. viii. 34, "who
is
at the right hand of God." Still the sitting
is by no means
insignificant; it is the position of
one ruling; sit at my right hand,
that
is, rejoice in thy kingdom, in sharing in my omnipotence and
government
of the world; comp. on sitting as the
proper posture
of
a reigning sovereign at Ps. xxix. 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 the
PSALM CX. VER.
2. 335
preceding
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. Ps. xvi. 8, cxix. 31,
and
ver. 5 here.—We have already observed that the df is to be
taken
exclusively. It is used by Paul in this sense in 1 Cor. xv.
24,
ss. We cannot translate: till I lay thine enemies, but only:
till
I make thine enemies. Jo. Arnd
"As this our king has a
glorious
throne, so has he also a wonderful footstool; and as his
royal
throne imparts to us comfort in the highest degree, so his
footstool
also imparts to us joy. How joyful shall his poor 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.
xlviii. 17, Ez. 11, 12, 14, in which zf hFm occurs
undoubtedly
in the sense of powerful rod. hFm never signifies
sceptre,
but always rod. In Jer. xlviii. 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. xix.
11,
distinguishes between the rod and the sceptre. The rod is
the
instrument of slaughter and punishment; comp. Is. ix. 3, x.
336 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
5,
15, xiv. 5, Ez. vii. 10, 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
hdr,
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
in
ch. x. 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 iv. 2, 3, and Is. ii. 3, 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
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 Ps. ii. 9, and in the fundamental
passage,
Num. xxiv. 17, alongside of the threatening
one. Over
Sion, as the centre point of
the kingdom of the Anointed, comp.
at
Ps. ii. 6. On "rule in the midst of thine enemies," Num.
xxiv.
19, ought to be compared, "And one shall rule out of
Jacob,
and shall destroy him that remaineth of the city," more
especially
as David, in 2 Sam. xxiii., undoubtedly refers to the
prophecy
of Balaam; comp. the Treatise on Balaam, p. 133.
That
prophecy received its preliminary fulfilment in David, who
did
rule in the midst of his enemies; comp. 2 Sam. viii. But
David
was not satisfied with this foretaste; his eyes were shar-
pened
to perceive its proper fulfilment. Luther: "He gives us
PSALM CX. VER.
3 337
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, tvbdn ought
to
have the sense of "willingness"—thy
people is entirely will-
ing. But it was shewn at
Ps. liv. 6, that hbdn 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 Ps. lxviii. 9, where tvbdn 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 hbdn hvhyl in the
Sense
of free-will gifts, which are brought
to the Lord (hbdn 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, Ex. xxv. 2, xxxv. 29, xxxvi. 3, from
hvhyl bdnth, to dedicate one's self to the Lord, as found in the
lips
of David, 1 Chron. xxix. 14, 17, and from the special use of
this
phrase as applied to such as dedicated themselves to the Lord
for
sacred warfare, in 2 Chron. xvii. 16,
Ju. v. 2, 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 Mvyb
jlyH 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 lyH
ought
rather to be taken in its usual sense of strength,
might,
power (comp. Ps. xviii. 32,
lix. 11, lxxxiv. 7), is manifest from
Ps.
lx. 12, cviii. 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, Num. xxiv. 18, "
which
1 Sam. xiv. 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 of
338 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
them"
shall be in the act of being fulfilled. Finally, the "power-
day"
is parallel to the rod of strength in
ver. 2, and to the day
of
wrath of the Lord and of his Anointed in ver. 5. It is 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 Sam. xvii. 12, where Hushai
said
to Absalom, "and we come upon him in one of the places
where
he is found, and fall upon him as the dew falleth upon the
earth.
In this passage it is exceedingly doubtful whether it is
the
multitude that does form the point of 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 MHrm
rHwm, 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 wdq ydgb, in which the high
priest, according to Lev.
xvi.
4, discharged his duties on the great day of atonement. The
"holy
beauty," the wdq trdh, which in Ps. xxix. 2 is attri-
buted
to the angels worshipping God in the heavenly sanctuary,
is
a corresponding expression. In Rev. xix. 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. Col. iii. 9, 10 ; 1 Pet. iii. 3, 4.— rHwm, which
occurs
only in this passage, is best taken in the sense of the
PSALM CX. VER. 4-. 339
place
of the sun-rising, the eastern sky; comp. Ewald, 160,
Ps.
cxxxiii. 3, is to be compared, where David compares brotherly
harmony,
as a lovely gift of heavenly origin,
to the dew of Her-
mon;
man,
nor waiteth for the sons of men;" Job xxxviii. 28, "hath
the
rain a father, or who hath begotten the dew?" As tvdly
occurs
in the sense of the season of youth in Lam. xi. 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
youth-
ful
dew;" "thy youthful soldiery like the dew in its beauty."
Ver. 4.—In Heb. vii. 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.
Num. xxiii. 19, 1 Sam. xv. 29. The y in ytrbd
lf is
the
old external mark of the stat. constr., the so termed para-
gogic Jod, which occurs also in
other passages in the Psalms of
David;
comp. Ps. ci. 5, ciii. 3, 4. In this case the form is mani-
festly
in imitation of the preceding Melchesidec. The trbd lf
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 kata> th>n ta<cin, which the au-
thor
of the Epistle to the Hebrews, who follows that version in
most
cases—for example in v. 10, vii. 15—explains kata>
th>n
o{moio<thta. The trbd
lf, occurs
frequently in Song of Sol.,
but
in a sense altogether different. That Melchisedec was king
of
the
passage before us. For it is as to a type of the king of
Sion,
ver. 2, that reference is made to Melchisedec. The oath
is
in reality not made to the king at the right hand of God, but
to
the trembling believer. Arnd: "I swear to you poor sin-
ners,
by my holy and great name, that I have appointed, and
given
to you for your comfort, this my Son for a high priest, who
shall
atone for you and bless you."
Ver. 5.—That the second strophe
begins here is evident, be-
sides
other reasons, from the reference of "the Lord at thy right
hand,"
"to sit at my right hand," and to the conclusion of Ps.
cix.
Many ancient expositors suppose that the address is here
directed
to God, and consequently that the
name yndx is
here
340 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
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, 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. In Ps. cix. 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 yndx would be given to
the
king, as distinguishing him from Jehovah, which is not suit-
able.—That
after "he smites," we should suppose added, "by
thee,"
is evident, irrespective of ver. 6 and 7, from "at thy right
hand,"
according to which the right hand of the king is conceived
of
as in action, and is strengthened only by the Lord. The as-
sertion
of De Wette is very perplexing: the king sitting en-
throned
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. Ps. ii. 5. The day
of the wrath of God is
also
the power-day of the king, ver. 3. On
he strikes kings (Ps.
xviii.
38, lxviii. 21, 23, ii. 10), Luther: "He really threatens such
great
heads in an awful manner, that if they will not hear, and
PSALM CX. VER. 6. 341
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 ver. 7.
But
against this there is the consideration that "he drinks from
the
brook," presupposes a hot contest,
and appears unsuitable if
no
contest is supposed to be spoken of in the preceding clauses.
We
must, therefore, take it for granted that time change of sub-
ject
goes on from this verse. As the xlm 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 wxr
is used in its proper sense and cannot be trans
hated:
a head over great lands, is clear not
from the lf—
against
the assertion that it must necessarily have been wxr
hbr Crx comp: Ps. xlvii. 2—but from the clause,
"he shall
raise
the head," in ver. 7, and from
the parallel passage, Ps. lx-viii.
21,
"God smites the head of his enemies, the hairy head of him
who
walketh in his sins," and Hab. iii. 13,—comp. ver. 14, CHm
wxr occurs in like manner in the sense of a breaker
of heads.
On
our verse,we should compare the expanded description in Rev.
xix.
11 ss., comp. xvi. 1. ss.
342 THE BOOK OF PSALMS,
Ver. 7. That the jrdb is not to connected
with lHnm,
"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, Ps. cii. 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 Is.
ix.
3, x. 26, allusion is made to the victory over Midian by Gi-
deon,
and also in Ps. lxxxiii. 11, and in Ps, lxviii., to the song of
Deborah,
and in our Psalm to Melchisedec. The occurrence lying
within
the period of the Judges, 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 ob-
serving
that the Psalm has to do throughout only with Christ ex-
alted, and, without any good
reason, going back to the subject of
Ps.
cix. According to several, the drinking out of the brook de-
notes
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, ac-
cording
to this translation, the word of greatest importance, the
"only"
is wanting, and that water in the
east is never reckoned
as
a drink of inferior description, but in Scripture is employed as
an
emblem of what revives; comp., for example, Ps. xxxvi. 8, Jer.
xxxi.
9. We cannot refer to Jud. vi. 5, 6, as favouring this inter-
pretation.
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 interpre-
tation,
jrdb
is falsely connected with lHn. On, "he shall
lift
up
the head," that is, he shall triumph, Luther "that is, shall
be
glorious, and shall powerfully rule over all," Ps. iii. 3, xxvii. 6
That
the words indicate an enduring, a final triumph, not a mo-
mentary
strengthening, appears from the opposition to the smit-
ing of the head of the
enemies. It is also only when thus under-
stood
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.
PSALM CXI. 313
To the Davidic trilogy there is now
added in Ps. cxi.—cxiii.,
a
new trilogy. For that these three Psalms are connected toge-
ther,
appears from the following reasons: 1. All the three have
the
common object to strengthen the suffering and conflicting
church
by praising God; Ps. cxi. does this by the praise of God
on
account of his glorious deeds in the past, which guarantee glo-
rious
help for the future, Ps. cxii., by the praise of God as the faith-
ful
recompenser, and Ps. cxiii., by the praise of God as the helper
of
the needy and of the miserable. 2. While Ps. cxi. and cxii.
have
the hallelujah only at the beginning, Ps. cxiii. has it at the
beginning
and at the end, and thus announces itself, as does Ps.
cvi.,
in relation to Ps. civ. and cv. as the conclusion which binds
together
the whole trilogy. 3. In connection with this there is
the
fact that of the significant number twelve of Jehovah in the
three
Psalms, six belong to the first Psalm, and six to the two
last.
As in Ps. cxi., Jehovah occurs four times, and in Ps. cxii.
twice,
so it occurs in Ps. cxiii. in the first strophe four times, and
in
the second twice. 4. As the 113th Psalm forms the conclu-
sion
of a trilogy, the fact that the Psalm is, in point of form, en-
tirely
ruled by the number three is thereby illustrated.
PSALM
CXI.
The Psalm praises the Lord because
of his great works, parti-
cularly
the redemption out of
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, Ps. civ. 35. We
are
brought into times after the captivity by the position of the
Psalm, after Ps. cvii., which
celebrates that good deed of the
Lord.
We shall be able to determine particulars more fully only
from
materials furnished by the 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 Ps. cxi. 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
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 Ps. cix. 30. In the second clause it is impossible to
346 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
find
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 Ps. cxv. 8. The public assembly of
the
righteous (comp. at Ps. cvii. 42) is at the same time a confi-
dence, a confidential
meeting
(comp. at Ps. lxiv. 2, lxxxiii. 4),
because
the world is shut out from it, the
congregation of the
Lord
is a community by itself. Thus
Luther: "I thank the
Lord
here in this public assembly, where we are in a peculiar 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, xxix. 2, Rev. xv. 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 MhycpH cannot be the plural of
CpeHA the adjective, for this retains its Zere
in the stat. constr.;
comp.
xl. 14. The word signifies always pleasure,
satisfaction,
desire, even in Prov. viii.
11, "wisdom is better than pearls, and
all
wishes come not near it," never beauty,
preciousness, loveliness,
(hence
we must reject all such translations, "to be search into in
regard
to all their beauties," a translation, moreover, which takes
Mywvrd 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. vcpH lkl according
to his every wish, 1 Kings ix. 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 wrd
in Ps. cxix. 45, 94, 155), find a
complete answer
and satisfaction, there
is everywhere a response, there are no
questions to be evaded.—On "majesty and
glory" in ver. 3, comp.
at
Ps. civ. 1. The righteousness of God
is the property by which
he
gives to every one his own, to the righteous salvation, comp.
Ps.
lxxxix. 14, 16, ciii. 6, 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 Ex. xxxiv. 6.—The JrF in ver. 5 denotes
properly
the booty of wild beasts, and is used
only as a poetical
term
for human nourishment. The food of
PSALM CXI. VER. 1-10. 347
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 dygh, 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.
sees
a type of the future possession by
over
the whole, world; comp. Is. lx. 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 Ps. xix. 7, 8), only in a
subordinate
sense, only in so far as light falls upon them from the
quality
of the works; his commandments are thus
to be depended
upon,
for he who acts in this way cannot
lead his people on the
ice
in regard to his commandments: The 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.
of
MyvWf
to vyWfm and
the sense of tmx, 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-
348 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
ciated
with it and derived from it. The jvms is properly prop-
ped up, next firm, and occurs again in Ps. cxii. 8.
The rwy,
is
neut.
righteous nature, comp. at Ps. xi. 7.--The redemption, in
ver.
9, is the deliverance out of
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,"
Mal. iii. 14, 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, Prov. i. 7, "the
fear
of the Lord is the beginning, tywxr, of knowledge,"
and
Prov.
ix. 10. "the beginning, tlHt, of wisdom is the fear of
the
Lord," on which also Job xxviii. 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 tywxr
is the be-
ginning
as to time, is evident from the corresponding term hlHt.
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 of
PSALM CXII. 349
God,"
Ps. cxii. 1, which appears here as the attendant of the fear
of
God. The bvF lkW, is from Prov. iii. 4; comp. chap. xiii. 15.
The
plural suffix in MhyWf 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. Deut. xxviii. 58,
where
"to do all the works of this law," and "to fear this holy
and
dreadful name," are placed together as of equal import, Ps.
cxii.
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 vtlht 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;
to
salvation, to dominion over the world, as has gloriously been
fulfilled
in Christ.
PSALM CXII.
This Psalm is a praise of God as the
true recompenser. In
the
preceding Psalm, courage had been imparted to those who
failed
to observe 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 on
350 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
it.
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 Psalm, cxiii., is added, to
make
up the collection.
Ver. 1. Hallelujah.—Blessed is the man who fears the Lord,
has great pleasure in
his commandments.
Ver. 2. His seed shall
be a 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 Ps.xix.
7,
10. The "warrior on the earth" (comp. at Ps. lii. 1, the sense
"powerful"
is arbitrarily assumed), ver. 2, is from Gen. x. 8; and
even
the reference to this passage shews that the Crxb is not to
be
translated in the land. His seed, the
posterity of the man of
Judah,
Is. v. 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 and
PSALM CXII. 351
blessing
for overcoming the world, is promised in case of their
being
faithful to the covenant (comp. Deut. xxxiii. 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 Ps. cxi. 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. Is. liv. 17, xlv. 24,
and
at Ps. xxiv. 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," Ez. xviii.
24,
20, Luke i. 75—In ver. 4, the second clause standing in op-
position
to Myrwy,
serves to define them more exactly; this was
all
the more necessary as "the righteous," on the ground of Num.
xxiii.
10, had become to a certain extent a proper name of
as
is manifest from Ps. cxi. 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 Ps. cxi. 1, are applied to the Lord.
But
this is not altogether decisive. According to the actual re-
lation
of the Psalm before us to Ps. cxi., 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, that
they
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. Matth. v. 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-
352 THE BOOK PSALMS
festly
an expansion of ver. 4, particularly that the NnvH there refers
manifestly
to NvnH in
ver. 4, and finally that in the parallel pas-
sage,
Is. lviii. 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." Ps. xcvii. 11
also
depends upon this passage of Isaiah.—In ver. 5, the bvF,
good = prosperous, Is. iii. 10, Jer.
xliv. 17, corresponds to the
yrwx 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.
xxxvii.
21, 26, would have to be compared, passages from which the
expression is most certainly
taken), but as a virtue, comp. Prov.
xiv.
21, "he who is compassionate towards the poor, salvation to
him!"
ver. 31. The lklk stands in its usual sense, to nourish,
to care for, comp. at Ps. lv. 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 lklk 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 Fpwmb, corresponds to the qydc, 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 Mlvf rkzl, corres-
ponds
to the Mlvfl,
the qydc
to the Fvmy xl. Hence "he
shall
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."
PSALM CXIII. 353
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 Nvkn firm =
fearless, comp. at Ps. hi. 10.a--The
jvms, properly propped,
in ver. 8, refers back to Ps. cxi. 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. Ps. liv. 7. Confidence
in
hope ceases when sight enters. The df is to be taken in an
exclusive
sense.---On the rzp in ver. 9 comp. Prov. xi. 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 the
recompense. The righteousness is that
which gives to every one
his
own, to the poor charity. On "his horn shall be exalted,"
comp.
Ps. lxxv.4, xcii. 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
He gnashes with, his
teeth,
Ps. xxxv. 16, xxxvii. 12, in impotent
rage.
And melts away, Ps. lxviii. 2. In the
last clause the de-
sire of the wicked means the object of that desire; comp. Job
viii.
13, Prov. x. 28.
PSALM
CXIII.
The glorious name of the Lord shall
be praised, ver. 1-3, in
a Arnd "Look now at the examples,—how Moses
says at the
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."
354 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
whom
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," Is.
xli.
14, the miserable one, over whom all the world goes, Is. liv.
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, Ps. cxi. 1, those who
fear the Lord, ver. 5, his
people,
ver. 6. Comp. Ps. xxxiv. 22, lxix. 36, cxxxvi. 22, Es. v.
11,
Neh. i. 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-
PSALM CXIII. VER. 4-6. 355
ter
of a prophecy. The responsive cry of praise shall succeed the
cry
of the deed's sounding throughout all eternity.—As llhm is
always
used as an epithet of God, praised
=glorious (comp. at Ps.
xviii.
3, xcvi. 4, cxlv. 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. Ps. 1. 1. "The Lord who rules over all quar-
ters
with his hands," who has made known his strength among
the
nations, PS. lxxvii. 14; who crushed Rahab like one slain, Ps.
lxxxix.
10, he, a whom it is said in Ps. lxxxix. 11, 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. Ps. xcix.
2), who are so proud and who
oppress
Ps.
xlvii. 2. "Over the
heaven," instead of "in the heaven"
(comp.
at Ps. 5, cxlviii. 13), which itself tells his glory,
Ps.
xix. 1, where the sons of God gives him glory, Ps. xxix. 1,
the
strong heroes praise him, Ps. ciii. 20, 21, the Seraphim
sing
"holy, holy, holy," Is. vi. Several falsely: "out over
heaven."
That would be out into the empty void.—In ver.
5,
6, the literal translation is: who exalts
himself sitting, humbles
himself looking, compare Ew. § 280. On
the Jod parag. at Ps. ciii.
3.
The infin. with l, 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 Ps. xviii. 35.
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. Is. lvii. 15, is parallel. Jo. Arnd: "All miserable peo-
ple
should keep this for their highest protection, and should eter-
356
THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
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: Deut. iii. 24,
"who
is a God in heaven and earth who does works like thine,
and
such as thy great deeds?" Ps. lxxiii. 25, "whom have I in
heaven,
and near thee I desire none upon the earth."
Ver. 7-9.—Ver. 7. He raiseth up the poor out of the dust,
and out of the dunghill
he lifteth the needy man. Ver. 8. That
he 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 Sam. ii.
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 Ps. xliv. 25.
At ver. 8, Job xxxvi. 7.
—In
ver. 9, at which 1 Sam. ii. 5, is to be compared, "the barren
woman
beareth seven, and she that was rich in children hath wax-
ed
feeble," we cannot translate "who maketh the barren woman
to
dwell in the house." For the form of the stat. absol. is always
hrqf, and even according to the accents we can only
translate
the
barren woman of the house; the tybh cannot be the accusa-
tive,
for the language used does not refer to one
who is house-
PSALM CXIV. 357
less, in which case Ps.
lxviii. 6, would require to be compared,
but
to one who is childless, in regard to
whom it is not the that
but
the how of the dwelling that comes
into notice. The barren
woman of the house was, for example, Hannah,
while Peninah
was
the fruitful one, the type of the world. The
barren woman
appears
also, in Is. liv. 1-3, as a type of the
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 Ps. cxv., cxvi.,
cxvii.;
thus in the whole heptade seven times.
PSALM CXIV.
The power of the world in the times
immediately after the re-
turn
from captivity stood constantly against the
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
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
When
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."
358 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
sea
fled,
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
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 Ps. cxi. 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
house of Jacob from a
people of strange language. Ver. 2.
Then was Judah his
sanctuary, Israel his dominion.—The de-
parture
from
the
facts made mention of in what follows go on as far as the
entrance
into
language,"
points to the oppressive character of the previous
abode,
the beneficent character of the departure; comp. at the
parallel
passage, Ps. lxxxi. 5. As then, so now,
from
a people of strange language, a people of whom it was said
in
Deut. xxviii. 49, "the Lord shall raise up against thee a 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
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
claration
took place at Sinai, where the Lord said to
"ye
shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy people." We
PSALM CX1V. VER. 3,
4. 359
cannot,
however, think of this; for the passage through the Red
Sea
had taken place previously.
people,
as Joseph had done in Ps. lxxxi. 5. The whole is denoted
from
that branch which at the time was still flourishing, from that
part
which was the heir of all ancient reminiscences (comp. at
Ps.
lxxvi. 1), and to which the prophecies concealed in facts were
yet
to be fulfilled. The connection of
cannot
here be explained from the circumstance that the land
is
used instead of the people—for
land—but
from the frequent personification of communities as
women
or as virgins, for example, the daughter of
xlv.
12, the daughter of
of
my people, Is. xxii. 4. As the holiness of God denotes
his
separation from all created being (comp. at Ps. xxii. 3),
the
choice of
denotes
his separation from the world, and his reception into the
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 Ps. cxiii., and that
it
makes up along with it, in a certain measure, one whole. He
who
is always present to the mind of the godly, does not require on
every
occasion to be expressly named. Psalm 87th also begins with
the
words "his (city) founded on the
holy mountains." The 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
kingdom of grace. "Thus shall
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
turned back. Ver. 4. The mountains skipped like rains, the
hills like lambs.—On ver. 3, comp. Ex.
xiv. 21, Jos. iii. 14-16.
"The
sea and the
360 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
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 Ps. xciii., cvii. 23, ss.—Ver. 4 depends, as to ex-
pression,
on Ps. xxix. 6, but as to the reality upon Ex. xix. 18,
"and
the whole mountain trembled very much;" comp. Ps.
lxviii.
8, "then the earth moved, the heavens also dropped be-
fore
God, it was at Sinai, before the God of Israel," Jud. v. 4, ss.,
"0
Lord, when thou didst march out from Seir, when you did
go
forward from the field of
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 Ps. lxxvi. 4.a In Zech. iv. 7, "who art thou, 0
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, 0
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."
PSALM. CXV. 361
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, Ps. xcvii. 4, 5.—On ver. 8
comp.
Ex. xvii. 6 Num. xx. 11, Deut. viii. 15, xxxii. 13. The
words
contain a general thought which, however, is expressed in
language
borrowed from the facts of the Mosaic time, and of which
a
similar application is made in Is. xli. 18, xliii. 2: who sends
continually
to his church water out of the hard rock, causes sal-
vation
to arise in most unfavourable circumstances, so that the
power
of the world rises against it in vain.
PSALM
CXV.
After an Introduction, ver. 1, in
which the Lord is called upon
to
vindicate the honour of his name, which was endangered by the
miserable
condition of his people, the Psalmist contrasts with
each
other, in ver. 2-4, the God of Israel, who is in heaven, 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
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,
362 TEE BOOK OF PSALMS.
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
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, 0 Lord, not to us, but to thy name give
glory, because of thy
mercy, because of thy truth.—The name
of
God is his fame, Num. xiv. 15, his praise
which he has
acquired
by his former deeds, Is. xlviii. 9, and which he cannot
now
give up. The mercy and the truth of God, the 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, Ps. lxxix. 9. The "not to us," &c., is
equivalent
to "not to our merits and claims," or "not because
of
us;" comp. Dan. ix. 18, "not for our righteousnesses, but for
thy
great compassion," Is. xliii. 22-25, "thou hast not honoured
me,
0 Jacob, &c., I, even I, forgive your transgressions for my
own
sake," xlviii. 11. The expression is emphatically repeated
for
the purpose of conveying the impression that
PSALM CXV. VER. 2-8. 363
sensible
that there is nothing in him which can call forth salva-
tion.a
On the truth of God at Ps. xxx. 9, liv. 5.
Ver. 2-8.—Ver. 2.—Why should the heathen say, where is
now their God; Ver. 3. Our God is in heaven, he does 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
Ps.
lxxix. 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
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
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 Ps. ii. 4, xi. 4, ciii. 19), far exalted above the
earth,
the placel of feebleness, above the heathen and their idol-
trash.
On the second clause comp. Gen. xviii.
14, where even at
the
very beginning of revelation we find uttered, "is any thing
too
hard for the Lord?" The parallel passage for ver. 4, the
basis,
and ver. 5, the development, is Deut. iv. 28, "and ye serve
these
Gods, the work of men's hands, wood
and stone (here silver
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.
364 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
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., Is. xliv. 9-20. It has
been
maintained that the place which the Psalmist assigns to the
heathen
idol-worship is a false one. "The Jew, accustomed to no
image
of the godhead, adopts the error (often intentionally) of
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 Ps. xcv. 3, xcvi. 5. Further, it has
been
maintained that the whole description is "feeble by its
oneness
of tone." It is only so, however, in so far as we do
not
vividly transfer ourselves into the age in which the Psalms
were
composed, an age in which, with the exception of one
small
corner, the whole world did homage to these miserable
gods,
and in which what now appears trivial and self-evident
went
in the face of the consent of the whole human race.
If
any one will keep in view, throughout, the whole 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 Ps. xciv. 9, "He who has
planted
the ear," &c.—In ver. 7 the Mhydy and the Mhylgr, are
nomin.
absol. On hgh,
to murmur, to whisper, comp. at Ps.
xc.
9.
The whispering stands opposed to loud
and strong discourse;
Michaelis:
They cannot even whisper.—Like to them
are those
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,
PSALM CXV. VER. 9-18. 365
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. 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
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
Ps. xxxiii. 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, Ps. cxviii. 4, cxxxv. 20, understand
either
the proselytes, unsuitably referring
to the fobou<menoi to>n
qeo>n, 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
Ps.
cxii. 1; comp. Ps. xxii. 23, where "the fearers of God" stand
parallel
to "the seed of Jacob." The
particular is thus enclosed
on
both sides by the general. The peculiarity, 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 trust
366 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
is
intimately connected with child-like fear of God, reverential
awe
before him. The man, therefore, who has a right to
bear
the name of a fearer of the Lord, who does not wish
to
excommunicate himself from the people of the Lord, must
yield
obedience to the exhortation of the Psalmist. A com-
mentary
on the short and hasty expression, "he hath been
mindful
of us," is furnished by Ps. cxvi. 18, according to which
a
great deliverance had just been imparted to the people of
the
Lord; comp. Ps. cvii. The cry "remember me, 0 Lord,"
which
the church had uttered in captivity, is now about to be ful-
filled.—The small with the great, ver. 13, the
low who give way
so
easily to despondency no less than the high; comp. Jer. xvi.
6,
2 Kings xviii. 24, Rev. xiii. 16, xix. 5, Matth. xviii.6—Ver.
14
depends upon neut. i. 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 Gen.
xxx.
24, and to which Joab alludes in 2 Sam. xxiv. 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. Ps. cxix. 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. Is. x. 16—Ver.
15
alludes to the blessing of Melchisedec upon Abraham, Gen.
xix.
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. Gen. i. 28, "And God blessed them, and God
said
unto them, Be fruitful and multiply, and replenish the earth
and
possess it," chap. ix. 1), a ground of consolation in view of
the
circumstances which threatened destruction to the people of
PSALM CXVI. 367
God:
he cannot therefore permit it to be robbed of the occupants
assigned
to it by him, to be depopulated (comp. Hab. i. 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.
Ps. cxviii. 17, "I shall not die, but live and make known
the
deeds of the Lord." "And we shall" is in reality equiva-
lent
to "we shall thus." The
other constructions of the two
verses,
such as that which finds them containing a praise of "the
grace
of God which gives the earth to men in opposition to the
miserable
inhabitants of the lower world who cannot praise him,"
are
set aside by the circumstance that the position that the dead
do
not praise the Lord is everywhere else represented to the Lord
as
a reason for hit to deliver from death; comp. Ps. vi. 5, xxx.
9,
lxxxviii. 10-12 Is. xxxviii. 18, 19. The passage before us
can
scarcely be separated from these very striking parallel 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
hmvd silence,
comp. at Ps. xciv. 17.
PSALM CXVI.
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.
368 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
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 Ps. cxvi., Jehovah occurs fifteen
times,
in Ps. cxvii. 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
Ps.
cxvi. 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, Ps. cxvii. 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 hdgn and
the
htvmh,
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
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.
PSALM CXVI. VER. 1-2. 369
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.
Ps. cvii. 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
fywvhy
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. Ezr. ii. 68, iii. 8. The Psalm
however,
was certainly sung for the first time after the setting up
of
public worship, ver. 13, ss., and on an occasion of national
thanksgiving,—an
o casion later than that assigned to Ps. cvii.;
comp.
the Introduction to that Psalm. Particulars will be obtained
from
Ps. cxviii.
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 Ps. xviii. is de-
cisive:
"I love thee with my heart, 0 Lord, my strength." "For
the
Lord hears," &c., in the Psalm before us corresponds to "my
strength,"
in that Psalm, and to the development of that 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 the
370 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
first
clause corresponds to the second half of ver. 2, exactly as
the
second clause corresponds to the first half. The abrupt
clause,
"I love," is altogether 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 Deut vi. 5, and to the parallel passage,
"thou
shalt love, tbhx, the Lord thy God with all thy heart,
and
with all thy soul, and with all thy strength." The Psalmist
testifies
that, by the proofs which he had received of the love of
God,
the fulfilment of this the first and great commandment had
become
possible to him. In reality, "I love," put by the Psalmist
into
the lips of the people, has, at the same time, a hortatory
character;
let us love him because he has first loved us.—It is
manifest
from Is. xxxix. 8, that "in my days," in ver. 2, is to be
understood
as equivalent to "my life long." I
will call upon,
giving
thanks for his salvation, ver. 13, and praying in all 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 : 0 Lord, deliver my.
soul! Ver. 5. Gracious is the Lord and upright, and our
God
is compassionate. Ver. 6. The Lord defends the simple, I was
in sorrow and he
delivered me.
Ver. 7. Return again, 0 my
soul, to thy rest, for
the Lord hath 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
Ps. xviii. 4, 5. It
is
not without design that the church, in the description of her
trouble,
connects herself with David. He was her great example
in
distress and deliverance. In Ps. 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.
Hag.
ii. 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 the
name 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 the
PSALM CXVI. VER.
3-9. 371
Lord,
ver. 5, just because he is gracious and compassionate to-
wards
his own people; comp. Ps. cxii. 4. Allusion is made to
the
fundamental definition of the divine Being in the Law, which
had
in this instance been so gloriously verified: the idea meant
to
be conveyed is: as the Lord has delivered my soul, and thus
confirmed
the truth of his word, which calls him gracious and
compassionate.
Instead of narrating historically the consequences
of
the prayer, the Psalmist breaks out into praise of the grace
and
mercy of God therein made known.—On ytp in ver. 6, comp.
at
Ps. xix. 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, fywvhy,
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.
lv.
1, invites o the enjoyment of the blessings freely furnished
by
God, The Hvnm,
possibly a place of rest, is never
inward
rest
and peace (Luther: Be now at peace, 0 my soul)—the plu-
ral
is against this—but the outward rest.
The tvHvnm
in Ps.
xxiii.
2 also refers to this, and in Matth. xi. 29 the rest is the
place
of rest. The rest for the soul is the land of the Lord, the
temple,
the building of which was just begun, the delightful home,
together
with every thing which it affords for refreshment to the
weary
wanderer. Hitherto the soul had been restless and wander-
ing
like Cain, Gen. iv. 12. On Lmg comp. at Ps. vii. 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 Ps. lvi. 13:
a The sense of Myxtp 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
372 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
"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 Jer. xxxi. 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" (Ezr. iii. 3); comp. "in the land of the liv-
ing,"
in Ps. xxvii. 13, lii. 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. 0
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,
—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, Gen. xv. 6, and of David, in Ps. xxvii. 13.
The
NymxH
is absolute, just as it is in Is. vii. 9. The Psalmist,
however,
has no intention of boasting of his faith, but of giving
glory
to the Lord who had given him according to his faith. For
I did speak,—which is a sure proof
of the presence of faith. Con-
fession
and faith are inseparably connected;a comp. 2 Cor. iv.
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."
PSALM CXVI. VER.
10-19. 373
was
according to the faith), and is particularly described in ver. 11.
The
future denotes the past time just as the xcmx in ver. 3 and
the
xrqx
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,
rbd here and rmx in ver. 11 stand in
their usual relation to
each
other; comp. at Ps. iv. 4.a This relation is not attended
to
in the translation: "I believed although I said; or when I said
I am very much plagued." These senses of yk, moreover, are
nowhere
to be found. In Ex, xiii. 17, to which reference has
been
made for the sense "although," the yk is simply
"because."
That
the way through the land of the Philistines was short, was
precisely
the reason why Moses did not choose it.
a
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 Ps. xxxi. 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 placed
in
them, leave in the lurch those who hope in them (comp. Ps.
lxii.
9, cviii. 12) resumes, "I believed for I spoke." From the
circumstance
that the speaking here is the expression of the faith,
the
exact import of the words spoken becomes apparent; it is
obvious
that behind the negative there is concealed the positive:
I
place my hope hand confidence not in deceitful men, but on my
true
and faithful God; comp. Ps. cviii. 8, "it is better to trust
in
the Lord than to put confidence in men."—In ver. 12, exactly
as
in ver. 5, the Sequence is not expressly mentioned but presup-
posed:
it happened to me according to my faith,
how then shall
I?—In ver. 13 the cup of salvation (the plural denotes
the ful-
ness
and the variety of the salvation), is a figurative representation
of
the salvation which had been imparted
to the Psalmist. He
will
with this, laying it to heart, come before God, and after the
example
of Abraham, who did so after every great instance of
deliverance,
call upon the name of the Lord, the only recompense
a Gesell. on the word rbd: “For rbd is rarely so placed that
the words which are re-
ported
follow immediately, and rmxl is to be supplied mentally."
374 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
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, Ps. xvi. 5, xxiii. 5, and bad fortune, Ps. xi. 6,
lxxv.
8, and at Ps. lx. 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 xn 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 Ps. lxxii. 14.a—The hnx 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 Ps, lxxxvi. 16.
PSALM CXVII.
COMPARE THE INTRODUCTION TO PS. CXVI.
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
8,
xcviii. 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.
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."
PSALM
CXVIII. 375
PSALM
CXVIII.
The exhortation to praise the Lord
because of his mercy towards
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 Exod.
xv.
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
ought
to praise the Lord. And this reason can be found only
in
a salvation granted to
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 the
376 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
Psalm
for use at some important national undertaking,
is evi-
dent
from 0 Lord help, 0 Lord cause us to
prosper, in ver. 25,
according
to which the destination of the Psalm, assumed by
some,
without any tenable ground, for general use at the feast of
Tabernacles,
is altogether excluded. Ver. 22 makes it apparent
that
this undertaking was the laying of the foundation-stone of
the
temple in the second year after the 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, Ezr. iii. 10, 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
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
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 Chron. v. 13,
vii.
3. We are here decidedly directed to the Psalm before
us,
as the contents of Ps. cvi., cvii., and cxxxvi., prevent us
from
thinking of them. 2. The expression, "according to the
arrangement
of David," contains surprising light as soon as
we
assume that our Psalm, along with the whole dodecade to
which
it belongs,b was sung at the laying of the foundation-
stone
of the temple. The dodecade is opened by three Psalms of
a The ydy lf, 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
Jer.
v. 31.
b That it is impossible to isolate
our Psalm is evident, for example, from ver. 1-4,
compared
with cxv. 9-11, the rcm here in ver. 5, and Ps cxvi. 3, used elsewhere
only in
the
single passage, Lam. i. 3 xnx in ver. 23, compared
with Ps, cxv-i. 10, the yntytd in
ver.
13, compared with the yHdm in Ps, cxvi. 8.
PSALM CXVIII. VER.
1-14. 377
David's;
and these give the tone for the rest. 3. The division
also
of the priests (and Levites) and the people in praising the
Lord,
is mentioned in precisely a similar way in the book of Ezra,
as
it is here in ver. 1-4; comp. Ps. cxv. 9-11. 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
iii. 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
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 Ps. cvi. 1. The
passage
there is the original one; the expression is first borrowed
in
Ps. cvii. 1. It depends on Ps. c. 4, 5, where all the consti-
tuent
parts are to be found. On the threefold division in ver. 2-4,
comp.
at Ps. cxv. 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
378 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
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
the
heathen world by which they were still surrounded on all
sides.—On
the second clause of ver. 5, comp. Ps. iv. 1, xviii.
19,
xxxi. 8. The rHrmb 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 Ps. lvi. 4, 11, with this difference, that
instead
of "I trust in God" there, we have here, "the Lord is
to
me," from the 9th verse of the same Psalm.—The first clause
of
ver. 7 is from Ps. liv. 4, comp. on the b at that passage. On
the
second clause comp. Ps. liv. 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. Ps. lxii. 8, 9. On hsH at Ps.
ii.
12. The princes are the possessors of
the power of the world
(comp.
Ps. cxlvi. 3), on whom the heathen placed their trust, and
to
whom
of
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.
PSALM CXVIII. VER.
5-14. 379
whole
surrounding power of the world was
hostile to Israel.a 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 Ps. xxxiii. 21, lii. 9, liv. 1. The
yk is to be taken in the sense of
"that:"—it is that I shall cut
them down,—an emphatic
expression, instead of I shall cut them
down; comp. Is. vii. 7, and
Drechler on the passage. The
warlike
cry, "I shall cut them down," is an echo to Ps. cx. 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 lvm
with the single exception of Ps. xc. 6, where
the
Pil. occurs in the sense of to cut,
has always the sense of to
circumcise; and this sense is
assuredly to be retained here.
Victory
over the heathen, the "uncircumcised," appears under
the
image of a forced circumcision; comp. similar allusions to
circumcision
in Gal. v. 12; Phil. iii. 2; Ps. lviii. 7; Is. i. 22;
perhaps
with reference to the practical irony in 1 Sam. xviii. 25,
2
Sam. iii. 14.--In reference to the relation of the ynvbs and the
ynvbbs in ver. 11, comp. at Ps. xviii.
5.—"As bees," in ver.
12,
is from Deut. i. 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 Is.
xii. 2, taken from the
song
of Moses, the servant of God, Ex. xv. 2, the first of the
church's
songs of thanksgiving, and which forms the foundation
for
all the later songs till the end of time; comp. Rev. xv. 3.
That
the Psalmist drew from the fountain,
and not from Is. xii.
2,
is clear from the circumstance, that the concluding verse of
the
second main division depends upon the second half of Ex.
xv.
2. The first half of the verse before us denotes the 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."
380 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
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 trmz is rejected on
account
of the hy
which follows, after the Syrian fashion, accord-
ing
to which the Jod is merely written, not pronounced.
Ver. 15-18.—Ver. 15. The voice of rejoicing and salvation
(resounds) in the
tabernacles of the righteous: the right hand
of the Lord doeth
valiantly.
Ver. 16. The right hand of the
Lord exalts, the right
hand of the Lord doeth valiantly. Ver.
17.
I shall not die, but live and make known
the works of the
Lord. Ver. 18. The Lord afflicted me sorely, but he did not
give me over to death.--The voice of
salvation in ver. 15 is the
voice
which praises the salvation, that already wrought out and
that
still hoped for. Tabernacles is
repeatedly used as a poetic
term
for habitations generally, Ps. lxxviii. 55, xci. 10. In all
probability
a part of the people at that time, the second year
after
the return, still dwelt in tents; at all events the chief habi-
tation
of
as
a name of the Israelites, comp. at Ps. xxxiii. 1. "Does
valiantly"
alludes to Ps. cviii. 12, comp. Ps. lx. 12.—The hmmvr,
ver.
16, is not the partic. of Mmr, but the Pil. of Mvr, to exalt; Ps.
xxxvii.
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. Ps. lxxi. 20, Hab. i. 12, Ps. cxvi.
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
PSALM CXVIII. VER. 19-28. 381
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 of
righteousness, because the fountain
of righteousness, i.e., of
matter-of-fact
justification, or of salvation, for
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
experienced
that he had done, opportunity to praise him in the
sanctuary.—The
second clause of ver. 21 alludes again to Ex.
xv.
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. Jer.
li.
26 is parallel when it is said of
of
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
comp.
Matth. xxi. 42, Acts iv. 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-
382 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
pression
"has become" belongs to the view taken by faith, which
in
this weak beginning, the deliverance of
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.
iii. 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. wxr
hnph, 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 xxxviii. 6),
which is also in other passages used as
a
figure of royalty, comp. the Christol. at Zech. x. 4. The scrip-
tures
know nothing of a top stone. Zech. x. 4 is to be translated
"Who
art thou, 0 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 Neh. i. 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 his
PSALM CXVIII. VER.
19-28. 383
Bibl.
accent.), from the corresponding expression "from the house
of
the Lord," "the house of righteousness," ver. 19, the fountain
and
the treasury of all blessing, but above all from the phrase,
"to
bless in the name of the Lord"—the name of the Lord, his
historically
manifested glory, the fountain of
blessing—a phrase
which
is one of constant occurrence, comp. Deut. xxi. 5, Num. v.
27,
2 Sam. vi. 18, Ps. cxxix. 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. Ps. cxxix. 8, Ruth ii. 4; the Israelites
were
far less high-Church than is generally imagined.—The sense
of
the 27th verse is this: "Jehovah is God in the full sense of
the
word, and he has really 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, Num. vi. 25—in this case the
"countenance"
world not be wanting—but to Ex. xiii. 21:
"and
the Lord went before them in a pillar of cloud to guide
them
in the way, and by night in a pillar of fire to shine or to shine
upon
them," Mhl ryxhl) comp. xiv. 20, Neh. ix. 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" The
gH is used in this way of the sacrifices of feast
in Ex. xxiii. 18,
"to
eat the feast," dfvm, is used instead of "the flesh of the
feast-offering."
In Deut. xvi. 2, the "passover" denotes the
"sacrifice
of the passover;" and in the New Testament, "to eat
the
passover," is used of the eating not merely of the paschal
lamb,
but also of the other paschal offerings, Jo. xviii. 28. "To
the
horns of the altar," is "till they be sacrified." The horns
a The designation of the Messiah o[
e]rxo<menoj
was not taken from the passage before
us,
but from Mal. iii. 1, compare the Christol. 3 p.4138.
384 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
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 Mytbf never signifies "cords." This
sense
has been altogether incorrectly assumed in Ez. xix. 11,
xxxi.
3, 10, 14, comp. against this view the Christol. 3, p. 305,
and
Hävernick on his commentary. 2. The whole phrase rsx
Mytbfb, occurs in Jud. xv. 13, xvi. 11. Ez. iii.
25, in the sense
of
"to bind with cords." 3. The horns of the altar, in 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 Ps. cxvi. 17, "I will call upon
the
name of the Lord," does to "I will bring to thee offerings of
praise."
"I will pay my vows to the Lord," Ps. cxvi. 18 is exactly
parallel
to the second clause.—Ver. 28 is from Ex. xv. 2, comp.
at
ver. 14.
Ver. 29. Praise the Lord, because he is good, for 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 Ps. cxiii.—cxviii., 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,
Matth. xxvi. 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.
PSALM
CXIX.
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.
PSALM CXIX. 385
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
ravian
Brethren.
The national reference of the Psalm
(comp. at Ps. cxii. 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. Ps. cxv. 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 look
386 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
upon
it as bearing a national character. If we regard the
national
import of the Psalm as fixed, we must also consider large
portions
of it which appear, at first sight, to be declarative,
viz.,
the oft-repeated affirmations about zeal in following the law,
to
bear in reality a hortatory character.
The situation is entirely the same
as that in the eight preced-
ing
Psalms. The beginning of deliverance is already present,
ver.
26, 32, 50, 65, 93, still it is only the
beginning: the
Psalmist
always finds himself still in death; comp., for example,
vers.
17, 25, 40. The
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,
Ps. cxi. cxii., but it is also nearly related to it in
thought.
In that Introduction, also, praise is bestowed upon
the
salvation of those who observe the commandments of God.
There
are, besides, several points of contact, in individual ex-
pressions,
with Ps. cxi.–cxviii.
A characteristic feature of our
Psalm is the deep conviction
that
we have nothing to do with human strength in keeping
the
commandments of God, but that God alone must create
the
will and the power to perform. The
been
convinced of this from the beginning; comp. for example,
Ps.
xc., xix., li. 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 may
PSALM CXIX. VER. 9-16. 387
keep 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 Ps. li. 10, lxxviii. 37.—"To be ashamed," in rev. 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 rmw
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: 0 Lord, thou who art so abundant in
power
and in grace towards thine own,—On rev. 13 comp. Deut.
vi.
7. Where the word of God is really in the heart
it will also
be
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.
388 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
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 lmg, ver. 17, only
signifies "to give as
a
gift," (comp. at Ps. vii. 4) the hyHx 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, Ps.
xxxix.
12. The following of the commandment is for
these
circumstances, the only means of deliverance.—That, in ver.
20,
MyFpwm,
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. Ps. ix. 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. Deut. xxvii.
26,
Gal. iii. 10.—That the lg in ver. 22 is the imperat. of
I'SALM CXIX. VER.
25-39. 380
llg, to roll
away, is obvious from the literal allusion to Jos. v.
9:
as was once the reproach of Egypt.—Thy servant meditates
upon
thy commandments, ver. 23, and has in that love to them
to
which salvation is promised a firm shield against all the 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. I
adhere to thy
testimonies, 0 Lord, let me not be put to shame.
Ver.
32. The way of thy commandments I will
run, for thou
enlargest my heart.—The first clause of
ver. 25 is from Ps. xliv.
25.—The
sense of ver. 26 is, as is manifest on comparing ver.
32:
I brought my trouble to thee, and thou didst hear me (comp.
Ps.
cxviii. 5: "Out of my distress I cried unto the Lord, the
Lord
answered me in a wide place," ver. 21), teach me now thy
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,
390 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
every
act of apostacy is a lie. The opposite is expressed in the
second
clause: "and give me thy law." The NnH with a double
accusative
is: to favour any one with anything, to give him any
thing.—The
hnvmx,
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. Ps. cxviii. 5, and ver. 45 here),
in
opposition to the former straitness and trouble, Ps. cxvi. 3.
Ver. 33-40.—Ver. 33. Teach me, 0 Lord, the way of thy
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
relation
of the prayers and the resolutions is the same as in ver.
27.
The bqf
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. Rom. i. 24),—to
gain.—Deceit, ver.
37,
is all that in which salvation is sought apart from God, idols,
human
power, &c.; comp. Ps. lx. 11, xxxi. 6, xl. 4, lxii. 9. May
all
this make as little impression upon the Psalmist as if he saw
it
not. He is determined to obtain salvation only in the ways
of God, by 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, Ps. cxvi. 3.—Which is to thy
fear, i. e., which is
to
those who fear thee; comp. Gen. xviii. 19; 1 Kings ii. 4,
viii.
25.—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 ix. 28. For
thy judgments are good, not evil, and the time must therefore
be
at hand when they shall be turned away from thy church and
PSALM CXIX. VER. 41-56. 391
turned
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 Ps. xxviii. 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, 0 Lord, and
shall be comforted.
Ver, 53. Wrath
seizes me because of the
wicked who forsake thy law. Ver. 54.
Thy laws are my song in
the house of my pilgrimage. Ver. 55.
I remember thy name
during the night, 0 Lord, and observe
thy law. Ver. 56. This I have, that I observe thy precepts.
The
rbd rkz, in, in ver. 49, is exactly the same as our phrase to
keep one's word. The rwx
lf, in the
sense of "bemuse,"
occurs
in Deut. xxix. 24. 2 Sam. iii. 30. The translation, "on
which
thou hast caused me to hope," has long since been set
aside
by the remark that, in this case, the words would have
been
vylf rwx—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 and
392 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
of
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
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.—
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
On
hpflz,
violent anger, in ver. 53, comp. at
Ps. xi. 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 Ps. xxxix. 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.
Deut.
vi. 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-
PSALM CXIX. VER. 65-72. 393
panion to those who
feared thee and kept thy commandments.
Ver.
64. The earth is full of thy mercy, 0
Lord, teach me thy
commandments.—That we must
translate, in ver. 57, "the Lord
is
my portion," or even "0 Lord my portion," (not: I say, 0
Lord,
this shall be my portion that I keep thy commandments),
is
evident, besides the accents (comp. Dachsel in the Bibl. ac-
cent.),
from Ps. xvi. 5, lxxiii. 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
Mynp hlH, to supplicate,
ver. 58, comp. at Ps. xlv. 12.—On
ver.
59 comp. ver. 26, 67. The punishment of the captivity led
the
people to repentance.—At midnight,
ver. 62, when the Lord
went
out among the Egyptians, Ex. xi. 4, xii. 29, to which pas-
sages
also Job xxxiv. 20 alludes. The MyFpwm is not as in ver.
7,
but as in ver. 20, 52.—A companion,
ver. 63, a sharer with
them
in their efforts, comp. Ps. xvi. 3. All
who feared thee,
viz.,
the pious men who lived in past ages, Mal. iii. 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, 0
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.—On
bvF, good,
comp. at Ps. xxvii. 13, xxxi. 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 ytynf,
Ps. cxvi. 10. The hrmx was used of the
394 THE BOOK OF PSALM.
commandments
at ver. 11.—On ver. 68 comp. ver. 12, 64.—Lies,
ver.
69, such as the charges of sedition mentioned in Esr. iv.
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 Ps. xvii. 10, lxxiii. 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, 0 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, Deut. xxxii. 6.
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, Ps. v. 11, xxxiv. 2, lii. 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 Deut. xxxii. 4 (comp. ver. 73), where
God
is designated as faithful even in
reference to the sufferings
of
his people. Hence hnvmx 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
ferings
is in Deut. xxxii. based upon
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-
PSALM CXIX. VER. 81-88. 395
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 wait
for thy salvation. Ver. 82. Mine eyes long after thy word, and
I say: when wilt thou
comfort me.
Ver. 83. For I am like a
bottle in the smoke, I
forget not thy commandments. Ver. 84.
How many are the days of
thy servant? when wilt thou execute
judgment upon my
persecutors?
Ver. 85. The proud have dug
pits for me, who are not
according to thy law.
Ver. 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. Ps. xxxix. 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
destroyed
the Canaanites, 2 Chron. viii. 8. The translation, "to
the
ground," arose merely from not observing the national refer-
ence.
The Crxb
is just as in ver. 19.
Ver. 89-90.—Ver. 89. Eternal art thou, 0 Lord, thy word
stands in heaven. Ver. 90. From generation to generation thy
faithfulness endures,
thou didst establish the earth and it stood.
Ver.
91. For thy judgments they still stand
to-day, for 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
396 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
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. Ps. lxxxix. 2.
—And it stood, ver. 90, comp. Ps. xxxiii.
9, in proof of thy glory,
and,
at the same time, of thy eternal faithfulness.—The subject
in
ver. 91 a. is the heavens, 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
tion
" to thy arrangements, subject to them, they stand even to-
day,"
has against it the standing use of MyFpwm 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, in
consequence
of the promise appended to them. "thou didst
quicken
me," comp. ver. 26, 32, 50, 65.—In reference to
ver.
95, comp. at Ps. lvi. 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, Ps. cxvi. 6. They
never
find, with it all, the way or salvation, to which obedience to
PSALM CXIX. VER. 105-112. 397
the
commandments of God alone furnishes access. The com-
mandments
form one complete whole; thy commandments = thy
law
hrvt;
hence the explanation of the singular of the verb and
the
xyh.
For
they are eternally with me, and thus the pre-
eminence
in wisdom over my enemies is secured to
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 Ps. xix. 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; 0
Lord, quicken me according to thy word.
Ver.
108. Let me free-will offerings of my
mouth please thee, 0
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 Lev. xviii. 5 (comp. Deut. vi.
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. Jud. xii. 3, 1 Sam. xix.
5)—therefore,
my life is continually in danger.—The
lHn
in ver.
111
is to take into possession. There is
a reference to the pas-
398 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
sage
of the law, where the lHn is used of occupancy of
for
example Ex. xxiii. 30. The law is a possession of no less
value
than the land flowing with milk and honey.
Ver. 113-120.—Ver. 113. I hate doubtful men, and I love
thy law. Ver. 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
Jxese a divided man, a]nh<j
di<yuxoj,
Ja. 1. 8.—Depart from
me, ver. 115, is “you can
do nothing with me because, &c.,”
compare
at Ps. vi. 8.—Lie is their deceit, ver.
118, all their
cunning
and deceit, with which they seek to destroy the godly,
leads
to nothing.—The judgments, in yes.
120, are the great
judgments
of the Lord in past ages, comp. Hab. iii. 2: “0 Lord, I
heard
thy call (the call of thy great judgments in the days of
old),
I was afraid." Joyful hope goes hand in hand with fear.
Ver. 121-128.—Ver. 121. 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 and
fine gold. Ver. 128. Therefore I approve of every one of thy
commandments, I hate
every way of lies.—
For good, ver. 122,
so
that it may be well with him, comp. Deut. vi. 24, x. 13, xxx.
9.—After the word of thy righteousness, ver.
123, the 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 to
PSALM CXIX. VER. 121-128. 399
be
done" lies concealed in "according to thy mercy," comp. at
Ps.
cix. 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 Is. xxiv.
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.
Rom. ii. 12, ss. The law has a general human basis ; the
book
of Job makes it manifest that this was clearly acknowledged
under
the Old Testament. Here we are especially to think of the
violation
of the righteousness commanded by God, and of love, in
the
conduct of the heathen towards Israel.—Ver. 127 depends
upon
Ps. xix. 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. Ez. xliv. 30, and
also
Num. viii. 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 Matth. v. 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 right
400 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
to
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.
Ps.
xl. 2. Through thy word = according
to thy word, ver.
116,
by thy faithfulness, in virtue of thy promise.—On ver. 135
a. comp. Ps. lxxx. 3,
7.—The first clause of ver. 136 is from Lam.
iii.
48, compare Ver. ix. 17. We must translate: dissolved in
water
brooks, like water brooks mine eyes come down, comp. Ew.
§
281 e. The whole clause after lf, is treated like a
noun, as is
the
case in Is. liii. 9, on account of their
not observing, because
they do not observe, namely, in 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, 0 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 rwy in
ver.
137 refers to the Lord, according to the fundamental passage
Deut.
xxxii. 4, and the jyFpwF 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, Ps. xciii. 5. Very faithful,
so that they do not de-
ceive
those who keep them.—On ver. 139 compare Ps. lxix. 9.
That they forget, in their conduct
towards me,—Ver. 140 de-
pends
upon Ps. xciii. 30. Thy word,
according to promise and
precept.—Ver.
142 a. is equivalent to "thy righteousness en-
dureth
for ever," comp. Ps. cxv. 16, "the heaven is heaven for
the
Lord." The righteousness of God, the property according
to
which he gives to every one his own, to his own people salva-
tion
(compare Ps. cxi. 3), appears to outward appearance to be
PSALM CXIX. VER.
145-152. 401
now
dead. But the Psalmist perceives in faith its eternal dura-
tion.
Thy law is true; it cannot therefore
deceive as to its
promises.
— At xcm
in ver. 143 compare Ps. cxvi. 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, 0 Lord, so
shall I keep thy commandments. Ver. 146.
I call upon thee, help
me, so shall I keep thy testimonies. Ver.
147.
I anticipate the dawning of the day, and
cry, I wait for
thy words. Ver. 148. My eyes anticipate the night watches,
that I may meditate upon
thy word.
Ver. 149. Hear my voice
according to thy mercy,
0 Lord, according to thy righteousness
quicken me. Ver.150. Those are near who hunt after wickedness,
they are far from thy
law. Ver. 151. Thou
art near, 0 Lord,
and all thy commandments
are truth.
Ver. 152. Long ago I
knew out of thy testimonies
that thou hast founded them for ever.
—On
Mdq,
to anticipate, comp. at Ps. xcv. 2.
Great zeal in prayer
is
described in the same way in Ps. lxxxviii. 13: "But I cry to
thee,
0 Lord, and in the morning my prayer shall anticipate thee."
The
"thee" is easily supplied from the connection; for it is to
God
that the discourse is directed. The dawning
is the dawning
of
the 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. Ps. lxiii. 6, lxxvii. 4, Lam. ii.
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,
402 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
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, 0 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; 0 Lord, according
to thy mercy quicken me. Ver.
160.
The sum of thy word is truth, and every
judgment of
thy righteousness
endureth for ever.—On
"fight my fight,"
comp.
at Ps. xliii. 1. On "deliver me," Ps. lxix. 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 dgb, at Ps. xxv. 3. It is
used
here of faithlessness towards our neighbours; apparently,
as
in Is. xxi. 2, of the violation of special relations.—The sum,
ver.
160, the whole body, Luther: "Thy word is nothing but
truth."
Ver. 161-168.—Ver. 161. Princes persecute me without cause,
and my heart quakes
before thy words.
Ver. 162. I rejoice over
thy word, as one who
findeth much spoil.
Ver. 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, 0 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, Deut. xxxii.—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.
PSALM CXX.-CXXIV. 403
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, 0 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. Ps.
xc.
11-17. According to thy word instruct me,--in
accordance
with
thy promise, ver. 25, 65, 107, as given for example in Deut.
xxx.
6: "And the Lord circumcise thy heart, and the heart of
the
seed, to love the Lord thy God with all thy heart and with
all
thy soul, that thou mayest live."—The fybh, ver. 171, is to
cause to bubble up, Ps. xix. 2, lxxviii.
2.—The hnf in
ver. 172
has
its usual sense, to respond, comp.
Ps. cxlvii. 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.
Jer.
l. 6.
PSALM CXX.—CXXXIV.
OR THE PILGRIM
BOOK.
These Psalms have much in common.
The tone never rises in
any
of them above a certain height, and descends very gradually
from
that height when gained; they all bear the character of
404 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
simplicity;
with the exception of Ps. cxxxii., which partakes the
least
of the peculiar characteristics of these poems, they are all
of
short compass; in all of them, with the 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
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 tvlfmh ryw, or as it stands in the
title of
Ps.
cxxi. tvlfml ryw.
Five of these fifteen Psalms bear
the name of the author at
their
head, four that of David—viz., Ps. cxxii., cxxiv., cxxxi.,
cxxxiii.,
one that of Solomon, Ps. cxxvii., ten on the other hand
are
nameless. The ten nameless Psalms again have a certain
peculiar
impression stamped upon them, distinguishing them from
those
above mentioned all of which are connected together by
no
common tie, but stand isolated from each other. All were
sung
when the people of God were placed in troublous circum-
stances;
all are suitable to the relations
(these relations come
more
particularly forward in some of them, especially in Ps. cxx.,
cxxi.,
cxxv.) which existed after the deliverance from the cap-
tivity,
at the time when the building of the temple was inter-
rupted,
and the contests with the Samaritans were carried on.
That
Psalm cxxxiv., where mention is made of the house of the
Lord
and the sanctuary, must not be removed from the circle of
these
relations, is obvious from the remarks which were made at
page
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, Ps. cxxii., cxxiii., cxxiv., &c. Hence we infer that
these songs
relate
to the state of the universal church, which is termed the Israel of God, Ps.
cxxiv.
1, cxxv. 5, cxxviii. 6, cxxx. 8, cxxxi. 3.
PSALM CXX.—CXXX1V. 405
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. w]dai< tw?n a]nabaqmw?n, 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 tvlfm
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
Ps. cxxi., cxxii., 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.
406 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
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, Ps. cxxi.: "I direct my eyes to the hills.
From
whence shall help come to me? My help comes from the
Lord,
the creator of heaven and of earth. . . . He lets not
thy
feet slide, thy Keeper sleeps not.
Behold the keeper of
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.
Ps.
cxxvii., cxxviii., cxxxi., 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 Psalm, cxxi., is
the
only one in which it is at all prominent. The assertion of
Gesenius
that the term is applied a potiori,
irrespective of the fact
that
the appearances are few in number and weak, is inadmissible
on
the ground that every separate song bears
the name of a song
of the Maaloth. Further, we saw that all these Psalms 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 tvlfml stands
instead
of tvlfmh
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. After
PSALM CXX.-CXXX. 407
these
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 tvlfm
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
translation,
which occurs in Theodotion (a#sma thj anabase<wj),
and
in Aq. and Symm. (ei]j ta>j a]naba<seij) has the usus loquendi
entirely
on its side. The verb hlf, is the standing expression
for
the journey up to
and
religious metropolis), more on account of its moral than on
account
of its physical height. The word before us, hlfm, is
used
itself of the journey to
Ps.
xxx. is altogether analogous to the title before us construed
in
this way: "A Song of the dedication of the house," instead of
a
Song intended to be sung at the dedication of the house."
The
supporters of this exposition are again divided into two
parties.
(a.) The idea adopted by Ewald is a
very old one: that the
title
points out those Psalms which were sung by
way home from
titles
of the old Syrian translation, and also by Chrysostom and
Theodoret.
The consideration, however, is altogether against it,
that
the return from
pilgrimage;
Ezr. vii. 9, which has been appealed to, is not in favour
of hlfm being so used, but against it, for the journey homeward of
the
exiles is not simply termed hlfm, but lbbm
hlfm, and
even
in
Ezr. ii. 1, hlf 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
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 the
408 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
titles,
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 Ps. cxx., 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
is
undoubtedly the correct one. The hlf, is the usual
expression
for
these festival-journeys; comp. Ps. cxxii. 4, Ex. xxxiv. 24,
1
Kings xii. 27, 28. The tvlfmh, the
journeys to
by
way of pre-eminence, can only be those ordinary journeys
which
were yearly repeated and prescribed in the law; comp. Ps.
cxxii.
4. All other journeys to
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
and
af the commencement of the pilgrimages to it, Ps. cxxii. con-
tains
two clauses explanatory of the tvlfm, corresponding to the
explanation
of the lykWm
Ps. xxxii., viz., "we will go to the
house
of the Lord," in ver. 1, and "to which the tribes go up,"
vlf in ver. 4. The circumstance, moreover, that
some of these
Psalms
have, in accordance with the most manifest internal marks,
been
used for this purpose, is quite decisive. This is the case with
Ps.
cxxi., which, according to ver. 1, was designed to be sung in
view
of the mountains of
PSALM CXX.-CXXXIV. 409
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 Ps. cxxii. which, according to
the
express announcement in the introduction, was sung, when the
sacred
pilgrim trains had reached the gates of
halted
for the purpose of forming in order, for the solemn proces-
sion
into the sanctuary, Ps. cxxxiv. 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
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
already
taken deep root even in the days of David and Solomon.
We
see this clearly from the conduct of Jeroboam, in 1 Kings xii.
28,
compare also at Ps. cxxii. It was hence very natural that
David,
who employed his gift of sacred song in ministering to all
the
wants of the people of God, should attend to this matter also,
and
that Solomon should continue the work. The pilgrimages
suffered
grievous interruption from the 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,
410 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
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, Ps.
cxx.—cxxiii.,
cxxiv.--cxxvi., cxxviii.—cxxxi., cxxxii.—cxxxiv.,
twelve
times; this cannot be accidental, and it renders it evident
that
the collector of the whole must be identical with the author
of
the nameless Psalms.
The unity is not one merely of form, it also refers to the
thoughts. The old Psalms are not
thrown in loosely; but the
author
of the nameless Psalms has interwoven them with his own
into
one whole;—a task which, as the Psalms originated in 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. Ps. cxxiv. 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
Ps.
cxxvii. on the comforting side, while the prevailing aspect of
it
originally was hortatory. In Ps.
cxxxi. he sounds the cry,
“Wait
O Israel upon the Lord," in ver. 3, comp. Ps. cxxx. 7. In
Ps.
cxxxiii., 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 external
PSALM CXX—CXXXIV. 411
juxtaposition
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
Psalms,
cxx., cxxi., which brings us into the relations of the pre-
sent,
represents
God.
The next in the series is a Psalm composed by David,
cxxii.,
which represents
and
prayers for her salvation. With what is said there about the
glory
of
vation,
the present stands in marked contrast; and Ps. cxxiii.
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, Ps. cxxiv., which finds
its
echo in Ps. cxxv. and cxxvi.
In the second heptade Ps. cxxviii.,
forming an appendix to Ps.
cxxvii.,
the one composed by Solomon, pronounces God fearing
the
misery of the present which appears to testify to the contrary.
Let
David,
only wait upon the Lord! Ps. cxxxi.—He shall cause
David's
horn to bud, and shall prepare a lamp for his Anointed,
Ps.
cxxxii. He has ordained a blessing for
more,
Ps. cxxxiv. He shall bless his people out of
cxxxiv.
If the Pilgrim-book belongs to the
time when the building of
the
temple was interrupted, it stands where it does, exactly in
its
proper place. It follows a dodecade of Psalms, which were
composed
on the occasion of the laying of the foundation-stone of
the
temple.
412 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
PSALM CXX.
May the Lord, who has recently
delivered
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
Psalms
of this collection, not one of which bears a purely in-
dividual character, from ver. 5,
where the dwelling by (not in)
the
tents of Kedar is most naturally referred to the relation
of
one nation to another, from the parallel passage, Ps. cxxiii.
4,
where the language refers to the people. From these firm
positions
it will not be difficult to ascertain the historical occasion
which
has been quite correctly fixed by several, and in the best
way
by Tiling, disquis. de cant. adscensionum,
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.
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
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
When
them,
according to Ezra iv., with the proposal, ''We will build
PSALM CXX. VER. 1.-4. 413
with
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
and
hired counsellors against them to frustrate their purpose all
the
days of Cyrus king of
king
of
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
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. 0 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 Ps.
cxix.
26, cxviii. 5, cxvi. 1, 2, 4, 5, cxv. 12, that we cannot
translate
"I call and he hears," but, as is also most
correct
in
point of grammar, "I called and
he heard me," and that
the
Psalmist places his 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, Ja. i. 6. The answers
already obtained refer,
according
to the above passages, chiefly to the deliverance
from
captivity. The htrc is the more full,
sonorous form, as at Ps.
xliv.
26—My soul, ver. 2,—because the
deceitful tongue had ex-
posed
his life to danger, comp. the
constantly occurring expres-
sion
in Ps. cxix., "quicken me," for example, ver. 88, and "de-
liver
my soul," Ps. cxvi. 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 Ps. lx. 3. The hymr is never an
414 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
adject.;
and the corresponding word rqw 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, Ps. cxix. 69, 78, Ps. xxxi. 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 Sam. iii. 17, xiv. 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.
Ps. xlv. 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 be
no
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 rvbg, can only be translated
in this way)
PSALM CXX. VER.
5-7 415
is
too noble a one for slander; and,
finally, the analogy of Ps. lii.
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 Nvwl 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 rvbg 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 Ps. vii. 13, and to fuel, Ps. cxl. 10, xviii. 12,
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, dwell
by 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
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 Ezek.
xxxviii.
2 as the chief vassel of Gog, the representative of the
heathen barbarian world. Even here the ground
of the choice
416 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
is
that so little is known about him: the more distant, the more
fierce.
Love of fighting was peculiar to the Arabians, of whom
the
Kedarenes formed a part. This had
been already mentioned
in
Gen. xvi. 4 as a characteristic feature of the Ishmaelites.
the
connection of rvg with the accus. comp. at Ps. v. 4.—In re-
ference
to the tbr
in ver. 6, comp. at Ps. lxv. 9. The soul
is
named because the suffering deeply affected the Psalmist's
heart.—Peace, in ver. 7,—entirely peaceful. When I speak,—I
need
only to open my mouth, and they seek to find in the most
harmless
words an occasion for new hostilities.
PSALM CXXI.
The Psalm is a simple expression of
heartfelt trust in God, the
Keeper of his church. We
perceive here nothing of the mighty
billows
and tumults of the inner man who again seeks and
finds
rest, which Ewald, proceeding on a false construction of ver.
1,
would have us perceive; but the Psalmist, or the church in whose
name
he speaks, from the very 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, (
ver.
3-8 is addressed. The remarks made in the introduction to
Ps.
xci. 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 rmw which occurs with
marked frequency, there is perhaps an allusion
to
deprive
that name of all its terror.
PSALM cxxt. 417
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 Ps. cxx. 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
ance
with Psalm cxx., 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
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
we
find an explanation of the fact, that in the middle point of the
Psalm
there stands the Lord as the keeper
of
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. vi.
11,
opened during prayer toward
anticipation
of its glorious future; he did not however seek help from
from
heaven.
418 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
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 Mynyf xWn with lx, cannot be "to lift up the eyes to
something
high," (Gen. xxxix. 7, Ezek. xxiii. 27, xviii. 6, are
against
this), but only either "to open the eyes" or "to stretch
the
eyes," according to "where your treasure is there will your
heart
be also." The kindred expression wpn xWn or bl with
is
in favour of the latter view; comp. at Ps. xxiv. 4, xxv. 1,
also
Lam. iii. 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,
Ps.
cxxiii. 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, 0 Lord God,"
Ps.
cxli. 8, xxv. 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
upon
earth; and mountains in the plural are referred to only in
so
far as this mountain is a particular point of a high mountain
range
(comp. at Ps. lxxxvii. 1) which was seen as one whole
in
the distance. The mountains of
for
these never appear as the seat of the Lord, as the treasure
house
of help for his people: in Ex. xv. 17, the hill is the hill of
the
sanctuary, the spiritual seat of
sanctuary,
every where occurs in the same connection in which the
hills
are here introduced; comp. for example Ps. iii. 4, xiv. 7,
xx.
2, xliii. 3, lxviii. 16, lxxxvii. 1. The parallel passage, also,
Ps.
cxxv. 2, where the mountains which surround and protect
is
decidedly in favour of the mountains of
and
others translate the second clause "from which help comes to
me."
But Nyxm,
is always used interrogatively,
"from which?"
it
is so, even in Joshua ii. 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. The
PSALM CXXI. VER. 3- 6. 419
first
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 Ps. cxx. 3, xxiv. 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 Ps. cxxiii. 1, cxxv.
1,
2.—The name applied to the Lord, the
Creator of heaven and
earth, in ver. 2 (comp. at
Ps. cxv. 15), points to the inexhaustible
abundance
of means of help, which he possesses; despair would
be
madness in any one who has such a God to help him.
Ver. 3-6.—Ver. 3. May he not suffer thy foot to slide; may
thy Keeper not sleep. Ver. 4. Behold the Keeper of
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
lx,
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
auxiliary
troops."
420 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
feeling
and thought of the speaker," Ewald § 310 a. Our
verse
expresses hope and desire; the following verse furnishes
the
higher confirmation. The sliding of
the foot is a frequent
description
of misfortune, for example, Ps. xxxviii. 16, lxvi. 9,
and
a very natural one in mountainous
of
the foot was often attended with great danger. The language
here
naturally refers to complete lasting misfortune. The second
clause
depends on Gen. xxviii. 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 Mvn 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, Is. v. 27, where the same thing is said of
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, Nah. iii. 18, Is. lvi. 10, Ps.
lxxvi.
5; and it has this sense also in Arabic. And, on the
other
hand, Nwy
signifies to fall asleep; this indeed
is its origi-
nal
and prevailing sense, comp. at Ps. iv. 8. Hence we must
translate:
he does not sleep (generally) and he does not fall
asleep.—The
shade, ver. 5, is a figurate
expression for protec-
PSALM CXXI. VER. 3-6. 421
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
Num.
xiv. 9, where it is said of the enemies
of
shade
is departed from them, and the Lord is with us, fear not."
The
observations made at Ps. cix. 6, render it evident that we
must
translate “at” not "over thy right hand." The right
hand
is named here also, "because, as it is the organ of action; to
stand
at the right hand is the most convenient position for one
who
is determined perseveringly to hinder or to assist." The
enemies of
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 hkh
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 Gen. xxxi. 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 expression
was
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 Gen.
xxxi.
40, where Jacob complains: "the heat consumed me by
the
day, and the cold by night," comp. Jer. xxxvi. 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 appear
422 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
remarkable
that the cold of the night which is so perceptible
in
the East, is attributed to the moon. The moon, accord-
ing
to Genesis i. 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, Deut. xxviii. 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
lected
together.
PSALM CXXII. 423
PSALM CXXII.
An introduction of two verses stands
instead of a Title, an-
nouncing
the object of the Psalm. The preceding Psalm was
intended
to be sung in sight of
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
cal,
and civil capital of the nation; and ver. 6-9 expresses wishes
and prayers for its
salvation,
intimating that the salvation of
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
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
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
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
of
the kingdom; as after that event
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 the
idea
that the in these verses, merely
describes what
had
existed in former ages: "the procession
of travellers to,
424 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
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
to
set aside this expedient; according to it,
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
on
which it rests, viz., the description of the glory and national
importance
of
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 Ps. xx., xxi.), sung from
the
soul of the people. The mention of the house
of the Lord,
in
ver. 1 and 9, does not lead to the time after the building of
Solomon's
temple, for it is undeniable, that even the early sanc-
tuary
was known by this name; comp. Ps. v. 7, xxvii., 4, lv. 14,
and
at Ps. xxx. 1. The assertion that pilgrimages to
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. iii. 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, Ex. xxiii.
15-17,
xxxiv. 23; Deut. xvi. 16. That the sanctuary in Jeru-
the
earlier one at
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,
PSALM
CXXII. 425
that,
as soon as it was consecrated, sacrifices were
offered before
it,
2 Sam. vi. 5, 13. The matter finally is put beyond a doubt
by
the Psalms of David's age, for they speak only of one sanctu-
ary,
the sanctuary at
tabernacle,
indeed, at
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
There
are, besides, distinct traces of solemn processions to the
sanctuary
in the time of David, Ps. xlii. 4, lv. 14.—The mention
of
the house of David cannot seem
strange. David had founded
a
new house, instead of the house of Saul, 2 Sam. iii. 1. Even
before
the promise which he received through Nathan, he hoped
and
wished that he would continue to reign in his posterity
(comp.
at Ps. xxi. 4, cxxxviii. 3), and after that promise he always
looked
upon himself as the founder of a family which was to last
for
ever, for example, Ps. xviii. 20.—Finally, the assertion that
the
language is that of a later age, has
no further foundation
to
rest on than the w occurring twice instead of rwx. 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
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
seat
of royalty and religion, to seek to promote its peace and prosperity by all
means, and
cheerfully
to celebrate divine worship there."
426 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
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, 0
HmW with b, 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. Isa. ii.
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
begins
for the first time there, is evident
from ver. 2, to which
the
remark is applicable, "the Psalmist is already in spirit in
city
was really before the Psalmist's eyes. Solemn processions
through
the city to the temple occur even in Psalm lv. 14, xlii.
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 is
in
the place in which God, being present, can hear, see, and feel, while there his
word and
his
true worship are to be found. Solomon's temple was not beautiful, because it
was
adorned
with gold and silver; but its true beauty consisted in this, that God's word
was
heard
there, that God was called upon there, that there God was found to be gracious,
a
Saviour
who gave peace and forgave sin. This is what is meant by beholding the 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.
PSALM CXXII. VER. 3-5. 427
with
marks of quotation. It completes the description of the
situation;
the pilgrims were already within
were
just going to the house of the Lord. The participle with
hyh 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
place
for singing the Psalm.
Ver. 3.
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
hyvnbh renders it manifest that we cannot with
Luther 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
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 Dan. iv. 27, says of
a
hundred years: is not this the great city
built; it is also said of
David, 2 Sam. v. 11, "I have built
Jeru-
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 k denotes
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.
v.
9, "And David built the city round about from Millo (a part
428 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
of.
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
resting
upon
altogether
similar to the one before us occurs in 2 Sam. v. 12,
where,
after the narrative of the building of the royal fortress by
David,
we read, "and David knew (Thenius: he was convinced
of
it by the prosperous completion of the royal-fabric) that the Lord
had
established him as king over
kingdom,
because of his people
with
ver. 9. Exactly in the same way as is done with the first basis
here,
the preservation of the
magnificently-built
sidered
in Ps. xlviii. 12-14, as a proof of the favour of God resting
upon
that city.—From the external splendour of
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
given
to
used
of the whole revelation as given to Moses, comp. at Ps. xix.
7,
lxxviii. 5, in the passage before us in the same way, as in Ps.
lxxxi.
5; the precept is meant which required all the males to
appear
three times a-year in the place of the sanctuary, Ex.
x.xiii.
17, xxxiv. 3, Deut. xvi. 16. For the dignity of the place
PSALM CXXII. VER.
3-5. 429
was
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 Ps. liv. 6.—Much
ingenuity
has been expended upon the " for" in ver. 6. It inti-
mates
that
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 Deut. xvii.
8,
9, that the supreme tribunal should be in the place of the sanc-
tuary.
was
the city of
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 Sam. vi. As the hmw always means "from
that
place"
(comp. Ps. lxxvi. 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 bwy is never construed with the ac-
cusative;
Mybrkh bwy 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 on
which,
according to Matth. 28, the twelve apostles sit judg-
ing
the twelve tribes of
xxxii.
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. For
430 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
the sake of the house of
the Lord our God I will seek thy good.
In
ver. 6 several expositors translate, "enquire after the peace of
this
case Mvlwl,
would have been the word, Gen. xliii. 27, and
especially
Jer. xv. 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
pounded
of wvry,
and Mlw, a peaceful possession, compare Ps.
lxxvi.
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
rael.
Those who love
mark
of a true Israelite is love to the place of the sanctuary, the
metropolis
of the church.—The bulwarks and the palaces stand
opposed
to each as descriptive of the external circumference and
the
interior condition, exactly as in ver. 7, and in Ps. xlviii. 13.
—In
ver. 8 and 9, intercession for
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
members
of the people of the covenant. For
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
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."
431 PSALM CXXIII.
people;
comp. Jen xxix. 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
But
that we must rather translate, “I will say, Peace be in thee,”
(comp.
Luke x. 5), appears from the doubled b in ver. 7, accord-
ing
to which the b is here also a b of place. Even " to
speak
peace"
never occurs in the sense of "to
pray," or “to wish for
peace;”
and the jb 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
striving
and endeavouring to promote it (comp. at Ps. xxvii. 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.
PSALM CXXIII.
The Psalm falls into two strophes,
each of two verses, expres-
sions
of desire after God and his aid, ver. 1 and 2, prayer for this
after
the description of the distress forming the basis on which
the
prayer rests, ver. 3 and 4. A characteristic feature of the
Pilgrim
Songs is, that petition throughout
occupies a very small
space
(here the mere "have mercy on us"), and that meditation
everywhere
prevails. Prayer-songs, properly so
called, would
have
been too far removed from the character of popular songs.
Prayer-songs
are only suitable to the sanctuary.
The Psalm is entirely suitable to
the circumstances more fully
narrated
in Ps. cxx.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-
a Calvin: "There is added a
second reason, because, unless
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."
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.
432 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
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 ii. 19, as in ver. 4, "they
laughed
us to scorn and despised us" (comp. also ch. i. 3), so that
the
assertion of De Wette, that the Psalm does not suit the 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 Ps. cxxi. 1
points
to the identity of the author.
The Psalm begins in the singular (I direct), but the plural,
which
immediately follows, shows that it is not an individual that
speaks,
but, in accordance with the common style of the Pilgrim
Songs,
the congregation of the Lord.
Calvin, in appropriate language,
shows the application of the
Psalm
to the church of all ages: "The
Holy Ghost, by a clear
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, 0 Thou who
sittest in heaven.
Ver. 2. Behold as the
eyes of servants look to
the hands of their lords, as the eyes
of the handmaid look to
the hand of her mistress, thus our eyes
look to the Lord our
God, till he be gracious to us.—Thou who
dwellest in heaven, ver. 1,—far exalted
above the earth and all its
potentates,
omnipotent, infinitely rich in aid for thy people; comp.
Ps.
cxv. 3, "Our God is in heaven, he does whatever he will," and
the
parallel passages quoted there. On the parag Jod, at Ps. ciii.
3.a—That
the Mvndx
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, 0 my God, to thee I lift up my eyes, 0 thou that dwellest in
heaven.—He
places over against each other the Inhabitant of 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."
PSALM CXXIII. VER. 3-4. 433
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. xxvii. 4. The hand of the masters and of the mistress
can
only mean the punishing hand; and the
eyes are directed to
it
in the attitude of entreaty and 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. xvi., comp. ver.
6:
"And Abraham said to Sarai, Behold
thine handmaid is in
thine hand, do to her what seemeth
good to thee, and Sarai evil-
entreated
her, and she fled from her. . . . Ver 8
. . . .
I
flee from Sarai my mistress. Ver. 9.
And the angel of the
Lord
said to her, Return to thy mistress, and humble thyself 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
Ps.
cxlv. 15, 16, civ. 27, 28. The same remark applies to the
view
taken by Calvin and others, who explain the looking to the
hand
as a seeking of protection; the mention of the relation of
the
handmaid to the mistress is also against this. The passage
paints
in a striking manner the right position of those who sigh
under
the judgments of God. They do not rage and murmur, 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, 0 Lord, be gracious to
us, for we are very much
filled with contempt.
Ver. 4. Our
soul was exceedingly
filled with the contempt of those at ease,
the scorning of the proud.—On the tkr, in ver. 4, comp. Ps.
cxx.
6.
The irregularity, that the gfl 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-
434 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
tempt
of the secure. At the Mynvyxg it is avoided by the inser-
tion
of the l which
limits the stat. constr. The reading in the
text
is to be pointed MniOyxEga. The Masorites who suspected the
uncommon
form divided the word, and read Mynvy yxg the proud
ones of the oppressors.a
PSALM CXXIV.
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. Ps. lx. Yet David has taken occasion, from
this
distress, to compose a song which should be useful to the
church
of all ages in similar circumstances. This is obvious from
the
want of all special allusions.
On behalf of the Davidic origin of the
Psalm, attested in the
title,
and denied by modern expositors without any satisfactory
reason,
we may urge, that the Psalm is not marked by the mild
softness
of the Psalms which were composed after the captivity,
but
has in it as much of David's 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 the
a Calvin: But because we see that
the
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.
PSALM CXXIV. VER.
1-5. 435
gospel,
that now seven devils beset us, whereas formerly we had
only
one to fear. But this is not the whole of our danger; a third
enemy
must rise up against us, within ourselves, whom we carry
along
with us and tenderly preserve, namely, the sacred venerable
woman,
our flesh, which incites us to sin at all times and makes
disturbance,
is contrary to faith, and fights against the spirit in
all
our members."
A
Song of the Pilgrimages.--By David. Ver. 1. Had not the
Lord remained with us,
thus may
here
and in the 2d verse an aposiopesis:
it would have happened
so
and so; exactly as in Ps. xxvii. 13, "had I not believed to
seethe
goodness of the Lord in the land of the living" .
comp.
at the passage. The w, is not superfluous, but it is to be
explained,
"if he had not been who still was ours = whom we
still
have, comp. at Ps. lvi. 9.
Ver. 2-5.—Ver. 2. Had not the Lord remained with us!
when men rose up against
us.
Ver. 3. Then they had 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. Ps. lvi. 11, "In
God
I trust, I fear not what men shall do to me."—On
yzx, ver.
3,
the ancient and poetic form which occurs only in the passage
before
us, instead of zx, 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 Ps. lv. 15, Prov. i. 12, only from the allusion to the
destruction
of the company of Korah, Num. xvi. 32, 33, where
both
words, the "swallowing up," and the "alive," occur; the
import
therefore is, they would have 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, Ps. xviii. 16, cxliv. 7, as
an
emblem of enemies. On the
"stream" (the hlHn, the full
form
like yzx),
comp. Ps. xviii. 4.—The proud waters,
ver. 5, are
here
all the more suitable, as it had been spiritual
waters that
had
been spoken of. There is no reason whatever for having
436 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
recourse
to the doubtful sense of boiling and boiling over; comp.
at
Ps. lxxxix. 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,
Ps. xxviii. 6, "Praised be the Lord, for he has heard the
voice
of my supplications," and Ps. xxxi. 22, "praised be the
Lord,
for he has 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." Ps.
xxxiii.
22 is parallel. The name of the Lord is the Lord in the
richness
of his deeds. On the second clause comp. Ps cxxi. 2.b
PSALM
CXXV.
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
is
surrounded by the protection of the Lord, as
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
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
The formal arrangement becomes obvious
only when we con-
sider
ver. 1 as the ruling fortress in relation to this and the fol-
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."
PSALM CXXV. 437
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 Psalm
cxxiv.,
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 Ps. cxxiv. 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 Ps. cxx. cxxvi. 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.
438 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
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. v. and xi., Christol. ii. 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
grims,
and are intended to open up to them the symbolical import
of
natural objects.
A
Song of the Pilgrimages.—V er. 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
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
other
mountains, its immoveable firmness, any other mountain
might
have been named. The reason why the Psalmist was led
to
choose
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
modern
expositors who understand by
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
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,”
PSALM CXXV. VER. 2,
3. 439
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. Ps. xlvi. 5, where it is said of the
city
of
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
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
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
called
hill of evil counsel, which ascends from the
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
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
church,
saw in them the spiritual mountains of God's protec-
tion.
Zech. ii. 4, 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."
440 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
not
the whole of
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
Fbw does not here mean the rod of punishment, but
the sceptre,
the
symbol of dominion (comp. at Ps. ii. 9, xlv. 6), is clear from
the
parallel expression for the dominion of the heathen, the throne
of wickedness, in Ps. xciv. 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 Ps. xxxiii. 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,"
Ps. lxxiii. 13, 14. The dy Hlw with b is to lay the hand
on any one or on any
thing,
Gen. xxxvii. 22, Ex. xxii. 7, 10.
a Berleb.: "The power of sin
shall not always be so great in those who repent and
struggle
against it."
PSALM CXX V. VER. 4, 5. 441
At
htlvf
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
Ver. 4, 5.—Ver. 4. Do good, 0 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 bvF is connected with its verb, in order to
point
out the intimate connection between the being and the
treatment.
On rwy,
righteous, i.e., to act righteously, compare
at
Ps. xxv. 8, xxxiii. 1. The conduct, in conformity to the rule as
it
was laid down to
as
necessary not only in reference to outward
actions, but also in
reference
to the heart, comp. Ps. vii. 11. The
law demanded from
the
Israelites the unqualified love of God and of their neighbour,
and
proclaimed to them, "thou shalt not covet."
Those who in
the
passage before us appear under the name of the good and the
upright
in heart, are in ver. 5 named Israel; just as in Ps. lxxiii.
1
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 over
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."
442 TIE BOOK OF PSALMS.
the
heathen,—a delusion which in other forms has been renewed
even
in the Christian church. The Scriptures
every where look
upon
the heart.—The hFH in ver. 5 means
properly to cause to
turn away the feet or
the steps,
to turn aside. Thus, Is. xxx. 11,
Job
xxiii. 11. The tvlqlqf is the acc., as it stands with verbs
of
motion. It occurs only in Jul v. 6, with the tvHrx left out
in
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. Deut. ix. 16, "Ye make
haste
to depart from the way which the Lord hath commanded
you,"
Mal. ii. 8, 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 Ps. xxvi. 9, xxviii. 3. The
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
the
dross, to be separated by judgment; comp. Is. lvii. 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."
PSALM CXXVI. VER.
1-3. 443
PSALM
CXXVI.
The congregation of the Lord
acknowledges with thanksgiving
the
great things which he has already done to her, how he has, by
her
deliverance, filled her with triumphant joy, ver. 1-3. She
entreats him that he would not
allow his work so gloriously begun
to
be interrupted, and also further that he would have pity upon
her
misery, and expresses the firm hope that her pain shall be
turned
into joy, ver. 4-6.
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 Ps. cxxv. 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 strophe
444 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
to
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 bvw with the accus., to turn back, comp. at
Ps.
xiv. 7, lxxxv. 4, Is. lii. 8, "They see eye to eye, as the Lord
turneth
back to Sion." The hbyw 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 hbAUw, Is. xxx. 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, tvbw bw, which, as was shewn at Ps. xiv. 7,
never
means
anything else than to turn back to the
captivity or to the
misery of his people. The expression is intended
to 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, Dent. xxx. 2, 3, "When thou returnest
to
the Lord thy God, . . . the Lord thy God returns to thy
captivity,
and turns thee back, and assembles thee out of all the
nations
whither the Lord thy God has 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. Deut. iv. 30, Is. x. 21, 22, lix. 20,
Neh.
i. 8. There is, therefore, no reason to maintain with seve-
ral
expositors that hbyw is of the same import as tvbw (the
circumstance
that the two roots, hbw and bvw are never inter-
changed
is decisive against this) still less to change the hbyw
into
tvbw.
In the tbyw 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 occupied
PSALM CXXVI. VER. 5-6. 445
with
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 viii. 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 rest
on.
The peculiar expression, tvWfl hvhy lydgh, is literally
from
Joel ii. 21. It points to the promise of deliverance
from
trouble
which had been given long before to the people when the
trouble
approached. This reference to an important 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.
In the second strophe, ver. 4-6, we
have first the prayer in
ver.
4, and after that the hope in ver. 5 and 6.—Ver. 4. Turn
back, 0 Lord, to our
captivity, as the streams in the south.
Ver.
5. Those who sow in tears shall reap in
joy. Ver. 6.
They go and go in
weeping, bearing the seed-draught, they come
and come in joy, bearing
their sheaves.—The
explanation of the
phrase
tvbw bw, 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: as
streams (return) in the
south. bgn is the dry south
division of
dependant
upon the rain-streams, the disappearance of which
filled
every place with sadness; comp., in reference to these rain-
streams,
Job vi. 15 ss. The point of comparison, according to
ver.
1-3, and according to ver. 6, is the joy over the reappear-
ance
of what had been so painfully amissing. A similar figure
occurs
in Ps. lxviii. 9. The Masorites, instead of tvbw, read
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."
446 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
tybw, 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 vi. 16 shews how the words
were
fulfilled in those to whom they were in the first instance
addressed,
how the general truth, so consolatory for the church
of
God, was in their case realized: "And
the children of
.
. . 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
on
the house of the Lord." Compare, in reference to the dedi-
cation
of the wall of the city, Neh. xii.,
especially ver. 43: "and
great
sacrifices were offered that day, and they were joyful, for
God
had made to them great joy, so that both women and chil-
PSALM CXXVII. 447
dren
rejoiced, and the joy 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 frzh
jwm is
properly the draught of
seed
which the sower takes with his hand out of the seed box.
In
Amos ix. 13, frzh jwm is the sower, properly he who
draws
the seed, draws it out of the seed box. The jwm occurs
in
the sense of drawing also, in Job xxviii. 18, "wisdom draws
stronger
(in the scales) than pearls," is heavier than they.
PSALM CXXVII.
"Every thing is dependant upon
the blessing of God:" in
every
work of man a prosperous issue does not come from his own
efforts,
but from the Lord. This is the contents.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
xvw 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.
448 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
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, Prov. x. 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 Sam. xii. 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 Lord
does not build a house,
its builders labour in vain; if the Lord
does not guard a city,
the watchman wakes in vain. Ver. 2. It is
in vain for you who rise
early, 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 for
the
good of the family, is manifest already from the juxtaposition
of
the house and the city, and then from ver. 2, to the subject of
which
we can hardly find a transition if we understand the build-
ing
of the house in a figurative sense. The vb belongs not to
vynvb, but to vlmf. The contrast in the
second member is not
of
public as opposed to private affairs; but of protection as op-
PSALM CXXVII. VER. 449
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 Ps. cxxx. 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 rqw
alone, which signifies only to wake in the sense
of
watching; comp. Ps. cii. 7, Prov. viii. 34. The Psalmist has
here
before his eyes those who strive and labour without God.
Hence,
he renders only the one side 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. Ps. cxxxix. 2, Lam. iii. 63, Beat. vi. 7, xv. 19. The
exposition
of sitting by: at work (Luther: and sits long at it),
with,
which Is. v. 11 is to be compared, has, besides 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 Gen. iii. 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. Nk So, agreeably
to
that, Job ix. 35, 1 Kings x. 12, what they in vain strive to
have
accomplished through their hard toil. xnw, for hnw, is not
the
accusative, but the preposition is omitted, as is frequently
the
case with words that are in constant use, for example, brf,
rqb, to which hnw 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 Ps.
lx.
5; to rise up early, and to be late in sitting down again, to
eat
the bread of trouble, is the general destination and duty of
men,
without complying with which no one can hope for a bless-
450 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
ing;
against laziness the strongest condemnation is uttered
in
the Proverbs, comp. vi. 9, 10, xxxi. 15, 27, as indeed the
whole
of the Old Testament, is decidedly opposed to a vicious
Quietism);
but 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. Gen. xxxiii. 5,
xlviii.
9—are thought of last, because the possession of them is only
then
a piece of good fortune, when a secure dwelling-place and an
adequate
support, ver. 1 and 2, have already been provided tlHn
hvhy prop. the inheritance of the Lord.
parentum
in liberos descendant, Prov. xix. 14. The expression:
fruit
of the womb, refers to Gen. xxx. 2, Deut. vii. 13, where,
precisely
under the use of this expression, the blessing of children
is
derived from God alone. The expression, reward,
or hire,
taken
from Gen. xxx. 18, where Leah, in the birth of a son, sees
a
reward granted to her by God, and in consequence bestows on
him
the name of Issachar.—In ver. 4 and 5, the Psalmist points
to
the greatness of this divine gift,
the worth of a blooming
posterity.
Sons of youth are not youthful sons,
but sons begotten
in
youth; comp. Gen. xxxvii. 3, Is. liv. 6. Such are peculiarly
strong,
Gen. xlix. 3, and 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 for
PSALM CXXVIII. 451
extolling
the prosperity of the latter. tx rbd, speak with,
as
in Gen. xlv. 15, Ex. xxv. 22. The gate was the place of busi-
ness;
comp. on Ps. lxix. 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 v. 4.
PSALM CXXVIII.
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 Ps.
cxxvii., the individual fearer of
God,
but the ideal person of the fearers of God, the god-fear-
ing
example,
in Lam. iii. 1. This is clear from the expression in
ver.
5: behold the good of
6:
Peace be upon
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
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
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 one
452 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
that fears the Lord,
that walks in his ways. Ver. 2. The labour
of
thy hands wilt thou eat,
it is well with thee, and thou hast good.
Ver.
3. Thy wife is a fruitful vine in 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
Deut. xxviii. 33, comp. Lev. xxvi. 16, where it is threatened to
the
covenant-breaking
of
their land, and all their labour. In regard to yk, comp. on Ps.
cxviii.
10: Zech. viii. 10, ss. forms a commentary on it. jyrwx is
from
Deut. xxxiii. 29. bvF stands as neutr., and occupies the
place
of a noun.—On ver. 3, comp. Zech. viii. 5: "and the streets
of
the city shall be full of boys and girls playing upon its streets."
In
like manner here also is a numerous, happy, and flourishing
posterity
promised to the apparently decaying
regard
to individuals, the promise will not altogether suit. Upon
Mytkry, the innermost, comp. on Ps. xlviii. 2.
The green olive-
tree
as an image of joyful prosperity also in Jer. xi. 16, Ps.
lii.
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
the prosperity of
see thy children's
children. Peace upon Israel.—Out of
ver.
5, comp. on Ps. xx. 2. The imper. see is used in ver. 5 and
6
in the sense of a promise, as in Ps. xxxvii. 3, 4, 27, cx. 2.
which
was composed by David, the well-being of the whole people
was
already connected with his salvation. If, therefore,
was
seen flourishing, the whole people must have been so too.—
A
commentary on ver. 6 is to be found in Zech. viii. 4: "There
shall
yet old men and old women sit in the streets of
their
staff in their hand, because of the fulness of their years."
In
times of calamity men die comparatively early. What is here
promised
to the ideal person of the God-fearing Israel, must take
effect
in a multitude of particular individuals. On ver. 6, last
clause,
comp. Ps. cxxv. 5.
PSALM CXXIX. VER.
1-4. 453
PSALM CXXIX.
Numerous and severe oppressions have
come upon
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
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
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
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.
tbr in ver. 1, as in Ps. cxxiii. 4, cxx. 6. The
youth of
spent
in
Says Israel, comp. Ps. cxxiv. 1,
cxviii. 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 tvnfm,
plur.
of hnfm
furrow, 1 Sam, xiv. 14, the Masorites would,
without
just cause, read the nowhere else occurring tynfm. The
l is not the sign of the accus., but j`yrxh is properly to appoint
length.—The
redemption of
the
righteousness of God, who gives to every one his own, to the
righteous
deliverance. Viewed in regard to its kernel,
454 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
stood
to the heathen world, which was hostile to it, in the re-
lation
of the righteous to the wicked. The cords, according to
Ps.
ii. 3, are those with which
hostile
supremacy, the sceptre of maliciousness in Ps. cxxv. 3.
According
to the others, it is the image of the preceding verse
which
is carried out here. They understand by tvbf 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
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 Isa. xxxvii. 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. Jlw is used impers.
Before
it is pulled up, as to meaning, corresponds to: they shall
be
taken away without hands, in Job xxxiv. 20, and the expres-
sion:
without hands, in Dan. ii. 34.—Ver. 7 and 8 only serve to
complete
the image of the despicableness of the grass of the
house
tops, which was to be henceforth consecrated as an emblem
of
the nothingness of the enemies of the
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.
PSALM CXXX. 455
Of
greeting and greeting back again, comp. Ruth ii. 4, we must
certainly
not think; for the whole is put into the mouth of those
who
pass by.
PSALM
CXXX.
From the deepest distress the church
cries to the Lord, ver. 1
and
2, praying that he would in his compassion forgive their sins,
through
which they had been thrown into trouble, ver. 3 and 4.
They
have a strong conviction that he will do this, and wait, full
of
faith, in longing expectation for the fulfilment of his promise,
ver.
5, 6, and in this believing expectation upon the Lord, who is
rich
in mercy toward his people, and will redeem
his
sins, the Psalmist admonishes them to continue waiting.
In ver. 1-6 the Psalmist speaks in
the name of
7
and 8, to
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 Ps. xci. 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 Ps. cxxix.
We
have two strophes, each of four verses, that of the prayer and
that
of the hope, and each strophe falls again into two 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 Ps. cxxviii. comprise the
number
ten. The number of the whole names of God in our
Psalm
(Jehovah four times, Jah once, Adonai thrice), corresponds
to
the number of the verses.
The Psalm entirely accords with the
situation which is common
456 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
to
all the nameless pilgrim-songs:
tress.
The adj. bwq,
in ver. 2 points to a late time, as it occurs
besides
only in the Chronicles, and likewise hHyls 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. Ps. xl.,
lxix.,
2, 14, Is. li. 10, Ez. xxvii. 34 ; and of this we are cer-
tainly
to think also here, although the more closely defining My
or
Mym
is awanting. It is to be supplied from the well-known
passages
referred to. Myqmfm is always used of
water-depths.--
On
the words: to the voice of my supplication, ver. 2, comp. Ps.
xxviii.
2. Ver. 1 and 2 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.
Nvf rmw signifies not to preserve sin, but to
observe sin, to take
account
of it, Job. x. 14, xiv. 16, comp. Ps. xc. 8: "for our 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 Mal. iii. 2—or even
under
the heavy burden of the divine punishment, comp. Nah. i.
6,
q. d., who then must not go to
perdition! The yk 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-
PSALM CXXXI. 457
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
redemption with him. Ver. 8. And he will redeem
his iniquities.—The expression: my
soul waits, in ver. 5, is
stronger
than: I wait. I long from my heart. The word is,
according
to Ps. cxix 74, 81, 82, 114, 147, the word of promise.
The
Psalmist waits and hopes, that he might obtain the fulfilment
of
it in his own experience.—At the beginning of ver. 6 the verb
is
to be supplied from the preceding verse. Nm 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 tvnvf the sense of punish-
ment
or sufferings, appears already from ver. 3.
PSALM
CXXXI.
The people of the Lord should be
free from all high-flying
thoughts
and ambitious projects and enterprises, and in 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
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:
458 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
thy
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
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
inner
man, how it actually was. Finally, ver. 1 carries a close
reference
to Psalms of David.—The affirmation, that the word :
exile
Psalm cxxx., 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,
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, Ps. cxxxviii. 6, I do not shut the gate
against
thy grace, by cherishing a heart that is haughty, &c.
Pride,
haughtiness, appears generally as the result of prosperity.
So
already in Deut. xxxii. 15. Of Uzziah it is said in 2 Chron.
xxvi.
16, "And when he was strong his heart was high;" of
PSALM CXXXI. 459
Hezekiah,
in 2 Chron. xxxii. 25, "And Hezekiah repaid ill the
gift.
which had been done him, for his heart was high, and there
went
forth wrath upon him, and upon
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 i. 27, "For thou helpest the poor people, and the
lofty
eyes thou bringest down;" Ps. ci. 5, "he who has proud
eyes
and is high-minded, him will I not suffer." The jlh with
b 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 Ps. xviii. 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 Ps. xxx. That such a posture of heart is the true way
to
salvation, that one only attains to
the great, when one does
not
walk in the great, most distinctly do
we learn this from Da-
460 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
vid's
example. In ver. 2 the xl Mx 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.
hvw
to make like, to even, or smoothe, Is. xxviii. 25, by
the
removal of false elevations, comp. Is. xl. 4. The silencing
refers,
according to the connection, specially to the stilling of the
motions
of pride. The point of comparison between the soul and
the
weaned = the small child (comp. Is. xi. 8, xxviii. 9), is the
unpretending
humility. Exactly parallel is Matth. xviii. 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 ylf,
upon me, for with me; comp. on Ps. xlii. 4.
According
to the idea now generally prevalent, the weaned must
form
the contrast to the suckling, with its constantly 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 tapeinou?n in Matthew, points:--lvmg 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
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.
PSALM CXXXII. 461
PSALM CXXXII.
David zealously laboured, and
earnestly applied himself, to
prepare
a settled place for the sanctuary of the Lord, ver. 1-5.
And
this striving accomplished its end, ver. 6-9. This God
should
and will recompense for him in the revivification of his dead
race
and kingdom, true to the promise, which had been given to
him,
on account of his zeal, ver. 10-12. For, he has chosen
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 Ps. lxxxix., 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 ytyb lhx and yfvcy wrf, 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 Chron. vi. 42: "Lord God,
462 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
turn
not away the face of thine anointed, remember the pious
deeds,
MydsH
(comp. 2 Chron. xxxv. 26), of David, thy servant."
A
verbal allusion is made at the beginning of the second part, in
ver.
10, to the first half of that verse. It is the writer of the
Psalm
who refers to the passage in Chronicles, as Lampe justly
notices,
not the reverse, as most modern commentators. David's
trouble
(tvnf)
Inf. nominasc. in Pü.) 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 Ps. lxxviii. David him-
self
says, in 1 Chron xiii. 3: "We did
not seek after it in the
days
of Saul." David tormented
himself with anxiety to have
this
afflicting state of things brought to an end. He was dragged
hither
and thither by a diversity of thoughts; he was afraid that
possibly
the anger of the Lord was not yet passed away, that still
the
time of grace had not arrived; and this fear especially took
possession
of him, when the misfortune occurred at the first at-
tempt
to introduce the ark; comp. 2 Sam. vi. 9: "And David
was
afraid of the Lord that day, and said, how shall the ark of
the
Lord come to me?" Meanwhile the earnest desire of David
to
have the dwelling of his God in his capital soon again pre-
vailed
over this fear, and would not allow him to rest till he had
accomplished
the desired end. Scarcely was this object gained,
when
the new desire awoke in David's bosom for the erection of
a
solid temple, with which God was well-pleased, though he did
not
permit its being carried into execution by him personally.
As
a reward for this sincere care about his
house, the Lord
granted
to David the promise of perpetuity to his own house,
which
he is here besought anew to fulfil, at a time when he
seemed
to have forgotten both it and the occasion of it, the godly
zeal
of his servant.—The designation of God: the Strength of
Jacob,
in ver. 2 and 5, is taken from Gen. xlix. 25.—Ver. 3 and
4
is to be explained from 1 Cor. vii. 29, 30: David dwelt in his
house
as if he did not dwell in it (comp. 2 Sam. vii. 2), and slept
unsoundly.
Tent is used poetically for dwelling.
Ver. 6-9.—Ver. 6. Lo! we heard of it in Ephratah, we found
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,
PSALM CXXXII. VER. 6--9. 463
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
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 xlii. 6, Ps. xviii. 44.
Ephratah
is always the ancient name of
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
raimite,
in Jud. xii. 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
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
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 Sam. vii. 1, 2 Sam. vi. 3, 4,
buried in darkness
and solitude.—Ver. 7 must not, with
Maurer, be referred to the
assembling
of the people at Kirjath-jearim to bring away the
ark:
for there neither had the Lord a dwelling, nor was suppli-
cation
made to him. The words rather refer to the dedication-
festival
at
Ps.
xcix. 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.
464 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
vi.
41: "And now arise, Lord, into thy rest, thou and thy mighty
ark.
Let thy priests, Lord, be clothed with salvation, and thy
saints
rejoice in goodness." What Solomon then spoke is here,
on
a similar occasion, put into the mouth of David. In the 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
Ps. xxiii. 3, xxiv. 5. Too hastily have some concluded, from
the
corresponding hfvwt, in the original passage, and fwy in
ver.
16, that qdc
here means precisely salvation.
Ver. 10-12.—Ver. 10. For the sake of David thy servant!
Turn not away the face
of thine anointed!
Ver. 11. The Lord
has sworn to David
truth; he will not turn from it: I will set
for thee on thy throne
the fruit of thy body.
Ver. 12. If
thy sons will keep my
covenant, and my testimony, which I will
teach them, then shall
also their sons sit for ever upon thy throne.
—That
after: David thy servant, in ver. 10, a mark of exclamation
is
to be inserted—that we are to supply: hear our prayer, avert
our
misery, or perhaps: fulfil that prayer of his which is given
in
ver. 9, is clear from the original passage in 2 Chron. vi. 42:
"Lord
God, turn not away the face of thine anointed, remember
the
piety of David thy servant"—where likewise there are two
independent
members—and also from ver. 1, which is resumed
here
again. What the Lord should do on account of David, or
how
he should for David's sake hear his prayer, or the prayers of
the,
church, is first more exactly indicated in ver. 11, 12: there
was
failing a shoot of David, and along therewith a channel for
the
divine blessings, comp. the words of Solomon in 1 Kings viii.
25:
"And now, Lord God of
my
father, what thou saidst to him; there shall not fail a man
from
before me, who sits upon the throne of
sake
of David is, according to the preceding context, and accord-
PSALM CXXXII. 465
ing
to the standing use of this formula, in the history of the kings
of
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 viii.
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 Ps. lxxxiv. 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 Ps. lxxxix. 4, 36. There, just as here,
faith
clings in a time of trouble to this promise of God. On the
word:
truth, comp. 2 Sam. vii. 28, where David says, "Thou art
God,
and thy words are truth." The condition
of the 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 Sam. vii., 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
vz,
comp. Ew. 183. a. The teaching of the testimony of
God,
of his law revealed by Moses, is an internal one, made through
the
spirit, comp. Ps. xc., xix., li. cxliii. 10, "teach me to do thy
will,"
xciv. 12, and especially Ps. cxix., which is throughout per-
466 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
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
separably
bound up with the seed of David. As truly as God has
chosen
branch,
through which, to his people concentrated there, he will
impart
salvation. For the principle: without David no salva-
tion
for
chosen
"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, Ps. xviii. 28, where the lamp is the image
of
prosperity, and also Ez. xxix. 21: "In that day will I make
a
horn to sprout to the house of
power
against his enemies, where the Messianic explanation is
unsuitable
(see Hävernick); further. Ps. lxxv. 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 xi. 36. That David is the anointed, is manifest
from
that very place: "And to his son will I give one tribe, that
David
my servant may have a lamp always before me in Jerusa-
lem,"
and the parallel passages.—For flourishing,
in ver. 18,
PSALM CXXXIII. VER. 1-3. 467
several,
who cannot see their way through the figurative expres-
sion,
would arbitrarily substitute shining;
comp. Is. xxviii. I.
The
suff. refer to David, who ever reigns in his posterity.
PSALM CXXXIII.
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. According
to
ver. 3, it refer to the assembling of the people at
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 Ps.
cxxii.,
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
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.
468 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
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
blessing, life for
evermore.—Brethren, ver. 1, were all the chil-
dren
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 Ex. xxx. 22 ss. It
consisted
of olive oil, mixed with four of the best spices. The
predicate
good does not refer simply to the
physical quality of
this
oil. The Psalmist views it with a spiritual eye, and, so
viewed,
it served as an image to him of what was most glorious
and
lovely; it was the symbol of the spirit of God; comp. Chris-
tol.
on Dan. ix. 24; Bahr Symbolik ii. s. 171. On the expres-
sion:
on the head, comp. Ex. xxix. 7; Lev. viii. 12, xxi. 10.
Aaron
stands here not simply for the high-priest, but rather as
the
venerable father of the whole priesthood, whose dignity was
still
further increased by the goodness of the oil. The image is
not
taken from what was then visible, but from scripture; comp.
Ex.
xxix. 7, xl. 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 Bähr. dryw, 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 of
the
long beard. yp
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 as
PSALM CXXXIV. 469
the
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
unity
resembles, a lovely dew, which descends on the hills of
where
this unity is so strikingly exemplified. The local Mw,
there,
refers not to the brotherly unity, but to the place mentioned
immediately
before, the hills of
into
consideration as the then bearer of the
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
PSALM CXXXIV.
Ver. 1 and 2 contain a call to the
servants of God to praise
him
and supplicate his aid, followed in ver. 3 by the 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 consists
470 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
of
the Mosaic blessing, that could only be pronounced by the
priests.
Accordingly the outline of the Psalm
may be given more ex-
actly
thus: the pilgrim bands present themselves on the evening
of
their arrival at the temple, and call upon the servants of the
Lord,
who were there at the time of the evening sacrifice, to praise
the
Lord in their name and that of the people, and to pray to
him.
Coming with such a state of mind, they could not remain
long
without the blessing, therefore the priests answered them by
pronouncing
that. Such a Psalm was most fitly appropriated as
the
close of the whole pilgrim-book; so that the collector of it,
who
was at the same time the author of all the nameless pilgrim-
songs,
undoubtedly placed this Psalm purposely at the end, or
composed
it with a view to its forming the conclusion of the whole.
So
already Lampe: forte ille, qui fasciculum canticorum graduum
collegit—hoc
canticum tanquam aptum epilogum addidit.
That the Psalm was composed in a
time of depression, 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
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 and
PSALM CXXXV. 471
glorify
him. But the word itself is to be retained on account of
its
correspondence with that in ver. 3: the Lord bless thee. This
also
renders it manifest that the people are here to be understood
as
calling upon the servants of the Lord to praise the Lord in
their (the people's) name and from their soul. Else, if ver.
1
and
2 were regarded as a mere reminding of the priests to 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 Chron. ix. 33 has been improperly brought as a
proof
to the contrary. The expression: by night, can be referred
with
less difficulty to the evening service, as it is used of this also
in
Ps. xcii. 2. Upon the lifting up of the hands, ver. 2, as the
gesture
of prayer, symbolizing the elevation of the heart, comp.
on
Ps. xxviii.: "while I lift up my hands to thy most holy
oracle."
Luther falsely: in the sanctuary.—At ver. 3 we are to
supply,
according to what has been remarked: because thou thus
blessest
the Lord. That the people are addressed, is clear from
the
parallel passage, Ps. cxxviii. 5. Only in that case does the
Psalm
form a suitable conclusion to the whole pilgrim-book. That
the
future is to be taken optatively—not: he will bless thee—is
clear
from the of deniable reference to the Mosaic blessing, Num.
vi.
24. The exiression: creator of heaven and earth, comp. Ps.
cxxi.
2, cxxiv. 8 forms the counterpoise to the depth of misery
and
weakness in which the community of God was sunk.
PSALM CXXXV.
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
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.
472 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
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 Ps. cxxxiv.
i.
2; and the conclusion in ver. 21 bears respect to cxxxiv. 3.a
It
is besides also characteristic of this Psalm, that it leans
strongly
upon the earlier writings, especially on Ps. cxv. As the
latter
belongs to the time when the foundation of the second tem-
ple
was laid, and Ps. cxxxiv. 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
vanity
of idols reflects upon the impotence of their worshippers--
comp.
ver. 8.
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 the
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.
PSALMI CXXXV. VER.
8-14. 473
Lord, for the Lord is
good, sing praise to his name, for he is
lovely. Ver. 4. For the Lord chose Jacob to himself, Israel for
treasure. 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
Ps. cxxxiv., but the whole people, is rendered more evident
from
the mention of the courts in ver. 2, and from the conclusion
in
ver. 19, 20, where the whole of the Lord's servants are distri-
buted
into their several parts, priests, Levites, and believers.
But
the difference between this and Ps. cxxxiv. is of no great
moment.
For there the priests must praise the Lord as from the
heart
of 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
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
Upon
hlgs,
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 Ps. cxv. 3; ver. 7 upon
Jer.
x. 13, li. 16.—From the end of the earth,
ver. 7, comp. Ps.
lxi.
2, the earth to its farthest limits, the whole earth, which can
never
withdraw itself from his mighty working—comp. Gen.
4,
Jer. li. 16. The lightning is turned into rain, in so far as the
storm
dissolves itself in rain.
Ver. 8-14.—Ver. 8. Who slew the first-born in
man and of beast. Ver. 9. And sent signs and wonders into
thee, 0
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
474 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
inheritance for an
inheritance to
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,
in
Ps. cxvi. 19.--Thy name, ver. 13,
which would go down, and
thy memorial which would perish, if
thou didst not freshen them
up
by thy deeds of omnipotence and love.—Ver. 14 rests with
intentional
literality upon Deut. xxxii. 36. On the expression:
he
will repent himself of his servants, comp. on Ps. xc. 13.
Ver. 15-21.—Ver. 15. The idols of the heathen are silver and
gold, the work of men's
hands.
Ver. 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
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
cxv.
4ss., 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. Ps. cxv. 9-11, cxviii. 2-4. No-
thing
is peculiar here but the separate mention of the Levites.—
The
conclusion, ver. 21, alludes to the conclusion of the preceding.
Psalm.
There: he blesses thee out of
blessed
out of
from
which the blessing issues. For
community
dwells with God. On the expression: the dweller at
PSALM
CXXXVI.
The very close agreement of this
Psalm with the preceding one
is
a proof of their having proceeded from the same hand. As the-
former,
so also this seeks to rekindle the hope of the church of
God
by pointing to the glorious manifestations of God in nature
PSALM CXXXVI. VER.
1-15. 475
and
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 Ps.
cxxxv.,
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 Ps. cxviii. 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 Deut. x. 17, "For the Lord your God is
the
God of gods, and the Lord of lords." The giving of praise
thrice
is intentional.
Ver. 4-9.—Ver. 4. Great wonders did he alone, for his mercy
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 Ps. xxiv. 2.
Ver. 10-15.—Ver. 10. Who slew the first-born in
his mercy endures for
ever.
Ver. 11. And brought out
from their midst, for
his mercy endures for ever. Ver. 12.
476 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
Through a mighty hand
and outstretched arm, for his mercy
endures for ever. Ver. 13. Who divided the
for his mercy endures
for ever.
Ver. 14. And made
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
And gave their land for
an inheritance, for his mercy endures
for ever. Ver. 22. For an inheritance to
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, Ps.
cxv.
12, Ps. cvii. 16, 18, 26, to the redemption from
The
goodness of God to all flesh, in ver. 25, shows, that He can-
not
possibly leave his chosen in humiliation and distress, comp.
Ps.
civ., where the thought only indicated here, is enlarged upon.
Calvin:
"At length he extends the fatherly providence of God
indiscriminately,
not only to the whole human race, but to all
animals,
so that it might not appear wonderful, he should be so
kind
and provident a father toward his own elect, since he does
not
reckon it a burden to provide for oxen and asses, swans and
sparrows.
Since, therefore, men so far surpass the inferior ani-
mals,"
&c.—The God of heaven, in ver. 26, is the Almighty.
PSALM CXXXVII.
The Psalm falls into three strophes,
each of three verses. The
two
first represent
exile
from the Lord's land, in which all joyful song was silent;
PSALM CXXXVII. 477
for
how could they well sing and rejoice themselves, at a distance
from
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
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
awaken
hope regarding the full execution of judgment upon the
enemies,
the delay of which would have been not less trying to
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
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
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-
478 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
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
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 Zechariah, i. 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.
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;
PSALM CXXXVII. VER.
1-6. 479
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
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 vi. 16, then the conquest of
by
its entire destruction, as foretold in prophecy, was brought
much
nearer, seventy years after the destruction of
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
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
we sat and wept when we
thought 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,
Let my tongue cleave to
my gums if I remember not thee, if I
do not raise
ver.
1, is not the city, but the kingdom, appears from ver. 2.
The
streams of
ras,
in the neighbourhood of which the colony resided, in which
480 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
Ezekiel
laboured, the Ulai or Eulaeus, Dan. viii. 2. The ques-
tion:
why did they sit beside the streams, must neither be dis-
posed
of by the remark, that
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
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, Lam. ii. 18, "Let tears run down like a river
day
and night," iii. 48; also Job xxviii. 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 Dan. viii. 2, x. 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. vii. 2—the symbol of masses of people, with
the
commotion and conflict of which his soul was occupied; comp.
on
Ps. xlvi. 3, xciii. On the other hand, the passages so often
brought
into comparison here, of Ez. i. 1, iii. 15, are not similar.
For
the 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 Mw gives prominence to the
place
of sojourn. The remembering of
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
to
be separated from God, the source of all life and all joy;
comp.
on Ps. xlii. xliii. How could they avoid
weeping, who
were
shut out of his holy fellowship? God lost, all lost.—The
willows,
in ver. 2, are mentioned in connection with the streams.
The
stiff. in hkvtb,
points to
into
notice as accompaniments of joyful song. (Michaelis: Ci-
PSALM CXXXVII. VER. 1-6 481
thararum
olim in soleninioribus gaudiis usus erat, Gen. xxxi. 27;
1
Sam. x. 5; 2 Sam. vi. 5; unde earum cessatio ingentem et
publicum
luctum describit, Is. xxiv. 8; Ez. xxvii. 13; Apoc.
xviii.
22; Job x x. 31; Lam. v. 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 yk, 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 ryw already of itself means, not song
in
general, but song of joy or praise; comp. on Ps. xlii. 8,
lxxxiii.
supers. Here the more exact import is further deter-
mined
by the hHmW,
joy. The cheerful songs are meant which
were
sung at
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
desire
rather proceeds from the wish, that the Israelites might
reconcile
themselves to their lot, that they would forget the old
and
true
not
restore, and would in their imaginations find a new one
in
Let
one compare how the King of Assyria sought to make the bitter
exile
sweet to Israel in Isa. xxxvi. 17. The llvt, is the Chal.
form
for llrw.
This always signifies plundered, imprisoned,
comp.
at Ps. lxxvi. 5, also Micah i. 8, where the prophet typifies
beforehand
the fate of the people as led away into captivity—
comp.
vlg
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, "they
482 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
who
held us captive," and "our plundered," point to the absurdity
of
the demand, since they desired what their own conduct had
rendered
it impossible to give. It was not otherwise than if a
person
should insist upon another singing, whose throat he had
already
gagged.—Ver. 4-6 contain the answer to the demand of
the
sons of
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
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
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
xxxi.
22: If I, misapplying my right hand to
the playing of joy-
ful
strains on my instrument, forget thee,
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 xxix. 10. If I remember thee not,
singing joyful
melodies.
The head or summit of joy is, as it were, the cham-
ber,
in which
formed
itself the top, comp. Isa. ii. 2. Some give a constrained
meaning:
if I do not set
wxr the sense of the best, for worst.
Ver. 7-9.—Ver. 7. Remember, Lord, to the sons of
day of
PSALM CXXXVII. VER. 7-9. 484
ground for it. Ver. 8. Daughter of
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
ishment,
see the prophecy of Obediah, Lam. iv. 21, 22, Jer. xlix.
7-22,
Ez. xxv. 12, ss, Their hatred was the more deserving_of
recompense,
because they were connected by a near tie with
the
day of
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 hrf
properly,
to strip bare. The expression seems to be taken from
Hab.
iii. 13.—In regard to the proper author of
distress,
lon,
on Ps. xlv. 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
according
to the eternal laws of divine retribution, must neces-
sarily
return upon the giver—comp. Isa. xiii. 16; for the very
thing
they had one to
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."
484 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
edified
by his energetic acknowledgment of the divine retributive
righteousness,
which is also taught, precisely as here, by our
Lord
in Matth. vii. 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.
hdvdw 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 lmg, see on
Ps.
vii. 4.
We have now in Ps. cxxxviii.—cxlv.,
a cycle of Davidic
Psalms,
called forth by David's reflection upon the promise in 2
Sam.
vii., and by the anxiety, which filled him, regarding his
posterity.
In them he accompanies his offspring through their
future
history, and presents to them the anchor of safety in the
storms,
which he knew from his own experience certainly awaited
them.
We have here a prophetic legacy of David, corresponding
to
his last words in 2 Sam. xxiii. 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 Ps. cxxxviii., David sets the
promise before the eyes of his
family.
In Ps. cxxxix., he presents to their view, for their
consolation
and incitement, the all-present God. In Ps. cxl., he
brings
still more closely to them the circumstances of danger that
lay
before them. In Ps. cxli., he strengthens them against the
internal
dangers with which the external necessity threatened
them.
In Ps. cxlii., cxliii., he shews them how they were to sus-
tain
themselves, if matters came to an extremity with them. Ps.
cxliv.
forms the transition from the prayer-songs to the song of
praise,
with which in Ps. cxlv. the whole is concluded. There
manifestly
exists a correspondence between Ps. cxxxviii., the re-
joicing
on account of the promise of the Lord, and Ps. cxlv., the
rejoicing
on account of its fulfilment; the lamentations and prayers
are
inclosed by praise and thanksgivings.
The appropriateness and connection
of these Psalms is acknow-
ledged
to some extent even by those who have deprived them-
PSALM CXXXVIII. 485
selves
of the vantage-ground of the superscriptions. Thus Ewald
says
of Ps. cx1.–xliii: "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 Ps. iii. ss." Hitzig remarks
on
Ps. cxl.: "The three following
Psalms are of a quite similar
kind,
and appear to have been composed by one author much
about
the same time."
Seventy-two Psalms of David have
gone before. These eight
bring
up the entire number to eighty. We may perhaps regard
Ps.
cxxxviii. as the governing castle; and the remaining heptad
as
divided into three and four. The section would then be marked
by
the extended superscription of Ps. cxlii.
PSALM CXXXVIII.
The Psalmist, who from the
superscription was David, praises
the
Lord for the high and glorious promise, which in his loving-
kindness
he had granted 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,
Ps.
xviii., xxi., lxi., ci.–iii., cx., comp. Ps. lxxii., lxxxix., cxxxii.
That
the promise here celebrated is no other than that, is clear
as
day. Here, as well as there, the subject handled has respect
to
a promise of blessing of surpassing greatness,—the idols, which
could
exhibit nothing similar, must retreat before it ashamed,
486 THE BOOK. OF PSALMS.
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
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. Ps. xviii. 49, ci. 1, where the ascription of praise
refers
to the same object; also vii. 17, liv. 7, lvii. 9. The ex-
pression:
with the whole heart, as in Ps. ix. 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 respect
PSALM CXXXVIII. VER. 487
likewise
to the greatness of the benefaction, is the expression:
before
the gods —demanding of these, whether they would verify
their
godhead by pointing to any such boon conferred by them on
their
servants. The benefit which could afford such a demonstra-
tion,
and give occasion and ground for raillery, must have been
a
surpassingly great one. The expositions: before
the angels
(LXX.
Vulgat ), 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 Sam. vii. (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
ver.
23, Deut. iv. 7, 34), art alone true God. Against the expla-
nation:
before God, is also Ps. cxxxv. 5. That the Psalmist
addresses
the Lord without naming him, shows, that his whole
soul
was really full of him.—On the words: I will worship toward
thy
holy temple, ver. 2, comp. the literally coinciding parallel
passage,
Ps. v. 7. The latter shows that we are not here to think
of
heaven. Pa allel there is the expression: "I will come into
thy
house," Loving kindness and truth
are here united as in Ps.
xxv.
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 Sam. vii. 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. Ps. xviii. 30. To make the
word
glorious, not simply "to exhibit it as faithful by the ful-
filment,"
but according to Ps. xviii. 50, as much as to confer a
glorious
promise; comp, the expression, "all this greatness,"
maximum
hoc et summum beneficium,
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 Sam. vii.
22
ss., compared. It would be a ridiculous hyperbole, if we were
to
think of an other promise than that in 2 Sam. vii. In the
488 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
prayer
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 lk with jmw, and just as arbi-
trarily
supplies a through.—The first number
of ver. 3 is to be
explained
according to the parallel passages, Ps. xxi. 3, 5, lxi. 5,
according
to which the promise in 2 Sam. vii. was the answer of
a
prayer to David: he prayed to God, that he might live in his
posterity,
and this desire was richly fulfilled by God. As the first
member
marks the fact of the answer, so the second marks more
exactly
the how: God has filled David's soul with strength
and
vigour, by the promise of the everlasting supremacy of
his
seed, and of the protection they should experience against
all
the assaults of the world. bhr In Hiph., to make
proud,
zf 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. Ps. xviii. 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 a
PSALM CXXXVIII. VER. 4-6. 489
dear
announcement of the future conversion of all the kings of
the
earth to the Lord—compare Ps. lxviii. 29, "Because of thy
temple
at
31,
"Princes will come out of
out
her hands to God,” Ps. cii. 15, "And the heathen shall fear
the
name of the Lord, and all the kings of the earth thy glory,''
according
to which Psalm, it was precisely the fulfilment of the
promise
given to David, the glorious work of the elevation of the
humbled
David, which the Lord would employ as the chief means
for
drawing the hearts of sinners to himself. Accordingly, in the
expression
in ver. 5: upon the ways of the Lord, entering upon
them,
the thought is to be thus made out: upon which they will
be
led by the consideration of this glorious work. The way of
the
Lord is such a walk as is conformable to his law, and well,
pleasing
to him. The exposition: And sing of the ways of the Lord,
for
great is the glory of the Lord, is to be rejected, because verbs
of
singing never, and verbs also of saying very rarely, are united
with
b
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. Ps. ci. 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.
Ps. xviii. 27, "for thou helpest the poor people, and thou
bringest
down the lofty eyes;" 2 Sam. vi. 22, where David says,
"And
I will be still less than thus, and will be lowly, lpw, in
my
own eyes, and with the maidens of whom thou speakest, will
I
come to honour," Ps. cxxxi. 1.
490 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
Ver. 7-8.—Ver. 7. When I walk in the midst of trouble, thou
revivest me; against the
wrath of mine enemies thou stretchest
forth thy hand, and
deliverest me with thy right hand. Ver. 8.
The Lord will complete
for me, Lord thy mercy endures for
ever; the works of thy
hands thou wilt not forsake. On the
expression:
when I walk, in ver. 7, comp. Ps. xxiii. 4. (Calvin
already
beautifully remarks: "here David declares, how he would
trust
that God would prove a saviour to him; namely, by 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 Ps. xxx. 3, lxxi. 20. ynfywvt
is
the second person, as in 2 Sam. xxii. 3, and jnymy accus., comp.
Ps.
xvii. 13, lx. 5. On the first member of ver. 8, compare Ps.
lvii.
2, Phil. i. 6. The beginning is all
that the Lord had hitherto
done
for David, including the promise imparted to him. The
completing has its topstone in
Christ, in whom David was raised
to
the supremacy of the world. On the expression: thy mercy
or
favour endures for ever, comp. 2 Sam. vii. 13, 26, Ps. ciii. 17.
The works (not the deeds) of the hands of the Lord, indicate all
that
he had till now accomplished for David, from his deliverance
from
the hand of Saul till the bestowal of the promise. God lets
none
of his works lie unfinished, least of all one so gloriously be-
gun.
As true as he is God he must bring it to a glorious con-
summation.
PSALM
CXXX1X.
491
PSALM CXXXIX.
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
Ps. cxxxviii. Besides, the qvHrm, 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 Ps. xxvi., 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,
492 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
however,
has not merely this admonitory import, which is the
only
one commonly brought out by interpreters—(in that point of
view
Ps. ci. exactly corresponds, and the introduction there ought
to
be compared; there also the other analogies from the Davidic
Psalms
are produced)—but it has also a consolatory import; and
the
overlooking of this has done great harm to the exposition,
and
led the way to a mistaken view of a series of passages, where
it
decidedly comes out; comp. especially ver. 9-12, ver. 13-16.
The
Psalmist grounds upon the declaration thou searchest me
and
knowest me, in the conclusion which exhibits the practical
result,
not merely the prayer, "search me and know my heart,"
but
also the 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 Ps. cxxxviii.,
by
the various points of contact it presents with the other Psalms
of
David, and by the depth and original character of the feelings
described.
An objection has been sought by several in the 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 my
PSALM CXXXIX. VER. 1-6. 493
sitting down an my rising
up, thou understandest my thoughts
afar of. Ver. 3. My way and my couch thou markest, and
art familiar with all my
ways.
Ver. 4. For there is not a
word upon my tongue, lo,
Lord, thou knowest it all. Ver. 5.
Behind and before thou
dost beset me, and layest upon me thy
hand. Ver. 6. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, high
and I cannot reach it.—Ver. 1 contains the
sum of the whole
Psalm.
At the word: thou knowest, we are not simply to sup-
ply
me—also in ver. 23, it is not the suffix, but my heart, which
is
found—but all that is here generally to be known, all that be-
longs
to the subject in hand: the expansion of the idea is given
in
what follows, where the expression, “thou knowest,” again
returns.
For the very purpose of pointing to this relation, the
knowing
here is left without its object. The matter on which the
searching
and knowing are employed is not merely the guilt or
innocence
of the Psalmist, although this come more immediately
into
view—comp. in reference to this the parallel passages, Ps.
xliv.
21, Job xiii. 9,--but also his position and state: God
knows
also "the necessities of the soul,” “he knows thy pain
and
domestic sorrows, and the time when to come to thee.”--The
sitting
in ver. 2 denotes rest; the rising up, the raising of one’s
self
to go to work—comp. Ps. cxxvii. 2—q. d.,
what in a state of
rest
or of activity, I think, feel, speak, act, and how it goes with
me.
Understood thus, the mention of the thought in the second
member
is quite suitable. Nyb with l to have insight in
regard
to
something. fr in the signification of
thought only here, and
in
ver. 17; in a hind place, often quoted in support of the same,
Job
xxxvi. 33, it is used in its common acceptation, friend. Afar
off, according to some,
must mean: long before they come into
my
mind. But that we must rather explain: the far distance
between
heaven and earth sets no bounds to thy knowledge, is
clear
from Ps. ex xviii. 6, and from Jer. xxiii. 23, "Am I a God
nigh
at hand, saith the Lord, and not a God afar off?" Schmid:
"as
if being in heaven I should not know the things which are
done
on earth," pomp. ver. 24. David utters here a contradiction
against
the error of ungodliness seeking to banish God into hea-
ven,
as expressed in Job xxii. 12-14, "Dwells not God in the
height
of heaven? and behold the stars, how high they are.
Therefore
thou sayest, How doth God know? Can he judge
494 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
through
the darkness? The clouds are a covering to him, and he
seeth
not; and he walketh in the circuit of heaven." God's being
in
heaven is, according to the view 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 fbr in ver. 3, is the
poetical
form
of Cbr
reappearing again in the Chaldee. This never sig-
nifies
the lying, but always the couch, the place of rest. To this
also
agrees the Hrx, not the going, but the way, the poetical ex-
pression
for the common j`rd 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.
hrz,
properly, to sift them, poetically, to prove, to know-
Luther's
translation: thou art about me, is grounded upon the false
Rabinical
derivation from rze crown.—The grounding (for) is given
in
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 from
the
territory of the all-knowing, to that of the all-present—an easy
and
gentle transition, since, according to the view of Scripture,
the
omniscience of God is founded in his omnipresence. To the:
behind
and before, there is supplied from the last 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. Rom. xi. 33. The reading of the text hyA.xil;pi
is
the feminine of yxil;pi, wonderful. The Masorites would sub-
stitute
for this the fem. of the uncertain form xylp. There is a
similar
wrong Kri in Judg. xiii. 18. Comp., on the expression:
PSALM CXXX1X. VER. 7-12. 495
it
is too wonderlful for me, Deut. xxx. 11, to which perhaps an
allusion
is made, and Prov. xxx. 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? And
whither 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 x. 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 Ps. cvi. 33, the history of the creation, and Ps.
xxxiii.
6. Incorrectly some: the Spirit who knows all things. fych
Is
denom, from fvcy, to make a couch, bed, or something for a
bed;
precisely as here in Is. lviii. 5, and the Hiph. Is. xiv. 11,
Esther
iv. 3, comp. Ewald § 122. The accus. lvxw, finds in this
an
obvious explanation. Job. xxvi. 5, 6 is to be compared. On
ver.
9, 10, comp. Ps. lv. 6, 8: "Oh that I had wings like a dove,
then
would I fly away and abide. Lo! I would fly far off, I would
lodge
in the wilderness. I would make haste to a 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 think
496 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
only
of a friendly leading; compare Ps. lxxiii. 24, xxiii. 3, v.
8,
xxvii. 11, &c., and of this Ps. ver. 24. (Falsely, therefore,
many:
minus tua, ex qua elabi conarer.) The right hand also is
to
be regarded as that which is ready to help, comp. Ps. xviii. 16.
That
in both members: thy hand will lead me, and: thy right
hand
will hold me, God's 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
farther
appears quite clearly from the reference which they carry
to
ver. 7 of the internally related Ps. cxxxviii.: "Against the
wrath
of mine enemies do thou stretch forth thy hand, and deliver
me
with thy right hand." Hence ver. 7, where the Psalmist
speaks
of his fleeing from the presence of God, belongs not to the
whole
section, ver. 7-12, but only to ver. 8, with which it is
united
into a pair. The morning-dawn is brought here into 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 Ps. lv. 6)
than lift I, with com-
parison
of Ezek. x. 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 where
God
is not present. The usage, according to which My also means
the
western regions, is not to be thought of.—Ver. 11 and 12
become
plain, as soon as we adhere, in the explanation of ynpvwy
itself
to the more certain usage, and are not driven hither and
thither
after conjectural meanings. Jvw signifies, in the two
other
passages
where it occurs, Gen, iii. 15, Job. ix. 17, unquestion-
ably
to bruise, and this signification, which the LXX. (katapa-
th<sei) 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 of
PSALM CXXXIX. VER.
13-18. 497
men
from the presence of God, or from his avenging hand, as in
Job
xxxiv. 21, 22, Jer. xxiii. 24, but as exposing to danger, from
being
that in which robbers and murderers execute their designs.
Besides
darkness in this natural sense, respect is also had to
darkness
in the very common figurative sense; comp. Is. 1. 10,
"Whoever
walks without light, let him trust upon the name of
the
Lord, and stay himself on his God;" so that the words in Ps.
cxxxviii.
7, "When I walk in the midst of trouble," are quite
parallel.
Thine all-seeing eye, thine almighty hand, is at
work
also in the deepest darkness, where no human eye 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. j`x,
only,
has here the import of a strengthening particle, comp. Ps.
lviii.
11, lxviii. 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 j`ywHh, in ver. 12,
always
to make dark, to darken, never to be dark (Luther: even
darkness
is not darkness to thee) comp. on Ps. cv. 28. Before
thee, so that thou couldst
not see through it. In reference to the
double
k
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, 0 God, thy
498 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
thoughts, 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. hnq always signifies to
possess, to hold posses-
sion
of, never to make. ynkst 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. x. 11. But j`ks 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, saying
My
way is hidden from God, Job x. 9-11. The roots xlp and
hlp are never interchanged, comp. on Ps, iv. 3,
xvii. 7, but they
PSALM CXXXIX. VER. 13-18. 499
are
nearly related both in form and meaning. tvxrvn found
also
in David's mouth in Ps. lxv. 5, 2 Sam. vii. 23; and else-
where,
is used here adverbially, as tvxlpn in Job xxxvii. 5.
Mcf, 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, Mc,f,, so named
from
the strength connected with it, with the addition perhaps of
the
sinews, which, together with the bones, make up the strength
of
the body—comp. Job. x. 11, "with bones and sinews hast thou
interwoven
me." It was not hidden from thee, for thou hast 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.
Ps.
lxiii. 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 i. 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 points
to
the region of the dead as to the womb of a resurrection-life."
Mlg in ver. 16 of the still unformed embryonic
mass. The suff.
in
Mlk
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 Mlg,
the ball of the thread of life, and to this
refer
the suffix. For, the other constructions are too violent and
constrained.
The rcy
(here Pü) is elsewhere also often used of
the
divine pre-determination, as contrasted with its execution and
its
actual introduction. The days are brought into consideration
here
partly in respect to themselves, compare Job xiv. 5, "Seeing
his
days are determined, the number of his months is with thee,"
partly
also in respect to the events which they contain for men,
comp.
Ps. lvi. 8. And there was not one among
them, the days
pre-determined
by thee. It is not worth while to inquire what the
Masorites
meant by their Kri, vl. The consolatory tendency of
500 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
the
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
Ps.
xlv. 9, xxxvi. 7: "How precious (glorious) is thy goodness,
0
God"—one of the passages very nearly related to this, the
more
so, as among the thoughts, the saving and helping have here
also
an important place. Against the explanation: how pre-
cious,
how hard to be reached, how difficult are they, the paral-
lelism
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. Ps. xvi. 7 and lxiii. 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 Mx
ver. 19 is
not
a particle of desire, compare at Ps. lxxxi. 9, there is to be
supplied:
it will be agreeable to me, I will cordially praise thee,
or
something similar. That the Psalmist declares himself content
with
the overthrow of the wicked, 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. v. 6, xxvi. 9,
lv.
23, passages which have only to be looked at to see what
PSALM CXXXIX. VER.
19-24. 501
should
be made of the remark: "Men of blood, on account of
their
libations of blood." On the words: depart from me, q. d.,
get
you away, I have nothing to do with you, we are not to comp.
Ps.
vi. 8, cxix. 115, but Job xxi. 14: "And they (the wicked)
say
unto God, depart from us," and Matth. vii. 23. Luther falsely:
And
the blood-thirsty must depart from me, as if the Psalmist
called
in God's help against the wicked, through which the whole
train
of thought in the Psalm is destroyed. In ver. 20 vrmy is
from
rmx,
with the dropping of x, as in 2 Sam. xix. 14. They
who speak to thee, with poetical
boldness, for, they who use thy
name—comp.
xl. 11. That we must explain: for crime, for the
promotion
of that, not criminally (Luther: slanderously) appears
from
the second member. In this member, xvWn is put by a
poetical
transposition for vxWn, comp. Ps. viii. 7. It unquestion-
ably
rests upon Ex. xx. 7, to which also Ps. xxiv. 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 Ps. xxiv. 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 Ps. xxiv. 4; only that the position there is an
inverse
one: who does not bear away his soul to a lie, and swears
not
to deceit. As thine enemies (the rf, enemy in 1 Sam.
xxviii.
16,
and Dan. iv. 16, not Isa. xiv. 21), for every one is an enemy of
the
Lord, who mixes him up with sin, and degrades him into the
means
of compassing his bad ends. Luther's translation: and
thine
enemies raise themselves without cause, is dissipated by
the
one consideration, that xWn 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 the
502 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
love
of piety sufficiently flourish in our hearts, unless it begets in
us
a hatred of crimes, such as David here declares. Then, if that
zeal
for the house of God burns in us, of which David speaks in
Ps.
lxix. 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 Mmvqt,
abbreviated
from Mmvqtm,
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.
—bcf, ver. 24, means heavy
work, so in Isa. xlviii. 5 my work,
for
the idols, which I have laboriously made; parallel: my carved
work,
and my graven work—the trouble, pain. The way of pain
is
the way, which leads to pain. Such a way of pain, a painful
course
and manner of life, including what is experienced as well
as
done, belongs to those whose heart departs from the living God,
and
who walk in the wickedness of their heart, comp. Ps. xvi. 4.
The
Psalmist had no reason to apprehend such a way, so far as
the
passage, ver. 19-22, contains the language of truth. The
contrast
to the way of pain forms the way of
eternity—the way
that
leads to eternity. There is an allusion to the close of the
preceding
Psalm: Lord, thy favour (toward me) endures for ever;
q. d. upon the way, which
leads to the blessed eternity promised
me
by thee (the endless continuance and prosperity of the
Davidic
stem and kingdom), which I have not lost through any
guilt
of mine,
PSALM
CXL.
The Psalm is composed of five verses
as the beginning, and five
as
the conclusion. It is twice divided by three and two. In the
PSALM
CXL. 503
middle
a strophe of three verses, the proper heart of the Psalm,
distinguished
by the use of the name Jehovah four times, which,
with
the occurrence of it thrice in the beginning and the 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, Ps. cxxxviii., David had further in Ps.
cxxxix.
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 Sam. xxiii. 6, 7, over
the
future enemies of his seed and kingdom foreseen in the
Spirit,
and besides this Psalm the following also rest upon the
presupposition
of heavy trials and dangers awaiting the kingly
house
and kingdom, viz., Ps. xviii., and the two trilogies, Ps,
504 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
ci.-ciii.
(comp. Introd. cii.) and Ps. cviii.–cx. 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 Ps. cix., borrowed the colours from this
relation:
in Saul, the most powerful and malignant enemy of the
past,
he beholds the type of the future enemies of his seed. We
find,
in particular also here a strong emphasis upon calumny and
false
accusations, which is 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
person,
as also in Ps. xviii. 48 "from the man of violent deed
(in
2 Sam. xxii. 49, as here, the stronger plural, MysmH 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 Psalm lii., for example, the character of
Saul
is drawn in a quite similar manner, to the character of
the
man of violent deeds here. On ynrcnt, compare Ps. xii. 8.
rvg in ver. 2, in the sig. to gather themselves, as
in Ps. lvi. 6,
lix.
3. The other explanations are to be rejected on the ground
alone
of these two parallel passages, which, in a Psalm like the
present,
are of special weight. The rendering: raise themselves
up
= hrg
is, besides, not grammatically certain; and the expla-
nation:
they inhabit war, for they are constantly in it, is not na-
PSALM CXL. VER. 6-8. 505
tural,
and also without analogies. tvmHlm, accus., for wars, is
used
only of wars in the proper sense, not of altercations.—In the
first
member of ver. 3, the parallel passage, Ps. lxiv. 3: "who
sharpen
their tongue like a sword," 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 Ps.
lviii.
4. Peculiar here is only the bvwkf, which does not occur
elsewhere.
On the expression: under their lips, comp.: under
his
tongue, in Ps. x. 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. Ps. lvi. 13.—The
lofty, in ver.
5,
points back to Ps. cxxxviii. 6. The image of the net and of
the
pit is particularly dear to David,
comp. Ps. xxxi. 4, lvii. 6,
lxiv.
5, cxlii. 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 Ps. xxxi. 14.
In
the first member there, literally: I trust upon the Lord. On
the
second member comp. Ps. v. 1, xxviii. 2, 6.—On the first
member
of ver. 7, comp. Ps. lxii. 1, 11. My
salvation-strength,
upon
which I, in myself impotent, ground all my hope of salvation.
On
the expression: thou coverest—the preterite marks the past
stretching
into the future—comp. Ps. v. 11, cxxxix. 13. The
head, because there the
stroke is deadly, comp. 1 Sam. xxviii. 2,
and
Ps. lx. 7. The day of armour is the day of battle.—On the
first
member of ver. 8, comp. Ps. xxvii. 12: "Give me not over
to
the will of mine enemies." On vmmz comp. Ps. xxxi. 14,
xxxvii.
12. On the expression: they shall lift or elevate them-
selves,
comp. Ps. lxvi, 7, and, as regards the matter, Deut. xxxii.
506 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
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
wxr is placed first in the nomin. absol. ybsm is plural of
bsame, surrounding, which is determined here
by the connection to
be
a hostile one, comp. 2 Kings xxiii. 5; it is not the partic. in
Hiph.;
for this has a transitive meaning, comp. Jer. xxi. 4.
The injury of their lips is the injury which
they sought to inflict
by
their calumnious malice. Ps. vii. 16 is exactly parallel. In
the
last word the reading of the text is Oms.ekay; without iod. The
van
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 Ps. lxxiv. 11.—vFymy, in ver. 10, they
bend,
for, one bends, or throws down, comp. Ps. lv. 3, occupies,
as
very often happens, the place of the passive, which is substi-
tuted
on the margin. Coals, comp. Ps.
xviii. 12, 13. While, in
the
first member only, the punishment itself is represented, in
the
second the author of it, the Lord, is distinctly mentioned.
Deep waters are suitably placed
beside the fire, comp. Ps. lxvi.
12,
Is. xliii. 2. tvrmhm, 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 fr must not, in
respect
to the accents, be separated from smH. On the expression:
he
will not prosper, comp, Ps. ci. 7, cii. 28. The subject in vndvcy
is
the Lord, as also slpy in ver. 10, comp. Ps. xxxv. 6.--On
PSALM
CXLI.
507
ver.
12 comp. Ps. ix. 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. Ps. xvi. 11. lxi. 7.
PSALM CXLI.
The Psalmist entreats from the Lord
power to withstand the
internal
dangers with which he was threatened from the assaults
of
a hostile world, the temptation which pressed upon him to
murmur
against God and his providential dealings, and to pass
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 Ps. x., to be one of the oldest." That the
Psalm,
like the whole cycle to which it belongs, refers to greater
relations
than those of a private individual, is evident from the
expressions,
"their judges," and "our bones," in ver. 6 and 7.
It
is also fitly assigned to this cycle on the ground, that ver.
9
and 10 connect themselves with the preceding Psalm, while
ver.
6 refers to Ps. cxxxviii. 4; and, lastly, on account of the
predilection
peculiar to this cycle for rare words and unusual
forms
508 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
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. xvii. 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. Ps.
xxii.
19, lxx. 2, lxxi. 12. On the words: give ear to my voice,
Ps.
cxl. 6; and on: for. I cry to thee, iv. 1.— Nvkt, in ver.
2,
is to be taken, after Ps. cxl. 11, in the sense of: let it
prosper.
We must not explain as an incense-offering, but as
(spiritual)
incense, 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 i. 10. The Psalmist conies forth here as an ex-
positor
of the Mosaic law, in which the offering of incense every
morning
and evening (Ex. xxx. 7 ss.) symbolized prayer, and re-
minded
the faithful of their obligation to present it, and the
blessing
which arises from it. He who prayed brought to the
Lord
the substance of this incense-offering. With the presenta-
tion
of the true incense he connects that of the true meat-offering.
PSALM CXL1. VER. 1-4. 509
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. Ps. xl. 7. A heart, disposed to good
works,
the Psalmist presents to the Lord in ver. 3 and 4, where
he
prays for power to perform such, for preservation from the de-
ceitfulness
of sin. ypk txWm 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 txWm,
is perfectly certain; and is the rather to be
retained
here, as hHnm
has also originally the same signification,
and
as txWm
is specially used of the gift of food, which one man
presented
to another, Gen. xliii. 34, 2 Sam. xi. 8. The mincha
was
such a gift of food. The signification: the lifting up, never
elsewhere
occurs, and 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 xviii. 29, 36,
where
it is carefully to be remarked, the evening meat-offering is
simply
named the meat-offering. Dan. ix. 21, Esra ix. 4, 5. A
farther
light is afforded by 2 Kings xvi. 15: "And
the king
Ahaz
commanded Urijah, the priest, and said, Upon the great
altar
present the burnt-offering of the morning, and the meat-
offering
of the evening." Hence, it would seem, that the burnt-
offering
was regarded as having the most prominent part in the
morning
sacrifice, with the meat-offering only as an appendage, so
that
the whole was named from the burnt-offering, while, on the
other
hand, in the evening sacrifice the meat-offering was re-
garded
as having the chief-place—good works had rightly their
first-place
assigned them at the end of the day—and the whole
510 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
named
from it. Accordingly, the meat-offering of the evening
here
does not form a contrast to the meat-offering of the morning,
but
it occupies the place of the meat-offering generally.—In ver.
3
the Psalmist prays for preservation from the danger of sinning
in
word, which the temptation brought with it; and in ver. 4
from
that of sinning in deed. Ps. xxxix.
1, and what was said
there,
form a commentary on ver. 3. The subject is not, as Calvin
and
others suppose, respecting hard speeches against the enemies,
but
of impatient, irreverent complaints against God, a quarrel with
him,
an expression of doubt respecting his power, righteousness,
and
grace. The reasons, which ought to have prevented him
from
making such complaints against God, to which the human
heart
is much inclined the conviction that the sufferings were a
deserved
and fatherly chastisement, the 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. hrmw, only here,
guard,
hrcn,
the imperat. in Kal with He parag., and Pagesh
euphon.,
as in Prov. iv. 13. ld is only here used for tld, gate,
(comp.
Mic, vii. 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
tvwqm. 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 Ps.
xviii.
26. On the expression: incline not, in ver. 4, comp. on
Ps.
cxix. 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
Ps.
xxxvii., xlix., lxxiii., and the consideration of the last words of
this
Psalm itself, shew that the discourse is rather of an apostacy
to
wickedness in general. Whoever has lost his way respecting
PSALM CXLI. VER. 5-7. 511
God,
because not perceiving his righteous retribution, to him the
temptation
lies very near of seeking to make good his salvation
by
himself, without troubling himself farther with the heavy and
irksome
restraints of the divine law. The dainties of the wicked
(Mymfnm 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 Ps. lxxiii. As here under the image of
delicate
food, so there in ver. 10, this prosperity is represented
under
the image of a copious drink, which is sipped up by the
thirsty.
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. qydc in ver. 5, properly the
righteous one,
God
(to whom already Amyrald rightly referred the word) in his
property
as righteous, or according to his righteousness. This
he
manifests towards his own, in that he tempers zeal with mercy,
and
does not surrender them to such overwhelming destruction,
as
is appointed to the wicked, but only to fatherly chastisement
—comp.
the expression in Ps. cxliii. 1: Hear me after thy righ-
teousness.
dsH,
which belongs to both verbs, is acc., which de-
scribes
more minutely the way and manner of the striking and
reproving—comp.
Jer. xxxi. 3, where the word is used precisely
in
the same way, Ew. § 279, c. Chastisement, indeed, always
proceeds
from the principle of anger; but behind the anger there
is
concealed for the righteous mercy, which causes the 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
xxxvi.
5 ss. and in the New Testament, Hebr. xii. 6. The
512 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
whole
of this first member rests upon 2 Sam. vii. 14, 15: "I
will
be to him a father, and he will be to me a son. If
he
fails, I will chastise him with the rod of men, and with
the
stripes of the children of men; but my loving-kindness
shall
not depart from him, as I caused it to depart from Saul,
whom
I removed from before thee," (compare on the meaning
of
the passage Ps. lxxxix. 33, 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 Mlh, 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 of
joy, comp. Ps. xxiii. 5,
xlv. 7, civ. 15, Matth. vi. 17. yny is
Fut.
Hiph. of xvn,
for xyny,
compare Ew. § 224, b. xvn has
everywhere
but one signification, that of keeping off, hindering,
which
it preserves also in Ps. xxxiii. 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.
Ps.
iv. 7, "thou givest joy in my heart more than in the time when
their
corn and their wine abound," lxiii. 3, xlii. 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. Ps. iv. 7. In the last member the tvfr
PSALM CXLI. VER.
5-7. 513
are
not sufferings, but acts of wickedness, comp. Ps. cxl. 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 v Ew. § 335), then have I
a mighty weapon
for
prayer to my God against them, since he, indeed, uses the
wicked
as a rod of chastisement for his people, but constantly
says
to them in his own time: hitherto shalt thou come but no
farther;
comp. Ps. lxix, .13, cix. 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 the
thought
would be, as it were, cut in, against the accents and the
natural
connection of the words: oil of the head refuses not my
head,
against the signification of Mlh, which is never used of
"striking
with words, blaming," against the radical passage in 2
Sam.
vii.; instead of the v in ytlptv, 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 Fmw, in ver. 6, signifies to let
loose,
then to let fall down, to throw down; comp. 2 Kings ix.
33,
where it is used of Jezebel. ydyb signifies as certainly
in the
power,
as vdym
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—flsh lx, Ps. cxxxv:ii. 9; so that the rock
receives
and crushes them; comp. 2 Chron. xxv 12, where
in a
514 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
war
against
cation
was made of this passage. The judges are the possessors
of
the world's power, who rebel against the
comp.
Ps. ii. 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 Ps. cxxxviii. 4: "All the kings of the earth
will
praise thee, 0 Lord, when they hear the words of thy mouth."
My
words, by which I invite them to submit themselves to the
Lord's
anointed, comp. Ps. ii. 10-12. Brought to discretion by
the
injuries they had received, they would find precious to them
these
hitherto despised words. The enemies of the kingdom of
David
are the subject in vfmw, 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. rzp occurs in Ps. liii. 5, in the sense of scat-
tering,
and that, too, in connection with bones. ypl at the mouth,
or
opening, Jos. x. 18, 22, Prov. viii. 3. The bones are scattered,
as
it were, at the mouth of Sheol, into which the souls have des-
cended.
Several understand by the mouth of
Sheol its devouring
rapacity;
comp. Is. v. 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 Is.
xxvi.
19, Ez. xxxvii. 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 yk,
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 rendered
PSALM
CXLII.
515
necessary
by its connection with the preceding verse, and equally
so
with the following one. The prayer, which, in ver. 8, is
grounded
upon the declarations contained in this verse, is directed
to
the preservation of the being, and of this, therefore, must
the
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. Ps. xxv. 15; on the expression: upon thee
I
trust, Ps. xxxi. 2. hrf in Hiph. to be poured out, Isa. xxxii.
15,
in Pi. to pour out, Gen. xxiv. 20; and so also in Hiph., and
indeed
precisely as here of the soul, in Isa. liii. 12: "because he
has
poured out his soul to the death." The expression passed
over
to the soul from the blood, in which the soul is. The soul
or
the life is here not that of the individual, but of the family,
and
consequently also of the people, whose existence was rooted
in
that of the anointed house—comp. Lam. iv. 20. Luther falsely:
expel
not. That the fut. in ver. 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 vrymkm refers to the
ideal
person of the wicked: in their own net, comp. Ps. cxl. 10,
vii.
15. To dHy
the enemies altogether, comp. xl. 15, we must
supply
from the first member: let them fall in. Luther, without
injury
as to the sense, has drawn this much tortured dHy 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.
PSALM
CXLII.
The superscription reads: an instruction of David. When he
was in the cave. A
prayer.
On lykWm
instruction, comp. at
526 THE BOOK OF PSALM.
Ps.
xxxii. This designation is here proved to be original by the
conclusion
of the Psalm, which, in conformity with that, points to
the
general import of what primarily applied only to David, thus
corresponding
to the relation which ver. 8 bears to the super-
scription
in Ps. xxxii. The: in the cave, refers not to some
particular
cave, but only indicates that the Psalm contains cave-
thoughts—comp.
at Ps. lvii. On hlpt, not prayer generally,
but
supplicatory prayer entirely—comp. on Ps. cii. supers. cxli. 5.
That
the situation indicated in the superscription was not the
proper
occasion of the Psalm, but that David here only applies
what
he then experienced for the edification of others, appears
not
simply from the expression, "an instruction," in the front of
the
superscription, out of which the following words: when he
was
in the cave, derive their more definite import, but still more
from
the fact, that the Psalm stands in close contact with the
rest
of the cycle of which it forms a part (comp., for example, ver.
3,
with cxli. 9, cxl. 5, cxliii. 4) and the exposition.
David sees in his desperate condition,
when he was in the cave,
a
type of the future condition of his race and of the church. His
cave-reflections
he sets before them as an 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
ylvq
ver. 1, comp. Ps. iii. 4.
To
the Lord—who once so gloriously listened to the progenitor,
when
he was hopelessly lost. On the second member comp.
PSALM CXLII. VER. 5-7. 517
Ps.
xxx. 8. On ver. 2 comp. the superscription of Ps. cii., a
Psalm
of David: "Prayer of the miserable
when he is in distress,
and
pours out his complaint before the Lord;" also Ps. lxii. 8,
lxiv.
1.—Ver. 3 declares what caused the Psalmist to go with
supplication
and prayer to the Lord. This was the deep 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.
Ps. i. 6. Others, after the example of Luther, elevate the
connection
between this verse and the preceding, and take the
vau
in htxv
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 JFf,
comp.
at Ps. cii. supers., cvii. 5, lxxvii. 3. In regard ylf, in
me,
comp. at Ps. xlii. 4. That we must explain: which I should
go,
not: which I go, appears from Ps. cxliii. 8.—The right hand is
named
in ver 4, because, being the instrument of action, it is the
most
suitable place for any one who would either effectually hin-
der
or support one—comp. on Ps. cix. 5, cxxi. 5. There is no
one that knows me, will know, they all
make themselves strange,
and
no one extends to me assistance, comp. Ps. xxxviii. 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." svnm,
refuge,
as lix. 16.
Ver. 5-7.—Ver. 5. I cry to thee, Lord, I say: thou art my
confidence, my portion
in the land of the living. Ver. 6. 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
takes
up again the beginning of the first. On the expression:
thou
art my confidence, comp. Ps. lxii. 7, lxxi. 7. On: my por-
tion, q. d. my helper and bestower of
salvation, comp. on Ps.
xvi.
5, lxxiii. 26. On: in the land of the living, at xxvii. 13,
518 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
lii.
6.—On the words: attend to my supplication, ver. 6, comp.
xvii.
1, lxi. 1. I have become very thin,
comp. Ps. lxxix. 9,
rests,
as it appears, on Judg. vi. 6, "and
before
Midian." On: deliver me from my persecutors, comp.
Ps.
vii. 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. Ps.
xviii.
17.—On: bring me--out of the prison, comp. xxv. 17:
"Bring
me out of my distresses," and cxliii. 11: "Thou wilt
bring
my soul out of distress." Upon the prison as an image of
trouble
and distress, see on Ps: cvii. 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 Ps. cv. 17 ss. My soul, the
distressed, ver. 3, the
endangered,
cxli. 8. That the expression: to praise thy name,
comp.
Ps. 17, cxl. 14, must , be explained: that men may
praise,
I in company with the righteous, not with Luther: that
I
may praise, appears from the following words. rtk means in
Hiph.
only to surround, comp. Hab. i. 4,
Prov. xiv. 8; as also
in
Pi. comp. Ps. xxii. 12, with the single exception of Job xxxvi.
2,
where the Arabic usage is employed. yb
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. Ps. xl. 16,
xxxv.
27. On lmg
with lf,
to give, to deal kindly, comp. on
Ps.
xiii. 6, ciii. 10.
PSALM CXLIII.
The Psalm is completed in the number
twelve, and falls into
two
main parts, each of six verses, divided by Selah—the first
(after
an introductory prayer in ver. 1 and 2) containing a 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-
PSALM CXLIII. 519
fold
use of the name in the preceding Psalm. So also the num-
ber
of the preparatory petitions, ver. 1 and 2. To the number
of
particular strophes corresponds the threefold mention of the
loving-kindness
of the Lord, and of his righteousness and truth,
which
is also thrice noticed. It corresponds to the division into
two
halves, that the Psalmist twice designates himself, in ver. 2
and
12, as the servant of the Lord. The whole number of verses
corresponds
to the twelve times utterance of prayer and hope in
the
second part, in each verse a double one, with the exception
of
ver. 7, where there are three petitions, and of ver. 9, where
there
is only one—in each strophe six petitions, corresponding
to
the number of verses in the two divisions. The representation
of
the distress in the first division, ver. 3-6, presents ten parti-
culars,
in the first strophe three, in the second seven, according
to
one of the two ordinary divisions of the ten. In like manner
the
second part presents a tenfold grounding of the prayer and
hope,
in each strophe a fivefold one, according to, the other of the
two
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 is
almost
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, and
520 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
prays
and intercedes for the afflicted of his seed, as Moses of old
did
upon the Mount.
That the Psalm must not be viewed
apart from those that sur-
round
it, is clear already from the connection with Ps. cxlii.,
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 enemy
persecutes my soul,
crushes to the ground my life, makes me to
dwell in dark places
like one eternally dead. Ver. 4. And
wearied is my spirit
with me, my heart is confounded to me in
my body. Ver. 5. I think of the days of old, I reflect upon
all
thy doing, meditate upon
the work of thy hands.
Ver. 6. I
stretch 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 the
double
prayer in the first half of the verse. The appeal to
the
faithfulness presupposes, that the Psalmist had received defi-
nite
promises from God, comp. 2 Sam. vii. Righteousness gives
to
every one his own; to the righteous—and only such must ven-
ture,
after Ps. cxxxix., to take into their mouth the words of this
Psalm—in
spite of their failings, the forgiveness of which is itself
the
work of divine righteousness (comp. on Ps. li. 15) salvation;
to
the wicked destruction. In Ps. xxxvi. 5, 6, righteousness and
faithfulness
are united together.—Enter not into
judgment with
thy servant, ver, 2, on account of
the human infirmity, which still
always
cleaves to thy people, along with the righteousness which
they
also possess as the indispensable condition of salvation. The
Psalmist
had appealed in ver. 1 to the divine righteousness. The
appeal
to this has for its foundation a consciousness of personal
righteousness,
compare on Ps. xvii. 1. But with the
mention of
this
there is quite naturally introduced also the thought of its
great
imperfection, and on this account the Psalmist betakes him-
self
to the forbearance and pardoning mercy of the Lord, which
PSALM CXLIII. VER. 1-6. 521
can
never be withdrawn from his servants, which he must grant
them
precisely according to his righteousness (comp. on Ps. xix.
13),
not because they could demand it, but because he would
otherwise
deny his own nature. The accuser goes into the judg-
ment
with the accused Job ix. 32, xxii. 4; but here the accuser is,
at
the same time, judge, and appears as such in the second 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 Pet. iv. 18. The passage before us has pro-
duced
impressions also upon the
an
entire series of similar expressions resting upon it in the book
of
Job; for example, ix. 2, xiv. 3, xv. 14, then Rom. iii. 20.—
The
for in ver. 3 grounds the preceding
prayers: not that merely
in
ver. 1, but the one also in ver. 2. For the request: enter not
into
judgment, is as to the meaning., q. d.,
surrender me not on
account
of my failings to destruction. On the first member comp.
Ps.
vii. 5. The Psalmist must, in spite of his innocence (comp.
Ps.
cxxxix.) suffer what, according to that fundamental passage,
could
permanently and conclusively rest only upon those who are
laden
with guilt. The fem. form hyH, in the sig. of life
only
poetically,
occurs in this sig. also in another Psalm, of the time
of
David, Ps. lxxviii. 50. In regard to the dark
places in the
third
member, compare on Ps. lxxxviii. 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 Lam. iii. 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 Ps.
lxxxviii.
5 may serve: "whom thou rememberest no more, and
they
are cut off from thy hand," q. d.,
who have for ever ceased
to
be the objects of thy providential care. Several: as those
who
have been long dead; but whether long ago or recently
makes
no difference. Luther falsely: as the dead in the world,
522 THE BOOK OF PSALMS
—On
the first member of ver. 4 compare Ps. cxlii. 3. Mmw, to
be
prostrated in soul, faint, compare Ps. xl. 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 Ps.
xliv.
1-3, but only a doleful one, as in Ps. xxii. 3-5. For we find
ourselves
here in the region of sorrow. In the dependant pas-
sage
also, Ps. lxxvii. 5, the remembrance of the past serves, not
to
mitigate, but to increase and deepen the pain. On the second
and
third members, comp. the dependant passage, Ps. xcii. 5.--
The
second member of ver. 6 rests upon Ps. lxiii. 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 wPn
hpyf 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. cii. 2, lxix.
17.
On: for my spirit is exhausted, through the heavy, long-
continued
suffering, Ps. xxxix. 10: "Through the blow of thy
hands
I am exhausted;" on the second half, Ps. cii. 2, and xxviii.
1.
The prayer in both 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 upon
PSALM CXLIII. VER.
7-12. 523
the
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. Ps. li. 9. On: in the morning, Ps. lix. 16. That
in
the prayer: make known to me the way wherein I should go,
the
discourse is not of a moral guidance, but that the way is the
way
of salvation from trouble, appears. from Ps. cxlii. 3, and the
radical
passage, Ps. xxv. 4. Calvin: "When he seeks that the
way
should be made patent to him, in which he should walk, the
matter
is to be referred to his anxieties. For it 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 Ps. xxv. 1, 2. On: deliver my
soul
from my enemies, in ver. 9, comp. lix. 1, cxlii. 6. The se-
cond
member literally: to thee I cover or conceal myself; hsk
to
cover one's self, Gen. xxxviii. 14, Deut. xxii. 12, Jon. iii. 6.
The
unusual and strange manner of expression was called forth
by
the reference had to Ps. xxvii. 5: "for he conceals me in his
tabernacle
at the time of adversity, he covers me in the secret of
his
tent," and Ps. xxxi. 20, "Thou hidest them in a taber-
nacle
from the strife of tongues." The hsk here is the trans-
posed
hks
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 of
524 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
strength--comp.
Ps. xl. 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, Ps. cxxxix. 10, 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, xxvii. 11, and xxvi. 12, "My foot stands upon the plain,"
where
the plain stands opposed to a difficult piece of ground, full
of
steep rocks and pits. The exposition: pathway of manners,
righteousness,
is therefore decidedly to be rejected. The 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, Ps.
xix.,
li. Hence he prays here, expanding his views farther, that
the
Lord would (internally) teach him to do his will, convinced
that
this first gift must necessarily draw the second in its train,
that
of salvation; so, he prays, that the good Spirit of God would
make
him good, and consequently would guide him upon the path
of
salvation. We must explain: Thy Spirit, good, q. d., which
is
a good one, or, and indeed the good, as opposed to the evil
spirit,
to the dominion of which Saul was given up in righteous
judgment,
and which hurried him onward into sin and perdition
—comp.
1 Sam. xvi. 14, 15, xviii. 10, and corresponding to the
Holy
Spirit in Ps. li. 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. xxiii. 3, xxv. 11,
xxxi.
3, cix. 20. On: thou wilt quicken me,
comp. Ps. cxxxviii.
7.
On this: after thy righteousness, ver. 1, and Ps. xxxi, 1. On
the
last words, Ps. cxlii. 7, xxv. 15, xxxiv. 17.—On the first
member
of ver. 12, comp. Ps. xxxi. 16, xviii. 40. tdbxh, the
PSALM CXLIV. 525
pret.,
as an expression of confidence, to which the Psalmist rose
from
the prayer through the intermediate stage of hope (the
fut.
in the preceding verb), points distinctly to Deut. vii. 24. On
the
last words: for I am thy servant, Calvin says: "By naming
himself
the servant of God, he by no means extols his own 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."
PSALM
CXLIV.
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.
526 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
In unison with the superscription,
David comes forth speaking,
comp.
especially ver. 2, which alone suffices to dispose of the sup-
position,
that
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 Ps. xviii. It is an arbitrary
supposition,
that here a transference is made to
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 Ps. cviii.), which, if any doubt might
still
be entertained on the subject, would obtain a firm ground to
stand
upon in this Psalm, which can only
have been composed by
David.
Then the way and manner of the use made of such 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 Ps. xviii., 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,
cxlii.,
to the song of praise, cxlv. The cloud of adversity
begins
already to disperse, and the sun of salvation is on the eve
PSALM CXLIV. VER.
17-10. 527
of
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 Ps.
cxiv.
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 Ps. xviii. 46, comp.
ver.
2; the second member rests on Ps. xviii. 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 Ps. lix. 17. The five following predicates, and therefore
the
half of the ten predicates in ver. 1 and 2, are taken from Ps.
xviii.
2, where the predicates of God, in like manner, as in this
528 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
verse,
are completed in the number seven. To yFlpm there
is
here, precisely as in the text in 2 Sam., added yl. 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 Ps. xviii. 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 Ps. xviii. 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 ymf, 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
necessary
to resort to the unfortunate supposition of a "rare
plural
form" (comp. on the contrary at Ps. xlv. 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 Ps. xviii., 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 adorable
PSALM CXLIV. VER. 1-10. 529
greatness
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, Ps. viii. 5, and from
the
beginning of David's prayer in 2 Sam. vii.: "Who am I,
Lord
God, and what my house, that thou hast brought me so far;
and
that is still too little to thee, Lord God, and thou hast spoken
to
the house of thy servant for a long time yet to come, and thus
thou
dealest with the man, Lord God." To know,
is q. d., to
take
notice. For the first member of ver. 4, comp. Ps. lxii. 9,
xxxix.
5, 6; and for the second, Ps. ciii. 15, cii. 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 Ps. xviii. 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, Ps. civ. 32.
The
mountains are here also brought into notice as the symbol
of
kingdoms.—Ver. 6 rests on Ps. xviii. 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 qrb
occurring only here, was probably formed
for
the occasion.—Ver. 7 rests on Ps. xviii. 16: "He sends from
the
height, takes me, draws me out of many waters." Peculiar
here
is the: thy hands, and the hcp, 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
Ps. xviii. 44, 45.—On the first member of ver. 8, comp. Ps.
xii.
2, xli. 6. By the right hand every one thinks primarily, not
of
an oath, but of shaking hands, 2 Kings x. 15, and to this
points
also here the parallel passage, as the deceit of the month,
530 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
mentioned
there, also consists in false assurances of friendship.
We
may compare: "the sons of the
stranger feign to me," in
Ps.
xviii. 44, conceal their hatred 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 Ps. xxxiii. 2, 3: "Sing praise to him on
the
psaltery with ten strings. Sing to him a new song." The new
song
must here be a song of thanksgiving to the Lord for the new
manifestations
of favour which David had already received in
faith:
the
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 Ps. lxxv. 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 Ps. cxlv. The mention of the psaltery of
ten
strings—comp. on Ps. xxxiii.—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 xxxiii. 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; hcp,
alludes
to the yncp in
ver. 7 and 11. Already, on account of the
parallel
Ntvn 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-
PSALM CXLIV. VER. 11-15. 531
cording
to the superscription, also spoke of him. Precisely in
the
same manner does David speak of himself in the third per-
son
in Ps. lxi. 6, lxiii. 11, and especially in Ps. xviii. 50, 2 Sam.
vii.
26. The expression: his servant, joins on to Ps. cxliii. 2,
12,
and contains the ground of the deliverance. In regard to the
sword, comp. on Ps. xxii. 20.
Ver. 11-15.-Ver. 11. Redeem me and deliver me from the
hand of 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. That
our 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 rwx in ver. 12, in the sig. of so that, comp.
Deut.
iv. 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 Myldgm, not educati,
but
made, or become great, powerful. As this refers to the sons,
so
must tvbFHm
refer to the daughters, not to the corners—
comp.
the tyvizA
in Zech. ix. 15 (falsely some: corner pillars);
hewn
= as hewn. The comparison indicates the beauty.
lace
is the general, corners the particular: after the fashion
(comp.
the tynbt
in Ps. cvi. 20) of a beautiful palace with
its
fine projectures, the shining points of its beauty. The com-
parison
is of the simplest kind possible.--Nz in ver. 13, kind,
sort.--
lbs in ver.
14 always means to bear, therefore in Pi., to
532 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
make
to bear, to load, in Pü. to be laden. Oxen were not only
used
for ploughing, thrashing, and drawing, but also for bearing
burdens,
comp. 1 Chron. xii. 40, which passage is peculiarly fitted
to
throw light on the verse before us. Laden oxen presuppose a
rich
abundance of produce. The exposition: that our cattle may be
prolific,
vanishes before the one consideration, that Jvlx 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 Jvlx 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, ix. 7, xii. 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. Crp
is
never used of breaking in, but always of breaking, or breach in
the
passive sense, also in Job xvi. 14. Here, as in Judges xxi.
15,
2 Sam. vi. 8, breaking, rent, is = hurt; Geier
infortunium
quo
felicitatis nostrae integritas laceratur. Nothing
going out,
is,
according to the connection with Crp, 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. Is. xxiv. 11: "There
is
a cry over the (failing) wine on the streets."—The Epiphonem
in
ver. 15 rests upon Ps. xxxiii. 12. The relation of both 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."
PSALM CXLV.
This Psalm is a song of thanksgiving
and praise on the part of
the
house of David and the Church after all their tribulations
PSALM CXLV. 533
have
come to a close. It is parallel to Ps. ciii. The Psalm is
an
alphabetical one, and hence the thoughts must be expressed
from
the first in the form of a close organization; they must not
stand
loosely in an alphabetical Psalm. The alphabetical arrange-
ment
is exact, excepting that the letter b 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 Ps. cxi. 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, hlht
stands
only
here as the designation of a Psalm employed in the superscrip-
tion
(corresponding to ryw in Ps. lxviii. etc.), comp. Ps. xxxiii.,
in
manifest reference to hlpt, in Ps. cxlii. supers. and cxliii. 1.
In
the
hlht; upon the crying to the Lord out of deep
distress, a giv-
ing
praise and thanks to the Lord. The return of hlht, in the
concluding
verse is a proof of the originality of the superscription;
534 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
of
which, indeed, the delicate reference to the hlpt does not
permit
us to doubt.
Ver. 1-7.—Ver. 1. I will extol thee, my God, thou king, and
praise thy name for ever
and ever.
Ver. 2. Continually will I
praise thee, and
celebrate thy name for ever and ever. Ver. 3.
Great is 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. Ps. xxx. 1:
"I
will extol thee, for thou hast lifted me up." The latter
stands
also here in the back-ground. On: thou king, q. d. thou,
who
truly art our king, thou who givest salvation to kings, and
deliverest
thy servant David, Ps. cxliv. 10, comp. Ps. xx. 10,
xxiv.
8, 10, xxix. 9. Calvin: "By calling him his king, he 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. Ps. xxxiv. 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. Ps. cxxxviii. 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. Ps.
lxviii.
19; on the second, Ps. lxix. ver. 3, the rich mean-
ing
of the name of God is more nearly described. The first
member
is literally borrowed in Ps. xlviii. 1, and should there be
marked
as a quotation. Upon llhm, comp. on Ps. xviii. 3. On
PSALM CXLV. VER. 8-14. 535
hldg, never greatness, always great, comp. on Ps.
lxxi. 20;
great
= his great deeds, corresponding to the works and the
mighty
deeds in ver. 4. On: unsearchable, comp. Ps. xl. 5: "I
will
declare and speak of them (thy wonders), they are not to be
numbered."—The
fut. in ver. 4, and also in ver. 6, 7, are to be
taken
according to ver. 10, 11, not as a designation of what should
be
done, but as a simple announcement of what is done. Allusion
is
made to the fulness and plenteousness of the deeds of God, and
the
powerful impulse lying therein to the constant celebration of
praise.
On the first member, comp. Ps. xix. 3. The works
of
God
are here, as in ver. 17, the glorious displays of his mercy
and
righteousness.—On the first member of ver. 5, 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 Ps. xviii. 2, lxii. 7. In reference to the expres-
sion:
the matters of wonder, comp. Ps. lxv. 6, cv. 27.—The Kri
jtldg, the singular, in ver. 6, has arisen
from a comparison with
ver.
3, and from the wrong impression, that hldg means great-
ness.
The correctness of the text is confirmed by the parallel
tvxrvn; 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 -br
bvF, in ver. 7, is a kind of compound noun
much-goodness. On
bVF goodness = the essential goodness, the goodness
of being in
the
Lord, comp. on Ps. xxv. 13. That the br is an adjec. ap-
pears
from Ps. xxxi. 19, Is. lxiii. 7. fybh prop. to cause to
splutter
forth, Ps. xix. 3, lix. 7. Nnr with the accus. also
else-
where
in David, Ps. lix. 16, li. 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,
536 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
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 Ps.
ciii. 8. In place of the br
there,
we have here lvdg, 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.
Ps. ciii. 13. His works, even the
young ravens, Ps. cxlvii.
9,
how much more, then, his works in the kingdom of grace, Ps.
cxxxviii.
8, the
ver.
10, either with the mouth, or at least through their very
being,
comp. Ps. xix. 2 ss., Ps. ciii. 22.—On: of thy kingdom,
ver.
11 , comp. Ps. ciii. 19. The
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. Ps. cxxxviii. 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 Dan. iii. 33, iv. 31, where
Nebuchadnezzar
repeats what he had received from Daniel, the
zealous
inquirer into the import of the ancient scriptures, comp.
ix.
2. On the first member of ver. 14, comp. Ps. xxxvii. 17, 24.
The
two partic. supply the place of nouns, from which the l, is to
be
explained, more rare than the accus., which was put in the
late
imitation, Ps. cxlvi. 8. All that fall,
all the bowed down,
that is, among the
righteous.
Ver. 15-21.—Ver. 15. All eyes 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-
PSALM CXLVI. 537
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 Ps. civ. 27. The all is
of his works or creatures,
ver.
9, all living, ver. 16. How can he, Who fills all desire on
earth,
allow his elect to wait on him in vain?—To Nvcr, in ver.
16,
corresponds in the dependant passage, Ps. civ. 28, "they are
satisfied
with food," the bvF; the former, therefore, must also
denote
that with which they are satisfied—comp. besides Ps. ciii. 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 xiv. 17, "filling our hearts with food and gladness")
abandon
those who fear him? The ground-passage is in Deut.
xxxiii.
23: "Naphthali is satisfied with what he wished," fbw
Nvcr, 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 dysH, ver. 17, comp.
on
Ps. iv. 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. Ps. xxxiv. 18, 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,
xxxvii. 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.
PSALM CXLVI.
It is happy for
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 by
538 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
the
five. The predicates of God are twelve, four times three. The
name
Jehovah occurs thrice in the first half, thrice in ver. 7, and
thrice
in the remaining verses of the second half.
That this Psalm forms the close of
the dodecade, beginning
with
Ps. cxxxv., has already been mentioned.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 Ps. civ.,
where
it first occurs, and Ps. cv., the borrowing of ver. 1 and 2
from
Ps. civ., which was composed after the exile, and of ver. 3
from
Ps. cxviii., which was sung at the laying of the foundation of
the
second temple. That the Psalm was composed in a period of
depression
for the people of God, is indicated by the predicates
given
to God, which are all of a kind fitted to elevate the 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
Ps. civ. Ver. 2 also rests upon ver. 33 of that Psalm.—
On
ver. 3 comp. Ps. cxviii. 8, 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
rather
appears here as the speaker, but to the world, comp. Ps.
lxxv.
4, 5. A dissuasion from something, to which the
a See at p. 542.
PSALM CXLVI. VER. 6-10. 539
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.
Ps.
cxliv. 10.—On ver, 4 compare Ps, civ. 29: "Thou gatherest
their
breath, then they expire, and return again to their dust."
The
reference to this passage is put 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, = happy
I,
in opposition to the world. The vrzfb is to be explained, ac-
cording
to the fundamental passage, Ps. cxviii. 7: under his help,
for,
among the number of his helpers. lx 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 yrwx 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. on
540 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
Ps.
lxxxv. 10.—On the first member of ver. 7 comp. Ps. viii. 6.
By
the persons oppressed is meant here also, his own people in
all
their oppressions. On the second member comp. Ps. xxxvii.
19,
cvii. 5, 9. The hungry 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, Ps. cvii.
0.—The
first member of ver. 8 alludes to Isa. xxxv. 5. To open
the
blind, stands here for, to open their eyes, which comes the
more
naturally out, as Hqp 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 Deut. xxviii. 29, Isa. lix. 10, Job xii. 15.
The
second member is from Ps. cxlv. 14.—In reference to the
stranger,
the widow and the orphan as representatives of persons
in
a miserable condition, ver. 9, comp. on Ps. lxviii. 6, 7. In the
background
stands: and therefore also his poor people. The
way is the lot, the fate,
comp. on Ps. i. 6. He bends their lot,
q. d., he transfers them
into a depressed condition.—It is by no
means
accidental, that ver. 10 begins with the tenth letter of
the
alphabet. The first member is taken from Ex. xv. 18.
The
everlasting
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.
PSALMS CXLVII.—CL.
That the four following Psalms
constitute one whole, is clear
from
the Halleluiah at the beginning and the close of each of them,
by
which they also connect themselves with the close of the 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 the
PSALM CXLVII.-CL. 541
praise
of God in nature, with the praise of his grace toward his
people;
finally, from the circumstance of their being throughout
pervaded
by a reference to a great salvation, which restores
The starting point shines out with
the utmost clearness in Ps.
cxlvii.,
which opens the cycle. The establishment of
and
its security toward what is without, appears there as the oc-
casion.
In Ps. cxlviii. 14, it is the elevation of the people and
the
invigoration of their courage. In Ps. cxlix. we are told of
a
great salvation, which the Lord grants to his 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.
xii.
What
habited
village, exposed to all manner of insults from the neigh-
bouring
people—and how much
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 Ps. cxlviii., the invigoration of the courage
of
the people and the elevation of their state, with the erection of
walls
mentioned in Ps. cxlvii., is rendered plain by Neh. i. 3:
"The
remnant are in great affliction and reproach, and the wall
of
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
being
no longer in reproach, are placed in causal connection;
then
also ch. vi. 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
542 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
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 Ps. cxlix. It was at
the
building of the walls that
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 Ps. cxlvi. the prayer of the
Levites
in Neh. ix. 6, remarkably coincides: "Thou hast made
heaven,
the heaven of heavens, with all their host, the earth and
all
that is therein, the sea and all that is therein; and thou
preservest
all, and the host of heaven worships thee." With
Ps.
cxlvii. 19, comp. Neh. ix. 13, 14, x. 29. With Neh.
xii.
27: "And at the dedication of the walls of
they
sought the Levites from all places, and brought them
to
ing,
with singing, with cymbals, harps,
and psalteries," comp. Ps.
cxlvii.
7, cl., where all the three instruments are mentioned. Also
with
ver. 35 and 41, according to which at the feast of dedication
the
trumpets were blown by the priests, comp. Ps. cl. 3. The
joyful
and exulting tone of the four Psalms finds its commentary
in
Neh. xii. 43, "And they offered on that day great sacrifices,
and
rejoiced, for God had given them great joy, and also the 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 Ps. cxxxv.—
cxlvi.
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,
Ps. cxlvi., 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 last
PSALM CXXXV.-CXLVI. 543
Psalm
being otherwise very strikingly related to each other at
the
beginning and the end. That the eight Psalms marked with
the
name of David cannot stand here, in an isolated and 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
Ps.
lxxii., 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 Ps. cxlvi.
also
forms a component part of the cycle, is already clear, even
apart
from the manifest and intentional connection which Ps.
cxlvi.
has with Ps. cxlv., from the fact, that all the other mixed
groups
(Ps. ci.–vii., Ps. cviii.–xix., Ps. cxx.–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 Ps. cxxxv., cxxxvi., this is done by
pointing
to the glorious deeds of God in nature and history,
which
guarantee the return of prosperity to
quickens
the hope of the already-begun execution of God's judg-
ment
upon the enemies; Ps. cxlvi. 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 Ps. cxxxvii.
544 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
PSALM CXLVII.
The peculiar object of this song of
praise and thanksgiving are
the
acts of kindness which the Lord had just imparted to his
people.
Other proofs, however, of the glory of God were also
drawn
into the circle of praise, because the particular 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;
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.
xiii.
10, the connection in which the fortification of
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. Neh. ii.
5,
where Nehemiah said to Artaxerxes: "Send me 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 xlix. 13:
PSALM CXLVII. VER.
1-6. 545
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 Ps. xcii. 1, the beginning of the second on Ps. cxxxv.
3,
"Praise the Lord, for the Lord is good, sing praise to his
name,
for he is lovely" (comp. on the loveliness of the Lord at Ps.
xxvii.
4), and the last words are from Ps. xxxiii. 1, "Rejoice ye
righteous
in the Lord, to the upright becomes praise." The 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 yk is
co-ordinate
with the first—a supposition about which one must
be
very cautious. hrmz; inf. Pi. with h
parag.; rmz to celebrate
in
song, as in Ps. vii. 17.
Ver. 2-6.—Ver. 2. The Lord builds
scattered of
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 Is. xi. 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. Ps. cvii. 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. Ps. xxxiv. 18,
ciii.
3, Is. lxi. 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.
546 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
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. hnm stands here as in Gen. xiii.
16,
Numb. xxiii. 10 (see my work on, Balaam, p. 91 ss.), Is. lxv.
12,
in the original sig. of determining,
which is demanded by the
rps, that excludes the sig. of numbering. Still, however, the
discourse
is not here of the determination of the number of the
stars
before their creation, but of the numbering of those that
have
been made, which, according to Gen. xv. 5, alluded to here,
lies
beyond the province of the human mind. Beside the 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 Is. xl. "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 Is. xl. 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. 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 of
PSALM CXLVII. VER.
7-11 547
his
church. But she roams, in seeking for proofs of the mercy
she
has received from the Lord, through the whole circle of his
benevolent
agency, which extends even to the smallest of his crea-
tures,
so that the feeling may be more deeply impressed, and
along
with thanksgiving hope also invigorated. But the whole
runs
out in praise of the Lord's loving-kindness toward his own,
in
like manner as all had proceeded from him. Answer
(comp. on
Ps.
cxix. 172) to the Lord, who has
addressed us in so friendly
a
manner by bestowing on us his salvation.—The clouds are
referred
to in ver. 8 only in so far as they produce the rain, which
is
one of the instruments of blessing. In regard to the question:
why
precisely the mountains are mentioned, comp. on the original
passage,
Ps. civ. 13.—On the first member of ver. 9 comp. Ps.
civ.
14, 27, 28. The young ravens are introduced here, partly as
being
creatures of an unprofitable and disagreeable kind, partly
on
account of their croaking (Bochart: corvus vocem clamosam
habet
et obstreperam tanquam importuni flagitatoris),which seems
to
call upon the heavenly Provider for help. We must not
translate
exactly with Luther: who call upon him; however, the
croaking
should certainly be regarded as a sort of unconscious
crying
to the Creator for help, comp. Job xxxviii. 41, where the
young
ravens cry to God, Ps. civ. 21, cxlv. 15.—Ver. 10 and 11
rest
upon Ps. xxxiii. 16-18. The horse stands here, as there, as
a
representation of the kind, over against him man. In the legs
of a man, and their strength,
this is to be supplied from the first
member—comp.
also: through his great strength, in Ps. xxxiii.
16.
How glorious is God's loving-kindness! In contrast to the
world,
which expends its love only on the strong, from whom it
can
expect recompense and returns of favour, he has no pleasure
in
the heathen world ever boastful of its might, but in
traced
on the ground in its impotence, yet looking with the eye
of
faith to him, that he will lift it up from its depression in the
dust,
as he had already begun to do—comp. ver. 12 ss.
Ver. 12-17.—Ver. 12. Praise,
thy gates, blessed thy
children within them. Ver. 14. Who makes
peace in thy borders,
satisfies thee with the fat of the wheat.
Ver
15. Who sends his discourse upon the
earth, his word runs
very quickly. Ver. 16. Who gives snow like wool, hoarfrost
548 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
scatters 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. Ps. lxxxi.
16.
In ver. 15-18 there is probably not only an allusion to the
omnipotence
of God as manifested in nature not less than in the
government
of his people, but at the same time an allegorical 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 Ps. cvii. In ver. 15, the discourse and word
of
God are represented as servants, which he sends upon the
earth
to execute his will. Their quick course marks the speedy
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?
suff.
in Msmy,
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
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
which
had now again manifested itself.
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.
PSALM CXLVIII. VER. 1- 6. 549
PSALM CXLVIII.
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-
550 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
dividually
named—comp. on Ps. ciii. 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 Ps. ciii. 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 Deut. x. 14, 1
Kings
viii. 27, where they are named by way of gradation be-
side
the heavens generally, Ps. lxviii. 33, Neh. ix. 6, are the
highest
heavens. The explanation: ye heavens everywhere,
Luther:
"all heavenly regions, however vast and infinite," Maurer,
has
no justification in the usus loquendi.
We have the less reason
for
setting aside the allusion here to a gradation in the heavenly
regions—comp.
2 Cor. xii. 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, Gen. i. 7, the clouds—comp. on Ps. civ. 3. Of other
heavenly
waters scripture knows nothing; they know nothing of
the
"celestial fire-watery ether." If, therefore, we hold it as
certain,
that in the first member, the highest heavens are 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 Ps. cii.
27.
On the second member comp. Job xxxviii. 10: "And I gave
it
(the sea) an unchangeable law, and set bars and bolts;" and Job
xiv.
5, where, in regard to the period of man's life, it is said: "thou
host
made his law, which he does not transgress." From allusion
to
the latter passage, it is probable, that the singular rvbfy
has
arisen,
in which the parts of creation mentioned are united into
one
whole. The law is, according to these
parallel passages, the
PSALM CXLII. VER.
1-9. 551
sphere
of being, which is appointed to each part of creation, and in
which
it is held by the divine omnipotence; as, for example, the
stars
must pursue their course, the upper and lower waters must
remain
continually distinct. In regard to the reference of xl
rvbfy to the several parts of creation, comp.
besides Ps. civ. 9,
Jer.
v. 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 Mynyt, in ver. 7, comp. on
Ps.
lxxiv.
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. rvFyq is in ac-
cordance
with the accompaniment of the fire, with Gen. xix. 28,
Ps.
cxix. 83, and with the sig. of the verb, the common smoke,
not
fog, nor vapour,—as if the Psalm had been written in 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, Ps. ciii. 20.—The cedars
are
named in ver. 9, because they especially proclaim the creative
power
of God through their greatness and majesty; on which ac-
count
they are called the cedars of God in Ps. lxxx. 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-
552 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
tained
a series of proofs of the divine greatness, the young, whose
fresh
vigour is a matter-of-fact praise of God.
Ver. 13-10.—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
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.
Ps.
civ. 27. On the second member comp. Ps. viii. 2.—He lifted
up the horn of his
people,
ver. 14, which before was sunk in the
dust,
Job xvi. 15, comp. on Ps. xcii. 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. Lev. x. 3, Ezek.
xlii.
13, furnishes the ground of the divine goodness, as in Ps.
cxlvii.
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.
PSALM
CXLIX.
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, Ps. cxlviii. 14. The
beginning
of the Psalm, therefore, purposely joins itself to the
close
of the preceding one.
Ver. 2-5.--Ver. 2. Let
dren of
his name in the dance,
with timbrel and psaltery play to him.
PSALM CXLIX. VER.
6-9. 553
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 Myvnf, ver. 4, signi-
fies
not afflicted, but, as always meek, is clear from the oppo-
site
to it, the wicked, in Ps. cxlvii. 6.
On hcvr,
connp Ps. cxlvii.
10,
11. The expression: in honour, in ver. 5, marks, as in Ps.
cxii.
9, the state that had given rise to the joy. The honour
in
which they now rejoiced, forms the contrast to the shame
with
which they had hitherto been covered, Neh. i. 3, and Neh.
iii.
36. Upon their beds, where before in
the loneliness of night
they
consumed themselves with grief for their shame comp. Hos.
vii.
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. Mmvr in ver. 6, praise, song
of praise, as in Ps.
lxvi.
17. As formerly at the work—comp. Neh. iv. 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.
Neh.
xii. 31 ss., gives notice of a great military procession to the
temple
at the consecration of the walls.—That
they may execute
vengeance, ver. 7, namely, as God
wishes it to be done and at the
time
appointed.
his
state was still far from that which became the people of God
and
was promised them. They were still servants in the land,
which
the Lord had given to their fathers, that they might eat
its
fruit and enjoy its food—compare the description in Neh. ix.
36,
37. The new elevation of the people's consciousness, in which
for
the first time, after a long period, the warrior spirit was again
revived,
filled them now with a hope that rose superior to present
appearances,
the hope of dissipating what still remained of evil
in
their condition. This hope, legitimate in every respect, and,
as
to its substance, resting upon an everlasting foundation (for the
people
of God can never in the nature of things continue long in
554 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
a
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
when
they took the sword of the spirit in their hand, and thereby
prevailed
over their heathen neighbours. The earlier external
revenge,
as Calvin suggests, was but a shadowy prelude to this.
The judgment whereof it
is written,
ver. 9, not in Deut. vii. 2,
for
the passage refers to the entirely peculiar relation to the Ca-
naanites,
but in Deut. xxxii. 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.
PSALM CL.
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
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 vllh, 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
PSALM CL. VER.
1-6. 555
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 wdq
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 Ps. cxlviii., the subject
of
which is here again briefly resumed. In
his mighty, comp. Ps.
lxviii.
34, stronghold, where the hosts of
heaven, the angels, and
sun,
moon, and stars, praise him.
Ver. 3-6.--Ver. 3. Praise him with sound of trumpets, praise
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, bgvf, 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 Ps. v. 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 Ps. lxviii. 25, and in 2 Sam. vi. 5, where we find a similar
enumeration
of the musical instruments: "David and the whole
house
of
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."
556 THE BOOK OF PSALMS.
culiar
character of the cymbals, which were used only at festivals
of
a joyful kind, comp. 2 Sam, vi. 5, Ezra iii. 10, Neh. xii. 27.
hfvrt, jubilee, comp. Ps. xxvii. 6, lxxxix.
15, Numb. xxiii. 21.
hmwn, breath, ver. 6, denotes very often that which
has breath
--here,
in contrast to the dead instruments, comp. Gen. xiv. 21.
At
the sacred feasts there was not merely playing but also sing-
ing,
comp. Ps. lxviii. 25, Neh. xii. As the life of the faithful,
and
the history of the church, so also the Psalter, with all its
cries
from the depths, runs out in a Halleluiah.
APPENDIX.
TREATISES.
I.
ON THE DESIGNATIONS, CONTENTS, AND DIVISIONS OF THE
PSALMS.
THERE is no general name in Hebrew
for the Psalms. This suf-
ficiently
appears from the circumstance, that where the whole should be
designated,
names are employed, which manifestly belong in strictness
only
to a part, and can be made to comprehend the whole only a
potiori. Thus the name tvlpt prayer-songs, in the
closing formula
of
the second book, at the end of Ps. lxxii. So also the name com-
monly
found among the Jews in the Masoretic superscription to the
Psalms,
Mylht,
praise-songs, songs specially appropriated to the praise
of
God. It has, indeed, been remarked, with the view of representing
the
suitableness of the latter designation, that all the Psalms aim at the
glorification
of God. "All the Psalms (says F. L. Stolberg, Abh. über
die
Ps. in Bd. 2 der. Rel. G.) contain the praise of God; for even
the
deep abasement of the penitent sinner, who, with contrite heart and
confiding
love, flies up to the source of mercy, weeps his praise." Clauss
(Beitr.
p. 2) rests on 2 Chron. xxxi. 2, Neh. xii. 8, where the whole
charge
of the Levites in regard to singing is described as the giving of
praise.
But though it is certainly true, that an element of divine praise
pervades
the–whole–Psalms, as also that in them all there is, if not an
express,
at least a concealed, "Lord, have mercy on me"—though
upon
the existence of these elements the application of the two names
to
the entire collection proceeds, and would not otherwise have been ge-
nerally
followed; yet it is not the less to be maintained, that the desig-
nation
tvlht
or Mylht,
as also that of tvlpt, is one merely
a potiori. In regard to the
latter this was already probable from
analogy.
And that the name hlht originally, and as distinguished
ii DESIGNATIONS, CONTENTS, AND
from
hlpt,
the proper prayer-song, designates only such a composition
as
has the praise of God for its most prominent and striking character,
is
evident from the superscription of Ps. cxlv. But this character by
no
means belongs to all the Psalms. The passage, 2 Chron. v. 13.,
shews
that the designation is given only a
potiori even in those passages
which
are quoted by Clauss. But its application was the more natural,
as
it is a distinguishing peculiarity of later times to speak of prayer in
the
proper sense as a giving of praise to God, so that to praise God and
laud
him always was then represented as the chief function of the
Levites.
There is, therefore, no designation
in Hebrew, which comprehends the
whole,
like the Greek yalmo>j, which has been
elevated by the LXX. to the
honour
of a general title—music on the string, and a song accompanied
by
such music—properly, indeed, only the first, ya<llein signifying only
to
play, not to sing, excepting in the LXX., and those who took their
usage
from it. Stringed music is the natural accompaniment of such
poetry
as proceeds from an immediate gush of feeling. It is only to be
remarked
concerning this designation, that it does not specifically distin-
guish
the Psalms from worldly lyric poetry; for example, from such,
productions
as David's lamentation over Saul and Jonathan, This de-
fect,
however, is of less moment, as we stand here on holy ground, and
the
primary object is only to distinguish the collection in question from
the
other sacred writings, in, particular from those which have in com-
mon
with it the poetical characteristic.
The name ryw, is partly too
comprehensive, and partly also too nar-
row.
Originally, it denotes the song in its widest compass, and is used
of
such songs as were sung without any musical accompaniment; comp.
Is.
v. 1; Canticles i. 1. So also is it found in the superscriptions of the
Psalms
in combinations, such as Schir Hammaaloth, pilgrim's song,
and
at Ps. xxx., xlv. But, on the other hand, where it is absolutely
employed
in the superscriptions (Ps. xlvi., xlviii., lxv., lxvi., lxvii.,
lxviii.,
lxxv., lxxvi., lxxxvii., lxxxviii., cviii.), and also in the
text
of the Psalms, it always denotes the joyful song of praise, which
alone
deserves, in the fullest sense, the name of song, as only in that
does
the breast expand itself, and the voice become elevated to the full
pitch.
Comp. on Ps. xlii. 8, cxxxvii. 3, and,
in reference to the appa-
rent
exceptions in the superscriptions of Ps. lxxxiii., lxxxviii., see the
Introd.
to these Psalms. Indeed, ryw when standing absolutely in the
superscriptions,
cannot have the signification of song
in general. For,
in
that case, it would really have been meaningless, as every one
could
see at a glance, that there was here a song, and not a piece of
DIVISIONS OF THE
PSALMS. iii
prose.
Especially in a collection of the sacred songs of the nation would
the
exceptions be extremely rare. The name ryw, therefore, expresses,
on
the one side, what is common to the Psalms with every thing that
is
not prose, and, on the other, what belongs only to a particular class
of
Psalms.
The current view regards rvmzm as the general name of
the Psalms,
exactly
corresponding to yalmo>j, by which it is
rendered in the
LXX.
So, still, with a slight modification, Ewald, poet. BL Th. i. p. 25.
He
considers hnygn,
Ps. lxxvii. 6, as most thoroughly agreeing with Yal-
mo>j. "But it is certain (he says) that rvmzm indicates a melodious
song,
to be sung probably with an instrument, Gr. meloj, and as stringed
instruments
were the most common among the Hebrews, the rendering
of
the LXX. is accordingly justified."
But a series of objections
immediately present themselves against this
view.
1. If rvm,zm
were itself equivalent to yalmo<j, it would not in
the
superscriptions be often coupled with tvnygnb, Ps. iv., vi., lxvii.,
lxxvi.
One of the two must, in that case, have been quite superfluous;
and
least of all should we look for anything superfluous in the concise
style
of the superscriptions. 2. Even where it occurs without such a
combination,
the rvmzm
would, in that view of it, be unnecessary and
superfluous,
especially where it occurs absolutely, as in Ps. lxvi., lxvii.,
xcii.
It might fitly have been used as a designation of the whole, but
not
of the particular parts. It would be not less singular, than if in a
church
song-book, particular songs should bear the superscription of
church-song.
3. "rvmzm does not occur
excepting in the superscrip-
tions
of certain Psalms. All the Psalms in the collection are not so desig-
nated,
nor is the plural Myrmzm used as a name for the whole"
(Clauss).
These
facts scarcely admit of any explanation, if the word has the gene-
ral
import of Psalm. The first fact seems to indicate, that rvmzm,
just
as Mtkm,
and lykWm,
itself bore a poetical character; which is
also
confirmed by the circumstance that rmz, so far as it refers to
playing
and singing, is only to be met with in poetry. But if the
verb
without any addition, signified to sing and play, and the
noun,
Psalm, no reason could be discovered for the merely poetical
usage.
The two latter facts manifest, that rvmzm is not a general
name
for the Psalms, but designates the characteristic peculiarity
of
a part of the whole. 4. Clauss has already noticed the cir-
cumstance
as significant, that rvmzm never occurs with lykWm
or
Mtkm
in one superscription, as also these two other designations
never
appear in conjunction. The solitary exception in Ps, lxxxviii. is
iv DESIGNATIONS, CONTENTS, AND
only
an apparent one. For, there two
superscriptions are connected to-
gether,
a general one for Ps. lxxxviii. and lxxxix., and a special one for
Ps.
lxxxviii. This cannot be considered a mere accident. The only
rational
explanation is, that the three designations did not properly ad-
mit
of being combined together, which might then, for example, have
easily
been the case, if rvmzm, as also lykWm and Mtkm, pointed to
the
worth and importance of the Psalms it is prefixed to, precisely as
Myrywh ryw in the superscription
of the Canticles. A twofold desig-
nation
in this respect would scarcely have been proper. On the current
view
no reason can be given, why rvmzm might not as readily
occur be-
side
lykWm,
and Mtkm,
as ryw,
which is commonly found in con-
nection
with it. 5. It admits of no satisfactory explanation by the
current
view, that rmz should be used alike of singing and playing. A
sense
of this difficulty, as appears, has led to a denial of the fact, as to
its
being so used. Thus Meier in his Wurtzelwörterbuch, p. 213, says:
“Because
the song, according to the rule, was accompanied with play-
ing
on stringed instruments, rmz sometimes occurs in the sense of sing-
ing
with the accompaniment of an instrument, the latter being con-
nected
with b.
This, however, never means to play upon the harp, but
is
a pregnant expression, as often occurs in Hebrew, for singing accom-
panied
with the harp, or as we say with like brevity, for the harp to be
sung."
But in disproof of this representation Ps. xcviii. 5 is alone
sufficient,
where rvnkb can
only signify with the harp, not for it. It
is
also opposed by Ps. xxvii. 6, where rmz cannot mean to sing,
because
the
singing, ryw,
goes before—comp. Ps. ci. 1, cviii. 2, civ. 33, cv. 2,
where
in like manner rmz is united with ryw. Against this view is
also
jylbn trmz in Am. v. 23, xrmz used of music in Dan.
iii. 5, and
the
Arabic, where the word possesses, besides the signification of singing,
not
merely that of playing, but that also of dancing. 6. Finally, the
common
construction of rmz with the accusative—the Lord, or the
name
of the Lord, his strength, or his glory—cannot but appear striking.
Having thus, by the way, brought
into suspicion the view currently
entertained
regarding rmz
and rvmzm,
if we examine more closely, we
shall
find, that it rests upon no solid foundation. rmz has originally
the
meaning, to dress, decorate, adorn, and in this sense alone does it
occur
in the oldest records, the Pentateuch. The verb itself is used of
the
dressing of a vineyard, in Lev. xxv. 3, 4. The undressed vineyard
is,
in ver. 5, called ryzn, incomtus. The noun rm,z, occurs in Deut.
xiv.
5, as the name of a beast of the deer species, whose beauty and
loveliness
of form particularly attracted the notice of the orientals, comp.
DIVISIONS OF THE
PSALMS. v
Prey.
v. 19, Gen. xlix. 21 (Gesell. s. v. lfy "it is customary
with the
orientals
to compare graceful females to animals of the deer species,
especially
to the doe")—properly, ornament, decoration, for the orna-
mented,
decorated. In the same category is found also the name ybc,
1.
splendor, decus; 2. caprea, dorcas, a formae pulchritudine dicta, Ge-
sen.:
then the name lyx, the stag, the powerful. lfy, the wild goat,
signifies
properly the excellent. We also may compare the word yrmz,
the
elegant. In Gen. xliii. 11, occurs Crxh trmz, the ornament of
the
land, for the best productions of it—commonly with a, far-fetched
derivation,
cantio terrae, for fructus celebratissimus. And also the
trmz in Ex. xv. 2, comp. Isa. xii. 2, Ps. cxviii.
14, is better explained
by
ornament = trxpt, than by song: my strength and ornament
is
the
Lord.
In later times, rmz still occurs in the
same signification. It is used
of
the dressing of the vineyard in Isa. v. 6. In Isa. ii. 4, tOrmez;ma
denotes
the pruning-knives by which the vineyards are cut; tOrm;.zam;,
usually
rendered snuffers, from their accompaniments in 1 Kings vii. 50,
2
Kings xii. 14, 2 Chron. iv. 22, but rather instruments that served for
dressing
and cleaning. It occurs in Jer. lii. 18, along with Myfy, for
the
shovels that removed the ashes. Beyond doubt it means "the pans
for
the removing of the ashes," in Ex. xxvii. 3, there, precisely as in
Jer.,
coupled with Myfy, comp. xxxviii. 3. Then the trmz in Isa. xii.
2,
Ps. cxviii. 14. The proper name Simri.
Now, in the song of Deborah, in
Judg. v. 3, the verb, in its current
signification,
was transferred to song and music, hvhyl rmz, adorn to
the
Lord, namely, in song and music, for: sing
and play to him with
grace,
comp. Ngn byFyh in Ps, xxxiii. 3, 1 Sam. xvi. 17.
From the song of Deborah, which we
may gather also front other indi-
cations
to have been highly esteemed by David, comp. on Ps. lxviii.,
he
borrowed the use of the verb in the same sense, comp. On Ps. ci. 1,
which
was by him formally incorporated with the Psalmodic poetry.
The
emphatic expression accorded peculiarly with his lively spirit,
which
could not endure to stand at the common measure of singing and
playing.
By him also, doubtless, was the noun rvmzm formed, which
is
found only with him and those who copied after him.
They said, to adorn the Lord, the
song and the harp, and also to
adorn
to the Lord, or to the name of the Lord, his strength, or his ho-
nour,
for: to give praise to him or it in graceful speech, and with well-
executed
music, comp. Ps. xxx. 12, vii. 17, xxi. 13, lxvi. 2.
rvmzm in so far as it denotes
graceful song, song that displayed
vi DESIGNATIONS, CONTENTS, AND
much
art and skill, was well fitted to serve as a distinctive appellation
for
the productions of lyric poetry. For this, as the poetry of feeling
and
inspiration, soars farther above the prose of common life, and seeks
also
for the most part in the language it employs, the rare, the dark, the
elevated,
as will readily be found on a comparison of the prophetic style
with
that of the Psalms. Yet rvmzm does not occur as such a distinc-
tive
appellation, excepting, perhaps, to some extent in the superscrip-
tion
of Ps. lxviii. It always rather denotes the artificial character of
the
Psalms, in the superscription of which it stands, in opposition to a
class
of lyric poems, in which the composition assumes a more negli-
gent
and humbler form. But the designation, as well as Mtkm, and
lykWm, is to be understood positively and not
exclusively, as appears
even
from this consideration, that rvmzm is never used along
with either
of
these other terms, because a double designation of worth, even though
given
from a different point of view, would have appeared unsuitable.
Still
there are Psalms to which, from their simple and artless character,
it
could not be prefixed, such as Ps. xxv., xxxiv., xxxvii., and those
generally
in which David lets himself down to persons of lower capaci-
ties,
and accommodates himself to the higher demands of popularity.
We turn now to a consideration of
the contents of the Psalms. That
the
collection contains productions of Israelitish lyrics, and that we find
ourselves
here throughout on the territory of feeling, is clear as day.
But
this, after all, is not to say much. We require a still narrower li-
mitation.
1. A hasty glance over the collection itself, a superficial ex-
amination
of the whole of the writings to which it belongs, shews that
we
have not here a collection of all the productions of Israelitish lyric
poetry,
that it presents us only with such lyrics as belong to the strictly
religious
territory. The Song of David on the death of Saul and Jo-
nathan,
preserved in 2 Sam. i., does not lie within this territory, and
hence
is not of this collection. 2. All the Psalms are songs of
as
David describes his Psalms in 2 Sam. xxiii. 1. This implies the
whole
religious community to have been respected in them. They all
not
only bore a religious character, but were also appointed to be used in
the
services of the sanctuary, for which nothing can be proper, but what
the
individual sings as the organ of the church. The individual comes
here
into account only in so far as he presents a general aspect. One
alone
must come out more prominently, "the man, he who was raised
on
high, the anointed of the God of Jacob," David—in whom the com-
munity
was represented as in its head, and even in his case the general
must
always discover itself behind the particular. The last words of
DIVISIONS OF THE
PSALMS. vii
David,
in 2 Sam. xxiii., however, were excluded from the Psalms, not
because
they were too personal, but because they bore a prophetical and
not
lyrical character, as is plainly indicated by the prophetical introduc-
tion.
If we travel through the whole Psalms, we shall find that the per-
sonal
occurs in them only in reference to David. Where this meets us
in
Psalms not of David's composition, still the person is not to be re-
garded
as that of the writer, which always retires modestly into the back-
ground,
but that of David. So in Ps. xlii., xliii., lxxxiv. which were
sung
by David's bards as from his soul.
The Psalm of Hezekiah,
Isa.
xxxviii., from its personal character, could not be admitted to a
place
in the number of the Psalms; and, in like manner, Jonah's song
of
thanksgiving. 3. The collection contains only such songs as the
church
was convinced had been composed under the special co-operation
of
the Spirit of God. That this, even in the remotest times, was held
to
be a necessary condition of such art as was employed in the service
of
the sanctuary, appears from Ex. xxxi. 2, 3. Even the founders of
sacred
music are regarded by the author of Chronicles, who wrote at the
time
the Psalms were collected, and probably had some hand in the col-
lecting
of them, not as mere ordinary musicians; they are, in his view,
beings
full of God, seers—comp. 1 Chron. xxv. 1, where they are called
"the
prophets " of the sacred music, and ver. 5, where Heman is named
"the
king's seer in the words of God." How much more, then, the sa-
cred
bards themselves! David describes himself, in 2 Sam. xxiii. 1, 2,
as
one who spoke under the impulse of the Spirit of God. That he dis-
closed
a higher than human wisdom, is intimated by the Psalmist him-
self
in the beginning of Ps. xlix. Asaph, the composer of Psalms, is
called
a seer in 2 Chron. xxix. 30. That David spake in the Spirit, was
a
principle alike held by our Lord and by the Pharisees, Matth. xxii.
41-46.
The use which our Lord makes of the Psalms after the resur-
rection,
Luke xxiv. 44, rests on the supposition, that they, as well as the
Books
of Moses, and the writings of the prophets, were composed under
divine
direction. Only on the national conviction of this can the admis-
sion
of the Book of Psalms into the canon have proceeded. For the
divine
co-operation was, with the collectors, the distinguishing mark of
a
canonical book—see Hävernick, Einl. i. §
10.
The bearing of the Psalms may be
gathered from this view of their
contents.
They present no new doctrine. In this respect they rest
upon
the Pentateuch. The instruments used by God for the develop-
ment
of doctrine, were not the Psalmists, but the Prophets. Only with
one
of the writers of the Psalms, David, does the prophetical play into
the
lyrical, and in his productions we meet with new representations con-
cerning
Messiah and his kingdom, which served to the prophets them-
viii DESIGNATTNS, CONTENTS, AND
selves
as the kernel of new developments. It is still, however, to be
borne
in mind, respecting these portions of the Psalms, that David
owed
the groundwork of them to the prophets. His Messianic Psalms
throughout
rest on 2 Sam. vii., and, if this had not been the case,
would
have belonged to another region than that of Psalmodic poetry.
The
peculiar value of the Psalms turns on this, that they give us an
insight
into the heart of the Old Testament saints—that they disclose
their
feelings to us in the most sacred and hallowed moments of their
life—that
they open for us a deep insight into the more hidden wonders
of
the true religion. It is certainly not to be overlooked that in one
respect
the songs of Christian poets have a great advantage over Psalmo-
dic
poetry. In the knowledge of the redemption brought in by Christ,
in
the facts of his life, sufferings, and death, they possess much richer
materials.
Accordingly, the practice of the older Reformed churches
of
confining sacred music to the singing only of the Psalms, sprung from
the
misapprehension of a Scriptural principle, and was itself a mistake.
But
never can the Psalms be supplanted by "the new song" which the
Christian
church has sung and should still sing. Their peculiar dis-
tinction
is the buoyancy and freshness of feeling, which here first
had
its tongue in a manner loosed, and also the very quality which
places
them at a disadvantage; their simplicity; for there exists a pro-
found
necessity for the religious spirit falling back from time to time
on
the simplest principles of religion. There is also something very
consolatory
and elevating in the thought that what brings us down and
lifts
us up again, has powerfully affected the souls of God's people cen-
turies
before. We are wonderfully moved when we accompany the
sacred
bards from Moses to Nehemiah and everywhere discover our-
selves
and our God. Finally, the Psalms have in this a high distinction
above
our church songs, that they form a part of the word of God. But
this
we can only indicate here, not enlarge upon.
In regard to the division of the Psalms, the difficulties
of a complete
and
proper classification are much greater here than in respect to Chris-
tian
songs. In the latter, the division must always be formed primarily
upon
the succession of facts in the life of Christ and the festivals there-
with
connected. Other kinds stand plainly distinct from these, in that
they
exhibit the peculiar doctrines of the gospel, and represent the life
of
believers under the New Testament as rising to its full development.
Still
one must not despair, as some do, of making out any division of
the
Psalms, the less so, as the principles of a very simple one, and such
as
is alone suited to the nature of the case, to the embryo character of
the
Old Testament, are obvious enough in the Psalms themselves. The
DIVISIONS OF THE
PSALMS. ix
collection
falls into three great divisions. I. Such Psalms as proceeded
from
a spirit chiefly moved and actuated by joy, shewing itself in lively
admiration
of God, or gratitude for his astonishing goodness in bestow-
ing
gifts on the people generally, or on individuals, declaring the sense
inwardly
cherished of his love, or celebrating in glowing terms the ma-
jesty,
glory, and grace of God. The most descriptive name for this class
is
hlht,
in the superscription of Ps. cxlv. Other designations are
hdvtl, for ascription of praise in Ps. c., and
ryw,
in the superscrip-
tions
of an entire series of Psalms. In some Psalms the place of such
an
expressive designation is transferred from the superscription to the
beginning
of the Psalm itself. Thus hvhyl vryw, sing praise to the
Lord,
in Ps. xcvi; hvhy tx ywpn ykrb, bless my soul the
Lord, in
Ps.
ciii., in contrast to the hlpt the prayer-song in Ps.
cii.; vdvh
hvhyl praise the Lord, in Ps. cv., and often
besides. As a substitute,
also,
for an express designation is the halleluiah in a number of Psalms
written
during the period of the exile and subsequently. 2. Another
great
division consists of such Psalms as proceeded from a depressed
and
mournful frame of mind, variations of the "Lord have mercy on us,"
which
alternates with the halleluiah in the lives of the saints. The
technical
designation of Psalms of this class is hlpt, prayer-song;
see
on its sig. at Ps. xc., cii. Besides this there are also the designations
rykzl, for bringing to remembrance, i. e.
putting God in mind of his
people's
necessities, Ps. xxxviii., lxx.; tvnfl touching the
temptation,
Ps.
lxxxviii.; tHwt lx, destroy not, as an address to God, in
Ps.
lvii.-lix.,
and Ps. lxxv. 3. Psalms which proceeded from a more quiet
reflective
state of mind, religious-moral, or didactic Psalms; for example,
Ps.
i., xv., xxiv., xxxii., xlix., lxxiii. The term lykWm, instruction,
which
is found at the head of thirteen Psalms, is a suitable designation
for
all of this class. The prefixing of this term, however, is no proof
of
the Psalm being apportioned to this class to the exclusion of the two
others,
nor does the want of it indicate that the Psalm is not of this
class.
It was chiefly prefixed to such Psalms as had the instructive
design
more concealed, so that it might easily have been overlooked.
The
Psalms of this class belong for the most part to the tine of David.
In
the later periods, when the struggle was for the existence or non-
existence
of the people of God, the Psalmodic poetry almost entirely
spoke
the language of lamentation, hope, and thanksgiving. What en-
grosses
the whole heart, that always resounds in a nation's songs—as
with
us the songs which were composed during the thirty years' war are
chiefly
songs of trial and conflict—and, as even now, in times of deep
depression,
persons would naturally give vent to their soul in songs of
x HISTORY OF THE PSALMODIC POETRY.
this
description, when looking forward to and sighing for times of
refreshing.
It is also worthy of remark, that the necessity which at the
first
was met by Psalms of a didactic nature was latterly in great mea-
sure
removed by the didactic poetry of the Proverbs which flourished
in
the age of Solomon, and afterwards by the prophets. The didactic
poetry
of the Psalms is distinguished from the latter not only by the
form
but also by the hearty character of the tone, the descending of the
teacher
into the soul of the taught—comp., for example, Ps. xlix. 5,
"Wherefore
should I fear in the days of evil, when the iniquity of my
supplanters
compasses me about?" instead of the prophetic Thou. The
prophet
speaks as the representative of God, the Psalmist as the better
self
of the person to be instructed; or where this is not the case, as
paternal
friend. The didactic poetry of the Psalms is again distin-
guished
from that of the Proverbs by the overflow of feeling, the gush-
ing
forth of a moved heart, as opposed to the repose, the objective and
reflective
character of the wise sayings, in which the poetical was con-
nected
with no internal necessity, but was only a suitable form, and
hence
was not accompanied by song and music.
II. ON THE HISTORY OF THE PSALMODIC
POETRY.
The source of a popular lyrical
poetry flowed so richly even in the
age
of Moses, that an entire collection of such songs then sprung into
existence
called the Book of the Wars of the Lord, Numb. xxi. 14, 17,
18,
27, &c. They re-echoed the impression which the Lord's dealings
with
his people were fitted to produce, but in a manner as different from
the
Psalms as the songs of Körner differ from church songs; see my
Beitr.
iii. p. 223, ss.
A second collection of this sort is
that cited in Jos. x. 13, and 2 Sam.
i.
18, "The Book of Jasher" (the upright.) We might conceive this
collection
to have been identical with the Book of the Wars of the Lord,
which
may not have been closed in the time of Moses, but continued the
national
song-book for later generations. Nor would the diversity of
the
title of itself prove the reverse; comp. upon the various forms of
citing
the same book, Keil comm. on B. of Chron., p. 24. But it is
against
the supposition now made, that the Book of the Wars of the
Lord
contained songs in celebration of the wonders wrought by the
Lord
for his people, while the book of the upright, from its title, and
HISTORY OF THE PSALMODIC POETRY. xi
the
two examples given of its productions, contained songs in praise of
distinguished:
servants of the Lord. This second collection was cer-
tainly
indebted to the time of the Judges for much of its matter. The
last
mention made of it is in the age of David. It appears, that in this
age,
the popular lyrical poetry suffered a check in consequence of the
mighty
elevation which the poetical talent then received from being
turned
into a spiritual direction; although David himself, as his song
on
Saul and Jonathan shews, took an active part in the former. This
kind
of song was still farther removed from the Psalms, than the songs
of
the Book of the Wars of the Lord. It had no religious colouring, but
bore
an entirely worldly character. It was distinguished from similar
poetry
in profane literature only by its more refined tone of feeling. An
accompaniment
to it is found in the specimen given of a popular song
in
1 Sam. xviii. 7, where undoubtedly we have only the kind of catch
words
which formed the burden of the song. It would seem that such
a
power had been wielded by David over the minds of the people by his
spiritual
songs, that the mere worldly song afterwards sunk into the
lowest
region, occupied by the drunkards, comp. Isa. v. 12, Amos vi. 5,
or
at most served only for a harmless private gratification, comp. Ps. lxv.
13,
Job xxi. 12, without having any thing like a national standing. So-
lomon's
attempt also to introduce the poetry of the world among the
Israelities—comp.
1 Kings iv. 32, "And his songs were a thousand
and
five," and v. 13, "And he spake (probably still in his proverbs and
songs)
of trees, from the cedar tree that is in
hyssop,
that spriugeth out of the wall; and he spake of beasts and of
fowl,
and of creeping things, and of fishes"—was for the same reason
productive
of little result.
Spiritual and especially devotional
poetry had its origin among the
Israelites.
It is of itself incredible, that a people whose soul was for-
med
by religion, whose whole existence had grown up in such close
union
with faith in their God, if they had poetry at all, should have
abstained
from employing it in the service of God. Among the Egyp-
tains,
whose customs the Israelites followed, music had obtained pre-
dominantly
a religious use (Rossellini Mon. ii. 3. p. 78, Wilkinson
Manners
and Customs of
golden
calf there was singing of music, Ex. xxxii. 18. The high place,
which
was attained by poetry in the divine service under David, can
scarcely
be accounted for without an earlier foundation of some sort
having
been laid. It seems to be implied in 1 Chron. xv. 16, that David
found
a faculty of song and music already in existence among the
Levites.
But we have several remnants of sacred lyric poetry, land in
particular
of that which was adapted for divine worship, from the times
xii HISTORY OF THE PSALMODTC POETRY.
before
David. Moses' Song, indeed, and his blessing on the tribes of
not
a lyrical but a prophetical character. The priestly benediction,
however,
in Numb. vi. 22-26, deserves a place here, for it is re-echoed
in
various ways in the Psalms. So also the words which Moses, accord-
ing
to Numb. x. 35, 36, uttered when the ark of the covenant began
to
move and again rested; but more particularly the song of the chil-
dren
of
it
was too closely connected with the occasion that gave rise to it, to be
permanently
used in the divine service, and so has its proper place in
the
history, and not in the national song-book. Next to these, we have
Deborah's
Song in Judge v., to which the last remark also applies; but
its
near relation to the Psalms is evident alone from the fact, that David
has
almost literally adopted some of its passages. Then, finally, the
Song
of Hannah in I Sam. ii. contains a proof of the early cultivation
of
religious poetry, and in, particular of such as was adapted for public
worship.
This moves far more nearly along the beaten path than either
the
song at the
much,
that though originally referring to the national relations, is here
transferred
to the personal—passages, which have given occasion to mo-
dern
criticism, in opposition to the veritable character of the books of
Samuel,
entirely to reject the Song of Hannah. Every thing that at first
sight
wears a strange aspect, admits of an easy explanation, if we con-
ceive
the Song of Hannah to have been an echo of the songs to which
she
had just been listening in the tabernacle.
Yet still the whole period that
preceded David furnishes no materials
for
the collection of Psalms, excepting the one composed by Moses,
Ps.
xc. Though devotional poetry existed in the time of the Judges,
it
bore a sporadic character. What is said in 1 Sam. iii. 1 in reference
to
prophecy, "And the Word of God was precious in those days, pro-
phecy
was not spread abroad," might be said also of it. And its com-
paratively
not very numerous productions still failed to rise to the full
height
of the Israelitish sacred song, so that latterly, when this height
was
reached, they fell into neglect, much as the church songs of the
evangelical
church almost entirely banished the productions of the pre-
ceding
centuries. But that, they contributed their share to the accom-
plishment
of this end, we cannot doubt, from the relation in which
we
find David standing with to the Song of Deborah and to that of
Hannah.
The proper efflorescence of the
Psalmodic poetry was dependent on a
threefold
condition. The first grand pre-requisite lay in a national re-
ligions awakening. Then this kind of
poetry, precisely as the church
HISTORY OF THE PSALMODIC POETRY. xiii.
song
with us, had a thoroughly public
character;* the Psalmist ap-
peared
as the interpreter of the sentiments of the community. When
these
were cold, dead, and indifferent, the individual, however highly
gifted,
could perform nothing rightly. But if the community had first
become
alive, then it was of importance for it farther that its Lord
should
raise up for it a man, who, being endowed with an especial mea-
sure of his Spirit, and along therewith a creative poetical) genius,
might
give noblest utterance to the emotions of the community; so
that,
what in one respect was only a representation of what already ex-
isted,
might in another serve as the means of preserving and quicken-
in
the religious spirit.
Now, the foundation for the
prosperity of the Psalmodic poetry was
laid
by Samuel, in the religious revival that was brought about by him.
Of
great service in this respect were the schools of the prophets, which
were
instituted by him. How they became the floor and the centre of the
spiritual
life for
sends
Saul to the sons of the prophets, that his cold heart might be
kindled
by the flame of their inspiration. The overpowering influence
these
exercised is manifest from what is related to have taken place here
and
in 1 Sam. xix. 20, etc. But these institutions stood apparently in
a
still closer connection with the flourishing of the sacred lyrics! That
the
prophecyings in them were very nearly allied to the sacred lyrics,—
as
of such an intercommunion between the two we have an older example
in
the predictions of Balaam, and a later in the songs of thanksgiving,
which
Isaiah has interwoven with his prophecies—discovers itself in the
circumstance,
that they prophesied with harps, pipes, and stringed in-
struments,
which was not at all customary with the prophets. It is a
proof
also of their partly lyrical character, that those who went within
the
magical circle, themselves began to prophecy. This could scarcely
have
been the case, if their effusions had been regular prophecies.
The two other conditions were
realized by the raising up of David.
The
connection which he held with the schools of the prophets, is mani-
fest
from I Sam. xix. 19 ss. There can be no doubt, that he owed to
his
intercourse with Samuel, and his schools of the prophets, if not the
* We may say of the Psalms what Bodé
(Gesell. der. Hellen. Dichkunst 2 s. 8), has
said
of the Doric Lyrical poetry: "One of its characteristic traits was its
predomi-
nantly
public character and its relation to the State. The stream of Doric national
lyrics
could, therefore, be as little directed upon individual acting or individual
emo-
tions,
as it could enjoy itself in the representation of merely personal relations,
ten-
dencies,
or passions. The matter of these lyrics had been of such a kind, as that, while
it
was derived from particular circumstances or events, it still admitted of these
being
treated
in so general a way as to awaken the interest of the entire community, and
especially
stood in a close relation to the religious notions of the Dorians."
xiv HISTORY OF THE PSALMODIC POETRY.
first
awakening, at least the further development of his religious life. It
is
not to be understood from 1 Sam. xvi. 6 ss., that Samuel was still
unacquainted
with David, when he came to anoint him. He probably
had
before this the human conviction, that he was the man after God's
own
heart. But he leaves that here entirely out of view, in order more
emphatically
to convey the impression, that it was not that which de-
cided
the matter, but the express and authoritative command of God.
How
David became endowed with the Spirit of God, and thus received
his
higher consecration to be the singer of the songs of
which
no poetical gift could have been of any moment, is related in 1 Sam.
xvi.
13: "And Samuel took the horn of oil, and anointed him in the
midst
of his brethren: and the Spirit of the Lord came upon David
from
that day forward;" comp. v. 14: "And the Spirit of the Lord
departed
from Saul, and an evil spirit from the Lord troubled him;"
from
which it is clear, that the Spirit of the Lord is not, with several, to
be
regarded as the kind of principle of the kingly gifts. David was
already
in the possession of this spirit when he was called to Saul, and
the
power to counteract the operation of the evil spirit in Saul without
doubt
proceeded from the good spirit that dwelt in him. As a pious
singer,
he is expressly recommended to Saul in v. 18, a passage which
shows,
that he did not employ himself about common music. But it
was
the cross which first brought David's gift into full development; his
first
Psalms were composed during the time of the persecution from Saul;
and
the old saying, "Where would have been David's Psalms, if he had
not
been persecuted?" has its foundation in truth. A second great
stage
was David's ascension to the throne, and the care which thence
devolved
upon him respecting the sanctuary, to have the courts of which
at
all times filled with the voice of prayer and praise, he took for one of
the
great objects of his life.
That the Psalmodic poetry should at
once have struck its roots so
deeply
among the people, in the times of David, was owing partly to the
distinguished
gifts and the high position of the father of this poetry,
and
lastly to the important place which he from the first assigned it in
the
service of God. David instituted for the public performance of the
Psalms
a sacred chorus of singers, at the head of which he stood him-
self,
comp. 1 Chiron. xxv. 2, 6; then followed the three masters of
song,
Asaph, Heman, and Jeduthun; then their twenty-four sons,
namely,
four sons of Asaph six of Jeduthun, fourteen of Heman.
Each
of these sons had a class of twelve singers under him, composed
of
their relatives. But while these are to be regarded as the proper
artists,
v. 7, distinguished again among themselves as to relative perfec-
tion
and right of precedence, v. 8, they still formed only the kernel and
HISTORY OF THE PSALMODIC
POETRY. xv
the
elite of the sacred musicians. Of the 38,000 Levites, not fewer
than
9000 were set apart by David for this department of service.
Asaph,
with his company of singers, was stationed with the ark of the
covenant
on
the
arrangements took their beginning, Heman and Jeduthun with the
holy
tent at
It appears from 1 Chron. xvi., xxv.,
that the most accomplished per-
sons,
in this department of service, were those who were alike skilled in
song
and music; but that this was not universally the case, is clear from
Ps.
lxviii. 25, where the singers and players on instruments are distin-
guished.
For instruments, with the accompaniment of which the Psalms
were
sung, the Psalms themselves name only the harp and the cithara,
as
those which were to be constantly and regularly used, comp. xxxiii.
2,
xlix. 4, lxxi. 22, xcii. 3, cxliv. 9. In Ps. lvii. 8, harp and psalter
are
used as a sort of compound noun, because the two together give the
idea
of music. Other instruments are mentioned only in festival and
national
songs of praise, as trumpets, at the thanksgiving for Jehosa-
phat's
victory, Ps. xlvii. 5, at the paschal feast in Ps. lxxxi. 3, at the
consecration
of the city walls, under Nehemiah, in Ps. cl. That the
cymbals
did not constitute a general component part of the sacred music,
but
only a necessary requisite of a feast of joy, appears from Ps. cl. 5,
"Praise
him with loud cymbals, praise him with high-sounding cym-
bals."
The high-sounding or jubilee-tone is here marked as characte-
ristic
of the cymbals. Hence, they could only be used on joyful occa-
sions,
in connection with the instruments of a cheerful kind, as the
schalmei
in Ps. cl.—That the stringed instruments formed the funda-
mental
ingredient of the sacred music, and that the others were only
accompaniments
added in certain circumstances, is also evident from the
tvnygnb in the superscriptions, Ps. iv., vi.,
liv., lv., lxvii., lxxvi., comp.
lxi.--The
intimations in the historical books further tend to conduct us
to
the same result. In 1 Chron. xiii. 8, it is said, in reference to the
bringing
in of the ark of the covenant, which bore the character of a
cheerful
public festival, "And David and all
with
all their might, with songs, and with psalteries, and harps, and with
tymbrels,
cymbals, and trumpets." Psalteries and harps are here men-
tioned
as the general, then follow as the particular the instruments of a
loud,
shrill, joyful sound; comp. 1 Chron. xv. 16, 19, 28. The cym-
bals,
with the exception of 1 Chron. xvi. 5, 42, xxv. 1, 6, 2 Chron. xxix.
2.5,
where the discourse is of the sacred music in general, without every
thing
there mentioned being understood to be employed in each parti-
cular
case, are always named in connection only with joyful feasts, such
as
the introduction of the ark of the covenant, 2 Sam. vi. 5, did conse-
xvi HISTORY OF THE PSALMODIC POETRY.
cration
of the temple under Solomon, 2 Chron. v. 12, 13, the laying of
the
foundation of the new temple in Ezra iii. 10. The "instruments
of
the song of the Lord" are in 1 Chron. xvi. 42 distinguished from the
cymbals.
The trumpets were used at the bringing in of the ark, 1
Chron.
xv. 24, "And the priests trumpeted with trumpets before the
ark
of the Lord,"—at, the consecration of the temple, 2 Chron. v. 12,
13,—at
the solemn restoration of the worship under Hezekiah, 2 Chron.
xxix.
26, 27; finally, in Ezra iii. 10, Neh. xii. 35. They occur once
besides
as an essential part of the sacred music generally, 1 Chron.
xvi.
6. They are always mentioned in connection with other noisy in-
struments.
In 2 Chron. xxx. 21, it is said of the Passover under He-
zekiah,
that they "praised the Lord with instruments of strength, which
were
to Jehovah;"
a
kind as gave forth a louder sound;" R. Salomo "with trumpets"—
comp.
xxix. 26, 27. Hence the loud and hoarse sound was the charac-
teristic.
That the trumpets were always blown by the priests (comp. for
example
Ezra iii. 10). had its ground in Numb. x. 8, where the blowing
of
the trumpets was committed to the priests. The use in the sacred
music
entirely agrees With ver. 10, "And in the day of your gladness,
and
in your solemn days, and in your new moons, ye shall blow with
the
trumpets."
What has now been said regarding the
use of trumpets in the sacred
music,
plainly disproves the hypothesis of Sommer upon the Selah, Bibl.
Abh.
Bd. 1, according to which it must indicate the places at which the
trumpets
were to be sounded. It proceeds on the supposition, which we
have
shewn to be erroneous, that the trumpets regularly accompanied
the
sacred song. The hypothesis is besides quite destitute of a histori-
cal
and grammatical foundation; it has against it the Higgaion connect-
ed
with Selah in Ps. ix. 16, and also a great number of passages where
the
use of the trumpets would be unsuitable, for example, Ps. lii. 3,
xxiv.
6, lv. 7.
David's great interest in the
establishment of the sacred music is
manifest
from this, that, by him, or at least under his auspices, altera-
tions
were made in the musical instruments, perhaps the harp of ten
strings
introduced, comp. on Ps. xxxiii. 2, cxliv. 9. This is clearly
established,
especially from Am. vi. 5, where the luxurious in Sa-
maria
are characterized as those "who trifle to the sound of the
harp,
like David invent to themselves instruments of song." With this
are
to be connected 1 Chron. xxiii. 5, "upon the instruments which I
made
to praise," and 2 Chron. vii. 6, Neh. xii. 36, where the discourse
is
of musical instruments of David, and if they do not assert the Davidic
origin
of the particular instruments, they must be understood to speak
HISTORY OF THE PSALMODIC
POETRY. xvii
of
the entire arrangement of the public devotional music by David—comp.
ver.
24, Ezra iii. 10, 2 Chron. xxix. 25, 26,—which, according to these
last
passages, was formed under special direction from above, and the co-
operation
of the prophets Gad and Nathan.
To David himself belong 80 Psalms,
to his companions, including
Solomon's,
14, (Asaph 5, the sons of Korah 7, Solomon 2.) Of
the
remaining 55, there was composed in the time of Jehosa-
phat
(xlvii. xlviii. lxxxiii.), four in the time of the Assyrian catas-
trophe
(xlvi. lxxv. lxxvi. lxxxvii ), one at the carrying away of the ten
tribes
(lxxxi.), one unknown (lxxxv.), all the rest, altogether 46, in
the
time immediately before, during, and after the Babylonish cap-
tivity,
namely, five Psalms of Asaph, and the sons of Korah (Ps. lxxvii.
lxxiv.,
lxxix., lxxxviii., lxxxix.), then Ps. xci-cl., with the exception of
nineteen
belonging to David and Solomon.
It may seem strange at first sight
that the long space between David
and
the Captivity, furnished so few additions. But on closer investiga-
tion
it will be found that this could not be otherwise, We have already
remarked
that the foundation of the Psalmodic poetry was the religious
awakening
of the people, binding them into one whole. But this began
to
disappear even in the time of Solomon; inclination to idolatry, internal
divisions,
indifference rose more and more to the ascendant. The Chal-
daic
catastrophe was what first brought a decided change to the better.
The
worship of idols was overthrown, and the whole nation returned as
one
man to the service of God. During the interval, indeed, there did
occur
religious revivals under Jehosaphat, under Hezekiah, and under
Josiah;
these are also fully represented in the Psalter, and to the latter
in
particular belonged Ps. lxxvii. xci.-c., comp. on Ps. xciv. But they
were
only of short continuance, and on this account they could not tell
very
largely on the Psalter. Viewed in the general it was the purpose
of
the middle age to build itself up on that which had been produced
during
the great past under David, comp. 2 Chron. xxix. 30.
In the period after the Captivity
the Psalmodic poetry does not go
far
down. It ceases after the last great occasion of singing a new song
to
the Lord, the completion of the city walls under Nehemiah. From
that
time matters fell much again into a beaten track, the movement of
souls
vanished, men came more and more to look back upon that which
the
spirit of God had spoken and sung by his instruments, in those
times
when the breath of inspiration pervaded the whole people. In
the
place of God's living organs there was now substituted the learning
of
Scripture. The Psalter-productions, as well as the word of pro-
phecy,
had run their course, which the later Psalms indeed plainly
indicate;
so that nothing farther might be expected in that depart-
xviii AUTHORS OF THE PSALMS.
ment,
unless some new historical events of great moment should develop
themselves.
Many writers have supposed, that
there was a fresh revival of the
Psalmodic
poetry, in the time of the Maccabees. But this supposi-
tion
not only has against it the history of the canon, but it is also dis-
proved
by an investigation into the particular Psalms, which can never,
even
with probability, be referred to the Maccabean period, and by a
consideration
of the construction of the Psalter, which does not admit
of
our descending below, the time of Nehemiah. Besides, while the
Maccabees
were good soldiers, and zealous for the law of their fathers,
they
were not men full of the Holy Spirit; not one example of this
sort
meets us throughout the whole period. But that the co-operation
of
the Spirit of God was considered as a necessary mark of a song, we
have
already seen. How deeply they were themselves conscious of the
absence
of this Spirit, appears from 1 Macc. iv. 46, xiv. 41, ix. 27.
Elsewhere
the Psalmody goes always hand in hand with the prophecies.
But
prophecy is expressly renounced in the passages referred to in the
Maccabees.
It is also unto be overlooked, that the Maccabean period
was
not merely a time of external conflict, but one also of internal dis-
cord.
Finally, the First Book of the Maccabees is so full in the com-
munication
of the speeches and prayers of its heroes, that it would be
strange
if it never so much as gave a hint of the new-made Psalms, es-
pecially
as so many occasions for the purpose presented themselves.
But
there is never more than a general mention made of the songs,
with
which, at their thanksgiving solemnities, they praised God; comp.
1
Mac. iv. 30, 54, also iv. 24: "And they sang and extolled the Lord,
for
he is good, for his mercy endureth for ever." But there is good
ground
for believing, that the cxxxvi. Ps., there quoted, belonged to the
beginning
of the new colony, so that the citation serves as a proof, that
people
were then accustomed to give utterance to their new feelings in
the
old consecrated words. At the lamentation for Judas, the people
availed
themselves of the welds of David on the death of Jonathan, 1
Mac.
ix. 21, comp. 2 Sam. i. 19.
III. AUTHORS OF
THE PSALMS.
1. Moses is named as the author of
Ps xc.
2. David is the author of 80 Psalms,
Ps. i.-xli., Ps. li.-1xxi., Ps. ci.-
ii.,
Ps. cviii.-x., cxxii., cxxiv,, cxxxi., cxxxiii., Ps. cxxxviii.-xlv. The
AUTHORS OF THE
PSALMS. xix
variety
of circumstances, situations, and modes, is first of all peculiar in
these
Psalms of David. The other composers of Psalms only divide
among
themselves his riches. He embraces the whole
cred
lyrics, of which he was enabled from his rich poetical gift, the
ried
events of his life, and the relations of his time, to take a full sur-
vey,
and did not need to confine himself to any particular department.
There
is also peculiar to David, a singular depth and liveliness of feel-
ing,
which manifests itself, as well in the utterance of pain, the cry out
of
the depths, in which cold temperaments find themselves so little at
home,
as in mirth on account of redemption, and more especially in the
rapid
transition from the one to the other. David has, beyond doubt,
given
the tone to the method so frequently adopted in the Psalms, of
suddenly
and immediately interposing a word of divine consolation. It
is
a consequence of the very profound and lively nature of his feelings,
that
David rises to greater elevation than all the other writers of Psalms,
comp.
Ps. xviii., xxix., lxviii., cx., cxxxix.; whence arises the greater
difficulty
of the Psalms that proceeded from his pen, and a predilection
for
rare forms and words. Yet, on the other hand, David had also a
very
peculiar faculty in adapting himself to the simple. It is also a
consequence
of the depth and freshness of feeling, that, as the Psalms
ation
of the doctrinal matter of the Psalms will show, the Psalms of
David
are precisely those in which the greatest amount of instruction is
contained.
They are farther peculiarly distinguished by the union of
child-like
humility, such as reminds one of the unassuming shepherd
youth,
for example, Ps. xxiii., cxxxi., with a heroic faith, the spirit of
fortitude,
which, in its God, could spring over walls, and was not afraid
of
myriads of people that lay encamped round about him—in which we
again
recognise the man of war, the hero David, the deforcer of the lion,
and
the conqueror of Goliah; comp., for example, Ps. iii., xviii., xxxv.,
lx.,
lxviii. Peculiar, also, is the strength
of consciousness regarding the
retributive
righteousness of God, which had established itself during the
period
of the Sauline persecution, when David found, in this more especi-
ally,
a shield against despair. Peculiar yet again, that, amid the straits of
life,
the oppression through Godless enemies comes out so strongly, with
whom
David had to maintain so very hard a struggle. Then, a peculiar
element
was introduced into the Psalmodic poetry of David, by the pro-
mise
of 2 Sam. vii. Upon the ground of this promise, David runs out
through
an entire series of Psalms, in particular, the cycle Ps. cxxxviii.-
xlv.,
into the future of his race, and accompanies it along its course of
suffering,
even to its final glorious issue. In regard to form, David was
the
first to introduce the alphabetical arrangement—an arrangement
which
was farther extended, in accordance with the import of numbers
xx AUTHORS OF THE PSALMS.
to
the grouping of verses, and the use of the names of God. To hire
also
belongs the formation of the pairs of Psalms, and the larger Psalm
cycles.
The distinguishing character of the Psalmodic poetry of David
would
have discovered itself still more strongly, if there had stood be-
side
him other independent bards; if he had not been so decidedly the
prototype
of all others in this territory, so that, in a certain sense, Da-
vid
may be considered the author of all the Psalms.
3. The name of Asaph is connected
with altogether twelve Psalms.
Of
these five, Ps. l., lxxiii, lxxviii., lxxxi., lxxxii., belong to David's
chief
musician, see on Ps. 1. The didactic-prophetical character is
common
to all these Psalms, see Introd. to Ps. lxxxi. The other
seven
belong to later times, and proceeded from the family of singers,
which
had Asaph for its founder,—on which see the Introd. to Ps.
lxxiv.
Delitzsch, in the Symbolis ad Ps. p. 80, has advanced the hy-
pothesis,
that these Psalms bear the designation Jsxl, not because
they
were composed members of the Asaph family,
for then it
would
have been Jsx ynbl, comp. 2 Chron, xx. 14, xxix. 13,
Ezra
ii. 41, but because the Psalms of Asaph have served as a pattern to
them.
But the l,
before a name in the superscription is either en-
tirely
meaningless, or it must designate the proper author; notwithstand-
ing
that this has already been decided otherwise, comp. on Ps. lxxxvi.,
lxxxviii.
The designation cannot be accounted for on the ground
of
resemblance to the Psalms of Asaph. For though, undoubtedly,
a
certain relationship can be traced between all the Psalms, which bear
the
name of Asaph, Introd. to Ps. lxxix. yet this is not at all of
such
a kind as to have led these Psalms to be ranged under the same
name.
It lies so little upon the surface, that we should hardly have
suspected
it, if we had not had our attention drawn to it by the resem-
blance
of the name. What a diversity, for example, exists between
Ps.
lxxv. and lxxvi., and,
books
do not speak of Asaph, but of the sons of Asaph, proves nothing.
It
is carefully to be noted, what is but too often overlooked, that the
supersciptions
themselves bear a poetical character. But in poetry no-
thing
is more common than for the descendants to be ranked under the
name
of their common father. And it is still further to be urged, in
proof
of the derivation of the Psalms from Asaph, the analogy of the
Psalms
belonging to the other Davidic school of song, that of the sons
of
Korah—Of the later Psalms of Asaph, one, Ps. lxxxiii., refers to
Jehosaphat's
war against the combined forces of the Edomites, Moabites,
Ammonites,
and other nations,—Ps.lxxx. to the carrying away of the
ten
tribes,—Ps. lxxv., lxxvi., to the Assyrian catastrophe: Ps. lxxvii.
AUTHORS OF THE
PSALMS. xxi
was
sung in prospect of the Chaldean invasion, and Ps. lxxiv., lxxix.,
after
the devastation this had occasioned. All the later Psalms of
Asaph,
accordingly, are connected with a particular historical occasion,
in
accordance with the whole character of the later Psalmodic poetry.
On
the other hand, the Psalms ascribed to Asaph of the time of David
are
not so much tied to the historical ground; only Ps. lxxviii. bears
respect
to determinate historical relations.
4. The name of the sons of Korah is
attached to Ps. xlii.—xlix.,
lxxxiv.-1xxxix.
See the Introd. to Ps. xlii., xliii. In the genealogies,
1
Chron. vi. 16 ss. the family of Heman, who is named along with
Asaph
and Etham as a chief musician to David, is traced back to Korah.
There,
too, in ver. 18, the sons of Heman are mentioned along with him-
self
as having a share in the sacred music. The more minute distribu-
tion
of the shares is given in 1 Chron. xxv., where the fourteen sons of
Heman,
given by name in ver. 4, are reported to have been set by Da-
vid
as so many leaders in the twenty-four classes of singers, every one
of
which consisted of twelve members. According to ver. 7, 9, ss., these
classes
of singers were formed, not only of the sons of the sons, but also
of
the brethren, i. e., of the relatives of the three chief musicians of
David,
who had to play the first parts in the songs of the sanctuary.
(Lavater:
Those twenty-four sons were masters of song, or precentors,
and
each had under them twelve brethren or relatives.) Comp. the si-
milar
case in 1 Chron. xxvi. 8, where, besides the sons, also the sons of
the
sons, and their brethren, or relatives, are mentioned.—With the
family
of the Korahites, David had appeared at an early period in close
connection.
In 1 Chron. xii. 1 ss., the valiant men are mentioned, who
before
the death of Saul came to Ziklag, to participate with David in
his
troubles, and espouse his cause--first, certain of the tribe of Benja-
min,
then, ver. 6, five Korahites, and among those Asarel, who reappears
in
chap. xxv. 18, comp. ver. 4, among the sons of Heman. From the
companions
of the conflict came latterly companions in the composition
of
sacred song. But the band which joined itself to David was perpetually
the
same, that of those who were associated in faith toward the God of
sical,
but not, like Asaph, at the same time poetically gifted, comp.
Introd.
on Ps. lxxxviii. Probably, in the times of David, the gift of
sacred
song was not participated by any of his sons, but by some one in
the
circle of brothers or relatives. This explains why, in the superscrip-
tions
of the Psalms, neither Heman is named, nor the sons of Heman,
but
the sons of Korah, whence it arose, that in the later history the dis-
tribution
of the pieces appeared, not under the name of the sons of He-
man,
but under that of the sons of Korah, comp. 2 Chron. xx. 19.—
xxii AUTHORS OF THE PSALMS.
The
Psalms of the sons of Korah are, in all, fourteen, in striking and
certainly
not accidental agreement with the fourteen Korahitic classes
of
singers. Of these seven belong to the times of David and Solomon:—
Ps.
xliv., composed on occasion of the invasion of the Edomites; Ps. xlii.,
xliii.,
lxxxiv., lxxxvi., at the period of Absalom's rebellion; Ps. xlix., with-
out
any historical reference, though the general character of the theme
shows
it to belong to an early period; it is a sort of appendage, indeed,
to
Ps. xxxvii. and lxxiii. of David's time; Ps. xlv., which belongs to,
the
age of Solomon. The other seven are of later date;—Ps. xlvii.,
xlviii.,
belong to the time of Jehosaphat; Ps. xlvi. and lxxxvii. appear,
from
the lively expression, of joy in them, to have been called forth by
the
events of Hezekiah's reign; Ps. lxxxviii. and lxxxix., belong to the
times
immediately before the captivity; Ps. lxxxv. is undetermined.
The
Psalms of the sons of Korah, on the whole, proceed in a manner
strikingly
parallel to those of Asaph.—The writers of the Korahitic
school,
not content with concealing their own names, and ascribing their
productions
to the entire school to which they belonged, go so far in
their
self-denial, as to sing from the bosom of David. Ps. xlii., xliii.,
lxxxiv.,
and lxxxvi., which last is also pervaded with references to the
Psalms
of David, and to the honour of Heman and Etham, in Ps.
lxxxviii.,
lxxxix.—facts, for which nothing is to be found analogous in
the
productions of the other Psalmists.
5. Solomon is the author of Ps.
lxxii., cxxvii.
6. “ “ Ps. xci., c.
7. “ “ Ps. civ.-vii.
8. “ “ Ps. cxi.-xix.
9. “ “ the ten nameless Pilgrim-songs, Ps.
cxx.
ss.
l0. “ “ Ps. cxxxv.-xxxvii., and cxlvi.
11. “ “ Ps. cxlvii.-1.
Thus,
leaving out Moses, we have ten writers of Psalms, divided into
two
groups of five, one before, the other after the Captivity.
IV. THE SUPERSCRIPTIONS OF THE
PSALMS.
These refer first, though very
rarely, much more rarely than is com-
monly
supposed, to the musical accompaniments of the Psalms. Of
this
nature, besides the Hcnml only the following are tvnygnb, Ps.
iv,
tvmlf lf, after the virgin manner, Ps. xlvi., tynymwh
lf
SUPERSCRIPTIONS OF THE PSALMS. xxiii
vi.,
tytgh lf Ps. viii., lxxxiv. All the other expressions
which
have sometimes been drawn into the same category, are rather to
be
taken as an enigmatical description of the subject. Secondly, the
superscriptions
name the authors. Or, thirdly, they indicate the cha-
racter
of the song, as is the case with hlpt, lykWm, Mtkm, ryw,
hlht, and the very common rvmzm. Finally, the subject, Ps.
xlv.,
or the occasion, or the destination: for example, song for
pilgrims.
In regard to the existence of the
superscriptions and their ful-
ness,
there is a marked difference between the different authors of the
Psalms.
They appear in the most regular and extended form in the
Psalms
of David. Peculiar to him is (1) the announcing of the histori-
cal
occasion, which is given in thirteen Psalms, and, following the
chronological
order, as follows: "When Saul sent, and they watched
the
house to kill him," Ps. lix.; "On account of the words of
the
Benjamite," Ps. vii.; "When Doeg the Edomite came," Ps.;
"When
he feigned himself mad before Abimelech, and he drove him
away
and he departed," Ps. xxxiv.; "When
he fled before Saul into the
cave,"
Ps. lvii.; "When the Ziphites came," Ps. liv.; “When the
Philistines
found him at
the
two rivers," Ps. lx.; "When Nathan the prophet came to him, as
he
had come in to Bathsheba," Ps. li.; "When he fled before Absalom
his
son," Ps. iii.; When he was in the wilderness of
"A
song for the consecration of the house," Ps. xxx.; finally, Ps.
xvii.,
"When the Lord had delivered him out of the hand of all his
enemies,
and out of the hand of Saul,"—a superscription which is not
entirely
of the same sort as the others, as they are simply historical;
they
also make up the number twelve. These superscriptions are not
designed
to illustrate the Psalms to which they are prefixed, but to form
a
memorial of those events which had gone most deeply to the heart of
David.
This is rendered clear by the circumstance, that such super-
scriptions
are frequently wanting in the Psalms, which have a historical
bearing,
such as Ps. xxxii., lxi., lxviii., and again stand at the head
of
some, which are of a more general character, for ex. Ps. lix., xxxiv.
It
is also a confirmation of what we state, that no two notices ever refer
to
the same situation, as also the fact, that it is only in the Psalms of
David
that the historical occasion is given, which admits of explanation
only
on the latter supposition, not on the former. (2.) Peculiar to the
Psalms
of David is the enigmatical designation of the subject-matter and
object,
which is but rarely to be met with besides, and these obviously
as
a matter of imitation only in the Psalms of David's singers. (3.) The
xxiv SUPERSCRIPTIONS OF THE PSALMS.
Hcnml, to the chief musician, which, besides,
is prefixed only to those
of
David's signers; and they Selah also occurs only in the same. This
last,
according to the reckoning of Delitzsch, occurs 17 times in the
First
Book, 30 times in the Second, 20 times in the Third, 4 times in
the
Fifth Book, in all 71 times, and not 73 as was stated, after Gesenius,
in
vol. i., p. 46.
The superscriptions appear in their
regular and extended form in the
Davidic
Psalms of the First and Second Book, and in the serial Psalms
of
the two last books, only with this difference, that in the latter no his-
torical
occasions are given, for this simple reason, that Psalms of an in-
dividual
character are less appropriate for having a place assigned them in
the
Psalmodic cycles. Ps. forms but an apparent exception. From
the
simple: Of David, the superscriptions rise in the Psalms that are
framed
as Psalms of David, through various intermediate stages, comp.
Ps.
cxli., xl., xlii., up to the extended one of Ps. cii. "A prayer
of
the afflicted, when he is overwhelmed and poureth out his complaint
before
the Lord," which in originality is not to be compared to any of
the
superscription's of the Psalms of David's singers. Precisely the same
gradation
is to be found also in the Davidic Psalms of the two first
books.
The: “To the chief musician,” reappears too in the third di-
vision
of the Psalms of David, as does also the Selah, while in the
fourth
and fifth books neither of the two occurs.
Next to the Psalms of David, as
concerns the regularity and fulness
of
the superscriptions, stand those of the singers. But there is found
here
the wonderful result, that all the peculiar designations used in the
superscriptions
of these Psalms, with the solitary exception of: A song
of
the beloved, in Ps. xlv., and of the tvmlf lf in Ps. xlvi., have
been
borrowed from the superscriptions of the Psalms of David. The
singers
of David thus designed to indicate their dependence on their
master,
out of whose soul they wished even in fronte to be regarded as
singing
in Ps. xlii., lxxxiv., lxxxvi. They pleased themselves
with
bending and applying that which had proceeded from him. They
borrowed
from him the Hcnml, Ps. xlii., xliv., xlv., xlvii., lxxv.,
lxxxviii.;
and the lykWm,
Ps. xxlii., xliv., xlv., lxxiv., lxxviii., lxxx.,
lxxxi.,
lxxxviii., the Davidic source of which is to be found in Ps. xxxii.
—see
Introd. to that Psalm. The: Upon lilies,
in Ps. xlv., lxxx.,
rests
upon Ps. lx. and lxix., which lies clear as day, especially in Ps.
lxxx.
The: Destroy not, in Ps. lxxv., is taken from Ps. lvii.—lix.,
"The
chief musician upon Jeduthun," in Ps. lxxvii., is from Ps. lxii.
The:
"A testimony of Asaph," in Ps. lxxx., rests upon Ps. lx. The:
"After
the manner of
SUPERSCRIPTIONS OF THE PSALMS. xxv
The:
"A prayer of David," in Ps. lxxxvi., from Ps. xvii. The:
"Upon
sickness," in Ps. lxxxviii. from Ps. liii.
In the other Psalms (such as were
composed by others than David and
his
singers) the superscriptions are either short and incomplete—in par-
ticular
they all want the names of the author—as Ps. xcii.: "A song for
the
Sabbath;" Ps. "A psalm;" Ps. c., "A song;" the
"Song of
the
pilgrims," in Ps. cxx. ss.—or they are entirely wanting Ps. xci.,
xciii.-xcvii.,
xcix., civ.-vii., cxi.-xix., cxxxv.-xxxvii., cxlvi.-l.
In recent times, since Vogel in his
treatise—Inscripiiones Psalmorum
series
demum additas videri,
superscriptions,
they have been in great disfavour. It has become usual
to
deny, that they were affixed by the authors of the Psalms, nay even
to
maintain that they do not rest upon any proper historical tradi-
tion,
but were attached merely on conjecture by persons of later times.
This
is one of the many points, in regard to which we can easily suppose
tradition
to exert a power, and that, too, quite improper, unreasonable
over
those, who boast of being entirely free from its influence, and who
disdain
to regard it, where it has a just claim to be heard. The origin
of
the opposition to the superscriptions, belongs to a period when ration-
alism
blindly fought against all that was settled and acknowledged, with-
out
carefully inquiring whether rationalism actually required such a con-
flict
to be maintained. By and bye the opposition contracted itself, and
became
more and more confined to what rationalism as naturalism could
not
allow to stand. People had meanwhile been accustomed to attach
so
little value to the superscriptions of the Psalms, that this return to
sober
thought has been of small avail for them. Ewald still says, Poet.
B.
i. p. 224, "Of all these appended notices there is not one which we
can
venture to ascribe to the author himself."
We shall not repeat here, what
others, in particular Eichhorn, Einl.
p.
627, has said in favour of the superscriptions, nor what has already
been
urged in particular Psalms in proof of the originality of the super-
scriptions.
We shall at present only endeavour to supplement these by
a
few appropriate general remarks.
If the superscriptions were added in
later times from conjecture, how
is
it then to be explained, that they are not found precisely in those
Psalms,
in regard to which conjecture might so readily have supplied an
occasion,
the non-Davidic Psalms of the fourth and fifth book, while
they
very frequently occur, where conjecture is utterly destitute of a
handle?
Ewald cannot conceal from himself the embarrassment in
which
he would be placed by the question, "By what marks a collector
of
later times attributed the one Psalm to David himself, the other to
some
one or other of his singers?" And again he says, "Why this song
xxvi SUPERSCRIPTIONS OF THE PSALMS.
has
been ascribed to the Korahites, that to Asaph or Etham, I know
not."
The rejection of the superscriptions
belongs to a period when little
respect
generally was had to the text of the Old Testament. But it is
unreasonable
to endeavour still to perpetuate the arbitrariness, which
arose
in a time of general scepticism, now that this has come to be aban-
doned—unreasonable
to withhold from the superscriptions of the Psalms
that
regard which is willingly accorded to the superscriptions of the
Prophets.
The facts as already represented in
connection with the superscrip-
tions
demands their originality. The similarity in the superscriptions
of
all the Psalms ascribed to David, cannot be explained if they were
appended
by this person or that after his own fancy; it can be so, only
on
the supposition of David himself being the author. By no other sup-
position,
also, than the originality of the superscriptions, can a satisfac-
tory
explanation be given of the fact, that the superscriptions stand in
the
most regular and complete form before the Psalms of David, then
in
those of the singers of David, while in the remaining Psalms they
occur
more sparingly, and in a humbler style. David was the originator
of
the superscriptions. In the consciousness he possess of his personal
position,
as "the man, who has been raised on high, lovely in the songs
of
which
only as Psalms of David were entirely to the church that which
they
actually were, and which partly had a quite personal origin—for
ex.
Ps. cxxxviii., xlv. It was natural for him to erect a memorial of the
leading
events of his life, by mentioning these in the superscriptions of
the
Psalms, of which they furnished the occasion. The enigmatical de-
vices,
which are but the natural productions of his thoroughly poetical
mind,
were by much too poetical, spirited, and profound, for any later
collector.
It is very natural that David should connect himself with
those
who sang under "his directing hand" (1 Chron. xxv. 2, and on
the
ydy lf
there, see in Introd. to Ps. cxviii.) Their names could the
less
fail, as the mention of these served to bring out their relation to
David,
and reflected honour upon him. As thus the designating super-
scriptions
properly belong to David, it is very natural that we should not
find
them in the case of those writers of Psalms, who were not led, like
the
singers of David, through their position to point immediately to him,
or
to connect themselves with him. We ought to consider the extended
superscriptions,
in particular the designation of the authors, as a privi-
lege
of David and those belonging to him. It is only on the supposi-
tion
of the originality of the superscriptions, that we can also explain the
fact
of every thing peculiar, with some unimportant exceptions, in the
SUPERSCRIPTIONS OF THE PSALMS. xxvii
superscriptions
of the Psalms of David's singers being borrowed from
David's
own. With the singers themselves such a borrowing was quite
natural,
and indicative of their intimate relation to David. But for a
collector
of later times the very idea was too fine, and altogether the way
and
manner of the borrowing and the application was too profound and
original.
These superscriptions could be regarded as the productions
of
hands accidentally employed, only so long as their close relation to
the
Davidic was not properly perceived and duly considered. Nor is the
correspondence
of the Selah with the superscriptions to be overlooked.
The
fact that this occurs only in the Psalms, which are ascribed to David
and
his singers, is easily explained on the supposition of the originality
of
the superscriptions. The Selah belongs, both as to the word and the
meaning
expressed by it, originally to David, and from him passed to
his
singers. The other Psalmists did not consider themselves justified
in
appropriating this distinctive mark of royalty. But on the contrary
supposition,
that the superscriptions were added conjecturally by later
hands,
this riddle is just as incapable of explanation as the other, why
the
halleluiah is not found in any of the Psalms, which bear the name of
David
or his singers. In like manner, if the superscriptions have pro-
ceeded
from collectors of later times, how can it be explained that the
Hcnml to the chief musician, stands merely in
the superscriptions of
such
Psalms as are ascribed to David and his singers? That the word
could
only be regarded as coming from the author himself, has been al-
ready
proved in the Introduction to Ps. iv.
A series of reasons for the
originality of the superscriptions is pre-
sented
by the Books of Samuel, which were composed in the earlier part
of
the king-period, and, at all events, before the Babylonish captivity.
Comp.
1 Sam. xxvii. 6, where the author mentions that Ziklag had be-
longed
to the kings of
That David was in the habit of
prefixing superscriptions appears in-
contestably
from his last words, 2 Sam. xxiii. 1.
The introduction to the Song of
David upon the death of Saul and
Jonathan,
2 Sam. i., possesses a character nearly allied to the historical
superscriptions
of the Psalms—for example, to that of Ps. xviii. The
"to
teach" there used also exactly agrees with Ps. lx.; and the twq,
bow,
as an emblematical designation of the subject, corresponds to the
enigmatical
devices in the superscriptions of many of the Davidic
Psalms.
The author probably, by an easy variation, changed the
superscription
into an introduction—a supposition that is rendered the
more
credible from his having done something quite similar in 2 Sam.
xxii.,
as compared with Ps. xviii.: the "Of David, who spake," being
changed
into "And David spake," in order to make the song accord
xxviii SUPERSCRIPTIONS OF THE PSALMS.
with
the historical connection. The substitution of "And he spake, that
one
teach the children of
the
song upon Jonathan, the man excellent in the use of the bow"
(comp.
ver. 22), is certainly one that did not come from the hand of the
author
of the Books of Samuel. It bears entirely the character of the
superscriptions
of David, in which the poetical spirit breaks out even
in
the introduction to the song, not first in the song itself.
If all the poetical pieces of David
which are preserved in the Books
of
Samuel, are provided with original superscriptions, the conclusion is
not
far to seek, that David generally wrote nothing without a super-
scription.
There occur, farther, in the Books
of Samuel, some references to par-
ticular
superscriptions of the Psalms of David. We have already noticed
the
reference to the superscription of Ps. xviii. A reference to that of
Ps.
xxxiv. is to be found in 1 Sam. xxi. 14, comp. Introd. to that Ps.
According
to these analogies we would also explain the literal agree-
ment
between 1 Sam. xxiii. 19 and the superscription of Ps. on the
supposition
that the author of the Books of Samuel had respect to the
superscription.
So also 1 Sam. xix. 11 in relation to Ps. lix.
The circumstance of the Song of
Hezekiah in Isaiah xxxviii. 9 pos-
sessing
a superscription, which manifestly formed an original part of it
—"writing
of Hezekiah, the king of
covered
from his sickness," this alone constitutes a strong case against
those
who deny the originality of the superscriptions. The closer exa-
mination,
however, of the construction of this superscription yields still
more
important results. It is evidently formed after those of the Psalms
of
David. Let the superscriptions especially be compared of Ps. lvi.--
Of
David, a secret, when the Philistines found him in
"Of
David, a secret, when he fled before Saul in the cave;" Ps. lix.
"Of
David, a secret, when Saul sent." The l is common in both cases
before
the name of the author—although here it was not necessary, as
the
stat. const. would have served well enough to indicate with k the
occasioning
circumstance. But of quite peculiar import is the btkm
here,
in relation to the Mtkm there. The somewhat bald expression
btkm, writing, points to some original passage to
which it alludes, and
from
such allusion it is to derive its meaning and become pregnant. It
is
manifestly a variation of Mtkm in the superscriptions
of the Psalms
of
David, as in the Song itself the dlH of the Psalms is
changed into
ldH. Hezekiah, with whom it was very natural to
borrow from his
great
progenitor, as he also restored his Psalms to their proper place in
the
public worship or God, 2 Chron. xxix. 30, did not venture to desig-
SUPERSCRIPTIONS OF THE PSALMS. xxix
nate
his song after his prototype, a Mtkm, a secret, or song of
deep
import.
He weakened the Mtkm into btkm, humbly to indicate the
distance
at which he stood front David. In fitting accordance with this
reference
to the superscriptions of the Psalms of David proceed the refer-
ences
to the same Psalms and those of David's singers in the song itself.
The
very beginning, "I spake, in the midst of my days must I wander
through
the gates of hell," rests upon Ps. cii. 24, "I said, 0 my God
take
me not away in the half of my days." The first half of ver. 11
rests
upon Ps. xxvii. 13. The ldH in the second member is a varia-
tion
of dlH in
Ps. xlix. 1, comp. on Ps. xvii. 14. Ver. 18 rests upon
Ps.
vi. 5, xxx. 9. The beginning of ver. 20 is from Ps. lxx. 1.
The fact that all these references
are made to the Psalms, which, ac-
cording
to the superscriptions, belong to David and his singers, and
which,
therefore, already existed in the time of Hezekiah, as they also
formed
a model to which he would naturally look, is likewise a proof of
the
superscriptions. The caprice of later times would certainly not
have
managed it so. We find precisely the same thing in the Song of
Jonas,
which belongs to the first period of written prophecy; comp. on
ver.
4 Ps. xlii. 7; on ver. 5 Ps. xxxi. 22; on ver. 6 Ps. xviii. 4; lxix.
1,
2; on ver. 8 Ps. xviii. 6; on ver. 9 Ps. xxxi. 6.
A very strong proof in favour of the
originality of the superscriptions
is
afforded by the beginning and close of the third chapter of Habakkuk.
The
qvqbHl hlpt, is in imitation of the dvdl hlpt of Ps. xvii. The
expression:
upon errings, carries an allusion to the: erring in the super-
scription
of Psalm vii. The ytnygnb Hcnml, to the chief musician
upon
my stringed instrument, of the close, alludes to the superscription
of
Ps. iv. and vi. We have the less reason to doubt an imitation of
David,
as besides the Hcnml, the Selah is also borrowed from him,
which
never
occurs elsewhere, excepting in the Psalms of David himself and
those
of "his singers." Add, that the Song of Habakkuk itself contains
a
number of undeniable references to the Psalms, quite parallel to those
in
the superscription. The most distinct is the quotation from Ps.
lxxvii.;
comp. on that Ps. The two last verses are mere echoes of the
Davidic
Psalms, especially of Ps. xviii., from which ver. 19 is wholly
taken,
with which stands also in immediate connection the conclusion
formed
after the superscriptions of David. Ver. 14 rests upon Ps. x.
8-10.
Finally, in this imitation of the superscriptions of the Psalms we
have
the key to this portion of the writings of Habakkuk. Such bor-
rowings
evidently indicate that here prophecy goes hand in hand with
the
sacred lyric, and was designed to raise such emotions as the sacred
lyric
was employed to awaken among the community. That the song
xxx SUPERSCRIPTIONS OF THE PSALMS.
was
actually sung in the sanctuary is manifestly but a fiction. Behind
the
lyrical character, which it carries on its front, the prophetical lies
concealed;
and it stands in such close connection with the foregoing
prediction
that it cannot be separated from that. Here, too, has an an-
poetical
realism mistaken the proper exposition.
Having now set forth our reasons for
the originality of the super-
scriptions,
we shall farther cast a glance at the reasons which hitherto
have
been and still are urged against them.
"If thus," says Ewald,
Poet. B. i., p. 214, "all the songs, whose
authors
are designated, must be derived only from David and his singers,
how
does it then happen, that the Psalter names no other writers from
the
many other ages and centuries?—How are we to explain it, that
the
Psalter has announced no other poets in the superscriptions?"
But
would we gain the missing names, if we should set aside those given
in
the superscriptions? That the problem is not to be solved at the
expense
of the superscriptions, is clear from the circumstance which
stands
side by side with the other, that in the historical books no other
composers
of sacred songs have been named, excepting David and his
singers.
But both problems admit of an easy explanation on the ground,
that
the royal Psalmist with his train was so indisputably regarded in
his
singers, who were linked to him, and his successor upon the throne,
no
other name could appear, nor would any one venture to mention one.
The
want of names at the non-Davidic Psalms goes hand in hand with
other
facts—as, that none of these Psalms possess an individual and per-
sonal
character, that in all of them the Psalmist appears only as the
organ
of the community, that the later groups of Psalms for the most
part
form but a kind of setting to the precious stone of the Davidic
Psalms,
that they often borrow from these in particular points, and refer
back
to them, that the entire mass of the later poetry proclaims itself as
an
echo of that of David. Even in regard to the productions of the
singers
of David the individual authors, with the exception of Asaph, did
not
venture out of their concealment; and he is precisely the one indi-
vidual
whom the history also mentions beside David; see Introd.
to
ing
members of his singing families of later times, who composed
Psalms,
concealed themselves.
"The LXX. omit the name of
David in the group, Ps. cxx.-xxxiv,
manifestly
because their Hebrew copy had not that appendage." Ewald
p.
219. So also V. Lengerke in his compilation upon the Psalms.
But
allegations of this sort proceed upon an entire misapprehension as
to
the nature of the Alexandrian version, and can now no longer be re-
SUPERSCRIPTIONS OF THE PSALMS. xxxi
cognised
as just. With perfect right has the circumstance, been urged
for
the antiquity of the superscriptions, that they already lay in great
part
beyond the comprehension of the LXX. How can it be imagined,
then,
that some of them were introduced into the text after their time?
But
a proof is here to be found for the originality of the superscriptions
in
the fact, that the arrangement of the pilgrim-songs takes for granted
the
composition by David of the Psalms which bear his name; see In-
trod.
to Ps. cxx.-xxxiv.
"There is so great a
dissimilarity among many of those songs, that
they
cannot possibly be all ascribed to the same writer." But as soon
as
we abandon the wrong supposition, that all the Psalms bearing the
name
of Asaph are to be ascribed to the same individual, then all
that
can be alleged in this respect limits itself to the Psalms which
bear
the name of David. But David would never have had such a call,
nor
attained to such glory upon this territory, if his poetical gift had not
been
a comprehensive one—if it had been only of a limited description,
if
he had not made his voice roam at large. What enabled him to rise
so
singularly high above the other sacred bards, also gave him the capa-
city
of sinking among the lowest. With all his variety a thread of unity
still
runs through all his Psalms, as has already been sufficiently pointed
out
in the exposition.*
But this always remains the chief
ground of the opponents of the
superscriptions—that
the contents of the Psalms in a great many cases
prove
the incorrectness of the superscriptions. But confidently as their
criticism
comes out on this point, it may still be permitted us to indulge
at
least very serious doubts regarding its solidity, until they succeed in
coming
to an agreement, not merely on the negative, but also on the
positive
side of the matter. So long as those who rank as our oppon-
nents,
such as Ewald and Hitzig, differ so immensely from each other
regarding
the proper age of the several pieces, the thought will be very
natural
that the opposition to the superscriptions is to be sought, not
in
any flaw in them, but in the arbitrariness of the critics. Our expo-
sition
has endeavoured to shew, that in no one Psalm does the matter
stand
at variance with the superscription; but, on the contrary, that the
two
are always in perfect harmony with each other.
* What Ewald in his Prophets i., p.
73, has said of Isaiah, may be applied aiming-
ously
to David: "The chief point here is, that we cannot ascribe to Isaiah, as
to the
other
prophets, a peculiar idiosyncrasy, and some favourite tinge pervading the whole
representation.
He is not the pre-eminently lyrical, or the pre-eminently rhetorical
and
hortatory prophet; but constantly as the subject requires, he has ready at
command
every
kind of speech and every variety of mode; and it is precisely this that here
con-
stitutes
his greatness; as it is generally one of his most distinguishing
characteristics."
xxxii FORMAL ARRANGEMENT OF THE PSALMS.
V. THE FORMAL ARRANGEMENT OF THE PSALMS.
The Psalms are destitute of the most
important means, through which
poetry
in other countries acquires for itself the character of that artificial
structure,
which is so closely connected with its nature,—the employ-
ment
of metres and rhymes; to which last there are only some feeble
and
merely accidental approaches. As a substitute for this want, the
parallelism
of the numbers of the verse has primarily been employed,
corresponding
to the necessity of an alternate rise and fall. On this
we
need not enter into any investigation, as it has already been suffi-
ciently
elucidated. But that the necessity has been felt for a formal
arrangement
also beyond the narrow pounds of a single verse, is perfectly
obvious
from the existence of a number of alphabetical Psalms. Pro-
ceeding
from this fact Koester sought with considerable power to estab-
lish
the existence of a strophical arrangement also in the other Psalms.
But
he did not perceive the true principle of this. The arrangement
—so
the author believes he has proved in his commentary—is formed
in
the non-alphabetical Psalms with few, and these even doubtful excep-
tions,
by means of the numbers, which were regarded by the Israelites as
having
a kind of sacred and important meaning—viz., 3, 4, 7, 10, 12;
see
on the origin of such numbers the author's work on Balaam, p. 70
ss.
These numbers often also determine, besides the groups of verses,
the
position of the names of God.
A very simple arrangement by the
numbers already exists in the song
composed
by Moses, Ps. xc. But the principle on which it proceeds
was
carried out by David, and improved to the development of its inex-
haustible
variety. The later writers trode, in his footsteps, though with-
out
any slavish imitation. Even the last produce some new forms.
One can have the less difficulty it
recognizing this principle of num-
bers,
as of all others it has the closest relation to the alphabetical arrange-
ment.
Then also; as the meaning of certain numbers undoubtedly plays
in
other respects a very important part in ancient
ment
may be regarded as the peculiarly Israelitish one. Admitting
that
what Bähr in his Symbolik of the Mosaic religion, and what Ber-
theau
still more at large has since remarked, in his seven groups of
saic
laws, regarding the import of numbers in the Pentateuch, stands
much
in need still of criticism and careful consideration--admitting also
that
the application of this principle as made by Bertheau, will not hold
to
the full; there will after all be found no inconsiderable part of pre-
cious
metal to result from the process. Already the fact, that the fun-
damental
law, the decalogue, has is form determined by a regard to
FORMAL ARRANGEMENT OF THE PSALMS. xxxiii
number
secures a firm starting point for all future investigations. Kurtz,
in
his Einheit der Genesis, p. lxvii. ss., has noticed, that Genesis con-
sists
of ten groups or books of narratives. David paid regard to the
principle
of numbers, even in his public arrangements. Thus he divided,
according
to 1 Chron. xxv., the singers into twenty-four classes, each one
of
twelve members, and the twenty-four was divided by ten and fourteen.
In
the account given of Job's children and flocks, in ch. i., the numbers
three
and seven, and the number ten, arising from the combination of
these,
and of the double five, are employed, and both these numbers and
the
number twelve play an important part in the arrangement of the
book,
which it would take us too long to point out at length here. In
the
first chapter of Isaiah the representation made of the sinful revolt of
the
people is completed in the number seven, divided into three and four
—four
designations for the idea of sinfulness, and three for that of re-
volt.
So also do the designations applied in ver. 6 to the miserable con-
dition
of the people, which their apostacy entailed upon them, make up
the
number seven, and the seven is here again divided into three and
four.
How in that prophet the grouping also is regulated by a regard
to
numbers, we shall shew by the example at least of one section. In
ch.
lii. 13-ch. liii., the two concluding verses coincide with the introduc-
tion,
ch. lii. 13-15, in the number five, the signature of the half, the in-
complete.
The main part liii. 1-10, completes itself in the number ten.
This
again is divided into seven, which comprises the humiliation and
suffering,
and three, which refers to the glorification of the servant of
God.
The seven is divided by three and four. In the three the suffer-
ing
of the servant of God is represented in itself, in the four its cause,
its
vicarious nature. In the gospel of Matthew the genealogy is regu-
lated
by a respect to numbers—the blessings in the sermon on the
mount—the
Lord's prayer—the parables in ch. xiii. That the struc-
tune
of the Apocalypse is entirely determined by them, has at last been
established
by Züllig, Th. i. p. 115 ss.
This principle of number has been
charged with super-refinement, and
more
than cabalistical foolery. But when it is understood, that the
numbers
were used for the most part without respect to the original ground
of
their sacredness and significance, and merely in a formal point of view,
this
objection loses all its force. Any kind of measured discourse, not
usual
among ourselves, is exceedingly apt to assume the appearance of
over-refinement.
A people unacquainted with rhyme would find great
difficulty
in regarding that as a legitimate form of measured discourse.
Then the further objection has been
passed against the theory of num-
ber
(comp. Sommer, Bibl. Abh. s. 148), that it rests upon the false
ground
of the correctness of our present division into verses. But this
xxxiv FORMAL ARRANGEMENT OF THE PSALMS.
division,
which in other respects also has strong reasons on its side (comp.
Ewald,
Poet. B. s. 90), is on this account placed beyond doubt, that
the
arrangement everywhere comes clearly and distinctly out. It does
not
rest on the discernment of later editors of the text, but upon the
stability
of tradition, to which we also owe the correctness of our vowel
punctuation.
Besides the arrangement from
numbers, there is found in the Psalms
also
another from the alphabet. But that this is secondary in relation
to
the former, appears from this, that no traces exist of it before the time
of
David, and that the greater part of the Psalms are arranged on the
principle
of number, without respect to the alphabet; while in the alpha-
betical
Psalms according to the rule, in the older ones without any ex-
ception,
there can be pointed out at the same time a respect to the
import
of numbers. A doubt can scarcely be entertained that David is
the
author of this arrangement. For it is first employed by him, and
speaking
comparatively, with great' frequency; so that the later instances
may
on this account alone be regarded as bearing an imitative charac-
ter
: (if this method of arrangement had possessed a national root, it
would
have been more commonly employed in later times); and it is
a
further proof of the same, that it occurs with David in the simplest
and
the most natural forms.
We have four Psalms of David in
which the commencement of the
verses
is marked by the letters of the alphabet in their regular order,
Ps.
xxv., xxxiv., xxxvii., cxlv., and the three number of whose verses
corresponds
to the number of letters in the alphabet, Ps. xxxiii., xxxviii.,
ciii.
This last can the less be regarded as accidental, since also in the
Lamentations,
ch. v. is alphabetical only as to the number of verses,
since
Ps. xxxiii. stands close beside the properly alphabetical Psalm,
xxxiv.,
since in the closing verse of Ps. xxxviii., there is an express
allusion
to the alphabetical character, and, finally, Ps. ciii. is a sort
of
side-piece to Ps. cxlv. To this heptad of Davidic Psalms, divided as
usual
into three and four, a later bard, the only one that in this respect
trode
in David's footsteps, added three more alphabetical Psalms, cxi.,
cxii.,
cxix.—the first and the last that belonged to him of his cycle, which
is
opened with three Psalms of David; so that the supposition of his
dependence
upon David on this point also can the more readily be enter-
tained.
These later alphabetical Psalms make up with those of David
the
total number of ten, while the more strictly alphabetical Psalms of
David
are contained in the number seven. If we add besides the two
Psalms
of David, in which there is an attempt at alphabetical arrange--
merit,
we shall have altogether a dozen of alphabetical Psalms; so that
FORMAL ARRANGEMENT OF THE PSAMS. xxxv
the
significant numbers will thus be found coming all distinctly out in
the
Psalms of this description.
The assertion, already refuted in
the Introd. to Ps. xxv. and xxxvii.,
that
the origin of the alphabetical arrangement belongs to a very late
period,
is sufficiently disproved by the fact, that by much the greater
proportion
of the alphabetical Psalms are ascribed to David. Whatever
value
we may attach to the superscriptions, this would certainly have
been
very rarely done, if such Psalms had all been the productions of a
later
period. To this we may add the circumstance noticed by Som-
mer,
Bibl. Abh. s. 94, that the alphabetical arrangement in the La-
mentations
of Jeremiah bears so refined and artificial character, that
it
necessarily pre-supposes a simpler form.
The alphabetical arrangement in the
alphabetical Psalms of David is
distinguished
by strong peculiarities from that in the later Psalms—a
fact
which cannot be explained by those who deny the originality of the
superscriptions,
and consider them to be of arbitrary fabrication. 1. Those
Psalms
are peculiar to David, which are alphabetical as to number, and
nothing
analogous to them exists in all the Old Testament, excepting
the
fifth chapter of Lamentations. 2. In the alphabetical Psalms of
David,
the simplest forms are found—for every letter of the alphabet a
verse,
or a pair of verses, while in Ps. cxi. and cxii., every half verse is
distinguished
by a letter, and in Ps. cxix., each letter has a portion
of
eight verses appropriated to it, every one of which commences with
the
same letter—a pretty difficult matter. The measures, which may
be
regarded as both smaller and larger than the natural one, belong to
the
same author: so that the intention of departing from the already
existing
simple form is the less to be mistaken,—an intention which
discovers
itself still more manifestly in Jeremiah. 3. In the later alpha-
betical
Psalms, the alphabetical arrangement is carried through with per-
fect
regularity, as it is also in Jeremiah, with a single exception, where
still,
however, there is no omission of a letter, but only a transposition.
On
the other hand, in all the Davidic Psalms there are, to be found irre-
gularities,
the attempt to account for which lately by Von Sommer, from
the
corruption of the text, is put to flight by the fact, that they occur
only
in the Psalms of David, while the very long Ps, cxix. is entirely
free
of them. But if this supposition is to be rejected, so also, and more
decidedly
is another, that the deviations proceeded from the difficulty of
preserving
entire the alphabetical arrangement without injury to the
sense,
and unnatural constraint; which is disproved by the observation
that,
with a single unimportant exception, all these deviations can be
explained
on the same ground, viz., that in these Psalms, besides the
alphabetical
arrangement, that also after the significant numbers has a
xxxvi FORMAL ARRANGEMENT OF THE PSALMS,
place
which required a certain sacrinee of the other. That in Ps, xxxiv.,
xxxvii.,
cxlv., all the deviations have arisen from this concurrence of the
two
arrangements, has been already shown in the Introd. to the respec-
tive
Psalms. The two first are regulated by the decimal division, which
stands
in a very close relation to they alphabetical, which we are also the
less
entitled to overlook, as it unquestionably exists in the alphabetical
Psalms,
cxi., cxii., and, still further, in Ps. xxxviii., which is alphabeti-
cal
as to number. The connection of the decimal division and the al-
phabetical
arrangement is also, in Ps. xxv., the object aimed at. It
must
fall into two decades, and, at the same time, have the entire num-
ber
of its verses to correspond to the letters of the alphabet. This was
accomplished
so, that the Psalm was made to possess a commencing
and
concluding verse out of the alphabetical arrangement. But, then,
two
of the twenty-two letters of the alphabet must thereby disappear.
The
lot is made to fall upon v as the least important of all the letters;
and
then x
and b
are made to divide between them one verse; see the
Introd.
to the Psalm. Thus all the deviations admit of being explained
from
the concurrence of the two arrangements, with the solitary excep-
tion
of the double r instead of q and r—the only case in which
the
Psalmist
has abandoned the alphabetical arrangement for the sense.
We shall now speak of the two
Psalms, in which there is found a
mere
approach to the alphabetical arrangement, Ps. ix., x. Notwith-
standing
the greatness of their deviations, the opinion has also been
propounded
in regard to them, that the alphabetical arrangement was
there
also originally preserved with exactness, and was only disturbed
afterwards
by negligence and caprice. But besides that this view pro-
ceeds
upon an entirely false opinion Of the state of the Heb. text gene-
ally,
and, in particular, of that of the Psalms, the integrity of which is
established
by indisputable facts, such as the preservation of the names
of
God in their original position, and the arrangement according to the
significant
numbers; besides this, the following grounds decidedly op-
pose
the opinion in question: 1. These Psalms could not have been
originally
purely alphabetical. They, are distinguished from all other
alphabetical
Psalms by this, that they have a regular continuity of
thought,
a steady progression, while the contrary of this is the case with
a
purely alphabetical Psalm: see Introd. to Ps. xxv. xxxvii.--2. That
the
alphabetical character was not stringently maintainer, and might,
therefore,
be easily interrupted, is already indicated by the apparent
anxiety
to draw attention to it, both at the beginning and the close. In
the
two first verses of Ps. ix., each member of the verse begins with x;
and
also the last letter, the t does not rest satisfied
with the first word.
FORMAL ARRANGEMENT OF THE PSALMS. xxxvii
of
Ps. x. 17, but occurs twice besides. In the regular alphabetical
Psalms
nothing of a like kind is to be found. 3. We have not some
sort
of fragments merely of an alphabetical arrangement before us, but
the
alphabetical always occurs in an important place. It concentrates
itself
at the beginning and the end, so that the three first and the four
last
letters of the alphabet stand in quite regular order. The second of
the
two Psalms begins with l, the middle letter.--4. Along with the
alphabetical
arrangement, there proceeds another according to the signi-
ficant
numbers, of so artificial a kind that a strict adherence to the for-
mer
could, on this account alone, scarcely be expected. Before we point
out
this more minutely, we must first give a representation of the
strophe-division
of those Psalms, and also exhibit the result, which pre-
sents
itself in them respecting the names of God.
Ps. ix. consists of a great strophe,
ver. 1-12, falling into two parts,
thanksgiving
and praise, each of six verses—three pairs of verses, and four
small
strophes, expressing prayer and confidence, each consisting of a pair
of
verses. In like manner, Ps. x. consists of a great strophe, ver. 2-11, the
lamentation,
and, four small strophes, the prayer and confidence, each of a
pair
of verses, with the exception of the second in ver, 14, which has only
one
verse, but that composed of four members. Ver. 1 stands unconnected-
with
the formal arrangement, and corresponds to the superscription in
Ps.
ix., the originality of which is borne witness to by this fact.
The name Jehovah occurs nine times
in Ps. ix., the name Elohim
once;
in Ps. x. Jehovah five times, Elohim twice; in the whole, there-
fore,
Jehovah occurs fourteen times, Elohim thrice; in Ps. ix. ten names
of
God, in Ps. x. seven.
All the significant numbers, too,
are found in the two Psalms. The
second
part of Ps. x. is completed in the number seven—manifestly on
purpose.
For with the design merely of not exceeding the number
seven,
only one verse of four members is there assigned to the r, in-
stead
of the otherwise common two verses of four members. Farther, the
regular
alphabetical commencement of verses, at the beginning and the
close,
also consists of the number seven. The whole has seventeen
names
of God, fourteen of the name Jehovah Ps. x., seven names of
God,
and how much of design there as in this, is evident from the
interchange
of Jehovah and Elohim, which was obviously managed so
as
to bring out for the whole the numbers 17 and 14, and for Ps. x.
the
number seven.
The number seven is commonly in the
Psalms, as also in the
calypse
(comp. Bengel s. 66, ff.. 213, Züllig Th. i. s. 123), divided
into
three and four. In the second part of Ps. x., ver. 12-14 are of one
piece,
as are also ver. 15-18. The beginning has three, and the con-
xxxviii FORMAL ARRANGEMENT OF THE PSALM
elusion
four alphabetical commencements of verses. In Ps. x. three
names
of God stand in the main strophe, and four in the smaller strophes.
The whole has ten strophes! Ps. ix. has
twenty verses, two decades.
In
Ps. x. the main strophe ten verses. Ps. ix. has ten names of God.
With
the tenth letter of the alphabet, y, the alphabetical
arrangement
in
Ps. x. ceases, and there follows afterwards another strophe, without
the
alphabet.
The ten is regularly divided by the
five. Each Psalm has five stro-
phes.
In the main strophe of Ps. x. this division is rendered manifest
by
the correspondence of ver. 6 with ver. 11. Of the ten names of God
in
Ps. ix., five are contained in the main strophe, and five in the smaller
strophes.
Both numbers, that of ten and seven, appear combined in
the
number of verses of Ps. x., and in the entire number of the names
of
God.
The main strophe of Ps. ix. is
completed in the number twelve. So
also
in the same number are comprised the entire parts of the Psalm,
ten
strophes, then the superscription to that Psalm, and the introduc-
tion
to Ps. x. The twelve is both times divided by the six. The main
strophe
of Ps. ix. has six couplets of verses, and falls into two parts,
each
of six verses. This division is referred to in the circumstance,
that
ver. 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, all begin with v, the sixth letter of
the al-
phabet,
the introduction of which begins precisely at the commence-
ment
of the second part, and the peculiar prominence given to which
(it
is the only letter to which four verses have been assigned, and in-
deed
so, that it returns at the commencement of all the verses) must
point
to the import attached to it.
As to the object of the alphabetical
arrangement in this Psalm,
there
is first to be recognised the intention of pointing to the connec-
tion
between the two Psalms, which form a pair. That this object has
been
accomplished, is evident from this, that the perception of the
connection
between the two Psalms, which undoubtedly proceeded on
a
recognition of their alphabetical character, led the LXX. to form
them
into one. Another purpose was to direct attention to the begin-
ning
and the compass of the particular strophes. The alphabetical ar-
rangement
is so far carried through, as completely to attain these two
objects.
The criticism, which now again,
looks as if it would return, in its
treatment
of the text of the Old Testament, to the arbitrariness of the
last
quarter of the preceding century (Movers, Thenius, Sommer,
etc.)
might learn prudence from this example! It is of importance also
here
not to judge, but to know.
ORIGIN
OF THE EXISTING COLLECTION OF PSALMS. xxxix
VI.
THE ORIGIN OF THE EXISTING COLLECTION OF PSALMS, THEIR
DIVISION INTO FIVE BOOKS, AND THEIR DIFFERENT
NUMBERING.
There can be no doubt that
collections of the Psalms of David and
his
singers were made at an early period. The deep and important
bearing
which they had from the outset in respect to the faith of the
community,
and the distinguished place that was assigned them in the
services
of the sanctuary (see 2 Chron. xxix. 30), does not permit us
to
entertain the idea that single psalms were left for centuries to fly
about
as scattered leaves. But it is equally certain that our present
collection
presents no traces of being formed out of such early collec-
tions.
It has in no respect the character of a work done piecemeal, but
is
arranged from points of view that embrace the whole field. Its au-
thor,
living at a time when psalmodic poetry had already ceased, had
the
entire body of existing Psalms before him, and formed the collection
after
those points of view.
The point of view that presented
itself most readily, was the chrono-
logical.
But the stringent application of this order could not be ap-
proved
on reflection. David was unquestionably the founder of this
kind
of poetry. But by the chronological principle his glory in that
respect
would have been darkened, and the entire matter placed thereby
in
a false position, since in that case the Psalm of Moses must have
stood
at the head of the whole, while he still was only the solitary pre-
cursor
of the Psalm poetry, a prophecy of it, and one which was to
find
its accomplishment in David. Then the character of a good many
of
David's Psalms, and those of his singers, raised great difficulties in
the
way of a chronological arrangement. These songs of David and
his
singers were not always of a personal cast, they not unfrequently
left
the historical ground, concerned themselves for the necessities of
the
church of all ages, and generally rose to the comprehensiveness and
elevation
of our church songs. For songs of this kind, which have no
historical
starting point, the chronological arrangement Would have been
unsuitable,
even if the date of the composition of particular Psalms
had
been exactly known. But this consideration applied only to the
songs
of David and his singers. All the others had a historical basis,
so
that the chronological arrangement in them is the most natural, and
in
all respects the most advantageous.
The collector, however, endeavoured
at the same time to avoid the
objections
which the chronological arrangement was fitted to suggest,
and
to make use of its advantages. After the model of the Pentateuch,
xl ORIGIN OF THE EXISTING COLLECTION OF
PSALMS.
to
which the Psalms are already, on this account more nearly related
than
all the other books of Scripture, inasmuch as they, like it, were
employed
in divine worship, but still more as they contained in a manner
the
answer of the people to God is address to them in the law, and dis-
close
the pious feelings which are called forth in the minds of believers
by
the word of God, he divided the collection into five books, the end of
which,
with the exception of the last, where no external mark was
required,
is indicated by a doxology. In the front he placed the Psalms
of
David and his singers, which occupy the three first books. In the
two
last books he put, in exact chronological order, all that remained
from
Moses to Nehemiah.
In the arrangement of the Psalms of
David and his singers, the col-
lector
has allowed a marked influence to the distinction that exists
among
these, Psalms as to the use respectively of the names Jehovah
and
Elohim. This distinction is confined to those Psalms, including
also
the later post-Davidic Psalms of Asaph and the sons of Korah,
which
in this, as in other respects, remain true to the older type. In
the
whole fourth book Elohim does not occur once, in the fifth only
seven
times, while Jehovah, according to the reckoning of Delitzsch
(Symbolae
ad Ps. illustrandos) occurs 236 times. In all those seven
cases
Elohim is found only in the Psalms of David—in Ps. cviii. six
times,
and once in Ps. cxliv. We merely notice, in passing, what im-
portant
results grow out of these facts for the correctness of our text,
and,
at the same time, for the originality of the superscriptions. If
these
had been appended, as modern criticism would have it, by this
person
and that from mere conjecture, how should it then happen that
precisely
all the Elohim-Psalms have been assigned to David and his
singers,
and that not one of such Psalms has been left without their names
Not merely are the Elohim-Psalms
peculiar to the three first books,
but
also another characteristic, the sporadic occurrence of Elohim in
the
Jehovah-Psalms. Elohim had become so strange in later times,
that
only the Jehovah-Psalms of David were taken for insertion into the
later
cycles, with the exception alone of Psalm cviii., which could not
have
been omitted if Ps. cix. and cx. were to have a place.
That the origin of the Elohim-Psalms
is to be ascribed to David is
evident
from the single fact, that these belong only to him and his
singers,
who shew themselves throughout dependent upon him. It is a
farther
evidence, that we can also give historical proof elsewhere of
David's
special predilection for this name; from the prayer of David in
2
Sam. vii., where it occurs redundantly, and also from passages, such
as
1 Chron. xxviii. 20, where David says to Solomon, "Fear not, for
Jehovah
Elohim, my God, is with thee," xxix.
1.
DIVISION INTO FIVE BOOKS—DIFFERENT
NUMBERING. xli
Allusion was made in my Beitr. Th.
II. s. 299, to the ground of the
predilection
exhibited in certain Psalms for the name: "In a multitude
of
passages, especially in the Psalms, Elohim was chosen with respect to
the
abuse of the name Jehovah, whereby the name, that properly was
the
stronger of the two, was changed into the weaker. The surround-
ing
heathen, and the heathenishly inclined in
Jehovah,
indeed, the God of Israel, but not God absolutely, the posses-
sor
of the whole fulness of the Godhead. But better the Godhead than
a
God. In all such passages Jehovah is thrown into the background;
Elohim
by itself is equivalent to Jehovah Elohim. It was not necessary
always
expressly to name Jehovah, because he was the unquestionable
property
of
Upon the import of the collocation
Jehovah Elohim, it is said in the
same
vol. s. 312: "The ground of the collocation is always to be found
in
the opposition it presents against partial representations of Jehovah,
in
the endeavour to explode the error that Jehovah was merely the God
of
became
relatively the lower, so that it was elevated by the addition of
Elohim,
though strictly of inferior import. In this collocation the name
Elohim
stands upon the same line with Zebaoth, the God of worlds. A
circumlocution
of Jehovah Elohim is given in such passages as Ps. viii.
31,
"who is God but Jehovah," and Isa. xliv. 6, where Jehovah says,
"Besides
me there is no God;" Deut. xxxii. 39, "There is no Elohim
besides
me." We are presented with a formal commentary on the Jeho-
vah
Elohim in the words in which David breaks forth after he had
received
the promise through Nathan (1 Chron. xvii. 16 ss., comp. with
3
2 Sam. vii. 18. ss.): "Who am I, Jehovah Elohim, and what is my
house,
that thou hast brought me hither. And this was even little in
thine
eyes, Elohim.—Jehovah, for thy servant's sake, and according to
thine
own heat, hast thou done all this greatness. Jehovah, there is
none
like thee and there is not Elohim beside thee. And now Jehovah
thou
art Haelohim." In these last words David explains why he ad-
dresses
God as Jehovah. What Jehovah had done was so great that it
could
not be attributed to a limited national God, and therefore he
ascribes
it to a God, in whom the highest, the
most personal, living indi-
viduality
is combined with the largest infinitude. It afforded the matter
of
fact proof, that the God of Israel was at the same time the Godhead,
since
he concentrated in himself whatever existed anywhere of divine."
Partial representations of Jehovah,
a tendency to overlook the abso-
lute
in him, was extremely natural to
around,
and it was a very bold, a prodigious idea, to ascribe nothing to
the
gods of the neighbouring and sometimes far more powerful nations
xlii ORIGIN OF THE EXISTING COLLECTION OF
PSALMS.
every
thing to their own God. If we transport ourselves into the rela-
tions
of those times we shall find it very natural, that even in the earliest
records
of revelation the Elohim beside Jehovah, and as a safeguard
against
confined notions of him, should play an important part.
That in the Elohim-Psalms the Elohim
was equal to Jehovah Elohim,
the
Jehovah being regarded as the invisible accompaniment of Elohim,
was
recognized by the author of the doxologies at the end of the books.
He
puts at the close of the second book, which contains the Elohim-
Psalms,
not Blessed be Elohim, but Blessed be Jehovah Elohim. To
the
same also points the circumstance, that Jehovah or Jah is commonly
even
the visible accompaniment of Elohim, and in the larger half of
the
Elohim-Psalms is once at least expressly named with unmistake-
able
intention, while in the Jehovah Psalms the Elohim scarcely ever
occurs.
The introduction of Elohim in the
Elohim-Psalms proceeds from no
imperative
necessity. For, in the name Jehovah is contained the im-
port,
which Elohim only brings expressly and prominently out. Else-
where
Jehovah is not unfrequently found in a like connection. In-
deed,
the Elohim-Psalms might have been carried, without any excep-
tion,
through the entire Psalmody. But it is likewise certain that the
Elohim
in the Elohim-Psalms is everywhere used with consideration.
It
only occurs where the occasion renders it proper to express the ab-
solute
in Jehovah.
The Elohim is a soothing balsam,
which was dropt into the wound of
the
despondency of the people of God in the presence of the world. It
was
a shield held up against the assaults of despair in times of trou-
ble,
raised by the honourers of the so-called Elohim, who railed at the
poor
Jehovah of Israel. In this way is the Elohim in Ps. xliv. ex-
plained.
In Ps. lx. Elohim is the battle-cry in the expedition against
awakened
anew to the consciousness that Jehovah is God Elohim.
But in the pressing emergencies also
occasioned by domestic ene-
mies
the soul flies to Elohim. When all on earth is leagued against
it,
when the waters rise "even to the soul," it finds in this name a
sure
guerdon for deliverance, which represents its God as the one in
whom
the whole fulness of Godhead dwells, to whom therefore nothing
is
impossible, who is rich in resources. Thus David, in Ps. lii., sets
Elohim
over against Saul, the hero, who was employing all instruments
devil
for his destruction, and, in like manner, in a series of other Psalms
belonging
to the same period of persecution, Ps. liv.-lix. During Ab-
solom's
revolt, also, David retreats for refuge to Elohim, in Ps. xlii,
xliii.
(where the sons of Korah speak as from his soul), Ps. lxi.-
DIVISION
INTO FIVE BOOKS--DIFFERENT NUMBERING. xliii
lxiii. To this, too, betakes the suffering
righteous one in Ps. lxix.-
lxxi.
The Elohim, further, is used in
connection with instructive facts,
which
shew that Jehovah is God, in such Psalms as celebrate the vic-
tory
which
over
the heathen world, proudly boasting of their might. Thus in Ps.
xlvi.
10, where in ver. 7 and 11 Jehovah Zebaoth corresponds to the
(Jehovah)
Elohim: Ps. xlvii., where to the Elohim is added: "the
Most
High, a great King over all the earth;" Ps. xlviii., where also
comp.
the Zebaoth in ver. 8; Ps. lxviii.
The Elohim stands likewise in Psalms
which unfold the idea of the
future
supremacy of the God of Israel, the pledge of which was the
fact
that Jehovah is Eiohim, Ps. xlv., lxvii., lxviii., lxxii.
Ps. lxv. praises God as the God of
the whole world and nature; to
the
Elohim correspond the words: "Thou art the confidence of all the
ends
of the earth, and of the sea of the far off." In Ps. li. David makes
his
complaint to Elohim, because, being plunged into the great deep
of
sinful conviction, he stood in need of the entire fulness of the divine
compassion.
The expression: "according to the
greatness of thy
mercy,''
forms a sort of commentary on the Elohim.—In Ps. l. the
name
Elohim is proclaimed with a voice of thunder to those who, after
the
manner of servants of a God, imagined that they could feed their
God
with their pitiful sacrifices—not reflecting that they had to do with
the
Lord of the whole world. To the Elohim corresponds the allusion
to
the sovereignty of God and his spiritual nature, in ver. 9-13.
This indication of the internal
grounds, which have given occasion to
the
use of Elohim, suffices also for a refutation of the strange hypothesis
of
Ewald, already disposed of by Delitzsch, p. 21, who attributes the
predominance
of the Elohim to the hand of the collector.
That the Elohim-Psalms possess in
general a more elevated character
than
the Jehovah-Psalms, admits of an easy explanation, from what has
already
been remarked. It is a consequence of this character, that the
Selah
should be of more frequent occurrence in them (according to
Delitzsch's
calculation, it occurs in the first book seventeen times, in the
second,
thirty times, and twenty times in the third), and it further re-
sults,
that the announcement of the historical occasion, in the super-
scription,
should be more common in them, or the reference to it in the
Psalms
themselves. This use of the Elohim sprung up at a time when
the
honouring of Jehovah in
terly
the honouring of the so-called Elohim also began to prevail
among
the Israelites, the Elohim, which was used in a bad sense by
them,
was forbid en to the true fearers of God. It was retained only
xliv ORIGIN OF THE EXISTING COLLECTION OF
PSALMS.
in
the
of
David's time. The necessity, which gave rise to the use of Elohim,
was
met in another manner.
The arrangement, then, is as follows:—The
first book, Ps. i. to xli.,
contains
the Davidic Jehovah-Psalms; the second, Ps. xlii.-lxxii., the
Elohim-Psalms
of the singers of David—of the sons of Korah, Ps. xlii.-
xlix.,
of Asaph, Ps. 1.; then his
Elohim-Psalms, Ps. li.-lxxi., and an
Elohim-Psalm
of his son Solomon, Ps. lxxii.; the third, the Jehovah-
Psalms
of his singers, of Asaph, Ps. lxxiii.-Ixxxiii., of the sons of
Korah,
Ps, lxxxiv.-lxxxix.
The collector might have made the
Elohim-Psalms of David follow
his
Jehovah-Psalms, then the Jehovah-Psalms of the singers of David,
and
then, again, their Elohim-Psalms. But in that case, the Elohim-
Psalms
would not have been enclosed on both sides by the Jehovah-
Psalms,
while still it was of importance that this should be the case, so
that
the truth might stand prominently out, that Jehovah is the funda-
mental
name, and everywhere the invisible attendant of Elohim, which
only
gave distinct prominence to one important idea in the nature of
Jehovah.
The collector was here guided by the same reasons which
determined
him in the doxology of the only Elohim-Psalm contained in
the
second book, not to put: Let Elohim be praised, but: Let Jehovah
Elohim
be praised. Or, again, the collector might have made the Elo-
him-Psalms
of David follow his Jehovah-Psalms, then the Elohim-
Psalms
of his singers, and finally the Jehovah-Psalms of his singers. In
that
case, too, the Psalms of David, and those of his singers, would have
stood
each by themselves. But then, the distinction of Jehovah and
of
Elohim-Psalms would not have come so broadly out. It is precisely
the
existing arrangement, the separation of the Davidic Jehovah, from
the
Davidic Elohim-Psalms, and likewise the separation of the Jehovah
and
the Elohim-Psalms of Asaph and the sons of Korah, which sets the
device
clearly before the reader's eye, and calls upon him to investigate
the
principle of the collector.
The principle, indeed, has been
expressed by the collector himself in
the
doxologies of the three first books. In the first book, the doxology
begins
with: "Let Jehovah be praised;" in the second book, with:
"Let
Jehovah Elohim be praised;" and in the third, with: "Let Jeho-
vah
be praised." Delitzsch, who was the first to point out the bearing
of
the first two doxologies on the subject under consideration, did not
perceive
that the third presents as good a proof that the third book, ac-
cording
to the view of the collector, contains only Jehovah-Psalms, as
the
second, that it contains only Elohim-Psalms.
There are three objections that may
present themselves against the
DIVISION
INTO FIVE BOOKS—DIFFERENT NUMBERING. xlv
above
view of the arrangement of Ps. i.-lxxxix. The first is this, that
in
Ps. lxxiii.-1xxxiii,a the Elohim so frequently occurs, that one
might
even
feel tempted to include these in the Elohim-Psalms. But, consi-
dered
even in an external point of view, this could not be immediately
done.
Including Ps. lxxxiv., with Delitzsch, who adopts this view,
Jehovah
and Jah are found twenty-two times in these twelve Psalms
while
in the thirty-one Psalms of the second book, they occur only
thirty-two
times, and among the thirty-one Psalms of the second book,
there
are not less than sixteen in which Jehovah is entirely awant-
ing,
while in those twelve it fails only in a single one.
It is also from the first
improbable, that as the first book contains only
Jehovah-Psalms,
the second only Elohim-Psalms, the third should be
formed
of both. The collector would, in this way, have destroyed his
own
principle.—If we regard Ps. lxxiii.-Ixxxiii. as Elohim-Psalms, then
Asaph
must have composed Psalms only of that description. This is
in
itself improbable, apart altogether from the circumstance, that then
Ps.
l. would not have been separated from the others. The Elohim in-
dicates
a particular idea in the nature of the God of Israel, and it could
scarcely
occur to an Israelitish bard to elevate it to sole supremacy. Only
when
found as an accompaniment of Jehovah is it in its proper place.
If we look more closely to the
Psalms in question, the result discovers
itself,
that their Elohistic character rests merely upon appearance, and
that
persons come to maintain its reality only because they forget, in
their
enumerations of the names of God, the import and meaning of them.
The
Jehovah-Psalms of Asaph have this distinguishing peculiarity about
them,
that the glory of the name of Jehovah is an internal, and not a
merely
external one, a concealed, and not a manifest one; but on that
very
account so much the more essential.
In Ps. lxxiii. the whole runs out
with such emphasis in the names: the
Lord
Jehovah, that the unaccented preceding threefold Elohim does
not
come into notice; it has only the character of an antechamber. Also
in
Ps. lxxiv, 18, thel Jehovah, on which a special emphasis rests, and
for
which Elohim cannot be substituted, should be written in large capi-
tals,
while the Elohim before it, though occurring four times, falls into
the
background. In Ps. lxxv. the double Elohim stands only as step-
ping
stones to the simple Jehovah in ver. 9. The cover, which till then
lay
on the face of God, is taken away at the end, and it beams forth in
all
its glory. Precisely the same is true of Ps. lxxvi.; there too the
Jehovah,
which should be written large, forms the conclusion. In Ps.
lxxvii.
the precious name is found exactly in the words which form the
a Nobody will go along with
Delitzsch, Symbolae, p. 22, in regarding Ps. lxxxiv.
an
Elohim-Psalm, see Introd, to that Psalm.
xlvi ORIGIN OF THE EXISTING COLLECTION OF PSALMS.
beating
heart of the Psalm, "I will declare the deeds of Jah," in ver.
11;
and the one Jah in this passage, more emphatical than Jehovah
(see
on Ps. lxviii. 4, lxxxix. 8), weighs more than the six Elohims
which
serve only to make it shine firth the more brightly. In Ps.
lxxviii.
Jehovah occurs, indeed, only twice, while Elohim is used eight
times;
but Jehovah stands at the head, and in the announcement of the
theme
in ver. 41, "the wonders of the Lord," are the centre of the fol-
lowing
representation; so that Jehovah is the constant though invisible
accompaniment
of the succeeding Elohims. Then it recurs again in a
very
emphatic connection in ver. 21. In Ps. lxxix. Elohim is used in
the
representation given of the poor suppliant. But in the prayer he
rises
immediately to Jehovah, and with him alone has he to do through
the
whole Psalm, from ver. 5. That in Ps. lxxx. Jehovah has really
the
supreme place, though it occurs only twice, while Elohim is used
five
times, is evident from what has been already remarked in the Introd.
to
the Psalm. In Ps. lxxxi. Jehovah is the prevailing name even ex-
ternally.
Ps. lxxxii., in which Jehovah is altogether awanting, and Elo-
him,
which must stand there (see on ver.
2) occurs twice, seems to have
been
considered by the collector as a prelude and introduction to Ps.
lxxxiii.
(the conclusion of both Psalms is to be compared) which also
indeed
has Elohim only once, but runs out into a double Jehovah.
Through the whole, therefore,
Jehovah has the primas partes, and
Elohim
is thrown by it into the shade. The Elohim also in these
Psalms
is essentially different from that in the Elohim Psalms. Here
it
is everywhere the more general, less pregnant, lower name of God;
whereas
in the properly Elohim-Psalms, it is used with great emphasis,
inasmuch
as it is the idea of the absolute in Jehovah which it expresses,
and
opposes that abuse of the name, which overlooked this idea, so that
relatively
it becomes the higher name.
A second consideration suggests
itself in the fact, that in the midst of
the
Psalms of David and of his singers, certain nameless Psalms are
inserted,
which seems inexplicable, if the collector was guided by the
principle
indicated above. But it is found on nearer examination, that
with
the solitary exception of Ps. i. and ii., the namelessness is only
apparent.
It occurs only in regard to such Psalms as are united with
the
preceding into one whole, so that the naming of the author in these
communicates
itself to the others. Thus Ps. x. stands connected with
Ps.
ix., Ps. xxxiii. is formed into a pair with Ps. xxxiv. From these
analogies
we are already inclined to the supposition, that Ps. lxvi. and
lxvii.,
to which the name of David is not prefixed, form with Ps. lxv, a
biology;
so that its superscription extends also to them. And this
supposition
is favoured by the Hcnml at the head of both, which else-
DIVISION
INTO FIVE BOOKS—DIFFERENT NUMBERING. xlvii
where
never occurs but in the songs of David, of Asaph and the sons of
Korah—by
the ryw,
song of praise, which the whole three have in com-
mon—and
by the contents of the Psalms; they contain a treasury of
praise
to God, divided into three parts—two Psalms, which magnify the
benefits
of God in natural things to his church, inclose a third which
celebrates
his praise on account of historical benefits. This view is little
affected
by the fact, to which too much importance was attached in
the
Introd. to Ps. that the words, "Come, behold the works of
the
Lord," in ver. 5, appear to have been literally borrowed from Ps.
xlvi.
8; the relation is rather the reverse. Ps. lxxi. forms a pair with
Ps.
lxx.; as likewise Ps. xliii. with Ps. xlii. There remain only Ps. i.
and
ii. That this pair stands without any superscription, is perhaps to
be
explained on the ground, that it originally served as an introduction
to
a collection of sacred songs collected by David himself, which, be-
sides
his songs, contained those also of his chief musicians. The intro-
ductory
character must have appeared less, if they had borne the name
of
David. Standing without superscription at the head of an entire col-
lection,
all the parts of which had superscriptions, they presently gave
themselves
to be understood to be an introduction. Our collectors, who
only
produced what they found, did not venture to affix to them a super-
scription.
The Davidic origin was also sufficiently indicated by their
position
at the head of the Davidic Jehovah-Psalms.
A third consideration presents
itself in the circumstance, that in the
midst
of the Korahite-Elohim-Psalms, in Ps. lxxxvi. David is named as
the
author, as also in the naming of Heman and Ethan in Ps. lxxxviii.
and
lxxxix. But this objection has already been obviated by the re-
marks
made on those Psalms.
Regarding it, then, as Settled, that
viewed generally and collectively,
the
Psalms of David and his singers were arranged according to the dis-
tinctive
use of the names of God, a further question arises, after what
principles
did the collectors within these limits assign to particular
Psalms
their place? The answer is, they put those Psalms in juxtapo-
sition
which had some bond connecting them together, and sought to
present
in each particular group a kind of Psalmodic chain, the links of
which
ran into each other. I. They always joined together the pairs
of
Psalms, or rather they did not separate what had from the first been
internally
united. Such pairs of Psalms are i., ii.; ix., x.; xx., xxi.,
xxiii.,
xxiv.; xxv., xxvi.; xxviii., xxix.; xxxii., xxxiii.; xliii.; lxx.,
lxxi.;
lxxxviii., lxxxix. They likewise left the larger group of Psalms,
Ps.
lxv.-lxviii., united together. In this the trilogy, formerly referred
to,
Ps. lxv.-lxvii., forms the introduction to Ps. lxviii., the solemn Te
Deum,
which was sung in the temple after a great victory had been
xlviii ORIGIN OF TIIE EXISTING COLLECTION OF PSALMS.
obtained.
All the four Psalms have, as a proof of their original
connection,
the character of praise-songs, and the rvmzm ryw, in the
superscriptions
is common. The idea, that what the Lord had done for
Ps.
lxviii. with the two preceding ones. Ps. lxv. 5-7 already contains in
it
the kernel of Ps. lxviii. Comp. besides Ps. lxv. 1: "and to
thee
one pays vows," with Ps. lxvi. 13: "and to thee will I pay my
vows;"
the conclusion of Ps. lxv.: "they shout and they sing," with the
beginning
of Ps. lxvi.: "shout to God all lands;" then the resembling
conclusions
of Ps. lxvi., lxvii., lxviii. II. They
place together Psalms
which
were united together by a similar occasion. Thus Ps. xlvii. and
xlviii.
stand beside each other, because they both refer to the deliverance
of
Jehosaphat, the first for being sung in the
the
second at the solemn service in the temple. In like manner Ps.
lxxv.
and lxxvi. the two Jehovah-Psalms of Asaph, stand together,
which
refer to the Assyrian oppression, the first sung in prospect of the
catastrophe,
the second after its accomplishment. But here we must be
content
to remain with the similarity of the occasion. That the (collec-
tors
were not guided by a strictly chronological respect is evident alone
from
the fact, that among the Korahite Elohim Psalms, Ps. xlvi., which
refers
to the Assyrian catastrophe, precedes Ps. xlvii. and xlviii., which
belong
to the time of Jehosaphat. III. They joined together those
which
have a common superscription. Thus the whole Korahite Elohim
Psalms
stand together which bear the name lykWm, instruction, Ps.
xlii.,
xliii., xliv., xlv. On this ground also it is clear that Ps. xliii. is com-
bined
into a pair with Ps. xlii., otherwise it would not have stood here.
So
also with Ps. lii.-1v., the whole Elohim-Psalms of David, which pos-
sess
the superscription lykWm dvdl, an instruction of
David. Then
the
Davidic Elohim-Psalms, which have in the superscription Mtkm,
secret,
Ps. lvi.-lx. Among these, again, those which have besides the
tHwt lx destroy not, in common, Ps. lvii.-lix.
all the three belong-
ing
to the Sauline period, of like matter and like character, and by
David
himself destined to go together. IV. A coincidence in the
thoughts
has also in many ways influenced the arrangement. Thus Ps.
iii.
and iv. follow Ps. ii., because they represent the personal experiences
and
feelings of David, on which as its foundation the prophetic representa-
tion
in Ps. ii. is raised. Ps. v. connects itself as a morning prayer with
the
evening prayers in Ps. iii. and iv. A respect to the ideas has also
led
to the juxtaposition of Ps. xiv. and xv.—See the Introd. to the
former.
Ps. xxxiv. and xxxv. have been placed together on account of
the
mention in both Psalms of the angel of the Lord. Ps. li., the first
DIVISION
INTO FIVE BOOKS—DIFFERENT NUMBERING. xlix
Davidic
Elohim-Psalm, follows the Elohim-Psalm of Asaph,
cause
both agree in the worthlessness of sacrifices, in which the heart is
not.
V. Much more common, however, than such internal relationships
is
the juxtaposition made to rest upon particular expressions or images
common
to the united Psalms. Thus Ps. lxxvii. and lxxviii., which
otherwise
have nothing to do with each other, have been placed next
each
other on account of the comparison of
the
close of both. Ps. vi. has only the mention of evil-doers in com-
mon
with Ps. v.; Ps. v. 5, vi. 8. As this ground of connection lies upon
the
borders of accident, and is only the collector's last make-shift in
striving
after an arrangement, we shall not attempt by an exposition of
particular
Psalms to point it out in individual cases, and must refer those
who
feel interested in the matter to the Symbolae of Delitzsch, whose
induction
of proofs has at least established the result "that it cannot be
concluded
from the mere juxtaposition of two or more Psalms, and
their
resemblance to each other, that they were written by the same
author,
which conclusion has been very frequently urged by Hitzig."
Another
conclusion of Delitzsch, that one must be very cautious in the
admission
of pairs of Palms, the author believes that he, at least, has no
occasion
to bring into consideration. He has never rested the admission
of
such pairs upon merely external points; but simply regards the fact
of
the existence of nameless Psalms in the midst of those, whose authors
are
all designated, as providing for them a strong ground of support.
One thing, however, is manifest from
all that has been established
regarding
the arrangement in the three first books, that we find (nu-
selves
here everywhere on the territory of design, contrivance, and reflec-
tion,
and that, therefore, all hypotheses must be rejected, which proceed
on
the supposition, that the collectors gave free scope to accident, in-
dolence,
and carelessness.
This remark conducts us to the last
point, which still remains to be
noticed
in regard to the three first books—the words tvlpt vlk
ywy-Nb dvd at an end are the
prayer-songs of David, the son of Jesse,
which
are found at the close of the second book, and follow the doxo-
logy
of it appended to Ps. lxxii. This formal announcement cannot,
as
Delitzsch has supposed, be the conclusion of an original collection,
which
contained the Psalms of David and his singers, and which the
authors
of our present collection still retained, though they introduced
afterwards
a number of Psalms of later date. For, 1. It presupposes a
great
carelessness on the part of the later collectors, since after the en-
largement
of the original collection, in which an entire series of later
Psalms
appears bearing the name of David, they had not expunged a
completely
unsuitable conclusion. Such a thoughtlessness is absolutely
l ORIGIN OF THE EXISTING COLLECTION OF
PSALMS.
without
analogy in the canon of Scripture, and is the less to be credited
in
regard to the collection of the Psalms, as this everywhere manifests
plan,
intention, and care. 2. It is supposed without reason, that under
the
name of the Psalms of David (which here a
potiori are designated
by
the appellation of prayer-songs, because there was no general He-
brew
name for the Psalms) those also of his singers are comprehended.
The
passages, Ezra iii. 10, 2 Chron. xxiii. 18, which are adduced in
support
of this, cannot prove it. Such a naming, which otherwise had
even
already been unjustifiable, was the less proper to be adopted, after
the
older collection had been still farther enlarged by the late additions;
so
that the slender ground then gave way on which Delitzsch seeks to
justify
the ascription of the Psalms of David's singers to David himself
—viz.,
"That they were such as, whether written by David or his con-
temporaries,
had been publicly sanctioned by the authority of David."
3.
This announcement stands at the close of the doxology of the second
book.
Now, if the doxologies belong to those who formed our present
collection
in five books (see Delitzsch, p. 19) then this announcement
also
must be referred to them. Otherwise, it would certainly have
stood
before the doxology. 4. Of David's singers we have only up to
Ps.
lxxii., the Elohim-Psalms. But this is as good as an express inti-
mation,
that we might still expect from them the Jehovah-Psalms. Or,
could
the older collector have given merely the Elohim-Psalms known
to
belong to them?* 5. That in Ps.
i.-lxxii., there are found only
Psalms
of David and his singers, is an indication that others might be
expected
from different authors. Or, could the author of the original
collection
have known only these, and been ignorant especially of the
Psalm
of Moses, the man of God? 6. Among the Psalms of David
in
the two last books there are some of such distinguished import, that
they
could not possibly be unknown to those who formed the original
collection.
How deep the Davidic Psalms in particular of the two last
books
had penetrated into the life of the community, appears from this,
* Several, and recently V. Longerke,
have sought to raise Ps. to the rank of
an
original collection, to which was afterwards added as a second part, Ps.
xlii.-1xxii.
This
hypothesis vanishes before the single consideration that Ps. i.–xli., as it
only con-
tains
Psalms of David, from which no collector would certainly have separated those
of
his
singers, so closely connected with him, 2 Chron. xxix. 30, so it contains
merely
the
Jehovah-Psalms of David. These could only have been associated together by the
same
person, who afterwards subjoined the Elohim-Psalms of David. And as this per-
son
at the same time communicated the Elohim-Psalms of David, he must again be
identical
with the collector of the third book. The reason for the making up of the
Psalter
from
different collections, because Ps. liii. could not have been admitted by the
same
person
who received Ps. xiv., and in like manner Ps. lxx., as compared with Ps. xl.
Ps.
cviii. with Ps. lvii., lx., is disposed of by the remarks formerly made upon
those
Psalms.
DIVISION INTO FIVE BOOKS--DIFFERENT
NUMBERING. li
that
they were raised at a later period to become the centre of a series of
cycles
of Psalms. But it is in itself an improbable supposition, and one
incapable
of proof, that collections of the Psalms of David existed of
different
compass Every thing that proceeded from David on that very
account
drew upon it the general attention, and just as little as part of
his
compositions could remain unknown, as little would any one have
taken
upon him t select only that which accorded with his own pri-
vate
taste. What bore upon it the name of David was thereby stamped
as
good, as edifying as a sacred treasure. The man who was placed on
high,
the anointed of the God of Jacob, lovely in the Psalms of Israel,
he,
through whom the Spirit of the Lord spake, and had his words upon
his
tongue, 2 Sam. xxiii. 12, was elevated far above either forgetfulness
or
criticism. 7. There is an utter want of analogies for marking by
an
express and formal conclusion an end, which of itself might be dis-
cerned
to be such. The canon is free from any
such loquacity as this.
Therefore,
the announcement at an end are the prayer-songs of David,
carries
with it an intimation, that other Psalms besides were to follow.
Nay,
still more, it would have been superfluous, if Psalms had not been
to
follow, which bore on their front the name of David. To this, in-
deed,
it must point, bearing the character of an enigma, that these
additional
Psalms stood in other relations than those given in the two
first
books.
We shall reach perfect clearness and
certainty by perceiving that all
the
Psalms of David in the two last books are inserted as component
parts
into the later cycles. The subscription at the end of the sacred
book
must have been designed to separate the free and the bound, the
scattered
and the serial Psalms of David, from each other. Analagous
in
some measure the subscription: at an end are the speeches of Job,
in
Job xxxi. 40, which is not contradicted by the fact, that Job appears
again
speaking, it ch. xl. and xlii.; it should rather be regarded as
serving
to give us a right understanding of that formal conclusion.
Turning now to the last two books of
the collection, we remark at
the
outset, that in them the chronological principle of the arrangement
strongly
predominates. At the head stands "the prayer of Moses, the
man
of God,'' Ps. xc. Then follows Ps. xci.-c., a decalogue of Psalms
very
closely related to each other, sung in prospect of the Babylonian
catastrophe—see
Introd. on Ps. xciv. The great chasm between Ps.
xc.
and Ps. xci.-c. is explained by this, that the collector wished to
place
in the front the productions of David, the man who had been
placed
on high, &c., who was fitly regarded as the proper author of
this
branch of literature, and of those who had been stirred up by him
and
their schools. Into this chasm fall, with few exceptions, (the
lii ORIGIN OF THE EXISTING COLLECTION OF
PSALMS.
Psalms
of the exile by Asaph and the sons of Korah, see the section on
the
authors of the Psalms) all the Psalms of the first three books. it
is
only about the times of the exile that the Psalmodic poetry works
itself
free from this connection with the schools of David's singers.
The
author of Ps. xci.-c. was the first who, without being a member of
their
body, received the gift of sacred song; after the exile, Asaph and
the
sons of Korah are no more to be thought of.—Then follows in Ps.
ci.-cvii.,
a heptad, consisting of a trilogy of David, with which a bard
of
the time of the exile associated some new ones, and a seventh added
by
another bard after the return from exile.—See Introd. to Ps. cvii. As
the
collector in the arrangement of the Psalms from xc. follows the
chronological
principle, so he determines here by the same principle the
division
of the books. Though Ps. cvii. forms a component part of the
heptad,
yet the fourth book, which was made to contain the Psalms from
Moses
to the Babylonish captivity, not composed by David and his
singers,
or their schools, is closed by Ps. cvi., the doxological conclu-
sion
of which was at the same time intended by the collector as a for-
mal
conclusion to the book,—comp. on Ps. cvi. 48.—A dodecade of Ps.
cviii.-cxix.,
introduced, like the preceding cycle, by a trilogy of David,
to
which were then added nine later Psalms, contains those Psalms which
were
sung on the occasion of laying the foundation of the new temple—see
Introd.
to Ps. cxviii.—In Ps, cxx.-cxxxiv., the pilgrim's little book, con-
sisting
of four Psalms of David, one of Solomon, and ten without names,
we
have the productions that belong to the time of the interrupted tem-
ple-building.—In
Ps. cxxxv.-cxlvi., there is a group of twelve Psalms
sung
after the happy completion of the temple, and probably at the
consecration
of it—three nameless Psalms at the beginning, and one at
the
end, in the middle of Psalms of David.—The closing portion is
composed
of Ps. cxlvii.-cl., four Psalms, which were sung at the conse-
cration
of the city walls under Nehemiah.
The completion of the Psalmody could
not have been made before
the
consecration of the wails under Nehemiah, to which the last Psalms
refer.
But neither can we bring it clown to a later period—partly on
account
of the history of the canon, which was terminated in the time
of
Ezrah and Nehemiah, partly on account of the character of Psalm
cl.,
which was manifestly intended to form a full-toned close to the
whole.*
To the same period the collection of the Psalms is ascribed
by
tradition—although this by itself would not be entitled to much
*
Without foundation some have sought to find a conclusive proof of the
completion
of
the present Book of Psalms in I Chron. xvi. 30; comp., on the contrary, p. 280
of
this
volume, where it has made appear that Delitzsch lies incorrectly argued from
this
passage for the antiquity of the division of the Psalms into five books.
DIVISION
INTO FIVE BOOKS—DIFFERENT NUMBERING. liii
weight.
In 2 Macc. ii. 13, the collection of the productions of David
is
ascribed to Nehemiah. Jerome, epist. ad Sophronium, and the sy-
nopsis
found among the works of Athanasius, ascribe the collection to
Ezra
(comp. Stark, carm. Dav. i. p. 425, 6.) Meanwhile,
there are
reasons
which ender it probable that the collection of the Psalms was
only
completed then, and had been begun at an earlier period. Of spe-
cial
significance is it here, that in the last group of Psalms there is not
found,
as in all the cycles since the exile, a trunk of Davidic Psalms,
out
of which the shoot of the new song might spring up. This seems
to
indicate, that then the Davidic Psalms had been already all disposed
of
in the collection. Further, the last
group, Ps. cxlvii.-cl., connects
itself
with the close of the immediately preceding one, just as Ps. cxxxv.
commencing
the group, Ps. cxxxv.-cxlvi. intentionally connects itself
with
the last Psalm of the Pilgrim Book, Ps. cxxxiv.; so that the col-
lection
must already have been increased up to that point. Accordingly,
the
forming of the collection might be set down, for the time of the
completion
of the second temple. For, that we must not ascend higher
is
evident from the circumstance, that, with respect to the enrolment in
the
cycle of the Psalms, which were for being sung at the consecration
of
the temple, the eight Davidic Psalms were not received among the
Psalms
of David, but were purposely thrown back. That the collection
of
the Psalms stands in a close connection with the finishing of the
temple,
is clear as day. Finally, that the existing collection was only
completed,
and shut up in the time of Ezra and Nehemiah, may still
farther
be presumed from the fifth book wanting the doxology at the
been
wanting here, too, if the same collector had brought the work to a
close,
which is found at the first four books, and which would not have
final
termination. But this fact admits also of another explanation.
The
close of the last book did not require to be expressly indicated, as
it
was sufficiently evident of itself, and a doxology was here the less ne-
cessary,
as the whole of the last Psalm bears the character of a high-
sounding
doxology.
In regard to the numbering of the
Psalms, there is a diversity, yet
so
that the entire number of them, 150, which certainly was not acci-
dental,
but was intentionally made up by the last composer of Psalms,
remains
uninjured. The LXX., and the translations which follow it, in
particular
the Vulgate, connect together Ps. ix. x., then cxiv. and cxv.,
but
separate Ps. cxvi. 1-9 from l0-19, Ps. cxlvii. 1-11 from ver. 12-20.
The
last division especially was made on purpose to secure the number
150,
which must, therefore, at the time of the LXX., have been regarded
as
indispensable This diversity must be remembered, on this account
more
particularly, that learned men among the Catholics for the most
liv DOCTRINAL MATTER-DOCTRINE OF GOD.
part
cite by the Vulgate. They commonly are one Psalm behind the
Hebrew
original in their citations; for example, they cite Ps. xxii. as
Ps.
xxi.
VII. ON THE DOCTRINAL MATTER OF THE
PSALMS.
The Book of Psalms is full of the
noblest testimonies to the being of
God,
and his perfections. It has contributed, in this respect, vast mate-
rials
for developing the consciousness of mankind, and the Christian
church
rests far more upon them for its apprehensions of God than
might
at first sight be supposed. To perceive to what an extent this is
the
case, we have only to search out the traces of the Psalms in our
liturgies
and church-songs. Even the French Deists, the theo-philanthro-
pists,
sworn enemies of the Bible, could only make out their liturgy by
the
help of the Psalms. This is one chief reason why the Psalter is so
precious
to the afflicted. It presents God so clearly and vividly before
their
eyes, that they see him, in a manner, with their bodily sight, and
find
thereby the sting taken from their pains. In this, too, lies one
great
element of the importance of the Psalter for the present times.
What
men now most of all need is, that the blanched image of God
should
again be freshened up in them. This, not the denial of parti-
cular
tenets of revelation, which is only a consequence of the other, and
which
can never be thoroughly eradicated so long as the fundamental
evil
remains, is the deepest grief of the church, and one which believers
will
still have to bear with. Those who would strive to effect, in this
respect,
a reformation in themselves or others, will find in the Psalms
a
mighty help. The more closely we connect ourselves with them, the
more
will God cease to be to us a shadowy form, which can neither
hear,
nor help, nor judge us, and to which we can present no supplica-
tion.
Among the heathen, every divine
perfection has its contrast (see
Nägelsbach,
Homer. Theol. p. 13.) Here every thing is of one piece
and
mould. From the calls, indeed, which we so often meet with in
these
writers of inspired song, upon God to hear, to see, to think of
them,
not to forget, and their complaints, that he does not hear, &c.,
the
accusation has often been brought against them, of rough and
childish
representations of God's omniscience, omnipresence, and super-
intending
providence. But we have only to look somewhat deeper
in
order to discover the agreement that exists between these passages
DOCTRINAL MATTER--DOCTRINE OF
GOD. lv
and
others which contain the most elevated representations of God's
omnipresent
being and providential agency. In the latter, the voice
of
the Spirit makes itself heard; in the former, that of the flesh. The
radical
character of the Psalms is feeling. This is uttered in faithfulness
and
truth before God, as it arose in the heart of the singers, and it is
precisely
through this that they exercise so strong an influence.
We
are drawn to them in the first instance by finding our own
weakness,
our own fainting under tribulation repeating itself, and then
suffer
ourselves to be gently conducted by them to the strength of God.
The
feeling, however, in weak man is
often very different from the con-
viction. He may be firmly
convinced of God's providence, may be
ready
to defend it with vigour against all who assail it, and yet if tribu-
lation
befal him, if God withdraw from him the tokens of his favour, it
then
comes to be in the feelings of his soul, as if God knew nothing of
him,
as if he concerned himself not at all in the conflict of joy and sor-
row,
as if these were an impassable gulf fixed between heaven and
earth.
In this contest faith must be strengthened. It exists in the
godly
of the New, not less than in those of the Old Covenant, and that
superficiality
and strangeness to spiritual experience, which accuses
David
and other sacred bards of having had rough ideas of God's
ever
present and watchful providence, may with equal propriety be
brought
against a Luther and Paul Gerhard, and against all our reli-
gious
poets and men of devotion. How along with that voice of the
flesh
in the Psalms there was perpetually raised also the voice of the
spirit,
appears even from the single fact, that the writers pour out their
supplications
before the very God who hears and sees and regards not.
The mystery of the Trinity is not
yet plainly declared in the Psalms.
This
doctrine belongs, as to its distinct form, to the times of the New
Testament.
It presupposes historical developments, which could then
only
come into being. The fuller understanding of it and its blessed
practical
operation rests upon the incarnation of the Word. Its too
early
manifestation would have been attended with the worse conse-
quences,
as
and
was itself inclined to polytheism. Under the Old Covenant it was
of
importance primarily to lay stress upon the unity of God, and with
proper
apprehensions of this to enforce and impress the minds of the
people,
so that they might courageously maintain it against all the for-
midable
assaults, of the spirit of the then world and age. By this means
the
best foundation was laid for the doctrine of the Trinity. Still, how-
ever,
we find here, as in the case of all the doctrines, the full revelation
of
which was reserved for the New Testament, the germ and point of
connection
for the New Testament dogma. How even the divine name-
lvi DOCTRINE OF
GOD.
Elohim
is to be viewed in this light, since it indicates that the unity of
God
is not one of poverty, but of richness and fulness, has already been
pointed
out in Th. ii. of my Beitr. In unison with Gen. i. 2, the Spirit
of
God, whose personality was certainly not yet recognized, appears as
the
source of all physical life, Ps. civ. 30, as penetrating and filling all
things,
Ps. cxxxix. 7, as the creative principle that made the world, Ps.
xxxiii.
6, as the administrative power and presence of God in
cvi.
33, finally, as the source of all moral life, Ps. li. 12, cxliii. 10. But
the
most direct indication of the doctrine of the Trinity is to be found in
those
passages which contain a reference to the superhuman nature of
the
Messiah,—passages on which we must the less think of forcing an-
other
meaning, as in the prophets (for example, in Isa. ix., where even
Hitzig
is obliged to recognise it), there is found something unquestion-
ably
similar. Such indications pervade all the Messianic Psalms; and
quite
naturally. For, the more deeply the knowledge of human sinful-
ness,
impotence, and nothingness sunk in
ciii.
14-16), the less could men remain satisfied with the thoughts of a
merely
human redeemer, who, according to the Israelitish manner of
contemplation,
could do extremely little. A human king (and all the
strictly
Messianic Psalms have to do with Messias as king), even of the
most
glorious description, could never accomplish what the idea of the
in
the first announcements respecting the Messiah, viz., the bringing of
the
nations into obedience, blessing all the families of the earth, and ac-
quiring
the sovereignty of the world. In Ps. ii. 12 the Messiah is pre-
sented
as simpliciter the Son of God, as he in whom confidence brings
salvation,
whose wrath is perdition. In Ps. xlv. 6-7 he is named God,
Elohim.
In Ps. lxxii, 5, 7, 17, eternity of dominion is ascribed to him.
In
Ps. cx. 1 he at last appears as the Lord of the community of saints
and
of David himself, sitting at the right hand of the Almighty, and in-
stalled
in the full enjoyment of divine authority over heaven and earth.
We turn now to the doctrine of
angels. This doctrine, which is so
adverse
to the friends of a mere earthly religion, belongs to the first
foundations
of true religion. Already in Genesis do we meet with
angels,
first in the history of Abraham, then of Jacob. There was a
danger,
however, in this doctrine of angels to monotheism, as the temp-
tation
might very naturally arise of ascribing to them, from solemn awe
respecting
the almighty and holy God, a portion of the glory due only
to
him, and of seeking through them to obtain the favour and blessing
of
God. But this danger was met by throwing their personality quite
into
the shade, and making them appear only as the instruments and
servants
of God. All speculations, too, were cut off respecting their na-
DOCTRINE OF EVIL
SPIRITS. lvii
ture
and their origin by passing over these topics in profound silence.
How
narrow the limits are within which the doctrine of angels is con-
fined
in Scripture, how strictly the practical bearing of the matter is ad-
hered
to, is manifest alone from the name usually given to them, mes-
sengers, which points, not to
the nature, but to the office. The Psalms,
also,
while they not rarely make mention of the angels, keep scrupulously
within
the limits observed by the earlier revelation, so much so, that in
several
places we might feel tempted to suppose a personification, if
other
passages did not forbid the supposition, in particular Ps. ciii. 20,
where
the angels appear as conscious instruments of God, who do free
and
loving service to him. Besides that name they also receive in the
Psalms
the appellation of sons of God, Ps. xxix. 1, 2, lxxxix. 7, as be-
ing
the most glorious amongst God's creatures, and those that stand
nearest
to himself; that also of the holy ones = the dignities, in Ps.
lxxxix.
7. They are presented to us as patterns in respect to the ado-
ration
of God, whose glory commends itself to our regard, through their
ascriptions
of praise, Ps. xxix. 1, 2, lxxxix. 6, 7, ciii. 20. Their watch-
fulness
and support are for us the source of consolation, Ps. xci. 11, 12,
where,
however, there is nothing said of guardian angels to individual
persons,
a doctrine which has no place in Sacred Scripture. On the
evil
they bring as. God's servants, destruction, Ps. lxxviii. 49, so that the
disproportionate
superiority as to strength on the part of the wicked
need
not terrify the righteous, for behind it the spiritual eye discerns
the
innumerable, host of the Almighty, and his "strong heroes," Ps.
ciii.
20. The two passages, Ps. xxxiv. 7, xxxv. 5, 6, shew, that the
Psalmists
were also acquainted with the doctrine, which pervades the
whole
of the Old Testament, and which represents the angel of the Lord
as
his mediator in all his transactions with the world, and especially with
his
kingdom and people—a truth which is disclosed in its full import in
the
prologue to he gospel of John. In the former Psalm the angel of
the
Lord appears attended by hosts of ministering angels, as the captain
of
the host of God (Josh. v. 15), as the protector of those that fear God,
and
in the latter as the judge and destroyer of the wicked. The passage
Ps.
civ. 4, does not refer to the angels.
The doctrine of fallen, bad angels,
or mere properly spirits, and es-
pecially
of the head of these, Satan, has a place even in the Pentateuch.
That
under Asasel, to which, according to Lev. xvi., on the great day of
atonement,
a goat was sent away laden with the forgiven sins of the peo-
ple
into the wilderness, Satan is to be understood, was proved in my
on
the Mosaic offerings. On clearer grounds it can also be demon-
strated,
that Moses, though under a cover, represents Satan, "the mun-
lviii DOCTRINE OF SIN.
derer
from the beginning,'' as taking an active part in the seduction of
the
first pair. However, the object there was not so properly to estab-
lish
this doctrine in the consciousness of the people, as rather to indicate
its
place. It was above all important, that the one true God should
acquire
form among his people, and should be vividly recognized as
the
one and all. Till this was done, there was a danger lest a part of
the
honour due to him should be transferred to Satan, lest by propitia-
tory
gifts they should seek to be at peace with him, the rather so as
God
Typhon in
acquire
its full significance till it was brought into connection with the
doctrine
of Christ, nor could it be fully disclosed till the manifestation
of
the word in the flesh. It need not, therefore, surprise us, that we
find
no trace of this doctrine in the Psalms. For that the passages, Ps.
lxxviii.
49, cix. 6, have been improperly referred to it, has been already
shown.
We must not from this, however, conclude, that the Psalmists
were
ignorant of the doctrine, but only that it exercised no important
influence
upon their spiritual life, and the more so as the silence in ques-
tion
is found in the later, not less than the earlier Psalms, while we
know
the doctrine had assumed, at the period of their composition, an
explicit
and regular form, and meets us in a very striking and finished
form
in the introduction to the Book of Job and in Zechariah.
Next to the doctrine respecting God,
there is none to which the
Psalms
bear more ample testimony than that respecting sin; and the
former
rests upon the latter. It is only where sin is rightly understood,
that
the shadows vanish which hinder us from attaining to the right ap-
prehension
of God. For then only does there come to be an earnest
seeking
after God, the one Saviour, which is the necessary condition to
finding
him. In the deep experience of human sinfulness, the Old Tes-
tament
religion differed from all heathen religions, whose foul stain it
was
that they did not endeavour to produce this, but allowed sin to be
regarded
as a calamity, a fate, whereby the proper notion of sin was
destroyed,
and the idea of God at the same time annihilated. And this
felt
apprehension of sin meets us in the Psalms in the liveliest manner.
The
law and the prophets sought to awaken it; the Psalmists shew us
in
their own living experience what it was to them. "There seest thou
(says
Luther) into the heart of all saints as into death, nay as into hell.
How
dark does it appear, troubled on all hands by the wrath of God."
In regard to the doctrine of the
origin of sin, any express reference
to
it lay quite out of the way of the authors of the Psalms, who only
utter
the feelings of their hearts, and hence had far more to do with the
fact
of sinful corruption than with its origin. We find no passage
DOCTRINE OF
SIN. lix
upon
the relation of our sin to the sin of Adam. The fall, which
first
receives it proper elucidation in consequence of the atonement
wrought
out by Christ, is never thought of. Still a hereditary, inborn,
and,
by ordinary generation, propagated corruption, is decidedly main-
tained.
According to Ps. li. 6, 7, the sin of human nature is deeply
rooted;
man is tainted with poison even in his first origin, and hence
incapable
of attaining, by his own power, to the true and internal
righteousness
required by God. In Ps. lviii. 3, the fruitfulness of hu-
man
corruption is derived from this, that it rests upon original sin, and
consequently
has its root in the innermost depths of the human heart.
The
Psalms coincide also in this point with the Pentateuch, according
to
which the imagination of man's heart is evil from his youth, Gen.
viii.
21. But while man brings with him the germ of corruption into
the
world, the Psalmists are very far from acquitting him of guilt re-
specting
it, and of ascribing it to God—which they could not have done
without
directly contradicting the doctrine they so clearly unfold of
God's
holiness and purity. Without investigating how man comes to
participate
in inherited corruption, they abide merely by the fact of his
consciousness,
which makes man responsible for his whole sin as guilt.
All
suffering, even the most severe, appears as deserved punishment for
sin,
comp. for ex. Ps. xl. 12, xxxviii. 4.
The universality and depth of human
corruption is painted in lively
colours
in Ps. xiv. 1-3. The poison of this has so thoroughly pene-
trated
human nature, that we are even unconsciously led to commit yin-
lationsof
the divine law. The holy singers pray to God that he would
pardon
even their hidden faults, Ps. xix. 13; and the righteous also stand
in
need of preservation from great and presumptuous sins, ver. 14. Be-
fore
God no one is righteous; all need his pardoning mercy, Ps. cxliii.
2,
cxxx. 3. Peculiarly important also are Ps. xxxii. and li., as testi-
monies
to the deep sense of sin, in which David outshone all others.
The deepest ground of this
characteristic of the Psalms, as of the
Old
Testament generally, lay in the apprehension of the holiness of
God,
by the contemplation of which, through the contrast it presented
to
man himself, he became alive to his own unrighteousness—comp. Isa.
vi.
In the heathen world, as in the natural conscience generally, there
was
an utter want of this apprehension of the divine holiness. Their gods
were
even not free from moral necessity, from the chains of sin and evil.
"Heathenism
forms a god after man's image, and though we and there
the
divine personality, and that also regarded as standing high above the
human,
yet in point of fact it still appears compassed about with all sorts
of
limitation and defects." (Nägelsbach s. 11.) The difference was further
increased
by the existence in
lx DOCTRINE OF SIN.
law
standing over against the sinner, while the natural law becomes altered
to
the worse by the inclination. Then the consciousness of sin had
from
the very earliest existence of the people struck its roots deep
among
them through the fearful threatenings of law and the actual
judgments
of God. Finally, it is still farther to be taken into account
that,
by virtue of the Mosaic law, God was placed in the centre of all
relations,
so that every sin against one's neighbour became also an
offence
against him. This manner of considering sin must have put an
end
to all levity—comp. on Ps. li. 5.
Sin is not kept merely in the
territory of the deeds, but also brought
into
that of the words and thoughts—comp. on Ps. xxiv. 4, lxxiii. 1,
13,
cxxv. 4, ci. 5, etc. God proves the heart,
Ps. xvii. 3. David par-
ticularly
shows himself to have been deeply penetrated by the convic-
tion
that, above all, the heart, with its inclinations, must be brought
into
conformity with the law of God. The consciousness that nothing
could
be done by mere human strength in keeping the commandments
of
God--that God alone could here effect the willing and the doing, as
is
declared, for example, in Ps. cxix., can belong only to one who up-
prebends
the necessity of the inmost disposition being in harmony
with
the law. Where this is not the case, the thought will readily
spring
up, that one can manage without God. Pelagianism always
goes
hand in hand with a disposition to look at sin in an external point
of
view.
It has been sought to rob the Psalms
of the glorious characteristic
now
described, or at least to lessen it, by a double accusation. First, it
has
been alleged that the representation given of sin is often of a grossly
external
nature—that in a multitude of Psalms the righteous are the
Jews
as such, sinners the heathen, and especially the Chaldeans, as
such.
To justify this allegation, a number of Psalms, containing per-
sonal
lamentations, have been turned, with a discarding of the super-
scriptions,
into national laments, under the remonstrance even of some
who,
as to the main point, hold the same ground. So says Gesenius,
in
his preface to Gramberg's History of the Religious ideas of the Old
Testament:
"that he had abandoned that mode of criticism in regard
to
the book of Psalms, which transferred the greater part of the poems,
especially
the plaintive Psalms, if not to the period of the exile, at least
to
the times of the kings, and ascribed them to the prophets and pious
men
persecuted by the heathen." By restoring, however, the super-
scriptions
and the internal grounds to their proper place, every suspi-
cion
of that coarse external view of sin vanishes at once, in regard to
a
great number of the Psalms. It becomes manifest that the relation
which
forms the ground-work of them is a purely moral one—that of
DOCTRINE OF SIN. lxi
the
righteous to the unrighteous, of the god-fearing to the godless.
There
certainly, however, remain Psalms in which the Israelites are
represented
as the righteous, the heathen as the wicked, of which ex-
amples
are to be found also in the prophets—for ex. Hab. i. 13, comp.
Delitzsch
there. But it is soon perceived that this contrast does not
proceed,
as in the later and carnally minded period, upon the national re-
lation.
It is entirely of the same kind as in the Psalms which refer to
domestic
relations, so that the determination whether the one or the
other
has place, is often difficult, often, indeed, absolutely impossible,
as
the Psalms must refer, according to the intention of the authors, to
both
relations, Such especially is the case with the whole cycle of the
Psalms
of David, which refer to the afflictions of the righteous, and have
in
view at once the relations of the individual and those of the entire
people.
It is not
munity
in the visible, which is placed in contrast with the ungodly
heathen
world—comp. on Ps. ix., and the author's work on Balaam, at
Num.
xxiii. 10, where
right.
In Ps. lxxii. 1,
pure
in heart." Coarse externality is rather to be thrown as a reproach
upon
him, who, incapable of raising himself to the contemplation of the
essential
being, judges a society merely from its appearance. But how
can
we think of finding here any such coarse externality among the no-
blest
spirits of a people, in whose first beginnings even the law had made
itself
felt in all its pungency, and among whom the most fearful threaten-
ings
were hurled against the heads of such as turned aside into iniquity.
In
the Psalms of David it is a fundamental principle, that before God
the
heart only is accounted of, and that sincere and internal piety is the
indispensable
condition of salvation—comp. on Ps. xv., xxiv. A pointed
distinction
in
the
excommunication of the wicked, meets us very frequently in the
Psalms—comp.,
for example, Ps. 1., lxxviii., xcv., xcix., cxxv.
The second accusation is the
following: The consciousness of sin
expressed
in the psalms does not arise from sin itself; it is awakened
only
by misfortune; forgiveness of sin also is sought not on right
grounds,
but only in respect to freedom from misfortune, which was re-
garded
as a punishment of sin, from the prevailing error as to visible re-
compenses.
But they who object thus do not consider, that in speaking
of
men being brought through suffering to the knowledge of sin, it is
only
meant that this must be employed agreeably to its design—that the
human
heart is so hard, that vast multitudes are not brought even
through
this means to repentance, and that God can bring none of his
own
without it to a deep and well-grounded conviction of sin, which is
lxii DOCTRINE OF SIN.
the
indispensable condition of a living appropriation of the freely offered
salvation.
For it is also said in the New Testament, "We must through
much
tribulation enter into the
that
suffer now," and "whom the Lord loveth, he chasteneth." It is
to
be considered farther, that the New Testament likewise places sin and
suffering
in the closest connection, that according to it also the discourse
cannot
be of a merely external misfortune, that the misfortune rather
always
bears respect, not possibly to any particular sin, but still to the
sinfulness,
and consequently is always a punishment, and therefore a
call
to repentance. Among many passages to the point, let only John
v.
14, and Luke v. 20 be examined. In the former passage disease is
threatened
by the Lord as a punishment for sin; in the latter it is taken
away
as a punishment. Then Luke xiii. 1, ss., where the Lord in a
general
way confirms most pointedly the Old Testament doctrine of re-
compense,
which also lies at the bottom of all the threatenings of judg-
ment
against
ment
come out still more palpably, the impression would only have
more
immediately produced the counter impression. For the recom-
pense
under it must be of force for all ages. The matter, however, is
often
very incorrectly represented, as if the Psalmist had to do merely
with
deliverance from the burden of tribulation—as if the forgiveness of
sins
was for them only a means to an end. The sting of tribulation
was
rather the matter-of-fact testimony it contained against sin; the re-
freshing
character of deliverance lay especially in this, that it was con-
sidered
as an actual justification, an evidence of the return of God's fa-
vow.
To have a gracious God was for them the highest thing.—But
that
affliction was not the exclusive occasion of a sense of sin in their
souls,
that this sometimes arose with great power without any thing at
all
of the other, is shewn in the most striking manner by the two Psalms,
xxxii.
and li., composed after David's adultery; with which also the
historical
circumstances mentioned in 1 Sam. xxv. 32, xxiv. 6, 2 Sam.
xxiv.
10, are to be comp. Far, therefore, from raising such accusations,
we
should rather be moved to shame by the depth of those convictions
of
sin which were experienced by the Psalmists, who were led by what
a
superficial world calls "the accidental sufferings and afflictions of
life,"
to earnest strivings after repentance, and humble prayer for
pardon.
Still, it must not be overlooked, on
the other hand, that the allegation,
which
is to be quite rejected in the form it is usually presented in, has
a
measure of truth lying at its foundation. The pressure of sin by it-
self
but rarely meets us in the Psalms; the utterance, "I will turn
from
my iniquities to the Lord," was very seldom spoken from the inward
PUNISHMENT OF SIN. lxiii
sentiments
alone under the Old Covenant. The prophets, too, make use
especially
of threatenings of judgment to awaken it. If we compare
the
penitent and confessional songs in Christian hymn books with the
Psalms,
we shall at once be sensible of the difference. The Old Testa-
ment
wanted the most effectual means for producing the knowledge of
sin,
the contemplation of the sufferings of Christ. In the view of this
the
Christian poet exclaims, "0 children of men, it is your sins alone
that
have brought about this, since you had quite destroyed yourselves
by
iniquity;'' and to the question, "Who has so pierced thee?" re-
plies,
"I and my sins." The New Covenant, besides, possesses a more
powerful
agency of the Spirit, which does not search more into the
depths
of God, than it lays open the depths of sin. Hence in Christian
songs
the sense of sin, as it is more independent of outward occasions
than
formerly, so it is also more openly disclosed, and more delicate in
itself,
its ground is felt to lie deeper, and also the particular manifesta-
tions.
It was good that under the Old Covenant the cords of sinful con-
viction
were not strung too tightly, as the full consolation was still not
to
be found. The gulph closed up again when the sufferings were gone.
But
the one-sidedness in question is not to be considered as a disadvant-
age
in the Psalms. They have the destination for all ages of the
church
of bringing this side clearly out, which is of special importance
for
those who are only beginning the Christian life, and is also pecu-
liarly
valuable for the present time, when the edifying and even consola-
tory
view of affliction which arises from regarding it as the punishment
of
sin, has been very much lost sight of. For the other points of view
provision
is made in another way.
The Psalms are full of strong
representations of the punishment of
sin,
of the judgments of God upon the wicked. David especially, to
whom
for a long series of years the punitive righteousness of God served
as
a shield against despair, uses in this respect very strong language—
see
for ex. Ps. vii., lii., cix. The punishments, however, which are threat-
ened
to the wicked, are only temporal, not eternal, as could not indeed
be
otherwise from what we shall have occasion to remark, upon the doc-
trine
of immortality in the Psalms, that is, so far as respect is had to the
views
which were distinctly entertained by the Psalmists themselves.
Considered
in regard to the matter itself, these threatenings certainly run
beyond
this earthly life. For the divine righteousness, from which the
temporal
punishment of sinners proceeds, is an eternal one, and conse-
quently
must manifest itself through all eternity, so long as its object,
the
sinner, exists. Every earthly judgment of God is a prophecy in
fact
of that which is extra-earthly; every threatening of the one passes
also
as to its substance into the other; so that in regard to the subject-
lxiv DOCTRINE OF JUSTIFICATION.
matter,
it is the punitive righteousness of God alone that is to be thought
of.
The eternal recompense presently goes along with the temporal
whenever
the personal and self-conscious continuance of the sinner comes
into
view. But the Psalms had the mission of preparing the ground for
the
living apprehension of eternal recompenses, by planting the convic-
tion
of the temporal recompense deep in the souls of men—see the sec-
tion
on the doctrine of recompense in my Beitr. Th. iii. How energe-
tically
the apprehension of the divine righteousness as exercised in time
works
in the Psalms, not suffering itself to be moved by the greatest
difficulties,
and after a severe struggle still always at last rising into
victory,
is exhibited in, a very vivid manner, among other places, in Ps.
lxxiii.
As in the law, so also in the Psalms, the outward consequences
of
sin come out much more strongly than the inward, which last, how-
ever,
it is self-evident were very far from being unknown under the Old
covenant.
We have only to think of the evil spirit from the Lord, which
terrified
Saul, and, apart altogether from his outward troubles, and
before
they began to fall upon him, rendered existence a source of misery
to
him. This stronger exhibition of the external consequences of sin
may
partly be explained from this, that the Psalms have commonly to
do,
not with individual sinners alone, but with whole communities of
such,
because his promises and threatenings according to the rule have
a
national bearing. And it is also to be taken into account, that the ex-
ternal
consequences are more appropriate for the vivid pictures, in which
poetry
delights. Yet the ground also lies deeper.
But the Psalms not only threaten
hardened sinners with the divine
judgments,
they also shew to penitents the way by which they may
attain
first to justification before God, and then to righteousness of life.
This
is avowedly done in Ps. xxxii., comp. ver. 8, "I will instruct thee
and
teach thee the way that thou shalt chose." In this Psalm and
Psalm
li. the method of salvation under the Old Testament is contained
in
its most complete and concentrated form. The atoning divine com-
passion
forms the objective ground of justification. This was imaged in
the
symbolik of the Mosaic law by the Capporeth. "The commentary
on
its name, the invisible inscription which it bore, were the words in
which
God himself, in Ex. xxxiv. 6, declared his essential character in
relation
to
suffering,
and of great goodness and faithfulness, keeping favour for
thousands,
forgiving iniquity, and transgression, and sin, and not annihi-
late
will he," Beitr. Th. iii. p. 642—words which in a great variety of
ways,
frequently as in a sort of new republication of the law, are re-echoed
in
the Psalms, compare on Ps. ciii. 8, cxlv. 8. How deep in the Psal-
mists
was the feeling of the divine compassion, striking its roots down
DOCTRINE OF
JUSTIFICATION. lxv
into
the under round of felt sinfulness and nothingness, is most vividly
pourtrayed
in Psalm ciii.—which, so long as the
upon
earth, will never depart out of her mouth, and in which she will
continually
celebrate the divine compassion, as she has already done
through
centuries past. As the indispensable, subjective condition of
justification
al pears the thorough conviction and the free confession
of
sin—Compare Ps. li. 4, and also Ps. xxxii., which is wholly
occupied
with setting forth the high importance of confession of sin.
Upon
confession, and prayer which is naturally connected with it (comp.
Ps.
li. 8-10), follows the forgiveness of sin, a judicial act of God
which
he freely and righteously exercises in behalf of those who have
fulfilled
the subjective condition, and which manifests itself in the
joyfulness
that now succeeds to the deep prostration and consuming
remorse
of sin. This forgiveness is represented
as the greatest of all
boons,
as the foundation of all salvation. "Blessed is the man (exclaims
David
in Ps. xxxii. 1, who of all the Psalmists celebrates in the loudest
and
most joyfu1 strains the forgiveness of sins, as in him also are found
the
strongest assages upon sin) whose iniquity is taken away, whose sin
is
covered, to whom the Lord imputes not guilt." “Praise the Lord,
my
soul (he says in Ps. ciii. 3), who has forgiven all thine iniquity, who
heals
all thine infirmities.” Comp. farther Ps. cxxx. 4.
If we now inquire concerning the
relation in which the doctrine of the
Psalms
here stands to the Christian doctrine upon the same subject, we
soon
perceive hat the two essentially agree. According to the Chris-
tian
doctrine, also, every thing in the way of merit is excluded; accord-
ing
to it, too the objective ground of justification is represented as
standing
in the divine compassion, while the subjective condition is the
conviction
of sin and the prayer of faith for its forgiveness. Along with
this
substantial agreement, however, there appears a twofold difference:
1.
In the Christian doctrine of justification the merit and satisfaction of
Christ
appears as the means of atonement provided by the divine com-
passion,
as that through which it becomes possible for the divine right-
eousness
to manifest itself in the forgiveness of sin. In the Psalms, on
the
other hand no evidence appears that the writers had obtained an in-
sight
into the sacrifice of Christ. In them, indeed, the doctrine of a
suffering
Messias is contained directly, if the Psalms referring to it, in
particular
Ps. xii., is taken in the strictest Messianic sense, or indi-
rectly,
if it is referred to the suffering righteous man. But we do not
find
that this doctrine is brought into connection with the doctrine of
justification,
that the suffering of the Messias was contemplated as vica-
rious
and propitiatory. We are not, however, to infer from the non-ap-
pearance
of this connection its entire non-existence, as the Psalms are
lxvi DOCTRINE OF SANCTIFICATION.
by
no means like doctrinal treatises, and there is found in other pas-
sages
of the 0. T., especially in Isa. liii., an insight into this con-
nection.
Yet so much is certainly to be concluded from it, that the
connection
was kept in the back-ground—that the doctrine of justifica-
tion
through the future work of Christ had not taken hold generally of
the
conscience of believers—and that the forgiveness of sin, as a matter
of
common experience, was appropriated only per
fidem implicitam.
But
this being the case, the lively faith with which the Psalmists lay
hold
of the forgiveness of sin, and the great joy with which it filled them,
should
awaken profound shame in us. For to them, who still had not
Christ
set before their eyes, it must have been immensely more difficult
than
to us to answer with confidence whether God's grace is greater than
man's
sins.
2. The second difference is of far
less importance. With the ceasing
of
the ceremonial law in general sacrifices also ceased, the sin-offering
and
the thank-offering, which the faithful of the 0. T. were re-
quired
to present, as an outward expression of the internal conditions
of
justification, and the former, indeed, after even the smaller offences;
comp.
on Ps. li. 12. That this difference respects merely the form is
evident
from the doctrine of sacrifices, which pervades the Psalms. The
true
sacrifices are the internal; such as are merely external are not well-
pleasing
to God, Ps. xl. 6,1., li. 17, cxli. 2. It was only the sacrifices
which
were inspirited by the soul of the worshippers that were declared
to
be in proper harmony with the law, comp. Ps. li. 20, xx. 4, lxvi. 13-
15.
Now, considering sacrifices as only of a representative nature,—
that
the essential thing in them was the feeling represented by them
of
surrender to God (the burnt-offering), of repentance (the sin-offer-
ing),
of thankfulness (the peace-offering), it is evident that the essence
of
the worship was not affected by the abolition of these. The substance
remained,
only its embodiment through an external form has ceased.
We
pass now from the doctrine of justification to that of sanctification.
Only
the justified can do good works, and he must,
do good works--both
already
taught in the symbolik of the law; com. Beitr. p. 650. The
Psalms
are entirely pervaded by the doctrine, that God bestows nothing,
not
in particular the precious gifts, which justification brings, without
being
sought after; hence, vows stand in very close connection with
prayers,
and everywhere the sacred bards express themselves deeply
grateful
for the grace of God; comp. Ps. li., the first part of Ps. xl., Ps.
lxvi.,
lvii. That they could do their part by the mere outward sacri-
fices,
that they could feed God, could never
be imagined by them
with
the insight they possessed into the nature of sacrifice. But
their
gratitude had also to show itself, along with the heartfelt and
DOCTRINE OF
SANCTIFICATION. lxvii
joyful
confession of the mouth, in the maintaining of a new walk
in
righteousness. In respect, however, to this holiness of life, as
little
can be accomplished by one's own powers as in the matter of
justification.
Here, too, must every thing proceed from God, who,
through
his Spirit, forms a new life in us. David, in particular, was
deeply
penetrated by this feeling. In Ps. li. 12, he expressly names
the
Holy Spirit as the principle of the divine life, and prays God not to
take
this Spirit from him on account of his sins. He does not make
promise
to God, that he would again, by his own good deeds, retrieve
his
misconduct, but entreats that God would give him a pure heart, and
renew
a right spirit within him, ver. 11, so that he might serve God with
a
joyful spirit, ver. 13. So also, in Ps. cxliii. 10, he prays, that God
would
teach him to act so as to please him, and that his good Spirit
might
lead him by a plain path. According to ver. 13 of Ps. xix., a
Psalm
of David, God alone can preserve even believers from heinous sin,
because
of the deep corruption dwelling in their natures, and he would
himself
inevitably fall into these, unless God's grace continually upheld
him.
Among the other Psalms, the 119th is most thoroughly pervaded
by
the conviction, that in the keeping of God's commandments nothing
can
be accomplished by human power, that here God alone can give the
will
and the performance. Even the earliest of all the Psalms, the 90th,
has
the prayer: that the Lord would teach us to number our days, so that
we
may apply our hearts to wisdom. This conviction, that good thoughts
and
good works can have their source only in God, has its deepest
ground
in the insight of the Psalmists into the sinful corruption of ha-
man
nature. Whoever understands this as it really exists—and that the
Psalmists
did so we have already shown—he cannot possibly surrender
himself
to the delusions of Pelagianism.
It is clear, even from this detail,
what is to be thought of the allega-
tion
of self-righteousness, of irreligious pride, which in recent times has
been
raised against some of the Psalms—viz., that in the main it is en-
tirely
groundless. For it is impossible that there could have been so
sheer
a contradiction, and the less so, as the Psalms complained of are
chiefly
such as belong to David. In regard to these Psalms, such,
namely,
as ground the hope of salvation upon personal righteousness, or
derive
from this the salvation already received, without expressly bring-
ing
into notice its great imperfection, and without stating that we have
nothing
that we have not received, the remarks already made on Ps.
xvii.
1, xviii. 20 ss., xliv. 17-22, may be consulted. We make here only
a
few additional remarks, by way of supplementing what was advanced
there,
and in order not to overlook the minimum of truth, which lies at
the
bottom of the, allegation. Though the righteousness spoken of in
lxviii DOCTRINE OF SANCTIFICATION.
the
Psalms referred to is only one of endeavour, yet the strong emphasis
laid
on it will scarcely accord with our feelings. We naturally expect,
that,
at all events, the other side also—as, indeed, is very strikingly
done
in Ps. cxliii. 2—the human weakness still cleaving to the righteous
would
have been brought distinctly out; and since, on account of this
only,
the humble suppliant, who seeks the divine forgiveness, becomes
capable
of salvation, we would also have expected that everywhere the
eye
should have been humbly directed to the heavenly author of the
good
experienced. As expressive of our subjective disposition, we shall
not
be able to appropriate to ourselves so thoroughly such portions of
the
Psalms; we shall scarcely be able, when we try to do so, to read
them
without stopping. But they will be the more edifying to us, and
will
so much the more carry with them the concurrence of our whole
heart,
if we regard them as an admonition, as they were certainly de-
signed
by the Psalmist. The point brought out so prominently in them
certainly
has eternal truth in it, and should be perpetually maintained
in
the
those
only can comfort themselves with the expectation of Divine aid,
who
glorify God in their walk; they meet the delusion, that the chil-
dren
of God and the children of this world are separated from each
other
merely by idle feelings and vain imaginations; and work
against
one of the most formidable enemies of salvation—hypocrisy.
They
are of great importance, especially for the present age, with
its
tendency towards Antinomianism, and a lazy sentimental Chris-
tianity.
In such Psalms as xv., xxiv., the
call to righteousness is pressed
upon
the people of God with unbending strictness, without any indica-
tion
whence the power to comply with the call is to be derived, and how
necessary
for men, in respect to it, is the pardoning mercy of God; and
there
the Christian must be conscious of missing somewhat, without
misapprehending
the deep import of that portion of the truth which is
alone
displayed.
It is not as if the Psalmist had not
recognised such portions of divine
truth
as are not expressly declared, but for us it is natural to bring them
always
distinctly into view, at every opportunity to represent strongly
the
contrast between nature and grace. We find occasion here for the
often-repeated
remark of Amyrald.: Traxit aliquid ex
legali aeconomia.
The
difference between the Old and the New Testament is everywhere
very
fine and delicate, and whoever misapprehends this, whoever in
place
of a difference puts a contrast, will be farther from the right than
he
who overlooks the difference altogether. The general canon here is
this:
only such a difference can be a well-grounded one, as does not
DOCTRINE OF
SANCTIFICATION. lxix
compromise
the dignity of the Old Testament as a part of the revelation
of
God.
According to the commonly-received
opinion, the law must have been
known
to all the members of the Old Covenant only as a constraining
letter;
they must have submitted to it with dislike, in slavish fear of its
punishment
and, selfish expectation of its reward. But this view holds
good
only in regard to the great multitude, the rough mass. "Thy
law,''
says David in Ps. xl. 9, "is within my heart"—comp. the remarks
on
this passage, land on Ps. xxxvii. 31. In Ps. i. 2, he pronounces the
man
blessed, whose desire is in the law of the Lord—comp. Ps. cxii. 1.
According
to Ps xix. 8 ss the law of the Lord quickens the soul, the
commandments
of the Lord rejoice the heart, they are more precious than
gold,
and much fine gold, and sweeter than honey and the honey comb.
In
like manner another Psalmist in Ps. cxix. exclaims, "How do I love
thy
law! how agreeable to my taste are thy words! more than honey to
my
mouth," comp. ver. 97, 111, 127, 165.
The life of the holy singers was
governed, not by slavish fear, but by
love—not
by a law after the letter, but by a law of liberty. Especially
are
the Psalms of David full of expressions of the most cordial, childlike
love
to God, of the most heartfelt confidence rooting itself in love, of a
personal
surrender growing out of this, of delight in God and his service;
and
so long as the
warming
herself this tire of love to God, comp. for example, Ps. xviii.
1,
Ps. xvi., xxiii., xxvi., lxii., lxiii., lxxi., ciii., cxlv.; and among other
Psalms
than those of David, Ps. xlii., xliii.. lxxiii., lxxiv., xci., xciv.,
xcv.,
cxviii., cxxi. Nowhere, not even in Ps.
cxix., cxx., is there to be
found
a trace of slavish fear, which arises from a sense of internal sepa-
ration
from God. It is certainly not to be forgotten, however, that the
Psalms
are the productions of sacred hours of devotion, in which a higher
spirit
than their own fell upon the Psalmists, and they rose above their
ordinary
condition, In this last the spirit of sonship undoubtedly had
often.
to maintain a hard struggle with the spirit of bondage, as is very
graphically
depicted to us in Ps. xxxii. itself, which exhibits something
of
the conflict now referred to.
The tone of higher joyfulness which
more especially pervades the
Davidic
Psalms—the exclamation, "I will sing and play to thee," did
not
spring from the ground of slavish fear, which always carries itself
with
a sunk head and a rueful look, but from the ground of genuine love,
This
divine love of the Psalmists should tend the more to shame and
edify
us, as they had not before their eyes such a distinguished proof as
we
have of the love of God to his people—their love could still not kindle
itself
at this flame.
lxx DOCTRINE OF PUNISHMENT--VINDICTIVE PSALMS.
An accusation has been brought
against the moral spirit of the Psalms
in
regard to the revenge which breathes
in some of them. The writers
very
often pray to God for revenge upon their enemies, or speak of the
joy
which they and their companions experience upon the revenge exe-
cuted
by God—sometimes they even appear to express themselves the
purpose
of revenge.
But the latter part of the charge
has already been answered on Ps.
xli.
11, by the distinction there pointed out between recompense from a
spirit
of revenge, which the distempered individual merely as such de-
sires
and inflicts, and recompense in the service of God, in defence of
the
blessings and privileges conferred upon us by him. It is recom-
pense
or retaliation only in the first sense, that is prohibited in Matth.
v.
39, 40. But the same distinction avails also in respect to the wish for
recompense,
and joy at its infliction. It is here also to be inquired whe-
ther
the recompense sought and delighted in, was one of mere personal
revenge,
of irritated sensibility, or for the sake of the divine law, the rea-
lity
of which must become doubtful when such recompense is allowed to
fall
into abeyance—with a reference to the nature of God, on which this
law
is founded, and which manifests itself by way of reaction against its
violation—for
the sake of the fear of God, which must die, if the praise
of
this and the punishment of evil should vanish—from zeal for the house
of
God and the good of his kingdom. Desires of the latter kind could
manifestly
be cherished only by those who have the most sincere com-
passion
for the trouble and distress that must alight upon the sinful.
There
are circumstances in which it is right and dutiful in the sense now
mentioned,
even to pay recompense; others in which one must confine
oneself
to the desire for it—as David's, for example, in relation to Saul;
comp.
1 Sam. xxiv. 13, "The Lord will judge between me and thee,
and
the Lord will avenge me of thee, and my hand will I not lay upon
thee."
Now, that in the Psalms the prayer
for divine recompense and joy on
account
of it, flows not from the first, but from the last source—that the
facts
respecting it must not be explained on the supposition, that the
spirit
of love and of placability on the part of the godly under the Old
Testament,
had not become so prevalent and powerful as it is now in the
New
Testament, is clear from the emphatic declarations of the law of
God
against revenge, upon which the holy singers meditated day and
night,
comp. Lev. xix. 18, Ex. xxiii. 4, 5. The opposition to revenge
is
so little peculiar to the New Testament, that we might rather say the
strongest
and most numerous passages against it are to be found in the
Old,
and Paul in Rom. xii. 19, 20, finds that he cannot more strongly
warn
against it than in words borrowed from thence. Let the following
INDICTIVE
PSALMS. lxxi
passages
only be examined, Prov. xxv. 21, xx. 22, xxiv. 17, 18, 20. Job
declares
in ch. xxxi., that he was ready to take the curse of God upon
himself,
if he had rejoiced at the destruction of his hater, or exulted when
misfortune
befell him. He brings in revenge, and delight in evil, in the
list
of the most heinous crimes. In the apocryphal wisdom also of Jesus,
the
son of Sirach, the command to love one's enemies holds a chief
place,
comp. ch. xxviii. 1-11. We might urge too in behalf of David,
in
whose Psalms the strongest of the passages in question are found,
that
in the most decided manner he pronounced his abhorrence and disa-
vowal
of revenge. In Ps. vii. 4, 5, he invokes the divine vengeance on
his
head, if he gave way to a spirit of revenge, nay, what is still more,
David
proved, even in the most trying period of his life, by actual deeds,
how
much he shuddered at the thought of revenge, comp. I Sam. xxiv.
5,
2 Sam. xvi. 10. A memorial of his noble spirit, as abhorring any-
thing
like revenge, exists to this day in his lamentation upon Saul's
death
in 2 Sam. i. He, who could speak so of a fallen enemy, an enemy
that
had for years sought his life, and inflicted wounds in his soul, which
were
never properly healed again, could certainly not regard himself as
having
the privilege of revenge, and could least of all express this in
songs
which he sung before God, and destined for use in the sanctuary.
But we shall arrive still more determinately
at the same result, we
take
into account the motives which prompted the sacred bards in their
prayers
for revenge, or the consequences which they expected to arise
from
such prayers being answered. They wished and hoped that the
stumbling-block
which the prosperity of the wicked occasions to faith,
and
the encouragement which it gives to wickedness, would be taken
away—comp.
Ps. x. 12; that God would vindicate his endangered hon-
our,
Ps. lxxix. 10; that he would manifest his greatness and his right-
eousness,
and thereby awaken the apprehension of these in the minds
of
believers, and call the world at large to repentance,—comp. Ps.
xxxv.
27, xl. 1 , lviii. 11, lxiv. 8-10, cxlii. 8.
That by the overthrow
of
the bitter enemies of his church, he sought to have the church deli-
vered
from destruction, and along therewith the only party qualified to
honour
him, and all the spiritual goods he had committed to her, see
Ps.
lxxix. 6, "Pour out thy wrath upon the heathen that know thee
not,"
&c; where, according to the connection, by the heathen are to be
understood
the people who had raged against
tion
was the condition of
nerally,
for which the Psalmists bore a tender love, and whose reception
one
day into the kingdom and blessing of God they wistfully antici-
pated.
Now the question, whether the
distinction we have drawn between
lxxii VINDICTIVE PSALMS.
personal
vindictiveness and thirst for revenge, and recompense in the
cause
of God, and the affirmation that here the discourse can be only
of
the latter, is sufficient to justify the Psalmists, coincides with this
other
question, whether God's righteousness, as it is taught in the Old
Testament,
was a plain reality, or was merely a rough 0. T. represen-
tation
supplanted by the New. The close connection of the two
questions
is admitted also by those who bring the accusation against
the
Psalms. Thus Bauer, in his Moral des A. T. Th. i, s. 295, says
"How
could David think otherwise, than that he had a perfect right to
curse
his enemies, when he had before him, according to his convic-
tion,
the example of God?" If God be such as he is represented in
the
Old Testament, then it was entirely proper for believers to wish
that
he should shew himself to be as he is, if they did this only in the
right
sense, not in their own, but in his interest.
There can be no doubt, however, that
the idea of the divine compas-
sion
is essentially the same in both Testaments. The God of the New
is
also "a consuming fire," Heb. xii. 29; "it is dreadful to fall
into
the
hands of the living God," Heb. x. 31; to those who fall away af-
ter
having received the knowledge of the truth, there is, according to
Heb.
x. 27, "a fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation,
to
consume the adversaries." The divine righteousness has lost so little
of
its vigour under the New Covenant, that he who despises the far richer
means
of grace offered under it, becomes the heir of a much sorer pun-
ishment
than he who perished under the old, Heb. xii. 25. The heart
which
hardens itself against God's grace, and remains impenitent,
heaps
to itself wrath against the day of wrath, and the revelation of the
righteous
judgment of
viour
represents himself as speaking to those on his left hand the aw-
ful
word, "Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared
for
the devil and his angels;" and both
large
were also threatened by him with frightful judgments. In Matth,
vii.
1, 2, he declared the law of recompense, which lies as the founda-
tion
of the so-called vindictive Psalms. The death, too, of Ananias
and
Sapphira was a matter-of-fact testimony to the continued energy
of
the divine righteousness under the New Testament. And who-
ever
has any doubt respecting it, let him read Josephus on the Jewish
war.
But there are found in the New
Testament threatenings of the divine
judgment
in the form of a wish, which are quite analagous to the Psalms
question.
Of this kind is the woe upon Chorazin,
Capernanm,
Matth. xi. 20, ss.; the manifold woes against the Phari-
sees,
Matth. xxiii.; the word of Peter to Simon the sorcerer, "thy
VINDICTIVE
PSALMS. lxxiii
money
perish with thee, in Acts viii. 20; Paul's declaration in 2 Tim.
iv.
14, "Alexander the coppersmith did me much evil; the Lord re-
ward
him according to his works;" and his exclamation to the high
priest
in Acts xxiii. 3, "God will smite thee, thou whited wall." The
souls
of the martyrs cry under the altar for revenge.
Tholuck throws out the question,
whether the Psalmists never and in
no
case mingled with what was in itself holy fire, the unholy fire of
personal
irritation. But there is furnished to this question a decided ne-
gative
in the position, which our Lord and his apostles assign to the
Psalms
generally, by whom they are regarded as a portion of the word
of
God, and in particular to the so-called vindictive Psalms. It is
precisely
the most severe of these which are applied to Christ, and con-
sidered
as spoken by him, and are therefore pronounced worthy of him,
—see
on Ps. lxix., cix. Then, it is carefully to be considered, that
here
we cannot think of a momentary outburst of passion, that the fault,
if
anything of that sort exists at all, must necessarily lie in the funda-
mental
principles. For in the Psalms we have before us not the aim-
less
and inconsiderate expression of subjective feelings, but they were
from
the first destined for use in the sanctuary; and the sacred authors
come
forth under the full consciousness of being interpreters of the
spiritual
feelings of the community, organs of God for the ennobling
of
their feelings. They give back what, in the holiest and purest
hours
of their life, had been given to them. That David, like every
child
of Adam, Was not free from impulses of revenge, which, from the
liveliness
of his feelings, must have been the readier to come upon him,
is
evident from what is recorded in 1 Sam. xxv. But there was only
needed
a gentle stirring of his conscience, so that he might speak as he
did
to Abigail, “Blessed be the Lord God of
this
day to meet me. And blessed be thy advice, and blessed be thou
that
I have not come against blood, and avenged myself with mine own
hand.”
And what Abigail effected, must not the presence of the holy
One,
before whom he stood when he indited his Psalms?—must not the
thought
of the Community, which he would otherwise not have edi-
fied,
but scandalized, have still more effected The "passionate im-
press"
which Tholuck would find in particular expressions, falls away
as
soon as it is Considered that we have poetry before us. This also is
not
to be overlooked, that fervent zeal for God's glory is very apt, at
those
times when we do not ourselves participate in it, when we cannot
sympathise
with, the sentiment, "The zeal of thine house consumes
me,"
to assume, in our view the appearance of passion. We should
then
rather make an attack upon our own breast, and complain of our
lukewarmess
and indifference.
1xxiv VINDICTIVE PSALMS.
The deepest ground of the offence,
which has been so extensively
spread
in our day, against these Psalms, is undoubtedly this, that the
curses
of the Psalmists are regarded by the egotists as if they had pro-
ceeded
from their own hearts.
Now it might seem, as if simply to
recommend the conduct of the
holy
singers towards their enemies, were the proper way also to justify
it.
But this is not precisely the case. We must here keep in view
the
essential difference between the Old and the New Covenants. The
righteousness
of God is in both the same; but under the New the di-
vine
mercy comes more prominently out, while in the Old it retires
more
into the back-ground, as regards the disobedient (it is otherwise
in
respect to the faithful.) According to the procedure of God in this
respect,
according to his diverse position towards the world, as it has
been
influenced by the nature of the two aeconomies, the procedure of
his
believing people must also shape itself. This is very strikingly
brought
out in the passage, Luke ix. 5, ss. When the disciples would
have
had the Lord to call down fire from heaven upon a village of the
Samaritans,
appealing to the example of Elias, he answered, "Ye know
not
what manner of spirit ye are of; for the Son of Man has
come
not to destroy men's lives, but to save them. ''Olshausen
remarks,
erroneously: "The whole form of the expression bears
an
Old Testament impress; they spake from the standing point
of
the jus talionis." The 0. T.
impress rather lies in this, that they
should
so readily have thought of punishment, whereas the thought.
of
conversion and grace, for which the New Covenant had quite
other
means at command than belonged to the Old, should have
come
into the foreground: the Redeemer was to come first. That John
himself
understood thus the declaration of Christ, appears from the
frightful
threatenings of divine judgment in the Apocalypse, in which
we
again recognize the same disciple, who once besought that fire might
come
down from heaven. That the righteousness of God under the
New
Covenant has lost nothing of its severity, that it has only changed its
position
(the Revelations of John presuppose his gospel and his epis-
tles)
is clear, for example, from Rev. vi. 16, 17, "And they said to the
mountains
and rocks, fall on us and cover us from the face of him
that
sitteth upon the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb." The
words
of Christ, in which he pointed out to the disciples how, what was
right
in Elias, would not be right in them, are also spoken to us, in so
far
as we might be disposed to apply without consideration the Psalms
in
question to our enemies, and the enemies of God's cause; even
though
we should do this, not from personal irritation, but in honest
zeal
for God's glory, as was the case also with the disciples. Just as
ORDER AND COURSE OF SALVATION. lxxv
Christ
did not at first come to condemn the world, but that the world
through
him might be saved, so also with the Christian, when he sees
enmity
against God's word, his kingdom or his servants, the first move-
ment
of his soul should be to pray to God that he would soften these
heard
hearts and open these blind eyes—a movement to which the
Psalmists
also were not strangers, comp. in Ps. vii. 12, "If he turn
not,"
and David's mild address to the enemies in Ps. iv., though it is of
rare
occurrence in them. That cases might also certainly happen under
the
New Covenant, in which such confirmed hardness is manifested as
drives
the mind from thinking of the divine mercy, to think of the
divine
righteousness, is evident from the passages already quoted.
But this difference between the Old
and the New Covenants by no
means
renders the vindictive Psalms superfluous for us. Viewed in re-
gard
to their essential matter, they are just as important for us as for the
members
of the Old Covenant; as we see also in Luther, Calvin, and
others,
who, so far from finding them barely tolerable, and with some
difficulty
vindicated, constantly derived from them a rich source of com-
fort
and support. For us too, who are so much in danger of being in-
fected
by the lax views of sin and holiness, which have arisen from the
corruption
of the times, they are of special importance; and the more
so,
indeed, the stronger the current of our natural will runs against
them.
For this counter-will has its deepest ground in this, that we do
not
consider the sins without us as
rebellion against God, as an offence
against
his majesty, because we do not so regard the sins in ourselves.
The
example of the holy Psalmists is also so far given us for our imi-
tation,
as it teaches us not to single out mercy from among the attri-
butes
of God, and hold it alone up to view, which cannot be so isolated
without
losing its essential nature; for the same living conviction of the
recompensing
righteousness of God, the same hatred against sin, against
that
primarily, and above all, which dwells in ourselves, is what must
inspire
us with like zeal for the glory of God, like fervent love for the
prosperity
and success of God's kingdom.
We come now to the doctrine of the
divine order and course of salva-
tion
in the Psalms. Moses had represented God as standing in a two-
fold
relation—first, in his general relation to the world, as its almighty
creator
and governor, and then in his special relation to
God
of their fathers Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, as the founder of a
kingdom
upon earth, as he who had chosen
his
peculiar property, and had promised them, on condition of their
fidelity
and devotedness to him, the richest blessings. But there are not
wanting
even in Moses indications, from which the more discerning
might
conclude that the second relation, though for the present a rent
lxxvi ORDER AND COURSE OF SALVATION.
one,
was still only temporary, and intended to serve as a means for ac-
complishing
the higher and more comprehensive design. This might
have
been inferred even from the doctrine of Moses upon the first gene-
ral
relation; for, if God is equally the Creator of all men, if they all in
like
manner bear the image of God, it was not to be supposed that he
would
abandon the greatest portion of them for ever to themselves. The
same
conclusion likewise was deducible indirectly from the fact, that
corn
the creation down to Abraham the whole human race was the ob-
ject
of God's direction and government. Such a beginning rendered it
clear,
that the later limitation could only be employed as means to a
future
comprehension. But there are not wanting also in the Penta-
teuch
express declarations. Through the posterity of the patriarchs,
blessings
were destined to come upon All peoples—
for
the purpose of blessing all mankind; this idea pervades the whole
of
Genesis; and according to the conclusion of the book, Gen. xlix.
10,
there was one day to arise out of the tribe of
and
Prince of Peace, to whom all nations would be subject.
Now, if we compare with all this the
declarations of the Psalmists
upon
the same subject, we shall find that they not merely apprehend cor-
rectly
the instructions given by Moses, but that they also have attained
through
the enlightenment of the Spirit of God to greater clearness and
distinctness
of view. The Psalms were not in general designed to un-
fold
new revelations of doctrine, but only to represent the feelings
which
were called forth by those already given. It is true, however,
that
a prophetical element also found its way into the Psalmodic poetry
—though
it is not to be overlooked, that between Moses and the Psalms
there
still lies an important intermediate link, the great promise in 2
Sam.
vii., which exerted a most powerful influence afterwards.
When the Psalmists speak of the
present, they celebrate with lively
gratitude
the pre-eminence which God had given to
heathen
through his election of them to be his covenant people, through
the
revelation of his law, the great proofs he had given of his goodness
during
the past, and his gracious presence still in the sanctuary. "He
made
known his ways to Moses, to the children of
Ps.
ciii. 7. "God is known in
his
tabernacle was at
Psalm
composed in the age of Hezekiah, Ps. lxxvi. 2, 3; and in an-
other
composed in the time of Nehemiah," He declared to Jacob his
word,
to
and
his statutes they know not," Ps. cxlvii. 19, 20.
But they are so far from suffering
themselves to be led by this grate-
ful
joy into a narrow and one-sided particularism, that they rather
ORDER AND COURSE OF SALVATION. lxxvii
anticipate
with longing hope the glorious future, when all the heathen
will
repent of their apostacy from God, and return to him, when they
shall
become members of his kingdom. This view is especially dear to
David,
and of great account with him. It is brought out mainly, though
not
exclusively, in the Psalms of David.
The hope as to the future reception
of the heathen among the people
of
God, has many grounds and occasions for itself in the Psalms.
Sometimes
it rises out of the experience then enjoyed of the victorious
energy
of the Lord, in which faith saw a pledge of the future subjection
of
the whole might of the world under his sceptre. Thus, in ver. 29-32
of
Ps. lxviii., it springs forth in connection with the victory of David's
most
formidable enemies, the Syrians and Ammonites, by the help of
the
Lord; in Ps. xlvii. with Jehoshaphat's victory over various heathen
nations;
and in Ps. lxxxvii. the joyful events under Hezekiah served to
develope
the germ which continually slumbered among the people of the
hope
of a converted world. In Ps. xci.–c., this hope discovers itself in
connection
with another, and certainly in some respects opposite point-
of
view. It is brought in here to meet the fainting and doubts of
on
account of the frightful ascendancy of the worldly power then begun
to
which
looks
onward to the future glorious manifestations of the Lord which
turn
upon this relation. In the Davidic Psalm lxvii., the confidence
that
the nations shall still some time be brought to praise the Lord, is
grounded
upon his good and righteous government, which they primarily
apprehend
from his procedure toward his people, in particular, from the
bestowal
upon them of rich blessings, by which they were drawn into
close
fellowship with him. In Ps. lxxii., the manifestation of the glory
of
the Lord in the vindication of suffering righteousness, exercises over
all
the heathen an attractive influence. In Ps. cii. 22, David sees how
the
peoples gather themselves together, and the kingdoms, to serve the
Lord,
attracted and drawn through the salvation which
rienced
in the time of her distress. According to ver. 4, 5, of Ps.
cxxxviii.,
composed by David, the kings of the earth will turn to the
Lord,
on account of the future elevation of the depressed David. Fi-
nally,
the culminating point is formed by the Psalms, in which the con-
version
of the heathen is represented as the work of the Messias, and he
himself
as the great enlarger of the
according
to Ps. ii. 8, the heathen, from one end of the earth to the
other.
In Ps. cx, he appears as the conqueror of the heathen world.
"He
reigns," according to ver. 8 of Ps. lxxii., the production of Solo-
mon,
"from sea to sea, and from the river to the ends of the earth," and
this
universal supremacy he is to win, not by dint of arms, but by his
lxxviii THE MESSIANIC PSALMS.
righteousness
and love, which he should show in behalf of the poor and
oppressed.
In Ps. xlv., the heathen nations are introduced under the
image
of companions of the bride, with whom, not less than with her,
the
King is united in love.
That there must, be Messianic Psalms is evident alone from
this, that
the
Lord, after his resurrection, proved to his disciples, that every thing
which
had happened to him had been announced before-hand, not only
in
the other books of Scripture, but also specially in the Psalms, Luke
xxiv.
44. It also presents itself as a thing that might certainly be ex-
pected,
when we consider the large place which the revelation of the
Messiah
has in the law, and especially in the writings of the prophets.
It
is incredible, that an announcement which was uttered so repeatedly,
and
so expressly, by the servants of God, which, according to the testi-
mony
of history, had made so powerful an impression upon the minds
of
the people, had sunk so deeply into their views and feelings, should
not
have been often re-echoed in the Psalms, which contain the people's
answer
to the divine revelations, and express the feelings which these
served
to call forth; in which all is presented to our view that power-
fully
stirred the minds of the people.
A great part of the Messianic Psalms
connect themselves with the for-
mative
epoch in the history of the hope concerning the Messiah, and with
the
promise in 2 Sam. vii., which composed a large section in David's
spiritual
life. First, those Psalms come here into consideration, which
do
not rise above the radical promise in definite intimations; which
speak
of the grace that God had shown to David's seed, by assuring them
of
a dominion destined to survive all that is earthly, without expressly
naming
the Messiah, and without excluding a reference to the lower
and
immediate posterity of David. To this class belong among the
Psahns
of David himself: Ps. xviii., where he celebrates the grace
which
God "shows to David and his seed for evermore," and connects
the
thought of the salvation he had already received with that of the
future,
which was rendered sure to him by the promise in 2 Sam vii.;
Ps.
xxi., where, in the name of the people, he gives thanks for the word
of
promise; Ps. lxi., where, during the period of Absalom's revolt, he
prays
for the deliverance of the
promise;
Ps. ci.-iii., where, in the name of his seed, he gives utterance
to
holy purposes, prays in the midst of afflictions, and at length, in a
solemn
Tedeum, renders thanks for the
redemption, of which his faith
in
the promise made him assured. Finally, the cycle of Ps. cxxxviii.
to
cxlv., the prophetical legacy of David, in which, at the beginning, he
thanks
the Lord for his promise, at the close, rejoices over its accom-
plishment,
and in the middle, warns his seed to beware of what would
THE MESSIANIC PSALMS. lxxix
diminish
the blessing of the promise, and consoles them under the afflic-
tions
that awaited them.
Among the Psalms of other authors,
there belong to this class: Ps.
lxxxix.,
where, in the immediate prospect of the prostration of David's
throne
by the Chaldeans, the people entreat the Lord, on the ground of
his
plighted word of promise, to remove the apparent contradiction be-
tween
the reality and the word; Ps. cxxxii., where, in times of deep de-
pression,
a new reanimation of David's seed and kingdom was hoped for
from
the promise given in Samuel.
The second class consists of Psalms,
in which the final reference of
the
original promise is alone brought prominently into view, which are
occupied
exclusively with the Messias, as the person in whom what was
promised
of glory to the seed of David must be found to reach its proper
end
and issue. We have no right to contend against the acknowledg-
ment
of such personal Messianic Psalms. The knowledge of the final
reference
of the promise to the Messias might very readily suggest itself
to
David even in a human way. The promise of the great Restorer
could
not be unknown to him, who was to spring out of the stem of Ju-
dah,
and to whom the obedience of the peoples was to be rendered. The
promise
granted to him must have stood in opposition to this announce-
ment,
if the latter was referred to any individual that did not belong to
his
seed. It was quite natural to interpret the one by the other—to add
to
Gen. xlix. the stem from 2 Sam. vii., and to 2 Sam. vii. from Gen.
xlix.,
the culminating of what was spoken of the stem in a person of
great
distinction. And why also—since it cannot be denied, that the
prophets
knew the allusion of the promise in 2 Sam. vii. to the Messias
—should
this knowledge not be attributed to David, who ascribes to
himself
prophetical dignity in 2 Sam. xxiii. 1, to whom the same also is
ascribed
by our Lord in reference to Messianic objects and events in
Matth.
xxii. 43, and who says of himself in 2 Sam. xxiii. 2, that the
Spirit
of the Lord spake through him, and his word was on his tongue.
But
the actual existence of personal Messianic Psalms is put out of all
doubt
by the declaration of our Lord in Matth. xxii. 41 ss., comp. on
Ps.
cx., and confirmed by the unforced interpretation of Ps. ii., cx.,
lxxii.,
xlv., themselves.
The Messianic announcement in these
Psalms takes its starting-point
from
the relations of the present. David must, according to 2 Sam. vii.,
represent
the Messias as his successor upon the throne as king. All,
therefore,
that in this respect had been granted to him, the victories
which
he obtained, by God's help, over the heathen nations, the enlarge-
merit
of the boundaries of his kingdom, the splendour of his reign, must
serve
to him,—who understood that the gift conferred in the original pro-
lxxx THE MESSIANIC PSALMS.
mise
could not be withdrawn, and that it made the boundaries of his
empire
as wide as those of the world—as a ladder upon which he might
rise
to the apprehension of a Messias in glory, of a conqueror over the
heathen
world, of the mighty hero, who would not rest till he had sub-
jected
the whole earth to his sceptre, and who would suppress with a
powerful
hand every attempt at revolt. Thus arose Ps. ii. and cx.
While
in these Psalms of David, the relations of his own time formed
the
groundwork, hence presenting the Messias to our view, as fighting,
conquering,
spoiling, extending the limits of his kingdom into the infi-
nite,
the Messianic representation given in Ps. lxxii., the composition
of
Solomon, rises upon the basis of his
time. He presents to us the
Messias
as the true Prince of Peace, only imperfectly imaged by Solo-
mon
himself, his kingdom as a righteous administration of peace. The
relations
of Solomon's time, also, form the ground of the representation
given
in Ps. xlv., which is very closely connected with Ps. lxxii.
The bridge between the two classes
of Psalms, which rested upon 2
Sam.
vii., is formed by the declarations of David in 2 Sam. xxiii.,
where
he beholds in the spirit a ruler out of his house, ruling in
the
fear of God, under whose government rises a cloudless sun, and
the
earth abounds in fruitfulness, while the wickedness that lifts itself
up
against him is reduced to subjection. The "ruler among men"
is
primarily an ideal person. This appears, from the corresponding
expression
in ver. 5, "my house." But the ideal person points to
the
real, in whom what was here said of the
day
to find its full realization, and with an eye to this personage has the
personification
been applied.
Beside the Messianic Psalms which
rest upon 2 Sam. vii., there are
still
to be considered the typical Messianic Psalms. Every truly right-
eous
person is to be regarded as a type of Christ—of him who is the
absolutely
righteous one. Now, what might meet such a person in so
far
as he was righteous, what he received, how he conducted himself, this
is
justly to be viewed as a prophecy respecting Christ, in whom the idea
was
to be perfectly realized—with the very same right, indeed, with which
we
inversely apply to ourselves what is written of the manifested Christ,
and
consider it as a prophecy respecting his members. It lies in the
nature
of things, that the number of the Messianic Psalms in this sense
cannot
be very strictly bounded; the most of them contain a Messianic
element,
especially the plaintive Psalms, yet not exclusively these—as
little
as the suffering and humbled Christ is the whole Christ. The Mes-
sianic
reference is found peculiarly strong in those of the typical Psalms,
which
bear respect, not to a single individual, but to an ideal person,
that
of the righteous, and represent his life, his sufferings, his feelings,
THE MESSIANIC PSALMS. lxxxi
and
the divine aid, which was imparted to him. To this class belong
a
whole series of the Psalms of David, vi., xvi., xxii., xxxv., xxxviii.,
xl.,
xli., lxix., lxx., cii., cix. These Psalms, which we see most
explicitly
referred to in the New Testament along with the direct Mes-
sianic
Psalms to Christ, in particular Ps. xxii., xli., lxix., would stand
in
a very close relation to the others, even though no trace could be
pointed
out in them of a conscious reference to Christ on the part of the
Psalmist.
For, the ideal, which they describe, became in Christ a
reality.
Every other pious individual could appropriate their contents
only
in part and relatively—only under a constantly repeated: "Lord
have
mercy on me," and "God be merciful to me a sinner." Christ
alone
found himself perfectly delineated in them. Since in them righte-
ousness
and the deepest sufferings, springing from the enmity of
the
wicked world, are set forth as inseparably united, and suffering
righteousness
has salvation joined to it and the execution of judg-
ment
upon the enemies, he found in them his course plainly chalked
out
beforehand. We are conducted, however, still farther, and even to
the
very borders of the direct reference to the suffering Messias, by the
fact,
that in some Psalms, which refer to the suffering righteous, David
evidently
had in view, beside the individual and the people, his own
seed
also—comp. Ps. cii., and the person, in whom that seed was to cul-
minate—comp.
Ps. cx. These Psalms, from which also light falls upon
the
others, form at the same time the bridge between the Psalms of the
suffering
righteous, and those which lean upon 2 Sam. vii. For, that
in
them also such a leaning exists in regard to one side, appears from a
comparison
of Ps. cxxxviii.-cxlv. David was himself too much pierced
through
by his afflictions for this point not to present itself vividly
to
the eye of his mind and to be expressed in his Psalms, anxiously
busied
as he so often was, from the time he received the promise in
2
Sam. vii., with thoughts regarding the future state and destiny of his
seed.
It has often been sought in regard
to a number of these Psalms, in par-
ticular
Ps. xvi., xxii., xl., lix., to refer them exclusively to the suffering
Messias.
But that this cannot be maintained, has been shown in the
commentary
on the Psalms. The reference to the suffering Messias
occurs
only as one of the different radii, which proceed from the centre
of
the righteous—the private individual, the people, the seed of David,
the
Messias; and is only indicated in a gentle and somewhat hidden
manner,
even in Ps. cix., where still it is brought out more distinctly
than
in the rest.
We come now, in conclusion, to the doctrine of immortality,
or
more
correctly of eternal life. The belief
of immortality and future
lxxxii DOCTRINE OF ETERNAL LIFE.
recompense
was in various ways prepared in the Pentateuch. The sin-
gle
fact is here of great importance, that according to its teaching, death
is
not the natural alai necessary attendant of human existence, but the
wages
of sin. With this view of death, faith in an eternal life must of
necessity
break forth as soon as the hope of redemption enters—the
hope
of having the root restored that was lost in Adam. As death
came
through sin into the world, so must it again be. abolished by re-
demption,
which restores paradise—see Isa. xi. Farther, man was
made,
according to Gen. i. 26, 27, in God's image; and in that lies the
possibility,
not merely of immortality in the general, but of a blessed
or
a wretched immortality, of eternal life, or condemnation. If we
have
in the doctrine of the divine likeness the anthropological
foundation
of the doctrine of immortality, the doctrine taught in the
Pentateuch
respecting God likewise points on all hands to the same
conclusion.
Even the absolute spirituality of God, his entire separation
from
everything earthly, points in that direction. For it delivers the
soul
from the most dangerous enemy of faith in respect to an eternal
life,
a necessary connection with what is seen and temporal. The un-
limited
omnipotence of God assures us of his being able,
while the
greatness
of his love, as that discovers itself especially in his dealings
with
his people, assures us of his being willing—which
was already in-
dicated
by our Lord in Matt. xxii. 31, 32. That God should enter
into
so close and endearing a relation to man, as we find him doing
with
the patriarchs, would be a contradiction, if man's life were to be
bounded
only by the present existence. But the most direct prepara-
tion
made by the Pentateuch, consists in its constantly and diligently
enforcing
the doctrine of the temporal recompense—comp. on this sub-
ject
my Beitr. Th. iii., s. 577, ss., and the Introd. to Ps. xxxvii.
Experience
shows that where this doctrine has struck its root, faith in
an
eternal recompense of itself springs up, but that where this founda-
tion
is wanting, the building of a belief in immortality rests upon the
sand,
and is liable to be thrown down by the first blast.
But while it is true that the
Pentateuch contains the best preparation
for
a faith in immortality, it is not less true that it did little to call forth
directly
this faith. A considerable number of passages undoubtedly
point
to a simple immortality. But only one contains a distinct allu-
sion
to it—the narrative of Enoch's translation; in which it is of special
importance
to remark that his walk with God is intentionally and expressly
placed
in a causal connection with his being taken by God. And this
one
passage also manifestly bears an enigmatical character. It tends
still
more than the want of any other positive declarations to give the
impression,
that the original revelation wished to spread a veil of
DOCTRINE OF ETERNAL
LIFE. lxxxiii
secrecy
over this doctrine, the blessed influence of which pre-supposed
conditions,
which could Inot then be formally brought out.
In the Psalms also there are
preparations of various kinds for faith in
respect
to eternal life. To that, however, on which OEhler (V. T. sen-
tentia
de rebus post mortem futuris, Stuttg. 1846, p. 72) lays so much
stress,
we cannot attach any weight. He has endeavoured to find pas-
sages
in the Psalms, in which the authors raise themselves above the
Mosaic
doctrine of the inseparable connection between righteousness
and
a state of outward prosperity, in which they were so elevated by a
sense
of the favour and fellowship of God, as to regard such an external
felicity
as far beneath them. No such passages, when the subject is
more
narrowly considered, are to be found. The pure love of the mys-
tics,
and still more the resignation of the philosophers, is quite foreign
to
the Psalms. The old Mosaic doctrine of the inseparable connection
between
righteousness and prosperity pervades the Psalms from be-
gining
to end; and the sacred bards wrestle and fight to maintain it
against
all assaults. In Ps. iv. 7, lxiii. 3, the contrast is not between
God
and prosperity, but of prosperity without. God, and of adversity
with
God. The latter is better than the former. For, he who is united
to
God, is sure of what is really good even in the midst of trouble. On
the
other hand, prosperity without God is uncertain and transitory. How
far
Ps. lxxxiv. 10, is removed from the pure love of the mystics, is evi-
dent
from the connection With ver. 11. The internal connection with God
never
appears in contrast with or even as a supplement to prosperity,
but
always as a pledge and security for this—comp. on Ps. lxiii. where
the
hope in regard to the future raises itself upon the ground of the in-
ternal
connection with God. In Ps. xlii. 8: "The Lord commands his
loving-kindness
in the day time, and in the night his song is with me,
the
Psalmist, indeed, rejoices in the internal consolations which re-
mained
with him in the midst of his outward troubles. But
with the
song
the prayer for the return of prosperity is immediately coupled.
Then,
we can the less suppose such a preparation for faith respecting
eternal
life to have really existed, as there is found no trace of it what-
ever
in the other scriptures. In the prophets, who first lifted off
the
veil, the foundation of this faith is not the abolition of the
saic
doctrine of recompense, but the firm conviction of its reality
which
in the New Testament also is not opposed, but rather powerfully
confirmed.
A real germ, however, of the faith
in an immortal existence is con-
tained
in those passages which express a confident expectation of de-
liverance
from threatening danger, whether in reference to individuals
or
to the whole community—such as Ps. xlviii. 14, and the passages
lxxxiv DOCTRINE OF ETERNAL LIFE.
there
quoted. He, who in the one could so confidently expect the
other,
could and indeed must have looked for redemption from the
already
existing desolation of death. In one of these passages, Ps. xvi.,
the
Psalmist raises himself in the face of such a danger by the power of
faith
into a triumph over death itself, certainly having respect to the very
imminent
danger of death, and in another, Ps. lxxiii. 26, he supposes
the
actual entrance of death in order to triumph over it.
There is a germ also of this faith
of immortality in those places where
the
redemption of the community from political death is spoken of with
undoubting
confidence, on the ground of what is written in Deut. xxxii.
39,
"I kill and I make alive;" for ex. Ps. lxxxv. 6, lxxx, 1.8, lxxi. 20;
or
those again which speak of the redemption of individuals, from the
deepest
distress, as of a resurrection from the dead—comp. Ps. xxx. 3,
xviii.
5, lvi. 13, lxxxvi, 13. The reviving of the dead in a figurative
sense
contains the pledge of it in a literal one.
Persons have often refused to be
satisfied with such passages as con-
tain
the germ of a faith in immortality, but have sought to point out in
various
passages the full development of the doctrine. In reference to
the
passage Ps. xvii. 15, where even De Wette finds the hope uttered of
a
blessed immortality, to Ps. xc., on which Stier lays considerable stress,
or
to Ps. xlviii. 14, lii. 8, 9, which Tholuck holds to be decided proofs
we
must here simply refer to our exposition. We would only enter a
little
into the consideration of the passages, to which importance is at-
tached
by OEhler in the work above noticed, and Böttcher de inferis. In
Ps.
xvi. the Psalmist, indeed, triumphs over death itself; but in this he
manifestly
thinks, not of death as already entered, but of the danger of
death
by which he was surrounded. In Ps. lxxiii. 26, OEhler contends
against
the hypothetical construction of the words, "my flesh and my
heart
fails," q. d., though it should fail, but by God's grace matters will
not
come so far. But he overlooks that this is necessarily demanded by
the
for which connects the two following
verses with that, and also by
the
parallel passages in the book of Job; farther, that by making ver. 26
refer
to a blessed immortality, the passage would be taken entirely out
of
connection with the whole Psalm, which bears throughout upon the
territory
of the present life; and finally, that the Psalm, according to ver.
1,
has, though not an exclusive, yet at least a concurrent national bear-
ing.
In like manner efforts have vainly been made to extract from Ps.
xlix.
15 the hope of a deliverance from Sheol, though the whole Psalm
has
respect to the recompense on this side of eternity. In ver. 7, to which
ver.
15 forms the contrast, the discourse is not of death in general, but of
an
untimely and violent death; and Sheol appears as the dwelling-place
of
the wicked, only in so far as they terminate their days before they are
DOCTRINE OF ETERNAL LIFE. lxxxv
half
spent, and descend thither before the time that the ordinary fate of
mortality
would have brought them to it. The whole misunderstand-
ing
has been occasioned by this, that the Psalmist draws a veil over the
ultimate
departure of the godly into Sheol, as a fact which had nothing
to
do with his design.
The fact that the Psalms, while they
contained the germ of the doc-
trine
of eternal life, did not give any clear and definite utterance to
the
doctrine, may appear extraordinary, as they partly belong to a later
period
than the prophetical passages, in which the doctrine is un-
questionably
propounded. Isaiah announces the taking away of death
and
the resurrection of the dead in Messiah's time: "The Lord destroys
death
for ever, and the Lord wipes away the tears from off all faces," xxv.
8;
and, again, in ch. xxvi. 19, "Thy dead shall live, my corpses shall
rise
up; for a dew of light (= of salvation) is thy dew, and the earth
will
give forth the deceased." Ezekiel represents, in ch. xxxvii., God's
victorious
energy over the death of his people, in colours which are so
distinctly
drawn from the resurrection, that the prophetical delineation,
as
it could only be drawn by one who was himself possessed of faith
in
the resurrection, could not but exercise an important influence on
the
establishment of this faith. Finally, the most explicit passage
upon
the resurrection of the dead is Dan. xii. 1, ss. But the scattered
nature
of the prophetic intimations of the doctrine of eternal life is
itself
an evidence hat we are not necessarily to expect any utterance of
this
faith in the Psalms. For the Psalms, and more particularly those
of
later times, which always formally speak from the consciousness of
the
community, present not the individual, but the general, that only
which,
though partly latent, yet existed in the consciousness of the
whole
community. But this was not the case with the doctrine of eter-
nal
life. It was a good while till the leaven of the prophetic declarations
penetrated
the while mass, which certainly it could not fail to do in its
own
time. If the Psalms, a some modern critics would have us believe,
really
reached down to the time of the Maccabees, and were in great
part
composed about that time, when the faith of eternal life had al-
ready
become deeply rooted in the minds of the people, they could not
possibly
have failed to give utterance to this faith. But if, on the other
hand,
the time of Nehemiah formed the utmost limit, it cannot seem
strange
that such utterances are not found in them.
It may possibly seem as if the
absence of the doctrine of immorta-
lity
were hostile to the supposition of the Psalmists having been under
the
special influence of the Spirit of God. But this is not the case.
They
have not uttered anything erroneous; they have only not declared
the
whole truth. The former would only have been true, had they
lxxxvi DOCTRINE OF ETERNAL LIFE.
maintained
the annihilation of man after death. They are far, however,
from
doing this. If we deny to the Psalmists the doctrine of immor-
tality,
it is only immortality in the Christian sense, the doctrine of the
blessedness
of the righteous, and of the condemnation of the wicked.
According
to them, all men go at death into Sheol.* That this is not
a
mere figment, but a real and proper existence, is confirmed by the
doctrine
of the New Testament, as also by the prophets, who plainly
announce
the doctrine of the resurrection, while neither class of writers
thought
of renouncing the old doctrine of Sheol, but rather express
their
belief in it;—see Matth. xii. 40, Luke xvi. 22, ss., 1 Pet. iii. 18,19,
iv.
6, Phil. ii. 10, where, beside heavenly and earthly things, also the
things
under the earth are mentioned as being subject to Christ; Rev.
xx.
14, according to which Hades continues even to the final judgment,
when
the preparatory gives place to the ultimate. If in the New Tes-
tament
the word Hades, = Sheol, is used only in reference to dead
sinners
(see, however, Acts ii. 27, 31), yet in point of fact there can be
no
doubt it exists also for the righteous. An intermediate state is taught
also
in reference to them. The removal of it takes place only at the
second
coming of Christ—see for ex. Heb. xi. 39, 40. Wherefore, as
far
as the saints of the Old Testament attained in their knowledge,
they
were quite right, they were only excluded from farther light. But
it
is error alone which divine inspiration excludes, not the defect and
imperfection
of knowledge. There would, however, have been error in
the
0. T. here, only if it had put in place of the Christian doctrine of
eternal
life, the rationalistic belief; which denies the intermediate re-
gion,
and regards the individual whom it entirely severs from connec-
tion
with the whole, as immediately entering on the full enjoyment of
blessedness.
In regard to the doctrine respecting Sheol itself, there
certainly
is a difference between the 0. and the N. Testament, huts-
* Against those who would identify
Sheol with the graver OEhler, p. 26. Böttcher,
p.
70. There is no instance of what the former seeks to maintain, that sometimes
the
things
which properly belong to Hades, and those to the sepulchre, are mixed up in the
description
of the condition of the dead. In regard to the meaning of the word, there
is
no good reason for abandoning the simple and natural derivation from lxw, to de-
mand;
ad
se trahere. Sheol, therefore, so named, because it demands all life; comp. Job
xxxi.
30,
"to demand in cursing his soul." It is precisely insatiableness which
is repre-
sented
as characteristic of Sheol, in Prov. xxvii. 20: "hell and the abyss are
never satis-
fied;"
xxx. 16; ha. v. 14. In Hab. ii. 5, the Chaldean is compared to Sheol, because
"he
gathereth unto him all nations, and heapeth unto him all people." This
derivation,
against
which, in modern times, no proper proofs, but only strong affirmations, have
been
brought, has also the predominantly poetical use of Sheol on its side; and the
fact,
that
the word never stands with the article, is to be explained by its being
properly the
infinitive.
DOCTRINE OF ETERNAL LIFE. lxxxvii
much
as in the N. Testament a separation is represented as already
existing
even there between the righteous and the wicked. This doc-
trine
is contained only in two passages, Luke xvi. 22, ss., and 1 Pet. iii. 19,
(See
Steiger there). The others, in particular, "To-day wilt thou be
with
me in
first
introduced by Christ, who went away to prepare a place for his
disciples,
John xiv. 3; so that they might henceforth wish to depart and
be
with him, Phil. i. 23. Here, then, lies a progress not in knowledge,
bat
in the matter itself. But still in respect to this difference now
pointed
out, there is no error in the Old Testament, but only a less de-
gree
of knowledge. The other differences which Hahn (V. T. sententia
de
natura hominis) has sought to point out are found on examination not
to
be tenable. According to the author, the 0. T. conducts the soul,
wpn, into Sheol, and the N. T. the spirit, pneu?ma. But the passages
which
he has adduced in support of the first statement do not apply
they
only speak of a going down of the soul into hell, which does not
necessarily
import that it remains there, but rather the very reverse;
for
just on account of the danger of the soul might it be inferred, that it
would
be thought upon. The only passage quoted by OEhler, Job xiv.
22,
in which the wpn must stand of the soul as existing in Hades, is
to be
regarded
as throughout poetical. The soul of the dead in reality laments
as
little as the body in reality is sensible of pain. To both poetically
the
feeling is attributed, which they would have experienced if they had
been
susceptible of any. With how much greater an appearance of
truth
might we discover in a passage of the New Testament, Rev. vi. 9,
that
yuxai> is a designation of souls in the intermediate state. But on
closer
examination it is found that this view would also be inadmissible.
The
yuxai> are the murdered souls, and the word blood might as well
have
stood.—See v. 10 and the original passage Gen. iv. 10. The sub-
ject,
in ver. 10 is not the souls, but the races.
If one of the two were
found
in the N. Testament, wpn or Hvr, the latter might also
stand
there.
For wpn
is too closely connected with the body to be able to
exist
without it, to lead a purely incorporeal existence. No contrary
meaning
is yielded by such passages as xii. 7, Ps. civ. 29, Job
xxxiv.
14. For they do not exclude this, that though the spirit returns
to
him who gave it, yet the ruin as it were of the spirit may remain.—
See
1 Kings x. 5, Eccl. ix. 10. Hvr is not merely the
divine breath of
life,
but also the human spirit created by that (Numb. xvi. 22, Zech.
xii.
1) which may, indeed, become faint if it does not receive further
supplies
from the fountain-head, and incapable of action if it loses its
organ,
but still can never altogether cease to be. But if the matter were
still
doubtful, from the fact that the N. Testament speaks this without
lxxxviii DOCTRINE OF ETERNAL LIFE.
exception
of the spirits, and not of the souls of the departed (comp. 1
Pet.
iii. 18, where the pneu?ma is the spiritual life common to all men
with
Christ; ver. 19, where the discourse is of the spirits in,prison,
whereas
presently of living men yuxai> is used, 1 Pet. iv. 6, Luke xxiv.
37,
Hebr. xii. 23), it may with certainty be concluded that in the 0.
Testament
also the spirit only can be intended. For where a difference
cannot
be firmly established, there an agreement is to be supposed.
The
presumption is in favour of this.
A second difference, and even a
manifest contrast Hahn would find
in
this, that according to the 0. Testament the inhabitants of the inter-
mediate
state are without consciousness, while in the N. Testament they
have
not merely self-consciousness, but also the knowledge of things
which
take place on the earth. But the distinction vanishes when we
have
set aside what is here attributed of too little to the Old and too
much
to the New Testament. Certainly in the 0. Testament the re-
gion
of the dead does appear as noiseless; Ps. xciv. 17, xxxi 17, Sheol
is
"the land of forgetfulness," where "one thinks of nothing,"
Ps.
lxxxviii.
12, and in death there is no celebration of God's praise and
remembrance
of him, Ps. vi. 5, cxv. 17, xxx. 9. But that according to
the
0. Testament mode of contemplation, self-consciousness only
slumbers,
does not absolutely cease with the departed, that it continues
as
to ability in full energy with departed, this is shown more clearly and
certainly,
than could be done by any particular poetical passage, by the
narrative
in 1 Sam. xxviii., where Samuel is presented before us in the
full
vigour of his personal existence. The supposition, which has never
been
made but from felt difficulty or wrong bias, that the appearance of
Samuel
was regarded by the historian as a cheat, has been again re-
peated
by Böttcher. But it is contradicted by the fact of the commu-
nication
itself, which can only be explained, if the event was considered
of
deeper import by the author, by the circumstance that Samuel ap-
peared
unexpectedly to the woman herself, and to her horror, as also
that
he spike in perfect accordance with his character, and uttered a pre-
diction
which the event confirmed to be true. We see plainly here that
those
who went into Sheol were not lost; for what by a sudden excita-
tion
can be again roused into energy, that, being still secured in perpe-
tuity
of being, will sometime be awakened again out of slumber. But it
does
not follow from any of the Psalms in question that consciousness is
to
be regarded as one of complete repose. Were this the case,
they
would stand in opposition to other passages of the 0. Testament,
where
the contrary is represented; in particular, to the description, given
of
the reception of the king of Babylon in Sheol in Isa. xiv. It is not
to
be overlooked that in all those passages of the Psalms there was a
DOCTRINE OF ETERNAL LIFE. 1xxxix
reason
for bringing strongly out the one side of the truth, and to let the
other,
which still resides in the Sheol, fall into the background. In all
of
them there was a foundation to be laid for the prayer that God would
not
send the suppliant too soon into Sheol; so that the rendering pro-
minent
of the shadowy side of the picture was quite in its place. If we
turn
to the N. Testament, the only passage that properly comes into
consideration
is Luke xvi. 22, ss. For the others refer to those asleep
in
Christ, who has also for the intermediate state brought life to light, 2
Tim.
i. 10. But from that passage straightway to conclude that the
departed
under the 0. Testament possessed a clear self-consciousness,
and
even a knowledge of, what was passing upon earth, is entirely to
overlook
that we have here to do with a parable, in which only the fun-
damental
relations are of material importance. But even with the dead
in
Christ the state up to the resurrection is represented pre-eminently
as
a rest from trouble and affliction, Rev. xiv. 13, as a blessed sleep, 1
Thes.
iv. 13-15, v. 10, Or, however, as a blessed waking-sleep. We can-
not
think of it otherwise without making the resurrection superfluous,
upon
which Scripture lays such great stress, behind which it makes the
intermediate
state fall so decidedly into the back-ground, without over-
looking
the importance of the corporeal part of our natures, and egotisti-
cally
dissevering the individual from his connection with the general
community.
It might appear farther, that the
deficiency of faith in regard to eter-
nal
life must have deprived the holy singers of all vigour of faith and all
joy
in suffering. And certainly it is not to be denied that great and
heavy
temptations arose to the believers of the 0. Testament, from their
not
having had a clear view opened up to them into a future state of
existence
(comp. Job xiv. 14, and the Introd. to Ps. xxxix., where it is
shown
how the instructive character of the Psalm is the greater on this
very
account, that its author still retained faith in the circumstances in
which
he was placed). (But it is also not to be overlooked that the sub-
stance
of faith respecting eternal life, even though the clear apprehen-
sion
of it failed, is everywhere found there, where the powers of the fu-
ture
world have sunk into the soul; and then, that under the Old
Covenant
the extraordinary sources of consolation flowed the more copi-
ously
that the ordinary ones were so scanty. An attentive consideration
of
the transition to the Psalms, shews us how powerful the workings of
the
Spirit then were, and how mightily he raised the soul above trouble
and
death and self.
[In case, by observing a total
silence, I should be supposed to en-
tirely
concur in the doctrinal statements contained in the last portion of
xc DOCTRINE OF ETERNAL LIFE.
these
Treatises, which, as a whole, are admirable, I must, take leave to
notice,
in a sentence or two, that I am not prepared to assent to every
particular,
and, more especially, to two representations given under the
heads
of Eternal Life, and the Messianic Psalms. In regard to the for-
mer,
I cannot think that the reason why such a reserve is maintained con-
zerning
it in the Psalms, is, that the doctrine had not yet penetrated the
mass
of the Old Testament worshippers. The author himself has stated,
p.
lxxxii., that, "with the view given of death in the 3d ch. of Gene-
sis,
faith in an eternal life must of necessity have broken forth;" and
both
from this, and from the hope of redemption even then brought
in,
and, indeed from the whole tenor of revelation and promise made
to
the patriarchs, it is to me perfectly incredible, that any intelligent
and
believing Israelite should have been without faith as to a future
state
of recompense. Having stated my views, however, on this point
elsewhere
(in the 1st vol. of my Typology), I simply add here, that the
reason,
in my opinion, why such a vail to the last is thrown over the
future
world in the Psalms, while the prophets open up some dis-
tinct
glimpses of it, arises from the different character and aim of the
psalmodic
and prophetical writings. The Psalms are the spiritual
songs
of the ancient Church, adapted throughout to her typical condi-
tion
and worship, which necessarily presented the future under the form
and
shadow of the present, and the Psalms must
speak in the same
style.
The prophets, however, agreeably to the end of their mission,
avowedly directed the minds of
the people to the prospect of good
things
to come, and therefore could not but occasionally, especially af-
ter
the things belonging to the typical state were hopelessly shattered
and
broken, lift up to some extent the vail from the future.
In regard to the Messianic Psalms,
or rather to the peculiar view of
the
author respecting some of these, such as xvi., xxii., xl., lxix., &c.,
that
they give a representation merely of the ideal righteous man, and
are
fulfilled in Christ only, because he was the only one in whom the
idea
was perfectly realized, I think the view is liable to strong objections.
The
reference made to some of these Psalms in New Testament Scrip-
ture,
as having spoken directly and exclusively of Christ, seems too ex-
press
and pointed to be satisfied by such a representation. Some of
them,
especially Ps. xxii. and lxix., are so full of minute particulars,
and
particulars, some of which could scarcely be referred, with any ap-
pearance
of truth, to another than Christ, that to have drawn such repre-
sentations
of a character still only ideal seems very strange and unna-
tural.
Besides, I do not see how, if such individualizing and pointed de-
lineations
might. correctly be referred to a merely ideal righteous person,
DOCTRINE OF ETERNAL LIFE. xci
those
other, which our author admits to be direct Messianic Psalms, Ps.
ii.,
xlv., lxxii., cx., might not with equal justice be ascribed to an ideal
son
of David, or his house generally. And I conceive it to be, on the
whole,
the simplest and most natural, as well as most scriptural view of
the
Psalms in question, that David, being enlightened by the Spirit re-
specting
his own typical calling, history, and kingdom, was led in
them
to picture forth with some lines drawn from his own case, but
with
some also altogether peculiar to Messiah, the future condition and
experiences
of his great son and antitype.—Translalor.
FINIS
Please
report any errors to Ted Hildebrandt:
ted.hildebrandt@gordon.edu